PNG

  • Another Blog Site For My Whole Family!

    Ruth and the kids all wanted to have a place where they could also blog about our trip to Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea! So, here is the new link is http://michaelfam.blogspot.com/.

    I'm actually pretty impressed with this free blogging system and I would highly recommend it. Anyuway, expect updates to it frequently.

    God Bless!

    -Chad

  • Responding To The Call

    New Horizons Community Church has been our church home for about the last 12 years. About 4 years ago, I recommitted my life to the Lord, and this time I was really serious. I finally understood at a heart level the design for family that God planned for us. While I'll never be perfect by any stretch of the imagination, my life is slowly changing, step-by-step, to better reflect God's glory as I live in obedience to Him. And a big part of living in obedience for us, has been prayerfully listening to God's direction for our lives individually.

    The news! We believe God has asked us to commit to moving to Papua New Guinea for 12 months to serve there as missionary supporters in the town of Ukarumpa. I was given an opportunity to share about the process we've been going through on a Sunday morning at church. Here is the link to listen to the story.

     

    To tell the story, I start from the beginning of our marriage. I refer to a number of photographs and a couple of video clips which I'll include here. 
    Here are the photos I used of Ruth and I (if you listen to the message it will make sense why I showed these)

    Above are a series of pictures of Ruth when she was in her late teens on a Royal Servants missions trip through Europe. Our journey with Wycliffe has rekindled a passion for missions in her heart.
    These are pictures of our first home, riding the farm horse together, and Ruth tilling the garden.
    The Globe showing the island of New Guinea with Papua New Guinea highlighted in green.
    A google map showing the area where Ukarumpa is (middle blank circle)
    This is slideshow of Ukarumpa that I mention towards the end of the message.
    This is video by Niel Anderson I refer to right at the end.
    Blessings,
    -Chad

  • This could be the beginning of a great adventure

    A couple of years ago I heard a few spots on the radio about Wycliffe Bible Translators. As part of the program, they kept pleading for volunteers to help with their goal of seeing a translation effort in every language that needs it by 2025.

    Today about 340 million people do not have the Bible in their own language. Wycliffe’s vision is to see the Bible accessible to all people in the language they understand best. To make this vision a reality, Wycliffe also focuses on community development, literacy development and church partnerships.

    At the time, I had found myself with a little time on the side and thought I might be able to help with some work from home. Given that software development sometimes lends itself to telecommuting, I figured I’d give ’em a call.

    After going through the application process and being approved as a Wycliffe volunteer, the first opportunity they sent my way was a 1 year commitment in Papua New Guinea! I’ll admit to being somewhat enticed by the idea. But it wasn’t practical! I have a wife, three kids, I’m very involved at their school and at the church. Too many commitments, too many relationships. So, I passed.

    Over the course of the next couple years, an occasional email would come through asking for software developers or IT help in different parts of the world. I kept looking for something that I could do from home, and even responded a few times mentioning that I would be a great fit, except that I wasn’t in a position to move my family.

    In the last month or so, the Lord has been working on us. At church we’ve wrapped up a series on I Corinthians 13, the love chapter. One of the underlying themes throughout the series this time around has been on having a “biblical perspective”. Remembering our God given purposes, and using what He has given us towards what He has called us to.

    The Monday after a message that was heavy on missions, guess what popped into my inbox… Papua New Guinea. I prayed it over some and moved on. But this time, it stuck in my mind. I mentioned it to a couple of close friends and we took it to prayer. It was starting to “bug” me so I decided to mention it to my wife so she could knock some sense in to me. When I mentioned it to her, I just about fell out of my chair, when she said we should pray about it!

    Well, a lot of prayer and rumination later, we decided God was telling us to take the next step! I responded and am now looking over a bunch of information about Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Ukarumpa. Not sure where this will end up, but I imagine it would be blog worthy so I’ll plan to make updates here on occasion and more information pours in.

    God Bless!

    -Chad

  • Total It Up Program

    The better part of last week I spent with several Bible translators and Wycliffe representatives at a 5-day course titled Total It Up (TIU). The purpose of this program is to give aspiring translators a taste of what's involved in Bible translation. The Bible translated into a person's hear language is essential for personal spiritual growth and is the foundation of the church. Without the Bible, we have no basis for worshiping the God of creation and learning about God's plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.

    We heard from experts in their field in Phonetics, Phonology, Grammar, Translation, Language Learning and much more! It was surprisingly fascinating and I could actually see myself pursuing it further someday. At the very least, it really helped me to understand the kind of work we'll be supporting while we serve with Wycliffe down in Ukarumpa, PNG.

    Thanks to all the instructors and the other students at TIU! I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and won't forget it!