Medical/Dental Clinic in Jicaral

From May 25-June 5 I was with a team as part of our training at the CPCP(Center for Pioneer Church Planting) with TETM(To Every Tribe Ministries). The purpose of the trip was to do a Medical/Dental clinic in Jicaral, a village in Oaxaca, Mexico deep into the mountains. This was the first opportunity for the students to put the basic dentistry training to practice. It was a bit harder to do a filling on a squirming 5 year old than it was with the maniquine in class!
The medical and dental clinics have been a great avenue for building relationships with the people for the purpose of sharing the gospel. The language spoken by the Coicoyan people of Jicaral is a form of Mixteco. In order to communicate we usually needed double translation from English to Spanish to Mixteco. The longer we were there the more we found that the people can understand Spanish but aren't very quick to speak it.
In the past, the people of Jicaral have been wary of outside influence as remote villages often are. In particular they have been resistant to the gospel. Several years ago a Mexican church planter was run out of the area. When some of the villagers found out where he lived they went to find him. He wasn't home but his wife was and they slit her throat. Because of the dangers the TETM trips have used a team approach and have focused on using the medical and dental clinics to gain the people's trust.
Slowly the receptivity has increased over the past 5+ years as teams have gone in. This year the people seemed to be comfortable with us being there. We were able to play soccer with the kids, speak to several of the parents about the gospel(while their children were receiving fluoride treatments), and even hold their babies! The response to the gospel was one of indifference, but we are praying that that will change.
Before we left the leader of the village asked us several times about sending an English teacher for their school! This may be an opportunity for the beginning of a church planting team among the Coicoyan people. Would you pray that the details would come together for a team to be able to live there permanently? There is also one known Coicoyan believer who lives about a four hour drive away who is interested in helping planting a church among his people. Ask the Lord to give him the courage to follow the Spirit's leading in spite of cultural pressure against it.
Here are a few pics of the trip. Enjoy and keep praying for us!

Our training will be done in August and then we will be doing some travelling to raise support for our long term plans in Papua New Guinea! Lord willing, most of our time this fall will be spent travelling in the midwest.

On the way down to southern Mexico we had engine trouble that delayed us 2.5 days, just long enough to meet a fellow missionary that has experience in church planting among unreached peoples and is also interested in the Coicoyan people!

We had a doctor from Mexico (Alexandra) and a nurse from Canada(Kathy). North America was well represented on this trip.

It was great to have Gerry, our dental instructor, along on the trip. He stayed busy doing extractions all day.

Josef and Lina Urban, missionaries from northern Mexico joined us for the trip. Their boldness with the gospel was encouraging. They're looking to move to southern Mexico to work.

La Barra de la Cruz

We just recently got back from a mission trip to a small village named La Barra in southern Mexico on the Pacific coast. This trip was part of our training at the CPCP(Center for Pioneer Church Planting) in Los Fresnos, TX. We were joined by CPCP staff and fellow students from the school.

Since we were the largest family on the trip we drove the TETM suburban and pulled the team trailer. I was warned to slow down for signs that say "tope" (Spanish for speed bump). Every village has five or six "topes" and sometimes the village is so small you can't tell it's there until you test your suspension on the first bump. Overall I adjusted well to Mexican driving, but I did have to let a few cars pass me since I was pulling the trailer.

Here's Frankie and Daddy taking a break on the way to La Barra.

On our third day of driving we hit a road block and weren't able to move for around four hours. We found out after about three hours that the village blocking the road was doing so as a protest against the Mexican government that had failed to send needed medical care and supplies. With the delay from the roadblock we arrived in La Barra de la Cruz on the fourth day of driving. The village leaders were immediatley wary of our presence just as they have been in the past when missionaries have visited. They have a concern that the presence of a "Protestant" church will bring changes they don't want. La Barra has a great surfing beach that's becoming more well known; so they've become more open to outsiders as long as they don't have an agenda to "change the people of La Barra."

Even though the village leaders have made it clear they are not interested in the gospel, many of the people are willing to listen and now there is a small group of believers(all women) who have confessed the name of Christ and also have a desire to meet for fellowship around the word of God. Please pray for Eva. She and her husband Rafael allowed us to stay on their land in spite of the pressure from the village leadership. Rafael is not a believer, but has been hospitable to visiting missionaries. Eva has been carrying a heavy load mostly on her own because of her public testimony of faith in Christ and her leadership among the believing women in the village.

