{Metzger Ministry Update} December 2012 | "6 years"

Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation. (Psalm 100:4b-5 NLT)

Dear Loved Ones,

In January of 2013 we will celebrate 6 years of being in Papua New Guinea! We thank God for His faithfulness and care over our family. We also thank YOU for being a vital part of what God is doing in our ministry and our lives. Your prayers, encouragement, and support are what carry us through each day! Here is a short review of those years in pictures…

{ 2007 }

Kurt and I (Johanna) attended the Pacific Orientation Course (POC). This picture was during the 3 day hike.

Kurt helped at the STEP (Strengthening Tokples Education in Papua New Guinea) course in Ukarumpa.

{ 2008 }

Lukas was born in Cairns, Australia

Our family in 2008

{ 2009 }

Gapapaiwa New Testament Dedication

Iyo New Testament Dedication

{ 2010 }

Matthias (our second son) was born in Dallas, TX while we were on home assignment.

Kurt helped at the International Linguistics Center’s IT department while on home assignment.

{ 2011 }

Kurt helped to install a wireless link at POC (Pacific Orientation Course).

Kurt installed a satellite internet link for the multilanguage translation project at Aitape West in the Sepik region of PNG.

{ 2012 }

We served on staff at POC (Pacific Orientation Course) - Kurt was the village allocator for the course.

Our family in 2012

We pray for God’s blessing on you and your family as we celebrate Jesus’ birth! Come, Lord Jesus!

In His hands,

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

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{Metzger Ministry Update} July 2012 | "Change of pace"

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3 NLT)

Dear Loved Ones,

We want to let you know that you are a continual source of joy and encouragement to us as you so faithfully pray and stand with us financially. Please do let us know how we can lift you up in prayer also.

(Kassia during our POC village living | March 2007)

New SIL members in the Pacific are required to attend a 14-week training course entitled Pacific Orientation Course (POC). 5 ½ years ago we attended POC as students when we first arrived in Papua New Guinea (PNG). At the end of July we will be heading back there to be on STAFF at POC. POC takes place in the lowlands of PNG close to a coastal town called Madang. The course lasts a total of fourteen weeks. The first nine weeks are spent learning the major trade-language (Tok Pisin) and the culture of PNG. The second phase of the course consists of 5 weeks of living in a village and being mentored by a Papua New Guinean host family.

(Lukas | July 212)

Kurt’s role at POC will be that of the village allocator, meaning that he (along with a Papua New Guinean) will find villages near Madang where each family that is taking the course can spend 5 weeks at the second half of the course. Kassia will be able to attend school with the children that are attending POC. I (Johanna) will take care of the house and the kids, but will also help during the course primarily at the nursery.

(Matthias | June 2012)

Please pray for us as we pack and get ready to leave home for 10 weeks. At the beginning of October, once the students go to the village for 5 weeks, we will return to Ukarumpa. Pray that we will all adjust to being in a new house and around new people. Also pray that God will use us in whatever way he sees fit as we minister to these new members of SIL PNG. We know we will greatly be blessed by serving these people and we hope that they, in turn, will be blessed by our service.

In His hands,

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

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{Metzger Ministry Update} June 2012 | "Choose life"

Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life... (Deuteronomy 30:19b-20a NIV)

Dear friends and family,

God is faithful and His character never changes. We thank Him for the privilege of being able to serve here in Papua New Guinea. Thank YOU for the part you play in our family and ministry here.

(Our family in PNG | June 2012)

Celebrate with us that the Bariai New Testament Dedication will take place on July 7th of this year! Follow this link for a video of the Bariai celebrating the arrival of the printed scriptures.

We have mentioned Ben and Mandy Pehrson before in our updates. They are a translation team that works in the Sepik with the Aitape West Translation Project (AWTP). While they are away in the village we help support them here from Ukarumpa. We can rejoice that in May, they finished consultant-checking the book of Acts in the Onnele languages of Goiniri, Wolwale and Romei-Barera, and in the Bauni languages of Pou and Barupu. Praise God for that!

(Ben Pehrson consultant-checking Acts with translators)

I (Johanna) have just completed one year leading a small group Bible study with four 10th grade girls from our community. What a blessing it has been to hear from God’s word, to get to know these girls, and to learn from them as we study together. They are an encouragement to me in many ways! I look forward to working with them next school year as well.

(Ukarumpa International High School band)

Please pray for two of the girls in my community group that are currently in Brisbane, Australia with the High School band. During this trip the band will have seven performances in universities, churches, and schools.

Thank you for standing with us in prayer!

Blessings!

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

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{Metzger Ministry Update} May 2012 | "Don't be afraid"

Dear Loved Ones,

It’s hard to believe that it is already May of 2012! This has been a busy year already and we thank God for that. Thank YOU also for being a very important part of our ministry team through encouragement, prayer and partnering with us financially. Each month we are humbled by your generosity and your faithfulness and we realize it is only by God’s grace that we can serve here in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

 

(from left to right: Matthias reading; Matthias, Kassia & Lukas enjoying a cracker while mom was away)

Kurt has enjoyed working at the Communication and Technical Services Department (CTS) this year. His department continues to work on a communications project with the goal of providing each of our regional centers here in PNG with reliable internet access. Since we wrote you last, the regional centers in Buka and in Madang have been connected to the internet. Praise God for this with us! Also, Kurt is involved in working out the best solution for replacing our aging phone system here in Ukarumpa. We are unable to even buy used parts for our current system any longer.

