You’re Always Missing Someone Somewhere
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens - Ecclesiastes 3:1
Goodbyes never seem to come late enough. It always seems like there are more times to be shared, more laughs to be portioned, and more heart to give and deeply connect. I am not a very touchy feely kind of guy, but I felt at peace as I was able to have some private moments with a friend just two days before we left Uruwa to come back to America. We have had some relational struggles during our time in Uruwa because we don’t understand fully how good relationships are done here. This culture is foreign to us and we are still learning how to connect with people in a real way. We have lost relationships or had relationships recede drastically and we have mourned those. These struggles make the relational victories a million times sweeter.
As Vinom and I sat together, my heart was full. In a grand mixture of the words that were said, the genuineness in his face, and the truth I perceived in his tone, I felt I was going to miss a true friend as I left; one who actually enjoyed my presence instead of just the allure of physical things I might have to offer him. We would passionately continue to serve in Uruwa even if we had no friends, but God in his grace from the depth of relational despair has brought forth new life, new friends, that have bloomed into promising relationships we are eager to continue, but for now, we must say goodbye. We had great opportunities to say goodbye to many that we spend a lot of time with here during the few days preceding our departure.
Those relationships will largely be on pause until we go back to PNG, but we are incredibly happy to be able to begin seeing family and friends in the United States that we have missed dearly during the past several years we have spent in Papua New Guinea.
We are back in the US now and we are excited to see many of you who read our updates, pray for us, and those who have financially supported us for so long! As we travel to Missouri, California, and many, MANY other parts of the US, we will be reaching out to you so that we don’t miss this opportunity to thank you in person and enjoy your presence. If you have any desire for us to share at your church, small group, or with any other crowd, reach out and let us know so that we can keep that in mind when making plans near your area. We look forward to seeing many of you soon!
Friends you can pray for
Prayer and Praise
The Uruwa language varies slightly from one village to another. Please pray for God’s wisdom for our team in what that will mean for for future literacy classes and Bible translation.
Pray for our friends listed above as well as for all the Uruwa people, that the Lord would be preparing their hearts for the day when we get to share about Jesus with them.
Continue to pray for Nusu, Numonek, and other deaf and hard of hearing people in Uruwa. There are many people of this sort and we pray that God would guide us in how to show them the truth one day.
Praise the Lord that we have made it back to the US. We are excited about what God has for us during our time back home. Pray that we would be faithful with time we have here. The plan is to return to PNG next January.
Pray for the continued strengthening of our walks with the Lord as well as our marriage.
Want to receive more frequent updates and prayer requests? Join our prayer group via Facebook or e-mail:
Luke & Jessica Thek
Luke:
US phone: 8054236830
whatsapp: +18054236830
email: luke_thek@ntm.org
Jess:
US phone: 8165207474
whatsapp: +18165207474
email: jessica_thek@ntm.org