Eva and Frankie(As you can see, Frankie was held pretty much 24/7 on this trip)

Eva and Rafael's son, Jonathan, who is twelve also came to the fellowship times and listened closely to what was taught. He seemed to enjoy the times of praise and joined in on the songs that he knew. Jonathan is an avid surfer and we were able to make it to the beach a few times to watch him catch some waves. It would be great to see God raise up this young guy through the faithful testimony of his mother to reach the village from the inside! There is such a need for godly men in the church at La Barra.

While we were in La Barra Hannah turned seven so we had a cake and pinata for her and invited kids from the village over to celebrate. Here are a few pics of the party.

Before we left for La Barra we asked the Lord to give us opportunities to connect with the people so we could encourage them with the gospel. One way this prayer was answered was through the laundry! Keri and Hannah tried their hand at Eva's new wash station complete with a washboard built into a concrete slab.

We are now past the half way point in our training with TETM(To Every Tribe Ministries). The Lord's direction seems to be pointing in the direction of Papua New Guinea for us so we are going to pursue that as we prepare for the future. Lord willing, in the fall we will be ready to hit the road to share our burden for unreached places with some churches. Pray for us as we prepare and pray for those who have never heard the "name that is above every name."

Papua New Guinea

On February 15th Paul packed up and, with 6 other guys from the school, made the 30-hour trip to Papua New Guinea for some on-the-field training. He had a great time and learned so much! Right now he is 6 days a week in dental training, while working on a update letter/e-mails, studying...etc....etc......etc..... Although he could do a much better job at relaying the happenings of the trip, I will do my best to get our 11 faithful blog readers up to speed! :)

(sorry for the last two posts.....I'm not sure why the first post didn't take.)

An aerial view of the jungles of New Guinea

Above Paul's group is packing canoes for the trip to Chambri island. On a good day it will only take two and a half hours to reach Chambri Island (the canoe part of the trip anyways).

Chambri Island: straight ahead.

Paul was the designated camera man for the trip.

The picture above is the spring where Paul was able to bathe.

Paul preaching as David Sitton translates. The language they speak is called Melanesian Pigeon. The whole language consists of about 5,000 words and is a mixture of English and, I think, German. Paul said that by the end of the month-long trip he was able to understand a lot of what they were saying.

Paul had a lot of fun with the kids that he met. One afternoon he was coming back from a teaching session and saw a group of boys playing by the water. He ran and jumped in the middle of them into the water and they thought it was funny. He then took a running start and did a flip into the water and they all laughed even harder. After he got out of the water, he picked up one of the boys and threw him into the water. The rest of the boys ran away.

Above is a picture of an Albino from the village of Chambri

Many of the villages had a mumu when the group came to visit (see video clip above). This mumu, not to be confused with the moo moos your grandmother may wear, is a feast where the villagers cook a pig and vegetables in an oven made of sticks and banana leaves covered in dirt. Paul said that the pork was some of the best he's ever tasted. These feasts are a big deal to people who don't have much. Here's more info. on a mumu, if anyone is interested.

This is the hut of Machete Bob, where Paul stayed while in the villiage of Chambri. Long story made short, this is the man who went after David Sitton with a machete years ago, but by the grace of God, has been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

Above is a woman named Prisca and her husband, John, and their son. Prisca was one of the first believers of Chambri. After believing she suffered persecution many years both by her husband and other men of the village before their eyes were opened to the Truth. Paul said her face shines with the joy of the Lord despite what she has been through.

Here is a video clip of what Paul was greeted with while at a village

Paul with the mud man from Asaro

Which one is which??

A church building in the villiage of Nupeha

Alex and Paul showered with gifts from the people of Nupeha

This picture was taken in honor of the teens at Faith Baptist. We love you guys!!!

Here Paul is standing with Fred and Reg, two men from New Zealand who met joined Paul's group when they landed in New Guinea. Paul really enjoyed getting to know these great men and hopes to keep in contact with them. Here they are lifting Paul up so that he would be in the same picture with them (they are both over 6 feet tall) ;)

This shirt is based from a song that the people of Goroka sang together, "God is good all the time; all the time God is good" Not that these people don't have their spiritual struggles, but what a challenge it is to me that people with horrific backgrounds who have been brought out of the darkness and into the marvelous Light can say that about their God! We have that same God and no matter what He allows into our lives, good or bad, He is working it together for good to those who love Him...ALL the time! Please remind me of that!

