May 2007 Update

Dear loved ones,

As new SIL members (SIL is Wycliffe’s partner organization in Papua New Guinea - PNG) we were privileged to attend a 14-week training course entitled Pacific Orientation Course (POC). The location for this course is just outside the coastal city of Madang, PNG. The POC camp is situated on top of a small mountain approximately 1200 ft. above sea level and has a beautiful view of the coastline below. We spent our first 8 weeks learning a main PNG trade language, Tok Pisin, taking hikes through the jungle, swimming to build up endurance, meeting with a national family, and learning about PNG customs and the work of SIL in the country. We did reading assignments, journaling and reports, learned to cook over an open fire, and took a 3-day survey hike. The hike was a chance to spend nights in 2 different villages, doing research and reports on the land and people we met. Our training also gave us opportunity to build relationships with missionaries from other parts of the world – England, Australia, Germany, Canada, Netherlands, Switzerland as well as the US. Our trainers were veteran missionaries and PNG nationals. By the end of these 8 weeks we were ready for our next challenge: 5 weeks of living in a village with the mentoring of a Papua New Guinean host family. During our time in the village we were able to improve in our language skills, learn more about many aspects of the culture in the country, and build relationships with Papua New Guineans.

(Kassia with friend Jadia)

God’s Faithfulness

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting” Psalm 136:1

There were several times during our training time and village living that I (Johanna) had to rely on God’s everlasting lovingkindness. I would pray to Him while cooking in our “haus cook” (our kitchen in the village) or when Kurt was sick. I would ask for wisdom to handle personality differences and to be a better wife and mom. I would also go to God for comfort when I was lonely, and in times of not having the comforts that I have in the United States. God was faithful to meet my weak times with His presence, His love, with answers to prayer and with friends to share the burdens I was feeling. I am being stretched to rely more and more on God and less and less on myself.

Where are we now?

Our new home is now the SIL center at Ukarumpa in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Kurt has begun working at the Communication and Technical Services Department here in Ukarumpa, doing primarily hardware repair and learning the ropes. Kassia is making new friends and loving it. I am taking care of Kassia and have gotten involved in a Ladies Bible Study and Mom’s Group. Kurt and I also attend a Couples Bible Study on Tuesday nights and we love it.

Praise:

• For a wonderful POC experience that enriched our relationship with God, enriched our marriage, and enriched our relationship with our daughter.
• We were able to learn so much about the people, language and culture of Papua New Guinea. We have developed a love and appreciation for the people here.
• For a great time settling here in Ukarumpa.
• For new friends.
• Many of your prayers have been answered as God has met our financial, emotional, physical, and spiritual needs.

Prayer:

• That Kurt would get settled in his job and honor God with what he does.
• That Johanna and Kassia would have a good time adjusting to a new place to live and that they would have wisdom in deciding what to be involved in.
• That our marriage will remain strong and Christ centered.
• That God will give us wisdom in raising Kassia.
• That we can develop relationships with Papua New Guineans.
• For God’s continued protection and grace in our lives.

Thank you for supporting us and enabling us to be a part of the team that brings the word of God to the Bibleless people in Papua New Guinea.

In His hands,

Johanna (for Kurt and Kassia too!)

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April 2007 Update - We're back!

Dear Loved Ones,

We are back from village living and are enjoying our last days here at the Pacific Orientation Course (POC). Thank you so very much for all your prayers, words of encouragement, and financial support during this time.

We left for the village on March 9th to live there for five weeks. We had a wonderful wasfamili (literally translated - watch family) who cared for us and watched over us all the time. Our waspapa “watch father” Tamanik and his wife Moinas have nine children: seven girls and two boys. I (Johanna) got to know some of our was “watch” sisters quite well since they helped me wash dishes, do laundry, and even showed me where to bathe while we were in the village. Kurt got to know our waspapa too since they spent a fair amount of time together.

(Johanna with wasmama “watch mother” preparing food picked from their gardens & Kurt next to waspapa “watch father” with the bow and arrow used to kill the pig being cooked in the background)

As you might remember, we mentioned in our last email update that Kurt got sick during our three day hike, about seven weeks ago. Well, apparently his sickness faded for a week while we were here at POC before going into village living and then it returned our first Sunday in the village. His symptoms included a very sore throat, pain in his stomach, lack of energy and sore swollen lymph nodes. After two weeks in the village his symptoms intensified and by that time I had to watch Kassia and do all the village living assignments and work with little help from him since he was so tired and sleeping much of the day. The nurse from POC came to the village and decided it would be better to take Kurt into town to check with the doctor and see what was happening. Various blood tests were run and the doctor concluded that Kurt had some type of mono (mononucleosis) virus.

