NTM

Dear friends and family,

We’ve been celebrating the return of several believers from the island region last month, whose story was a testimony to everyone here. They went to work in the oil palm industry but we were quite concerned for their spiritual growth and wellbeing. While believers at this end were praying that God would bring them back to their fellowship, God was working through circumstances at their end to draw them back. Here is their story:

When the believers arrived in the islands they discovered that there really wasn’t enough work for everyone, especially not for all ages. Some of them couldn’t find work at all and others received only a couple of paycheques in all the months that they were there. Without work, and then catching the tropical illnesses like malaria, they began wondering why they were staying there. One commented, “What are we doing? The other believers are getting good teaching at church in Wusuraambya and here we are without the fellowship of other believers getting sick and without any benefit?” So they bought some tickets and boarded a ship back to the mainland. While on the ship however, they began wondering, “What will we do once we get to Lae? And how are we going to get back to the tribe?” While pondering that, one said, “God will take care of the situation.” And then they met a man on the ship who had a vehicle waiting in Lae and he just happened to be heading in the direction that our believers were going. So he offered them a ride which took them as far as they could travel by road before walking the rest of the way home to Wusuraambya. When they arrived in the tribe they were very excited at how God had taken care of them on the way and how He had answered the believers’ prayers about bringing them back. It was an exciting Wednesday night at church!

Another thing we are rejoicing in is that Jesi started teaching in church again last week. Ever since he was being pushed to marry a girl and people bad-talked about him he has not being teaching. But he’s back and as dynamic as ever!

We just finished an initial draft of Romans 7-8 and 12-16 the other day. The next step is to record those chapters with the goal of making them as natural as possible in the language while still maintaining accuracy. Cathy has begun work on Titus as well.
The kids have been enjoying volleyball, computer games, videos and other activities during their school break. They’ve also been digging at the back of our house to move the hill further from the house in hopes of reducing some of our mould problems. Since they began the project both Heidi and Cathy are feeling better. We also had the Banmans visiting for week which was fun for the kids and encouragement to the believers.

Thanks to all of you who have made contributions to Heidi’s surgery and all the associated costs for flights, accomodations, medical costs, etc. And thanks for your continuing prayers.

If you ever want to give specifically to the printing and literacy costs here in the tribe, there is actually a separate account in Durham set aside for that purpose. Its called the “Wusuraambya Printing Fund”. When you send funds to the Durham office you can request that your gift be deposited to that fund so it will go towards printing Scriptures in the Wusuraambya language as well as literacy books and readers.
Have a great day!

Andrew & Cathy, Heidi, Ben, Dan, and Josh

EMail: andrew_goud@ntm.org catherine_goud@ntm.org

Facebook: You can find Heidi and Ben on Facebook if you like.
Website: www.ntm.org/andrew_goud
Phone: Papua New Guinea (675) 732-2994 or Cell phone: (675) 7225-6372

Dear Friends,

Thanks for praying – your prayers are being answered daily here in Papua New Guinea!

This weekend we had a visit from our former co-worker, Gary Piovesan, who left the field in 1995. After 19 years of ministry in Papua New Guinea it had been depressing to see how little impact the Gospel had had on the Wusuraambya people back then. So when he visited the believers this weekend and listened to the many testimonies of God’s grace in Wusuraambya it was very encouraging for him. He spoke (in the Wusuraambya language after 14 years!) in church on Sunday, and again on Monday at a “mumu” (feast), encouraging the believers. It was a very special time.

TRANSLATION CHECK ROMANS AND RUTH…….
Today we finished another translation check of 4 more chapters of Romans and the book of Ruth. Ruth is Cathy’s 1st translation project and checked out very well. Her next project will be Titus.

Last week I (Andrew) was also able to check Jesi and Josek’s progress with the book of Exodus. They are making good headway too.

 

JESI AND MARRIAGE EXCHANGE……
Another way that God has been answering prayer lately is in Jesi’s life. Jesi was having a hard time these past weeks because there was a lot of cultural pressure for him to marry a certain girl whom he did not feel God was leading him to marry. He also did not want to be married right now so that he could focus completely on the translation work as well as the Bible teaching. During this past week I visited the tribe and spoke to the believers about marriage from both the Biblical and the cultural points of view. Using the example of Isaac, I pointed out that an arranged marriage can be a happy occasion when God is consulted. Thus we CAN follow God’s plan within the context of Wusuraambya culture, but the important thing is to truly wait upon God for the right person and the right time. In the end the believers all agreed that it would be wrong to force Jesi to marry this girl right now. Jesi was very happy and relieved when this was finally resolved.

BACK TO THE TRIBE……
The kids finished their school year yesterday and are very happy to be off for the “summer” break. We’ll be flying back to the tribe next week and staying until the last week of July when school starts again. As of today Heidi is a SENIOR! In only ONE year she will be leaving the country she grew up in and going to start a new life in Canada.

