{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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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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Speaking the Truth

“Sursurunga people grow up with the belief that if they allow their young children to cry, evil spirits will come to take the child's spirit, and the child will become sick and die…”

Papua New Guinea

Bible reading, speaking the truth, showing forgiveness, and other basic elements of Christian discipleship are all part of a two-week course called “SALT”. The name stands for “Scripture Application and Leadership Training.”

When the Sursurunga people attended this course in May 2011, the New Testament had only been available in their language for 10 months. Now they were learning how to dig into the Sursurunga Scripture and apply it to their lives. God's Word spoke to them in many areas of their lives, and one in particular was the way they relate to their children.

Sursurunga people grow up with the belief that if they allow their young children to cry, evil spirits will come to take the child's spirit, and the child will become sick and die. In order to keep their children from crying, parents start lying to their children from the day they are born. One example of this can be seen in the interactions between Tala and his mother. “Tala, we need to go.”  Little Tala refuses and cries so his mother says, “There’s a truck waiting on the road.  Do you want to go for a ride?” There is no truck, but Tala stops crying and goes with his mother.  Both missions are accomplished – Tala obeys his mother and stops crying. The evil spirits have been thwarted and Tala will not get sick and die.

Because of this belief, lying has become an integral part of their culture. However, when Sursurunga parents learned in the SALT course that lying is a sin against God, they were convicted to change the way they relate to their children.

After the first lesson, one grandfather went home, called his family together, and confessed to them his sin of lying to his kids when they were small, saying that the moon would eat them if they cried. One of his daughters had started telling her kids the same lie. He picked up his 9 month old grandchild, told her he was sorry, and asked her forgiveness. He asked his whole family to do the same thing, and he prayed, asking God to cut this sin from his family.

Another man said, “The talk about truth really pierced my liver, causing me to feel sorrow and begin new behavior. I am committed to speak the truth to my new grandchild.”

A woman who has been a believer and teacher for many years confessed, “I must always speak the truth. I have been manipulating my grandchildren with lies. I need to focus on speaking the truth in every situation.”

Praise God that He is using the Sursurunga Scriptures to bear fruit and change lives. Pray for the people who participated in this SALT course that they would stand firm in their convictions and continue to apply the lessons they learned.

III John 1:4 says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”

by Karen Weaver

This story can also be found on TheWordisLife.net

Ethnologue entry for Sursurunga | Ethnologue: Languages of the World is an encyclopedic reference work cataloging all of the world’s 6,909 known living languages.

Where do the Sursurunga people of Papua New Guinea live? Here’s a Map.

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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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The Word | Hearers of the Word

Greetings from Papua New Guinea!

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

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The Word | Encouraging Scripture Use

Greetings from Papua New Guinea!

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

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The Word | Healing the Wounds of Trauma

Greetings from Papua New Guinea!

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

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The Word – Weekly Photo – 10/17/2010

“The Word” is a weekly photo and caption, from Papua New Guinea, detailing the impact of Bible translation.

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"...it tasted so sweet, like honey on bread!"

"Darasi's Testimony" -- This Papua New Guinea man, Darasi Bafimi, who worked for many years to translate the New Testament into his own language of Agarabi, testifies to the power of one's own language to speak to his heart like none other.

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Follow up – Please Pray!

Here is a follow up to the meeting that we asked you to pray about yesterday… no sure answers but a starting place!

Thank you for praying, Kurt and Johanna

Papua New Guinea - Security situation, Ukarumpa.

SIL-PNG leadership did have a meeting in the neighboring Ukarumpa village this afternoon, Sunday 29 August. A number of members, employees and friends mingled with the Ukarumpa village people in a positive demonstration of togetherness. I (Tim Lithgow) felt I conveyed the pain and anguish that the security situation is causing our members and employees, highlighting that extended security issues could close our Ukarumpa centre, leading to the Bible translation work and support needing to happen elsewhere in the country.