After the doctor's diagnosis and talking and praying with the POC directors and staff, we decided it would be better for our family to come out of the village for a while until Kurt regained some strength. We came back to the POC campus and Kurt rested and slept quite a bit during our time here. We also were able to receive tutoring in Tok Pisin for two hours a day by one of the Papua New Guinean ladies who works at POC, which was a real help for us.

(Kassia with friends in the village looking at pictures of our families)

God has been so faithful to us during this entire time and we praise Him for that. Kurt began to feel better and we were able to go back to the village and spend 4 days there before we were picked up with all the other POC students from their village allocations. It was an answer to prayer to be able to go back to the village and get closure of our time there.

On Tuesday, April 17th we will be going to Ukarumpa, the missionary community where we will be living for the next three years. There Kurt will be working at the Communication and Technical Services Department doing computer primarily hardware repair. We are very excited to go to Ukarumpa and get settled into a house and a routine. At the same time we thank God for the 14 weeks we have had here at POC and all the things that we have learned about the people in Papua New Guinea.

When we get to Ukarumpa we will try to send an update of how we are settling into our new life there and the many things we learned and experienced in the village. Thanks again for all your prayers and letters. We could not have done village living and gone through Kurt's illness without you praying for us. Please continue to pray for Kurt as he completely recuperates from this sickness and for our family as we make yet another transition. Thank you so much for praying for Kassia as she has done exceptionally well through all the transitions we have been going through… thank you Lord.

(Kassia posing for a picture)

In His hands,

Johanna for Kurt and Kassia and Kassia too!

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March 2007 Update

“Olsem na yupela i no ken tingting tumas long tomora. De tumora em i ken tingting long samting bilong em yet. Hevi bilong wanpela de em inap long dispela tasol.” – Matyu 6:34 (Buk Baibel) Matthew 6:34 (Tok Pisin Bible)

Wednesday, March 7, 2005

Dear Friends and Loved Ones,

We find it hard to believe that we have been in Papua New Guinea for the last two months. Time has truly passed by quickly as we have been learning and doing many different things. God has blessed us in many ways during this time of training.

We have been praying for you and we would love to know how we could better pray for you. Please let us know how you and your family are doing.

Our days here at the Pacific Orientation Course (POC) are filled as we have classes from 8AM to 12PM and 2PM to 4PM each day. Our classes include subjects such as: Tok Pisin (language learning), Spiritual Vitality, Anthropology, Cultural Adaptation, Medical Care, Conflict Resolution, and Physical Endurance (hikes and swimming).

(POC students and staff)

Both Kurt and I (Johanna) have done distance swimming and have gone on many different hikes through the jungle near by. Last week we went on the three day survey hike. We chose a very sweet family that is in training with us to watch Kassia while we were gone on the hike. We hiked for two days and stayed in two villages where we had to do basic surveys of their language and culture. The experience was incredible and the people we stayed with unforgettable. Unfortunately, Kurt got sick with some type of virus on our second day of hiking. In the evening after radioing the nurse here at the orientation site, she decided that it would be better if Kurt was brought back to the orientation site to spend the night and recuperate. He had a high fever and chills as we were picked up at the village. We were sad to say goodbye to the people in the village and to the group that we had been hiking with for the previous two days. We really wanted to hike with them on the last day, however it was a blessing for Kurt to be able to have a good night sleep and to rest and recuperate. The rest of the hiking group joined us at the orientation site the next day around midday.

(On our 3 day survey hike with a family in the village)

POC is a total of fourteen weeks of training. The first eight weeks are for learning the language and culture of Papua New Guinea. Now, we have completed these eight weeks and the next phase of the course begins when we will go to a village and live there for five weeks. Each family here at the course will go to a different village in order for them to be able to concentrate on learning the language and culture without having other English speakers around. After the five weeks of village living is over, we will return to the POC site and have a week of debriefing before we go to Ukarumpa. This is the missionary base where Kurt will be working in the Communication and Technical Services Department.

