Adam & Julie MartinTribal Church Planting with the Akolet of Papua New Guinea

Update - December 13, 2007

Dear Praying Friends,

We wanted to take a moment to let you know how our language check went as many of you have been praying for us.

Short Version: Our language consultant, Aaron, said that we're pretty much where he thought we would be in our knowledge of and abilities in Akolet language and culture. Praise the Lord for that! (Secretly we were hoping to be lauded for our exceptionally proficient grasp on the language, but of course we will happily settle for being good ol' average, right??)

Longer Version: It was very helpful to have him in here with us for a few days. He spent time observing our interactions with our Akolet friends and assessing our progress over the last 6 months since the last time he was in here. He encouraged us with where we're at and gave us some great ideas for how to keep progressing over the next six month period of our language
study.

We were both able to mentally relax a bit after the official part of our check was over, and while our brains felt a little fried, it was worth it to know better where we're at.

As travel in PNG is quite unpredictable, Aaron's flight that had been scheduled for Thursday got changed to Friday, so we had an unplanned extra day with him in here. This worked out unexpectedly well for us, because a large share of the village was going on a wild pig hunt yesterday and so Adam and Aaron tagged along. Look for pictures of that on our website in
the coming weeks!

Another added surprise was that our co-workers the Colemans who just arrived back in PNG from their time back home decided to move days sooner than expected. So Merry Christmas to Adam and Julie - we will finally have our co-workers back with us! Thanks to all of you who have
prayed for us specifically during this time in the bush "alone."

We praise the Lord for now having 1 language evaluation under our belts and of course pray like crazy for wisdom as we continue progressing. Thank you for joining with us in this important work of reaching the Akolet people for Christ!

"We lift our eyes to Heaven; We wrap our lives around Your Life."
Adam & Julie Martin
Akolet Tribe
Papua New Guinea

Update - October 23, 2007

Dear Praying Friends,

We would like to ask you all to join us in praising our Lord for the ways that He's worked in the following situations:

• Elderly Fita is still gaining strength.  We praise the Lord for sparing hislife and thank each of you who prayed for him!  Our prayer is that one day you'll be able to see him in heaven and tell him personally how you interceded for him before he even knew the Lord.


• Our culture and language study is still progressing well.  We praise the Lord for wisdom He's given us in figuring out difficult things and for the good relationships He's giving us with the Akolet people.


• We have had a much-needed break from language study for a few days during our short stay on our missions base in Hoskins.  Adam and I both feel refreshed and ready to push ahead in our studies once again.

Here are a few current prayer requests for us as well:

• Our co-workers the Colemans have a strong desire to return to Akolet land as soon as possible but are experiencing some holdups in government paperwork in the US.  Please pray that these things would be resolved so that they can return in the Lord's time.


• While our house-building costs have been taken care of (praise the Lord for that!) we still have some debt from the cost of shipping all our building materials to Akolet land last year.  The actual costs were beyond our best estimates so we are still working to get that all paid for.  Please pray for the Lord's provision.


• Our first of four official language and culture evaluations is scheduled for mid-December.  Please pray for clarity of thought and lack of nerves for Adam and I as we seek to demonstrate the things that we have learned over the past 9 months.  Please also pray that our fellow missionary evaluator would be able to give us good advice for how best to continue on in our study.


• Please pray for wisdom for us as we seek to build solid relationships with as many Akolet people as we can and that their hearts even now would be stirring with a desire to one day hear God's Word in their own language.

Thank you all for interceding with and for us in these ways!  We serve a ighty God Who delights to have us come to Him with everything.

Update - August 4, 2007

Praise God:

• That Ryan Coleman's health is pretty much back to normal. The doctors are thinking he had Japanese Encephalitis on top of the viral meningitis (can you imagine?), and we are just so grateful that the Lord healed him. Their time in Canada is drawing to a close and later this month they will head to Florida (Ryan's home) in order to get Joseph's ears looked at by a specialist.
• That our 3 month evaluation of our language and culture study was a success. Our fellow missionary consultant said that we are doing a good job and are right on track for where we should be. Adam and I were very encouraged to hear that, to say the least!
• That our time with my parents was just great! Their stay in the bush with us was certainly memorable (more photos and stories about that at a later time on our website) and we also enjoyed our time with them in Australia immensely. It was wonderful to reconnect with them!

