Kurt, Johanna, Kassia, Lukas and Matthias

Our family in Papua New Guinea | 2012

Ukarumpa and Aiyura Valley

Ukarumpa is SIL's center of opperations in Papua New Guinea and where we live and work.

Miniafia New Testaments from the dedication in 2010

"God is a Miniafia Man," the loincloth-clad speaker exulted! "Before He was English, and American, and Australian. But today He has become Miniafia!"

Doini Island

Photo by Tim McIntosh (SIL PNG's boat manager in 2008) | Many of the 100's of islands in PNG can only be reached by boat.

Where do you play when you live on an island?

Children from Nubwageta village playing near the shore.

Miniafia New Testament Dedication

New Testament dedications in PNG usually include elaborate processions to welcome the Bibles.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

-- February 2010 Update --

It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. - Isaiah 55:11 (NLT)
Dear friends and family,
We have been in Dallas, TX for almost a month now. We had a blessed time during our two months in Colombia visiting family and also our supporting church there. It was sad to say goodbye to family but my (Johanna’s) parents came to the US with us. They are living about 30 minutes from us and we still see them often.
During our time of home assignment here in Dallas we plan to do several things. Mainly we will be visiting and reporting back to our partnering churches and to those individuals who have been involved in our ministry. In March we have two missions’ conferences that we will be attending. The first one will take place at Faith Bible Church (our home church) in Desoto, TX. The second mission’s conference will be at Western Springs Baptist Church. We look forward to visiting friends from these churches and sharing about what God has been doing in our lives during the last three years while we have been on the field.
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While we are in the US, Kurt will do some IT training and I will take some continuing education courses to keep my teaching certification up to date
Thank you for praying for Kurt’s knee. He was able to have about 15 sessions of physical therapy while we were in Colombia and now he is doing his exercises here at home. Please pray that he will be diligent in doing his exercises daily so that his knee will continue to heal.
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Kassia and Lucas are doing great. They were able to learn quite a bit of Spanish during our time in Colombia. Kassia is enrolled in bilingual pre-K here in Desoto and attends 3 hours each morning. She enjoys having a teacher and friends that speak in Spanish. Lucas just turned two at the end of January and he is now speaking full sentences in Spanish. He keeps us busy and we admire his ability to speak so clearly! I guess he has a good teacher around (his sister).
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There are many reasons to celebrate this year in Papua New Guinea. Just this January the Lote New Testament was dedicated and there are 10 other New Testament dedications planned. A shipping container has arrived in Ukarumpa and it contains boxes of 6 New Testament translations for the Kalam, Miniafia (dedication in February), Ama (dedication in April), Mandara (dedication in May), Wantoat and Haruai (dedication later this year) people groups!
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Lote New Testament Dedication
Another reason we have to celebrate is that we are expecting baby #3. I have had my first ultrasound and I am 14 weeks along! I was able to see the baby’s heart beat and his/her head, body, legs, and arms. It was pretty awesome. We praise God for this pregnancy.
We are planning on returning to PNG in November of this year after the baby has been born and we have his/her US passport and PNG visa. We estimate it will take at least two months after the baby is born to get all the paperwork done. Due to the fact that we are having another child and the increase in the cost of life in general, our quota for PNG has changed. In order to return to PNG, we will also need to raise our support by approximately $450 per month. Wycliffe will not release us to return to the field until we have met our support quota.
Thank you for your faithfulness in praying for us and caring for our family. We look forward to seeing many of you during our time here in the US.
Blessings,
Johanna (for Kurt, Kassia, Lucas, and the baby)