For His Name

On the Road...

2010-01-14T14:36:00.003-05:00

We are now in PA enjoying a visit with one of the families we work with in Papua New Guinea. They are home on furlough now and so we've taken about 5 days to hang out, re-connect and fill each other in on this past year of our lives. We are so thankful for them and it's been encouraging to catch up on the Siar work. We've been able to do some really fun things together and are enjoying our "last hurrahs" in the states before we gear up to head back to PNG on Feb 3rd!!! Enjoy the pictures!

Visiting with Sanfords!!

2010-01-14T14:25:00.003-05:00

January 2010

2010-01-14T14:19:00.001-05:00

Levi's first day

2009-12-04T14:06:00.003-05:00

Levi is eating well, but slept more during the day than at night. Melissa had a good nap today, but hopefully we'll get sleep schedules worked out soon. Here's a few more pictures of Levi's first day.

Levi David Jackson

2009-12-03T10:40:00.003-05:00

He's here! Our son Levi David arrived at 2:34 am on December 3rd weighing 9 lbs. 6 oz. and measuring 21 inches long. He's a big boy, and we're glad he didn't come any later! We arrived at the hospital near midnight, Melissa's water broke at 2:26 am, and Levi was out 8 minutes later. He came out face down, so we believe that he turned while she was having contractions. I know many of you were praying for this, thank you.

Levi is the third son of Israel, and God chose his descendants to be the priests for the nation of Israel. They were to go before God on behalf of his people. This was a tremendous privilege for them, so great that they did not receive any of the land as an inheritance! Like the descendants of Levi, we also have a great privilege from God.

In 2 Corinthians 5:20, we read that "we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us." What an awesome responsibility! Today as we welcomed Levi into our family, I can't help but think of how privileged we are to work as partners with Christ as He brings people into His family.

Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement; we are tremendously blessed! Enjoy this picture of Melissa and Levi, taken just moments after his birth.

November update

2009-11-10T14:47:00.001-05:00

Hello Everyone,

We trust that you are enjoying the fall and preparing for winter as we are! Things are a little different for us; we are making plans because in just three months we will be back in Papua New Guinea! We are really excited to be heading back, but there is so much to do in the meantime. Everything seems to be tied together in one way or another.

This month we are in the midst of processing paperwork, purchasing tickets, and gathering supplies to head back to Papua New Guinea. Today we took a family trip to the police station so that Melissa and I could get a thumbprint for our applications for Renewal of Existing Work Permit. This needs to get back to PNG by next Tuesday, so please pray for that! We have been able to purchase tickets from Boston to Los Angeles, and then on to Brisbane, Australia, but have not yet bought the last two flights into Papua New Guinea. For this, we need to wait for the arrival of our son near the end of this month, so please pray for this situation as well. Also, we are working to gather supplies and spare parts for various things needed to live and work there. If you're interested in helping with this, please let us know.

We are also taking part in a large mission's conference this coming week, and anticipate the arrival of our son near the end of the month! These two events may intersect, and they may not. Pray for health and strength for Melissa during the last 3 weeks of her pregnancy, and that we would have clear thinking and sound judgement as we move through these events.

We would like to make prayer a more central part of who we are. This year especially, I have been impressed by how important prayer is. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 God tells us, "pray without ceasing," and we want to do just that! Prayer is our expression of trust in God, and that is to be our daily attitude. The job we are doing is God's work, and we need Him to accomplish it! In this spirit, we would like to send you updates with prayer requests every other week, but only if you are interested. Please write back to us and let us know if you would like to be on this bi-weekly prayer request list.

Thank you so much for standing with us! We are an extension of you as we we work to see God's work be accomplished among the Siar people of Papua New Guinea.

In Christ,

Jonathan and Melissa Jackson,

Zoe, Caleb, Eve, Olivia, and baby

Sadness and Joy

2009-07-24T22:32:00.003-05:00

I realize we have not been keeping up with our blog.... I blame Facebook though I'm sure that's not the whole problem! Here is a brief update over the past two months or so...

At the end of May and beginning of June we spent three weeks in Pennsylvania visiting our church family at Liberty Bible Church and stayed with our good friends the Williams family. Our time was filled mostly with visiting and getting to know families in the church more. It was a great time and we were blessed by the visit there!

We came back to NH for about 12 days to visit with Jonathan's sister Beth and her family who was home from Mexico for a few weeks. (they are missionaries there) After a great visit with them we loaded up our van again and headed to Missouri to visit my side of the family. (Melissa's) I enjoyed some yard saling and shopping with my Mom and sister and also a good time at my parents time share in Branson!

While still in Missouri, on July 10th, we got a phone call that Joanna was in the hospital and would not make it through the night. About 5 minutes later we got another phone call to say Joanna had gone to be with the Lord. Jonathan called his brothers and sisters to tell them the news and through sadness we tried to figure out our next move. In about 30 minutes we were all packed and in the van headed back to NH. This was at midnight on a Friday. We drove 20 hours straight and then stayed the night in Syracuse, then traveled 6 hours the next day and went straight to the Jacksons.

Of course there were many tears as the reality set in. It was hard to see Curtis and our hearts just broke for him. The only thing to lean on was and is the Lord and the joy that comes from knowing Joanna knew the Lord and she is now living with Him! It is a comfort to know she has no more cancer, no more pain, and no more suffering. That doesn't take away the fact that we miss her though. We miss her mischievous smile and her great ideas.

The next Wednesday was the memorial service for Joanna. It was a time to cry and be sad because we miss her and all the wonderful things she was. But also a time to reflect on our own lives and ask if we were as sold out to Christ as Joanna was. She was a witness of the Lord in her life and her death, and has left an amazing testimony of her devotion to the Lord.

