Tyler and Emily in PNG

Yesterday, Emily and I got the honor to share the ministry of Pioneer Bible Translators at a small rural Lutheran church in Montana. It was a bit awkward to be sharing on Christmas Sunday as missionaries, nonetheless it was an honor. As I sat down on Saturday to figure out how I was going to incorporate Christmas into our presentation of Pioneer Bible Translators and our ministry in Papua New Guinea, I struggled a bit.

Earlier in the week, I was following my daily e-devotion and the message has been about why Jesus came into world. The author explained Christmas is about LOVE. God loved us so much that he sent his Son, John 3:16. The Christmas story is a love story.

When we share I like to read from the Tok Pisin Buk Baibel to give the listeners a small taste of the trade language in Papua New Guinea. I chose to read from Isaiah (Aisaia) 7:14:

Wanpela yangpela meri i gat bel, na bai em i karim wanpela pikinini man na kolim nem bilong en Emanuel.

The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, andwill call him Immanuel.

Immanuel: Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל meaning “God is with us” only appears three times in the Bible: Isa 7:14, 8:8 and Matt 1:23. Ever since Adam’s time in the garden, the people of the Old Testament have been looking for the Messiah who would deliver them from suffering. Fast forward to Luke and the story of an amazing woman, the mother of a Savior, and the woman God had favor on…Mary.

Mary was a lucky woman plus blessed and favored by God. However, she was confused, worried, stressed and quite disturbed by this message from an angel. But the Lord had favor on her and she was to carry the Christ child. (Read Luke 1:26-38)

The angel told Mary both about her pregnancy as well as Elizabeth’s then ended with stating, ‘for nothing is impossible with God.’ As missionaries in PNG we witness many impossible things in our eyes everyday but God sees differently as the angel proclaimed here. God was eternal eyes and nothing is impossible with God!

Christmas is about love. God loves you so much that he sent his Son into a world filled with hurt and evil. It is our duty as God’s chosen ambassadors to tell the world the story of Christmas. As Emily and I prepare to return to PNG in the coming weeks, it will be on our hearts to tell the story of Christmas to those who have not heard or read it. It is a great pleasure and joy to be on a team that their call is to put God’s word in their language so one day the people of PNG can read the Christmas story for the first time.

Go tell it on a mountain that Jesus Christ is born!

Mele Kalikimaka / Merry Christmas!

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Winter has arrived in Montana. A few inches of snow fell over the past weekend then the temps dropped to 0 degrees…brrrrrrr for our standards of the South Pacific. As the man of the house, I thought it would be a great idea to shovel the small parking area in front of the garage. It did not take but a few shovel loads of snow to realize I really do not miss this. I would rather trade the four letter word of ‘snow’ for ‘sand’. Anyway else, agree?

Last Monday, I did not post a blog because Emily and I were finishing our 1935 mile drive from Indiana to Montana. We pretty much covered the mid-section of the continental USA plus Alaska and soon Hawaii during our time in the USA. (A nice photo illustration to help everyone who is a visual learner like myself.) Our last trip is about to commence tomorrow as we leave for eastern MT to visit Emily’s grandfather in Glendive then a short side trip to North Dakota for lunch with a ministry partner. Add another 900 miles to our yearly total.

One of our highlights from the past 30 days has been we have been able to visit with my 94 year old strong grandmother. She just rolled over into her 94th year last week. She was able to join us around the table at Thanksgiving and we will able to visit her at her home in Huntington, IN as well. We even jumped at the chance to sit with her at her favorite event, watching Huntington College men’s basketball. She is a great inspiration and testimony to both Emily and I. My grandparents were missionaries to west Africa for many years and my grandfather was the college president for 16 years. It is always special for me to enjoy the energy, excitement, and compassion my grandmother has.

My brother-in-law, Charles often likes to be coordinates, 0’ 0’ 0’ or home. Emily and I are both feeling closer to being ‘home.’ It is nice to know our travels and commitments on this side of the world are nearing the end. We are both eager to return to coordinates, 0’ 0’ 0’.

I will end with a funny photo that I captured while testing out my new webcam on my laptop. Emily and I were with Hannah and Logan (two of our favorite nieces and nephews) for a photo shoot with Uncle Tyler.

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