Update on Visas and New Prayer Request

We have yet to receive our visas, but there has been progress. I received an email on July 26th that the visas were finished. I then contacted the Papua New Guinea Embassy to get the visas actually issued. The Embassy informed me they have not received the needed paperwork to issue the visa. (This paperwork is sent via fax from immigration in Papua New Guinea.) I then contacted my agent in PNG handling this, and immigration told him they did fax the paperwork! That was last Monday the 28th of July, and we still are waiting for them to fax/refax the paperwork. Please continue to pray this issue will be resolved quickly. We are confident the issue will be resolved shortly. Once we have the visa issue resolved, I will be purchasing the plane tickets. We should be able to be back in PNG four weeks after receiving our visas.

Another Prayer Request
We are shipping a 20ft Container back to PNG. As most of you know from previous prayer letters, many of our household items have been destroyed by rats and termites. Our couch chairs, one bed, decorative items, kitchen table, and many other items have been either been destroyed or rendered useless. We have been able to replace many of these items while on furlough so we are shipping a container back to PNG. The cost of shipping the container is $13,109.00!
Please pray about this need. The cost to get our household goods from Fort Myers, Florida to Port Moresby, (Port Moresby is the capitol of Papua New Guinea.), is $7080. The cost to go from Port Moresby to Kavieng, New Ireland province is $6039. Even if I was to purchase these items over there I would still incur the $6039 expense and then have to purchase all the items over there. Household goods would be much more expensive over there, so I would still be spending around $10,000 altogether, yet I would not have the quality of goods I have from the United States. I did contact several different shipping companies, and I am going with Missionary Expeditors. They had the best overall price to PNG. I have no choice in the shipping company when it comes to Port Moresby to New Ireland though; only one shipping company. Please do pray much about our container situation.

April through June Prayer Letter

Here is our latest prayer letter for April through June.

Urgent Prayer Request
We have an urgent prayer need and that is our visa situation. While on this furlough our children’s passports expired, and we renewed them back in December. Since the passports were renewed, we also have to complete visas again for the children. We sent the paperwork out for that in January and after a delay on the PNG side, everything needed was submitted to immigration in PNG in May. The first part of June, we received an email informing us PNG immigration is backed up and taking up to six months to process visas. Here is an excerpt from that email: “You might need to pray for a miracle with regard to your kids' visas. …….. the immigration office is thousands of visas behind and grossly understaffed. It is so bad that everyone is howling about it. It has been the subject of newspaper articles and we know personally of several horror stories. Our own passports have been in their possession waiting for our visas for about 6 months.” Under normal circumstances our visas should have been completed by the 25th of June, which is the day I am writing this. I have called the PNG embassy in D.C. and the visas are not ready. They would not even give me a time frame for when they would be completed! I was informed to just check back week after week.
My last meeting on this furlough is tonight (June 25th) and then we are ready to return. We were hoping to be back in PNG by mid July. We know the Lord is in control and has a reason for this. Please pray the Lord will intervene and allow our visas to come through. The situation leaves us sort of in a limbo. We will probably make arrangements to head back to Alaska to wait this out. I am also considering scheduling some other meetings as well. We need the Lord’s wisdom and direction. We truly desire to return to PNG ASAP!

Other news
The last three months have been filled with meetings. We truly enjoyed reporting back to our supporting churches on furlough. I have also held meetings in several new churches since mid May. Also please pray about our house in PNG. We received more news that the rats are still wreaking havoc in the house. We have much work to do on the house when we finally do arrive. Missionary Richard Crotts has been a blessing to us by working on our home in PNG. He has even opened his home to my family and I when we do return, until our home is livable. (He is located on the island just south of ours, New Britain.)
The family and I are currently staying at the D and D Missionary Homes in St. Petersburg, Florida. We arrived here on the 5th of May.

Seeking Those Things Which Are Above

(Col 3:1,2) If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.


Seeking those things which are above!

In the busy world Christians live in today, there are many things seeking our affection. From advertisers, careers, education, relationships, religion and many other things. If we are not spiritual minded we will end up seeking the wrong things as a result. We need to make a concentrated effort to seek those things which are above, to set are affections on things above. I believe the majority of Christians today are struggling with carnality. Many Christians are even convincing themselves that their carnality is just fine, and God is okay with it. One reason for this is Christians seeking those things which are below, and setting their affection on things below.