Please Pray:

• That we would have a smooth transition back to bush life on Tuesday, August 7th. With our co-workers the Colemans still gone we will be in the bush by ourselves for another few months, and we would greatly appreciate your prayers for that.
• That our Akolet language and culture study would continue going well. We have been blessed with many willing people to help us learn, but still it can be a huge challenge to absorb the huge amounts of information that we're getting each day!
• That we would have daily wisdom in our relationships with the Akolet people. Pray that we would know how to love them and build relationships now that will gain us an audience with them when it comes time down the road to share the truth of God's Word with them.

Praise the Lord that He will enable us each day to do the work He has called us to. We're grateful for His constant provision of grace in our lives and pray daily that we will stay firmly rooted in Him.

Ryan Coleman - Improvement!

Dear Praying Friends,

We are much relieved to learn that Ryan has been released from the hospital and is continuing to improve.

The doctors are continuing to monitor his heart and lungs as there are still some abnormalities there due to the viral meningitis, but we are praising the Lord for his progress thus far.

The doctors told Nicki that had Ryan been in the bush when he got sick, the extent of his illness would probably have killed him.  Praise Him for His perfect timing!

Update on Ryan Coleman

Dear Praying Friends,

I know many of you have been faithfully lifting up our co-worker, Ryan, before the Father.  While there's not much new we know about his condition, I thought I would update you with what we have learned.

The doctors have confirmed that he does have meningitis, but they don't yet know if it's bacterial or viral.  He is currently in isolation with only his wife Nicki allowed in to see him.  The last report said that he isn't making very good progress, and the doctors were concerned about a spot on his lung possibly indicating pneumonia to boot (a known complication to meningitis).  His condition remains serious.

Please continue to pray for them as I know you have been.  Also, many of you have asked about Nicki's father - the reason Colemans went home to begin with.  Rick is still in the hospital, but the doctors do expect him to make a full recovery.  By all accounts he should have died from a brain injury of that magnitude.  It will likely take a long time for him to recover fully, but he is on his way.

We praise the Lord that Ryan did not get sick out here in the bush, as he would have needed an emergency evacuation to Australia for competent medical care, and with it being rainy season here, getting the plane into our airstrip and back out again in spotty weather could have been very difficult.  The Lord is good.

Urgent prayer request

Dear Praying Friends,

We would like to ask you all to lift up in prayer along with us our co-worker, Ryan Coleman who has been admitted to a hospital in Canada and is seriously ill.  The Colemans just arrived in Canada (as many of you know) to be with Nicki's family as her dad recovers from a serious injury.

The doctors are not certain but believe him to have some type of meningitis.  Details are sketchy as Coleman's email is not working properly so they just called our New Tribes Mission Base at Hoskins and then a radio message was passed along to us out here in Akolet land.  This is all we know at this point.

Please join with us in prayer for wisdom for the doctors, a swift and complete recovery for Ryan, and comfort for him and especially Nicki and the kids as they deal with this difficult turn of events.

Thank you!

Prayer Request

Dear Praying Friends,

Adam and I would like to ask your fervent prayer for 2 things.

First, we would like to ask prayer for the father of Nicki Coleman, our co-worker here in Akolet land.  Last week he fell off a roof in Canada and sustained some serious head injuries.  After several days of being unable to speak and not recognizing his family, the doctors are now saying they do expect a complete recovery.  They just don't know how long that recovery might take.  Ryan and Nicki are planning to go home to Canada to be with her family and at the same time get some overdue medical work done for their son Joseph.  They expect they will be gone at least 5 months.  So we ask prayer for them during their travels and time at home, and also for Nicki's Dad's full recovery.

Secondly, we would ask you to join with us in prayer as Adam and I will be alone in the bush for the next several months. Â Many missionaries are alone in the bush without co-workers for years at a time, and we know that the Lord will sustain us too. Â But we have to be honest and say that because of the unexpected nature of these circumstances, we're feeling a little shocked about suddenly being alone for this length of time. Â Please pray for the Lord's strength and endurance in us during these next several months.

