-- Metzger's Year 2008 Reflections --

The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. {They} are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. - Lamentations 3:22-23 (NASB)
Dear Friends and Family,
We have seen God’s hand in many tangible ways this year, 2008.  Praise God for his faithfulness! Here are a few things that have happened where we were able to experience God’s unchanging character and love for us.
· Luke’s healthy delivery at the end of January in Australia and God’s provision to cover the costs.

(Luke is getting ready for his first Christmas)
· Safe and quick return of our new family of four to Papua New Guinea (PNG) in March to continue supporting the work of Bible Translation.
· The provision of a house that we moved into in June and where we can stay until we go on furlough. Thank you God!
· Slow but continual healing of Kurt’s knee which he injured in June. He was even able to enjoy coaching the Ukarumpa High School boys volleyball team from July to September.
· We were able to be involved with the 9^th grade Youth Group from July until December and will continue to do that next year.
· The opportunity that Kurt had in September to go with the more than 80 High School students from Ukarumpa to a 5 day Spiritual Retreat called Encounter. 19 students were baptized while at the retreat!
· The quick medical care Kassia was able to receive here in Ukarumpa and in Australia at the end of October when she fell and broke her arm. She had surgery in Australia where they placed 3 pins to hold her arm in place for one month!
· The financial provision for Kurt and Kassia to go back to Australia at the end of November to have the pins removed from her arm. Praise the Lord her arm healed quickly and there is now new bone where the bone was broken!

· At the end of December we will celebrate 2 years of serving in PNG!
· The joy that God has given throughout the whole year to Kurt while he works at the Communication and Technical Services Department through software support and computer repair. Thank you God for giving us the opportunity to be a part of the team that is bringing the written word of God to the Bibleless people of Papua New Guinea.
· The never ending provision and faithfulness of God for our ministry throughout the year through your prayers and financial support. Thank you!

(Kassia loves to hold her little brother Luke!)

· Many people received the New Testament in their heart language this year here in PNG for the very first time. What a privilege for us to be able to see the results of many years of work by many translators, support personnel, and partners in home countries. There were four New Testament dedications: Kuman, Ipili, Bimin, and Mape. There are about 950 languages spoken in Papua New Guinea. Other than the 3 national languages (Melanesian Pidgin, English, and Hiri Motu), Kuman is the language with the third highest population of speakers.

PNG Pastor - "For years now I have read to you from God's Word in Kiwai or Motu. I just read it; I didn't understand it. I thought that God's words were too hard for human minds to grasp. But then I read them in our own language, and they spoke to me. I could understand what God was saying! It isn't hard. God from Heaven wants to communicate with us!"
 
(Folopa New Testament; Bimin NT Dedication)
What a great God we serve. To Him be the Honor and Glory forever! Thank you for allowing us to serve Him here in Papua New Guinea.
In Him,
Johanna (for Kurt, Kassia, and Luke)

Read More

-- November 2008 Update --

Dear Loves Ones,

Thank you for all of you who have been praying for Kassia’s arm. Thanks also for those of you who gave gifts for our extra expenses in taking care of Kassia when she broke her arm.  We have seen God’s hand of provision in every moment of our lives and especially during this time. We continue to trust in His faithfulness!

Yesterday Kurt and Kassia flew in the morning to Port Moresby (the capital of Papua New Guinea) and in the afternoon they will be flying to Cairns, Australia.  On Wednesday Kassia has an appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon who will check her arm and do an x-ray to see how her arm is healing.  Lord willing, on Thursday the doctor will do surgery and remove the “wires” that have been holding Kassia’s arm for a month.  Luke and I (Johanna) stayed here in Ukarumpa and will wait for them to return on Friday afternoon from Australia.

Kurt continues to enjoy his job at the Communications and Technical Services Department working at the Help Desk.   He has also been asked if it would be possible for him to help out in our security team here in Ukarumpa.  There is a group of men that have agreed to help and take turns being the Director’s Assistant for Security (DAS).  There is no one being the DAS full time right now, so our director has asked for help in this role. 

