This is just a short/quick note letting you all know we made it safe and sound to Papua. This time the trip took about 38 hours of travel in plane or airport but the kiddos did great, all the luggage made it, & no major issues. Thank you everyone for the prayers, for those who generously purchased stuff from Amazon wishlist and all the encouragement.

We arrived in Papua and then a couple days later had our annual field conference. This was a great time to hear from other works on our island and see what the Lord is doing as well as reconnecting with friends and co-workers. Today, (Our Saturday, your Friday) we moved into our temporary housing for the next few months. We are thankful for a place to stay as we figure our the next steps as a team, as a family, and how we can still help the Dem church grow and be discipled.

Please continue to pray for the Dem church, our team, and our family as these next few months will be very different but we are trusting the Lord and taking things 1 day at a time. For now, our family is very excited to be back where we call “home”.

Thank you again

Hey everyone! We just wanted to update all of yinz and let ya know we bought our tickets to head back to Indonesia and we leave July 22nd. The plan is to move into another missionaries house who will be on furlough until January. We are hoping and praying we won’t have to be there that long but we are just taking one step at a time.

We have been in communication with our co-workers and getting news from our Dem friends on the ground and there are so many differing reports and rumors and so it’s hard to figure out whats true and whats not with regards to the rebels. Once we get back on our island we will meet with leaders and co-workers and see what the next step will be & see if we can come up with a plan for the foreseeable future. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. We will continue to update you all as much as we can and when new information surfaces.

*Just a reminder I know our last update was kind of confusing with regards to the amazon wishlist and when to start purchasing things. Thats my fault (J). There are still some items available and we have started the packing process so this is just a reminder. (Amazon list link below) Thx so much to those of you who have purchased some things all ready and of course to all of you who have been praying for our team and the Dem.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/GKZ58SDTCL9Y?ref_=wl_share

*And another side not- here is an another short testimony of a Dem lady who truly loves the Lord. Before we left she had been discipling young ladies and every Thursday meeting with them in the teaching building and going through the chronological lessons, as well as going to many peoples huts every week to review lessons and answer questions.

Hey everyone, here is our Amazon wishlist that we mentioned in last update. These are some material things that we need/want if possible. We will be traveling for the next 2 weeks and then after that we will be in full-time packing mode. Thank you so so much for considering to help with these items. The link is below, please let us know if the link doesn’t work or if you have any questions. https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/GKZ58SDTCL9Y?ref_=wl_share

The last update wasn’t too encouraging with regards to our ministry but we wanted to share a video we put together last year when we got back to the states. When we look back at what God has allowed our team to witness 1st hand, we continue to feel so unworthy.

To witness a people group (Hundreds) come from darkness, into His glorious light, what a blessing. We hope this video is an encouragement to you who haven’t seen it yet.

“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” – Psalms 119:105

Greetings everyone!

Where do we start???!! We’ve been wanting to send out an update for a while now, but there have been so many changes and things going on that we kept waiting for things to settle down for us to have more of a “certainty” before updating.  Even though things still aren’t “certain”, we feel we need to update many of you with developing issues on our island that directly affect our team and the Dem.

Before getting into the update, the verse above is such a familiar verse to many of us.  It’s a verse many of us memorized when we were little kids and the verse is so true.  However, we recently were challenged to understand the context of what it was actually like when this verse was written.  I think we hear this verse and just automatically picture a giant lantern or a flashlight illuminating the path and how God’s Word is that lamp unto our feet.  So naturally we picture when walking in the dark with a big lantern or flashlight you can see several steps ahead of you or a good bit down the path.  But when this verse was written a traditional “lamp” it was actually like the photo above, NOT a flashlight (duh moment for us!)!  It was a very small oil lantern or candle that would be held down by your feet so you could see just where to take your next step.  And then after you took that one step, you could see where to take your next.  One. Step. at a time.  

That is SO hard for us because we like to see the path illuminated for our next several steps and where we are going! But when taking that verse in context it made so much more sense to us. Trusting the Lord, His Word as a lamp unto our feet is not being able to see the whole path ahead, but rather trusting him for your very next step, and then the step after that, etc. Not able to see the path ahead, but deciding to trust Him for our very next step and then what lies ahead after that.  As you’ll read in this update this is very pertinent to our current situation and we definitely cannot see the rest of the trail, but the Lord can, and we need to trust and rest in Him and that He will/is going to guide us, and it may look very different than we had planned or hoped, but we just need to take the next step. Proverbs 16:9- A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

To keep things brief and because of security reasons, we need to be a bit vague here, but this is what we can tell you.  Papua is so much different from the rest of the country of Indonesia. Everything such as their culture, ethnicity, beliefs, speech, ideas are so different from the rest of the country and because of this, Papuans have wanted to be their own country and have wanted their independence from the country of Indonesia for many years, with no success. Because of this there is a group of rebels that have been at war with the national government. This group has never had any issues with us who are in Papua to help local Papuans as their issues are with the government. Before our team moved into the Dem, we knew that our area was kind of a “hot spot” for encountering this group and over the years we have never had any problems as they know we are there to help the Dem. However over the last 2 years this group have become much more “bold” or “brawny” as we like to say in Indonesian, and a few months ago they took an expat pilot hostage where he still remains. (You can find info on this online)

There have been some other things that have transpired that we don’t want to talk about on a public platform such as this, but long story short our team has had to leave the area.  

