{Metzger Ministry Update} April 2011 | "An eternal prize"

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. -- 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 (NLT)

Dear friends and family,

Thank you for being such an encouraging team to us as we serve here in Papua New Guinea (PNG). We have been busy the last several months.

Kurt had the opportunity at the beginning of March to travel to Port Moresby (the capital of PNG) for his work. There he was able to help at the SIL regional center with their computer and internet connection needs. The kids and I (Johanna) missed him greatly, but we were thankful to know that he was able to support the Port Moresby staff.

Kurt was also able to help here in Ukarumpa to install network access, via fiber optic cable, to our new National Training Center (this is where SIL’s Translator Training courses (TTC) and Strengthening Tok Ples Education (STEP) courses are taught).

(National Training Center dorms, dining hall and fiber optic cable install)

Kassia (6) is enjoying her time in kindergarten and has taken off reading and writing in English. She loves to read in her bed on her own and likes for us to read to her as well. Lukas (3) continues to grow and make us laugh daily with his Spanish accent as he speaks in English. Matthias is seven months now and is trying to crawl and smiling constantly.

The kids keep me busy at home but I also enjoy being able to help our Latino colleges translate their newsletters from Spanish into English or edit their letters in Spanish. I have also been able to help translate a new document that our SIL PNG branch is producing called “The Word”. It is sent to many weekly and gives a glimpse of what the work of SIL is in PNG. SIL PNG has been publishing this document in English and in Spanish. If you would like to take a look at it, check it out on our blog: www.kurtandjohanna.com

(from left to right: Matthias; Kassia)

As we write we are in the middle of our biennial SIL PNG Branch Conference. We are working through how we can best get the Word of God translated into the 300+ languages in PNG that as yet do not have it. Please join us in prayer as you think of it how we can effectively do this task.

Praise:

• For YOU our great partners who pray and support us so faithfully.
• Our health has improved much since we last wrote and we have adjusted to the food and water here in PNG.
• Kurt’s trip to Port Moresby to help at the regional center with his computer skills was much appreciated.
• Kurt’s involvement in installing network access to the new National Training Center.

Prayer:

• For the upcoming New Testament Bible Translations here in PNG in 2011.
• For Kurt as he makes more trips in the country to help regional centers with network access, and for Johanna and the kids as they stay home.
• For our biennial SIL PNG conference.

(Lukas loves playing with Matthias)

Thank YOU for being a faithful part of our ministry and the work that God is doing in Papua New Guinea.

Blessings,

Johanna (for Kurt, Kassia, Lukas, and Matthias too)

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"Great joy to ALL people!" | December 2010

“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today...” -- Luke 3:10b-11a (NLT)

Dear Loved Ones,

We want to wish you a blessed Christmas and a new year filled with joy! Right now we are rejoicing with the Malei people of Papua New Guinea (PNG) who have just received the New Testament in their own language this past weekend. Praise God! Now the Malei can learn of and understand in their hearts the joy that our Savior, Jesus Christ, brings. What an incredible Christmas gift that is!

(Pictures of the Malei NT Dedication celebration)

We are back in Papua New Guinea! We arrived safely in Ukarumpa (our home and place of work), without any delays or complications, on November 19th. We have had many things to do since we arrived and are still settling in. One setback we have experienced since getting here is our bodies getting adjusted to the stomach bugs that are so prevalent here. Our family, all of us except Matthias thankfully, has been sick at one time or another (several of us are sick as I write this update). Please pray with us that God would return us all to health quickly.

(from left to right: Matthias and Kassia; Luke helping to set up our Christmas tree)

I (Kurt) started back to work with the network team at the Communication and Technical Services department and am getting up to speed on the changes that have been made while I was on home assignment. I have been able to put to good use the experience and training I gained while working with the network team at SIL’s Dallas offices. We are in the midst of virtualizing almost all of our datacenter in order to more effectively and reliably provide the services we do to translation teams and support personnel.

Johanna is busy, at home unpacking our belongings that have been in storage and organizing our house. We have been blessed with a home here so the transition has been easier than when we first came to PNG in 2007. Kassia has started kindergarten and was already involved in the primary campus’ Christmas presentation.

