Life on the mission field sometimes feels like a revolving door of people leaving and people coming. There is joy and grief, usually mixed. These past few months we've had great joy in welcoming back the Leedahls, but also reluctantly said farewell to our friends Ryan and Crystal Pennington. They did 10 years of GREAT work with the Ma Manda people in Saut in the province of Morobe. (Ryan did his doctoral dissertation on the language.) We're sad to see them go but excited to see what God has for them! They will be a blessing wherever they go and whatever they do, they are so fun and genuine and gifted and eager to be used by God for His glory and the good of others.
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| The Penningtons and Leedahls after supper at our house a couple of weeks ago |
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Crystal took this photo on the road with David and Marcie.
David likes to hold my skirt sometimes when we're out and about - it's a security thing, I think. |
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| Gavin took Ryan and Crystal to Saut to say goodbye. He has LOVED flying them in and out of there over the years! |
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| Our nighttime couples' Bible study ladies, minus a sick Mandy |
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| To illustrate the revolving door: Of all the people who went through orientation with us, these are the only two families left. Ian (center) is a pastor and church-planter in the port city of Lae, and Larry is a translator and linguist with us here. Disclaimer: Some people come here only for a year or two, so it's completely to be expected that they will leave and others will come! Also, the average amount of time on the mission field between furloughs is 3 years, so approximately 1/3 of our population rotates in and out each year. We miss friends who leave, but we love new people! |
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