Category Archives: God Stories

God Provided Our Plane Tickets!!

Behold our God! He is glorious and able to do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine! He granted us grace and mercy and United Airlines waived the $200 change fee PER passenger. In other words, there were NO fees for re-booking our return flight. None! At. All.

This song keeps going through my head:

“Behold our God seated on His throne
Come let us adore Him
Behold our King nothing can compare
Come let us adore Him!”

You can listen to this song below. It’s really good.

Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (NIV)

Thank you for praying! We indeed serve an awesome God!

<><

Here’s the song:

God Story: A BRAND NEW Computer

I’m sending this from my BRAND NEW COMPUTER!!  It is SUCH a blessing to have it after mine crashed almost 4 months ago!

We bought a Mac because they are generally more reliable and last longer… except when they aren’t.  ;-)  It turns out there was a specific problem with my specific model, but it was still under warranty!

Because there is no place to service Macs in Papua New Guinea (PNG), I sent it to Australia with a friend to get repaired.  The 1st time I turned it on after it got repaired, it broke again and went back to Australia.  They made some more repairs, and it worked for about 3 weeks before starting to have problems.  At this point, my 3-year warranty had expired, but the repairs had an additional 90 day warranty!

After talking with many people at Apple, I finally got the good news: “You’re eligible for a machine replacement… so, we’ll be giving you a CURRENT model.”  God timed it just right so a friend was going back to the U.S. for 10 days and was able to take my broken computer back (to return to Apple) and bring my new one back to PNG.  Total turn around time was about 2 weeks (VERY quick for living in PNG)!!

We are grateful that God has provided a working computer that should serve us very well for many years.  One of the things I look forward to doing with it is teaching a Paratext Course from July 16-29.

Thank you for your prayers through this whole ordeal.  We are SO grateful that it is over!

God Story: God Provided a Vehicle for Us!!

In August 2014 we will have been in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for 3 years.  WOW!

About 2 weeks ago, we discussed getting a vehicle for us to use in PNG.  This wasn’t the first time we’d discussed this in 2.5 years, but this time we agreed that it was a need for our family.  Little did we know how God was going to meet that need or how soon!

A couple of days later, a vehicle came up for sale.  We checked it out and thought it was a good fit for our family and a GREAT price for Papua New Guinea (vehicles here can be VERY expensive… sometimes more than a house!!)

We put our name down and were first on the list to buy it but needed about $9000… which we didn’t have at that time.

On Saturday evening, we sent out a newsletter letting our financial partners know about this need (if you’re interested, you can see it here: Postings: We Needed a Vehicle).  We needed the money by the end of May because the vehicle was going to be available in June.  We were wondering if God might “test our faith” and make us wait until the last day before all of the money came in.

BUT, we’ve been amazed and humbled to see God provide abundantly above and beyond what we could ever imagine AND in His timing!  Here’s what happened:

On Sunday morning, we had about $1010.
On Monday morning, we had about $2500!
On Tuesday morning, we had about $5000!!
On Wednesday morning, we had all the money we needed to buy it!!!

Is that just mind boggling or what?  Our God is SO awesome!

It will be tremendously helpful to have a vehicle in PNG.  THANK YOU to all who gave and to everybody who prayed for the funds to come in.

And here a picture of it “in action!”

Toyota Hilux Surf River Crossing

Photo Journal: Christina’s Ankle – Day 2-3

Here’s a summary of Days 2-3 after Christina sprained her ankle.  Want to see Days 0 and 1?  Click here to see the whole story (scroll down for earlier posts).

Thank you for your continued prayers.  We’re getting into a routine, but it is still very difficult.  We are very grateful for the meals and visits we’ve had already.  God is so good!

We’ve been sleeping very well at night, and Christina is needing less pain-killer to sleep.  PTL!

Please keep praying that we would be able to balance all that needs to be done.

Now, on to the photo journal.

I got outside for the first time yesterday!  Yeah!  Notice my foot is still elevated!

IMG_0478

It was really nice to have Candace and her kids visit.

IMG_0475

James here: I had fun making a yummy and very filling salad yesterday.  Toppings included beans, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and beets with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing: Mmmm!