Paul had a great trip and, again, I apologize for the sketchy job explaining his trip. If you have any questions for Paul concerning more of the details of the trip, or if you are interested in getting updates from us, don't hesitate to e-mail us at pkpoppe@gmail.com.

Oops!

I'm not exactly sure what happened with that last post. I actually posted a blurb and all it saved was the title.....twice. Thank you for the comments as I had a good chuckle over them.

Time Passes

She Sits!!

A Weak Narrative of Our Day at the Zoo

Last weekend a bunch of us went to the local zoo with our kids...13 kids to be exact, ages 9 and under (I don't know....we probably looked like we belonged at the zoo). We had a great time, even though by the end of the day we were all in sensory over-load! As usual I didn't get many pictures, but I will share what random pics I have:

Twiggy and her friend Luke acting like Monkeys.

A monkey acting like Paul when he's relaxing on the couch after a long school day (I had permission to write that).

Here are alllllllll 13 kids. The alligator is not real.

Here's Frankie enjoying her favorite part of the zoo.

3/4ths of my clan.

The moms early in the day......cool, calm and collected.

Rocky: I'm not sure if he's preparing for tribal missions or just imitating his mother (wink, wink)

*Twiggy and Daisy want all their friends to know that if they come for a visit they can go with them to the zoo for FREE!

Announcement....

In honor of our sweet Wisconsin family and friends I officially declare today a SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!

We are thinking of you and love you all so much! We are praying for your safety in this weather.

P.S. My Minnesota friends....this SO includes you!

Culture Shock

This week at the Center for Pioneer Church Planting(CPCP) we've had two guest speakers from the missions department at Southern Seminary, Dr. David Sills and Dr. Herschel York. Today in class Dr. Sills focused on culture in missions and specifically what it's like for a missionary to try to survive culture shock. The only culture shock I've had to deal with so far was on our honeymoon to Spain. We stayed right on the Mediterranean in the tourist town of Roses. What we didn't know is that it was a tourist destination for people from Europe. No one spoke English there. I can remember our waiter getting so frustrated with our lack of Spanish that he had someone else come out and finish our order! When I came back from Spain I understood what it was like to want to kiss the ground.

I am so thankful that the God who has called us to get the gospel to the nations is the same One who transcends culture. He created people groups at the tower of Babel. He can give us the grace and love to adapt to another culture so that we can share the gospel. Will you pray for us specifically in regard to the challenge of adapting to a new culture? Does anybody else have a culture shock story?

Update from Southern Tex.

Well, my desire to update the blog every week is not off to a good start....but here I go anyways.

Paul is entering his third week of training and he is LOVING the teaching he is receiving (which makes me a little jealous that I have only been able to hear it from his mouth so far...I hope to sit in on a couple of classes in the very near future). This next week two men from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary are coming to teach, so in a way, I feel like a piece of my brother is coming down with them (Hi Jason--I will ask them to give you a hug and kiss from me, okay?). I am hoping that soon Paul will post on the specifics of class and what the Lord has been teaching him (hint, hint).

We are now beginning to get into a routine around home. The kids are getting to know the kids of the other students (which is a huge answer to prayer). We are back in full swing of homeschooling, which Twiggy has been able to tolerate knowing that her new friends are in their apartments doing the same thing. I am starting to realize that I am not on vacation and I'm getting back into the mode of preparing menus and grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning, etc...etc..... I am enjoying getting to know the other students' wives and I'm seeing different things that I could learn from each one of them. They are a fun group of women.

As for the near future; Paul will be headed to New Guinea in about a month where he'll do hands-on training with To Every Tribe. When he gets back, we will have a week of spring break and then, Lord willing, both Paul and I will be taking a course in dentistry where we will be learning how to clean teeth and fill cavities without the use of electricity--very intense! We've been told that when you get out into these remote areas of the world often times the people there will request a dentist even before they will request a doctor or a nurse because the dental needs are so bad. We are looking forward to using these skills, along with my nursing skills, to show the love of Christ to these people with the hopes of one day sharing with them the eternal healing that comes through faith in the Son of God!

More posts to come.....hopefully sooner than later. Thanks for faithfully checking!

Dear Mommy,

I was wondering if you noticed something.....something very serious......

I do not like carrots.
At all.
When you put them in my mouth....I spit them back out at you.

I would rather eat my bib.

Give me cereal or give me death....

