We're home!

We are so glad to have returned to our own home in Papua New Guinea and to have completed the long journey back here.  The following picture was taken during one of the better moments of our 12-hour layover in San Francisco; the children had already been awake for 16 hours at that point.  Twenty-nine hours later we arrived in Cairns, Australia.

After some swimming, repacking and two nights of sleeping, two short flights brought us to our home on the Ukarumpa centre.

* We praise God for allowing us to return to Papua New Guinea.  We are grateful that our luggage made it too!
* We are thankful that our home and dog were well taken care of by missionary colleagues.  The children were particularly concerned about the dog while we were away!
* We've felt the effect of your prayers as we've parented Levi, Heidi and Eowyn through this time of transition.  We've gained various helpful insights as we continue to raise our children.
* We would appreciate prayer as we return to our roles on the Ukarumpa centre and find our place amongst our colleagues.

Learning and Jousting!

Last week we were in two different places:

I (Clare) was in Pennsylvania at the Heartstream Resources Member Care Course.  Andrew, Levi, Heidi and Eowyn stayed in North Carolina and enjoyed a day trip to the North Carolina Renaissance Festival.

The week of training was immensely helpful in preparing me to continue as a pastoral care facilitator in Papua New Guinea.  All that I learnt will help me to be a better support to those in challenging situations, whether through listening, asking useful questions, or helping people work through conflict.  I'm keen to get back to this role in January.

At the Autoshop, staff are eagerly awaiting Andrew's return.  In a recent letter Andrew's manager, James Ernandes, described Andrew as 'irreplaceable in his role'.  He shared how Andrew helps the other Autoshop staff better understand the local culture, and how the staff have been helped many times by his commitment to grace, understanding and patience. 

James added, 'And he is one of our best mechanics to boot. We depend heavily on Andrews knowledge base of motorcycles and small engines'.  To read the whole letter, click here.

We are so encouraged to see how the Lord continues to bring in financial partners in a whole variety of ways.  We still need $825/£650 per month in regular support in order to meet our Wycliffe ministry budget for the next three years.  If you are planning to start giving financially or would like to change your current commitment in any way, we'd be very grateful if you could let us know; this will help us reach the point of being released by Wycliffe to travel to back to Papua New Guinea.

It is amazing, as we meet people on our travels, to discover how many of you are praying for us regularly.  We are most grateful.

Avocado Trees and Changed Lives

In our garden in Papua New Guinea are two avocado trees:

They don't bear fruit too often, but we enjoy huge amounts of avocado when they do.  Even more exciting is when the work of Bible translation bears fruit.  It's been thrilling recently to read about lives that have been changed following encounters with the Jesus Video Bike that Andrew has worked on frequently.

We are not directly involved in the translating itself; but just as a tree's trunk supports its branches, we are supporting translation and literacy work by using our practical skills.

The part of the tree that can't be seen is the roots.  We know though that the tree couldn't survive without the roots.  I'm reminded of those who are faithfully partnering with us through prayer and finances from their home countries.  The gifts of prayer and finances go largely unseen, but are vital; without the financial and prayer support of people around the world, there would be no Bible translation work in Papua New Guinea.  

We're so glad to be able to catch up in person this year with many individuals and churches who are supporting our work in Papua New Guinea.  We're excited that we have several new opportunities to share about this work and let others know how they can be involved. 

This month's prayer points:
*We praise God for opportunities to speak to others about our work in Papua New Guinea.  
*We praise God for a successful medical check-up for Eowyn in March this year.  The consultant saw very little change since our last visit, which is a good thing.  We can wait two years before returning for a follow-up visit.

*We pray that God would be strengthening our 'roots' by enlarging our team of financial and prayer partners.

Many thanks,

Andrew, Clare, Levi, Heidi and Eowyn Koens

Dealing with Stuff

In five weeks we will leave PNG for ten months of home assignment. 

As well as making preparations for our time away, I'm working hard to get the house ready for others to live here.  One part of that is getting rid of items that our family no longer needs.  There aren't many recycling programmes in Papua New Guinea, but that doesn't mean that things get thrown away!