We appreciate your prayers!

P&P - March 28, 2007

Please pray:

• For Joseph, the Coleman's 5-year-old son, who is struggling with frequent ear infections. Â Pray for wisdom for Ryan and Nicki as they seek to know how to best help him.


• For us as we return to our routine of Akolet culture and language study, and that our minds continue to absorb all that we're learning. Â Please also pray that the next 3 months in the bush until our next time out would be profitable and that we would not go stir crazy being "stuck" out here!


• For God to continue providing the needed finances for the house-building expenses we incurred over the past several months.


• For our hearts to be captivated with the love of God, and that we would long for more of Him daily.


• For wisdom in dealing with the sometimes complicated relationships with the Akolet people. Â Please pray especially for certain "Big Men" (village leaders) who often have expectations of us that we just cannot fulfill.

Praise God:

• For Ryan Coleman's health. Â Apparently it was just a virus that was over quickly, not malaria.


• For safe travel to and from Hoskins, and for a nice time of reconnecting with many of our other missionary friends during our week of conference.


• For nothing out of the ordinary upon our arrival home - we were concerned about thefts taking place while both us and Colemans were gone, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that nothing had happened while we were gone.


• For the upcoming visit of Julie's parents in July!

P&P - March 16, 2007

Please Pray:

• For our co-worker, Ryan Coleman, who is feeling run down and we think may have malaria.


• For a time of refreshment and encouragement as we and Colemans go out to Hoskins for a week long conference with all the other missionaries in our region of PNG.


• For our minds to be absorbing all that we're learning in Akolet language and culture study.

Praise God:

• For many good friendships that we are forming with the Akolet people. Nicki and I are especially thankful for some wonderful lady friends here.


• For the amount of information we've already learned during our first few weeks of language and culture study.


• For some good rain that helped to fill our water tanks after a long dry spell. Â (Please also continue to pray for regular rain.)

Language and Culture Study Update

Thank you so much for praying for our language and culture study; it's going well.  While we aren't able to actually say much yet, I will admit that every time my brain is not consciously occupied by something concrete, I have phrases running through my head thanks to the copious amounts of recordings that we listen to everyday as part of our structured learning time.  Unfortunately the phrases that get the most stuck are not anything terribly useful.  They are random bits like "Is this your water?" and "Wait for me!" and "I got my knife and now I'm just walking around".  Sometimes I mutter things almost unconsciously as it is already playing in my head, which must look funny if you were to see me washing dishes and repeating, "Where is the fire?  Where is the firewood?  Where is the fire..."

One big answer to prayer:  the Lord has given Nicki and I some great ladies here that we really enjoy being with.  There are those of course who just want to use us for what they can get out of us, some that want to help us with language but just aren't very good at it, and some that are just frankly a little obnoxious.  (They have this habit of kind of slapping you when you say something they think is funny, which because we're still relatively new EVERYTHING we say is funny.  But you have to consider how bulky most of these ladies are, so quite often it really hurts and you're trying to laugh and carry on like you're having a grand time while bracing yourself for the next blow.  The other day I had a whole group of ladies slapping me because I greeted them with "Good morning, my name is Julie."  I personally didn't think that was slap-worthy, but they all sure thought so!) All that to say, there are some great ladies here and I feel like the Lord
has answered our prayers for friends.

Later this week we head to our mission base in Hoskins for a week long conference with all the missionaries in our region of PNG.  We are grateful for this time out of the bush - it has been 3 months since we were last out in civilization and a short break will be wonderful.  We appreciate your prayers for our spiritual encouragement during this time.  (As a side note, this will be the first time that we and Colemans are both gone from our homes at the same time, so we'd also appreciate prayer that nothing major would get stolen in our absence.  We know it's just "stuff", but stealing certainly creates bigger issues for us and the people than merely replacing the items that were taken.)

"We lift our eyes to Heaven; We wrap our lives around Your Life."
Adam & Julie Martin
Akolet Tribe
Papua New Guinea