Posts

Showing posts from January, 2022

Turning the Corner, but Still on the Path

Image
  Our dear boy outside our new church work... For the past couple years, we have been involved in a church plant in a community called Makia.  Struggles over land ownership have arisen again , leaving us still without a permanent structure, more legal complications, as well as a season of waiting on the horizon. On the tail end of this turmoil, teammates with a giftedness and passion for reaching this area have also arrived back on the field after furlough.  After much prayer and consideration, we have decided to shift our focus from Makia and allow our teammates the privilege of regrouping and rebuilding the body of believers there.  God has given us a different wheel house.  We are excited to couple with the same national pastor at another congregation where we will focus on discipleship.  Our sending church pastor once preached a message on discipleship, saying, “Salvation is a free gift, but discipleship will cost you your life.”  While we are refocusing our attention, we are choos

Ketchup?

Image
Yes!  Let’s “catch up!”  Over the course of our return to PNG, we have not been as diligent in keeping up with our blog.  Our apologies!  We thought this week’s blog we could do a flyover of some of the things that’ve been going on that we haven’t covered….here we go!   This group of guys have dedicated time, hard work and sweat to the improvement of Goroka Baptist Bible College’s drainage work.  We live in a tropical climate where the seasons are limited to: rain or no rain.  When it rains?  It pours…literally.  Having said that, it is crucial that we funnel the water where we want it to go rather than letting it wreak havoc as it finds its own way down the mountainside of where the college is located.  While there is still work to be done, the rainy season is upon us, and so?  We wanted to honor these men and their work for the Lord as they coupled with us to improve the campus.  We provided an “American” meal with burgers, hot dogs and French fries to try to communicate appreciation

Training Takeaway

Image
This past week has been staff in-service here at Goroka Baptist Bible College.  Our school year runs from February thru November most of the time.  Thankfully, I (Phyllis) was able to attend most of the approximately 20 hours spent together with others who are seeking to make much of Jesus through the ministry of GBBC.  What a gift!  What a privilege!  Among other topics there were sessions on strategic planning, time management, working relationships and mentoring. It was a rich time of learning overall.  I must confess I had to drink a couple extra cups of coffee one day as I was struggling nodding off….😬 Thankfully, the instructor didn’t call me out.  I’m used to being busy with my hands and moving throughout the day, so I just didn’t remember that I needed that extra boost to keep my learning up.  Just keeping it real….😁 If I had to pick only one takeaway, I was deeply challenged by a talk by Dr. Woods.  He shared a quote, saying, “You don’t pick fruit twelve months out of the ye