Update and Build Trip 8 - Orland Team

Cassidy • January 10, 2024

The last build trip was a success, thank you to all of you who prayed and asked us about it! Bryan, Zach, and Kombuk were able to completely demolish the second house, which was their primary goal. In addition, they were able to store and organize the building materials and household items, and they were able to finish all the girding beams and floor joists on our new home.


Starting with the solar panels on the roof:

... then the roofing, and then wall by wall:

... then organizing all this wood and metal and beginning work on the floor.

Partway through their trip, we sent an extra helicopter up to the village to drop off plywood. Here is a truck I hired and the guys loading it on:

Work on the foundation interrupted by the extra heli:

They sent the heli back out with some bulky items we don't have space for (since we are going from two houses to one):

Spending time with people, strengthening relationships, reminding them of our purpose in rebuilding - so we can keep teaching them the good news.

Bryan and Kombuk, along with some village helpers, finished all of the girding beams and floor joists!

Back in Madang, we kept on with our advent activities and school:

In the southern hemisphere, slip n slide can be a Christmas activity!

After three trips in two months, Bryan and Zach sorely needed a rest. We had a few weeks of break and celebrated Christmas. Pictures of that time:

Our coffee date (my mom's Christmas gift to us):

Christmas morning:

Christmas dinner with the Twomblys:

Ellie still growing up:

Swimming outside:

Bryan trying to show Zach how wonderful fishing is (it did not work):

Fixing screens on the property:

...and lots of prep for the next build trip.

As for current events, today build trip number 8 began! On Sunday, three guys arrived from a supporting church in Orland, California and this morning they flew into the village. They hope to strengthen the bearers, brace the corner posts, put down a plywood floor, frame all the walls, put up roofing, make some sort of roof cap, and wrap the whole house in plastic. If these things happen quickly, they will begin to frame and hang doors and windows and/or build steps to our front door.


We are thankful to have these guys here to help! One of the men, John, is a professional carpenter and came twice in 2015/2016 to help build the first houses. So sweet how he uses his specific skills to support God's work in the Finisterres.


Here are some pictures of the last couple days:

Prepping our cross-bracing, third-world-country style. Kyle helping John bash the metal flat and then Oliver is helping Warren (in the background) drill holes for the bolts.

John made friends with Annie:

Kyle the amazing pianist encouraging all our young piano players:

Ready to leave this morning:

Please pray alongside us again for this trip! Lots of the same requests as before: that these guys would be efficient and safe and not get sick, that relationships with the guys in the village would be smooth and encouraging, that tools would work and every bolt/nail/piece of wood/etc they need would be on hand. And our ultimate goal is that God would be honored in this one trip, in our house building, and in our whole work.

Teaching on Baptism

By Cassidy • January 20, 2025
The established church here in our village is Lutheran. Or, at least, it’s called Lutheran. In reality, it is a mix of Lutheran religious practices, animistic beliefs, and a false gospel of being good enough to be accepted by God. One of the practices here is that they baptize their babies and believe that this baptism saves the baby. After being baptized as a baby, the child should grow up and do good things and will go to heaven.

Oliver Turns 11

By Cassidy • January 15, 2025
This boy turned 11 on Sunday! He chose cookies and ice cream as his dessert because he knew everyone would enjoy it. Sundays are a busy day, but we celebrated midday with food and dessert and presents, followed by some fun family games. It is a joy to watch Oliver grow in wisdom and stature. This year he finished his first trek through the Bible, memorized Psalm 139; he listens to and think through the great claims of the good news of Jesus Christ, and is making efforts to be generous with others (especially his brother). On the stature front, Oliver is probably the strongest member of our family - certainly for his size. He is regularly swinging from his ninja course - a series of ladders, ropes, and handles hanging from our rafters. He can do a 6 minute plank and 35 pushups (far surpassing his parents' abilities in those categories). And we love how he uses his strength to care for and protect his little sisters.

