PNG/Aussie Project - Day 11: "Partnership to reach ALL of Paupua New Guinea (all 836 people groups)"

[Today (Thursday) was day 9 of 12 for the Aussies]

Shei holding the Prayer Request Flag

Shei, one of the Aussie girls found a piece of cloth (a lavalava) at the market with the PNG flag and all the province flags on it.  She asked us (PNG) to write some prayer requests on it - the plan is to take it back to Australia to the big mid-year conference to Aussie students to pray for PNG.  They will also buy an Australian cloth and send it to us with prayer requests on it to help us pray for the Aussies.  I thought that was a great idea!!

Before dinner we talked about a strategic plan.  Vanessa (& Heidi not pictured) explained to us a simple method to come up with a strategic plan for the year.  We need to know where our goal is and how to reach it - and evaluate it monthly to see if it needs to be adjusted.

Vanessa explaining the Strategic Plan

So, after dinner, the PNG staff & students got together and came up with a strategic plan (I tried to not say much so that the plan would be their own).  This was very exciting listening to what they were coming up with and seeing them envision the whole year (and beyond)!

PNG Staff & Students creating their first Strategic Plan!

While the PNGers were coming up with their own plan, the Aussies has a time together to talk about their future partnership with us.  They had Lillian, Greg, Elton and myself come into their room in shifts to explain different aspects of the ministry like their needs, the opportunities, our vision for the future, and how would it look to have some Aussie stinters (for a year at a time) come.  It was also very encouraging.

Our PNG team (without Eva, Elijah, and Susan)

I told them that this training and MAWLing (see day 8) has been excellent, but I leave 1 week after they do and I could easily see the momentum fading rather quickly.  I firmly believe that the staff (and students) that we have now can take this ministry and turn it into a movement, but they would be so much more effective if there were someone here "on the ground" modeling these things continually.

Shei (front) & Danika (back)

After some more discussion, they told me that they were committed to try to find 2 ladies (probably Danika & Shei) and 2 men to come next January 2015.  My heart started to jump all over the place - I was so excited.  I have been holding my breath, praying that this would happen for the past 2 years, and it's going to happen - in 11 months!!!  Well, we still need to pray for the right people to be found, trained, and sent, and for housing (which is a huge problem here in Port Moresby - to find safe affordable housing).  S
o, please keep praying for us - GOD IS WORKING!!!!!!