KONOMALA

Hey friends! 

Thank you for your faithful prayer and dependence on God alongside of us in all that God is doing in Konomala. Your conversations with Him matter, and He loves it when we humbly come to Him … trusting His good heart. Thank you for the sacrifices you’ve made on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Konomala. God sees each of us as we make those sacrifices of time, money, and energy for the sake of His work in the lives of people. 

As we continue to consider what God desires in the lives of His people, He keeps challenging us in regards to who we are leading our friends to and how we are going about it. Pauls statement in Colossians 1:28-29 has been at the forefront of our minds as we put our efforts towards the growth and maturity of the church in Konomala. 

28 We proclaim Jesus by instructing and teaching all people with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature in Christ. 29 Toward this goal I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully works in me. 

There is nothing more worth-while than to be a part of bringing people to Jesus and doing everything with the goal of presenting them to our Father as mature in Him. 

That’s an easy sentence to put into words, but notice how Paul says the words: “labor”, “struggling” … in other translations: “striving”, “toiling”, “strenuously contending”. The reality of this worth-while work that God has for us is not just a nice painting with a quote on it. It’s a work that requires deep humility and sacrifice. It is no small thing to do battle in our own hearts — to die to our natural, selfish cravings. And it is no small thing to labor & struggle in the work of instructing & teaching others to engage in that same battle within their own hearts. 

Jesus truly does offer the truth and the way to experience eternal life today. He offers Himself as the answer that all of us have been searching for in every other way. And the way to experience that life is by humbly fighting for closeness with Him. Which means that the self-centered ways we’ve always thought and lived need to be attacked and left behind to die … no small thing. 

The reality in Konomala is no different than in our own lives; everything is fighting against what God wants to do in us individually and collectively as a church: pride, selfishness, laziness, confusion, old religious traditions, relational conflict, busyness, distractions, etc. etc.

That’s where the church in Konomala is at … until Jesus comes back. Right now, Luke & Ellenie are faithfully engaging in the messy reality of life with our brothers & sisters in Konomala. Please keep praying for them. The enemy is working hard to do whatever possible to keep people from experiencing Jesus’s life today. 

Our Family 

The battle for hearts in PNG is the exact same battle here in America. Our time at home has been a mixture of a lot of good things. We’ve been able to enjoy some fun, memory-making days as a family, and we’ve gotten to build into healthy, growing friendships with other believers and co-laborers in God’s mission.

We’ve bought our return tickets to PNG, and now we’re starting to work on all the regular preparations for heading back. We’re thankful for the ways that God has worked during our time at home. Now more and more we’re looking ahead to the chance to re-join Luke & Ellenie and their boys with the church in Konomala. 

At the same time, we’re feeling the hints of sadness that come along with leaving again. Our girls have loved their new friendships and the variety of fun things we get to do in America. This is the first time that they are recognizing the reality that they’re having to leave things behind. 

Keep praying with us as we go through the transition back to our PNG home. We leave Pennsylvania around Thanksgiving. Then after a short visit with family in Florida, we will start the trip back to Konomala. 

Pray for all of the logistics that will have to be figured out once we’re back in PNG. The roads have become impassable, so we’re having to combine a variety of transportation ideas in order to get our family, our luggage, and a few months worth of supplies back into Konomala.