The Invitation

Summer Zimmer, Communications Manager
Papua New Guinea: April 2022

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The Invitation

So every few months I have the opportunity to speak with a group of our new missionaries about communication. I talk to them about how Paul and Barnabas gathered the church together in the book of Acts to share all that God had done. And about how we, as missionaries, have that same opportunity to share what God has done in our newsletters and interactions with our churches and supporters.

We also talk about the aspects of raising support that are our responsibility and which ones are God's responsibility. It's our job to extend the invitation to be involved in our ministry through financial support and prayer. But it is God's work in hearts to move people to give and to pray. Our responsibility, in return, is to share with those who partner with us about how God is at work.

God has always met my needs throughout these past 3 1/2 years (yes, can you believe it!) through people like you, who want to see the people of Papua New Guinea have the same opportunities that you and I do, to know our Lord and Savior and to be able to celebrate His death, resurrection and victory over death as we are able to this Easter.

I want to once again extend the invitation for you to be involved in this ministry with me. I serve to support both the church planters and support workers with New Tribes Mission PNG in their ability to communicate with their sending churches and supporters. I help them with using communication tools, by writing articles that they can share and by creating videos that explain different aspects of what we do here and why. I also engage with churches in understanding how they can better care for their missionaries by facilitating small discussion groups of churches that share ideas about missionary care based on scripture. In addition, I facilitate ladies' debriefing retreats to guide ladies in discussion, reflection and prayer to process through the many stresses, paradoxes, transitions and losses we all face on the mission field.

I would be unable to be here carrying out this ministry without generous people partnering with me in it. While I'm home this summer, if you'd like to hear more about my ministry or the work God is doing in Papua New Guinea, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Support My Ministry Here

So today I am feeling just a bit exhausted. I was kind of wondering why, and then, as I looked through these pictures and thought about the last month (was it only a month?), I can see a little bit of why I might be feeling so tired.

Top left: I held a one-day retreat at my house at the end of March for a few of the ladies who had attended the full retreat. The focus of the time was Rhythms of Rest. I'd like say that I learned a lot from it, but looking back, I maybe haven't implemented it! Top right: I was able to go to town last month, which was the first time in several months. I love this group and it's always a treat to eat out.

Middle: I have been teaching jump rope in the PE class at the school for first through fifth graders for three weeks. It's been a joy to see them improve and try hard and persevere. And sometimes it's hard to see them give up. I have one more week with them, and I'm praying that each one of them will catch on before we're done.

Bottom left: I have been moving a lot of furniture. And when I say "I", I mean my co-workers in ICT have been moving various pieces of furniture for me— things I've been given, things I purchased, things I've been borrowing going to storage. It's been a lot of shuffling. Bottom right: As part of our Member Care Team, I helped to organize a Ladies' Luncheon and a Lapilo Day in the past two weeks. The header is a picture from our Helicopter Dedication that happened this weekend.

After a brief break due to Covid, I've been able to resume ladies' dinners and have a game night, a pancake breakfast and be part of a progressive birthday dinner. It really is a blessing to be able to bring together ladies from all different backgrounds and cultures to spend time in community.

What's next?

I'm coming home for a two month visit! I plan to continue working on the video series I started about translation and adding German subtitles to the videos I've already made, while I'm there. And I'll start the 9th Missionary Care Discussion Group while I'm in the same time zone as most of the churches, so that will be helpful!

Before I head out though, I plan on offering another Ladies' Debriefing Retreat. Because of some guesthouse availability issues, the start date had to be postponed. Please pray that the Lord would clearly use that delay to open doors for ladies to attend. In September, I'll offer a retreat in the Eastern area of the country. This will mean offering it at a resort, so the logistics and the cost are a bit overwhelming. Please pray for the Lord's guidance and provision.

This is the most recent video I've been able to finish in a series about translation.

Why Translate in the Heart Language

No matter where people are in the world, they need the Word of God in the language that they use the most, so that they can study it, understand it and get to know the Lord better. A natural sounding and clear translation is essential for them to be able to discuss and implement God’s Word and grow in Christ.

Praises

Sometimes I allow my to-do-list to steal my gratitude. Pray for me during this season of preparing and finishing, that I could maintain a heart of gratitude.

The Lord has brought together a large group of ICT teammates after a year of there just being 4 of us at one point! Praise the Lord for this group. You could pray that He would bring along at least one IT person who likes Mac.

Praise the Lord for the opportunity I've had recently to see the way He can renew and heal and provide hope. What a blessing it is to live in community and see His faithfulness to one another.

Praise the Lord that I have tickets home at the beginning of May, and that I get to be present for birthdays, preschool programs, softball games, the Fort4Fitness Spring Cycle (did you sign up yet?), the Fat and Skinny, the 4th of July, and WCC's Missions Emphasis week— just a few of the events I'm looking forward to.

Plus, I have someone to travel back to the US with! Pray that I'll have someone to travel back to PNG with. It's a long trip through Singapore and Doha.

And I mean, who wouldn't praise God for such sweetness. He waited all day for me to come by so he could show me his shirt. Good for the heart.

Prayer Requests

Pray for my interaction with the current group of churches learning about missionary care. Pray that our conversations will be lead by the Spirit.

Pray for my ability to connect with churches for the next Missionary Care Discussion Group, which I'll lead while I'm in the States, that the Lord would bring together a group of missions leaders who will inspire and challenge one another in the area of missionary care.

Pray for the Lord to gather a group of ladies who will be a blessing to one another for the next ladies' debriefing retreat, April 28-May 2. There have been challenges in bringing this group together and finding housing, so the retreat has been pushed back to right before I head home.

Pray for my preparations, both for the retreat and my trip to the US, that I would not let anxiety overtake my joy or exhaustion my excitement for both the retreat and the time at home.

Pray for my travel home. It seems like the requirements vary daily and by country, and it's hard to keep track of exactly what needs to happen to make it through all the hurdles.

There are so many prayer needs among my teammates here in PNG, I wish I could share my burden for each one of them with you, but instead pray that the Lord would remind me that He knows and loves them too and He has each one of their needs in His hands.

Pray for the many goodbyes that are coming. I think I've had a break from the goodbyes of people not coming back, but I'm surprised at how I'm already feeling some of these losses.

More stories of what God is doing in Papua New Guinea can be found through social media:

Ethnos360

NTM PNG

Summer's Blog

Summer

Copyright © 2022 Ethnos360, All rights reserved.

My mailing address is:
Summer Zimmer C/O New Tribes Mission
PO Box 1079 Goroka, EHP 441 Papua New Guinea

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