One last flight then Philip and Natalie Hansen and family will be back in Kovol, Papua New Guinea! (They hope the flight will be today!) They are thankful for their time of home assignment in Germany, Faroe Islands, England, Denmark, and the United States! They also had a week in Brisbane as a family, and they are now eager to get back into Kovol and work alongside their co-workers. They know they are so privileged to serve a great and awesome God.
There were several earthquakes during their absence, which means they will have to readjust things in their house, particularly the doors as the house shifts during earthquakes. They also hope to establish good routines for their family.
Once back in Kovol they will be jumping back into learning the language and they are praying that they remember everything that they learnt before leaving for home assignment last year. Philip and Natalie look forward to starting Bible translation and pray that the day will come soon. They need to finish working on a Kovol cultural write up and studying discourse features of the unwritten language. An advanced language workshop is coming up in a couple months, which they hope will help them make the last push to Kovol language fluency.
As a team they desire to become more unified in how to spell things in the Kovol language. It is an unwritten language, and they are all coming from different backgrounds meaning they sometimes ‘hear things differently’. For example, some hear more of an ‘o’ in some words, while others hear an ‘a’. The goal is to teach the Kovol people an alphabet that they can use long after the missionary team is gone. They want them to read God’s Word as they teach it!
Philip and Natalie are also mourning. Their hearts are heavy as there have been several deaths in Kovol, many being their friends. Please pray for their families that God will open their hearts for the Gospel. Pray for them as a team, as it is really hard for them to see their friends die without knowing the truth.
Thankful for:
- A blessed time with friends and family on home assignment.
- That Philip’s dad can join them for a few days in Kovol.
Prayer request:
- That as a family they adjust well to their schedule and life in Kovol.
- They remember everything in the Kovol language that they learnt before home assignment.
Thank you for your partnership with Philip Natalie, Louis and Timon, through prayer.