 

(from left to right: Kassia’s Christmas presentation; Kassia and Johanna in our back yard)

Thank YOU for being a faithful part of our ministry and the work that God is doing in Papua New Guinea.

He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon!" Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! – Revelation 22:20 (NLT)

Yes, come, Lord Jesus!

Kurt (for Johanna, Kassia, Lukas, and Matthias too)

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Thank you Lord!!! We are at 100%!!! | November 2010

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. - Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)

Dear Loves Ones,

God has been faithful as always and given us above and beyond what we asked for or imaged. On Thursday, October 28^th, we received Matthias’s passport with his Papua New Guinea (PNG) visa inside. That afternoon we purchased tickets to return to PNG. And, as of Friday, October 29^th, we were pledged 100% of our field support quota. Praise God for being our provider and the one that moves hearts!

   

(Pictures of the kids! | left to right: Kassia; Lukas; & Matthias)

 

(Kurt has been working with the Dallas SIL Network Team while we were here in Dallas | left to right: adding a fiber channel card to an existing server; installing VMware ESXi on a new server)

Thank YOU for being a faithful part of our ministry.

In Him,

Johanna (for Kurt, Kassia, Lukas, and Matthias too)

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Praise God we are almost there! Less than 3 weeks...

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. -- Ephesians 3:18-19 (NLT)

Dear Friends and Family,

We wanted to share with you the great news! We have just purchased our return tickets for Papua New Guinea. Praise God!!! We leave on Monday, November 15^th. Later we will send more details on our itinerary. God is good and He has been working in the hearts of people He would have to partner with us. We are now only lacking $33/month in support and are confident that God will provide that remaining amount.

(some recent pictures of the kids)

Thank you for being part of our ministry through your prayer support and encouragement. We could not do this without YOU!!!

Blessings,

Kurt (for Johanna, Kassia, Luke and Matthias!)

Did you know that you can follow our ministry on Facebook? Click our badge below and then “like” to add our page to your feed:

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He's here... Matthias Andres Metzger Penaloza

We thank God for blessing us with Matthias Andres Metzger Peñaloza!

Born: August 8^th, 2010

Time: 10:45 PM

Weight: 7lbs 15oz (3600g)

Length: 20 ½” (52cm)

Johanna and Matthias are doing great! Thank you so much for your prayers.

Blessings from all of us, Kurt for Johanna, Kassia, Lukas and Matthias too!

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-- July 2009 Metzger Update --

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you, will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. “ Philippians 1: 3-7
Dear Loved Ones,
I (Johanna) am writing with a heart full of gratitude to God and to you our partners. God is faithful and His goodness is beyond measure. We truly don’t deserve anything, and yet He gives abundantly. Thank you God!
Since May Kurt has been working to support the network services part of CTS (Communication and Technical Services). At the beginning of June, he helped prepare for and install a new 3.7 meter satellite dish that will improve communications for the Ukarumpa center. The new connection is about to go online. He continues to help translators and support personnel with computer hardware and software issues but enjoys this new aspect of his job and continues to learn new things.

 (New VSAT; Kurt, Kassia, and Luke sitting on the rocking chair)
Kassia will start pre-Kindergarten this Friday and she is counting the days until the beginning of school. We visited her new classroom on Monday and she had a lot of fun looking at all the centers that she will learn in. She will attend school three mornings a week and the other two mornings we will work on “Spanish School” at home. She can now read two syllable words in Spanish and knows all her letters and letter sounds.

(Kassia playing with her doll)
Luke will be 18 months old next week and is finally beginning to walk. It is exciting to see him taking more steps now and learning to talk. He can say many words now including: hi, bye, ciao, shoe, banana, mama, papa, Kassia (sounds like cha-cha), etc.