UPDATE ON HEIDI’S JAW SURGERY……
We mentioned in our last letter that Heidi would be having jaw surgery later this year. This has been a great adventure in faith. A few months ago this appeared to be a great impossibility. God has shown Himself strong in such a wonderful way. Firstly, our medical insurance will cover the cost of the surgery. Secondly, Cathy and Heidi have been offered free accomodation while they are in Australia. Thirdly, God has begun to provide funds towards the flight expenses as well as other expenses which will be incurred while they are there. We want to say THANK YOU to those of you whom God has nudged to be a part of seeing this need met in our lives. These miracles have been a faith-strengthening experience. Why do we ever doubt God?

Thanks for your faithful prayers and giving.

Andrew & Cathy, Heidi, Ben, Dan & Josh

New Tribes Mission – Box 1079 – Goroka 441 PNG
Website: www.ntm.org/andrew_goud
Email: andrew_goud@ntm.org
Phone: (675) 732-2994 OR Cell Phone: (675)7225-6372

Thanks for praying!  The Lord has been answering a load of prayers these last few weeks. First of all we heard that the believers who went to West New Britain to work are coming back.  The pay is good but the sickness makes it less inviting.

Then there’s Jesi: After a lot of pressure was being put on him to marry a girl that his and another clan agreed he should marry, the believers finally agreed that to pressure him into marrying her would jeopardize the work he is doing in translation right now, and that pressuring him in this way was contrary to God’s will – it was following the ideas of people. Jesi is SO relieved to finally be freed of the pressure to marry.

And then there’s the translation check: we just checked Romans chapters 3-6 and also the book of Ruth. Both checks went extremely well. Cathy will now be translating Titus as Andrew continues with Romans.  Glad to have her on board as a "full" time translator!

Keep praying everyone – God is listening!

Please be praying for the Wusuraambya believers who have gone off to work in West New Britain Province in the oil palm.

Coffee is the main source of income in the Highlands tribes, but with the increasing costs of fuel and flights little or nothing goes to the grower these days. In contrast, work in the oil palm of West New Britain Province is lucrative and a big attraction to anyone who is motivated to earn a living.

While we can’t blame anyone for wanting to meet the needs of their families we ask you to pray for those who are no longer worshipping with us in Wusuraambya because they are out there working in the oil palm. Pray that they will find fellowship with believers where they are now living. Pray for their health. There is a great deal of malaria and other tropical sickness at sea level where they are now working.

Since it is mostly (though not all) men who have gone to work in the oil palm it is much harder to find capable people for checking translation with Andrew now. Please pray diligently that some of the better translation helpers such as Gemos and Winson would be led to come back and continue working with us as we translate God’s Word into their language.

Another situation that we’d like to bring before you for prayer is Jesi and the arranged marriage which he would much prefer to avoid. His clan arranged with another clan in the Church for him to marry their daughter/sister. But we’re not sure the girl is saved, and Jesi has no intimate feelings toward her. In fact he really doesn’t want to be married until he’s done much more of the New Testament Translation. But there is great cultural pressure for him to marry and other believers are now looking at his refusal to marry her as a poor testimony. He’s even been asked not to teach for a couple of months and this is really hurtful to him. Pray diligently that Jesi would not follow the cultural norm of running away from his "shame" and staying away for months or years before ever returning. He is seeking God’s strength and wisdom in the situation and trusting that God will show him what to do.

Finally, please pray for us as we prepare for another translation check on May 27-29 (this month). We will be checking Romans chapters 3-6 and Ruth 1-4 Lord willing.

Thanks for your part in the ministry to the Wusuraambya people of Papua New Guinea.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 "Rejoice always,  pray constantly, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

Dear Friends:

We began this morning with a “Sonlight service to celebrate again the Risen Christ”. The “sun” was not visible through the fog but certainly the “Son’s” presence was evident among us. As we gathered together and praised God this morning we reflected on the significance of the resurrection. Romans 8:29 speaks of Jesus as the first-born among many brethren. True, the Scriptures tell us that some died and were raised back to life, but Jesus is the first to be raised to eternal life, and he is now seated at the right hand of God as our Lord and High Priest, interceding for us. It is His blood that was shed for our sin, and as one man noted this morning, if there was no other person on earth but me, Jesus would have died for me alone.

Translation
In February we were able to get Romans 1-2 checked by two translation consultants. Kena and her cousin Bilinda were our Wusuraambyan translation helpers. The check went very well. We thanked the Lord for His enablement;. The meaning of the verses came through very clearly!! It was exciting for Kena and Bilinda too, to see God answer prayer. The consultant commented that it was one of the best initial Romans checks that she had done. May all the glory go to the Lord. Now we have courage to continue through the rest of Romans and into the other Epistles. We do covet your prayers as we do not feel adequate for this job and many days it is slow going and we would like someone else to take over. But we press on so that the Wusuraambyan believers can have God’s Word in their language. (Our translation consultant only had time to check two chapters while she was here. We’re waiting for another man to come from the USA to check Romans 3-8 and Ruth 1-4. )

Wusuraambyan Believers
We have had weekly contact via radio with the Wusuraambyan believers. Jesi and Josek continue to work on the revision of the book of Exodus, and Willis, Jesi and Josek take turns teaching from the book of Romans on Wednesdays and the book of Acts on Sundays.

