Moving Forward (June 2026)

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 We are happy to share that we have officially teamed up with another family, and are moving into surveying unreached people groups. After months of working through team formation documents, ourselves, alongside Daniel and Evi Ens with their kids, are currently planning the next steps.

Last month, Daniel and Spencer, drove to a village that is about a 12-hour hike from a people group we are interested in. A substantial amount of information was gathered and connections were made with local leaders that will hopefully be fruitful in the future.

With that information, we were able to write up a people group assessment report and submit it to mission leadership for their approval. They will consider if sending a team to this area fits within the mission strategy and if the existing mission support network can physically support our team living in this remote location.

Our field leaders are looking for answers to questions such as: Is this people group truly unreached? Are there other missions working in the language group? Is there an existing PNG church in the area? If yes, is that church clear on the gospel? How fluent are the people in the national language, Tok Pisin? And many more including a slew of demographic categories.

The leaders who have been guiding us in the process so far are excited about the people were are looking into, so we are looking forward to getting the official green light at their next meeting. After receiving approval, we will conduct additional surveys to gauge the peoples’ interest and choose the best village for allocation, all Lord willing.

         

            Last month our family moved to a different mission center. As our teammate decision was finalized, we also finished our time of managing the center in Madang. We are now living in a center in the mountains region alongside some of the mission leaders who are helping us to move forward. With this move, we are now also very close to the support center and mission aviation headquarters. This is cool for building relationships as well as practically advantageous. This will make survey and house-building trips much easier to be planned and conducted. While we await approval from our mission leaders, we are plugging in and seeking ways in which to serve in various ways both within the missions community as well as the surrounding community.

With this, the culture is different here in the Highlands (mountains) than it is in the beach locations, so this time of waiting is really quite a blessing as we need to readjust and learn more about this cultural context. It kind of feels like moving from a small town in the Midwest to a diverse and more densely populated place on the coast. Praising the Lord that He has already begun to bring new friends into our path.

 

I love this quote I heard as I was being challenged to go to the unreached. "The greatest crime in the desert is finding water and telling no one." In Jesus's words, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." (Matthew 9:37) It is challenging to decide what to share on here, but man... It breaks your heart as you realize all of the need here.

Please pray with us for more missionaries - men and women who love and seek the Lord with all their heart, soul, and mind. (Not perfect, because Christ alone hits that mark, but people truly seeking Jesus and maturity in Him). Pray for the national believers here as they seek to reach unbelievers - their family, villages, and beyond. Please pray for what it looks like in helping to reach people here with the good news of Jesus. (1 Cor. 9:24-27) Pray that your heart and ours would continue to break for those without hope and walking in the darkness both in your community and abroad. Praying that this would not be a simple fact in our minds, but it would always weigh heavily on our hearts as we walk with the Lord.

And with this, we remember: "In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." - John 1:4-5. Jesus wins. Hallelujah, Amen.

Praying for you all, with love. We are so extremely grateful to the Lord for all of your love, support, and prayers. We love hearing from you, so please always feel the freedom to reach out.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• Pray for God’s direction as we survey this unreached people group. That He would make it clear where He wants us to go.

• Pray for the logistics of the survey trips to all come together. Lots of details to organize with the mission, local people, and transportation.

• Pray for us as we are missing our missionary and PNG friends in Madang. While we are all adjusting well, we all feel a bit homesick. We are honestly grateful to feel like this, it is kind of a funny thing.

• Pray that our team would grow in our relationship with one another. That we would be strong in Christ to do this work that lays ahead of us.

• Praise - God is with us. We get to walk with Him always, and He knows every twist and turn. Love that we plan, but He establishes our steps.

• Praise - We are grateful that we’re taking steps towards an unreached people group with teammates that we thoroughly enjoy as well as for the ways we have served so far. Our family is also excited about what lies ahead.

• Praise for the friends our kids and ourselves have here at this new location.

• Praise that our family is doing well, and yet please continue to pray for a strong marriage, wisdom in parenting, and for us all to walk humbly with the Lord.