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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November 2006 Update

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. – 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)

Dear Loved Ones,

Thank you for praying for us as we were in Colombia visiting my (Johanna’s) friends and family. Thanks also for praying for our financial support. We have seen God’s hand in a very tangible way during this last month. We also would like to know how we can pray for you as well.

OUR TRIP TO COLOMBIA

We had a wonderful time during our trip. We were able to visit my home church in Bogota during their Missions month and were able to share about our ministry on several occasions. We spoke in the two morning services one Sunday; and during the week we spoke to the College group, the Young Adults, the Men’s Group, and the Missions Group. We were also invited to speak one Sunday at my home church’s sister church in Bogota. My father also organized three different home groups at his house. Praise God for all the opportunities He gave us to share about our ministry!

My family was thrilled to have Kassia with them. God opened the door for us to be able to visit my oldest sister Patricia in Ibague, my sister Olga in Bogota, and my sister Adriana in Medellin. Kassia had great fun with her two great grandmothers, her grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. It was also a special time to pray with my family and to say goodbye to them as we will not be seeing them for the next three years while we are in Papua New Guinea (PNG) for our first term.

(Pictures from left to right: Kassia with her grandma Fanny; Kassia with her cousins Juan Pablo and Valeria; Kassia playing)

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

We have been cleared by our Wycliffe personnel administrator to buy our tickets to PNG. Once again, praise God for His answer of prayer and His confirmation that it is time for us to go to the mission field. We are in the process of buying our tickets right now. We want to leave in late December or early January since the Pacific Orientation Course (POC) starts in January of 2007.

POC is a course that will be fourteen weeks long. During the first nine weeks we will be living in Madang, which is located on the North coast of PNG. In those first nine weeks we will be learning the trade language (Tok Pisin) and learning about the culture. During the last five weeks we will be sent to a village where our family will be the only family that speaks English. There we will have to put into practice what we learned during the first nine weeks of POC. In April 2007, after POC is over, we will be heading up to Ukarumpa where Wycliffe has its main center in PNG. That is where we will be living and where Kurt will be serving in the Communication and Technical Services Department.

ABOUT OUR SUPPORT

We have been blessed to see how God works in miraculous ways with the gifts that are given to Him, no matter what size those gifts may be. We thank Him for allowing us to be a part of His awesome miracles! We would like to thank the many of you who have so faithfully given to us either by supporting us monthly or by your special gifts that will allow us to travel to PNG. Right now we can say with great joy that we have received pledges for 90% of the monthly support quota that Wycliffe requires for us to receive while we live and serve in PNG. We are only lacking about $310/month in pledges! Praise God for His faithfulness and everlasting provision!

PLEASE PRAY

Pray for us as we continue our partnership development, speaking at churches and sharing about our ministry with individuals. Pray that through these speaking engagements God will raise up more people that will pray for us and that will support us financially. Please pray that we will reach 100% of our quota so that we can leave for PNG in late December or early January!

Furthermore, pray that God will prepare us for the training we will be receiving in January. Pray that we will be able to pack everything we need before we leave and that we will also have time to spend with friends and family here in Dallas as we say goodbye to them.

In His hands,

Johanna (for Kurt and Kassia too!)

(Pictures from left to right: Kassia with her aunt Adriana and cousin Valeria; Kassia getting ready to got to bed in Bogota)

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October 2006 Update

Hello Everyone!

Click HERE for our latest newsletter. Let us know how things are going and how God is working in your lives.

The letter is in .pdf format, which is readable with the free software program "Adobe Acrobat Reader." If you cannot open the attached letter, the reader program is available for download at the following website: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Also, please do let us know if you have any problems opening the file.

Blessings,

Kurt (for Johanna and Kassia too!)

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Update on my Mom

Dear Loved Ones,

Thank you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement. The last 11 days have been very emotional, but we as a family have been blessed to have been able to spend some quality time praying, crying, and at times even laughing with mom. Lois Jean Metzger, my mom, my friend, and one of my biggest supporters throughout my life passed away last night and is now in the loving arms of her Savior, Jesus Christ. We thank God for the life she devoted to his service and our care, and we rejoice that she is in his presence now.

For those of you who would like to attend, a memorial service will be held at 10AM on Friday September 22 at:

Prestonwood Baptist Church 6801 W. Park Blvd. Plano, TX 75903 972-820-5000 Google Maps Link: Prestonwood Baptist Church

In his hands, Kurt (for Johanna and Kassia too!)

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