At this moment, our leadership and even local leaders have stated that our team cannot go back into Dem any time soon. We do not have a specific time table so our team is basically just waiting on the Lord and praying for changes and continuing to do what they can, like translation. We are hoping the tension and threats can subside, although it may not be any time soon and once that happens our team will be able to go back to living with the Dem Lord willing. Our family was planning on going to back to Indo in June, but since this disruption has arisen, we will change our departure to July.

This is very hard on our team as we try to navigate what the future may look like for our ministry, for our family and the Dem. As we mentioned, our co-workers are still working on translation while off site, and we will continue to serve as we can. There is so much more to this, but it’s hard for us to put on paper all the different ways this negatively effects and changes our ministry for the foreseeable future. If you have questions and would like to contact us directly, feel free to do so and we can try to explain more.  Our hearts are WITH the Dem as we were so excited to go back home and to see them, hearing about how they are growing in their faith and understanding of God’s word, but until the Lord makes a path for us to go back, we wait. HE CAN MAKE A WAY, like He did with the Israelites and the Red Sea! Whether He chooses to do so or not, we know that He is good, His ways are better than our ways and we will rest in Him.

 I was reminded by friend when explaining this situation of 2 important truths. 1- What a blessing it is that this unrest and situation has taken place AFTER the Dem have heard the Gospel, and the birth of the church has taken place. 2- We know from scripture that all things work together for HIS good. Our team can’t see what that “good” is right now, but we are going to walk by faith and head back to Indo in July and just take 1 step at a time. We may have to live in town for a while and do other types of ministry we weren’t planning on until the tension eases up and our team can get back in, so please pray for our team and our family in the coming months. Also PLEASE PRAY for the Dem, for spiritual and physical protection! Pray for them that they would continue on growing and sticking to these truths they have heard and that this would be a time that leaders would step up and lead the Dem church and continue on in their faith, that they would only grow stronger.

As far as time in the states goes, our kids are almost finished with the year in Christian school.  It has FLOWN by!! It really was so good for them and we are very thankful for the school and the experience. They have enjoyed making some good friends, playing sports and just being “normal” kids who aren’t looked at as foreigners every day and stared at which can be annoying (Especially when you’re having a bad day).  They have truly done amazing. Such answers to prayer! Transition is hard no matter who you are and that’s no different for our kids. They did not want to come to the states (so much unknown for them). They were upset when we left the tribe, especially when we told them it was going to be for a year. However the Lord knew we needed this time as a family to process and work through some things, a time to rest as the last term was incredible and amazing, but also very hard on our family, and this time was very beneficial in many ways. It flew by and we are so grateful to have done and experienced all we have.  

With us sticking around an extra month, our kids will get to summer camp and even get to take part in VBS which of course are not necessities in life at all, but some extra fun and more experiences they weren’t expecting before we head back to the unknown in Indo. And soaking up some more family time and memories!

There is much more we could update on, but we wanted to let you all know the situation with our team and ministry. The foreseeable future is very unknown so please, PLEASE pray for our team, for our kids as it was already going to be hard enough to head back overseas for them, but now heading back to probably living in a guesthouse for a while and living out of suitcases for some time and then hopefully housesitting for people on furlough and not being able to go back to their home. And PLEASE PRAY for the Dem, they continue to grow in their faith, they are still running 3 literacy classes without us there, but please pray that the Lord would protect them from sicknesses and serious injuries too as we have no way to get to them to help.

We will try and update when and if we get the go ahead to go back interior. We are putting together an Amazon wish list of stuff we need to take back for those who have asked, and we dropped the ball with not getting this out sooner, but we will begin packing soon so if you would like to help, we will be putting the list up soon. Thank you all so much for the faithful support and care and please continue to join us in prayer for the Dem and this rebel group and that God would make a way for our team to get back to our home in Dem-land.

Hello friends,

We have completely dropped the ball on updating you all. I felt like we have seen or talked with most of you and so I personally just thought everyone was “up to date”, but Briana has been saying we need to update everyone officially since we got our visas like we had asked prayer for in May (which we made a cute video of Noelle announcing we were on our way in the airport we never uploaded bc of internet and phone changes) and an update just kept getting pushed off. Updates obviously aren’t our strong point! I didn’t realize the last one we had officially sent out was back in April (SMH- Yikes) so there is much to update on for those of you who might not be aware.