We ask the Lord how to move on now, and leave our emotions and tears at His feet. I'm so thankful He is the God of all comfort and the Sovereign God. We can't understand all His ways, but just pray for Him to direct our every step. Continue to pray for Curtis, who is only 27 and has just lost his bride of 6 1/2 years. He now has the huge responsibility of caring for his daughter who is 5, his son who is 4, and his youngest daughter who is about 18 months old. Continue to pray for the rest of the family who lost a daughter, sister, granddaughter, cousin, and friend.

So we turn now, with our eyes on Jesus, still believing He knows what is best for us, and still loves us more than anyone. The day after the service for Joanna the Jackson family took a day away at the ocean. It was a good time to smile, watch the kids climb on rocks, play marbles, eat and laugh.

We joined the family a bit later in the day because we had a Dr. appointment in the morning. Our whole family joined me for my ultrasound and as we heard the technician say, "It's a BOY!", I started to cry!!! We were so happy to hear the Lord has given us another son, which was a huge desire of our hearts! We announced the news when we met the family at the beach and they all cheered for us! It was a great moment!

Two days later we saw two of our friends get married, then we left after the wedding headed for Cape Cod. Jonathan spoke in his Grandmother's church the next morning and we had a good time re-connecting with some of the people there. We spent 4 days on the Cape with Jonathan's Gramma, enjoyed the beach, then traveled back Thursday. We are home now but not for too long!

We were excited to hear Jonathan's brother, Micah, got engaged on Monday and is planning an August 8th wedding! Their sister Beth is here from Mexico, so they are trying to fit in the wedding while she is still here! August 3rd we will be headed to Pennsylvania to enjoy Micah and Susan's wedding!

Well, I think that is all for now! Thanks to all of you who have been praying for our family and the extended Jackson family. We feel surrounded by your prayers and are very thankful for them!

By His Grace,
Melissa for our family

Upcoming travel Plans...

2009-06-17T13:07:00.003-05:00

We are once again about to climb into the van and drive! Saturday we are heading to Utica, NY to visit Ed and Jen Reed and on Sunday Jonathan will speak in their church. We're excited to visit!!

Early Monday morning we'll load up again and take a 12 or so hour drive until we hit a hotel somewhere in Indiana. Tuesday morning we'll continue onto Branson, MO and enjoy my parents time share there for a week! Swimming Pool here we come!!!

In the mean time, here are a few photos just for fun!

Maine and Mass.

2009-06-15T12:16:00.004-05:00

Visiting the Wall and Burbank families in Maine! Zoe loved the girls and Caleb loved the boys! I think the little kids just blended all together!

At a missions conference in Mass enjoying the pastor's kids!

Update through pictures!

2009-06-14T19:30:00.002-05:00

To all of you who check our blog I'm sorry it's been months since I've posted! We got hooked on facebook and it's so easy to chat with people through that, that we've gotten away from blogging!
I promise I will try to keep up on it now and up pictures up as I can!
We've been busy traveling so these are a few pics from that... Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. (We were in the area for a missions conference so we just had to see the Stadium!)

The pastor and his family from that same church in Mass.... enjoying one morning at a local park!

Dawn Williams, me, and Ashley in Pennsylvania. From "second home" church Liberty Bible in Liberty, PA. We actually drove out to NY to see a Steven Curtis Chapman / Micheal W. Smith concert all together. Here is J and I driving!!!

TRAVELING to the USA!!!

2008-11-17T14:34:00.004-05:00

Here are a few pictures of our travels from PNG to the US! We stayed in three different hotels and flew on 6 different planes and were en route for 4 days! We praise the Lord for safety, making connections and getting all our luggage! We are now in NH enjoying visiting Jonathan's parents, Curtis and Joanna, and other friends and family in the area! Thank you all for praying for our travels!

Planes, Luggage, Hotels, Airports, and Waiting!

2008-11-17T14:28:00.003-05:00

Eve is reading the safety instructions just in case!

Our "Harvest Party" Costumes!

2008-11-17T14:19:00.003-05:00

We celebrated by dressing up, playing games, had a great meal of chicken corn chowder! Olivia was a princess, Zoe a chef, Eve a clown and Caleb a G.I. Joe!

Pretty sun dresses that Nana (Melissa's Mom) made for the girls!

Our Last Days in the Village before Furlough

2008-11-17T14:09:00.004-05:00

2008-11-17T14:04:00.002-05:00

Sad News

2008-10-03T07:27:00.003-05:00

Hi all... some of you might have noticed we put a few new pictures on here... that can only mean one thing- we are out in town where we have internet access.

Probably most of you have heard of the heart breaking news about Jonathan's sister Joanna. It was about three weeks ago now their Dr. found a tumor the size of an orange in Joanna's brain. They operated and were able to get 90% of the tumor removed. After testing of the tumor we got this email from Jonathan's Mom:
"The dr. explained that there are 3 levels of Cancer, 1-4 and Jo has #4, the worst level. They will start chemo on friday, but they are saying it will probably give her one to 2 years to live. I feel like this is so surreal. We will ask the Lord for a miracle, of course, but we know our times are in His hands. We send our love, Dad and Mom"
After that email we came out to town so that Jonathan would be able to call his family. When we're in the bush we have no phone access, so he hadn't talked to his family at all yet. He has been able to talk to Joanna, and his Mom and a couple of his other siblings, so we're thankful for this opportunity.

