New deadline for Yahoo Groups data request

Hi Yahoo Member, In recent weeks, we communicated the latest changes to Yahoo Groups and explained how to request a download of any content you've previously posted to the platform. Some Groups users asked us for more time, and in response to these requests, we have decided to extend the deadline. Groups users now have until Friday, January 31, 2020 at 11:59pm PST to submit a request for their data. We have now taken down all user content from the Yahoo Groups website. However, we will continue to accept users' requests for their data until January 31, 2020, and will ensure these have been fulfilled prior to deleting the data. For additional support, users can email YahooGroupsEscalations@verizonmedia.com and our team will troubleshoot any issues. Best, The Yahoo Groups team     Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Customer Support 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089 ©2020 Yahoo

Next Steps: The Evolution of Yahoo Groups (Final Notification)

Dear Group Moderators and Members, Last month we notified you of the changes coming to Yahoo Groups that better align with user habits, and today we are providing an update to guide you through the next steps of the transition. Yahoo Groups is not going away - but we are making adjustments to ultimately serve you better. We are amazed at the vibrant community you've created through Yahoo Groups and we want to make sure you feel supported as we introduce these changes. The following changes were made since our last communication:    •   Users can now only join a Yahoo Group through an invite or group request approval by the Group Moderator.    •   New Groups can't be public. They can only be private (not listed in Groups directory, membership by invitation only) or restricted (listed in Groups directory, membership requests must be approved by a Group Moderator).    •   Members must share all content via email, and can no longer upload or host new content on the Yahoo Groups website itself. The following changes will be made on December 14, 2019:    •   Public groups will no longer exist. All existing public Groups will become restricted Groups that require Group Moderator approval to join.    •   Any content that was previously uploaded via the website will be removed. If you would like to keep any of the content you've posted or stored within your Yahoo Group, please download it by December 14 by accessing the Groups Download Manager at this link. Once you provide your preferred email address, we will send you a confirmation of your download request and notify you once the download is complete. You will receive a link to a downloadable zip file via email for each of your Groups organized into a separate folder. Download time varies depending on the amount of information and file size. If your download request is made by 11:59pm PST on Saturday, December 14, 2019, your content will not be deleted until your download is complete. We are unable to accommodate any download requests made after this deadline. This is the final reminder to download your content. You can find additional information about the upcoming changes here. We have worked extensively with our customer support team to develop recommendations for tools that can help you with any download issues. See help article here. We have watched the evolution of Yahoo Groups with awe, as we grew to a community of millions with over 10 million Groups. Every day, we witness the power of community and shared passions, and our mission is to provide a platform for the strong connections people make with each other around their interests. We thank you for being part of the Yahoo Groups community and look forward to continuing to provide ways for you to connect with one another about your shared interests and passions. Sincerely, The Groups Team     Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Customer Support 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089 ©2019 Yahoo

Evolution of Yahoo Groups

Dear Group Moderators and Members, Thank you for your commitment to Yahoo and for helping us define the power of digital communities. Eighteen years ago, we combined the functionality of a site called eGroups.com with a precursor community platform called Yahoo Clubs to launch Yahoo Groups. Since then, you and millions of others have helped prove our hypothesis, by creating and joining more than 10 Million groups. A lot has changed about the Internet since 2001, including the ways most people now use Yahoo Groups. Today, most Yahoo Groups activity happens in your email inbox, not on the bulletin boards where Yahoo Groups started in the pre-smartphone age. Increasingly, people want content and connections coming directly to them, and this is why we continue to invest in Yahoo Mail -- including the recent launch of a new Yahoo Mail app that is currently the highest-rated email app in the App Store and Google Play. So, as our users' habits have evolved, we have begun the process of evolving our approach to help active Yahoo Groups thrive and migrate to our email platform. To help you plan for these changes, below is the schedule of how this transition will happen. Beginning October 28, 2019: Users will be able to join a Yahoo Group only through an invite from the Group Moderator or by submitting a request to join a Group, which requires approval by the Group Moderator. Since we are moving Group communication from posting on message boards to email distribution, uploading and hosting of new content will also be disabled on the Yahoo Groups website. Beginning December 14, 2019: All Groups will be made private and any content that was previously uploaded via the website will be removed. We believe privacy is critical and made this decision to better align with our overall principles. If you would like to keep any of the content you've posted or stored in the past within your Yahoo Group, please download it by December 14 by accessing this link. As these dates get closer, we will send follow-up reminders. More information about the upcoming changes can be found here. While this evolution of Yahoo Groups is inspired by how we see the platform being used today, we know change can be difficult. Here are a few important facts as we make this transition: 1. Yahoo Groups is not going away - We know that our users are deeply passionate about connecting around shared interests, and we are evolving Groups to better align with how you use it today. 2. New groups can still be formed - Users can continue to connect with others around their common bonds and interests. From animal rescues to sporting and activity groups, civic organizations to local PTAs, members of our Yahoo Groups will remain connected and able to share their activities and interests. All of the content that you have shared previously on the website, can continue to be shared via email. We know that Yahoo Groups is an important online extension of your real-life group of friends, interests and communities, and we are committed to supporting communities that rely on Yahoo Groups. Thanks for coming along with us this far. We look forward to seeing where the technology -- and you -- take us in the decades to come. Sincerely, The Groups Team     Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Customer Support ©2019 Yahoo 701 First Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94089