Just incase some of you may not know, we did make it back to the states at the end of May after receiving our new 5 year visas and are praising the Lord for working out all the details.

We flew into Arizona from Indo where we reconnected with a supporting church the day after we landed. It wasn’t ideal, but the Rock Church was very gracious dealing with us and our jet lag and it was a blessing to see them again. After that we made our way on a trip I have wanted to do since I was a kid. An old college roommate of mine who lives in Arizona graciously let us use his camper and truck for us to visit some national parks in Arizona & Utah. We visited the Grand Canyon, Horseshoe bend, Antelope Canyons, Bryce and Zion national park. It was a great time for our family to regroup from all the visa and travel craziness and to see some amazing sights our Father created with just His words.

From there we flew to Philly where we were gifted a car to use and spent a week before we headed to Pittsburgh for the summer. While in Pittsburgh we made a trip to Michigan, Indiana & Ohio to visit friends, supporters & churches. We spent most of the summer in Pittsburgh and headed back to eastern PA before the school year started in August.

We asked many of you to pray for our kids as it was REALLY hard for them to leave “home” and their friends and routine there and adjusting to going to a “real” school here for the first time and adjusting to life in America for longer than we’ve ever done before, and the Lord answered those prayers. The first couple weeks were rough, but since then they have adjusted really well, making friends and getting lots of great life experiences here we felt they needed. We will remain in the Boyertown until the school year ends and then plan to head back to our home in Dem.

These past 6 months have flown by so fast and even though we want to go back to Dem-land, we are thankful for this time. Our family needs/needed some time to work through some things, to grow closer as a unit and also with the Lord. I personally needed a break from ministry for a short time to be energized and refreshed.

As for the kids, Eden was on the volleyball team at school. She had never played any organized sport before (none of our kids have) and she was nervous, but did great and LOVED it. Jericho was on the school soccer team and is currently on a local basketball team and LOVING that. Noelle has been taking piano lessons and attended several birthday parties, which of course she loves. The Lord has been very gracious with providing a place for us to stay, a vehicle, special time with family and a home church that we love being a part of.

As for our Dem friends- Wow is all we can say. The Dem believers continue to grow in their understanding of scripture, and learning what it means to be a child of God and turning from old ways. Just last week 25 Dem believers (ones who have shown great growth and potential future church leaders) stepped out in faith and were baptized. I can’t express the emotions of wanting to be there with our dear friends for this monumental day as they gave testimony to what the Lord has done for them and publicly made a profession to follow the 1 “straight talk” of Yahwe. Our co-workers said in all there is about 300 Dem who want to be baptized, but they started with 25 first and will, over time speak with the remaining people and eventually continue in baptizing them.

The Lord is doing some amazing things in the Dem!! In a time where it seems like the news is filled with negativity, and depressive news, let us take joy in remembering that the One True God is still on His throne, and has not forsaken any of us. He is at work today, just as He has been and we hope that you are encouraged just as we are when we hear about the Dem and what the Lord is doing there.

If anyone would like to talk or catch up email us. There is this tendency every time we come back… that the last 2-3 weeks before we leave people suddenly realize we are leaving and they never got together with us while we could for a meal or coffee or a chat and then invite us to get together. Although we of course would love to, the last 2-3 weeks is the worst time and we have to say “no”. With all it entails to pack up and organize everything to move back across the world and day goodbye, it can be so stressful to say the least so please, lets get together sooner, rather than later. 🙂

Thank you everyone who prayed and even gave towards the visa renewals, vehicles for us to use, housing, kid’s adjustment and everything else in between.

Hello everyone,

Tomorrow night, 7pm Eastern time. (Our 8am Dem-Land time) we will be starting the death, burial, & resurrection lesson in the Dem language. We will be telling our friends how Jesus was/is the Permanent, Perfect, Sacrifice for our/their sins. We will tie all the Old Testament stories of how throughout the Old Testament the blood of a spotless lamb was the temporary covering of their sins and how now, Jesus, is the payment that has united us with Yagwe.

Because of His death, the veil was torn in the temple that separated man from a Holy God and that now we have direct access to Yagwe and that when they, (our Dem friends) put their faith, and trust in Christ, and “throw away” their old beliefs and fears, and “take hold” of Yagwe’s talk, repent, and accept that Christ’s blood is the only thing that can make them acceptable to a Holy God, then they can be reconnected with Yagwe and be saved.

This is what YOU ALL have been apart of. This is what WE ALL have been praying for. Please take a few minutes and pray, Sunday night between 7-9pm. Pray the Spirit would move and we look forward to giving you all an update next week of your new brothers and sisters. Thank you again for all the support and prayers.