In our October Update I mentioned something about the possibility that came up for me to teach in the Mother Tongue Studies(MTS) program here in Ukarumpa.   I met with the Principal of the Primary School last month and we talked about this possibility and discussed some options.  In my other update I told you that I would be teaching children whose mother tongue is Spanish.  The principal explained to me that the purpose of the MTS program is to prepare children whose mother tongue is Spanish, to be able to go to school in their home country in Spanish. We came to the conclusion that at this time, there are no children here in Ukarumpa (except for Kassia and Luke) who will be studying in Spanish in their home countries. So, we have decided not to offer the MTS program in Spanish until we have more students that would qualify for it.

Thank you again for your faithful prayers and financial support that allow us to serve the Lord in Papua New Guinea. We truly could not be here without your part in our team!

Praise:

• We always praise God for our faithful prayer partners and those who support us financially.
• For the opportunity that Kurt has to be a part of the DAS team.
• For  the healing that Kassia has had in her arm already.

Pray:

• For our relationship with the Lord to become deeper and stronger and that we can be an example to our PNG friends and coworkers.
• For wisdom for Kurt as he becomes a part of the DAS team.
• For Kassia’s surgery this Thursday to remove the “wires” from her arm.
• For continued healing of Kassia’s arm.

In His hands,

Johanna (for Kurt, Kassia, and Luke Metzger)

Read More

God is good!

Dear Friends and Family,

We just wanted to let you know that Kassia and I (Kurt) are now back in Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea. We arrived Wednesday afternoon and are settling back in well, but are maybe just a little tired. Thank you so much for your prayers and support during this time. I cannot remember being anxious at any point during our medivac to Australia. I believe that God gave me a peace about the whole situation so I would be able to comfort and take care of Kassia.

Kassia is doing so much better now that she is back here in Ukarumpa with her friends and her mother and brother. She was so excited to come to be with them. Now that she is back, she is acting as if her arm is not broken. In one month’s time we return to Australia so that the wires holding Kassia’s bone together can be removed. Please pray for protection and healing for her arm during this month as she does not have a cast on (the doctor said it was not necessary). Thanks again.

Blessings,

Kurt for Kassia, Johanna and Luke too!

Read More

Update on Kassia

Dear Friends and Family,

Thanks for praying for Kassia.  I have talked to Kurt throughout the day today and he was able to tell me what happened. He says that he and Kassia were taken to the hospital right away when they arrived in Cairns yesterday afternoon.  They waited in the hospital room until about 6 pm and then Kassia had surgery on her arm. The doctor said she had a very delicate fracture. Kurt says she was in surgery for about an hour and a half. They had to put some "wires" to hold her arm in place.

They think she might be able to leave the hospital tomorrow.  However, the doctor also said that Kassia needs to be in Cairns again to get the “wires” removed from her arm in a month.

Please pray for us to have wisdom at this time.  We want to glorify Him with the decision we make and we are thinking about two different options. The first option is for Kurt and Kassia to come back to Ukarumpa next week (if the doctor gives her permission to come back this soon). The second option for them to wait in Cairns for a month until they can remove the wires from her arm, and Luke and I would join them there. 

Pray also because Kassia continues to be in a lot of pain and does not want to take the medication to relieve it.  And finally pray for our finances during this time.

As always God is faithful in meeting all of our needs. This morning some friends from Cairns, offered Kurt and Kassia to stay at their house instead of staying at a hotel. Thank you Lord!!!

In His hands,

Johanna (for the Metzgers)

Read More

Pray for Kassia

Dear Loved Ones,

Kassia was playing on the monkey bars in our back yard this morning and she fell and broke her arm.  After doing an x-ray, the doctor at the clinic here decided that they could not take care of Kassia here and she needed to go to Australia. Kurt and Kassia went to Cairns, Australia at 12pm today to be seen by an orthopedic surgeon.

