The Houses are Finished!

Our Team from Northwest Community Church:

Kent, Will, Dave and Scott

The Completed House!

Scott is finally home! Four of our guys (Scott, Will, Dave and Kent) from Northwest Community Church just returned home after being in Papau New Guinea for several weeks.  Their job was to finish building BJ and Jill's tribal home.

For the past year, BJ and Jill and their three kids have been living at one of New Tribes Mission's bases in Papau New Guinea.  BJ and Jill arrived in Papau New Guinea with two other missionary families.  They have spent this past year learning culture and language and surveying the land to find a tribe who is ready to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ! Several months ago, the three couples decided on a tribe and have spent the past several months gathering building materials.  Teams from the U.S. have come to help each couple build their house.  When our team from NCC arrived, BJ and Jill's house still had a long way to go.  Their hope was to finish the house by the time they left.  Upon seeing the house, they weren't sure if this was possible.  But, they worked as hard as they could, from sun-up to sun-down, barely even breaking for meals and were able to see the house finished!  So, all three families will be moving up into the tribe to begin their work in just a few weeks!

The trip was a huge success, so we thank you all for your prayers.  The tribes-people are so excited, and they don't even realize what Good News they are about to hear! As our team was building the house, the tribes-people watched their every move and followed them around everywhere. One thing that really stood out to our team is the way that these tribes-people understand community. They might not know Jesus Christ yet, but they know how to love on each other and how to selflessly help out someone in need. So many times, this is such a hindrance for us because we have so much.  We don't want to sacrifice our possessions or our time.  But, as we read in the Bible, this really is not an option:

Then he said to the crowd, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed? If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.' Luke 9:23-26

Please join us in prayer for these three missionary families that will be learning a new tribal language, explaining the Bible to them, and translating it into their language.  Humanly speaking, it seems like an overwhelming task, but we know that God can do this.

Here are some pics from their trip.

Today is the Day . . .and Why I'm a Mean Wife

Today is the day.  Scott just left us to head to the airport (big sigh).  He and three other men from Northwest Community Church will board a plane in a few hours to start the LONG trip to Papau New Guinea.

Where is Papau New Guinea?

• It is about as far away as you can get from the United States! It occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and is just north of Australia.  It is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. It is also one of the most rural and one of the world's least explored, culturally and geographically.

Why are they going to Papau New Guinea?

• Scott's brother, BJ, along with his wife, Jill, and their three small children moved to PNG a year ago. They moved there with two other families and they have been undergoing training and surveying the land to find a tribe who is ready to hear the gospel.  They went through a missions group called New Tribes Mission, and they will be presenting the gospel to a tribe who doesn't know the name of Jesus. They selected their tribe a few months ago and have been working on building their houses.  They will be working with the Wantakia people (#reachwantakia).  

So, our four men will be helping BJ and Jill build their house!  The other two  missionary couples' houses are almost complete, and BJ and Jill's house is under construction right now.  Our 4 men are hoping to finish the job while they are there!

BJ and Jill's House

All Three of the Missionary Houses

• What will the three missionary families do when their houses are completed?

They have a HUGE task ahead of them, and need all the prayer and support they can get.  See their blog here. They will be:

1. Learning the language and culture of their tribe
2. Teaching them to read in their own language
3. Translating the Bible into their own language
4. Teaching them the Bible from Genesis to Revelation
5. Teaching them to take the gospel to the rest of the tribes and to the ends of the earth!

So, yes, a HUGE task lies ahead of these three missionary families.  We are excited that our church gets to partner with them and play a part in reaching the people of Wantakia!

We ask for your prayers as our team goes to help with this incredible task.  Here are some specific prayer requests:

• Safety in traveling.  Just to get to PNG, it will take over 2 days of travel and they will lose a day when they finally arrive in PNG. They will take 4 different flights (one of which is 15 hours long) and a helicopter ride to go up into the tribe.  For one of their connecting flights, they will only have one hour to make it through customs and make their next flight, so please pray they are able to do this.
• For the building of the house.  Please pray that our team will be able to work hard and for safety as they work to complete the Sanders' house.  
• Please pray for the three missionaries that are about to begin their work in this tribe.  Pray that the people will be receptive and that God's name will be proclaimed and glorified among the Wantakia people!

A few days ago, Scott asked if I would take him to the airport as they prepared to leave for 2 weeks.  My reply: "NO."  So, I guess I get the award for "Mean Wife."  Hear me out, though.  I want our kids to be excited about what their daddy is about to go do: he's about to go help a missionary family build their house so they can tell a tribe all about Jesus!  How exciting!  I am truly thankful that my husband gets to have this experience.  I want to CELEBRATE this experience.  If I go to the airport, I will be a HOT. MESS.  Our children will be fearing for their daddy's life instead of sharing in the excitement of what he is doing.  So, in the interest of my husband and my children, I decided he would have to get a ride to the airport so I can keep it together.  Even though I don't get to go into the tribe with my husband, I will be faithfully praying for the work he is about to do and helping our children understand that we are all called to play a role in bringing others to Christ.

People of Wantakia

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