Wycliffe, PNG, and Equip

Dear Friends and Family,

We are happy to announce that we are officially members of Wycliffe Bible Translators and that we will be going to Papua New Guinea (PNG), both of which are big answers to prayer.  Lord willing, we’ll depart for our first term in August, 2011.  It’s funny because when we would introduce ourselves to others, we’d say, “We’re hoping to go to Papua New Guinea or Africa” and they would turn around and say, “This is James and Christina, they’re going to Papua New Guinea.” God leads us in mysterious ways.

We are currently in Orlando, Florida and have started a 2-week intensive training course called Equip.  This course will orient us to Wycliffe and focus on Partnership Development (PD): inviting people to prayerfully and financially partner with us as we share the Gospel through Bible translation in PNG.  We will be telling you more about this opportunity in our next newsletter and you can follow our blog updates about Equip at our NEW website: www.ThePostsInPNG.com.

Our family is doing well. Christina is 21 weeks along in her pregnancy and she looks great!  We are also excited to see her ministry at the crisis pregnancy center being fruitful.  Mikayla is changing quickly: she is full of energy, loves people and smiling at them, has 2 teeth, can walk while holding onto our hands, and can hold herself up standing at a couch.  We thank God that He has provided James with an extension to his computer contract position in the field of linguistics. This has been an enjoyable learning experience and he is grateful for the opportunity.  We have also had the opportunity to share the Gospel in practical ways with a local homeless couple named Richard and Catie.  Please join us in praying for them as they need to know Christ as their Savior.

Our Equip course, including flights, lodging, and food costs about $2300 total.  We would be honored if you feel led to give a one-time gift to help cover these costs.  You can find more info here: www.ThePostsInPNG.com/donate.

Lastly, here are some areas for praise and prayer:

-Praise: God provided affordable plane tickets, we made it to Orlando safely, and are excited to learn.
-Prayer: For strength, perseverance, and learning minds as we move through Equip and into Partnership Development.
-Prayer/Praise: For adjustment to an earlier time zone and schedule
-Prayer: That God would provide the right people to partner with us prayerfully and financially.
-Praise/Prayer: That God has revealed a greater need for us to intentionally draw near to Him.
-Praise: For God’s continued provision in prayer and finances for us and our ministry.
-Praise: For our church family, which has quickly become an encouraging home for us.
-Prayer: For all three of us as Mikayla is in child care with a non-family member for the first time.
-Praise: Our website (www.ThePostsInPNG.com) is up and running!

We’d love to hear from you.  And if you would rather not receive these emails, please let us know.

Seeking Christ’s glory among the nations,

James and Christina