Please pray for the Translators’ Training Course that is taking place from April 25^th through May 30^th. This is a course that helps Papua New Guinean Translators to be better equipped to translate the scriptures into their mother tongue. Kurt was able to help setting up technical equipment for the course to run and is helping with various other computer issues.

 

(Kurt has been able to help national translators with computer issues during the current TTC – Translator Training Course at our Ukarumpa Center)

The kids are doing great. Kassia will be finishing 1^st grade in 5 weeks and she truly loves school! She amazes us as she reads, writes, works on math, social science, and science. Lukas continues to enjoy the two mornings a week when he attends pre-school and he loves his little brother. Matthias is a year and half now and is talking more and more each day.

(from left to right: Kassia & Matthias; Matthias; Lukas & Kassia)

I had the privilege of subbing for Lukas’s teacher a few weeks ago and am going to be subbing for Kassia’s class in the near future. I will also be teaching a High School Spanish class about Colombia this week! It is special for me to get my feet back in the classroom a bit after not teaching since Kassia was born! Of course I have been teaching my kiddos at home and I count that a huge privilege as well.

In April, I was blessed by being able to attend my parents’ 50^th wedding anniversary. We had a beautiful ceremony for them in Bogota, where each one of their four daughters was able to say to them how much we love them and how we thank God for our family! The four sons in law were also able to express their admiration to my parents even through videos and so did their 10 grandchildren.

 

(from left to right: Johanna & her sisters; Johanna’s family at her parents 50^th wedding anniversary celebration)

Praise God with us: that the regional centers in Buka and in Madang have a reliable internet connection now. that our children are growing and thriving. for His faithfulness through 50 years of marriage for Johanna’s parents.

Please pray with us: for the Translators’ Training Course taking place April 25th through May 30th. for the Communication and Technical Services Department as they try to figure out a reliable phone system for Ukarumpa. for continued good health for our family for our relationship with the Lord to become deeper and stronger and that we can become an example to those around us.

May our Lord bless you!

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

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Can't see the darkness?

Please consider sharing our ministry with friends and asking them to join you in praying that God will use His translated Word to shine light where there is darkness this Easter season.

Can't see the darkness? You'll have to look past these young children, from a remote Arop village in Papua New Guinea, into their homes and everyday lives. Like many Pacific peoples who've been “christianized” for hundreds of years, this people group still doesn't have the chance to fully understand what it really means to be rescued from darkness... to have the access to the Word of God in a language that speaks to their hearts.

Translation and support teams are hard at work, as I am writing this, seeking to create access to that message for the first time.

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

He is risen!

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

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{Metzger Ministry Update} Christmas 2011 | “Fragrant Aroma”

Dear Friends and Family,

We want to wish you a blessed Christmas and a New Year filled with joy! We are rejoicing with the Nehan, Ata Kume, Agarabi, Bola, Saveeng-Tuam and Saveeng-Oov that received the New Testament in their own language this year, 2011. Now these people groups can learn of and understand in their hearts the joy that our Savior, Jesus Christ, brings. What an incredible Christmas gift that is!

(New Testament Dedications in Papua New Guinea)

We thank God for a very fruitful year since we have returned to Papua New Guinea (PNG). You, our partners, have been a blessing to us encouraging us through prayers, notes, and giving. Thank you!

 

(from left to right: Matthias, Lukas & Kassia)

At the beginning of December, Kurt was able to travel once again to the Sepik Province of PNG (North West Corner) where he went to in October. This time he was in Wewak, a small town where SIL has a regional center. This center is also a main hub for many of the translators located in the Sepik province.

While in Wewak, Kurt was able to install a VSAT (satellite dish) and networking equipment to bring the regional center online. He also trained one of his co-workers in the installation of the VSAT system. At this regional center, they used to depend on two different internet providers that they accessed via a USB broadband modem. One of the providers would be down for weeks at a time and the other was so slow many of the workers at the center couldn’t even download their email. They would have to wake up a 3 or 4 am to connect and get a decent connection to check email. Now they have a faster and more reliable connection. The connection is still very slow compared to what most of you have in your homes, but it is fast for PNG standards. This internet connection will enable translation and support teams to be much more productive while they stay at the center. They will also be able to upload and backup their translation data much faster now.

 

(Wewak Center VSAT installation)

The Pehrsons are a translation team that works in the Sepik with the Aitape West multi-language cluster translation team. We are their support team while they are in the village. Please pray for the Pehrsons as they will be in the village for 5 weeks starting in January. Please pray for Ben as he juggles being the project administrator and translation advisor to the Onnele languages. Because there are so many administrative tasks, it is hard for him to find time to do translation advising. Arop translator Emil's son David has TB. Emil and his wife Alexia will be in Aitape town for the next three months with him at the hospital. Pray for the translators as they continue revising the book of Acts. They are preparing for consultant checking. Also, Andy Weaver and Dan Bauman plan to join the Pehrsons for a month to record the book of Luke. Please pray for them.

