NTM

I uploaded a new photo album containing pictures of my time doing language and culture learning. They are under the "Photo" tab and the album is titled "February". Enjoy!

ITF Session 1

The first group of students have come and gone! Time seemed to fly by. It was amazing to see their hearts changed as they grew here. The Spirit of the Lord burdened their hearts and minds, and it is exciting to hear their testimonies back at home. Thank you for your prayers, and please continue to pray for them as they seek out the Lord’s direction in their life.

Member Care Conference
Around 60 missionaries were equipped with the skills to minister to the needs of their co-workers through a conference ITF hosted. It was a week long, and it went quite smoothly. We had many last minute changes for various reasons, and praise the Lord that it went off without a hitch and people seemed blessed because of it. I enjoyed being in the kitchen and cooking again!

Language Learning
As I continue to learn Tok Pisin, pray that I don’t get hung up on grammar, but focus the flow of the language as a whole. I am understanding and speaking more everyday. I still am not confident to speak well, but I am grateful that my sense of humor remains intact =) It has been so amazing to see the opportunites opened through people who want to teach me. I love how language and culture are so intertwined. Pray also that I will be a blessing and a light to the nationals that I am being a witness to.

Tribal Visit
In the beginning of March I will be traveling to the Sepik region to serve at a conference and then go into a tribe. I’m going with the to visit a work that some friends of mine are involved in. They have an established church, and I am excited to see the movement of the Spirit first hand! So pray for safety on the journey, and that the Lord uses us to encourage the missionaries and national believers.

Language Learning
My time here has been so different than anything I have ever known, and yet it seems so natural. I didn’t imagine that I would be living in such a beautiful place, and that is coming from someone born and raised in Santa Barbara. The pace here is different. Life here is more low-key, and yet foreign enough where I am constantly learning new things. It is hard to some up a month in one lump. However, I will try. I live with another girl from Interface who is going to stay on full time. We spend most of our days studying language and going out on village exposure. The first week here we did something called Total Physical Response (TPR). It is a comprehension-based approach to language learning, where we mostly listen and respond to the language instead of dive straight into the grammar. I put a couple pictures of it in my February album. It is actually amazing how much you can learn in 6 hours of TPR. It definitely helped me to approach language learning in a different way. So outside of TPR we are approaching language study from various angles including audio drills, culture write-ups, and grammar overviews. Thank goodness that isn’t all we do. That part makes my eyes dry-out because of so much time in front of a screen! My favorite part is the village exposure. There are many surrounding villages near here that we go into. Every week we have a morning veggie market out on the soccer field, which is wonderful. We can buy fresh produce, and continue to build relationships with the surrounding community. It is amazing how much can be communicated with a smile and a handshake… There are a couple families in particular that have shown amazing hospitality to us and continue to share and teach. We have a language partner who is amazing. Although she speaks English well, she only responds in Tok Pisin. She describes everything in detail and is a lot of fun to be with. The Lord has used her in so many ways already. I pray that we are as much a blessing to her as she is to us.

So during village exposure we spend time with the nationals and try and absorb as much as possible. I love just sitting with them for hours doing whatever they chose to do. It can be difficult sometimes because I am limited in where I can go on my own, but in general I am able to go visit whenever they are around. This month I have learned how to cook, harvest/plant, sew, and much more. The opportunities are endless in terms of culture learning, but it is amazing how tiring it is to think for so long in a language that you aren’t fluent in. I find that after about 4 hours my brain is full, and I begin to regress back into English =) However, I find my English is now interspersed with Tok Pisin as well. It’s kind of funny actually. I am still not as confident as I could be, but language learning is a humbling experience. One that I think everyone should go through. It teaches you to laugh more and learn from others.

Conference
For a week this month, I went out to help cook for a conference that Interface was hosting. We didn’t end up hosting the conference out at ITF, so we had to switch around our menu last minute. Despite the last minute alterations, the conference went well. People seemed blessed by it, and Jerry Reddix (the guest speaker) was great. He was from Santa Barbara and went to Hope Community Church a few years back. It was fun to connect with another person from SB, and discuss mutual friends, etc. My typical shift was from 6:30am-1:30pm everyday. Afterwards, I would run, read, and nap in the afternoon. I wasn’t motivated to do much language study during the week because it was so full. So it was nice to be back in the kitchen for a while, using the skills that God has given me to give back to him.

Now
It has been raining here a lot because it is the rainy season. I love the rain, and I have gotten used to having mud on my feet and ankles at all times. Let just say you get over any sort of prissiness quickly. It just doesn’t work here =) Now I am back into language study for a couple weeks before I head out again. This time I get to attend another conference in a different region of PNG. I will be helping out at the conference as well. After the conference I will fly out with the Earl family to visit the Woodard’s and their work out in the bush. I am excited to be able to see a church plant and interact with the believers and missionaries there. Hopefully we can be a help and a blessing to them.

