For Chris and Ingrid Hughes and family it’s time to shift gears and start looking towards their return to Papua New Guinea.
At the beginning of their home assignment they prayed that God would give them opportunities to broaden their network, build new friendships, and renew old ones. They asked God to open doors for them to share about what He’s doing in Mamusi so more people can pray. They wanted to be used to share about the need for missions not just in PNG, but around the world. Most of all their desire was to encourage people to love the Lord and His Word more deeply and to follow wherever He leads. God answered their prayers, they have had great conversations, experienced generous hospitality and been humbled by people’s genuine interest.
Preparing, speaking and travelling have been the mainstay of their time since Christmas.
They were thrilled that they could be in Norway for the National Day in May.
At the end of July they attended the Keswick convention for a week – then headed to Germany for an NTM conference for missionaries on Home Assignment. The kids especially loved Germany as it was tailored for them as missionary kids and they made some very special friends. Both Keswick and Germany were helpful spiritually.
After such a busy season of travelling, they are tired and are all needing some time to rest, reconnect and establish some family routine again.
The kids have done well and finished another school year.
Originally, they had intended to return to PNG in early September. However, Ingrid has been experiencing some health symptoms that they have been trying to get checked out. To allow some extra time in the UK to figure out the medical stuff and get some needed rest their return to PNG will be delayed. Delaying is never easy as they feel the pull to get back to PNG as soon as possible.
Back in Mamusi, PNG, Brody, Jen and Evan Pav their co-workers have been loving bush life.
The door is open again for the Pavs to continue with their house build! It is a massive answer to prayer that the whole community have come together and agreed on which trees should be used for the timber. This took many long days of meetings to ensure that everyone was happy, but it is fantastic news! Pray for them as they figure out timings and logistics for build trips etc.
Brody and Jen are doing such an amazing job building relationships with the Mamusi people. They’re such good bridge builders and are doing a phenomenal job working together with the church leaders in the village. They’re also doing a great job building friendships.
Overall, things are moving forward – but their time in the bush has made it very clear to Brody and Jen just how much discipleship and help the Mamusi churches need. Please pray that soon both families can be in Mamusi and that the Lord will equip them to serve Him and the church effectively.
PRAYER & PRAISE
Praise God for all the opportunities they have had to share what God is doing in Mamusi!
Praise God for safety during all their travels and that they were able to finish another homeschool year!
Praise God for the chance to go to both the Keswick Convention and Refresher Course in Germany.
Praise God for Brody and Jen’s excellent work building relational bridges in Mamusi!
Praise God for the plan that’s now in place for getting timber cut for their house!
Pray for a time of rest and refilling and for more time in the Word and Prayer.
Pray that they can get some answers to what is causing Ingrid’s symptoms.
Pray that God works in this season to draw them closer to Himself and helps them to trust Him more fully for the steps ahead.
Pray for wisdom for logistics and the scheduling of build trips for Brody and Jen’s house.