anticipation looking ahead. There is great benefit in both! Looking
back shows us the faithfulness of God, His perfect direction, His
unerring love. Looking ahead hopefully drives us to our knees seeking
His wisdom, and ongoing direction, as well as cause us to plan and be
good stewards of the resources made available to us.
Looking Back
Jan 1, 2011--We rang in the New Year with a release from the hospital
after my latest miscarriage. Not how we would have chosen to bring in
that New Year, but God has a plan, and we find our rest and peace in that.
Feb, 2011--The IT department that Chris works in had meetings with other
mission and IT organizations, hosted at SIL, to share ideas. Jael turns 10.
March, 2011--Angie was excepted into Liberty University's Online
Master's Program for Education/Special Education. Her first class
starts in May. Titus turns 3.
April, 2011--Jael follows Christ in obedience, and is baptized!
May, 2011--End of the school year! Jael moves on to fourth grade, and
Baruch into FIRST grade!!
June, 2011--One family from ICT returns home to Australia having
completed their associate term. This brings the department from an
almost ideal 5 (6 is ideal), down to 4. Chris and Angie also celebrate
15 years of marriage!!!
July, 2011--Much needed family vacation to Lae for 2 weeks! On the
heels of that, Angie and Jael take a trip to Madang on a kind of
"Passport to Purity" trip. Jael is growing up so fast! NTM hosts an IT
convention here.
August, 2011--A new school year begins. Chris and Angie are offered and
accept a new part-time ministry overseeing the Ministry Library (a
resource center of helps for translation and church-planters) and the
citizen Guest House. 10 YEARS of service in PNG!
September, 2011--Grandparents make a surprise visit just in time for the
first school break! And, we all get to go to the Madang Conference.
Baruch turns 7.
October, 2011--We receive approval to be a Prometrics Testing Center.
Chris worked hard to make this happen, and now we can test for a myriad
of different certifications. We are hoping that this will become yet
another tool in reaching out to the community, and helping our own
missionaries receive and maintain professional certifications that allow
them to remain here in country working their ministries effectively and
efficiently.
November, 2011--Another member of the IT department returns home,
bringing the staff from 4 to 3 (that's 50% of the ideal). This
individual will return for a few months after the new year, but then
return home as he waits to see what the Lord would have him do. No
other IT personnel are currently on the horizon for another 18 to 24 months.
December, 2011--Angie and another fellow missionary lady start training
to become Test Center Administrators for the new Prometrics Testing
center that NTM now has on center here.
A Look Ahead
In many ways, 2012 should look much like 2011. It is likely that our
ministries will not change greatly, though we continue to move ahead.
This summer (May), Angie would like to take another trip to the
Philippines to continue her training in educational therapy. This will
be vital in continuing to help meet Jael's educational needs in the
years ahead! Please be praying that the Lord would raise up the needed
funds for such a trip again. Angie continues to work towards her
Master's degree, one class at a time. Chris is also looking to add some
IT certifications this coming year that will allow him to help fill in
the gaps the limited number of personnel leaves.
We covet your prayers in the area of parenting. It is amazing how kids
can have the same two parents and be so uniquely and vastly different!
Each one requires a unique approach, and we look to the Lord for wisdom.
A new dimension is added as our eldest approaches the teen years.
Technically, we still have a few years, but practically, we feel like we
may already be starting them.
We also covet your prayers for wisdom in stewardship. There is SO much
good we wish to do, but are more and more limited by resources. We know
we are not unique in this challenge, and that many at home also face
this dilemma. This also seems to be the pattern, as we come to the end
of a term on the field, that our finances seem to be more and more
tight. The Lord is faithful, and his family generous. Our needs
continue to be met, and our faith is renewed each time they are. Our
plans, however, is where we need the most wisdom. We wish to be
faithful and wise with the resources we have, but also trust the Lord
for the big things that are beyond our control.
The big picture of our family returning to a tribal ministry has not
changed, but the details on the timing are slowly becoming clearer. It
is now fairly obvious that we will remain in our current ministries here
until our next furlough the summer of 2013. Again, Jael's education is
the primary concern right now. We continue to see good progress, but
it's becoming more and more clear that this is a huge and very involved
process and she is going to require more time. At this point, the time
here before we go home, and the time that we are home, we feel will have
us in a more likely place to resume a tribal ministry somewhere upon our
return to PNG in the summer 2014.
Your prayers are priceless! Thank you for blessing us through your prayers!
Chris, Angie, Jael, Baruch and Titus Walker
