“You Would Never Make It”

Excerpt from our June 2011 newsletter

“Begin walking before first light, and walk hard all day long. Spend the night in a small village in the bush. Awake early to spend the second day walking up and down rough trails in the mountainous rainforest of Papua New Guinea. For an Onobasulu man in Walagu village, this is the only way to get to the nearest road. If he takes his family, it will take longer.

One such man looked Beverly Mosley in the eye and said, “You would never make it.” She smiled and answered, “That is right. That is why the JAARS airplane brings me and picks me up.”

The Onobasulu people are excited about working with Beverly to translate God’s Word into their language. But the only way she can get out to this remote village in the Southern Highlands Province is by mission aviation. She travels by plane with her work materials, food, and other personal supplies. “Believe me,” she says, “you would not want to try walking with your study Bible, or a stack of literacy materials, for a couple days through the rainforest.”*

The aircraft pictured above is one of two Kodiak aircraft that serves Bible translation programs like the one taking place among the Onobasulu people. The Kodiak’s specific design makes it very useful for mission work in rugged conditions.

You may remember that Jon helped install some modifications on the second Kodiak before it was ferried to PNG last October. Soon a third Kodiak will be arriving at JAARS to receive these same modifications. Jon has the opportunity to spend the next several weeks helping get this plane ready for Papua New Guinea. Working at JAARS is not our ministry assignment, but Jon will be helpful to both the JAARS and PNG aviation departments. This opportunity also provides Jon with some good experience working on the very aircraft he’ll be maintaining in PNG.

We’ve put thousands of miles on our van this past year visiting friends and churches to talk about our work with Wycliffe. God has given us a wonderful team of people who support us prayerfully and financially. We thank God for them every day. At the same time, we plead with God to complete our team. We had hoped to leave for Papua New Guinea by July, but we still need about $769 in monthly support. Our new goal is to leave by January and to reach this goal we need new opportunities to share about our ministry in the next months. Please pray that God will help us find these opportunities and bring in the needed support. That is our highest priority. In the meantime, we are grateful for the opportunity to support Bible translation by helping prepare this Kodiak aircraft for service in PNG.

*Photo and adapted story by Beverly Mosley. Reprinted with permission from JAARS.org.

He Rides 2

For months, Isaiah has wanted to cruise the parking lots on 2-wheels like the big boys.  We’ve attempted to take the training wheels off his bike, but he couldn’t get past the fear factor.  Then today I noticed that Isaiah was balancing really well on the neighbor boy’s scooter.  He was even turning corners without putting his feet down.  Jon decided to help him try once more, and this time Isaiah held his balance on the first attempt.  Yeah!  That scooter was the perfect stepping stone to 2-wheel independence!

S.S. Badger

On our way from Wisconsin to Michigan, we took a short cut across Lake Michigan on a real steamship.  The S.S. Badger is the lone survivor among coal-fired steamships in the US, and is the largest carferry to ever cross Lake Michigan.  She makes the 60 mile trek from Manitowoc, WI to Ludington, MI in about 4 hours.

That means you have 4 hours to explore the decks, watch movies, color the wall in the playroom, tour the ship’s museum, eat snacks, play bingo or all of the above.  So…drive through Chicago traffic or sip coffee on the lower deck of the S.S. Badger?  Hmmm.…

Last Day of School

Today Claire and Isaiah finished Grade 1 and Preschool respectively.  Our study theme for the year was “Exploring God’s World”.  We’re very proud of them for sticking to their studies despite all the traveling we’ve done this past year.  Isaiah’s accomplishments include learning to recognize the numbers 1-10 and practicing the sounds of the alphabet.  Claire continues to improve in her reading and writing skills.  She can now read several Dr. Seuss books all on her own, and authored several short stories.  They both successfully memorized 36 Bible verses, and probably know more about US geography than most kids their age. <smile>  But if you ask them what their favorite class is, more than likely they’ll answer--“PE”!  (Physical Education)  Of course, that’s the one Daddy teaches….

We Won’t Forget

We were proud to be able to accompany my grandparents to the Memorial Day parade.  My grandfather served on a Destroyer in the South Pacific during WWII.  My grandmother also trained as a nurse to serve with the WAVES.  It was very touching to see several people come up to them during the parade to thank them for their service.

 

 

 

 

 

They’ve shared some good stories with us about life during WWII and what it was like to serve on a navy ship with Kamikaze planes falling from the sky.  Hearing those tales makes us even more grateful for their loyalty to our country and God’s protection of their lives!  A big thank you to all our service men and women who face similar dangers everyday.  We won’t forget those who gave everything for our freedom.

Spring Again…and Again

Spring came to North Carolina in early March and we enjoyed the blooming Dogwood, and spending as much time outside as possible.  The temperatures were just starting to reach into the summer-like 90s when we packed up the van to head north and prolong our Spring.

Right now we’re spending four weeks on my grandparents’ farm in Wisconsin where temperatures are still brisk, and trees and flowers are just starting to bloom.  We’re grateful for the opportunity to visit with some of my extended family and make ourselves useful in the process.

The farm doesn’t keep animals anymore (other than a few timid barn cats), but there is always work to be done to keep the buildings and grounds shipshape—brush to cut, rocks to clear out, grass to mow….  The wide open spaces, and physical labor seem to agree with some of us in particular.  <smile>

Proclaim His Greatness

Thank you for participating in this 15-day Prayer Challenge, and for joining us as we pray for the expansion of God’s Kingdom through Bible translation.  We trust that God has heard our prayers and is already acting in ways (seen or unseen) to the glory of his holy name.

We also hope the stories we’ve shared have refreshed your spiritual walk, and maybe opened your eyes to “mustard seeds” in your own life.  Too often we forget what God has done for us in the past and we get impatient when he doesn’t act the way we want him to now.  We can doubt God’s love for us even though He has shown himself faithful time and time again.  Remembering God’s past provision, however, can help us trust him for the future.  So let’s…

Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness.

     Let the whole world know what he has done.

Sing to him; yes, sing his praises.

     Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.

Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the Lord.

     Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.

Remember the wonders he has performed,

     his miracles, and the rulings he has given,

you children of his servant Israel,

     you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.   --1 Chronicles 16:8-13 (NLT)