Dear Loved Ones,
In the name of our Lord Christ, we send our greeting.
Though it is hard to write and explain everything on our hearts in English, we are so excited to share how
God is building His church among the Mihi tribe.
It has been a long time since our last newsletter; even so, we appreciate your faithful prayers! We also
appreciate the time you take to read our long letters, and hope you will be encouraged and rejoice with us
seeing that God is at work among the Mihi people.
Sunday, September 6—exciting day for Mihi tribe and us!
Mihi believers and visitors of the Mihi clans came together to praise God for the work HE has done in all of
our lives. It was the first day of opening their church to the public; the place where the Bible lessons, we
and our translation team have worked so hard and long on, will be taught. Of the 20,000 people that make
up the 32 Mihi clans, there were about 700 people that participated; many of whom hiked through valleys
and streams and up mountains to participate in this special opening day of the Mihi church. Some men and
women from different clans of tribal people joined along the way, with singing and dancing.
We hope, with just a taste of that first Sunday in September, you can imagine the great work God is doing
among the Mihi people — see how God has been calling the lost people of Mihi and building His church in
the remote and isolated place of the Mihi tribe.
A look back …
Coming up to this time, I picture Seong and I as running on
a winding road, hiking up and down rough mountains, and
crossing streams and valleys—a journey without pausing
for breath—but diligently, faithfully, and joyfully. Thinking a
part of this drive being that Seong’s physical weakness
made us keep pressing on; each moment and each day are
so precious to us, thanking God that He spared Seong’s life
twice from major operations of Abdomen aorta aneurysm
and Thoracic aorta aneurysm—extending Seong’s life to
bring the gospel to the lost people in the Mihi tribe.
Our translation helpers, who are Believers, and the Mihi
village people had been desiring to build a permanent
teaching house as the old one’s grass roof was leaking
badly and the bamboo floor was torn from getting wet. We
decided it was time to build, but never imagined the
challenges we would run into.
In His time, some of the building materials were delivered
from the town of Goroka by NTM Cesena but most of the
big sized materials (such as metal for roofing and plywood
for floors), took five trips by the MAF twin otter (Mission aviation fellowship) plane. The expenses of
delivering the building materials from the town to our airstrip in the bush was a huge amount of money, so
lumber to build the church had to be cut from the trees deep in the jungle and on the high mountain tops of
the Mihi tribe.
Much patience was needed as time was lost with interruptions; like when we had to rent a portable sawmill
to cut the timbers into boards, but ongoing issues of not working properly and broken parts meant we had
to rent a sawmill from another group of missionaries and had to have it flown in by NTM and SIL helicopters.
The village people thought Seong was experienced as a builder. However, we are so grateful to God that
though Seong never had experience overseeing a building project, he was able to design the church on his
computer and build the church with the Mihi people. Thankfully, there was not any wasting of materials as
Seong was able to figure out exactly what materials were needed. The people were amazed that it was the
very first time for Seong to build this big auditorium. Seong poured his heart into this project and the Mihi
people put the physical labor into completing it, as they desired to learn about God and to worship Him.
Most of the village men and women, young and old, and children participated in making the ground level on
the steep hill of the mountaintop; it took weeks before this and holes were dug to put the steel posts in and
add bush timbers beside the iron poles to make a sturdy foundation. In fact, every day so many village
people participated in cutting the bush timbers for the building project and helped build the church; they
knew they wouldn’t get paid or weren’t expecting anything from us such as soap, salt, rice, secondhand
clothes, or whatever they desired for themselves, as payment for their labor. The people’s desire was to
build a church to worship God. Page 1
In preparing for the church building project we had talked
with the people about having the right attitude about this
church; that it was not something they should participate in
in order to gain something for themselves, like material stuff,
or favor from God. We were so happy to see that the
people learned the lesson well, and even though it was a
hard and long process, they kept the right attitude.
Through this long process, I, too, had lessons to learn. As
with any project, God had put into my heart to cook for the
many people who had worked hard all day and then hung
around at our place in the evening—though food was
something they never asked for. But over time, driven by
my changing emotions and tiredness, I had been struggling
over the fairness of giving the same amount of food to
those who did little work, or much less diligently then others,
as I gave to those who worked hard. I noticed that I was
discriminating against them according to my feelings and
thoughts. I came to realize that I was only able to give
others because someone gave to us, and I should not show
love to them only if they meet my conditions for deserving it; like serving them with two faces.
