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Showing posts from 2019

Turning a page

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We had great intentions of doing a Christmas card and writing a Christmas letter...which Phyllis has written several times....however in the end I dropped the ball....literally because the end of the year is here already.  So as the year comes near to the end I would like to recap some for the events over the last few weeks and of course show progress photos. The kids all ready for our Special Christmas service at Makia.  We had a normal church service on Sunday morning and then in the afternoon we special time of a meal together and Christmas message. We tried for one of those “nice” family photos, but this was the best we got. God has opened a door for lots of preparation work to be done at Goroka Baptist Bible College these last few months.  Much of it would have normally taken many years to complete, but God’s timing is perfect. So we have been pushing very hard to complete as much as possible in the time we have been given.  Anyplace that God’s Work takes place there is opposition

The ups and downs

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Life is filled with ups and downs, times of glory and times of great sorrow.   This last week we have been reminded of both and are keenly aware of how quickly life can change and how little we really control.   God has been doing great work around us at GBBC, and we are privileged to be a part of it.   We can clearly see His hand orchestrated some amazing things as we have been able to takes steps forward with ground preparation at GBBC that would have normally taken years to accomplish.   The work is far from over however it is encouraging to see the hope and prayers of many turn into reality.   Hopefully soon I can have some before and after pictures put together for you to see.   With the reality of God's work moving forward we are reminded of the evil that lurks never to far away.      One of our 4 th year students who just finished his final class just over a week ago was brutally murdered with a machete by a family member.   His wife and children are being hunted and

This Season

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There are seasons in everyone’s life.  In the life of missionary?  It is no different.  We grow, weather storms, grow some more, incur more opposition, and so it goes.  It is how we are designed.  Right now we are in a season of advent.  A friend and colleague of ours challenged us last year to consider the importance of knowing the story of Jesus.  My first thought was, “ I know the story of Jesus…..it’s why I’m on the mission field…”  However, I have been forever changed by reading the story of Jesus, one chapter at a time, day by day this past year.  As the month of December started, I resolved to read one chapter of Luke every day as a Christmas advent reading.  The story never gets old!  It seems as though every time I read it, something different stands out or something new strikes me.  I am grateful that the Word of God is “…living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thought

Ground Work Continued....

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To Read our current update letter (Sept-Oct) please click  HERE . The last few weeks have been filled with many ups and downs as work is slowly moving forward here at GBBC.  We have several large projects going on with most of them taking place out doors.  At the beginning of these projects things got off to a good start then the rain started.....everyday.  It is a little early for rainy season to start here, but just like everywhere, the weather is unpredictable. I had the road grader go down one of our mountain roads leading down to the river and some married students houses.  The road was in very rough shape and the grader was able to get down to the bottom, but then the rain started......and the mud was the new normal. We tried each day for nearly two weeks to get the grader moved with no avail.  We even had a backhoe work for a full day and just about buried that as well.  With each day that passed the stress level was increasing as this is "rented" very expe

Ground Work

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This week was marked by lots of ground work.  Brian got to use the excavator that was gifted to GBBC to get the ground ready for some various upcoming projects.  Praise the Lord that the rain held off so they got a good start on things!  Here are some pics to try and capture some of the ground transformation. There is to be a new classroom building put up here, adjoining in the front to the current chapel.  The footings are set for this project so that the two buildings will be level with one another, but the ground needed to be built up. Here is the ground after the first few dumps...a long ways to go but progress! And here it is approximately 100 dump truck loads later! There also was a point when the dump truck got stuck.  All machinery on deck to the rescue! There was an attempt to pull the dump truck out, but two machines weren’t enough...so the excavator joined the scene! Gunner getting in on the ride to park the machine after a long day's work! Moriah had to get in on the a

Soldiers, sickness, and success

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We were blessed this last week with reinforcements.  A team of Australians came to help the team here with some projects!  What a blessing!   In some ways, pictures speak louder than words.....so here are a few....although they are far from capturing the impact these soldiers of the Lord made! Here is Brian on the tractor towing a 20 foot container that was cut up to become our security guard house at the main entrance to the campus.  The guys who came and worked cut out the windows, door, and welded the security bars before it was ready to move.   In this picture, the guard house is in place and the roof trusses are being out in place and secured. This is the other side of the guard house looking from the road side of the college.   As you can see from this picture, there were lots of hands and hearts working together to serve the Lord.  It took a small army to get everything up and in place and we give God the glory for all that was accomplished! Here the roof is being put on and att