The key, to seeking those things which are above, is understanding our new life in Christ in which we are “risen with Christ.” There may be multitudes of things on this earth seeking our affection and as we give in, we begin seeking those things. We then become carnal minded, and struggle greatly with our Christian life. We become obsessed with this life on the earth. We seek our joy from this world, and seek our fulfillment from this world. In reality we are seeking vanity as Psalm 4 puts it. We miss the fact that we have a new life in Christ, which IS contrary to this world. The new life seeks those things which are above. The person seeking those things which are above is not defined by a career, but by their God. He/she is not seeking things of the world. As Christians we have a new life in Christ: a new life that should be greatly different than the old life, a new life that strives to please God more than men, a new life that seeks after holiness, a new life that seeks to fulfill the gospel/great commission, a new life which is heavenly minded and not earthly minded.

What have you been seeking today? Where do your affections lie? Who are you trying to impress? Life is all about Jesus Christ, seek Him!

Close to Returning

The family and I are now at D and D Missionary homes in Florida. We are nearing the end of furlough, and I have about 8 meetings left. We are awaiting to hear concerning our childern's Visa situation. We had to renew their Passports and thus Visas. As soon as I hear the Visas are finished, I will be purchasing our return tickets to PNG. Please pray we will hear quickly that the visas are finsihed. We have been waiting for several months right now.

The meetings have been going well. I have finished reporting back to my supporting churches. The rest of the meetings (8)I have are all new churches. We still have about $400 month more needed before returning. We are also sending a 20ft container back as as well. There is much going on as we prepare to return. We are all anxious to get back.

From Utah to Asia

I have been very busy with meetings this year. As a matter of fact, I will be leaving Fort Myers in just a few minutes for West Virginia. I have been in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Florida, Louisiana, Japan, and Korea, reporting back to churches. The meetings have all been going great. The family and I are anxious to get back on the field. We still have some more support to raise, but we are confident we will be back in Papua New Guinea by the end of June or first week of July. My last meeting is the second Sunday of June.

Here are some pics from my previous meetings.

This photo is taken from the Haven Baptist church in Kunsan Korea. I am sitting between Bill and Linda Stewart, missionaries in Kunsan for over 30 years. The work there is geared to the U.S. Military. The Air Force base there is a remote assignment so the military can not bring their families. The airmen are assigned for one year at this base. This work has a new congregation every year! I was assigned there from 1994 to 1995. The Lord used the Haven in a great way in my life.

This photo is of Adam Wyrick, a missionary in Korea. He has a Korean work and is doing a great job.

This photo is from Kunsan AB. I was having lunch with Bro Stewart and some of the men who attend the Haven.

This photo is taken from Berean Baptist church in Ogden Utah. Pastor Mallinak is to the far left. Every year, this church does a theme from a missionary in the past for their conference. This year the theme was David Brainard. When they pick the theme, they also pick the garb out from that time frame and all the missionaries, as well as Pastor Mallinak, wear it. It is a good conference and alot of fun.

This is my former pastor and his wife, Willie and Patricia Byrd. He is pastor of Berean Independent Baptist Church in Alamogordo NM. I was a member there from 1991 to 1994. I enjoyed preaching and reporting back there and seeing old friends.

Why I like our deputation system

The following is a post I made on another forum (jackhammer), concerning the deputation side of missions. I have edited the post so it flows here.

When I was preparing for deputation, I was not at all for it. I felt this way even before the Lord called me to the mission field. However, shortly after deputation began, my mind was changed. I am all for deputation now, and I do believe it is much more scriptural that the cooperative program the SBC uses. Even though I can not stand the calling part, the calling part does have some benefits. It is very humbling. My family and I truly enjoyed deputation.

Let me give some reasons why I am for our current system, and what changes I would like to see.


Why I like the current system.
1) I believe it is scriptural. I do believe the Apostle Paul was supported by several churches, from his sending church in Antioch, to his most faithful supporting church in Philippi. (Acts 13:3, II Cor 8,9, Philippians 4:17) (The apostle Paul might not have had monthly support, but the local churches were the source of support for the Apostle Paul. He also used his tent making as well.)

2) The missionary gains much needed PRAYER support by virtue of all the people he is meeting. I can not tell you how often I received an email or letter from a church member from a supporting church letting me they have been praying for me and my family. Many times I would receive their correspondence during very difficult times and it really helped. How many times did the Apostle Paul say, “Brethren pray for us”?