I am so thankful for Seong, who lovingly put up with my many concerns and worries over his use of medical
supplies i.e. using three bandages for a small cut, rather than one or using a whole roll of gaze, rather than
what I thought a half roll would do. I worried about other things like giving out soap or salt packets to each
person rather than one to each couple or small group. I realized that I was only considering our “finance
basket”, which was getting empty, but Seong sees and dreams to see the people of church blessed. Seong
sees God, who will fill the empty basket, as HIM who has been providing in times of our needs.
Boasting the Cross, only our Savior, Jesus Christ.
For I resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 1 Cor 2:2
O, how I was foolishly calculating and measuring what I wanted without depending on God. My eyes and
thoughts were away from the Giver but only focused on the gift. The Holy Spirit stirred my heart to see the
fruits of this sin within me; reminding me that I am a hopeless sinner, while bringing me again to Calvary to
see Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for me.
When I wanted to report to God, in my evening prayers, how hard I had worked and suffered for Him and
how much I had accomplished for His ministry, the Holy Spirit reminded and taught me that, with that
attitude, I wasn’t walking with the Lord while I was working; I was just doing hard work. I do not want to
boast about how good a missionary I was or how I suffered for God, I want to say that I have gained
spiritual blessings through any hardships I may have gone through, and I am looking unto Jesus, who truly
suffered for me.
So, now, my evening prayers have been changed to “Thank you God for your mercy and grace. Amen”
My prayer is short and simple, but it contains and covers deeper and higher meanings of the love of God
through Christ. I wish I could open my heart even more to show you how blessed I am to say what once
John Newton and the Apostle Paul have said through their hardships and trials.
“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-through
Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 17:15-25
“I am a great sinner. Jesus Christ is the great Savior”
For me, being humble is knowing who I am, while crying for my sin and hungering for God. I feel full of the
Holy Spirit every time He points out a fruit of sin within me, reminding me of Jesus Christ on the Cross and
the blood He poured out for me.
One day the Holy Spirit led me to share, with honestly, my testimony to a group of the Mihi village men and
women. We all cried together as the Holy Spirit touched those men and women’s hearts and through my
testimony, brought us together to remind us of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who died for us on the cross.
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I truly thank God that I am being used as an instrument of our Lord to bring the lost people to see Jesus
and know what God has done for them. Now they love to sing “Amazing Grace” in their mother language,
which I have translated as “Amazing God’s Mercy and Grace”.
We are so thankful for God’s abundant grace and faithfulness, encouraging us in our weakness. We are
also thankful that we are now seeing the fruits of His work and the fruits of your prayers as the lives of the
Mihi tribal people are being changed forever.
I also want to thank you for your prayers for me as I have been working so hard on back translation to
English, from the Mihi translation, for the NTM Bible translation consultant, while Seong and the village
people were doing physical work. I was working on the portions used for teaching lessons from the New
Testament; the check was done in August and we were encouraged with good comments on our work.
The Bible lessons for the “Creation to Christ” teaching have been translated into the Mihi language and
have been printed for the Mihi Bible teachers to teach to their people. Desiring to continue on, our 18
translation helpers will be translating Paul’s Epistles, based on the Pisin Bible, for the first draft while we
are absent. Seong and I will go over all of their translation after we get back to the Mihi village Nov, 2016.
Over the past months, the Mihi men and women have been making the long hike to hear the Bible lessons,
preparing them for the truth of the gospel. The Bible teachers are excited to teach the lessons in their own
mother language. This thrills our hearts! We couldn’t be happier having prepared all those teaching
materials for them to teach the amazing story of God Himself, giving His life as a sacrifice for the sins of
mankind.
Family news …
Wonderfully, my first son, Geoffrey, his wife, Stephanie,
and granddaughter, Skyey, visited us in our Mihi village on
the third week of September. Geoffrey has visited many
times, but it was the very first visit for Stephanie and Skyey.
The Mihi people were extremely happy to see them and
welcomed them as a part of their own family.
There were so many children, men and women dressed up
like in the old days when they wore tree bark skirts and
covered their private parts with leaves; men held bows and
arrows and danced on the airstrip to welcome them.
Geoffrey and Stephanie were challenged and
overwhelmed to see how God has worked there. Consistently, they shed tears from arrival to departure.
We all left PNG together to go to Cairns in Australia for Seong’s medical checkup appointment, which had
been made last year.