(Luke eating homemade pizza!)
This semester, Kurt and I will continue to help the youth here in Ukarumpa specifically being the youth group leaders for the 10^th graders. We look forward to getting together with these kids, as we have been working with them for over two years now!
I praise God for the opportunity I will have this semester to help out in the Primary School, assisting in the 3 year old pre-school class. I look forward to using my skills as a teacher to support the missionary kids in Ukarumpa.
I thank God for the opportunity I had to go on a Ladies Retreat called “Come Before Winter” from June 1st through the 5th. It took place in Madang, which is a town on the coast of PNG, and all I had to pay for was the transport to get there. I was truly blessed spiritually and physically. Madang is a beautiful place and I was able to go snorkeling and swimming, which I don’t get to do here in Ukarumpa. We meditated on Psalm 103 all week and I came back with much that I had learned. We serve a great God!

(Johanna and her friend Heidi at the Ladies Retreat in Madang)
In the last three years we have been asking God to show us His will for our family. We have asked the Lord specifically if we should stay here in Papua New Guinea or not. Kurt and I have felt a peace about staying here long term. God has provided a house that we were able to buy at the beginning of July. This is really a big answer to prayer and we can see that God is confirming our commitment to serve here in Papua New Guinea. This house will give us more stability as a family. We will not have to move as often and will have a place to return from our home assignments to. Since we arrived in January of 2007, we have moved 4 times.

(The front of our new house!)

Praise the Lord with us:

• For the home that God provided for us to buy!       
• We always praise God for you who faithfully partner with us in prayer and financially.
• For Kurt’s work here in Ukarumpa and the opportunity he has to help those who are translating the Bible into the many different languages of Papua New Guinea.
• For Kassia’s school and her friends here in Ukarumpa.

Please Pray:

• For our relationship with the Lord to become deeper and stronger and that we can be an example to our PNG friends and coworkers.
• For Kurt to have wisdom in his new network administration role at the CTS.
• For wisdom, patience, and love in raising Kassia and Luke.
• For our marriage to grow stronger in Christ each day.
• What a great God we serve. To Him be the Honor and Glory forever! Thank you for allowing us to serve Him here in Papua New Guinea!

In Him,
Johanna (for Kurt, Kassia, and Luke) Metzger!

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-- April 2009 Update --

"For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, ' Do not fear, I will help you.' (Isaiah 41:13 NASB)
Dear friends and family,
Happy Easter! He is risen! Thank you for being faithful as a very important part of our ministry here in Papua New Guinea (PNG). We pray for you and would like to pray for you more specifically. If you would like, please send us any prayer requests that you have.

(Luke with some friends in Madang PNG)
2009 has been a very busy year already. Kurt continues to work at the Communication and Technical Services Department. He has been training to support our network. In June, one of his colleges will go on furlough and Kurt will be supporting communications for over 160 translation teams and the many support people who are joining in the Bible translation task. CTS is responsible for the operation, support, security, maintenance, and upgrading of a medium-sized installation. There are over 200 corporate workstations spread out over the Ukarumpa Center connected by a local area network along with about 500 personal use computers. The mix and ages of the technologies can cause problems due to the shortage of computer personnel with appropriate knowledge. Corporate servers provide sophisticated services equivalent to those found in North America – email/calendar, SQL database, intranet, file, print and data backup/recovery. Because the Ukarumpa Center is located away from normal urban infrastructure, we operate our own Internet connection to supply email and Internet services to the Centre. There are over 800 user accounts on the system. Our Internet connection is severely limited and expensive due to our remote location.

(Kassia and Luke)
For the first three weeks of March, Kurt also helped part time as the Director’s Assistant for Security (DAS). During that time he was a part of peace talks that took place between two clans that live just outside of Ukarumpa. Thank you for praying for Kurt as he served as DAS.
SIL Papua New Guinea Branch Conference began on March 26^th and ran through April 8^th. Kurt and I (Johanna) attended conference every day (we had meetings from 8 to 12 and 1:30 to 4:30). In the afternoon we took turns to be at home with the kids. During conference we elected the Directorate and Executive Committee that will be serving our branch for the next two years. We also worked on developing a new comprehensive branch strategy that will help us to finish the task of Bible translation here in PNG. There are still more that 300 language groups that have need of adequate scriptures that speak to their hearts. Kassia attended Vacation Bible School each morning during conference. She memorized several Bible verses such as Romans 10:9 and Isaiah 41:13.

