Here’s a quick summary of our paperwork process: We have been thankful that He has allowed Zeke’s lightning-fast adoption and all the other stages of our paperwork to be ready for us even ahead of the normal timetables (that is, Zeke’s birth certificate, SSN and passport all came through more quickly than expected). So as soon as we were able to send in for the last paperwork needed (visas to get into PNG) at the beginning of April, we were very optimistic that we would have everything in order in time for our original departure date of May 1st (The timeframe is typically 2-3 weeks). Problem is, this has been nothing close to typical, as we are now over a month longer than expected. To be honest with you, we really thought that we would get the paperwork in time for our first delayed departure date of the 19th.
Our mission’s government reps continue to check daily on the status of our paperwork, but word is that there is a “mountain of paperwork” for the government to sort through and process. So our people in PNG are working hard on our behalf, but they are as powerless and unable to predict the future as we are.
With no way to predict the future, we are trying to walk the tightrope between being wise with our time and money (every change costs more money, yet it would be a shame to delay our departure too much longer than when our paperwork actually comes through). So we are looking at changing our tickets once again. We will likely try to reschedule for another 2- 2 1/2 weeks from the 19th, depending on the lowest fare available in that timeframe so that we will only pay the change fees again rather than tacking on the difference in higher fares.
Of course, for us this is yet another disappointment, as we are ready to return to our village home, to join our newest partners the Williamsons, and to get back into the ministry on-site. However, we firmly believe that God has other plans for us at this time. These include further bonus time with family here, opportunities to help them out with more home projects, more chances to connect with friends from church, and finally, some extra time to work on preliminary stages of more Romans translation which should give us a little head start once we get back and settled again in PNG.
Thanks again for praying with us! Below we have some requests to help you to pray more specifically.
Chad, Janeene, Elijah & Zeke
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for the Tobo church, that the small group will continue to meet faithfully and grow in grace and in their understanding of (and hunger for) God and His Word. Pray for their testimony in the midst of strong opposition from the majority of the community. Pray also for our faithful brothers Welsen, Kips, Zanggo, and Tingon, who are leading the first Tobo outreach in the village and team-teaching a review of the evangelistic Bible lessons (Phase 1) on a weekly basis. Pray for the salvation of those unbelievers who come to hear their teaching.
- Pray for our partners the Williamsons as they are facing some unanticipated extra time alone in the village. Pray for strength, peace, and encouragement for them in these days as they press on with language and culture study and building relationships with the people.
- Pray for our partners the Knapps as they have recently returned to the US for their home assignment (aka furlough). Pray for a good time of needed rest as well as traveling safety, stamina and good opportunties to fellowship and share with their family, friends, and supporters about the exciting things God has been doing among the Tobo.
- Pray for us as we wait on the Lord for the paperwork to go through, that we would continue to make the most of the extra time God has given us here in the US. Pray also for our health, as Chad has been down and out the last several days with allergies piggybacking on a nasty cold, and Janeene continues to suffer a long-lasting cough probably brought on or at least aggravated by allergies. (Praise God, the boys seem to be doing much better and are over their sickness).