....but, please, no more carrots. They make me gag.

Love, Frankie

P.S. Don't worry, you're still my favorite person.

Get Out Of Debt

This is a great reminder for the Christmas season. "Godliness with contentment is great gain."

What is going on???

We've had a few people in our small circle of blog readers who have little to no idea of what has been happening in our lives for the past few months so I decided to use a post to get everyone up to speed. For those of you who know the ins and outs of the changes going on at Plans and Providence, bear with me for a post or two....

We have currently re-located to a big town (well, relatively speaking) in Southern Texas where we will be spending the next 8 months to a year in training that specializes in getting the gospel of Jesus Christ to people who have never heard. This decision was not come by quickly or easily (especially on my part) but one where we have seen our God work in such a way that we have no doubt in His direction of our lives thus far.

In February of 2006, Paul went to the Bethlehem Conference for Pastors in the cities, where the topic of the conference was "How Must a Pastor Die? The Cost of Caring Like Jesus". The topic caught Paul's attention right away, especially living in the American culture where it's easy for us to want to be called Christian, as long as suffering is not included in that calling; a great weakness I see in myself as well. One of the speakers was a man named David Sitton who shared his burden for the unwanted, unreached, sometimes hostile people groups around the world who God has promised will be praising his name around the throne one day (Revelation 7:9-10). The Holy Spirit began to move in the heart of my unsuspecting husband and he prayed with his friend sitting next to him that the Lord would give him direction and clarity as to God's purpose and will.

Paul came home from the conference and very cautiously shared with me the details of the conference and his desire to maybe someday down the road in the distant, distant....distant future look into the possibility of persuing missions to unreached people groups. Immediately I thought of sending my children out to play, worrying that they would be eaten by cannibals and my heart was very closed to the idea. Paul made no mention of it over the weeks that followed, but in my mind we were talking about it pretty much 24/7. Then one early morning as Paul was sleeping (peacefully, I might add) I was awake crying and stubbornly arguing with God, thinking about every reason why it would not be a good idea for us to go into missions. I was foolishly asking God how He could ask us to do this thing, when He asked me, "Keri, do you love Me more than anything?" and I could not argue with Him anymore because He had revealed to me the condition of my heart. That night I gave up arguing with my all-knowing, all-powerful God, and surrendered to the idea of going into missions training. From that point on I cannot tell you what specifically happened in my heart to get me to the point I am now, but He has brought me from being reluctant and unwilling to where I am excited for the training we will receive and for the plans the Lord has for us.

Although we had pursued other areas of possible missions training, those fell through, and the Lord kept bringing To Every Tribe Ministries to Paul's mind. Nothing much was said about it throughout the next 10 months until February 2007 when Paul called David Sitton. He said he was going to be at the Bethlehem Conference for Pastors again this year and would meet with Paul there. To make an already long story shorter, Paul and David Sitton met and we went down to Southern Texas for a visit in April. In May Paul resigned his position as youth pastor at our church in Chetek, Paul finished his last day on the first of June, Frankie was born the beginning of July, we put our house up for sale in August (and had an offer on it within a week), and sold the house and moved in with my parents in September. We lived with my mom and dad until December 4th when we headed down to Texas, which brings us to the present time.

I am not going to lie to you and tell you that everything has been easy-going this whole time. I cannot tell you the depth of the lonliness I feel for my family and friends back home; much of my time has been spent in tears (not that that comes as a shock to those of you who really know me), but I have no doubt of the Lord's leading and because of that I can say that this time is good.

I should go for now, but if you have any questions for us, please don't hesitate to leave a comment or e-mail us at pkpoppe@gmail.com.

Child, you have no idea.....

I overheard the following this morning between Twiggy, who is six-and-a-half, and her friend who spent the night last night. I was getting ready for the day and Twiggy had picked up and was entertaining Frankie. Frankie spit up on Twiggy's arm and as I was handing her the burp rag...

Friend: Ewwwww! That is SO disgusting!!

Twiggy: (with a roll of her eyes and a sassiness in her voice) Well, WELCOME to motherhood!

Eight Years!

Eight years ago today I married the sweetest man in the world!

Above is a picture of us in November of 1999...

And here is a picture of us now (except he is on the left and I am on the right). What he has lost in hair I have gained in weight so it all evens out, I guess. ;)

Anyhoo...I love you, my sweet man! Thanks for never leaving me wondering whether or not you loved me!