Greetings Friends and Loved Ones!

A pre-emptive warning- I didn't write last week, so this
will be long!

I have some prayer requests folks, so why don't I start
with those!

1. For the Bena tribe- that's who's right around me here.
The Mission team there saw their first Bena come to
Christ this week. While helping with language
translation, the message just clicked, and he said it
himself- "nothing but the blood of Jesus can save me from
an eternity in Hell". And he trusted, and believed. Pray
for the Fosters, Lees and Averharts, who have given their
lives for the sake of sharing the Gospel with these
people. Pray also for those attending Bible Lessons, that
they would have a good understanding of what they're
hearing. For more info, please visit www.ntm.org, and
browse for the Bena Bena in PNG.

2. For the Moi- a tribe in Indonesia (but heck- they're
on the same island!). This is a very interesting story,
and very very tragic. I don't know the details well
enough, but again, please visit ntm.org for info.

3. For an eruptive situation in the Hewa tribe that
recently caused the missionaries there to be evacuated.
AGAIN- please go to ntm.org for better info.

4. For wise use of the rest of my time here! It's going
by quickly, and I want to do as much as I can! But then
again, I want GOD to have the upper hand in this little
journey.

5. For increased sensitivity to the culture. It's so
bizarre at times, and easy to forget that IT'S OK- that's
how it's done here.

Ok, on with the news!

The very first thing that came to mind when I woke up this
morning was "Nothing is beyond God". I decided, upon
further thought, that this covers 2 different aspects:

1. God is all-powerful. He can do anything- truly
NOTHING is beyond His capability! He is all-strong
(omnipotent)- He can handle anything. There's nothing God
can't do, can't fix, can't solve, can't understand. God
can cover it all!

2. There is nothing that escapes Him. He is all-knowing.
Every single little detail of my life falls within His
gaze. He knows everything that has happened to me. He
knows every situation I've been faced with. He knows
exactly what I long for, and He knows my heart. None of
my joy or pain has been without His knowledge. And He
still knows what is to come for me too.

Just knowing this is so comforting! And here's another
comfort to me while I'm here: no matter what I'm going
thru, what I may be thinking, feeling, etc.- there are
people praying for me, and they're praying for exactly
that. Thank you so much for your prayers.

It's Sunday 2/5/06 here, 3:45 pm. So back home (for those
in Orlando) it's 12:45 am of the same day! I'm winding
down for Sunday, and you haven't even begun your Sunday!
Weird, huh.

Today has been so good! Our worship time was fantastic,
and then our message for today was taught by Dave Watters,
on "A Missionary's Call". It was a good reminder that
NOTHING is about me. It's not about me, my plans, or what
job I want to do to serve the Lord- it's all about God's
will, His goals for the world, and how I can comply with
His plans. A lot of us already know that our plans and
God's plans for us vary frequently... It was really easy
to (again) fall into the trap of wanting to do something
important for God. But I'm learning that He's more
interested in my journey- how I'm coming to know Him
better, how He's working on doing something important in
me.

This afternoon, I got to socialize with a bunch of folks
from Lapilo and the Bena team, and play with Dave's 3
kids, who are soooooooo cute, and lounge around in the
shade, watching a volleyball game. I can't think of a
better way to spend a Sunday, EXCEPT for watching the
SUPERBOWL!!

The last 2 weeks have been crazy. Lots and lots of
classes in the mornings, with village visits and other
activities in the afternoon. We are done with our class
on "presenting the message of the Bible in a clear manner"
(that was a biggie). I've spent lots of time making
vocabulary notecards to help me learn the language, and
then time drilling in the evening (it's doing me very
little good...). Then, we've been learning about how to
effectively communicate about missions back home- how to
best share our experiences and relate to different
audiences. I've gotten to spend some really good time
with several of the staff members too- having dinner in
their homes, and going over just to read, nap, cook, play
games or chat.

Yesterday, we had a VERY thought-provoking message on "Are
the Unsaved Really Lost". I wish ALL of you could have
heard this message! Did you ever read "The Last Battle"
by C.S. Lewis? Even HE had difficulty understanding what
would become of those who have never ever even heard about
Christ, or the God of the Bible. By looking at God's
character though, it's pretty clear... The lost are lost.
There is way more to this, but it's in my notebook, in
the classroom right now... So, PLEASE ask me questions
later when I'm home if you'd like to know more concerning
this.

Also yesterday, I got to visit with Tom and Karen Bowen,
who were part of the team that went to Madang in 2004, and
who now run the guest house at Lapilo. What a treat!

Last Thursday, I went with one of the staff ladies to
visit a lady in one of the villages who'd had a baby the
night before! The little one was about a month premature,
so it was the smallest baby I'd held. I had been worried
because she wasn't feeding well, but got a report
yesterday that a visiting medical team said the baby looks
good, and the mom says she is feeding much better. Praise
God.

My FAVORITE things have been our trip to Goroka this past
Wednesday, and then this really long hike we took on
Friday. In Goroka, we got to go to the Veggie Market
(open air), a museum, a coffee factory, and then do some
shopping in the "downtown" area. The hike was 2 1/2
hours, and it took us around the ITF campus on this ridge,
on partly dirt road, and then partly mud and tall grass,
with some steep climbs, a stream and a mud pit thrown in
for the fun of it. There were some places where we didn't
even know where the trail was in all that grass!! But
man- that was so fun!!

Thank you to those who've kept in touch via email- it is
very encouraging to hear from home, and it REALLY helps me
not be too homesick! Thank you again for your prayers and
support.

Much Love,
Emily.