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.

BEFORE Pics of the Living Room/Kitchen

AFTER Pics of the Living Room/Kitchen

BJ, tribesman, Scott

All 3 Missionary Houses