Please pray for Joanna, her husband Curtis and their three young kids, Natalie, Reuben and Kaylie. We know that nothing is too difficult for the Lord and the He can heal her! We know He loves her more than anyone, and His thoughts are precious toward His children! Pray that as Joanna and Curtis and the doctors try to figure out what course of action to take from here that they would have wisdom that could only come from the Lord.

Thank you all for your prayers on their behalf!

2008-10-03T07:15:00.002-05:00

Eve is her Daddy's girl... reading Sports Illustrated!

Zoe walking our newest addition to the family... our dog Rondo.

Evie's 4th Birthday!

2008-10-03T07:10:00.002-05:00

For Evie's fourth birthday we made a pinata and had a picnic party! All the kids loved the pinata... I guess you could say it was a hit! ha, ha
Below the kids work on decorating their bags to hold thier pinata goodies!

Recent Kid Pics

2008-10-03T06:58:00.002-05:00

Olivia is swinging on a "rope swing" that is hanging under one of the village houses while Mom watches someone cooking over a fire!
Our kids favorite pastime... swimming... on top Zoe and Caleb are standing ona dead tree limb over hanging the ocean at one of our swimming spots called Polo
Underneath, Zoe and Landon enjoy their friendship. We hiked up with our whole team, searched for some water at a dry river bed, cooked hot dogs over a fire to celebrate Chris's birthday.

2008-08-03T20:06:00.003-05:00

Jonathan out on language exposure and Eve with Mom enjoying the beach!

Most recent family picture from March 2008

Update through Pictures!

2008-08-03T19:41:00.004-05:00

Olivia out with the village kids during Melissa's language exposure time!
Fourth of July and the kids playing under the house in the dirt!

Still working on the house

2008-03-27T06:56:00.001-05:00

Here I get some help from Zoe and Caleb as we finish off the deck. It's been neat to see how the kids really want to be a part of what we're doing.

Christmas fun

2008-03-27T06:35:00.004-05:00

We had a great time at Christmas in Kabaman. It was fun to be able to spend time with each other in our own house. We spent Christmas at home, but were also able to take a couple of short trips around. We went on a family hike to a little waterfall not far from where we live. This was great fun for the kids. Another trip we were able to take was slightly further away, and a little bit more relaxing for Mom and Dad. We and our partners hired a boat and went to an uninhabited island in the mddle of the south pacific. It was incredible! Picture perfect white sand, palm trees, coral reef, absolutely amazing water... I should probably stop there! You have to see it to experience it. It's just one of the little blessings we knew nothing about when we came here. Isn't God great?

Out and About

2008-03-27T06:20:00.003-05:00

Melissa and I enjoy time out with our friends Sali and Mata. They have spent a lot of time teaching us their language and helping us understand how they do things. Here we are spending some time with them in their garden learning how they grow their food.

Sali and I are standing and looking out over the area that he has cleared for his garden. It is truly a monrstrous amount of work when you realize that all of this is done by hand!

Looking into '08

2008-01-15T07:51:00.000-05:00

One of our main goals now is to get out in the village and build relationships with the people while learning their language and culture.
The kids are making friends too!

To learn language and culture, we often accompany the Siar people as they go about their daily activities. Here Zoe and Eve learn how the women clean their pots at the river while Melissa tries to get the language that goes with this activity.

Although we are living in our house now, there is much left to do. Jonathan is learning language and culture during the week, and does projects around the house on the weekends. Here he and some of the guys are pouring cement under the house for his office.

Merry Christmas to you all from the Jackson kids!

The July Jackson Building Team From NH!!

2007-09-20T15:27:00.001-05:00

Hi there..I'm Mary Winslow. I'm going to post some photos of our building team from NH. Melissa asked if I would update the blog as they aren't able to at this time!! Here is a picture of our crew of 5 that went: From left to right is: Herb Jackson (Yes..Jonathan's Dad), Christian Thorn, Jim Thorn, Glenn Winslow and Mary Winslow. We spent two full weeks in PNG helping to build their home!! Enjoy the photos below!!

Home---Our Own Sweet Home!!

2007-09-20T12:06:00.000-05:00

This is the deck that Micah and Jonathan got on before the team arrived!! Great work!!

Here are the walls going up one by one!! When Eve saw this first wall go up she yelled, "That's a my house!! That's a my house!! It was sooooooo cute!!

Here is Glenn doing the math for the rafters!! Yeah Glenn!!
Micah nailing up some of the very heavy rafters in the rain!! Below that is a shot of the metal roof going on!! We were happy to see the sun!!

Here is a nice indoor shot of the loft!! Just wonderful!!A nice PNG style concrete slab poured by the Park Street Baptist church crew!!A shot of the house at the end of phase one!! Complete with a mud room below! Here are Zoe and Caleb standing in "their room!!" They were very excited!!

Grampa LOVED spending time with the grandkids!! They liked it, too!!

The tribe is located right on the ocean!! It's beautiful. We enjoyed many walks along the beach!!
Happy Birthday Jonathan PNG style!!

Random Kid Pics!!

2007-05-30T06:43:00.000-05:00

Caleb and Landon (our co-workers son!)
Evie at beach and doing her silly face! She's a character...

Zoe and Landon
Olivia taking advantage of Daddy being in charge!! Eating as much sand as possible!

The May B-Days!!!

2007-05-30T06:30:00.000-05:00

Our Little Olivia Joy is One!!! She enjoyed a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting before Daddy left and then on the day of her birthday (22nd) I made her another cake! Even without her Daddy on her birthday, she was still spoiled!

Our Big Boy Caleb turned 4 on May 15! Eventhough Daddy left on Caleb's birthday, we still enjoyed it with gifts, cupcakes, and friends a couple days before he left!