You're Invited

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Final preparations...

11 weeks and counting!
Just 11 weeks left of our 3rd term here in PNG! It's been our
longest term so far, and we are really starting to feel it. The kids
are on school break...the last one before we leave, and we are in the
midst of packing to move back into Mibu (upon our return), sorting,
cleaning, selling, and throwing away. A big job, and one we're trying
to get a handle on before the final term of school begins in April.
Pray for us as we work to get in everything that needs to be done, and
finish strong.

A Special Visitor
We have a fun treat to share. When we come home, a friend, a PNG
national policeman, will be coming home with us! It's been a bit of a
dream of ours to be able to introduce someone from PNG to our home in
America. Joel Kombi has worked and saved, and bought his own ticket,
and will be spending the summer with us (including our road trip down
south). Here is a unique opportunity to get to know a Christian from
PNG, and hear a bit on how our ministries here impact PNG lives. We are
very much looking forward to introducing you to him, and to expanding
his horizons!

Ducks in a Row
In so many ways, we feel so much better prepared for this furlough
than we have for our past ones. The Lord has been faithful through
churches and people like you, and we've learned a few lessons along the
way too. We managed to save for our plane tickets home, the Lord has
already provided housing for us for the entire time we're home, and we
even thought we were doing good in saving towards a van for us to use.
5 1/2 years ago, $2,000 bought us a good, reliable, 10 year old van.
THIS is how we have been planning and budgeting for this furlough.
Imagine our shock when we learn that in order to purchase a good,
reliable, 10 year old van, we need 3-4 times the funds! It may not be a
shock to you who have lived in the states these last 4 years, but for
someone who's been gone and out of touch with the used car market, we
find ourselves woefully unprepared for this expense! We are looking
into different avenues, but it appears we are going to need at least
$4,000-$5,000 to get us a van that will handle the miles we need to put
on it (funds of which we only have about half).
We have seen the Lord do amazing things for us these last couple
years. We KNOW that none of this takes him by surprise, even if it does
us. We also know that the Lord works through his people praying. It
seems that this is the last thing (that we know of) that needs to fall
into place before we can literally hit the ground running. (He's even
graciously supplied a "second car" for us to use!) Would you please
pray for us in this need?

Prayer
As we anticipate an incredible year at home, we do have some
additional prayer requests that we'd like to share with you:
1. Our kids' schooling. We've put in an application to a charter
school that is just 2 miles from where we'll be living and we feel like
would be an excellent fit to meet their needs. We find out mid-April if
they made it in or not.
2. Support raising. Please be in prayer with us even now that God
would be preparing the hearts of churches and individuals to join our
financial support team. We wish we could do without this aspect of our
ministry, but the fact remains that it costs money to do what we do.
The cost of living here in PNG has raised substantially in the last 5
years, which is reflected in our current support level of about 55%, and
we are hurting (our website www.walker-talkie.com is out of date and
still states that we are at 90%, how we wish this were so!). Combined
with the sour economy at home, we need the Lord to again intervene on
our behalf.
3. In April, Chris will be hiking into Mibu again for a couple
weeks. During this time, he will: make more detailed notes on what
needs to be done on the house in there before we can move into it upon
our return; do a follow-up post-literacy evaluation from the one he did
while we were there over Christmas, and do what he can to encourage
Geoff & Shannon and the Mibu church.

