From Papua New Guinea to Colombia: Trusting God’s Call

God’s work in Papua New Guinea did not stop when the door closed. The Kamaiah people once had only a spoken language, but God allowed that language to be written down, taught, and used for Bible translation. The New Testament rough draft now stands as proof that the investment of prayer, giving, and labor was not wasted. God’s Word is powerful, and getting God’s Word to people, whether through reading, translating, or printing, stays right at the center.

The next step is Colombia, South America, and the main idea there is “discipleship and evangelism through education.” The ministry will include Bible institute classes, English classes, printed Spanish Scriptures, and Bible clubs in villages around the volcano near Pasto. Those villages are still waiting to hear the gospel, and the simple work of starting with kids in a park has already led to families being reached and churches being planted. The gospel stays the same, even when the language, culture, city, and religious background are totally different.

The hard transition out of Papua New Guinea became a place where God made himself steady. The change was not small. A home, a place, a purpose, and a whole life direction seemed to disappear all at once. But God did not change. The disorientation felt like not knowing where things were going, how things got there, or what came next, but the Father still knew the road.

The picture of the concussed son asking, “Dad, where are we going?” gave a clear way to understand that season. The son did not know the details, but he still knew his dad. God used that same truth to give rest in confusion. The issue was not knowing every answer, but knowing the One who did.

Psalm 46:10 steadied the heart with God’s promise: “Be still, and know that I am God.” God will exalt his own name among the heathen, with or without any one servant. Mark’s account of the woman breaking the alabaster box gave another mercy: she did what she could, and Christ called it good. First Samuel 16 added the next step: “Fill thine horn with oil, and go.” Grief had its place, healing had its time, but God still had another place to serve, another people to love, and another work to watch him do.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God does not change [34:37] The transition may change the place, the work, the people, and even the way a servant understands herself. God’s character does not shift with the circumstances. Security is not finally found in a calling, a country, or a ministry identity, but in the Lord who remains when everything familiar is gone. [34:37]
• 2. Disorientation can still know Father [38:42] The concussed son did not know where he was going, but he knew his dad. That picture gives deep comfort for seasons when the mind cannot sort out the path ahead. Faith does not always receive a map, but faith can still recognize the Father’s voice and rest in his care. [38:42]
• 3. Love for God sends servants [41:33] Missionary faithfulness is not sustained first by affection for a culture or people group, because people can be hard and cultures can be painful. Love for God becomes the deeper root that holds when feelings rise and fall. The servant goes because God is worthy, and that makes obedience steadier than personality, sentiment, or excitement. [41:33]
• 4. God exalts his own name [42:42] Psalm 46:10 removes the burden of acting as though God’s glory depends on one person’s presence. God can exalt his name in Papua New Guinea, Colombia, Clarksville, or anywhere else. The privilege is not that God needs a servant, but that God graciously allows a servant to be involved. [42:42]
• 5. Do what God gives [44:23] The woman with the alabaster box did not do everything, but Christ said she did what she could. That truth frees a servant from measuring faithfulness by gifts not received or outcomes not controlled. God receives what is offered from love, and he calls that good.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [15:36] - Greeting and Longtime Connection
• [16:19] - Thirteen Years in Papua New Guinea
• [17:07] - A Sudden Door Closes
• [17:41] - The Next Place: Colombia
• [18:20] - Language, City Life, and Catholic Culture
• [22:55] - Discipleship and Evangelism Through Education
• [25:43] - Villages Around the Volcano
• [27:26] - Visa Needs and Timing
• [30:05] - God Still Works in Papua New Guinea
• [32:00] - Ink on Bodies, Ink on Paper
• [34:37] - God Does Not Change
• [38:42] - Trusting the Father in Confusion
• [42:42] - Be Still and Know
• [46:27] - Fill Thy Horn and Go

1. According to Psalm 46:10, what two commands or truths are placed side by side, and what does God say he will do among the nations and in the earth?
2. What are some specific ways God’s Word was getting to people in both Papua New Guinea and Colombia? [31:31]
3. In Mark 14:6-8, what does Jesus say about the woman’s act, and what simple phrase does he use to describe her faithfulness?
4. What details were given about the villages around the volcano near Pasto, and how were Bible clubs already leading to families being reached and churches being planted? [26:33]

1. Psalm 46:10 says God will exalt his own name among the nations. How does that truth help a believer when a ministry, plan, or life direction suddenly changes? [43:11]
2. The picture of a confused son who still knew his father shows that full understanding is not always necessary for real trust. What does that reveal about how faith works in seasons of disorientation? [39:16]
3. Jesus said of the woman in Mark 14 that “she has done what she could.” How does that protect believers from measuring faithfulness only by visible results, abilities, or comparisons with others? [45:15]
4. In 1 Samuel 16:1, Samuel was allowed to grieve, but he was not meant to stay there forever. What does “Fill your horn with oil, and go” suggest about the difference between healthy grief and being stuck in the past? [46:53]

1. What change or loss in life has left things feeling disorienting lately? In that place, is the struggle mainly not knowing the plan, or is it also a struggle to rest in knowing the Father? [38:42]
2. Security cannot finally rest in a role, a place, or a version of life that once felt stable. Where is there a temptation right now to build identity on something other than the unchanging God? [34:37]
3. Love for God must run deeper than love for a place, a people, or a certain kind of ministry. What is one area of service or obedience where love for God needs to become the main reason again? [41:33]
4. God will exalt his own name with or without any one servant. Does that truth bring more relief or more discomfort personally, and why? [42:42]
5. “She has done what she could” is a freeing word. What has God actually put in hand right now—time, gifts, resources, opportunities—and what might it look like to offer that without comparing it to what has not been given? [44:52]
6. God’s Word remains at the center whether it is read, translated, taught, or printed. What is one practical way to give God’s Word a more central place this week in personal life, family life, or ministry to others? [31:31]
7. There are times to grieve, and there are times to go. Is there an area of life where it is time to stop only looking back and take a clear next step of obedience? What might “fill your horn with oil, and go” look like in that situation? [46:53]