Skipping Columbus Day this year

Our little family of 4 will not be able to observe Columbus Day this year, but will move from the 11th to the 13th of October. How can this be, you may be wondering--do we own some sort of time machine? Not exactly, but we will be traveling through time in a large winged metal tube at a high altitude to skip October 12th. And in the spirit of Mr. Columbus, we will be crossing an ocean, though at a much greater clip than his clippers ever could (OK, so maybe they weren’t clipper ships, but it makes for a better pun…).

That’s right—we are flying back to PNG in less than a week! We will be leaving the USA on Sunday the 11th (just shy of midnight from LA, to be exact), and will cross the international date line during our 14 ½- hour flight to Sydney, Australia, landing there the morning of the 13th! Then on to Brisbane, then Cairns (all in Australia) for a couple of nights. After 37-plus hours of travel (about 24 in planes and the rest in airports), we will try to catch a bit of extra sleep in Cairns before leaving for PNG on the morning of the 15th. By the beginning of the following week, Lord willing, we will be back in our village home again, ready to resume our ministry there!

Please pray for us as we travel. Although I think we’re now past the need for wearing bathrobes on the airplane (knock on wood), the challenges of transoceanic travel with 2 active boys (almost 5 and almost 2) still warrant some extra prayer for their parents! Add to that the usual adjustments and also for continuing strength and stamina as we leave the flat pavement and hit the uneven muddy mountain trails again.

We cannot leave the US without first acknowledging all of you and the incredible blessing you’ve been to us through these difficult circumstances through your prayers, support and encouragement.


To recap the situation for you, 7 months ago (in February), Chad began feeling some pain while we were in the village. This pain then worsened over the next several months despite taking a long course of several antibiotics. We were able to push through until the end of May, when we came out a bit early for a scheduled translation check of Romans (which went well, praise God) to see the doctor at our mission center. At that time, it was necessary for us to return to the US. The months of June and July were largely spent seeing doctors and looking for answers. During one of these visits, a small tumor “just happened to be” found in Chad’s bladder which was malignant. We praise God that he enabled the doctor to find and then remove it by surgery on July 1st.

Shortly after this first surgery, we were able to continue seeking answers for this mysterious pain. A neurosurgeon evaluated Chad and put him on some strong medications and steroids which led to no improvement and so we went back to our family doctor in Sanford. He then referred us to a specialist who “just happened to be” one of only 2 in the country and 4 in the world who has performed the type of nerve surgery needed to help Chad’s pain. He also “just happened to be” the only one in the world using a new robotic system to perform the surgery in a more non-invasive and precise manner. And then, he “just happened to be” located a 2 hours’ drive from where we’ve been staying!!! Do you see the “coincidences” just piling up one after the other here? Hmm, looks like the loving hand of God to us…

So after consulting with this specialist, we had (and still have) no answers to the cause, but now finally had a course of action to deal with the problem—surgery to stop a rogue nerve from firing in an endless cycle of pain. Early in August, Chad’s second surgical procedure, a nerve block, was more of a test to see how helpful the main surgery might be. Although results were inconclusive (and somewhat painful), we were convinced that we should still proceed with the main nerve surgery on Aug. 24th.

When Chad underwent this 3rd surgery of the summer, he was one of only 200 in the world to have it, and only the 32nd patient to undergo this doctor’s specific robotic nerve microdissection and cauterization to stop the pain. And we are pleased to tell you that the surgery was a success in ending the constant pain!! Wow, what a gift from God that has been!

Chad’s fourth and final surgery in the space of 2 months (the beginning of Sept.) was on his right knee, which had been injured back in April. The arthroscopic procedure cleaned up some damaged cartilage behind his kneecap and also took out some torn pieces of meniscus. And that surgery has been an overall success, too, with just some exercise needed to continue to rehab and strengthen the knee and lower back and core. These exercises are beginning to pay off as Chad feels progressively better on a daily basis.


Though we would never choose to go through an ordeal like this again, God has graciously brought us through this, and our family is ready to sacrifice October 12th this year and maybe a few hours of rest along the way in our eagerness to rejoin our co-workers and friends in Toboland.

Enjoy Columbus Day without us, and you’ll hear from us on the other side!!

Chad, Janeene, Elijah, & Zekey

Update from Toboland

Hi again everyone!
It’s been a while since you’ve had news from Toboland. Our partners the Knapps have settled in and Jason has resumed the teaching of Romans, picking up where we left off at the end of chapter 5 and getting into the great meat of the book, chapters 5b through 8. Praise God!

Also, our partners the Williamsons are gearing up for their first home assignment in November. Jason recently sent out this update, which was a huge encouragement to us. We wanted to pass it along to you just as he wrote it, as we think you too will be encouraged! Enjoy!