(The village house we will be staying in for the next five weeks)

This coming Friday March 9^th, we will be leaving the POC site and going to our five week village living site. God has been faithful above and beyond our expectations and has been revealing himself to us during this time. Please pray for us as we are in the village. Pray for protection and good health during our time there. Also pray that we will be able to get to know the people in the village and be able to establish lasting relationships with them. Pray also that we would be able to learn Tok Pisin well so that we can better communicate with the people we will serve and work with.

During the next five weeks (starting Friday March 9^th) we will not have email access. We will try to send an update when we get back to let you know how this time went.

(Kassia with the guard dog Herman)

Thank you so much for your prayers, financial support, and encouragement. We truly could not do this with you.

In His hands,

Johanna (for Kurt and Kassia too!)

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In Papua New Guinea

Dear Friends and Family,

We just wanted to write a quick note and let you know that we arrived in Madang, Papua New Guinea (PNG) safely. Thank you so much for your prayers. Our trip went well after the first day and we felt that God was with us every step of the way. We were supposed to leave Saturday, December 30^th but the flight we were to leave on was canceled. We were rebooked on the flight the following day, but we were going to miss our connecting flight in Singapore which only makes the trip twice a week. We called Air Niugini in PNG and they were able to rebook us on the next flight. In Japan while we were running to make the connecting flight, I left my jacket with all our passports at a security check point and did not even realize that we had left it until a security agent caught up with us downstairs. Praise God for that!

Madang will be our home for then next 15 weeks as we learn the language and culture so that we can better serve and minister to the people of PNG. We will make every effort to update you with our progress as our time here continues.

Blessings,

Kurt for Johanna and Kassia too!

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Colombia is Passion

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December 2006 Update

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. - Micah 6:8

Dear Friends and Family,

We are in awe of what God has been doing in our lives in the last month. What an awesome God we serve! We thank Him for His constant provision and faithfulness.

We asked you to pray for us as we spoke to individuals and churches about our ministry. This last month we were able to speak at a church here in the Dallas area and we had a great time worshiping there. The Lord touched the hearts of individuals in that church and some of them have joined our partnership team. Thanks for praying for that!

(Kurt and I sharing about our ministry at my home church in Bogotá, Colombia in October)

WHEN DO WE GO TO PAPUA NEW GUINEA (PNG)?

At the end of November we were able to buy our tickets to go to Papua New Guinea (PNG). Lord willing, we will be leaving Dallas on December 30^th and arriving in PNG on January 2^nd, 2007. We will have an overnight stay in Singapore. Some gracious friends from our church offered accommodations for us at a hotel in Singapore near to the airport. Thank God for friends!

ABOUT OUR SUPPORT

We had also asked you to pray for our support, as we wanted to go to PNG with 100% of the quota that Wycliffe requires for us to live there. Well, God has answered your prayers and we can now say that we have been pledged 100% of our support. Praise God for His constant care for us! It is a blessing for us to be able to go to PNG knowing that we are fully supported.

(We leave for PNG December 30^th, Praise God for all He has done!)

THANK YOU!!!

Thanks to all of you who have prayed so faithfully for our ministry and for our upcoming trip. God has answered each one of your prayers in His timing and in His way. Thank you also to those of you who are supporting us financially so that we can live in PNG. And thanks to those who have given us special gifts that have allowed us to buy our tickets and ship our belongings overseas. We could not serve the Lord in PNG if we did not have partners like you!

PLEASE PRAY

Please continue to pray for us as we prepare to go to PNG. We are packing the things we will need for the 14 week orientation course. Please pray that we will take everything we need and that we will leave things that we can buy there.

Pray also for Kassia and for the plane ride. We will go from Minneapolis Saint Paul to Narita, Japan (12+ hour flight). Our next flight will take us from Japan to Singapore (7+ hours). Then we will fly from Singapore to Port Moresby, the capital of PNG (5 hour flight). And finally we will go from Port Moresby to Madang where our orientation course will take place.

Pray for us as we say goodbye. It is very exciting to go to PNG but at the same time it is sad to say goodbye to friends and family here in Dallas. We will greatly miss our church, family, and friends! However, it is a blessing for us to be a part of what God is doing in Papua New Guinea!

In His hands,

Johanna (for Kurt and Kassia)

 

(Pictures from left to right: Kassia eating nuggets with “salsa”; Kassia in her winter jacket with Papá)

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