Literacy Class 5

Cassidy • September 3, 2025

On Monday, a new literacy class began! Our literacy teachers, Maikepe and Namura, have been gathering names and school fees for a year, but interest here was low. Once some men from a nearby village decided to join, interest (there and here!) spiked and we have an overflowing classroom.


Sewing to bind four more literacy books to account for the extra students:

(In case you are confused: I coach the reading class on Saturdays for those in our village who have already graduated from literacy and want reading practice. The Literacy Class 5 I am referring to in this blog is the class for brand new students. It will run Monday-Friday morning for 3.5 months.)

Though I taught and then coached the first, second, and third class, the fourth class was completed while I was on furlough back in 2021 and it was clear that the teachers are still in need of help.


For background: these literacy classes have students from all across the reading spectrum: some read and write in Pidgin very well, some haven't written more than a handful of times since grade school and can only barely read their own name.


As I watch this class beginning, I can see one big problem: whether from shame or passivity, some of the unschooled students are allowing their friends in class to help them and do work for them. I have taught the teachers to curb this, but it's evident that this needs to be driven home acutely. So daily I have been encouraging the teachers to remind the students that they will not learn if they allow others to help them during these important foundational lessons.

So, you can pray for us! I don't EXACTLY have 2.5 hours each morning to devote to literacy, so Zach needs to step into homeschool and taking care of girls during that time... pushing back his workday significantly. 

But for now, we both think it is important for me to be there for now.


Literacy is a foundational need for a thriving church here! We want to see men and women know how to read in their own language and then be able to access God's written word in their language so they might grow in the knowledge of God and be able to share that knowledge with others! God's Word is in a book and therefore we must work hard to equip the people here to understand it for themselves.

The Millers Have Landed

By Cassidy • January 22, 2026
Please join us in welcoming our new teammates: Josh and Autumn Miller! We got to know the Millers about 3.5 years ago. We were living in Madang following the earthquake that knocked down our home in Mawerero. And the Millers' were in Madang to bring a season of ministry to a close. And so, as the Lord would have it, we were neighbors for about 6 months. We got to spend lots of time together and fellowship with them was so sweet as we both dealt with trials. Soon after, the president of FinisTerre starting discussions with both of us about the possibility of the Millers joining our team in Mawerero. Fast forward through more transition for them, a new baby, raising support, and house building... and yesterday they landed on our ridge and moved into their new home and new ministry!

Married 15 years

By Zach Cann • January 22, 2026
15 years, 7 homes, 4 kids, 2 continents later...

Oliver Turns 12 + Christmas

By Cassidy • January 17, 2026
Oliver turned 12 last week! This guy brings joy to us. He is able to laugh at himself, he loves snuggling his sisters, and he is funny. He is also creative - he loves to draw maps and write stories. He loves Dungeons and Dragons and made up a game with D&D figurines that he likes to play. He LOVES board games and card games. He put together a schedule by the hour of how we would celebrate. :) We had a fun lunch of pizza pockets, followed by pazookie, and party games.

Literacy Graduation for Class 5

By Cassidy • December 18, 2025
The day we returned from Madang we found out that the literacy class had finished their last class a few days earlier and just wanted to wait for us to arrive before doing the graduation ceremony! I am so proud of these teachers and these students. They worked hard and have now learned how to read and write all the sounds in the Do language. The ceremony was completely planned out by the students, using the pattern of the previous classes. The singing was accompanied by the ladies who are in the reading class, which was so sweet to see.

Madang and Time with the Yates

By Cassidy • December 18, 2025
We just returned from a great time in Madang. We got to spend lots of time with the FIVE other missionary families currently living there, and we also welcomed our pastor, Smedly, and his wife, Janet, for a visit. It was a full and fun and encouraging time with so many brothers and sisters in Christ. We feel refreshed and ready for another stint in the village! Here is a highlight reel in pictures:

Annie is Four

By Cassidy • November 25, 2025
Our Annie Rose turned four today. We are thankful for her! She is our little go-getter. She likes being a part of all the action and is tough enough to handle it. Going to someone's garden, playing games outside, going on a hike, helping out when we are working on a project together... Annie wants to be involved. She also really loves helping. She begs to help me cook and has become actually quite helpful! Shredding cheese, sifting bugs out of flour, cracking eggs... she is a hard worker. Because her birthday fell during a break to town, she got to have two celebrations. The first was in the village with us, our new teammate, Josh, and his house building buddy, Johnathan. The second was today and included all five families that are in Madang right now! Here are some pics and her birthday interview:

Juli's Funeral

By Cassidy • October 31, 2025
Juli died yesterday. The news came to us through Bangena and her young daughter on our steps. “Juli died and her brothers are trying to hurt her husband. They are hiding him there in the Counsel’s house," they said, pointing to our next-door neighbor’s hut. So many people were shocked. “How could she be dead? She wasn’t sick. I saw her just a couple days ago…!” Eventually we learned that Juli had hemorrhaged all night and had died in the morning. A brand new baby, miscarried, and they could not stop the bleeding. Juli has seven children close in age (the youngest was still nursing). Her parents knew that children so close together can cause complications, so a while back they told Samuel to stop getting his wife pregnant. Samuel agreed and promised his wife she wouldn't have any more kids, but it was a promise he couldn't keep.

Millers' House Build

By Cassidy • October 30, 2025
As you may have read in email updates and other posts, we have new teammates - Josh and Autumn Miller! We are so thankful to the Lord for giving this sweet couple a desire to serve the Lord here among the Do people. They have been working since July to turn our previous office into their new home! Josh and Kombuk (our Madang carpenter friend) have flown in every couple weeks to work. A close family friend Johnathan is also here helping with the build. He flew out from the states in August and is staying here in PNG until the house is done! Johnathan has stayed in the village even between trips to keep working, which has been sweet for our family as we have been able to get to know him.

50th Independence Day

By Cassidy • September 28, 2025
On the 16th, PNG celebrated 50 years of independence! There were big celebrations all over the country. In our village, they had a flag raising ceremony at the school to start off the week. Then there were basketball and soccer tournaments, dart games and lots of food. Hiking down to the school:

JAARS Video

By Cassidy • August 6, 2025
JAARS trains and sends pilots over here - we are thankful for them!