NTM

Visitors to Simbari
I just wanted to write to give you an update on how God answered prayer this past week. My missions’ pastor and his wife, Rick and Janice Ribble, arrived here safely last Saturday, June 28th (Answered prayer #1). I met up with them in town and we had a nice lunch and they told me about some of their experiences in PNG up until that point. Then I took them to the mission center where I am now living and showed them my small apartment and the center property. I introduced them to several of the missionaries here, some were new missionaries on the field and some have been here since before I was born so they got some different perspectives on missionary life.
On Sunday after gathering for church with other NTM missionaries, we went on a short hike to a nearby village. I hadn’t been out walking around here much so it was good for me, too, to interact more with the people in this area.
But Monday was the day that I had really been looking forward to. This was my day to introduce friends from my home church to “my people”. The Lord provided a beautiful, sunny morning (answered prayer #2) and we were able to have be in Simbari for 2 ½ hours. I gave them a quick tour of my house and then we went on a walk to the end of the airstrip where we could view some other villages in the distance. One of the believers in our village, Raymond, knew enough English to be able to talk to Rick and Janice directly and they enjoyed the interaction. They got to see some of the houses in our village, the building where we hold our meetings, and meet some of the believers. By then, the clouds were starting to roll in so the pilot felt that it was time to go. It wasn’t nearly enough time to show them all that I would have liked but at least they got to see a little bit and get more of a picture of what life is like for us as missionaries here and for the Simbari people.

Out and About
On Tuesday we went to town and although there is not much to see there by western standards, I took them places where I hoped they would learn more about the people of Papua New Guinea. Although the markets here can be intimidating with the crowds and the danger of having your pockets picked, I felt that good or bad, it was something that they should experience so we went to both the artifact market and the food market. They’re still alive to tell about it and they bought a few souvenirs so I must not have been too bad. (Safety in town – answered prayer #3). 

Coffee growing and harvesting is an important part of the PNG economy so in spite of the unfortunate fact that Rick and Janice don’t drink coffee, I took them to the Arabicas Coffee Factory. I told them that PNG coffee is some of the best in the world being grown in the mountains and all but that didn’t seem to leave much of an impression. They said they had heard that about coffees from other countries. Oh, well, what can you expect from non-coffee drinkers? I wasn’t put off though and I dragged them to the coffee factory anyway. We saw how they sort the coffee into various grades, husk it, roast it (the best part!), and package it. At the end of the tour we were offered a pot of coffee and Rick and Janice actually drank some! I have the photo to prove it. Even more remarkable was the fact that they bought some coffee beans!!! They said it was to give away and have on hand for visitors but you know, I think they may become coffee drinkers after all. (Answered prayer #4 – Well, okay, maybe not.)

Look What God is Doing
On each of my trips to Simbari I have been encouraged about what God is doing there. The believers are continuing to meet together every week, there’s witnessing and discipling going on, and it seems like each time I go, they tell me of someone else who has accepted Christ as their Savior. We only had 2 ½ hours on the ground there but it was enough time for me to be introduced to another brother in Christ. Amdolakwol is an old man but because the gospel message has been communicated to him in his heart language, he has been able to understand it and put his trust in Jesus as the only One who can save him from his sins. It’s wonderful to see these things happening even though we missionaries are not there. It gives me great hope that God’s work there will continue long after we are gone. I guess you could call that answered prayer #4!

Prayer Requests
My next Simbari trip is day after tomorrow! (July 9-15). My head is spinning as I get the cargo weighed up and distributed between 2 flights.
I mentioned that I will be teaching classes at a place/program called Interface on July 24-26. Due to tribal fighting in the area, the students and staff have all had to relocate to our mission center just 15 minutes down the road from me. I’ll still be teaching the classes. I just might not be teaching them at the place I was expecting. Rule #1 of missionary life: BE FLEXIBLE.

Rejoicing in answered prayer,
Lori

Thanks for Praying!
Thank you so much for your prayers last week as I taught classes at Interface. We had major technical difficulties one morning but it all worked out fine. I wasn’t able to spend as much time with the college students as I would have liked since I had to spend most of my afternoons and evenings on final preparations for the classes but I ate all of my meals with them, played some volleyball, and had some good chats. The classes must not have been too bad because they have asked me to return next month and teach the same classes to the next batch of students. Next time will be more relaxing as I will have all of the material prepared. Thanks again for praying. I really needed it!