The vascular surgeon’s report gave us peace and gratitude to God for His protection and healing hand
upon Seong. INDICATION; Previous intrarenal AAA repair 2003, and previous type A aortic dissection
treated 2013. No significant interval change when compared with the previous study. Descending aorta has
got torn up to 3.5cm but, thankfully, it is stable at the same size as in 2013. But the vascular surgeon is
concerned that it can burst if it reaches up to 5cm. Please pray with us that God continues to keep it stable.
The doctor wants to see Seong again November, 2016. Hence, we will go back to the Mihi village after
Seong’s medical checkup in cairns November 2016.
Seong and I had been extremely busy working on the translation project and trying to finish the church
building before we left the Mihi people for Seong’s medical checkup and then continuing on with travel for
our one-year home assignment. All of the “pressing on” this past year has caused our bodies to run down.
Now in Australia, the people here are wearing summer clothes, but we are wearing winter sweaters; our
bodies need calories and iron and protein to gain energy. Never having felt hungry, we survived with
simple, out-of-balanced meals in the bush. Now we are
being told we should eat good food to get back to a normal
body condition. Pressing forward and putting off proper
rest caused us to get sick and now do our resting in a
sickbed. Now we feel like a marathon runner who has
reached the final destination, utterly worn out and broke
down from exhaustion.
We want to thank you for your faithful prayers!
We wouldn’t be here without your support and prayers. So
we want to say THANK YOU for your faithful prayers for
His glory. Knowing that many are praying continues to be a great encouragement to us as God brings His
people to worship HIM on the mountaintop of the remote and isolated place in the Mini tribe. Page 3
It has been a joy and a privilege to partner and labor alongside the Mihi church and to see God bring glory
to His name in this corner of the jungle.
Praise Points:
Encouragement from compliments of “well done”
from the translation consultant over our translation
of teaching portions of the New Testament books of
Matthew up to Acts for the Bible lessons.
Books of “Creation to Christ” for teaching Bible
lessons are printed in the Mihi language.
What the Mihi people call “God’s House” has been
built among the Mihi tribe on the mountaintop, just
like Noah’s Ark, through many hard times but never
losing focus on the message of the Cross and
God’s heart for the Mihi people.
God’s blessing upon all of us with the first-time start of the teaching of the Bible lessons teaching
who God is on the first Sunday of September in the new God’s house.
Please be praying for the following requests.
We will really appreciate your prayers for our traveling mercies and good health all along the way
during our one-year home assignment.
Our prayer is that as God leads us to Korea, the USA and Canada we bring glory to Him as we
share how God’s truth is being bought to the Mihi people.
Pray that God meets our traveling expenses. As a result of the church building project, expenses
were so huge. Hence, we left the field with an empty finance basket. We trust God fills it again for
our ongoing needs.
Pray for our teaching/translation team of 18 Mihi believers, that they can teach the village people in
good spirit through the year of 2016 until we get back to the field.
Pray that God leads many Mihi people to attend all of the Bible lessons—in their own mother
language—at God’s house, coming to know and clearly understand the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Pray that our five teachers faithfully meet together each Saturday to prepare for Sunday’s
teaching—even though we are not with them.
Pray that we glorify the Lord each and every day, in each and every situation that He brings our way.
We are so very thankful for all of you! We were humbled, again, at how many of you are faithfully
participating in what He is doing among the Mihi people. Thank you, each one that prays so faithfully for us
as He lays it on your heart. And thank you for those of you that write and encourage us through your sweet
words. May He overwhelm you with His love and grace for being a part of all of this! We wish we could
personally show each one of you the fruits of your prayers. The Lord continues to astound us as He uses
His Word to convict the Mihi people and lead them to Himself as the Redeemer, and as He continues to
strengthen and equip the Mihi believers as they faithfully live to honor Him.
Most of all, Praise God for His amazing grace and for the work He is doing in the hearts and minds of the
Mihi people. We are excited to think that we may have many Mihi brothers and sisters in Christ, in His time.
Only by His mercy and grace, we can face tomorrow! We thank the Lord for good friends and for the
prayers that surround us. We are thankful that the Lord is our strength and guide through each day, never
leaving us; He is our hope, steadfast and sure.
We are wishing you a very blessed Christmas season and joy in the coming New Year!
Standing on the promises of God!
Seong and Mina, E-Mail: seongnmina_mun@ntm.org
