Praise the Lord dear friends, we are 6 months out from a return trip to Papua New Guinea!!! Please join us in praying over the preparations to come.
Many of you who have followed our missions journey already know the Lord has called us to serve at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in the Western Highlands of PNG on a short term (2-3 month) basis every other year. This would not be possible without my amazing Pediatric Practice in Richmond, Virginia who permits my leave of absence every other year. Thank you PAHP family!
Since our last trip to PNG in early 2020, the pandemic whirlwind disrupted and delayed our expected return this past Spring, but God’s timing is perfect and we are deeply thankful to be back on track for returning this March 2023.
As it has been quite some time since our last post I have a number of updates to share with you, and more to come in future posts! (...and yes, Pennie & Solomon are growing up fast!)
Upon our return in May 2020 from a wild and wonderful three months of pandemic missions in PNG, we found our American society in turmoil - fear and isolation affecting every relationship and customary friendliness/functionality.
As with past missions trips, it’s always challenging to reacclimatize to a fast paced first world enslaved to financial security and the facade of appearing to have it all together. Returning in the midst of a pandemic was all the more confounding - suspicion in every glance, hoarding supplies, facial expressions hidden by masks - it was the brokenness of humanity on display.
But with the same heart that led us to stay in PNG when the Pandemic was declared, we continued Stateside to choose relationships over fear. The Bible study group we have hosted for many years was virtual for a short time, then back in person as soon as possible. We hugged and broke bread with those comfortable doing so, and we applied our Holy Spirit filter to endure the barrage of a culture battered by polarizing views.
In my practice it took all of 2020 and most of 2021 before we began to see a return of our patient population needing to catch up on 2 years of check ups, and they brought with them an entirely new kind of mental illness. Children presented with a form of PTSD born in isolation from normal socialization, where they had been immersed in a toxic wasteland of electronics and indoctrinated with Covid paranoia. To this day we are still chipping away at the wreckage.
A year ago we began planning for a 2022 return trip to PNG, but as we came to learn, this was our timing, not God’s. My practice had lost multiple providers during the Pandemic, and expected more provider transitions to come - one going part time, one retiring, and a season of hiring new staff while electing new shareholders/partners. My departure in the midst of these transitions just didn’t make sense. While our call to missions is predominant, I am also called to honor and serve my practice. Yes, Rachel and I were briefly disappointed, but the Lord gave us a Spirit of peace and patience and it was not long before He showed His hand. Within the span of five months my older sister and two of Rachel’s close friends were all diagnosed with cancer, and the Lord kept us nearby to love and help, which we could not have done on the other side of the World! Many times it seems we learn the hard way, but God’s timing is always perfect!
This summer Rachel and I prayerfully returned to seeking the Lord’s blessing for our return trip to PNG. Praise GOD, the necessary doors have opened and we are now confirmed for an eight week trip in March and April 2023. This brings us to the present, as we prepare to spend two months in the mission field, and where we will need your prayer support!
PLEASE PRAY:
As with past missions trips, it’s always challenging to reacclimatize to a fast paced first world enslaved to financial security and the facade of appearing to have it all together. Returning in the midst of a pandemic was all the more confounding - suspicion in every glance, hoarding supplies, facial expressions hidden by masks - it was the brokenness of humanity on display.
But with the same heart that led us to stay in PNG when the Pandemic was declared, we continued Stateside to choose relationships over fear. The Bible study group we have hosted for many years was virtual for a short time, then back in person as soon as possible. We hugged and broke bread with those comfortable doing so, and we applied our Holy Spirit filter to endure the barrage of a culture battered by polarizing views.
In my practice it took all of 2020 and most of 2021 before we began to see a return of our patient population needing to catch up on 2 years of check ups, and they brought with them an entirely new kind of mental illness. Children presented with a form of PTSD born in isolation from normal socialization, where they had been immersed in a toxic wasteland of electronics and indoctrinated with Covid paranoia. To this day we are still chipping away at the wreckage.
A year ago we began planning for a 2022 return trip to PNG, but as we came to learn, this was our timing, not God’s. My practice had lost multiple providers during the Pandemic, and expected more provider transitions to come - one going part time, one retiring, and a season of hiring new staff while electing new shareholders/partners. My departure in the midst of these transitions just didn’t make sense. While our call to missions is predominant, I am also called to honor and serve my practice. Yes, Rachel and I were briefly disappointed, but the Lord gave us a Spirit of peace and patience and it was not long before He showed His hand. Within the span of five months my older sister and two of Rachel’s close friends were all diagnosed with cancer, and the Lord kept us nearby to love and help, which we could not have done on the other side of the World! Many times it seems we learn the hard way, but God’s timing is always perfect!
This summer Rachel and I prayerfully returned to seeking the Lord’s blessing for our return trip to PNG. Praise GOD, the necessary doors have opened and we are now confirmed for an eight week trip in March and April 2023. This brings us to the present, as we prepare to spend two months in the mission field, and where we will need your prayer support!
PLEASE PRAY:
- For my Pediatric Practice - scheduling all my amazing patients on either side of the trip, and wisdom in coordinating other adjustments
- For our Travel Visas and other PNG paperwork to be finalized
- For raising Prayer & Financial Support (more details to come in a future post, so PLEASE share this Blog with others!)
- And for preparing our kids’ hearts to understand why we love these missionaries and Highland people and deeply desire to be there with them.
"Therefore, my beloved brethren,
be STEADFAST,
immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
~1 Corinthians 15:58
Love you guys and will be praying. -Heather Albert-
ReplyDeleteDefinitely here to support your mission any way we can. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
ReplyDeletePraying for your mission trip! You have and will touch so many lives. 🙏🏻🙏🏻
ReplyDelete