Because of HIM,
Chris, Angie, Jael, Baruch and Titus Walker

A Christmas to Remember

Reconnecting

    In our our last update, we asked you to pray about the possibility of our family visiting Mibu over Christmas.  We also asked prayer for the sale of our car to allow this to happen.  Our car did not sell, but the Lord graciously provided through other means for us to make this epic trip.  What joy to see our friends and families in Mibu again!  How special and touching it was to see that they were as happy to see us again as we were to see them, and how it warmed our hearts to hear how so many of them had prayed for us and our return.  Chris lost no time hiking here and there, meeting with friends, and showing the kids around to some of the local sights.  Angie enjoyed reconnecting with her closest friends, one of whom lives quite close to where our houses are.  The kids jumped right in, amazing us with their ease in which they embraced their surroundings and the people!  Jael, in particular, enjoyed renewing her friendships with 2 of her friends, and even enjoyed a night of frog hunting with them!  While some things have obviously changed of the course of years, the bond we now share with our brothers and sister in Christ made none of these changes really matter.

Refocusing

    While we were there, Chris was able to attend and also help participate in the teaching of I Timothy.  New, but timely and much needed material for the maturing Mibu church.  While we were there, the church found it necessary to practice some church discipline with a couple (not married) who were involved in adultery.  It was very encouraging to see the church not only wield the scriptures appropriately regarding the guilty, but also rally behind and  graciously support the victims (both parties involved are married).  We were also reminded anew of how radically different the principles of scripture are from the culture of the Mibu people, as some aspects involved on the discipline side of things were hard for everyone to recognize as important and worth doing.  Pray for them as they continue to grow in this area.
    Also, while we were there, Chris was able to tackle a much needed job for Geoff Husa in the literacy program.  The literacy program has been around now for about 8 years.  In spite of the numerous classes, the ability to read and write comprehensively among the Mibu people is very limited.  Part of the problem may be time--it takes time for something like literacy to become an inherent and intrinsic part of a culture.  Part of it may be cultural--it's very difficult to correct someone for risk of shaming them.  Part of it may be shortage of material to read--it takes time to build a library, and the Mibu missionary team has been short-handed these past couple of years.  Regardless of the reason, the ability to accurately read a short passage and comprehend it is way below where we'd like it to be, especially for those who are literacy and Bible teachers.  Results from the post-literacy evaluation system that Chris developed can now show these teachers where they are at, and serve as a benchmark to encourage them as they see themselves improve with practice over time.  A successful literacy program is critical to accurately reading and understanding scripture for themselves.

Affirmation

    Our trip was not all highlights.  We had a mix-up (Angie's fault) and NONE of our clothes that we had packed made it in with us, causing us to scrounge, beg and borrow from our teammates until they arrived about a week later.  We dealt with a faulty hot water system by heating pots of water on the stove and hauling it up a flight of stairs to the 2nd story bathroom for bucket showers.  Our fridge ended up being a glorified cooler that required the use of ice blocks frozen in our partners' freezer to keep all our food from turning.  The last 2 weeks there was very little sun, so our laundry started taking on a strong mildew smell (indeed the entire house started to smell that way before we left).  And, a back injury and nasty virus kept us incapacitated for longer than we'd like, limiting our time with our friends.  And yet, even with all of that, we have come away with an overwhelming sense of affirmation that this is indeed the plan God has for us and our family.  There was no awkwardness or reservations felt on our part.  There are obvious needs that we see the Lord has qualified us to meet.  And each time we meet with the Husas, we come away a little more awed at how much we seem to be on the same page after being on such different pages not that long ago.  On every front we seem to see the Lord's blessing.  This time of living "on location" with our future (even current) partners was so valuable on so many levels.  We are so thankful we were able go.

And NOW....

    NOW, we focus on the rest of this term.  It's likely that Chris may hike in to spend another couple weeks in Mibu sometime in the next month or two to further develop this post-literacy evaluation system, and to even make preliminary arrangements for work that needs to be done for housing our family on our return.  There are two terms of school left to complete (and 2 online classes for Angie), a house full of goods to sort, sell or pack as well as clean, new co-workers to welcome and train, projects to finish, a car that still needs to sell, and relationships to maintain.  There are plans to make, a speaking schedule for our time home to fill, presentations to prepare, and contacts to be made.  Now we enter the last 6 months of our term on the field, and especially since it coincides with the end of the school year, the pace will slowly build to dizzying, even are there are more things to fit into the same hours in a day.  Pray with us that we'd be wise stewards of our time and resources, and that we would finish this term strong.  (OH, and please, if you'd like for us to come speak at your church, Sunday School class, small group, Bible study, or just even your family, you don't have to wait until we get State-side to make those arrangements!)