Every other week we go to the church at NTM main center. It is a joy to fellowship with all the missionaries. NTM has quite a diverse group of people in ministry. I love working side-by-side with people from over 10 different countries. The culture learning isn’t just between NTM and PNG, it is with all of us. Each Sunday we get an update on the tribal works and the spread of the gospel here. It is such an encouragement to see the results of what God is doing! I am continually amazed that He chooses to use us to accomplish His work, but I praise Him for it. If you are interested in looking into the various works, there are links on my homepage that give prayer and praise updates on the various works.

During the month of February I have spent most of my time orienting into PNG culture. I am doing an 8-week intensive course in Tok Pisin language study. I have a language partner (girl shown above on right) who has been such a blessing; she speaks English, Tok Pisin, and her tribal language. She is very descriptive and energetic, and I couldn’t ask for a better teacher. Language study is both challenging and rewarding but now i’m enjoying being able to communicate and build relationships. The challenge is to fit in a 6-month language course in 8 weeks. I am trying keep the pressure at bay and not let it overwhelm the short time I have here. Thank you for all your prayers!

ITF hosted a “Member Care” conference for NTM missionaries from the Asia-Pacific regions. Our hospitality team cooked two meals a day for 7 days. It was a joy to serve the missionaries as they were developing skills to better respond to the needs of missionaries in the tribes. The speaker, Jerry Reddix, lived in Santa Barbara for a time, so it was so fun to connect with someone from home.

In the village exposure times I have eaten both a huge spider and a grasshopper! I figure I should take every opportunity that presents itself. I am truly expanding my culinary horizons!

Happy New Year!

I can’t believe that it has already been four weeks since I arrived in PNG. It is so beautiful here. It is like living in the middle of national geo-graphic. People live in huts, garden on the hillsides, and are very colorful both in spirit and appearance.

The nationals are very open and friendly. They are relationship and event oriented, which makes them open and welcoming. The spiritual darkness is very heavy though. It has been amazing to hear and see people whose lives have been transformed by the gospel.

I spend most of my time in the kitchen, and I feel right at home! It is very nice set up, well-organized, good equipment, etc. We are truly blessed to have such a nice place to work. They have a good system together in terms of the recipes and purchasing, and I am learning it pretty quickly. I love working with the different fruits and vegetables I didn’t know about. It has definitely expanded my horizons in terms of tastes and colors. I work with about 3-5 national ladies at a time. They are fun to work with, and a couple ladies read and speak in English so they help make food as well.

I have been able to do a lot of cultural excursions so far. I posted pictures of them on my website. I have been out to village and town markets, gone to local stores, participated in a “mumu”, visited a lot of NTM’s ministries like the aviation field and medical clinic, went to a coffee roasting factory, and much more.

My language learning is coming along gradually. I can understand more pidgin than I can speak, but I still really can’t communicate effectively. I am excited to move to another region in the highlands to do language and culture learning. I leave in a week, and will be out there until April, spending time with PNG nationals and studying Pidgin.

Praise
• The first ITF session went really well. It is amazing to see how the Lord moved in the students lives. They really seemed receptive to the teachings and loved the interaction in the villages. I just heard some testimonies from students who were significantly impacted by the side trip to a tribe in the Islands. The Lord uses all aspects of this program to reveal himself to them while their here. It is a blessing to be a part of it.

Prayer Requests

• Pray that I will transition well into another region. I will be shifting into another situation where I will be studying language and culture. I am very excited, but I know that it will be challenging as well. I will have roughly 3 months to learn enough Pidgin to communicate effectively.
• Pray that I will use the opportunities I have wisely. That I will be a constant encouragement and servant to those I interact with.
• Pray for the leadership of ITF, that the Lord gives them wisdom and encouragement in this time of transition.
• Pray for the students returning home from their time here. Pray for safe traveling and time to process all that they have taken-in here in PNG.