Some Construction and Language Study

2007-04-30T03:48:00.000-05:00

Jonathan worked for a few days on building these crates which we will put our stuff in to be shipped soon. He built them the size of kitchen cabinets and painted the insides so when our kitchen is ready he'll just put on doors and counter tops!
We're trying to finish our national language study, so we've been out with the kids whenever we can.

Daddy's Back... and we're SO Glad!!!

2007-04-09T18:44:00.000-05:00

Jonathan came home last Thursday, so we were really thankful to have him for the holiday weekend! The kids each wrapped up some of their toys along with a bag of peanut m&ms to welcome Daddy home. While he was gone, we also wrote in the Easter egg books you see there something the kids wanted to tell Daddy each day. It was a lot of fun to hear him reading what the kids wanted him to know!
The Lord really blessed the building trip and though it rained a couple days, they were able to accomplish the projects they went to do. They also got some valuable time sitting down with the village men in the evening talking. There are so many things about God's love and grace that need to be communicated to these people! Please pray we will have patience and wisdom going about the whole process one step at a time!

Enjoy the Pics from the Trip!

2007-04-09T18:40:00.000-05:00

Jonathan went with the Lujan family who brought their son, Ethan. He was one of the first white kids a lot of the people had seen! I'm sure they will love the fact that their are 8 white kids on our team!
Taking a break... scoping out our house site... daydreaming... not really sure, but I like this picture!

Will They Fit???

2007-04-09T18:32:00.000-05:00

This is the plot of land given to us for all three houses. I'm told it is bigger than what it looks! If you can see about half of a big mango tree on the left side of the picture, the Lujan house will be in front of it, Sanford house in back of it, and ours will be on the far right corner. In this picture the ocean is to the left of the mango tree.

Dreaming of Home Depot...

2007-04-09T18:20:00.000-05:00

After much planning and waiting, this barge transported the building supplies for the boat dock and generator shed from Kokopo to the village. While the guys were waiting for it to arrive, they cleared the land for their building projects and built an outhouse.

Cultural Tidbits

2007-04-09T18:14:00.000-05:00

Trees were cleared on the plot of land that was given to us to build our houses.
The people had a pig mumu to appease the ancestral line that the ground belonged to where the trees were cut down.
Leg of... pig?

Generator Shed

2007-04-09T18:03:00.000-05:00

This is the generator shed which will hold a generator big enough for all three houses and also 50 gallon drums of diesel fuel to power it. It is located in the back of where our houses will be.

The Boat Dock

2007-04-09T17:51:00.000-05:00

Jonathan's getting down to business! There were some trees at the edge of the river that had to be cut down in preparations for the boat dock to be built. Here, Jonathan is holding up the tree so the man with the chainsaw can cut off the limbs, then they just let the logs float down the river and out to sea!
This dock will be very helpful since we will be bringing all of our supplies into the tribe by boat!

A Little Crazy but We're Surviving!

2007-03-30T04:38:00.000-05:00

Will Daddy recognize his Caleb and Evie when he gets back??? ... Jonathan is still in Siar land, so I haven't talked to him in 5 days. I know that's not long for some people, but we definately miss him! We are all doing well though, praying for Daddy every chance we get! He is scheduled to come home in about a week, so we appreciate your prayers for a safe return. We'll celebrate Easter without him, but we'll still be with friends so I'm thankful for that! Thank you to everyone praying for us while he is on this building trip!

Ready to Go!

2007-03-13T23:22:00.000-05:00

On February 7th we got on this little plane to head out for our bush orientation. We flew to Kandrian first and stayed for two nights then went on to Gergering. We really enjoyed our time in the bush making friends with new brothers and sisters in Christ, studying pigin on a new level, and helping our kids adjust to bush life! Enjoy all the new pictures of our adventures in Gergering!

NTM Guesthouse in Kandrian

2007-03-13T23:19:00.000-05:00

Jonathan, Zoe and Caleb enjoyed some snorkeling while we stayed 2 nights in Kandrian.

Boatride from Kandrian

2007-03-13T23:16:00.000-05:00

We had a two hour boat ride from Kandrian to Sara (where we would start to hike) Zoe got sick, but the seas were relatively calm.

We had to wade through water up to my chest to get to shore! (can you see the boat out there?)

Our four hour hike into Gergering

2007-03-13T23:08:00.000-05:00

We began our hike with excitement, but starting out wet with salt water above the waist, and the jungle heat, it certainly took its toll on us!
We all shared coconuts to get re-hydrated!

Thankfully we had carriers for all of our cargo and the kids! OK, we're wimps!

Our Time in Gergering

2007-03-13T23:03:00.000-05:00

The women thought it was great that I carried this basket back on my head after working in the garden with them! (or I should say tried to carry it!)

2007-03-13T22:59:00.000-05:00

My new friend Kaipuna taught me how to "grease a coconut".

Muddy Swim!

2007-03-13T22:48:00.000-05:00

Searching for something different to entertain the kids... Jonathan was led by the village kids to this swimming hole. They loved it!

Building a House Cook

2007-03-13T22:40:00.000-05:00

One thing the believers in this village have started doing together is "work projects" (as we would call them in America.) When someone needs a new house cook everyone works together gathering the bamboo from the jungle, making the walls and the roof, and the wives cook a meal for all the workers. I think they built three while we were there so Jonathan got to help out too!

Fun Kid Pictures...

2007-03-13T22:37:00.000-05:00

A Bit of Construction...

2007-03-13T20:34:00.000-05:00

Jonathan did some work on the house we were living in. It is basically built out of bush poles and plywood. Some of the wood was rotting so he replaced those boards and screens so we would have less mosquitos in the house!