Disappointingly, but not entirely surprisingly, the community dialogue centred on a number of issues in the past, some years in the past, that distracted and deflected from the ownership of the current security situation. However, it highlights that these issues of the past, are important to the Ukarumpa village community! We have good grounds to
continue to dialog with the village leaders and work toward a solution. This just a step on a very long and changing road.

Please keep praying for peace, for safety and for good communication as
we move forward in continued dialogue.

Tim Lithgow   
Director SIL PNG

(view from SIL Ukarumpa toward Ukarumpa Village)

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Please Pray!

29 August 2010 (Ukarumpa time)

Dear Prayer Partners,

The following message is from our Director. It has been a long and very stressful month for our friends in Ukarumpa and we would greatly appreciate your prayers. The meeting he mentions will happen in 1 hour.

Thanks, Kurt and Johanna

Papua New Guinea--Over the past three months the SIL Linguistics Centre in Ukarumpa has seen a dramatic increase in home invasions and burglaries. To date, no one has been injured...and we praise the Lord for His protection. The SIL-PNG leadership has been actively talking with community leaders and police about the escalation in crimes throughout the valley and how to best respond. After much prayer and advice from surrounding neighbors, SIL-PNG leadership is planning to meet with the village leaders and community where the perpetrators come from. The current plan is that on Sunday, 29 August 2010, around 1 pm local time (GMT+10), SIL-PNG leadership will meet with the Ukarumpa Village community to talk about restoring law and order to the valley and stopping all predatory actions upon SIL-PNG residents and other neighboring groups and organizations.

We ask for your prayers in the coming days and weeks as tensions could worsen before they improve. Although additional security measures are being put into place, please pray for peace! Please pray that the SIL-PNG leadership will seek and speak God's words of truth, justice and mercy with cultural sensitivity; pray for the protection of all the valley residents and security personnel; pray that the Lord will strengthen and encourage the village leaders to stand strong when faced with the perpetrators' anger and frustration; pray for God's glory to be manifested through this difficult time; pray that God's conviction will lead to repentance, forgiveness and restoration.
In Him,
Tim Lithgow
Director SIL-PNG

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My Enemy is Here | Impact of Bible Translation | PNG | Matt Petersen

My Enemy is Here | Impact of Bible Translation | PNG | Matt Petersen

“The LORD said, ‘What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.’” —Gen. 4:10, NLT

Sivini was ruthless. He took the lives of many people. He taught others to kill effectively and ordered the destruction of many Papuans listening intentlyof his enemies. His skills were highly respected by his people, and as a village elder, his word carried power in the Usarufa community.

Usarufa speakers live in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Their community and the nearby Kamano-Kafe language group have been in conflict for years. It began with a series of rapes and murders—soon it was all-out war.

Read more at Wycliffe.org ...

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The Gospel is Coming... to the Mandara!

Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love, which you have shown from long ages past. - Psalm 25:4-6 (NLT)

 

Dear Friends and Family,

The Gospel is Coming... to the Mandara!
We want to thank God for the Mandara New Testament dedication on Thursday, May 20th 2010… 19 years after the project began. About 1000 Mandara New Testaments were sold including the 400 that were presold before the dedication day! The two main churches, United and Catholic, were working together in preparing for the dedication, calling it “The Big Peace Ceremony.” Saber MP3 players containing recordings of Scripture were also distributed. Many people came from other islands of the Tabar Islands group and people traveled 2-3 hours on the sea from some language communities of the main island of New Ireland Province.

The Mandara people live on three islands just north of New Ireland, Papua New Guinea.

The Mandara NT Dedication.

Please also pray for God to work during 3 New Testament dedications in Papua New Guinea (PNG) coming up in the next few months: July 27, 2010 – Molima NT dedication; August 07, 2010 – Yopno NT/Psalms dedication; August 15, 2010 – Sursurunga NT dedication.