The people are enjoying the lessons. Some of the believers are facing some hard times in their lives. Some have been staying home for the teaching because of various trying circumstances. Last week we encouraged the three Bible teachers to go visit these people in their homes so they could find out what was wrong and encourage them from God’s Word. Please pray for these young babes in Christ, as they continue learning the full significance of all that Christ did for them at Calvary and the position they now hold as believers, citizens of heaven, seated with Christ at the right hand of God.

Andrew to Wusuraambya
In two days Andrew will be going to Wusuraambya to spend time discipling the believers , checking some translation corrections that he’s been working on for Romans, and also going over my translation work on the book of Ruth. Please pray for him that he will have good opportunites to share with the believers and encourage them.

Heidi’s Jaw Surgery
Plans are quickly falling into place for Heidi’s jaw surgery later this year. Medical insurance has now agreed to pay for the surgery; we are responsible for travel and lodging. Heidi’s lower jaw never fully developed, possibly causing her chronic and quite severe headaches. It is hoped that corrective surgery will provide some relief for her. I (Cathy) will be going down to Australia in early September. She has 4 weeks of pre-op appointments leading up to surgery on October 5th. We have been encouraged to see the Lord begin to provide what is needed. Please pray that we will continue to rest in Him as we see Him work out all the details. Heidi and I have never been to Australia without Andrew. We know God will be there with us all the way.

We wanted to thank you for being a vital part of our ministry through your prayer and financial support. The Wusuraambya people thank you too. We wish you could meet them!

May our Risen Lord encourage you in a special way today. In Him we have life. Hallelujah!
In Him,

Andrew , Cathy, Heidi, Ben, Dan and Josh Goud

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from Wusuraambya!

Thank you once again for faithfully praying for both ourselves and the Wusuraambya people. The church is doing fairly well. I was encouraged by the Wednesday night Bible Study last week which was attended by around 60 people, a pretty good turnout for a midweek gathering after a hard day’s work down in the gardens, etc, etc.. On Sundays we seem to be averaging around 60 adults and just as many children.

In the Wednesday Bible Studies we are going through the book of Romans which is keeping us men busy trying to have the lessons checked and polished, and the Scripture portions as accurate as possible by the time they are used for teaching. During this trip into the tribe I’m trying to make sure the teachers are ready for a full month of lessons since we’ll be tied up during the school break and Highlands annual conference midmonth. My next trip into the tribe will be the last week of March Lord willing.

On Sundays we are continuing through the book of Acts. So basically on Sundays the believers are learning the function of the Church, and on Wednesdays they are learning how to live their lives in Christ and under the control of the Holy Spirit. Pray that the believers will learn to apply the various truths that they are taught each week.

In town our children are all doing quite well with school and extracurricular activities. They all enjoy sports which keeps us hopping, because we live about 15 minutes drive from the center and every activity means another trip. Some days I’ve made 3 and even 4 trips in a single day to drop off or pickup one of the kids for school, sports, class meetings, etc… Rental vehicles and flights into the tribe are a financial strain but we know that financial stress is an ever-present reality in the world today! We would appreciate your prayers though as we continue through this year and next – until Heidi graduates and leaves the field in 2010. One very financial need this year is Heidi’s jaw surgery. She is scheduled for surgery in Australia later this year which is EXTREMELY expensive, yet will hopefully relieve her of the severe headaches she’s had for years already. The orthodontist here in PNG has been working with her to move her teeth into the position where they need to be AFTER the surgery, but the interim effect is not very appealing! So she really would appreciate your prayers that everything would come together in the right time.

Cathy has been working away on the book of Ruth, but progress is slow with her other responsibilities as a mother and the many interruptions both where we live right now and also at the school. Pray that she will be able to finish her first complete translation project soon and find encouragement to keep going with the next book. I need her help!

Living out of the tribe and away from the believers, it is much harder to stay focused on our first priority of translation and lessons preparation with so many other things pulling at us daily. Never-the-less we do know that this is what God has for us right now and we consider it a privilege to serve wherever He would have us to serve. With the goal of eventually delivering a complete New Testament to the Wusuraambya believers, we do need to keep focused as much as possible though. Please pray for us daily in that regard. We have some special help out here in the tribe with Jesi, Josek and Jeri, our three “J-men” who are busy full-time in my office helping with correcting and revising both lessons and Scripture. Right now they are spending every available minute getting the book of Exodus reading for recording, an important step in making a translation flow naturally in the language of the people. With their help I expect to see the book of Exodus ready for final consultant check in the not TOO distant future.

Well, that’s about all the news for the moment. I’ve copied a list of field needs below which you might be interested in perusing. Notice that there are some very urgent personnel needs in PNG. There are many different roles that need to be filled in order to keep tribal missionaries in the tribes. If you know anyone who might be a candidate for one of the positions listed below, please have them contact NTM in Canada at (519) 369-2622 or in Sanford, Florida at (407) 323-3430 for more information on how they can be involved in these important ministries.

Have a great day!

Andrew for the Goud Crowd.