Chris and Ingrid Hughes wish that they already knew which tribe they were heading to and who their teammates will be. However, God has been closing several doors and they find themselves once again waiting for Him to show them their next steps. In the meantime, they have stepped into support roles in the Hoskins centre, Papua New Guinea.
After three months with the Mengen tribe, Chris and Ingrid have been praying about whether this work is what God has for them. At this point, they do not feel able to commit to working in the Mengen people group. They would love to work with the Flanagans (the missionary family in there) and they want to see the Gospel spread throughout the people group. However, there does not seem to be an open door for the Gospel in any of the villages that they surveyed. Their hope is that this will change as God works in the people’s lives. Praise God that even when it means closed doors, God is directing them.
They are looking into other options for a team and tribe. Chris will make a short trip to a village at the start of November. Pray for clear direction, that God will make it clear where He wants them to be.
In the meantime, Chris has been asked to fill in as the centre operations manager in Hoskins. This involves managing the team of workers to keep the centre maintained. Pray that as he learns to look after the Hoskins centre, he will have a learner’s heart, flexibility, energy and good relationships with his PNG co-workers. It is not really his skill set and has been a steep learning curve. It involves long hours and is very tiring.
Praise God for looking after their family and that their children have good friends and are well adjusted to life at Hoskins. Jonathan has turned four and started his first proper year of home school. Pray for Ingrid as she learns how to be a home-school mum while balancing other responsibilities.
With so much changing so quickly, hard things happening back home, challenges in adjusting to the new role at Hoskins and struggling to know what their next steps should be, they have felt quite discouraged recently. Nevertheless, they are seeing God show them areas where they need to grow as their flexibility is tested. They want to grow in faith and trust that God has a good plan for them and their ministry, even when they do not see it. They are thankful for your prayers.