Prayer Requests for 2024

Happy New Year! In five days, I (Martha), Adam, Bella, and Asher will begin our journey back to Papua New Guinea. Bella and Asher are looking forward to reuniting with their friends and resuming their normal lives. I typically hate change of all kinds, but this time around I am choosing to embrace it. For the last couple of months, the Lord has given me the word peace to meditate on. It just keeps popping into my head. I know that many people adopt a word to focus on each year. I have never done this. All I know is that the word peace keeps showing up. I hear it, I see it, and dare I say, I feel it. This is a pretty big deal for my anxiety-ridden mind.

Our family has been reading through a book called A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 by Phillip Keller. Adam and I read it together during our year in Ecuador in 1999-2000. It left a great impact on me back then, and I am enjoying reading it with my family now. Early on in the book, I came across a line that greatly convicted me: “Contentment should be the hallmark of the man or woman who has put his or her affairs in the hands of God.” Contentment, also known as peace. The Christian should be at peace because they have given their lives over to God and they trust that He is good. Though we are in the midst of great change in our family, the Lord has given me a unique sense of peace.

I know and believe that this greater sense of peace is a direct result of people praying. Please join us in praying for the following needs throughout 2024.

Having fun and at peace in the midst of transition

Jacob
We part ways with this boy on January 6. On January 30 he goes to Emmaus, Pennsylvania, for a month of training with Push the Rock, a sports ministry, before heading to Costa Rica with Push the Rock in the beginning of March. He plans to return to the US in August and begin a year of junior college north of Pittsburgh. Please pray for this huge transition of living away from his parents. Pray that his experience with Push the Rock will grow and stretch him spiritually and that he will be a blessing to the kids he is serving. Pray that he will be disciplined and motivated to do well academically when he returns to the US, and that he will seek the Lord’s direction and receive clarity on what is next for him.

Bella
Bella is excited to return to Ukarumpa and experience all the activities of her junior and senior years. Pray that she will transition well. She will also be applying to colleges later this year. Pray that God will direct her as to where to attend. Pray that she will grow in her faith and walk with God and that she will have a meaningful and memorable school year both academically and socially.

Asher
Asher is also excited to return to Ukarumpa. He will be starting his second semester of eighth grade. Pray that he will transition well socially and academically. Pray that he will be disciplined and motivated in his studies with organization and hard work. Pray for a smooth transition to high school. Pray that he has a great basketball season. This is his passion, and he can’t wait to get back and join the team. Pray that he will grow and mature in his faith and walk with God.

Asher, Jacob, and Bella

Martha and Adam
Pray for the Lord to guide us as we parent our children, and pray for us to trust God as we leave Jacob and return to PNG. Pray that we will be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading and direction. Pray for strength and stamina to do the work we are called to do. Pray that I will be able to sleep through the night.

Enga Bible Translation
It is our hope that the Enga New Testament will be dedicated in June or July of 2024. Please pray for peace and reconciliation among the tribes in Enga. There have been many disputes since the elections a couple of years ago that have caused civil unrest. Pray that nothing will delay the distribution and dedication of the Enga New Testament. Pray that the printed New Testaments will arrive in Ukarumpa on time and for an organized distribution process. Pray most of all that the Enga people will have a heart to receive and read or listen to the New Testament. Pray that the Holy Spirit would move in a mighty way and the Word of God will have a great and lasting impact on the lives of the Enga people.

Please let us know how we can be praying for you. We are incredibly thankful for your prayers and partnership. We could not do this without you. May the peace of God be with you all in the coming year.

Pray for NT Printing

Greetings from Wexford, Pennsylvania, where we are entering the last month of our six-month furlough. Martha, Bella, Asher, and I are scheduled to departed for Papua New Guinea on January 6, and Jacob will begin his Gap Year program with Push the Rock at the end of January. Please pray for us as we go through these times of transition.

Please also pray for the Korean Bible Society (KBS). KBS is slated to print the Enga New Testament and the Enga-English New Testament. However, they recently contacted the person in charge of Scripture Publication to ask for prayer. Specifically, they said,

Our partners are facing a sudden increase of demand for their services and this situation is causing an overall delay across the production process. Although we are taking measures to ensure a smooth flow of production, things are regretfully moving much slower than hoped for, so our hearts are heavy and disturbed under such circumstances. We understand that this must be a setback for you as well ... Please continue to pray for us that the production of Scriptures we undertake ... will run smoothly without any bottleneck.