 

We need your help!
We also want to thank God for continuing to provide for us while we are here on home assignment. We have been blessed with nearly 25% of the $8,000 we need for our return travel to Papua New Guinea (PNG). If you are considering a special gift toward our return travel, please include a note specifically designating it “for Metzger’s return travel to PNG.” We hope to return to PNG at the beginning of November after the PNG visa for our new baby has been processed. We are also still lacking partners that are led by God to join our team and commit to support us on a monthly basis. Since being in PNG for the last 3 years, the cost of living has gone up significantly and so also the amount Wycliffe requires us to raise before we can return. Currently we are looking for 10 to 20 new team members. Would you prayerfully consider your part in our ministry? 

  

From left to right: Amount needed for return travel to PNG; Need of 10 to 20 new partners!

 

Matching gifts
We have an exciting opportunity for some of you that work for a company that has a matching gift program. Did you know that there are over 1600 companies in the US that will match your gift when given to SIL or Wycliffe through their gift program? Here is a short list of some of the companies: Boeing, Chevron, Dell, GE Foundation, Google, Home Depot Foundation, SAP, and Starbucks. If you are interested in knowing more about how you can partner with us in our ministry through the company you work for, please let us know!

 

Our plans
This next Saturday, June 26th we are moving to a duplex across the road from the SIL center here in Dallas. Could you please pray for us while we are moving? It is one more change for Kassia and Luke and it is starting to be a little stressful for them and for us as we pack. I (Kurt) will also begin to work at the SIL IT department shortly after we move as they are currently very short staffed.

In mid July we have a trip planned to Maryland to visit my dad’s side of the family, partners and a supporting church there. Then we are back here in Dallas for the birth of our 3rd child on or around August 24th.  

Lukas is ready to go back to PNG!

 

Praise:

• For the Mandara New Testament Dedication.
• For what YOU our supporters have already given towards buying the tickets for our return trip to PNG.
• For your faithful prayers and financial support of our ministry.
• For a house that we can move into for the rest of our furlough.

Prayer:

• For the 3 New Testament dedications coming up in PNG.
• For God to provide the rest of what we need per month for our quota in order to return to PNG.
• For our move to another house this weekend.

  
From left to right: Kassia in her red shirt; Kassia, her cousin Valeria, and Lukas; Kassia in her uniform.

In His hands,
Kurt (for Johanna, Kassia, Luke and baby!)

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-- April 2010 Update --

But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” - Romans 10:14-15 (NLT)

Dear Loved Ones,
Thank you for your prayers and support during the time that we have been here in the US and Colombia on our home assignment.  Also we want to thank those of you who have spent time with us and whom we have been able to catch up with after serving in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for the last three years.

First of all we would like to update you on the two mission conferences we had during the month of March. The first weekend of March we were able to share our calling to missions during a coffee night at Faith Bible Church (our home church in DeSoto, TX).  It was also a great time for us to hear about other missionaries that our church supports. We had the privilege of being guest speakers at one of the children’s Sunday School classes and were able to tell the children about our life and ministry in PNG.

 

(Left to Right:  Kassia with her cousins Juan Pablo and Valeria; Luke is enjoying eating some chocolate)

On March 10^th we traveled to the Chicago area and participated in a missions conference at Western Springs Baptist Church, the church where Kurt’s mom grew up. We had the opportunity to informally share about our ministry there first on Friday night.  We were also asked to speak on Saturday morning at the conference’s breakfast. Then on Sunday morning we shared at one of the adult Sunday School classes. Many people asked specific questions about our life in PNG and about our current ministry needs. What a joy it was to spend a week in Western Springs and to feel loved by our brothers and sisters in Christ there.

Kurt has been able to work from home remotely helping other Wycliffe members that are on their home assignment with their computer needs. He has also been working on figuring out what our one time needs are to be able to return to PNG as well as looking into getting all of our documents up to date.

(Kassia and Luke pose for the camera)
As a family, we have enjoyed reconnecting with friends and family here in the Dallas area and we look forward to reconnecting with many more that we have not been able to see yet.

