New Addition to the Family!!

This is not what you think.
In fact, it's infinitely better!

After years of training and preparation, three families moved to a small island in Papua New Guinea called Biem, and spent the last few years learning their language and culture. About 3 months ago (after many difficulties, including one of the wives going through cancer treatments- the Lord has now restored her health and they are back in the tribe!), the missionaries began teaching through the Bible, beginning with Creation. This is the first time the Biem people have heard the Word of God. TWO DAYS AGO, the Biem people learned of the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as payment for all sin. This is the first time they have ever heard the story of God's gift on their behalf- and some of them have believed!

It is a joy to share with you that YOU have new brothers and sisters in Christ on this small island in PNG!! There are now representatives from another tribe, tongue, nation that will be around the throne worshiping our God with you and with us!

We are finishing our CLA Practicum- below is a photo of us sitting and learning from our language helper in our 'village'. We have entered this village scenario 2 or 3 times a week.

• The first couple of visits we were simply learning how to function- how to greet, how to ask questions, how to be culturally appropriate. 
• The next few visits we did some language learning through the Total Physical Response (TPR) method- learning names of objects (house items, people, and ultimately some verbs to connect them). 
• Next we have been focusing on learning the culture of this 'village', and learning how to ask questions wisely (not yes/no questions, not motivation questions, etc...). 
• As we finish these last 2 weeks, our focus is diving into pieces of the culture we have been learning and from it, beginning to understand their worldview. 

If we skip learning the culture, how can we possibly present the Word of God to them in a manner they will understand? How could we possibly know how the concepts of God and the need for a Redeemer and the Person of Christ will impact/effect them?! We must learn before we teach. (Or they may simply add Christ to their list of 'things they must do' or 'gods we must appease' to be saved.)

In 2 weeks, we will finish that course and begin our Practical Skills class. This will include scratch cooking, a 'wilderness' camping weekend, navigation/survival skills, knot tying, etc...

In family news:

Church leadership from Seattle visiting the 'village' with us!

We just enjoyed some visitors from Seattle! The pastor and an elder/missions committee member from our sending church flew out to Missouri and spent all day Thursday with us, sitting in on classes, asking questions of staff and students, and having a tour of the campus. We were SO blessed and encouraged to have them come out and see the facility here!

Naya turned 5 years old on September 9th, and enjoyed a ballerina birthday party! The next day she began ballet classes at a studio about 20 minutes from here. She's having a blast! She also plays soccer recreationally every Saturday with some of her friends here.
Jocellyn is working on potty-training (I know, I know... you were dying to know that! But hey, I can't leave her out, right?)... She's just busy being cute (like her Grandpa), what can I say? :)

Too, To, Two, Through, You, Shoe, Blue, Flute, Suit, New, Flu

Learning the principle of Phonemics

Every one of the words in this blog title uses the same "u" sound, just spelled differently! In Phonemics, a class we took during our first week this semester, we learned in the context of other languages which of those words would be spelled with the phonetic "u" since the native speakers pronounce them the same and know their different meanings, and which of those words must be spelled differently.

For example, in English, we could not spell "too", "to", and "two" the same way: "tu", or else there would be too much confusion. However, we COULD spell "through", "blue", and "shoe" each with the "u" ("thru", "blu", "shu"), and no confusion would result.

We just finished our Literacy class last week. Practically, we put together a Literacy Primer, which is the method we will use in the tribe to teach the people to read and write in their own language. How many benefits can you think of for a tribal person learning to read and write in their own language?

Here are just a few:

• The ability to record their own personal and communal history in writing
• The creation of new jobs, both within the village and out in the town (where applicable)
• Can eventually learn to read and write in the national language, for better communication with other tribes and with the country itself
• Ability to record and read medical advice/information
• Ultimately, the ability to read God's Word for themselves in their own language!!

These are just a few of the benefits of Literacy. This often forgotten-about area in Church Planting is so important! Often the missionary women have the opportunity to teach Literacy, at least to other women if not to a mixed group (it is not authoritative spiritual teaching). This is yet another reason why it will be helpful for Lisa to take the Linguistics course in January.

Currently we are beginning our CLA Practicum. This is essentially a 7-week 'simulated real-life' learning experience, during which we have the opportunity/responsibility to apply many of the Culture & Language Acquisition (learning) principles that we have been learning during the last year. We expect it to be both fun and challenging, and humbling as we place ourselves into a vulnerable situation. It is exciting to do this, anticipating what it may very well be like entering a tribe for the first time, not knowing their language and culture.

Fall Kick-off at the MTC

Please join us in praying that we will be GOOD LEARNERS, diligent in our studies, and most importantly, that as we continue preparing for this immense, 'impossible' task that He will draw our hearts individually and collectively into His own heart- that we will be IN HIS WORD!

In family news- Naya will turn 5 on Sunday, September 9th! She is excited for the special opportunity to take some ballet classes this year, which begin on the 10th. Jocellyn is catching up to Naya in height (she has already surpassed her big sister in weight, haha!), and is growing more every day.

Naya and friends, happy to be back together!

Please also be praying for Noe and the rest of the Martinez family in the recent death of his father.

We are THANKFUL to be here, and THANKFUL for all of you who are standing beside us in love and support!

With love,

Noe, Lisa, Naya and Jocellyn

We may very well fly in one of these
planes someday! (Enjoyed our tour
in Idaho on our way back to Missouri)