3) Helps keep missions on the mind in the local churches. I believe the Lord can use the missionary to help assist the local churches in stirring their people about the importance of missions. Many companions of the Apostle Paul were from a variety of churches not just Antioch, and were stirred when they met the Apostle Paul and thus traveled with him. Consider Silas, (Acts 15:40) I believe Silas’s home church was Jerusalem.

4) The missionary’s eggs are not all in one basket. If only one church was supporting and they have trouble, it is very likely the missionary will be off the field for at least for at least one year.

5) It allows for churches to accomplish the great commission and gives fruit to their account. (Philippians 4:14-18)

6) The local church being able to give unto missions is well pleasing unto God. (Phil 4:18) Keep in mind the church at Philippi was not the Apostle Paul’s sending church, Antioch was.


What I would like to see changed or more common. (These are just ideas I believe would assist in the deputation stage of the missionary's life.)

1) I would like to see sending churches try to support for 1/6 to 1/5 of the total support needed. This would help greatly in the beginning stages, and cut down on the length of time of deputation. Of course, this would only be if the Lord enabled the sending church and it did not put them in a financial strain. (Many sending churches could not do this. I speak only of churches that are in a position to do something like this.)

2) I would like to see an average of $100 monthly and $70 at the very least. I still have several churches that support for $25 a month. Could you imagine if all churches supported for $25 of month! Deputation would take seven years! (I appreciate all of my supporting churches regardless of how much they support.) If churches took on fewer missionaries at greater amounts, it would cut down on deputation time.

3) I would like for all church secretaries to resign immediately. (Just kidding.)

4) If a pastor had a missionary in and the church really liked him and was behind what the Lord called him to, for the pastor to call other pastor friends and recommend him. This would assist the missionary getting meetings. The pastor getting the call would be less nervous about having a missionary in, if a fellow pastor recommended him.

Goal of Missions

I thought i would post some comments I made about missions from Jackhammer. The topic this month is missions and the discussion was over the goal of missions.


As a missionary, my goal is to obey the Great Commission in reagrds to the work the Lord has called me to do. I am to follow Matthew 28:19.20, Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8 etc… (These verses, and other similar verses, are the Biblical authority behind missions.) I am therefore to preach the gospel and disciple those who trust Christ. As a result a church will be established. This is God’s design. Church planting is the ultimate goal.
Here is the Biblical pattern for Biblical mission work as I follow it in PNG:I am to go into new villages preaching the gospel. If there are converts as a result of the preaching, my next step is discipling, with the end goal a self supporting local church. If a local church is established, I have accomplished my goal for that village. A goal that I believe is Biblically mandated by verses like Matthew 28:19, 20. (The only way to fully accomplish Matthew 28:19 20 is by establishing a local church. These verses are the directive for missions.) Granted, I can not accomplish it backwards. I do not start teaching Bible doctrine to lost people. This is absurd. It has to start with the gospel followed by conversion.

Bro Kent made a very true statement today, “We’ve made “church building” so complex.” The fact is church planting on our end follows a simple pattern, and yet when I read books on the subject they usually have one chapter on Bible methodology and then dive into 14 other chapters of man made efforts. By the time your finished reading you have list of 98 things you need to do to plant/build a church.
We need to be Biblically driven instead of numbers driven in our efforts to accomplish the great commission. Please do not think that I do not desire to see multitudes saved. I truly dream and day dream of entire villages coming to the Lord with only one true church in the village. However, we must stay focused on how the Lord has directed us and leave the results to him. I will not be judged based on numbers, but on my obedience to the Lord. Let’s remember, many of the churches in the New Testament were house churches. We have come to the place in America, that unless you meet certain worldly requirements such has a separate church building, pews, choir loft, baptistery etc… you do not have a “real” church.
Now, I am a realist. I understand it will be difficult to build a church in the American culture with a house church. However, as I already stated, we need to leave the results to God. Jesus said, “I will build my church.” He did not say “he would build your church”, nor did he say “you will build my church.” God knows how for provide for his work. We simply need to follow the Lord and trust him to provide. Matthew 6:33 is very true! I would whether have a house church with true converts who love the Lord, then a church of 500 who are sheep in wolves clothing or carnal. (My point is not that big churches are wrong. A church that does not follow God’s design is wrong regardless of size. A church that does follow God’s design is right regardless of size.)