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Christmas (1/19/2007) Last week was like Christmas all over again. After we were finished settling into our new home our crates, which were shipped out in August, arrived. We were very thankful to see many things that we had forgotten we packed. We have been working to pack up the orientation items (dishes, etc.) which were supplied for us when we first got here and replace them with our own.
In other news, the Tobo people of Madang, Papua New Guinea, heard the message of the Gospel for the first time this week! The missionary team working with the Tobo completed the Phase 1 teaching on Tuesday with the teaching of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.
This week started our NCLA (National Language and Culture Acquisition). We must first learn the national language and culture before we begin learning a tribal language. We are looking for good language helpers to teach us.
Please Pray:
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Pray for the missionary team working with the Tobo as they do follow-up from their teaching.
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Pray for the new believers as they grow in their faith, in the face of opposition.
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Pray that we will catch onto Tok Pidgin quickly, and that we will find good language helpers.
Praise Him:
Home Sweet Home! (1/1/2007) On December 29 we departed from Detroit Metro as planned. Prior to our departure we had a great time with Robyn's extended family at Bob Evans just a mile or two from the airport. It was bittersweet saying our farewells. Michael did extremely well on the plane! The longest leg of our trip was the 14.5 hours from Los Angeles to Brisbane, Australia and Michael slept between 8-10 hours of that leg. His good nature and semi-toothless smile helped him to make many friends along the way. Overall the trip went very well. We are praising the Lord that we were able to move through customs with ease. Last night we had a welcome/New Year's Eve party. It was great getting to spend some time with the other missionaries here on the base. We look forward to getting to know them all better.
Please Pray:
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Wednesday will be our first trip into town to do some necessary shopping. We are looking forward to the introduction to the PNG markets.
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We are organizing our home and will be starting orientation soon.
Praise Him:
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As long as we are here at the base we are able to stay connected to friends and family through Skype, a computer-to-computer or computer-to-phone calling program. Download it onto your computer so that we can stay connected!
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Praise God that the travels went well! Thank you all for your prayers!
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Michael loves his new home. He is enjoying the freedome to roam and we even have a fensed in yard for him to play in. We'll put some pictures on at a later time.
Up Up and Away (12/04/2006) Last Friday morning we got our visas. Later the same day we met with the missions chair and pastor of our church in Michigan and got the official approval to purchase our plane tickets. Our departure date is set for December 29, 2006. We are excited to be joining friends and potiential partners in Madang Papua New Guinea. We also want to express a BIG THANKS to Raptim International Travel for all of their hard work.
Please Pray As:
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We will be packing over the next couple weeks.
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We will be completing necessary legal paperwork.
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We will be spending the holidays with Robyn's family prior to our departure.
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We will be in the air for over 24 hours, not counting lay-overs.
A Step in the Right Direction (11/08/2006) We got word last week from our Goverment Representative in Papua New Guinea that they have secured my (Levi) work permit. Now that they have both of our work permits we are going through the process to obtain our entry visas. We are praying that this will not take too long.
We will be leaving for Missouri, Sunday night to share this ministry with some churches down there and spend time with my family for Thanksgiving.
Pray For:
- Safe travel
- Increased support so we can leave in December as planned
- Quick processing of our visas
- For my family as this may be the last time we see them for a few years
Hurry Up and Wait! (10/31/2006) Welcome to the life of ministry. It doesn't help to be in a hurry for anything. In fact, flexibility is one of the first lessons you learn in ministry. Our government representative has received Robyn's work permit out of the labor department in PNG and have been waiting the last two weeks for mine. As soon as we get word from them that mine is in hand we will be sending off our visa applications. Please pray that these will get processed quickly. We are nearing 50% of our recommended support. Currently I am working with a couple travel agencies to find and reserve three seats for us to be able to travel to PNG this December.
We will be speaking in three churches in Missouri in November. December 1 we will be re-evaluating our support level and making the ultimate decision as to wheter we will step out in faith with the support we have and leave for PNG later that month. Please pray for increased support. If you feel that the Lord would have you to be involved in any way please see our Financial Facts page.
Early June, Robyn and I met with the missions committee of our sending church to discuss moving our departure date to this coming December. Previously we had been planning to leave for Papua New Guinea in April 2007. Because of field paperwork deadlines our departure date kept getting pushed back. Every three years the field goes through the process of renewing the paperwork (work permits and visas) of the missionaries currently on the field. This is set to begin this coming January. The field leadership has blacked out travel from January 1 until the process is completed, most likely July 2007.
There are three couples we are considering joining forces with to form a church planting team. Two of these couples are already in PNG. We would like to get there as soon as possible to join up with them. With the blessing of our field leadership and missions committee we have been pressing on to make the December 31 deadline. | 
