Moving back into the Uriay village.

Lisa Kappeler is praising God for His great faithfulness. She has been praying long and hard about how God might work it out for her to move back into the Uriay tribe where she has ministered since 2004. In the absence of ministry partners, Lisa has been unable to live in her house in the Uriay village and has commuted many long miles by river to continue her ministry there.

“I was thinking,” Lisa shares, “about how He disciplines us for our good and growth, but even in that, He is tender and gracious. He doesn’t allow hurt in our lives to harm us, but to drive us to Him. … And in those moments of need, I find myself at the foot of the cross again, declaring my absolute need for His strength, grace and work in my life.”

Part of His work, Lisa says, is answering prayer. And God has recently answered much prayer for a way to be back in the Uriay tribe. He has done this in ways that amaze her.

“There’s a dear couple on the field up in the highlands region who have been part of my NTM journey from the beginning,” she writes.

These missionary friends have been in Papua New Guinea for many years and most recently have been living near a missionary children’s school so that their granddaughters could live with them and go to school while their parents work with a tribe.

Realising how desperately the young Uriay church needs discipling and mentoring, this family voluntarily rearranged their housing situation for four months so that the missionary grandparents will be able to move with Lisa to the Uriay village, so she will not be ministering there alone.

Lisa projects that this will give her four months of concentrated teaching, discipling and translating time with the Uriay people.

“Praise, praise, praise Him for all He has done to work this out!” Lisa writes. “Many are making sacrifices so that the Uriay believers can be encouraged, discipled, taught and built up in the faith. Only God could do this!”

Lisa knows that it isn’t a long-term solution. “But His faithfulness never changes,” Lisa says. “God is doing things to feed the Uriay church until that long-term solution arrives. He is always faithful.”

And looking toward the future, the Uriay believers themselves have begun to step up to the challenge of Lisa’s need for fellowship and protection. They have started to build their own houses closely situated around Lisa’s home. “I can talk to them from my house without yelling,” Lisa adds.

It’s a joy to Lisa to see the Uriay church taking responsibility by making plans to ensure her safety.

So, however God does this project, Lisa is full of praise to Him for what He is going to do and urges praise to Him for His great plans to mature the Uriay church in spite of challenges.

And, while you’re praying, she does have one more thing for you to ask God about when she moves back to live with the Uriay people.

“Feel free,” Lisa says, “to pray for there to be no rats or snakes in my house.”

You can help Bible translators like Lisa and people like the Uriays understand the Bible in their own language. Your gift to the translation fund provides not only for Scripture translation, but for the materials to help people learn to read and understand it — for only $35 a verse.