Changes, April 2025

Hello,

We are happy to share how God has been leading us recently. For two months our team surveyed existing New Tribes church plants. We are grateful for the opportunity to establish relationships, hear what their needs are, and consider how a team could work alongside all of them to further equip and disciple their leaders. At the conclusion of the survey time, our team was faced with a choice to either continue into assisting the established churches or return to the path of church planting in an unreached people group.

After much prayer and careful consideration we are confident that God is directing us back to church planting. While we value the work of discipling and equipping the church leaders, we have come to believe it is best for our family to move towards church planting. Within this time, our team has decided to go different directions in ministry. One family is still considering moving forward with the national church work and has committed to taking more time to pray about it, while the other family opted to likewise pursue church planting in a specific language group with another family as their teammates.

Within our final team meetings, we all expressed excitement for one another about how God is directing each of our families in different directions. We are all grateful for our time together as a team and are glad to separate on good terms with friendships intact. There are some hard things with this transition, yet we all have a peace about how and where God is leading us. It is comforting to know that God has a plan and Papua New Guinea is by no means short in areas to serve. We will continue to trust the Lord and His timing, and it is sweet that while this is a big shift, our family is doing well.

Currently, we are serving in the islands region where we live, and are looking into what needs there are in regards to unreached people groups, purposeful partnerships (working with national believers to reach the unreached), and existing works that need reinforcement. We are trusting God to show us what people group we should go to and are beginning the process of finding new teammates. While we are having those conversations, we will also be serving in various ways. We’re grateful for the gifts God has given to us as a couple so we are able to help other missionaries and be a light to unbelievers locally.

PRAYER + PRAISE

• PRAY for continued deepening in our walks with the Lord. That we would keep our hearts and minds set on Him.

• PRAISE the Lord with us for clarity in direction.

• PRAY for wisdom moving forward. Who we should team up with and where we should go.

• PRAISE that my friend Ester is reading the Bible and beginning the teaching privately. We (Kayla and Ester) will meet up to discuss questions this Wednesday. Tuesday for you all. Pray for her husband who seems open but reluctant. Pray that their whole family will believe.

• PRAY for the kids as we have been and will likely be making many transitions in the next few months. Please pray for their friends as well. (Us too).