This delay affects not just the Enga New Testament but other New Testaments in Papua New Guinean languages as well. So please pray that the printing process will be able to move ahead without significant delay.

Greetings from Wexford, Pennsylvania!

On a positive note, while we have been on furlough, the Enga translation team has continued their work on the Old Testament. The book of Genesis is now drafted and going through the required checking processes in order to be completed. However, the team has been unable to meet in town for the last three weeks due to civil unrest from the elections that took place a year and a half ago. Please pray for peace in Enga so that the translators can go about their work without any hindrance.

As for me (Adam), I am feeling a bit under the weather today, so I will keep this update brief. Thank you for your continued partnership with us as we await the printed Enga New Testament and continue our work on the Enga Old Testament. We are so thankful for your prayers and financial support.

The Leaves of Change

When I (Martha) noticed the leaves changing colors in early September, my heart sank. As someone who grew up in Southern California, I adore the rare occasion when I get to experience the season of Fall. It is something I get extremely excited about, and I relish the drives and walks where I am a spectator of God’s great colorful artwork.

But not this time. It was too soon, and I desperately wanted summer not to end.

Over and over, I tried to notice and enjoy the subtle changes happening before my eyes, but every time I did, all I felt was sadness, and a tinge of fear. The changing leaves were a visual reminder of the changes occurring in our life—a reminder that we would soon be leaving Jacob behind and returning to PNG.

But God was gracious to me, and the changes occurred slowly. The trees began shedding their leaves in earnest only a few days ago. Over the past few weeks, God has been teaching me to adopt a posture of acceptance and a heart that trusts. It is no secret that I struggle with fear and anxiety, but more and more as intrusive scenarios of all the bad things that could happen enter my brain, I am reminded of how God has been good and faithful all my life.

The changing leaves of Fall

The highlight of our month was an amazing visit to the Brooklyn Tabernacle. We originally met Pastor Jim Cymbala of the Brooklyn Tabernacle at our missionary commissioning in 2011, just prior to leaving for Papua New Guinea. Pastor Cymbala and his church have been a huge blessing to us ever since. Our most recent visit felt like a much needed infusion from a spiritual IV after a couple of very difficult years. Adam, especially, felt invigorated after our visit and left with renewed hope and a renewed confidence that God will continue to use us for his purposes, especially to lead people to the throne of grace.

The month of October has been busy, and we are feeling the time crunch of a six-month furlough. Most days are filled with homeschooling, running errands, chauffeuring Jacob to and from work, and what seems like endless doctors’ appointments. We took a trip to Williamsport to visit the Pennsylvania College of Technology and learn more about their welding and construction programs. We were impressed with the school and the drive was beautiful, with pops of color bursts all along the highway. This time I was able to settle in and enjoy it.

Being prayed for by Pastor Cymbala and many pastors and leaders at the Brooklyn Tabernacle (Adam and I are right up front facing Pastor Cymbala)

Though we have much to celebrate with the recent completion of the Enga New Testament, the truth is that the challenges of the past few years have taken their toll on us. It was wonderful to be ministered to by the people at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. We were able to attend a few sessions of a pastor’s intensive conference as well as attend the Sunday services and the incredible Tuesday night prayer meeting where Adam was invited to share about our journey so far. (Click the video below to watching Adam sharing at the Brooklyn Tabernacle's Tuesday Prayer Meeting. The section featuring Adam starts at the 1:34:09 timestamp.)

We are about to enter our busiest month yet, with more travel, college visits, family visits, doctor’s appointments, and other tasks to prepare for our return to PNG. Please pray that we will be able to complete all our medical appointments prior to leaving for PNG. Continue to pray for Jacob to receive wisdom about what is next for him after he completes his internship with Push the Rock.

We have tickets to return to PNG on January 7, Lord willing. The days are flying by, and we are grateful for the moments we are getting with family and friends. We are looking forward to spending Thanksgiving with Adam’s sister Amy and her family here in Pennsylvania as well as spending an early Christmas with Adam's sister Brook and niece Sailor. Thank you for your prayers for our family and the people of Enga. May God surround you with his blessings this Thanksgiving season.