Garden time

2007-03-13T20:28:00.000-05:00

I (Melissa) was able to go to the garden with a few women. This time was with Kaipuna and Kordea. We hiked up a small mountian and took a rest in this little hut, then continued to pick greens, kaukau and tapiok. The picture on top is the two of them making baskets out of a coconut tree leaf to carry our produce home. These two women have gone out as missionaries themselves into neighboring villages, so it was encouraging to talk to them!

Tribal Church Potluck

2007-03-13T20:22:00.000-05:00

The people welcomed us into Gergering with 8 nights straight of "potlucks" in the village. They all looked something like this with a bunch of saucepans full of sweet potato, taro and tapiok with greens cooked in coconut milk. This is something new the church has started since they are growing in the Lord. They have taken hospitality and recognizing that we are one body in Christ very practically!

Bush Life...

2007-03-13T20:14:00.001-05:00

This would be a papaya and Olivia wanting to be held!

Zoe helping do laundry in the twin tub washer!

Zoe's Pet Bat!

2007-03-13T20:09:00.000-05:00

Some of the village kids brought this bat for our kids. Zoe loved carrying it around, scaring Eve, and trying to feed it some banana. It was a baby and probably needed milk so we only kept it a couple days!

The Other White Meat...

2007-03-13T20:04:00.000-05:00

Two days before we left Gergering everyone pitched in to buy this pig from a neighboring village. Jonathan went with the guys to get it and even carried it for a short while on these poles... I think it was kind of heavy though! We had a big final feast for our going away!

2007-03-12T00:50:00.000-05:00

After hiking out of Gergering we met our boat back to Kandrian. We took a little detour up the Anu river to go see this waterfall!

After enjoying the waterfall we went back to Kandrian where the NTM guest house is. There Jonathan enjoyed some fishing and caught a spanish mackerel!

Packing the plane and going back to Hoskins!

2007-03-12T00:38:00.000-05:00

Bush Orientation

2007-02-04T01:46:00.000-05:00

We are leaving tomorrow to go into a tribal location, called Gegering, for a month. This is part of our orientation here, and Gegering has an established church plant, so it should be a safe experience. We have already learned many ways of preparing for "going bush" that will help us in the future. One thing was planning food for the month. Whatever we bring in is all we'll have besides food from the people which consists mostly of sweet potato and greens and some fruit. Also, we tried to pack wisely because we pay for weight on the flight in. Here is Jonathan weighing a box that has been wrapped in black plastic. We will have a 2 1/2 hr boat ride and then a 3 hour hike into the village, and for the hike we will have people carrying our things. We've wrapped our stuff in this plastic so no one will know what we're taking in... hopefully making things less tempting to steal.

We appreciate your prayers while we are in Gegering

that we wouldn't get sick,
that we would jump ahead in our pigin language study
that we would have an overall good time fellowshipping with these tribal believers.
that the survey trip on Feb 20 into Siar would go smoothly (though we can't be a part of this survey, our teammates Lane and Chris will be trying to sign a land agreement with the Siar leaders, so it will definitely affect us!)

We would love to hear from you through email while we're in there, but it will be received through a radio modem so please don't send any larger than 100kb. We will be back March 8, and I'm sure we'll be excited to post and show you pictures from our bush experience!

We joined a Team!

2007-02-01T20:19:00.000-05:00

We are excited to share with you some new steps the Lord has directed us to take since arriving here in September. Many of you know that when we first came to PNG in September we weren’t sure what the Lord had in store for us as far as who we would partner with or which tribal location we would work in. Well, after months of praying and waiting on the Lord, He has given us direction! He has led us to join two other families and begin a new work with them among the Siar people.

We will be working with Lane and Karrie Sanford and their 3 boys, Landon, Kade, and Luke, as well as Chris and Erin Lujan and their son Ethan. Both of these families have been here since June 2006 studying the national language and culture. They too have been seeking God’s leading in where to work here in Papua New Guinea.

At the beginning of December a survey of the Siar people was done on New Ireland which is an island east of New Britain (where we live now). Four missionaries, including Lane Sanford and Chris Lujan, went to visit the Siar people group to see if the door was open for missionaries to go there.

In Kabaman, one of the villages on the survey, the village leaders are saying that they are all in agreement on this: They want missionaries to come and live with them, teach them, and translate the Bible! Because of the open invitation, among other factors, Kabaman is where we will seek to locate and begin the incredible job of planting a church!

A follow up survey is planned for February 20^th. Lord willing, at this time a land agreement will be signed for 3 missionary houses to be built there. In these next few months there are many plans and preparations to be made that include buying supplies for house building, coordinating building teams, visits into Kabaman, and team meetings. All of this will take place as while we are still in language study! Thanks for praying with us in these things.

Enjoying Gifts at Christmas!

2007-01-02T22:15:00.000-05:00

Though we tried not to overwhelm our kids with too many gifts, they still ended up with a good amount! We spaced them out so they would have time to play with the things they opened and it gave us a good opportunity to talk to them each time about the gift God gave the whole world on Christmas- His Son! Christmas here was on a Monday but we started letting the kids open a couple gifts on Saturday. Before they opened any Jonathan sat down with them and explained why Jesus had to come to earth. Some lights turned on in Zoe's head as she realized she was not perfect like God and because of that, God couldn't let her into heaven to live with him. She began to cry as she realized she needed a Savior to save her from the punishment of her sin! We used this opportunity to show her the enormous grace and love God showed to us in sending His Son to earth to take our sin punishment onto himself by dying on the cross. We are trusting the Lord working in Zoe's life and heart to make these truths of His word a reality to her... but we are so glad we get to be part of that process! A few days after Christmas we were taking a walk and Zoe said, "some people know about God and some don't, so the ones that do know, have to tell the ones that don't." It is nice and convicting at the same time to hear our 5 yr. old understand the reason we have to live in PNG- because we know, and many people here don't. It was a good reminder while we miss our families at Christmas!