(Kassia and Luke)
Kurt and I are a support team for one of our translation couples. Dave and Sarah Troolin work in the Madang province of Papua New Guinea with the Sam people. While they were in the village in January, we were able to talk to them on the radio once a week to see how they were doing and how we could help them while they were away. We also were able to buy food for them from the store here in Ukarumpa and send it on a helicopter so that they could store the food in their house until their next village stay.  In March I was also able to help Sarah work on some primary school books that she was preparing for some teachers in the village.

(Dave and Sarah Troolin - children from left: Rebekah, Samuel, Matthew and Joanna)
He is risen indeed!
Johanna (for Kurt, Kassia, and Luke)
Praise:
-We always praise God for our faithful prayer partners and those who support us financially.
-For the opportunity that Kurt had in March to be DAS and help with Ukarumpa’s security.
-For the SIL PNG Branch Conference where we could work on developing a branch strategy.
-For Dave and Sarah Troolin’s work the with the Sam people in the Madang Province.
Prayer:
-For our relationship with the Lord to become deeper and stronger and that we can be an example to our PNG friends and coworkers.
-For our marriage to grow stronger in Christ each day.
-For wisdom, patience, and love in raising Kassia and Luke.

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-- Metzger's Year 2008 Reflections --

The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. {They} are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3:22-23 (NASB)
Dear Friends and Family,
We have seen God’s hand in many tangible ways this year, 2008.  Praise God for his faithfulness! Here are a few things that have happened where we were able to experience God’s unchanging character and love for us.
· Luke’s healthy delivery at the end of January in Australia and God’s provision to cover the costs.

(Luke is getting ready for his first Christmas)
· Safe and quick return of our new family of four to Papua New Guinea (PNG) in March to continue supporting the work of Bible Translation.
· The provision of a house that we moved into in June and where we can stay until we go on furlough. Thank you God!
· Slow but continual healing of Kurt’s knee which he injured in June. He was even able to enjoy coaching the Ukarumpa High School boys volleyball team from July to September.
· We were able to be involved with the 9^th grade Youth Group from July until December and will continue to do that next year.
· The opportunity that Kurt had in September to go with the more than 80 High School students from Ukarumpa to a 5 day Spiritual Retreat called Encounter. 19 students were baptized while at the retreat!
· The quick medical care Kassia was able to receive here in Ukarumpa and in Australia at the end of October when she fell and broke her arm. She had surgery in Australia where they placed 3 pins to hold her arm in place for one month!
· The financial provision for Kurt and Kassia to go back to Australia at the end of November to have the pins removed from her arm. Praise the Lord her arm healed quickly and there is now new bone where the bone was broken!

· At the end of December we will celebrate 2 years of serving in PNG!
· The joy that God has given throughout the whole year to Kurt while he works at the Communication and Technical Services Department through software support and computer repair. Thank you God for giving us the opportunity to be a part of the team that is bringing the written word of God to the Bibleless people of Papua New Guinea.
· The never ending provision and faithfulness of God for our ministry throughout the year through your prayers and financial support. Thank you!

(Kassia loves to hold her little brother Luke!)

· Many people received the New Testament in their heart language this year here in PNG for the very first time. What a privilege for us to be able to see the results of many years of work by many translators, support personnel, and partners in home countries. There were four New Testament dedications: Kuman, Ipili, Bimin, and Mape. There are about 950 languages spoken in Papua New Guinea. Other than the 3 national languages (Melanesian Pidgin, English, and Hiri Motu), Kuman is the language with the third highest population of speakers.

PNG Pastor - "For years now I have read to you from God's Word in Kiwai or Motu. I just read it; I didn't understand it. I thought that God's words were too hard for human minds to grasp. But then I read them in our own language, and they spoke to me. I could understand what God was saying! It isn't hard. God from Heaven wants to communicate with us!"
 
(Folopa New Testament; Bimin NT Dedication)
What a great God we serve. To Him be the Honor and Glory forever! Thank you for allowing us to serve Him here in Papua New Guinea.
In Him,
Johanna (for Kurt, Kassia, and Luke)

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