Another Simbari Trip
As I mentioned briefly in my last e-mail, I have plans to take another trip into Simbari from July 9-15. I invited 2 single friends who are here for a year or two working in support roles. One is a nurse working in our clinic and the other is a music teacher. I’ve gotten to know them during my stay here in town and wanted them to experience tribal missions. I’m praying for good weather to be able to show them around and take them on a hike while they are there. Bill and Lynette Cottam, who helped me so much on my previous trip, will also be coming with me as well as one of the high school graduates who is staying on the field a few extra months and is working with Bill as a sort of short-term apprenticeship. We’ll be in close living quarters and eating all of our meals together so I’m sure we’ll all be getting to know each other really well during our 5 days in the tribe.

Prayer Requests
Pray that I would have a good time of fellowship with my mission’s pastor and his wife, Rick and Janice Ribble, this weekend and that the plans will go smoothly to fly them into Simbari for a few hours on Monday, the 30th. The weather usually isn’t too great at this time of year so I could potentially be pointing to some fluffy clouds and saying, “Our tribe is under there somewhere”. Or we could get stuck in there overnight due to bad weather (which wouldn’t be such a bad thing in my book). So now that you know the various scenarios, you can pray more intelligently.
Pray for good weather and a good time of fellowship with the believers on my next Simbari trip from July 9-15.
Pray for me as I teach classes again at Interface on July 24-26. Are all these dates getting jumbled in your mind? They are in mine, too!
Praise: I slept quite a bit after my return from teaching at Interface and am feeling more rested now.

Your partnership means so much to me.
Lori

Missionary Conference
So much has happened since my arrival in PNG that it is hard to believe that I have only been here for 7 weeks. After being in the country for about 3 weeks, we had our Highlands missionary conference. Usually our conference is held in a beautiful location about a 45 minute drive from where I am now. Highlands missionaries fly and drive in from various tribal locations and we all gather for about 5 days of fun, fellowship, and spiritual encouragement. This year, however, we heard at the last minute that tribal fighting had broken out in the conference area which made it unsafe for us to travel out there. We did some quick shuffling and managed to fit all of our missionaries in at our Highlands center where I am living. In spite of the change in location, conference was a very enjoyable time. Our speaker, a pastor from the States, was excellent and I was challenged in my walk with God and in my relationships with other people.

A Tribal Trip
I took a trip to the Simbari tribe from April 9-14. I went for 5 days in the company of another missionary couple, Bill and Lynette Cottam. Bill and Lynette have been missionaries in PNG for upwards of 20 years. In fact, Lynette was my English teacher when I was in school here. Bill got so many jobs done around my house that have been waiting to be done for years. He fixed the gutter over my step that has been dripping and he put up two more of my solar panels (I had only left one up to keep the batteries charged.) so that we could have more power for lights and for charging my computer. 
The tribal people had been expecting me. One of our pilots had flown in a few weeks earlier and they had asked him, “Has Lori arrived in PNG? Have you seen her?” and the pilot told them “yes” so when they heard the plane, they thought, “Oh, maybe Lori is coming to visit us.” So the word gets out even to the jungle!

The Simbari believers seem to be doing very well. They are still meeting together weekly and four of the men are taking turns teaching in church. They say that there are more people who are coming to the teaching and that more people have become believers since we left. They had some stories to tell me about what God is doing there. They told me about a young couple from another village who became very sick and were to the point of death. The believers heard about it and went over and prayed for them. They then brought them back to our village and cared for them and two weeks later, they were up and walking around. The village people saw it and marveled and said, “You must really be doing God’s work”. The couple themselves said, “We want to stay with the people who prayed for us”. So they stayed and listened to the Bible teaching and a few weeks ago the man got up and gave a clear testimony of salvation in church. It’s great to see the believers taking initiative and to see God working among the Simbari people even though we are not there.

Two of my previous literacy students, Peninav and Rambiyav, came to visit me. Peninav still has the Simbari Bible that she bought when I left 10 months ago and she says that she reads it. It’s all dirty and dog-eared now and it did my heart good to see it because that means that it is being used! 

Town Life
It’s been interesting to live out in town for a change. I’m able to get involved in various social activities that I usually can’t participate in when I am in the tribe… things like volleyball, church, and women’s Bible study. My neighbor, Tracey, is another single missionary who is also waiting for her co-workers to return from furlough. It’s been fun to get to know her better. There are frequent power outages here in town, sometimes for a full 24 hours. That is something that I don’t have to deal with in the tribe since I have my own solar panels and batteries. I’m finding that I tend to go through the candles quickly.

Prayer Requests
Praise the Lord that the Simbari church is doing so well.
Pray for my co-workers, Dave and Shari Ogg, as they finish up their furlough time in July and say good-bye to friends and family. They will need special prayer as they will be leaving their oldest daughter, Esther, who has graduated from high school, at home in the States.
Pray that I would learn to rest in Christ more fully and completely.

Thanking God for you,
Lori

“We have to let what we know (from God’s Word) trump how we feel.” – Pastor John Underhill