This last Sunday Sesi and I finished teaching the last of the 1 Thessalonians lessons; eight lessons altogether. There were a lot of new and exciting themes covered as we moved through the text to see what Paul had to say to the young church in Thessalonica. In particular we honed in on Paul's always-looking-forward mindset as he relates the church's existence to the eventual return of Jesus! In just these short few lessons we're hearing this particular topic coming up in discussions, especially as it regards to persevering in the faith! We want to keep seeing more of this as a sign of maturity in the church! Now that these lessons are done, I just need to clean them up, make a few corrections, then print them in book form for the church! 
As we continue to move forward I'm putting on the final touches to 2 Thessalonians translation. Then on to developing those lessons and teaching them. After that… gulp… Revelation! This is a fun little graphic I made to use in the lessons; Jesus returning along with his holy ones.
Each weekend I spend some time with the leaders, challenging them in their walk with the Lord as it pertains to their role as leaders. We meet after church on Sunday and spend an hour or two sitting, talking, eating and being challenged about how to grow as leaders here in Mibu. One topic that has been particularly challenging to them recently is regarding humility. This is a principle modeled perfectly to us by our Lord Jesus, and stands in stark contrast to the 'big man' thinking that permeates PNG cultural ideas of leadership. Jesus encourages a very different kind of thinking for those who want to be great… to consider yourself lowly and be the servant of others.
We've been enjoying the companionship and fellowship of the Noyes family these last almost six weeks. They've come into Mibu to do what's called 'bush orientation', an extended taste of bush life and a time to wrap up their study of the Pigin trade language before deciding where and in what capacity they are feeling led to serve on the field here in PNG. The Mibu people have enjoyed serving them by helping them with their understanding of language and culture. We've heard lots of really positive comments about them from folks in the church! It's been a pleasure to have them here! Shannon has enjoyed many times hanging out with Sara. The kids have enjoyed helping with their children and playing with them. And Craig and I have enjoyed lots of strategic, theological, and other discussions! They're a great family and we can't wait to see how God uses them on the field!
There seems lately to be a wave of medical emergencies here in Mibu! The day the Noyes family arrived a young girl was brought up having been cut deeply on her leg by bamboo. Since then there have been 3 other fairly major emergencies. I keep joking with the folks here that they need to get rid of their bush knives and stay away from bamboo! Craig has done much of the stitching and aftercare. It's been an excellent chance for him to test his skills with some basic medical stuff, and also to see just how quickly medical help can turn into a bigger job than we can handle. You see, our strategy does not include doing a medical clinic here in Mibu. It's easily a full-time job, and it's just not what we're here to do. However when a friend is carried up, is in bad shape, and asking for help, we gladly help of course! Every now and then though it seems to come in waves, keeping us quite busy. Sometimes we go 6 months without seeing anything. Then it all hits and it seems like we're suturing 6 people back to back! That's been the story for us lately!
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