IMG_0490

Christina again: I enjoyed eating my first meal at the table yesterday.  It sure beats eating while laying down on the couch!

IMG_0493

We had a delicious dinner from a Korean friend.  Rice and stir fry, Korean vegetable pancakes, and another yummy dish.  THANK YOU!!

IMG_0494

As you can see, the kids love being with Mommy when I’m on the couch.

IMG_0500

And, back to the table for breakfast.  It’s hard to get up and down, but worth it!  Notice again that Timothy loves being with Mommy.  :-)

IMG_0504

James again: Once I got started on this next meal, it was hard to stop.  And it was worth it!

IMG_0511

Salad with balsamic vinegar, strawberries, peaches, avocado, eggs, raisins, almonds, sunflower seeds, and PNG feta cheese (yogurt cheese).

Side: Cinnamon Apples

Drink: Delicious frozen strawberry lemonade.

And last but not least: everybody pitches in when Mommy has an owie.

IMG_0556

We have been very grateful for the help the kids have given us.  They are growing up fast and learning how to pick up after themselves.  :-)

Thank you for your prayers!

Christina and James

Christina’s Ankle: Day 1

Here’s an update from Day #1.

<><

We just passed the 24 hour mark after Christina sprained her ankle.  THANK YOU for praying.  Please keep praying!

Last night went surprisingly well for Christina.  With the help of some pain-killer and some pillows to keep her foot elevated, she slept through the night no problem!  Unfortunately, within 5-10 minutes of being “up-and-about” this morning, it was throbbing with pain.  We’ve heard that a bad sprain can be worse than a broken bone, and it seems that she might be testing that theory.  :-/  With some more meds, rest, elevation, and ice, the pain level dropped significantly.

Unfortunately for me (James), last night was pretty hard.  I slept great until about 4:15 am when a child needed me.  About every 20 minutes after that until about 6:15 am, I was up with one or another of our children.  Needless to say, I was pretty exhausted today.  Please pray for better sleep for the other 4 of us tonight.  ;-)

This morning, a Papua New Guinean “grandma” type friend came and helped by washing dishes, sweeping, mopping, tiding up, and watching Laurel and Timothy.  She has been helping us since we first came to Ukarumpa (our support center) and we really like her.  Her faith is very strong, she loves our kids, and they really like her too.  In fact, this morning Timothy was hanging out with Mommy when “Mama Ruth” came.  Timothy excitedly got down to go see her (meaning, he left his “comfort spot” with Mommy in order to be with Mama Ruth).  She also helped us out by feeding the kids; when it was time for Mikayla to go to preschool, she had already eaten, which was very helpful.  I, on the other hand, was so busy taking care of things around the house that I forgot to eat until about 11 am.  Oops.

A friend graciously agreed to drive Christina to her ladies’ Bible Study this morning.  She wouldn’t have been able to get there otherwise.  1/2 mile over a dirt road on crutches?!?!  Are you laughing too?  ;-)

Lunch went fairly well, but was a bit late.  I helped the kids eat at the table while Christina had a reclined lunch (so she could keep her foot elevated).

This afternoon was fairly uneventful.  Christina was able to continue resting with her foot elevated while Timothy and Laurel slept and Mikayla watched a movie.  And when the kids weren’t resting, they were enjoying having a captive audience with Mommy.

Christina and Girls
They sure enjoyed having her so “available” to play!

This evening I was on for dinner, so I went ALL OUT!  PB&J all the way!  ;-)  I was amazed how well the kids ate, and they really enjoyed their “special treat” of canned apples.  And they are indeed a “special treat” here because we RARELY get them.  Add some cinnamon and YUM!

Today I saw (again) that we work MUCH better as a team.  “Everyday” life here in PNG is hard, there’s no doubt about it.  Sometimes the dishes, laundry, and cleaning seem endless (and Mama Ruth only comes once/week).  Then add cooking from scratch and a host of other things and you become VERY grateful for the help of your spouse just to take care of the “everyday” things.  I am so grateful that both of us are normally able-bodied and can work together.

On top of that, I was again reminded of what an awesome woman I married today.  Christina is SO strong and this picture proves it:

Christina Folding Clothes
LOOK at that!!  She has to keep her foot elevated and is happy to be folding laundry.  What a woman!!

