To view Prayer Letter in PDF format or to Print click link: Russell Family – January 2012 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,
Thank you for your continued faith in our endeavors here in Papua New Guinea. Here are some of the happenings:

G r a d u a t i o n : F i v e M e n f o r t h e M i n i s t r y
Five men graduated this year from our three year Bible Institute. Two of these men were from a village 3 hours walk to the north, one from a village 2 hours walk to the east, and two from the Wipim area. I was impressed with their tenacity to receive their certificates! Three of these men only went as far as grade 6 in their childhood education, and it seemed like a monkey on their back. Now that they completed Bible School, they can finally say that they “finished” something. Please pray for them that they would know and do God’s will. Four out of five are preaching every week in church plants.

S u r v e y T r i p : M o r e h e a d
Morehead is the other government station in the South Fly District of our province. We have already established a church in Daru, the provincial capital, and we are now in the District Head Quarters of Wipim. I believe somebody needs to go to Morehead. If God wants that somebody to be the Russell family, then we are willing for us to go, but if He has somebody better fit for the job than us, then we will stay. We still have plenty of unfinished work to do among the Wipi tribe!

Morehead is not the end of the road towards the west and Indonesia, but almost. As you can read on the website, www.uttermostbaptistmissionspng.com/2012/01/morehead-survey-trip, Morehead is about 100 miles away from Wipim by road, and to get there we passed through miles and miles of swamp and about nine villages with nine different languages. I can envision another missionary family in Morehead working west to the boarder and east towards us, and then our family working east toward the Fly River and west towards Morehead. Please pray that God would send forth more labourers that we might capture this district for Christ. The report on the website is about ten pages long. Please have a look to learn more about what ministry potential is in this area.

I n s t a b i l i t y : C h a n g e s
Pastor Daniel Kinaul, the pastor from our first church in Daru, has resigned the pastorate. With broken hearts we ask you to pray that God would continue to use him in His will. The church in the meanwhile is going through a great test. The constitution is there to guide them through this difficult process, but what they need the most is the Holy Spirit’s guidance and comfort. The church’s attendance is still over five hundred on a Sunday morning, but without a shepherd, it is sure to decrease.
Please pray for their leadership team as they seek God to show them who should be their next pastor.

2 0 1 2 : F o l l o w O n
Our theme for 2012 is “Follow On.” Hosea 6:3 “Then shall we know, IF we follow on to know the LORD…”
By God’s grace our people here in Wipim will understand more about their great Saviour as we “Follow on to know the LORD…” Our two church plants are also following this theme, and we anticipate some Real Growth as we “Follow On” together.

Thank you for your faithfulness in 2011. We look forward to reporting more saved, baptized and growing in Christ throughout 2012.
Jason and Ana Russell