Our First PNG Christmas!

2007-01-02T21:57:00.000-05:00

Caleb enjoying his new football water bottle and Batman motorcycle we brought from the US!
Zoe enjoys doing the hokey pokey at a Christmas party with other missionaries on center.
Caleb and Olivia relax the evening of Christmas at Liamo Reef Resort where we spent the night! We were able to enjoy air conditioning and I enjoyed 3 meals I didn't have to make!

Holiday Traditions...

2006-12-19T05:03:00.000-05:00

With our holidays being very different for us this year... hot and humid, no family around... we decided to make it special in other ways! This morning we made gingerbread houses with the kids. Zoe and Jonathan worked together while I worked with Caleb and Eve. (Olivia took a nap!) Zoe and Jonathan's was very precise and came out great while ours was very full of frosting and kindof ended up like a green frosting square! At the end it made for some good family time and the start of a new holiday tradition.
As our family experiences Christmas here in this far away land... please pray that we won't miss family too much! Pray we find joy in celebrating the birth of Jesus. After all, He is the reason why we are in New Guinea! Enjoy Christ this Christmas!

Olivia update!

2006-12-19T04:55:00.000-05:00

After a walk in the village, the heat knocked these two right out! The baby next to Olivia is Luke Sanford (fellow missionaries here and good friends!)

Olivia is sitting up pretty good on her own now! It's so much fun to see her grow and interact with the older kids. She has a walker that she zooms around the house in and loves to chase the kids with it! You probably can't see but she has two teeth on the bottom.

Catch of the Day!!

2006-12-19T04:51:00.000-05:00

A successful day at sea!
One Saturday Jonathan went fishing with a local man and brought home this Red Emperor. He cut it up himself and we fried it up for dinner! It was good!

Work Meri Christmas Party!

2006-12-19T04:43:00.000-05:00

This is my work lady Francisca. The missionaries had a Christmas party for all our workers. Planti kaikai, liklik singsing, na bihain, mipela bin pilai volibal. (There was lots of food, a little singing, and after, we played volleyball)

Ashes to Ashes...

2006-12-19T04:36:00.000-05:00

Caleb is certainnly all boy! While out on language learning he made himself right at home in a pile of ashes!

Our First Language Evaluation!!!

2006-11-30T04:56:00.000-05:00

Well, we had our first language evaluation today and it went pretty well! Both Jonathan and I are at sentence level, and now we have a little more guidance of where to go from here. After we sat for about an hour and a half doing our evaluation this girl Nicole who was talking with me wanted to try braiding my hair. They say our hair is "malo malo" which means soft!!
As you can see, Olivia was very entertained!

Klimbing for Kulau!!

2006-11-30T04:52:00.000-05:00

A couple days ago we were visiting this man Paul who has been helping us learn Pigin. He had this boy climb a coconut tree and drop about 5 of them down! Then Jonathan and Paul cut open the coconuts and drank the milk inside. This is what they call kulau- it is the jungle version of Gatorade!

PNG Mumu

2006-11-13T18:33:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple pictures of a PNG Mumu. It is one method of cooking done here and considered a nicer meal because it takes more time to do. First, we peeled some sweet potatos, then... the women prepared the fire...
then once the stones in the fire have gotten nice and hot, they punch out the fire and place these banana leaves on top. Then they put the potato and tapiok inside the leaves and wrap them up.
Then they put the hot stones back on top of the leaves and let the hot stones cook the food. After about an hour they enjoy the meal!

Mora Mora

2006-11-13T18:25:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed a much needed getaway at the beach this past Saturday with some friends! The beach we went to was called Mora Mora... the guys threw the football, the kids swam, we enjoyed some snorkeling at a nearby reef and all got a good sunburn! It was great!

What's in a name?

2006-11-06T05:13:00.000-05:00

Here in New Guinea we've been studying the national language of Melanesian Tok Pisin. So what's in a name? Well, we found out that Melisa means.... Barracuda! Who knew!
(by the way, this picture was taken in Pennsylvania-not New Guinea!)

2006-11-02T00:56:00.000-05:00

Some of you have asked how we get around here in New Guinea. Well, when we go to the village (which is right outside the New Tribes gate) we always walk. Sometimes it's a 10 min walk and the longest has been about a 45 min walk depending on who we are going to visit. The town of Kimbe where we would do "shopping" (PNG style) is a 40 min drive away. The mission has a van we rent but it costs about $50 to get to town! I have only been twice since we've been here. We just went to Kimbe yesterday and it had been 6 weeks for me since I had been out last!!!
Earlier in the paragraph I mentioned the "New Tribes gate" so I thought I might explain that a bit. Basically New Tribes has a mission center where all the support role missionaries live and it is where we live until we will allocate to a tribe. All the houses are together and surrounded by a gate with guard dogs around the perimeter and a guard at the entrance. The reason for all the security is so our houses won't get broken into easily and so us women can walk around the center freely without danger.
Here is a picture of Jonathan sitting down with a man "storying". It is very cultural to sit around outside on these benches and visit. It is not cultural for them to invite us into their houses.

Zoe Goes to Kindergarten!