I (Johanna) am 23 weeks pregnant now and am feeling great. We had a sonogram at 20 weeks and it looks like everything is fine with our baby. We didn’t find out the gender of the baby as we would like to wait and be surprised at the time of his/her birth. Kassia hopes to have a baby sister, but we already told her we can’t promise her that!

(Metzger Baby #3 at 20 weeks)

In our February newsletter, we informed you that due to the fact that we are having another child and the increase in the cost of life in general, the quota that Wycliffe requires for us to return to PNG has changed. We want to praise God as in the last couple of months a few of our partners have decided to increase their monthly support and a new partner has joined our team. Therefore now we only need to raise approximately $325 dollars per month.

Currently we are estimating that we will be able to return to PNG in early November. It will take about 2 months after our baby is born to obtain his/her passport and PNG visa. We would like to share with you our one time financial needs to be able to return to PNG. We need to ship clothes for our children for the next 3 years while we are on the field. We will also ship other necessary items for our life there that are difficult to get or are very expensive. For shipping from the US to PNG we will need to raise approximately $1,000 dollars. We will also need to buy our return tickets to PNG which will cost around $8,000 dollars for our family of 5. Would your church, family, or small group be able to help meet one of these vital needs through a one-time gift? Please see the Ways to Give info on the side bar on how you can help (Please designate the special gift – “for the Ministry of Kurt and Johanna Metzger, Return Travel to PNG”).

What a great God we serve. To Him be the Honor and Glory forever! Thank you for allowing us to serve Him. We are thrilled to play some small part in getting God’s Word into the hands of some of the “tribes and tongues” we read about in Revelation. Thank you for the important part you play in our team!

Praise the Lord with us:

• For providing a house for us to live in during our time in the United States.
• For providing a car from a missionary agency that we can use the whole time during our home assignment.
• For being able to reconnect with friends and family.
• For partners that have increased their monthly support and new partners in our team.
• For a great trip to Western Springs, IL.
• For a healthy pregnancy.

Please Pray:

• For our relationship with the Lord to become deeper and stronger and that we can be an example to those around us.
• For a continued healthy pregnancy and safe delivery.
• For God to provide the $325 dollars per month that we need for our monthly quota in order to return to PNG.
• For God’s provision of our one time financial needs to return to the mission field.

In His hands,
Johanna (for Kurt, Kassia, Luke and baby!)

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In Colombia!

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." (Isaiah 40:8 NIV)
Dear Loved ones,
Thank you so much to those of you who prayed for our trip from Papua New Guinea (PNG) to Colombia. We have been here for five days and are now just getting over the jet lag from crossing 10 time zones. Our trip went mostly as planned except for when we got to the airline counter in Cairns Australia I remembered that I had forgotten Luke’s paper ticket for an infant in PNG. We were able to re-purchase his ticket in Sydney and the rest of the trip went very well but as you can imagine, it was very long.

Our return trip from PNG (Start – Ukarumpa PNG – Port Moresby PNG – Cairns Australia – Sydney Australia – Los Angeles USA – Miami USA – Bogota Colombia – Finish)
In the few days we have been here in Colombia, Johanna and I (Kurt) have already had doctor’s appointments to check Johanna’s eye sight and my knee that I injured more than a year ago in PNG. I had an MRI performed and the results indicate that I have a complete tear of my ACL and a small tear in the meniscus. This next week we will be traveling to Orlando for a re-entry program with Wycliffe. When we get back we will schedule a date for my knee surgery.

Johanna with her two of her sisters (Olga & Patricia); Luke with Johanna’s mom (Fanny)… they just met for the first time!
Please pray with us:

• For our family as Johanna and I travel to and from Orlando.
• For the plans and successful completion of my knee surgery.
• For our family to be able to develop a routine during this time of many transitions.

Praise God with us:

• For our safe travels to Colombia.
• For being reunited with Johanna’s family.

Blessings,
Kurt (for Johanna, Kassia, and Luke too!)

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