Enga-English New Testament

I am pleased to announce that the Enga-English New Testament was completed and sent off to the printer on September 10. This was three and a half weeks after sending the Enga New Testament to the printer. Both editions will be printed by the Korean Bible Society and shipped to Papua New Guinea some time in the coming months.

The Enga-English edition, which we refer to more technically as the diglot (two languages) edition proved to be more challenging to typeset than the Enga-only New Testament. The biggest challenges were in the alignment of the two texts. This required choosing the correct font sizes and column widths so that the Enga (which is generally longer) lines up well with the English. The text is aligned with each new section break. For the most part this was seamless as in the example of Mark 1:14-15 that you see pictured here. But at times we had to leave some space at the end of the section in the English or Enga column so that the next section aligned properly.

Mark 1:14-15 from the Enga-English New Testament

Despite the additional challenges, I am quite happy with how the diglot edition turned out. The dimension are six inches wide by nine inches high, and the volume is about 1,150 pages. Intermixed with the text are more than sixty beautiful black and white illustrations, and there are sixteen pages of full color photographs, which will allow the Enga people to see for themselves the geography of Israel and the surrounding area. In addition to the photographs and illustrations, the edition has thousands of cross-references to help the Enga readers discover the wider context of the New Testament. If you would like to see the Enga-English New Testament in PDF format, please click here. Please pray that nothing would hinder the production of the Enga-English New Testament or the Enga New Testament as they are being prepared by the Korean Bible Society. Please also pray that the books would arrive safely in Papua New Guinea.

Enga Bible Apps
In addition to completing the typesetting for the Enga-English New Testament, we were also able to get the Enga New Testament text and audio published to YouVersion, which is the most downloaded Bible app in the world. This app allows the user to play the audio recording of the Enga New Testament while reading the text. It also allows the user to show the words of Christ in red. While we wait for the Enga New Testament and Enga-English New Testament to be printed, people are already accessing the Enga Scriptures through the YouVersion app. The Enga New Testament is also available on the Scripture Earth app, which intersperses relevant clips from the Enga Jesus Film into the text of the New Testament. Besides those two apps, the Enga New Testament is now live on eBible.org, which has nice online interface for viewing the Enga translation, or the Enga translation side-by-side with an English translation. There is no shortage of ways for people to access the Enga New Testament through their electronic devices, which are becoming more and more prevalent among the Enga people.

The Enga New Testament in YouVersion

College Visits
The weekend before last we made our first college visit—to Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. Although Jacob and Bella both participated in the activities, including spending the night in the dorms, it was Bella who was most interested in Taylor. Bella would like become an elementary school teacher, and she was very pleased with what Taylor had to offer. Not only that, but we were blown away by Taylor’s chapel. Although attendance is not required, nearly every student on campus packed out the auditorium with an incredible amount of energy and enthusiasm. We have never seen anything like it! Not only that, but when one of the female students started singing on stage during worship, we recognized her as the cousin of Jacob’s classmate, who had visited Papua New Guinea less than a year ago and even served as Bella’s substitute Spanish teacher for three weeks. It was nice to see a familiar face. In the coming months, we have college visits scheduled for Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania; Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia; and, for Jacob, Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Please pray that God would guide both Jacob and Bella as they consider options for future schooling, and please ask God to provide scholarships to make it affordable!

Update on Jacob

One of our goals for this six-month furlough is to help Jacob transition to life in America as a young adult. Our first priority was to get him his learner's permit and a bank account, which we did during the first week of July, as soon as we arrived in the Pittsburgh area. Not long after arriving in Pittsburgh, we visited family in Vermont and Connecticut. As soon as we got back home, Jacob left for a week in Georgia at a transition seminar for missionary kids called Transit Lounge. It was a good opportunity for him to meet other young adults going through the same transition that he is and to learn about what to expect as he transitions to life in America.