2006-11-02T00:29:00.000-05:00

When we got here to New Guinea we knew we had the option of home school or the mission school for Zoe. We didn't rush into either and wanted Zoe to have some time to adjust to her new environment. She made some friends and was wondering if she was going to go to school with them! Although she has just turned 5 we decided to try her in Kindergarten because she really wants to learn. It is from 8-12 and is just across a field from where we live. She has gone for about 3 weeks now and absolutely loves it!

Our Growing Kids!!

2006-11-02T00:24:00.000-05:00

Our visits to the village

2006-10-02T22:18:00.000-05:00

Our language "warm up" time, when we get used to hearing Tok Pigin and begin trying to understand it, involves us going into the village as much as possible. This trip some kids had caught a parrot, so it was a bit more interesting for our kids!
Soon our trips into the village will have more of a plan and a purpose. For example we might try to get specific nouns, tenses, or verbs. From there we can come back home to process the language and culture we picked up and file it on the computer. Then we can come up with more specific things we have questions about for the next time we go into the village.
Jonathan is expected to work on language about 8 hours a day while I'm told to put in as much as I can. With 4 little ones of course this sounds tough!
Please pray we will balance family, language learning, and living wisely!
Caleb does really well with letting the nationals hold him! They love his white skin!
They also love Olivia's chubby thighs! I had a couple meri blouses made for me... here is one of them I had made sleaveless!

2006-10-02T22:07:00.000-05:00

The town of Kimbe is about 30 min away from the New Tribes center. This is the open market where we can buy some fruits and veggies.
Believe it or not- this is an office supply store! You can even buy LCD screens there, printing paper, and much more!
This would be our equivalent to Wal-Mart... Kimbe Mart! They carry groceries, clothes, shoes, material and other various items! Of course the quality and variety is far from what we are used to . A day in town requires a stop for lunch at Liamo. A restaurant/resort that is very nice and out of place in Kimbe!

Our stuff!

2006-10-02T21:43:00.000-05:00

Most of you remember when we packed up our belongings and supplies back in April. Well, after being in New Guinea for two weeks the container holding it all arrived! It was a nice boost for us to see some of our personal things that have been packed for so long.

Copra

2006-09-26T18:32:00.000-05:00

The other day Jonathan went to visit this man, Frank, and learn about how he makes a living. These things on the ground are coconuts which Frank harvests, cuts into pieces, and puts them on top of this big oven to smoke until the coconut is completely dry. Once the coconut is dry he bags up the pieces and sells the bags in town. They call it copra and about a 50 lb. bag might yield him $20.00. It is a lot of work for little pay.

Eve turns 2!

2006-09-26T18:21:00.001-05:00

To celebrate Eve's second birthday we enjoyed chocolate cake with chololate frosting! She helped me make the cake and got covered in cake batter! She completely understood it was her special day because if I would tell her she couldn't have something she would look at me and say," birbay." (like hey, it's my birthday, I can have whatever I want) it was pretty funny!

No, those birthday balloons and streamers aren't from New Guinea. I brought them in our luggage along with Eve's presents and birthday jimmies!

Beauty out our front door!

2006-09-26T17:53:00.000-05:00

2006-09-26T17:40:00.000-05:00

The town we are living in is right next to this bay called Kimbe Bay. It's so beautiful! We went out on a friends boat, went snorkeling, and even got to see dolphins swim with the boat!

2006-09-15T23:09:00.000-05:00

On Thursday we went into the village that is right next to our mission center. There we visited with this woman, Florence and her family. The kids did pretty good with the new environment. We were there about 2 1/2 hours and that was about all they could take!
On Friday we went down to this big field where they were holding and Independance Day celebration. As you can see, they were dressed in traditional costumes and sang in their heart language. We only stayed about 1 1/2 hours because the kids began to get scared seeing all the different costumes! Please pray the kids will adjust and love these people who are so different than us!

The village is right on the ocean. This is Jonathan walking back from the water.
At Florence's house many people gathered around to visit with us. This man playing the guitar is actually a believer from another tribe. He has learned the Nakanak language and is teaching them the Bible! He is the only one teaching these people, so New Tribes missionaries are planning on moving in and helping him very soon. If you can see I'm wearing something that looks like a dress; it's actually called a meri blouse. It's what most of the women in the village wear, so I borrowed one from a missionary friend for the visit. I'm planning on having a couple made for myself, so I will be dressed culturally appropriate around the nationals. Many women told me they liked my clothes and said it was pretty. It is a big compliment to them if we dress like them!

New Guinea Nuts

2006-09-15T22:41:00.000-05:00

Here in New Guinea nuts are very expensive. The only nut I've heard of that grows here is called galip. We can buy about a handful of these nuts for about 36 cents. If you can see in the picture they come with a brown skin on them which the kids and are are peeling off. Then if we don't eat them right away I fry them in a pan and freeze them for later!

New Friends and Beautiful Flowers!

2006-09-11T23:42:00.000-05:00

Travels...

