13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. – Hebrews 11:13,16 (NASB)
Dear Loved Ones,
Thank you for your faithful prayers and support for our ministry here in Papua New Guinea. We have been here for almost ten months now and we thank God for His faithfulness and provision for our family.
Kurt has been enjoying his work at the Help Desk and doing some hardware repair at the Communication and Technical Services Department.
In the month of September he was asked to help at a STEP (Strengthening Tok Ples Education in Papua New Guinea) course here in Ukarumpa. He was able to help a group of Papua New Guinean Educators learn the basics of using a computer. This included teaching them how to use a keyboard, a mouse, and the basics of Microsoft Word. The STEP course enables Bible Translation as the Tok Ples “talk place” or mother tongue educators go back to their villages of origin and promote literacy. As literacy is promoted, the people in the villages can learn how to read the Bible in their own language. We praise God for the opportunity Kurt had to be a part of this course!
(Kurt helping at the STEP course)
I (Johanna) have been tutoring a fifth grade student at the Primary Campus here in Ukarumpa. This is my second term helping her and I enjoy meeting with her to work on her spelling, writing, reading, and math. I give her a spelling test every week and then we review new words in which I will test her the following week. We have worked on teaching her how to write a satisfying paragraph that includes an introduction, details, and a conclusion. I will be working with this student until we go to Australia to wait for our baby to be born!
Kurt and I have also enjoyed working with the Eighth Grade Youth Group since July of this year. We had a girls night with some of the girls in September and that was a lot of fun. Also we had a service project where our group helped set up a worship event that we had here on center.
In the last month we have encountered some health problems but God has been faithful to heal us in His timing. First of all at the end of September, Kurt got a boil on his leg which became celullitis. Celullitis is a deep tissue infection that is akin to staph. Once it takes hold it is very hard to get rid of. The area affected will become very red. Kurt's infection became very bad. Treatment at the onset was oral antibiotics but since those didn't work right away, the doctor here in Ukarumpa recommended intravenous antibiotics for 3 days, every six hours, around the clock. Needless to say it was a very painful experience but praise God, Kurt's infection is now gone. At the same time as Kurt had celullitis, he and I got very sick with a stomach virus. We have had this stomach bug for about three weeks off and on and it is very tiring. Praise God Kassia has not been sick of her stomach at all! Kurt developed another boil last week and he went into the doctor promptly. Thankfully they were able to treat this infection with oral antibiotics and it is looking much better now.
(Kassia on the back porch with our Haus Meri)
My pregnancy is going very well and we thank the Lord for that. I am 26 weeks pregnant now (six months) and can feel the baby move constantly. Kurt is also able to feel the baby and he can also look at my tummy and see the baby moving without even having to touch it. Kassia constantly asks me when they baby is going to come out and I have to tell her it will still take a while. She says she is going to share with her baby brother or sister.
(Kassia posing for the camera)
We shared with you in our last newsletter that we will be going to Australia to have our next baby. We asked you to pray for the Australian Medical Visa paper work and all that it involves. Well, we are 8 weeks from going to Australia and we still don't have our medical visa. We have been working on the paper work since July but it has taken a while to get everything done. Also, at the beginning we filled out some forms and they were approved by a panel doctor; but in the last few days we found out that the forms have been made obsolete this month and therefore we had to fill them out and have the doctor sign them again. Needless to say, this is a very tedious process and we want to ask for your prayers so that we can complete every step of the process soon and that our visas will be granted on time to go to Australia in December. The baby will not be born until January of 2008 but the clinic requires us to go when I am 35 weeks pregnant and the SIL flights will not permit a pregnant woman to fly after that.
Praise
• For our faithful prayer partners that lift us and our ministry up to our Heavenly Father and for our faithful financial supporters who sacrifice time and money to be able to give to our ministry.
• For the medical staff here in Ukarumpa (nurses and doctors) who have been so helpful to our family in the last month.
• For the opportunity Kurt had to help at the STEP course in September.
• For the opportunity I have to tutor at the Primary Campus in Ukarumpa.
• For a very healthy pregnancy for me (Johanna) so far.
• For Kassia who has remained healthy despite all the sicknesses we her parents have had.
Pray
• For us to honor God through our work here in Papua New Guinea.
• For wisdom, love, and patience in raising Kassia.
• For our unborn baby to continue to grow strong and healthy and for a great rest of the pregnancy.
• For good health, especially for Kurt as he has been sick in the last month.
• For the visa paper work that we have filled out to get an Australian Medical Visa. That the paperwork would be sent to Port Moresby (the capital of PNG) soon and our visas would be approved so that we can go to Australia in December.
Thanks again for supporting us and enabling us to be a part of the team that brings the word of God to the Bibleless people in Papua New Guinea!
Blessings,
Johanna (for Kurt, Kassia and baby too!)