We thank God repeatedly for each of you...
Chris, Angie, Jael, Baruch and Titus Walker

Pictures:
Jael with a group of friends.  They painted her face (though it's hard to see), so she would match them!  They were celebrating a school meeting that was going on when we arrived in Mibu.
Baruch and Titus (Jael too) had hours of fun playing on the Merry-Go-Round that their grandpa built them years ago.  Still runs smooth as the day it was installed in the ground there, and still provides great enjoyment for kids.
Chris reading I Timothy to the Mibu church.

MOVING FORWARD!!

> Furlough Plans
> Our tickets are bought! June 14 we land in Chicago ready to take
> in all the time with family, friends and American culture that we can.
> This is new to us, to have our tickets so far in advance, but we feel
> blessed that the Lord has faithfully provided over the last couple
> years so that we were able to save a bit by each month. We will be
> enjoying some much needed family time on our way home (another first
> for us), and the entire family is looking forward to getting to see
> Manila and England along the way.
> Another blessing from the Lord.... Some dear folks from our home
> area have made a house available for us to stay in while we're home.
> Knowing ahead of time where we'll be staying makes us SO VERY thankful
> for this offer, and the absence of stress that comes with figuring out
> where to live is amazing! It may not seem like a big deal, but when
> you're literally half a world away, and only staying in the US for 1
> year (so many places want 2 year leases now it seems) and have a
> limited income...it becomes a big deal! Our family is ensured of our
> "own space". To this third-culture family...that is music to our ears!
>
> Check your Calendars!!
> We have actually already scheduled our first 2 speaking
> engagements for while we're home, and we can't wait to get more!
> After taking a bit of time to acclimate, catch up with family,
> friends, our home church, and get used to driving on the "right" side
> of the road again, we hope to start taking meetings with our
> supporting churches, individuals, new churches, families, Bible
> studies, Sunday School classes, and any other kind of meet you can
> think of, starting in mid-July. Check your calendars, and let's "set
> a date"!
>
> Mibu Christmas???
> We thank you so much for your prayers as we've talked,
> investigated and prayed about moving ahead in Mibu. The Lord has been
> SO good, and we believe there is clear indication that we should move
> ahead in this. We have met with the family that remains there serving
> the Mibu church, Geoff and Shannon Husa, and have been tremendously
> encouraged with our talks and times of fellowship together. While
> there are still a number of things to discuss, both families feel
> confident and comfortable with us moving forward in our plans. We
> will take the opportunities to talk as they come.
> One BIG opportunity we could have is to spend Christmas with them
> in Mibu! We have flights booked for a visit from Dec. 14 to Jan. 7.
> Almost 3 1/2 weeks to reconnect with the church there, talk, plan and
> dream! It's a wonderful opportunity that we believe would benefit
> everyone. However, with it being a helicopter only location yet, the
> price is prohibitive. We are doing all we can to sell our car to make
> those funds available. It has been on the market now for over 4
> months, and despite us dropping the price significantly, we just can't
> seem to find a buyer. Please pray with us that the car would sell in
> the next 2 weeks so that we could make this visit into Mibu with the
> entire family.
>
> Ministry Math...
> ((ICT - Chris) + Larry) = (Chris + Mibu)
> With all this moving forward, it is sometime hard to remain
> focused also on the present. We are rapidly approaching the 4 year
> mark of when we returned to the field in early Jan. 2009. The
> combination of the holiday season, the extended time away from
> precious family and friends, and the fact that we still have another 6
> months to serve here can be overwhelming at times. As we choose to
> fix our eyes on Him, He is faithful to supply the strength we need.
> Another blessing from the Lord, (and a form of strength being met) He
> has provided a replacement for Chris as a Help Desk Technician at
> ICT. Chris has begun the process of training a dear fellow brother
> Larry Folkers to take on the many responsibilities in this ministry.
> It is rare to have enough time to allow for a proper transition in
> ministry, so we are simply amazed at the lengths to which the Lord has
> gone to ensure a smooth transition back into our ministry in Mibu. As
> Larry grows more comfortable with the Helpdesk role, this will free us
> up for more trips into Mibu in the comming months (provided finances
> allow)! Our desire is to finish strong even as we feel our strength
> waning. Please pray for us, maybe especially during this holiday
> season, that we would stay focused, and continue to give our
> ministries here our best...right up to the end!
>
> Thank you, and have a blessed Christmas season!
> Chris, Angie, Jael, Baruch, and Titus Walker
>
> Pictures: Jael 11 1/2; Baruch 8; Titus 4 1/2
>
>
> -----
> No virus found in this message.
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>
>