Moving Right Along

The Lord has blessed our efforts to get our affairs in order as we prepare for the day we move to Vanuatu. We have begun to ‘clean house’, selling anything that we won’t be using during the months until we leave or else taking with us when we go. Our packing/needs list is slowly coming together. In order to spread the expense out over time we are beginning to acquire those things now.

One of the items on our needs list was a vehicle for getting around the island. After a great deal of prayer and research we decided that a Jeep would be the best way to go. Any of you that have seen the video from the March ’07 survey trip will surely understand. They are rugged and easy to work on. Another deciding factor is that parts are readily available through mail order. We felt it was the practical and economical choice. And since we decided on a used Jeep, buying it now gives us plenty of time to make repairs and modifications to prepare it for jungle travel.

Soon we will be purchasing a 20’ shipping container in which to ship the Jeep along with our household goods and tools.

As literature is a huge part of our family’s home education, a friend has offered to keep track of a literature/media needs list once we are overseas. Considering the absence of Barnes & Noble (or any bookstore for that matter) where we are headed this will be an immense blessing.

We are grateful for those of you who have partnered with us by sacrificing your time and finances to help in these preparations. We have also been very blessed and encouraged by those of you that have taken the time to let us know that you are praying with us and for us. It strengthens us to know that the Lord has laid this ministry on your hearts as well.

Some of you have made a point of letting us know, either verbally or in writing, of your intentions to provide regular financial or prayer support. We truly thank God for this step of faith and sacrifice on your part.

Since the foundation of the earth God determined that we, you and I, would be a part of His plan to reach every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Mat 28:18-20; Rev 5:9). Many have commented to us about the sacrifice. However, this is how we see it; we have a blink of time here on this earth, but we have forever in eternity. Christ died for us; the least we can do is live for Him.

“He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.”

2 Corinthians 5:15

Praises and Prayers

Always pray and do not give up!

We praise God for...

• The Jeep He provided (for well under budget).
• All that the Lord is teaching us about waiting on the Lord’s perfect timing, and giving the Holy Spirit room to work.
• For His continued provision for our needs. He is in control. He knew the end from the beginning!

Please join us in praying...

• For us as we share about this ministry with fellow believers, that they would find this mission worthy of continued prayer and support.
• For continued wisdom as we prepare for the day we depart for the field.
• For Spirit led ministry opportunities in the meantime.

Church Planting Seminar in Colorado Springs

We would like to thank all of you that joined with us in praying for our trip to Colorado. Our prayers were answered.

As a team we were amazed at the wealth of wisdom and knowledge that was shared by the facilitators and also the other missionaries that were attending. We learned from George Walker, a successful church planting missionary to the Bisorio people of Papua New Guinea. Also facilitating was Greg Melendez a successful church planting missionary to the Wache people of Papua New Guinea. As they taught and shared their experience with us it was so exciting to hear their testimonies of how God worked to build His church among those tribes. Today, long after the foreign missionaries have gone, these tribal churches are continuing the work that George, Greg and their coworkers began. The native people are faithfully working to establish churches on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ as they preach the kingdom of God to their neighboring tribes.

Brian and Sherri Wardlaw, second generation missionaries to the Yanoamo people of Brazil, were attending as advisors. They shared helpful stories of the failures and triumphs experienced during the ministry among that particular people group.

The team was very grateful for the time together. There were, of course, late nights of discussion and planning. We were blessed to come away with unity, deepened relationships, and more focused strategy.

We also came a way with a greater awareness and affirmation of the importance of understanding the language, culture, and worldview of a host society. With that understanding, and by God’s grace, we will be equipped to present God’s story clearly to the Ni-Vanuatu and ultimately avoid the syncretism that plagues most animistic societies.

Once again, thank you for your prayers. We are eternally grateful.

A Reach of Faith ~ a look into animistic culture

By Ian Fallis

For we walk by faith, not by sight.
~2 Corinthians 5:7

Gena saw the bundle of grass tied to his doorpost and his mind slammed into high gear. His thoughts were coming so fast that his feet were sure they had to start running just to keep up. He wanted to flee, but he also wanted to tear it off and go inside.

Slowly Gena reached for the bundle, but then stopped. Terror goaded him to do something… anything, but he could do nothing. Gripped by fear, Gena began to consider what this omen meant.

