HoveyServinGod

We had the opportunity to attend our first wedding in Papua New Guinea this last weekend.  I (Brian) would say, in general, weddings are occurring less and less not only in PNG but around the world.  I personally believe that is because a wedding between a man and a women was created by God.  It is a covenant before Him first and a commitment to each other second.  When we take God out of the equation, a marriage covenant really seems less important....more of just a formality. Anyways, the wedding was for one of the teachers from the Bible college who is slightly older than us.  What makes his story more unique is that he is the first born son of a chief.  The culture here is very male dominant, and there is a very defined hierarchy among the villages.  For a man in this position to follow Christ is very difficult as it is culturally acceptable and often encouraged to have multiple wives and live in some very bad ways.  This guy however chose the hard road over that easy path, and i

As the week comes to a close....I am not ready for another to start.  But God has been faithful in many ways this last week, and I do look forward to how He will show up this week.  We all struggled this last week with this pretty pink flower called "May grass" here.  It has created havoc with our allergies and eventually lead to both kids being on antibiotics.  Thankfully we are all on the mend....or at least going in the right direction I hope!   We made some big hurdles on the house this week as all the posts for our fence are concreted in and our laundry room has some walls!  Between the getting supplies and doing the work, I must confess I am getting a bit weary.  Thankfully the end is in sight as starting tomorrow I will have some students working with me full time for a couple weeks while school is on break.  This gives them an opportunity to make some money to pay their school fees and be a Huge help!   I was also able to be a part of a mobile clinic outreach in

While our home state of Minnesota is enjoying a little bit more of the winter snow....we find ourselves 'under the weather' here too.  Gunner's been running a fever off and on for the past couple of days, which we found out tonight is an ear infection and allergies have kicked in for Brian and Phyllis.  Moriah was running a low grade fever last night, so we will see how it all goes, but since we have arrived in PNG, it seems that when we get sick, we get sick as a family!   Even though we find ourselves under the weather, we have so much to be grateful for....really.  I (Phyllis) caught myself thinking this week that although we don't 'have it all' we 'have what we need' and ya know?  It really is MORE than enough!  While we may be sick, we have access to a teammate who is a health professional and has medicine.  What a gift! Gunner's third birthday is next week, and he has started to receive birthday cards for the occasion.  Thank you to all of you

"Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing but to turn it into glory." -William Barclay  A friend and I were having a discussion about this quote this weekend.  I had come across it, written in the margin of my Bible at an earlier date, and we were talking about its application.  "What does it mean?" we pondered.  I got to thinking about 'glory.'  When I think of glory, I think of the lion's mane or the giraffe's neck....the qualities in an animal that makes them unique and, in turn, make them glorious.   I can’t help but think of that in light of people too.  What is a  person's  glory?  The unique qualities and character traits that make them stand out.  Uniqueness is not usually easy to bear.  Typically, it is the source of teasing and ridicule.  Joseph was the favorite son of his father.  His special attention caused hatred and betrayal from his brothers, but it also brought him glory later in life when God had time to finish

I remember on Easter Sunday, growing up, that we seemed to wear new clothes on this special day.  I can’t recall for sure, but it seems to be how I remember it.  Either that or maybe we just wore our best dresses and clothes as it was a special occasion.   Upon reflection, I think I have continued this tradition with my own children.  Easter is special Sunday chosen to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, and one way that I give him my best is by looking my best and dressing my kids in their best too!   Today was no different even though we were in a different culture and country.  I dressed my kiddos in clothes that they haven’t worn since we’ve been here, but I had been saving them for a special occasion. Our church that we have been attending held a sun rise service outdoors today.  In a word?  I would describe it as glorious.  I was quite distracted by the view of the highlands around us and the mist settling over the earth as a backdrop to a fellow missionary preaching.  As