God has been reminding me lately of just how lovingly and patiently He works with His children. I must confess that sometimes I look at this small group of believers here in Tobo and I often ask God, “God when is this just going to explode and we will see everyone here in Tobo hear your Word and believe?” Sometimes I find myself discontent with where the Tobo church is at and so with this kind of outlook I so easily begin to lose sight of the fact that God is lovingly at work in these believers lives. God faithfully encouraged me as I was reading from 1 Corinthians 3. I was really encouraged by the example Paul laid out for us. He says “I (Paul) was like a wise master carpenter.” The truth of this statement didn’t hit me at first but as I took time to meditate on it the Holy Spirit reminded me that God is our ultimate example of a wise and skilled carpenter in how He works in our lives. A skilled carpenter takes pride in his work and pours all of his love and care into that project. When he builds something, he doesn’t just try to get it done as fast as he can, cutting corners and working quickly. He takes his time to make sure every part of his project is done with skill and is done perfect.

Paul also says there in 1 Corinthians that God is the one that gives the increase, or does the growing. How true that is. So many times I have been waiting for a huge breakthrough in the lives of the Tobo believers, for them to stand up to their culture and see many more Tobo people added to our numbers here. But that is not how God is working here in Tobo, God isn’t concerned with our numbers! He is a wise carpenter and therefore is taking his time pouring his loving care and wisdom into this small “band of believes”. Because God has been patiently teaching them, I have been seeing just how solid they are in their knowledge and understanding of the Gospel, their position in Christ and eternal security. As they have really come to grasp these complex concepts they have been becoming more and more bold in what they believe. Just the other day Welsin, my good friend came to my house to help me with some translation. Before we worked I was telling him what God had showed me from 1 Corinthians and how God is our carpenter and is always at work in our lives. He then told me…


(Welsen)

“God is at work in my life too, and I want to tell you about a chance that God gave me. Just this morning before I came to see you, I was out in the Jungle with 8 other people cutting wood for a new house. I knew that these people didn’t believe that all we have to do is believe in Jesus and God would be satisfied. So I asked them ‘do you think that you can follow our customs and do good things and that God will see that and be satisfied with you and you will receive eternal life?’ They all just sat there and a few of them said ‘we don’t know’. So I told them that we are all sinners and because of that we have a debt with God. However God knew that we couldn’t do anything to remove that debt on our own, so God saw this and was sorry for us and He freely gave Jesus to us to pay our debt. There isn’t another way to be acceptable in His eyes, it’s only by believing in Jesus that we receive eternal life. After I told them this, they all just sat there and said ‘wow this is a really big true talk’.”

I couldn’t believe it, this man is in Love with his savior Jesus Christ and he allowed God to use him to share with some of his friends what Jesus had done for him. I told Welsin how excited I was to hear this. He could have gotten scared and dismissed the opportunity to witness, but God gave him strength and he trusted in that. We both stopped and praised God and also prayed for those people that Welsin witnessed to that God would redeem them to himself as well. This whole incident brought me back to our great God the Wise Master Carpenter who has been faithfully and lovingly at work in Welsin’s life and in the lives of the other Tobo believers these last couple of years. He hasn’t been cutting corners, but taking his time so that these people here will be strong vessels that will bring glory to His name here in Tobo.

Thanks for praying for the believers here, please continue to pray that they will be a bold witness here in this dark place.

Your Hands & Feet,
Jason, Nisae, Kadynn, Judah & Eden


Thanks for taking the time to read this update, and thanks for continuing to pray with us for Welsen and our other Tobo brothers and sisters in Christ as they grow in their faith and boldness to share the Gospel in Toboland!



Chad, Janeene, Elijah & Zekey

a time for healing and some more exciting news

Hi again everyone,

Well, the dust is beginning to settle from the nerve surgery, and it appears for now that Chad’s pain level has gone way down, with only a few twinges of pain here and there which may just be radiating from the incision wound. The next weeks will give us an even better idea as to whether the pain will return or how much pain will come back, as Chad increases his level of activity. Overall, though, we are glad to report that so far it looks like the surgery has been successful and very helpful in eliminating his original pain at a resting level. Chad goes in on the 15th for another followup, and it looks like he just needs to continue to build up more strength and then we can head back to our ministry in PNG in October, Lord willing.

Chad’s knee is sore and stiff from Friday’s surgery, but he is able to walk around without crutches or a cane. Stairs are still a problem, and once those are doable again on a normal level, then it looks like he will be well on his way to full recovery. The stitches come out tomorrow (Friday), so that will give Chad the opportunity to ask more questions of the doctor about the timing and limitations of his knee in the coming weeks.

So all in all this is a huge praise to God! This time has been very painful and trying for our entire family, yet we have seen the goodness and faithfulness of God in our lives. He deserves every bit of glory for getting us through these days. Would you please continue to pray with us as we trust Him for complete healing physically and preparations for our return? We would also like to take care of a number of logistics involving the followup visit to Australia in January, as it is so much easier to do so from here in the US than once we are back on the field. Thanks for your love and prayers!!


We also have some very exciting news for you! Chad’s Mom Nancy has finished her second book, a novel entitled The Outcasts. This is a unique and fascinating fictional story told from the perspective of jungle-dwelling villagers. Please give Mom’s new website a look and consider getting a copy today! The site is nancymankinshamm.com.

The site includes information about purchasing The Outcasts and her first book, Hostage. It is also a good way to get in touch with her by leaving messages and even includes fun things like a contest! Check it out today!!

Once again, thanks so much for all your love and prayers,

Chad, Janeene, Elijah & Zekey