Some items are given directly to colleagues and local friends; these items range from used plastic food or drink containers, all of which will get reused, to clothes that our children have outgrown but which other children in Ukarumpa or around the country will appreciate. Boxed up items can be donated to the 'Everything Sale', an annual event run by the teenagers here to raise money towards their youth centre.  Some things are sold to colleagues; there is no Ebay here and the range of products available in local stores is limited so people appreciate the opportunity to buy things from each other.

It always amazes me how many lids I find with no containers to go with them.  Those, at least, will get thrown away if no matching container appears!

We would appreciate prayer as we enter this time of transition:

*Heidi is concerned about being away from PNG, from her friends and from our dog.  Levi was distressed when he heard that he'd have to pack up his bedroom before we left.  Eowyn has no memory of living outside PNG.  Please pray for all of our children as they face these big changes in their lives.   Of course there is a lot to look forward to as well.  They are most excited about seeing family.  Heidi also wants to see a giraffe and Levi is looking forward to visiting science museums.

*We are grateful for the opportunities that we have to connect with friends and churches back home.  It's been encouraging to see our schedule start to fill up:

* Please pray for Andrew and I as we work to complete many tasks that we want to get done before our departure on 6 March.  An added complication is that Andrew can't work on some of these jobs until spare parts arrive from overseas; he'd appreciate prayer for these parts to arrive quickly.

*We are thrilled to hear that there should be someone to live in our house and care for our dog from May onwards.  We are praying that someone would be willing to look after our dog in the first couple of months that we are away.             
  

We have Stories to Share!

When we are in the UK and the USA next year, one of our assignments will be to share about the Bible Translation work that's going on in Papua New Guinea.

 

       
This photo shows the 'furlough workshop' I've been attending; my goal has been to come up with interesting and helpful presentations.  Gone are the days of the 30 minute slide show!  We'll be aiming to share in a way that's relevant to each group of people, and which gives others a chance to see how they too can be involved.
        
Do you know of people who would like to hear how God is using Bible Translation to change lives in Papua New Guinea?  If so, please get in touch.  This might be in your church services, small groups, Sunday school meetings, children's groups or schools.  Of course we'd love to share with you in your own home too!   Even if it's too early to work out the specific details, it would be helpful to find out about possibilities now, for planning purposes.

Prayer and Praise Points:

* We now have plane tickets!  I'm keeping track of and updating our itinerary here.  We appreciate prayer for good decisions as we prepare for our time away from PNG and that plans would come together well.

* Please pray for good times of transition for our children.  They are excited about the upcoming travels, but the idea of spending a long time away from the place they know as home can be unsettling for them.

* We would appreciate prayer for wisdom in our work, and that we would use our time well during the next few months that we have here.

Thank you so much for your valued partnership with us, expressed in many different ways

Christmas News

In the UK

Leaving in a Week

We're busy getting ready for our eight-month home assignment, which starts in a week. We leave PNG on Monday 23rd May, visiting friends in Sydney, Australia and in Hawaii before arriving in Florida at the beginning of June to spend four weeks with Andrew's parents.

Andrew is trying hard to finish up as much work as possible before we leave and also needs to clean up his office and work area, as well as get some things done around the house, so he is keeping busy.

I (Clare) have been doing lots of sorting and packing. We are glad that a friend will be staying in our house while we're away, so I've been getting the house ready for her to move in. Although Andrew and Levi have now had their PNG visas renewed, my passport is still in the government offices waiting for for the new visa. I'm not completely sure what will happen if the visa isn't renewed before the date we leave, but it would certainly add complications!

Levi, now two and a half, is sleeping better than he was last time we wrote, and we hope he adjusts well to sleeping in new places over the next few months. This time away from PNG will be a big change for all of us, but please pray especially for Levi, for whom everything and everyone will be particularly unfamiliar. Right now, the concern he expresses most often is whether he will be able to bring his favourite toy puppy on the plane! (This dog was actually given to us as a wedding present, but we never found out who it was from. If you gave it to us, please let us know!!)

I'm now 25 weeks pregnant with the new baby, who is making his/her presence known on a regular basis! I've been having regular check-ups at the clinic here in Ukarumpa, and will arrange for continued medical care once we get to England.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support, which we value particularly at this time of transition.