  Before I left for PNG, I spent a week in Murrieta, California with Calvary Chapel at a missions conference. It was a really good time getting to know our missions team better, and getting grafted into the Calvary Chapel missions family as a whole. After saying my goodbyes in Santa Barbara, it was good to have some time of reflection and preparation before I left for the field. November and December were quite busy, so that adjustment time was a blessing from the Lord. Some of the seminars spoke to my heart in terms of where I was at in leaving for PNG, and gave me a broader perspective on what God is doing around the world. The Spirit definitely moved in that time, and I am excited to see what the Lord continues to do both here and at home.
   My flight over was actually quite smooth. I enjoy traveling, and thankfully I am so short that I can comfortably sit in a plane for hours and not get sore. It was around 24 hours of traveling with layovers and various stops. I met some very nice people along the way, and slept the majority of the time. Once I got into Goroka, the Earls met me and let me stay in their home overnight. It was so nice to stay with friends that first night and get rested up before going out to ITF.
  I arrived at ITF and got into the swing of things right away. I started working in the kitchen the next day, and have been there ever since. The students at ITF go out on many different cultural excursions, which I was able to participate in as well. I posted a lot of pictures of them on my website. I have been out to village and town markets, gone to local restaurants, participated in a “mumu” (you can see what it is through the pictures), visited a lot of NTM’s ministries like the aviation field, went to a coffee roasting factory, and much more.
  For the first few days I lived in cabin, with access a community bathroom and bucket showers. It was fun to be with all the students in the cabins, because it gave me more opportunities to get to know them the short time they are here. After a little while I moved into a guesthouse for a few weeks. It is more private and I have a real bathroom with a toilet and shower!
  I can’t believe that it has already been four weeks since I arrived. It is so beautiful here. It is like living in the middle of national geo-graphic. People live in huts, garden on the hillsides, and are very colorful both in spirit and appearance. I love just listening to the sounds of nature with the loud bugs, dogs, and village noises. It is very green here and the weather shifts between rain and sun. It is never extremely hot or cold. It is absolutely gorgeous in terms of scenery. The hillsides are spotted with villages, and as I travel along the road I often see all the scattered fires where they are burning trash or farmland. There are many things that remind me of my travels in Zambia and Kenya in terms of the smells and sight, and yet these people are so different.
  The nationals are very open and friendly. They are relationship and event oriented, which makes them open and welcoming. The Spiritual darkness is very heavy though. It has been amazing to hear and see people whose lives have been transformed by the gospel. There was one woman in specific who, after she became a Christian, got really sick. The way that she lived out the love and patience of Christ through her illness was an incredible testimony to the other villagers. It is amazing to see the character of God through his creation here as well. It is amazing to see what he has made, and how it is so different here. God is definitely moving in the hearts of the students. I love to see them getting fired up for missions.
My language study is coming along. I can understand more pidgin than I can speak, but I still really can’t communicate effectively. I am excited to go do the language and culture learning. I will be out there until April, spending time in the tribes and studying. The nationals are very open and friendly. They love it if you try and speak to them in pidgin, and are very willing to teach.
  Right now I am spending most of my time in the kitchen, and I’m really enjoying it. It has a good set up, well-organized, good equipment, etc. We are truly blessed to have such a nice place to cook. They have a good system together in terms of the recipes and purchasing, now I am just learning it =) I love working with the different fruits and vegetables I didn’t know about. It has definitely expanded my horizons in terms of taste and color. It has proved to be a challenge as well. I’m not used to things like powdered milk. I work with about 3-5 national ladies at a time. There is a total of 10-12 that rotate through. They are fun to work with, and some read and speak in English and help cook.
  I am so thankful that I haven’t experienced any homesickness or culture shock really. I mean things are different here, but I adapt pretty well. I miss my friends and family, but not in a really sad way. Just as in I would love to be with them. So all in all, it has been really exciting and I am adjusting pretty quickly.

The group of students that are here doing the missions course are heading out soon to experience a week out in the tribe. Please pray that:

• They will experience God move in their lives and that they will be changed as they see how the Lord is calling the lost to himself
• For safety as they travel by plane, boat, and foot to get into the tribe
• That their hearts are open to the leading of the Holy Spirit

For those of us back at ITF, pray that:

• We use are time wisly to both rest and get necessary work done
• We will encourage and support one another
• The surrounding tribes will continue to seek after the truth of the gospel

Hey there. Yesterday I had the chance to participate in a mumu held for the Interface students in a village. I posted pictures on what a mumu is, and I will finish adding more soon. I hope you enjoy them. They day was spent peeling, hanging out, waiting ,and talking. I am slowly learning some Tok Pisin, and hopefully I will pick it up soon. It is so much fun to hang out with the nationals and learn more about their culture. Most of my time I spend in the cooking, cooking for groups so that they can go out and get hands on experience in missions. It is a blessing to serve them.

• My family has had a rough month health-wise, so I would appreciate prayers of provision and healing over them
• That God moves mightily at the missions conference and that the missionaries will be encouraged and empowered
• For sleep and rest before I fly out and to land on my feet running once I get to Papua New Guinea