Thank you for your continued prayers as we keep on truckin’ here.  Tomorrow we will be blessed with a meal prepared by one of the other ladies on center.  That will be a huge help!

God is good, Christina is doing well despite some pain, and we made it through Day 1.

In Him,

James and Christina

God Story: Christina’s Ankle

We’ve been wanting to start sharing “God Stories:” stories that show how God is involved in our life and ministry here in PNG. Here’s one from yesterday.

This evening, we were on our way to take a walk with the kids. This is always a nice, relaxing thing to do before dinner. However, this time it turned out differently.

At the bottom of our stairs, I misstepped onto the driveway, twisted my ankle, tried to catch my step but couldn’t bear any weight on it, and fell in the flowerbed. By God’s grace, I didn’t fall on the concrete steps behind me or concrete drainage ditch beside me so didn’t further injure myself in the fall. And, Timothy was in the Ergo carrier on my back, and I didn’t hurt him either. He wasn’t even phased by the experience, but I wanted him out of the carrier ASAP because my ankle hurt so badly I thought I was going to pass out and/or throw up, and I really just wanted to lay down on my back.

At the same time, two friends (who we had just spent Easter afternoon with, one of whom the girls call “Aunt Jessica” because she’s taken on the role of a surrogate aunt) were walking by at the bottom of our driveway. They came up and helped with the kids while James helped me get back into the house: ; we have about 10 stairs down to our driveway, so getting back up on 1 good leg was a challenge.

When I fell, I thought I heard a snap, so James and Jessica took a closer look at my ankle once I was settled on the couch. Both noticed some weird bumps that were not duplicated on my other ankle and agreed that it might be broken. So, James called the nurse on call (it’s a holiday, and the clinic wasn’t open). They said we should come in, and Jessica and her friend offered to stay with the kids while we went to the “E.R.” (aka: the clinic in Ukarumpa, our support center).

We called a neighbor to ask to borrow their car (because it’s a long bumpy walk to the clinic), and they were happy to let us. They even brought it right to our door, which was helpful in all of the rush and confusion to get out… at one point, Jessica asked James if he needed anything and he said, “a brain!” LOL.

As we were leaving, James said, “This will be the quickest trip to the E.R. ever!” And he was right. When somebody calls after hours, the nurse and doctor come specifically for that person, so there’s nobody else they have to wait for. Sure enough, we got there, and I was in to be examined within a few minutes.

They took 2 x-ray’s and determined that it wasn’t actually broken, but was probably a 2nd degree sprain. We are thankful it was not a 3rd degree sprain, which is much worse, because I would have had to go to Cairns to have it treated! They splinted it up and said I need to stay off of it for 2 weeks. And my physical therapy exercises? Write the alphabet in the air with my foot. :-) The doctor said I’d probably only be able to go through “E” the first day, but keep working on it to keep things moving and encourage healing.

So, looking back on the evening we see a few “God things”:
-Jessica and Narelle just “happened” to be walking by and saw that I had fallen. They were willing and available and offered to stay and help out with the kids.
-We had NO Ibuprofen in the house but called our neighbors to see if we could get some from them and they offered us a full bottle!
-Borrowing the car enabled James to take our friends home, which allowed us to get some extra medicine from Jessica. The clinic had said I should take it, and I thought we had some at home, but we didn’t. Jessica just “happened” to have it!
-A few weeks ago, our friends had loaned us an ice pack while they went to the village. We used it to help with pain and swelling.

All in all, we are grateful for many things:
-My ankle isn’t broken or sprained any worse.
-There is a team of ladies on center who can provide some meals for the next several days because I can’t put weight on my foot (which makes cooking difficult).
-There is a clinic here, and people to staff it for events like this!
-The clinic had crutches and an “air splint” on hand to help with mobility and the healing process.

Please pray:
-That my ankle will heal well and quickly.
-For James as he picks up the extra responsibility (laundry, cleaning, dishes, etc) that I normally do around the house.
-That the kids will be well behaved as it will be more difficult to have me much less mobile for a few days. We’re expecting that they will really enjoy “helping” Mommy because “she has an owie”.

In Him,

Christina and James