Christmas with the Demarests

By Cassidy • December 23, 2024
We were thankful to host one of our pastors and his wives, Scott and Sarah Demarest, for five days this month. We got to do our Christmas activities and advent readings with them each day and had such a sweet time with them.  (Since they TOOK most of the pictures, they are absent from many...). Gingerbread cookies instead of sugar cookies this year, which was the right choice. Why haven't I been doing this all along?!

The Death of a Baby

By Cassidy • December 8, 2024
Sepla came to our door two days ago asking for an egg. Her baby boy was very sick and she needed the leaders to pray over an egg so they could confess any wrong they had done, eat it, and Alfons could be released from the sickness. Zach explained to her that this practice is not from God, and therefore has no power. He got Eki and the two of them went to Sepla's house to pray to God that her baby might get well. Sepla is a good example of the syncretistic thinking prevalent here. She attends church faithfully, but she holds on to many animistic beliefs. A very imbedded core belief is that sickness can be caused by the bad thoughts of a wronged person, or in some cases: a sorcerer who is actually intent on evil. Sadly, Alfons died yesterday afternoon. The leaders asked Zach to speak at their vigil in the evening and he shared two things. First, he read from Psalm 139 and explained that Alfons lived exactly the number of days that God had decided. God is in control of life and death. Second, he shared the story of David and Bathsheba's baby dying in 2 Samuel 12. There, the Lord is in control of everything. He is the one who passes over David's sin and gives the child a sickness. God is the one to whom David prays while the baby is alive and worships when he dies. Zach pointed out at the end that David says that someday he will go to him, but his baby boy will not return to him. From this text, Zach explained that Alfons' spirit isn't wandering around on the earth! David believes the child is in heaven where someday David will be. Zach said he believes Alfons is in heaven, not because he was good, but because God is merciful. What we also need to consider, Zach explained, is if WE will someday be with God. He shared the gospel with them and encouraged them to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus for forgiveness. Some of those attending last night, like Sepla's husband Bui, never attend Zach's teaching and therefore didn't know this good news. Please pray for Sepla and her husband Bui.

Annie Turns Three

By Cassidy • November 24, 2024
This girl is three today! We celebrated with cake and presents and phone calls. Sadly, she had a tummy bug, so she spent much of the day heading back to bed to rest, but true to character, she was a happy girl nonetheless.

Scott Maxwell and Uriah Come to Visit

By Cassidy • November 24, 2024
As you may have read in our email update, we were able to host Scott Maxwell and Uriah earlier this month!

A Hike to the Pig House

By Oliver • October 25, 2024
This is Oliver and I am writing my first blog. Today Jude and I went on a hike with my dad's language helper, Giye, and his sons. We hiked from our house to Giye's pig house. A pig house is a second hut they build to look after their pigs.

Oliver Finishing the Bible

By Cassidy • October 24, 2024
When our boys learned to read, we encouraged them with the words of our pastor: "Now you can hear from God yourself!" Learning to read means we can read God's Word, the Bible. What's why we need a strong literacy program here in the village! Oliver began reading the Bible right after his sixth birthday: February 2020, with a Bible given to him by his Aunt Sandy. In these 4 and a half years, he has plodded well, and on the 18th of October, 2024 he read the last chapter of Revelation! This is cause for celebration in our family. He had picked out a new Bible in the US and we gifted that to him and ate cake. The next morning, he began his second reading through the Bible. How different his understanding of Genesis must be at ten years old versus six!

Ruscios' Visit

By Cassidy • October 9, 2024
Our mission organization, FinisTerre, recently sent a new family to do ministry in Madang. The Ruscios only arrived in PNG in July, so they are just starting to learn PNG culture and the trade language. As part of their orientation, they came up to stay in the bush for a week. We SO enjoyed getting to know them. Frank and Jacklyn have three boys and a girl, so it was a fun week for our kids, too! Eki gave them a proper welcome:

Back to the Village

By Cassidy • August 18, 2024
We have been back in the village for almost a month now! It has been a season of adjusting physically (cloth diapers, cooking, laundry...!) and relationally, doing the final unpacking/minor projects, and getting back to work. We are well, we are grateful, and we are moving forward with ministry! Here are some pictures. Jude and Oliver recruited some old friends to build a little shelter:
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