Sanders Party of Five

Well, Sanders Party of Five has been in Papua New Guinea for a month already and life is going quite well for us so far. We’ve spent the past month getting settled into our new home, learning the lay of the land, meeting lots of new people, and figuring out how to live in this new and very different place.

We have already begun working with a language helper in our home once or twice a week, and this has proved an invaluable way to begin building relationships here in our village.The techniques we learned at MTI this summer have been tremendously helpful as we work with our language helper, and we’re excited about the progress we’re making. Language learning is such an important part of our job right now that we wanted to begin as soon as possible, rather than wait for language school to start.

Christmas was unlike any other we have experienced. One difference is that it’s summer here, as well as rainy season, so the weather was nothing like it usually is in Alabama or Texas. Also, church festivities began on Sunday night and continued every day until Wednesday, which was Christmas Day. The final celebration featured a great big mumu for the entire village. A mumu is a way of cooking in the ground with hot stones. We enjoyed plenty of chicken, a whole pig, lots of kumu (greens), and kaukau (sweet potato). This was a great introduction to PNG culture for us, and we ended up with plenty of good stories to tell you all the next time we see you. 

New Year’s was next, and we had a wonderful time ringing in the new year with our PNG brothers and sisters sitting around a fire telling stories about the past year and dreaming about the year to come. 

Our family has been incredibly grateful for the open arms of the believers here in our village. They are patient with us as we learn their language and culture and seem willing to help in any way possible. 

This past week Jeremy was able to join the New Life Mission pastors for the New Life Mission yearly kickoff meeting. This network of national pastors has partnered with To Every Tribe to get the gospel to unreached tribes in Papua New Guinea. Please pray for these pastors and the churches they represent as we join them in the work of gospel proclamation.

We will be leaving for language school on Thursday of this week (Wednesday afternoon for you). The school is located in the coastal city of Madang, which is about seven hours from Goroka, our current home. While we are sad to be uprooted once again, we are very excited about the opportunity to attend formal language classes. The program is called the Pacific Orientation Course (POC), and is run by Wycliffe Bible Translators. The course is three months in length and includes language classes, information about the Melanesian culture, training for village living, and an extensive fitness regimen, which is vital for thriving in the rugged environment of PNG. We will complete the program on April 15th and return once again to the mountains of Goroka. Internet access will be extremely limited or nonexistent while we are in Madang, so don’t worry if you don’t hear from us for a while. 

Since we have been in PNG we have battled stomach illnesses and severe sunburns, cultural awkwardness and language frustration, lack of privacy and loss of independence, strange sights, sounds, and smells, constant power outages and a variable water supply, spiders, ants, and roaches. 

But our biggest battle has been against our own sinful hearts and attitudes. 

We’re the missionaries, but there’s no doubt that this country gained five sinners when we stepped off that airplane. Praise God that we are sinners saved by the marvelous grace of Christ, and we are eager to share this grace with those lost in darkness. No matter how much we mess up or don’t get things right, Christ is still our hope and salvation. Jim Elliot said it best with this quote: “We are a bunch of nobodies trying to exalt Somebody.” May we never think too highly of ourselves or the work we do, but remain always in awe of our great God. 

• Our trip to Madang on Thursday

• We are still trying to secure a public motor vehicle to take us to the coast. Pray that we are able to find one soon.
• The road to Madang has had some issues because of rainy season. Pray that the road and bridge will be in good working order and that we will be able to get to our destination without too much trouble. 

• Language School (POC)
• Pray that we will have perseverance to learn the language in order to communicate well with the nationals. 
• Pray that sickness will be kept at a minimum while we’re in less sanitary living conditions. 
• Pray that we will be a blessing to those we encounter while we’re in Madang, whether it’s fellow students, teachers, or nationals. 

• Spiritual Lives
• Pray that we will continue to rely on Christ as our daily bread.
• Pray that God will be very real to us in the coming challenging days of language school.
• Pray that we will seek to glorify Christ in all that we do. 

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