Jacob with his small group at the Transit Lounge in Georgia

The day after getting back from the transition seminar, Jacob went out looking for a job. His first choice was to work at Ace Hardware because he would like to explore the possibility of working in the trades (see the video below of the beautiful TV stand he made in Wood Shop). So Jacob went to the local Ace Hardware and introduced himself to one of the managers. That same week he was offered a job and began working full time. Last Friday he received his first paycheck, which was a very exciting moment! The owner and other employees have told me what a good worker Jacob is. One of the older employees even approached our van as I was dropping Jacob off and simply pointed and said, "Great kid! Great kid!" Jacob is enjoying being at a place where they need him and appreciate his hard work.

Jacob receiving his first paycheck from the owner of Ace Hardware in Wexford

In the midst of working full time, Jacob is also preparing for his future. He is now fully approved to begin his internship with Push the Rock in February. Thanks to all of you who have gotten behind him as he has pursued this internship. He will spend the first two months of his internship in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, learning more about the organization and helping out in the home office. Then he will spend four months in Costa Rica, helping with the sports ministry programs there. Besides all that, Jacob is investigating options for his future. This fall we will be visiting colleges and trade schools so he can determine what next steps to take once his internship with Push the Rock is complete. Please pray for God's guidance and direction as Jacob considers his future. Thank you so much for your prayers.

 

Enga NT Sent Out for Print

The typesetting for the Enga New Testament is now complete, and the files have been sent to the Korean Bible Society to be printed. Click here to see a PDF of the final print files, including the color photographs and black and white illustrations that will be printed along with the text. It can take nine months to complete the printing process and receive the printed copies in Papua New Guinea, but the files are now complete and out of our hands! In the meantime, we are also very close to finishing the typesetting for the Enga-English New Testament. We praise the Lord for bringing us to this point, and we extend our utmost thanks and gratitude to you for your ongoing prayers and support.

A sample of the typesetting for Matthew 2:11-20

Pray for the Enga Translators
Please keep the Enga translators in your prayers as they continue their work on the Old Testament. The violence in Enga has escalated, and the translators are asking to work mostly from home as they no longer feel safe traveling to town. This will require us to get some solar panels for them to keep their laptops charged, so please pray that we will quickly be able to supply them with what they need. We have the funds in place to get the equipment, but we just need to be able to get the right equipment to them. Please also pray for the general safety and well-being of the translators and their families.

Update on our Family
As for our family, we are now settled in at my (Adam's) mom's house in Wexford, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh). We will be here for the next six months before returning to Papua New Guinea in January. Jacob will begin looking for a temporary job next week. So please pray that he will find a job that has a good working environment and some flexibility for him to be able to visit some colleges and trade schools. Please also pray for him as he adjusts to this new phase of his life in which he has graduated, left his home and his friends, and is preparing for his future. Please also pray for Martha, Bella, and Asher as they start home school and online school this week.

 

"A Day of My Life on Furlough"
The day after we arrived in Wexford, Bella was able to get her first phone. She wasted no time in creating a great video called A Day of My Life on Furlough. I was very impressed by the amount of work she put into this video and how well it turned out. It provides an entertaining glimpse into the life of a missionary kid at the beginning of her furlough. I hope you enjoy it!

Back in America

We arrived in America on June 17 for a scheduled six-month furlough. Since our arrival, we have been in Los Angeles visiting friends and family while also doing paperwork related to the estate of Martha's father and speaking at our home church in Covina. On July 3 we fly to Pittsburgh, where we will spend the remainder of our furlough time with my (Adam's) mother. While it has been wonderful to reconnect with friends and family, it has been a whirlwind of activity so far, and we are looking forward to getting to Pennsylvania and settling in.

Visiting our dear friends Olen and Teresa Adams

The typesetting for the Enga New Testament is now complete, and there will be a "checking party" in Papua New Guinea on July 3 to make sure there are no typesetting errors before sending the Enga New Testament off for print. A checking party usually consists of a dozen or more volunteers who check for a variety of formatting issues. Usually the translators are not involved in these checking parties because it is helpful to have people looking at everything with a fresh set of eyes.

Meanwhile, typesetting for the Enga-English New Testament is about halfway complete at this point, and we hope to finish it up in the next couple of weeks. Please pray for good transitions for the kids, Martha, and me, as we adjust to life back in the United States. Please also pray for Jacob as he looks for a temporary job and continues his fundraising efforts for his upcoming missions internship with Push the Rock. Thank you so much for your prayers!