 

(from left to right: Matthias, Lukas and the moth & Kassia and Johanna)

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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{Metzger Ministry Update} 10/2011 | "Internet in the jungle"

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 1:3-6 NIV)

Dear Friends and Family,

How time flies! We have been back in Papua New Guinea for almost a whole year now. God has been faithful as always and given us above and beyond what we asked for or imagined. Thank you for being such an encouraging team to us as we serve here in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

October has already been a busy month. Last week Kurt was in the Sepik province of PNG (North West corner). Thank you for your prayers for him as he was working in Arop village. He and his co-worker were able to install a VSAT (satellite) internet connection for the Aitape West Translation Project (AWTP) running off of 12Vdc power from solar panels. The AWTP is a multi-language cluster translation project with up to 11 language groups working at any one time. The new satellite connection will allow the teams to backup translation data via the internet and make Skype calls with their advisors. The teams will be able to keep working together, even when team members are in other parts of the world.

 

(left to right: PNG Map with Aitape located; Kurt with the AWTP manager and co-worker Wayne Ferris)

Kurt really enjoyed being at Aitape West where our good friends Ben and Mandy Pehrson work. We are the Pehrsons’ support team while they are in the village. When they are there and need something from Ukarumpa, we help purchase it and get it to our aviation department so they can receive it quickly.

I (Johanna) was able to attend Encounter (the retreat for our youth in Ukarumpa) from October 1^st through the 5^th. I really enjoyed being able to deepen my relationship with my 10^th grade Bible study girls. Our speakers theme was The Gospel and he took us on a journey through Romans 1-3. Please pray that the Lord would continue to teach and challenge the students as they return to normal life and routines in Ukarumpa.

 

(left to right: Johanna with her Bible study; Kassia and Lukas on his first day of pre-K)

Thank you for standing with us in prayer!

Blessings,

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

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The Word | Translation Training

Greetings from Papua New Guinea!

“The Word” is a weekly photo and caption detailing the impact of Bible translation.

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{Metzger Ministry Update} August 2011 | "There is no law..."

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! -- Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT)

Dear Loved Ones,

First of all we would like to thank you for being a part of our ministry team through encouragement, prayer and partnering with us financially. We have now been back in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for 9 months and feel much more settled than when we first arrived. Kurt has been busy at work and he continues to enjoy what he does. In mid-June, he took a work trip to Madang (a town on the North coast) to help install a 8.5 km wireless link from the Pacific Orientation Course (POC) Center into town. POC is the training center where all new SIL/Wycliffe field members in the Pacific area come to receive basic culture- acquisition and language training. Kurt was gone for 5 days and it was a very effective trip.

 
(right to left: Kurt installing the wireless link at POC; our family on Matthias’ first birthday)

At the end of June, Kurt and Kassia were able to attend the Agarabi New Testament Dedication. This took place about 30 minutes from Ukarumpa (where we live) and it was a privilege for them to attend this life changing event for the Agarabi people.

(Agarabi New Testament Dedication) – for more pictures see our facebook album: Agarabi NT Dedication

Near the end of July, I (Johanna) began leading a small Bible study for a group of 10th grade girls from our community. I have really enjoyed getting to know these girls and am looking forward to growing with them in our knowledge of the Lord and in loving Him and each other more.

Kassia started 1st grade a few weeks ago and she stays in school until past 3pm! She loves computer class, music, and art. Lukas is starting to play more with his little brother and asks us to bring him into his room in the mornings. Matthias is 1 year old as of August 8th and he is crawling all over but not quite walking yet. We thank God for the gift He has given us in our three precious children!

(our family on vacation in Madang)

Kurt will be taking another work trip this coming October. This time he will go to the Sepik region of PNG (North West corner) where he and coworker will install a VSAT (satellite) internet connection for the Aitape West multi-language cluster translation team and a second one for our SIL regional center in Wewak. Kurt is really looking forward to going to the Sepik, specifically to Aitape West where our good friends Ben and Mandy Pehrson work. We are the Pehrsons’ support team while they are in the village. When they are there and need something from Ukarumpa, we help purchase it and get it to our aviation department so they can receive it quickly.

PRAISE:

• Kurt’s trip to Madang went well and his computer skills were much appreciated.
• For YOU our great partners who pray and support us so faithfully.
• Kassia is enjoying school and our two boys are doing well.
• For the girls’ Bible study I (Johanna) have the opportunity of leading.
• For the Agarabi New Testament Dedication in June.

PRAYER:

• For Kurt as he travels to the Sepik in October. For his work to go smoothly.
• For me (Johanna) and the kids as we stay home without Kurt for 8 days.
• For our relationship with the Lord to become deeper and stronger and that we can be an example to those around us.

(Matthias and Lukas)

Once again, 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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