The bika on Gena’s doorpost meant that an enemy had summoned the spirits to harm him. Maybe he would get sick, or his garden would wither. These were bad enough, but if he tore the bika off the spirits might take it personally; that would be really bad. Death could overtake him. Gena knew the threat was real because he had seen it happen with his own eyes.

The spirits are not just superstition to Gena and the rest of the people in Papua New Guinea’s Dom tribe. To Gena and his people, and tribal people around the world, the spirits are real and must be dealt with.

Gena needed a solution, and he needed it now. Tribal ritual demanded that he kill a small animal and have the proper incantation said to break the curse. As he considered his options, Gena realized he couldn’t follow tribal rituals. One thought that was loudest in his mind silenced all the others, “I belong to God.”

Gena knew he couldn’t worship the spirits, but there was more to it than that. He didn’t need to worship the spirits! God was in control. God had made the spirits and He had made Gena.

Earlier, Gena made the decision to trust Jesus as his Savior. Now he decided to trust God as his protector. To demonstrate his trust, he reached up and pulled the grass from his doorpost.

Dropping the bika on the ground, Gena went into his house. Once inside, he stopped to collect himself. He was out of breath and all he could hear was his pounding heart; there were no other sounds in the house. But he was breathing and his heart was working fine as far as he could tell.

With newfound faith, Gena smiled and went on with his life.

God’s truth had set Gena free.

from New Tribes Mission’s “Tribal Beat” www.ntm.org

Tribal people in animistic cultures all over the world live in constant fear of the spirit world. We are reminded that we do not battle against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of evil (Eph 6:12).

"I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me."

~Acts 26:18

Always pray and do not give up!

We praise God for...

• Blessing our trip to Colorado for the WRG Church Planting Seminar.

• All that the Lord is teaching us about waiting on the Lord’s perfect timing, and giving the Holy Spirit room to work.

• For His provision for our needs. He is in control. He knew the end from the beginning!

Please join us in praying...

• For us as we share about this ministry with fellow believers, that they would find this mission worthy of continued prayer and support.

• For wisdom as we prepare for the day we depart for the field.

• For the Lord to send out laborers into His harvest all over the world.

Church Planting Seminar

September 17-21 our family will be joining the rest of the team in Colorado Springs for a week long seminar that will assist us in further developing our strategy. We will be learning many things that will aid in the team’s focus of developing the indigenous church.

Our goal is for the church to one day function without the presence of foreign missionaries and become missionaries among their own people.

Please pray for safe travel and that this will be a productive time of learning and strategy development.

How Did We Get Here?

Last month we addressed the question of how our family, in particular, will contribute practically to the mission of Team Vanuatu. This time we would like to share with you a bit of a testimony about how we arrived at this place.

We moved to Forsyth, Montana with the intention of it being our ‘forever home’, however, God had other plans. We have felt for quite a while that the Lord had other things in store for us. We had a desire to serve Him fully, holding nothing back. But how? For some time, we had been praying for guidance, but had a sense that we were being told to wait.

Over the last several years our family had developed an interest in foreign missions. Jokingly we mentioned, more than once, selling all we own and moving to Africa. We did not imagine it was a real possibility. We did what we could, supporting God’s work around the world with our time, finances, and prayers.

Then Houghton and Gretchen Richards came to speak at our church. We were so excited to meet them and hear about the team. We were thrilled to find out about the work God was doing in pulling this team together to reach these lost people half way around the world. They took our interest seriously and were a huge encouragement to us.

They shared with us the need the team had for people with experience in practical areas. It was no coincidence that over the last several years the Lord had been equipping us to meet that need. It became apparent that this was the door the Lord had opened for us. God says in His word that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which He prepares beforehand for us to do. (Eph 2:10) We knew right away that this was the work the Lord had prepared us for. Our doubts could hardly even be called doubts they were so faint. Everything began to fall into place. God began to remove potential barriers right and left.

We know the road ahead will not be an easy one. It will be paved with sacrifice and suffering. But when the LORD blesses us with an eternal perspective the only thing that matters is glorifying Him. As the song promises, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”

We pray that you also will be blessed with this eternal perspective. Delight yourself in the Lord. Lose your life for His sake, only then will you find it. (Mat 16:25)


For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which He prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10