Praise the Lord that she was able to go on the scheduled Cairns flight, thanks to a few passengers who were willing to fly commercially in order to provide the space for Kassia, Kurt and the doctor. 

Please pray for them as they are away from home and pray that the doctors in Australia will be able to take care of Kassia's arm. Pray that her arm will heal quickly!

Blessings,

Johanna (for Kurt, Kassia, and Luke)

Read More

-- October 2008 Update --

 

(Sunrise over Kokopo, Papua New Guinea)

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you for your continued prayers and support for our family. Being here in Papua New Guinea, we always think about how we could not be here if it wasn’t for your very important part in our ministry!

In September, Kurt had the privilege to go to Encounter. Encounter is a spiritual retreat for the High School kids from Ukarumpa. 81 students ranging from 9th grade to 12th grade attended this year. Kurt was asked to help as one of the adult sponsors. He had four 12th grade guys in his cabin and four 9th grade guys in his discussion group. They traveled two hours from Ukarumpa towards Goroka and stayed at a training center run by New Tribes Mission from Friday to Tuesday. The last night 19 of the students were baptized. Kurt enjoyed getting to know the guys better and also learning from the Encounter speaker. It’s great for us to see how God is using Kurt’s unique experience growing up as a missionary kid in Colombia in relating to the kids here in Ukarumpa.

(Encounter 2008)

The Communication and Technical Services Department (where Kurt works) has experienced some changes lately. The manager of the department, Chris, had to leave suddenly as his mother was sick in Canada. She passed away shortly after he returned home. Now the current acting manager (filling in for Chris) is going on furlough and the SIL PNG directorate has asked Kurt to help out as the acting manager until Chris returns from Canada. Please pray as Kurt will be learning some new responsibilities for the time he is a manager.

Kassia just returned to school this week after a two week break. She enjoyed being at home more and playing with friends here and at their houses. We were also able to go to the river one day with a group of families and she loved swimming and playing at the river! I continue to teach her Spanish on the days she is not at school.

(Kassia with her friend Jadia)

Some of you might remember that my (Johanna’s) dream about coming to PNG, was to eventually be able to teach at the Ukarumpa International School.  I taught Bilingual kindergarten for almost 2 years in Texas before Kassia was born. Well, this week I received an email from the Principal at the Primary campus here; asking me if I would be interested in being a Mother Tongue Studies (MTS) teacher. I would be teaching those children whose mother tongue is Spanish. The Principal talked to the Associate Director for Member Services (who is over the schools here in Ukarumpa) and she is excited about this plan. The Primary Campus Principal will present our proposal to the School Board on Monday October 13th, and then we will know how to proceed. I have been asked to do some research on the curriculum we would use. I would probably start teaching at the end of January.

Luke is eating and growing a lot! He is eight months now and can sit unassisted. He’s not very interested in crawling yet, but he continues to move around by pushing himself on his back.

(Left: Luke eating banana. Right: Luke with his friend Ryland)

In Him,

Johanna (for Kurt, Kassia, and Luke)

PRAISE:

-For Kurt’s job here in Ukarumpa and the opportunity he has to be help those who are translating the Bible into the many different languages of Papua New Guinea.

-For the good health we have been enjoying in the last couple of months.

-For Kassia’s school and her friends here in Ukarumpa.

-For the possible opportunity for me (Johanna) to be an Spanish MTS teacher.

PRAY:

-For the four of us to continue to have good health.

-For Kurt to have wisdom as he is the acting manager at the Communication and Technical Services Department for a while.

-For Johanna to have wisdom in preparing to teach in January.

-For Kurt and I to grow stronger in our relationship with God, and therefore to grow in our marriage.

-For Kassia and Luke to come to know Jesus as their Savior one day!

Read More