2006-09-11T23:00:00.000-05:00

We have spent the weekend in Hoskins now, and it has really been encouraging to see how God has gone before us and prepared the way. He has used people and situations to remind us of His presence through difficult situations. During our travel, we were so thankful that security checks were simple and that we made it safely to the gate with all our children. On our flight to New Zealand,(14 hours) we were thankful that they moved us to seating where bassinets were available for both Eve and Olivia to sleep in. They were able to sleep for several hours and Melissa and I were able to rest without holding them. The meals on board made traveling easier and Zoe and Caleb were able to sleep too. It was nice to have children's movies for the older ones to watch.
We made all of our connections, international security checks were easy, our luggage was not lost or damaged, and we were only delayed on one occasion and that was only for a 1/2 hour.
On the flight into PNG, vetran missionaries were seated close to us and helped with entry paperwork. They also walked us through customs and immigration, which only took 10 minutes, helped us gather our bags and check them to our final destination. They also walked us through the gate, bought us water, read a book to our kids, and visited until we departed. This was an amazing blessing because our patience with our kids had begun to dwindle!
Upon landing in Hoskins, several missionaries met us and loaded our bags on the trucks back to the mission center. It was really good to see some familiar faces! Our travel time since leaving NH totaled about 39 hours!
Since we have been here, meals have been prepared for us, food has been brought to us, and the center store was opened so that we could buy whatever was not already in our apartment. Our apartment was cleaned and set up; the beds were made, there was food and drink in the fridge, and fresh fruit on the counter. In our apartment there is plenty of space for the family, a ceiling fan in every room, and a toilet, tub and shower!
We really have so much to be thankful for, and we've only just begun!
God truly has done many things to encourge us along. The missionary team living on center here has been very hosptitable and helpful; their sensitivity and assistance has been great.

Our new home in PNG!!

2006-09-11T22:48:00.000-05:00

I was really surprised to see I have a small laundry room in our apartment! It's a twin tub washer that's brand new. Basically the left side washes then I put the laundry in the spinner on the right side, then rise the clothes in the tub on the far left then put them back in the spinner then on the line to dry! It fits about 10 pieces of kids clothes at a time!
Jonathan's office was a kids bedroom but we decided to put Olivia in our room and the three older kids together so Jonathan could have a space of his own for language study.
Our living room... very spacious! We love it!
Our kitchen and dining room. Tons of cabinet space and plenty of room around the table!

Family Time

2006-08-23T19:32:00.000-05:00

We have enjoyed the privilege of spending the last year and a half with the greater Jackson family. God has given us a lot of fun times with each other. As we prepare to leave the country for several years, it will be nice to have these memories to look back on. Our kids have great memories of times with their cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents.

We are all excited about the steps ahead, but it is with mixed emotions that we prepare to say goodbye for so long.

Fun at Liberty Bible Church

2006-08-23T19:20:00.000-05:00

Last week we really enjoyed our time with friends at Liberty Bible Church in Liberty, PA. The time went by so fast, but we were able to re-connect with many dear friends that God has given us as well as make some new ones!

Thanks to all of you in North Central PA for the huge part you have played in our lives; Drop us a line sometime!

Welcome

2006-02-02T09:12:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our website! We called it For His Name because that’s why we do what we do: for our Savior’s Name. It’s about Him; we are Christ’s “earthen vessels” carrying His message to those who haven’t heard.

A Country in Need

2005-12-20T17:26:00.000-05:00

Full Country Name: The Independent State of Papua New Guinea
Area: 4180,508 sq mi
Population: 4.5 million
Capital City: Port Moresby
People: 95% Melanesian, 5% Polynesian, Micronesian, Chinese
Language: Pidgin English, Indigenous languages, Motu
Religion: Animism, Catholic, Christian
Government: Democracy
President: Mekere Morauta

Located in the Pacific Ocean just 100 miles north of Australia, the country of Papua New Guinea compromises half the island of New Guinea and some 600 offshore islands. Home to over 870 distinct language groups, Papua New Guinea is an untamed land, full of extremes: swamp and jagged limestone, mud and moss forest, suffocating heat and Highland chill, plumed, pearl-shelled villagers and prosaic hill people, tiny tree kangaroos and enormous Queen Alexandra Birdwing butterflies. Its diversity excites explorers, anthropologists and travelers.
Though diverse in many ways, there is one thing that remains consistent throughout this country: There are people groups isolated all over this island who have never heard the life-changing message of God's grace.

A Christmas Message

2005-12-19T18:06:00.000-05:00

As we celebrate the birth of Christ this holiday season, take a minute to think about the path that God used to bring us the Savior of the world. The lineage of Christ is a very important part of the Christmas story, but there are certain things God included in Jesus’ family tree that bring us an important truth.

As we read in the first chapter of Matthew, Christ was a descendant of David, one of the greatest kings of Israel. This is the fulfillment of a prophecy to David (2 Samuel 7:12-13, 16), and establishes Christ as the Messiah, the promised Savior of the world.

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us …He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David.”--Isaiah 9:6-7

Since Christ was in the line of David, He also was a descendant of Solomon, David’s son. The Bible makes specific mention of this fact. Why?

“David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.”--Matthew 1:6

Why did God choose Solomon as the path through which Christ would be born? Consider Solomon’s origin: he was the son of David and Bathsheba, the result of one of David’s most blatant and deceitful sins. David slept with Bathsheba, and when he could not hide his sin, he arranged for the murder of Bathsheba’s husband Uriah so that he could marry her and the result would be legitimate. That’s pretty twisted logic.

What happened? The child died, David was punished, and then Solomon was born to David and Bathsheba. David did have many other sons, so why did God choose Solomon as his successor and the ancestor of Christ? Solomon’s presence in Jesus’ lineage is a constant reminder of David’s most famous sin. Why did God use this mistake of David as the route through which to bless the entire world?

God uses mistakes like this for His purposes to remind us that it is all about Him, and what He has done, not us. God took the sin of David and used it to show the world that He does not need “good” people to accomplish His purposes; He is just looking for people who seek to serve Him based on His terms, not theirs. What are His terms?

“God has chosen …the foolish things …the weak things …the base things …the things that are despised …so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus who became to us, wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” –1 Corinthians 1:27-30

Christ’s death for us on the cross was a gift; it’s as simple as that. Christ came to this earth to provide restoration between God and man, and the one requirement is to simply believe that His death is adequate, there is no other way to gain acceptance with God. These are God's terms.