Tyler and Emily in PNG

The past week has been full of dinner appointments with fellow PBT members here in Dallas. We have had an outing or an appointment for seven straight days now. It is nice to reconnect with familiar faces and share what has been going on with our lives for the past few years. Emily has enjoyed sharing our photo wedding book with others as well.

Last Thursday we had a ministry debriefing meeting with the president of PBT, Greg. Greg is also a Bible translator and he understands the overseas missionary culture and challenges. We sent over two hours talking about our first term on the field as missionaries and celebrated together the accomplishments. Emily has story after story of successful scripture impact engagements from Gandep Bible School to SD card distributions to memory booklets. Greg applauded the efforts of Emily and gave her positive affirmation. It was very encouraging to Emily that the man on top gave her personal recognition and encourages to keep doing the same.

We also discussed the overall dynamics of the PNG branch, the direction, vision, and future of PBT in PNG. Once again, Greg believes that for PBT to fulfill the mission and charge put before us, we must continue to strive for the finish line. As Emily wrote a few weeks back, that finish line is year 2050.

On another note, both Emily and I have been reaching out to a young family that is planning to join the team in PNG this coming January. Currently they are in the middle of partnership development or support raising which is a time of faith building and stretching. Emily and I want to extend our knowledge and experiences with them as they prepare to head to the field in the coming months.

On Sunday night we invited them over and their two young daughters for an Alaskan wild salmon dinner. We broke bread, played games, and shared. I believe the time we spend on this side of the ocean cultivating relationships will help greatly on the other side once we meet again in PNG.

This week, we will be traveling to Ozark Christian College for a recruiting trip that Emily and her friend. They will be presenting to students at their alma mater and sharing the many needs of PBT around the world. Please pray for our travels to Missouri and back. Pray that God will use Emily to speak to the college students and potential recruits for PBT and missions. Also, praise God for the sale of my Jeep in Alaska. A buyer from Anchorage bought my Jeep on Friday and the funds have been deposited into my account in full. Praise God!