Arrival in Papua New Guinea!

Yesterday I arrived in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, and this morning I flew up to Madang, where I’ll start my training on Wednesday.

Pacific Orientation Course (POC) is located on top of a mountain, and through it’s very hot and humid, there have been nice cool breezes this afternoon. I spent some time unpacking and settling into my room, and getting to know some of the other people who are here for training.

I’ll have very limited internet access while I’m in training, but I’m going to try to update my blog as I can.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support!

Leaving Tomorrow

For months, I've been anticipating the day I would leave to begin my missionary work in Papua New Guinea... That day is finally almost here!

Tomorrow morning at 6:05 am, I'll leave Scranton, PA on my way to Madang, Papua New Guinea. Along the way I'll stop in Chicago, Tokyo, Japan, and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

Please keep me in your prayers as I travel over the next few days. I should be arriving at my final destination at 7:30 pm on Sunday night (Eastern Standard Time).

Below is an interactive map of my travel plans. You can click on the blue orbs to see more details about my flights or explore the map using the controls in the upper right-hand corner.

View Larger Map

Two Youth Group Meetings

What were you doing six years ago?  What will you be doing six years from now?

I had the privilege of sharing at two area youth groups this past week, and these are two questions I asked the teens.  I told them that only six years ago I was right where they're at now, and I had no idea what God would do in and through me.  

As I shared my life's testimony with the teens, I encouraged them to follow God and totally give their lives to Him.  I also shared about the Bible translation needs in Papua New Guinea and around the world, and all the jobs that need to be done for Bible translation to take place.  

What a great opportunity it was for me to be able to share in the youth groups of the South New Milford Baptist Church and First Baptist in Susquehanna!  I had fun answering questions and talking to some interested teens after I spoke.  

Please pray for the teens I was able to speak with, especially those in Susquehanna, many of whom indicated they'd be open to working in foreign missions and some who shared with me that they already feel a call to missions.  

And pray for me as I'm preparing to leave in 4 days! 

Commissioning Service in Pictures

As I mentioned earlier, my commissioning service last weekend was huge blessing to me. Here are some images from the day... (Click on a picture to view it larger.)

An incredibly intense hailstorm hit right before the service and left piles of ice around the building. Everyone I talked to said it was the fiercest hailstorm they’d ever seen!


Some of the hailstones were as big as grapes!


The music throughout the service was great! For one special music, Amy and Ralph sang You Are My Hiding Place.


Chuck Walton, who worked as Bible translators in the Philippines for 30 years, was the afternoon's main speaker.


Pastor Thomas left me with four things to remember: all of the helpers I have in my ministry, the missionary heroes who have gone before me, the heartaches I will inevitably endure, and the hallelujahs that will resound before the throne of God for a life of faithfulness to Him.


Deacon Bill Tyler led a prayer for me, while Pastor, the other deacons, and my dad (the missions committee chairman) laid their hands on me.


Tim, Lloyd, Ralph, and Phil sang Just One More Soul to end the service. What a motivating and true song!


Mrs. Thomas made a wonderful cake for the occasion!


A beautiful double rainbow appeared over the church after the dinner.


It stretched from one side of the sky to the other!


Dad and I played on a big pile of hail after the service. The amount of ice that had accumulated was just amazing!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I'd like to say thank you to all who were able to come and share in the service! And to all who were involved in planning or who participated in the service, thank you!

I'd also like to say thanks to Lenora for taking these and many other great pictures on the day of the commissioning service!

Computer Update

I'm lucky my hard drive failed when it did.

If this problem had happened two weeks later, I'd already be in Papua New Guinea where little or no technical support for my computer would be available.

When I rushed to write my last post before leaving for Syracuse, I forgot to mention something that some of you might not know... my computer will be very important to my work in Papua New Guinea. I'll be using it to store and use recordings of languages, as well as various analysis programs.

I had an afternoon of ups and downs. Here's the breakdown:

• The bad news is that when I arrived at the Apple Store they had no record of me making an appointment for tech support. The good news is that they put me on standby and a very competent technician checked out my computer for me.
  

• The bad news is that my hard drive has failed and my computer is basically blank now. The good news is that a new hard drive and its installation is fully covered by my warranty, and I should be able to pick my computer up at the end of this week or the beginning of next.

• The bad news is that my presentation outline and pictures to show at youth group tomorrow night were on my now-dead hard drive. The good news is that I backed my computer up yesterday (just like I do every Monday) so I can retrieve the files on my parents' computer, and I had a chance to talk through my presentation on the way home.

Everything went so well this afternoon, and while this problem seems to have come at a bad time (while I am so busy with my preparations to leave), at least I'll have my computer back before I leave!

Computer Trouble

Less than an hour ago my computer froze and I shut it off. It hasn't been able to turn back on since.

I spoke to a helpful customer service person on the phone, and we determined that it is probably a hardware problem. I am leaving for the Syracuse Apple Store in the next few minutes. Please pray for my safety traveling and that the problem will be resolved quickly.

Thanks!

Commissioning Service Video

What an incredible day!  The most intense hailstorm I've ever seen, a double full-arc rainbow, and a church full of people who love and support me!  I'll write more and post some pictures over the next few days, but for now...

A slideshow of my life's journey.

This video was shown at my commissioning service this afternoon.  The pictures remind me of how faithful God has been to me throughout my life.  

If you missed the service or would like to see the slideshow again, you can watch it below.  (It runs for 9 minutes and 42 seconds.)

Bulletin Board

I had a surprise waiting for me when I got to church last week... this lovely bulletin board!

Mom admiring the bulletin board

My mom had given our church secretary Bridget some pictures and postcards, and she designed this great bulletin board about my ministry. 

Thanks mom and Bridget!

Commissioning Service Reminder

In April I wrote about my commissioning service and told you to look out for the details.  Well, here they are...  

As in the previous post, the service will be held next Sunday, August 10th at South New Milford Baptist Church.  The service will begin at 3 pm and there will be a fellowship meal following the service.  

Chuck Walton, a veteran Wycliffe missionary to the Philippines, will be the main speaker. Another Wycliffe representative, Sue Hoiland, will be there to give a challenge to the church.  I'm looking forward to hearing them share at the service.  

If you plan to attend (and I hope you do!), please RSVP to the church office as soon as you can, so we can plan for the meal.  You can call (570) 434-2101 or email snmbc AT snmbc.org. (Replace 'AT' with @.)  If you need directions, ask the church secretary when you RSVP or send me an email.

Meat will be provided for the dinner, but if you're able, you can bring a side dish to pass.  Bring along your recipe too - I'll collect them and take them along to PNG!