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Barton Community Baptist Church
25400 SE Hwy 224
Boring, Oregon 97009
Phone: 503.637.3258
Fax: 503.637.6892
Contact Via Email
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Brent & Hollie Dodd updates
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6/14/2010
This last month has brought many changes to our family. Thank you for praying for us! In our last update, we mentioned that I would be taking my IFR renewal check ride. Praise the Lord, I passed and I am now able to continue to fly in the clouds when the need arises. Please continue to pray for my safety as I fly. The flight program this summer is keeping me very busy. One of our pilots took his newly graduated daughter home, to settle her in college, so we have one less pilot to share the work load.
The Lord has allowed us to have some extra time with Blake after he graduated from high school a year ago. We thank the Lord for each day He granted to us! During his time with us he was able to help out in the Pal tribe. The missionaries there said he was a huge blessing. Once his work there was complete, he helped out in the MK school on the compound where we live. He helped supervise the elementary and middle school PE classes and helped out when there were different sports events, too. When he was not busy at the school, he was able to spend some good quality time with Hollie and Victoria Brielle. Hollie was able to give him some good pointers on cooking, which he will benefit from in the years to come. He is on his way to becoming a good cook. Hollie made him a recipe book and gave it to him as a going away present.
Another school year is complete and Amber is now a junior! She is very excited that the summer is here. J Praise the Lord, she did extremely well in her classes this past year. She worked very hard to keep her grades up (school does not come easily to her) and she was rewarded with all A’s at the end of the year and she made it on the honor roll. This next year will be a busy one for her as it is a tradition for the junior class to serve the base through various restaurants which also helps the class raise money for their “Senior Sneak”. Her class will provide hamburgers, chicken burgers and fries when there are school tournaments and at other times, as well. The proceeds from their hard work will go to pay for their class outings and ultimately their “Senior Sneak”.
We have one less child living with us. On June 4, 2010, our son Blake boarded a plane and headed back to the U.S.A. We thank the Lord he was able to travel back to the States with Brent’s best friend (since second grade) and his daughter (who just graduated from high school). The Lord helped Blake make all his flight connections and he made it safely all the way to Greenville, SC, where he was met at the airport by his brother Andrew, two of Hollie’s sisters and some of his cousins. We thank the Lord Blake and Andrew will be living together and they are close to Brent’s Dad and Mom and also Hollie’s sister and family. Please pray for Blake as he adjusts to life in the States. He still has some jet lag that he is dealing with. Lord willing, he plans to start college at Greenville Technical College this fall.
The Wabaku tribe is being taught through the Bible chronologically for the very first time. Please pray for the missionaries as they go through each lesson and build a firm foundation of spiritual truths. Our prayer is that many will realize their lost state without Jesus and accept Him as their personal Savior when the Gospel is presented to them. We are excited that another tribe is getting the chance to hear what Jesus has done for them. We count it a privilege to be a part of the team that is reaching the Wabaku people. You, too, are a part of that team through your prayers for us and for the Wabaku people and the missionaries who are laboring to reach them with the precious Gospel of Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord for you!
Pressing on in the Lord’s work, until His return (may He come quickly),
Brent, Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber and Victoria Brielle Dodd
Brent, Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber & Victoria Brielle Dodd
Serving With New Tribes Mission Aviation in Papua New Guinea
New Tribes Mission
www.ntm.org
January 2010
Looking At The Past:
All 365 days of Two Thousand and Nine have come and gone. At the beginning of last year we knew that in just a short time our sons Andrew and Blake would be graduating from high school. Praise the Lord, both Andrew and Blake received their high school diplomas! We thank the Lord for the years He has given us with our sons and trust that we will have many more years with them as they branch out on their own and start their adult life adventures.
Hollie and Victoria Brielle went back to the States with Andrew and Blake so Blake could get a working visa to return to PNG and to help Andrew enroll in Greenville Technical college to start his studies in the dental hygiene field. Andrew has completed one semester of G.E. classes and has done well. Please continue to pray for him as he studies. It is estimated to be a 4-5 year course.
Brent and Amber stayed in Papua New Guinea where Brent helped cover the flight program. Last year, Brent flew 570 hours. Thank-you for praying for his safety! He has had the privilege of serving God’s servants who are taking the gospel to the tribes and translating God’s Word into the tribal languages of Papua New Guinea. He has helped save lives, too, by flying national people to medical help. One highlight for him was the privilege of flying the Andakombi New Testament out to the Andakombi tribal people. Another tribe has God’s Word in their mother tongue. You have had a part in making this happen, through your prayers. Rejoice with us!
Looking at the Present:
Our son, Blake, returned to Papua New Guinea with Hollie and Victoria Brielle. In just a few days he will be assisting the Classens and Lockwoods move into a new work call the Pal tribe. It is a helicopter access only tribal location so he will be flying on the NTM Aviation Long Ranger helicopter. Both families will be moving into houses that are only partially completed. Blake will be helping with the initial move in and will be in the tribe for 4 days helping in any way he can. Please pray for safety and strength for Blake as he serves.
Amber is in her Sophomore year of high school and is doing well in her classes. Sports this semester is soccer so she and her team mates will be preparing for tournaments with National schools and an International school. She has enjoyed spending time with her brother Blake over Christmas school break.
Looking to the Future:
God has given us another year to serve Him. 2010. We have plans, but God, alone, knows the future. Lord willing, mid-year, Blake will be heading back to the States. He has a desire to start college at the same school Andrew is attending. Please continue to pray for him as he looks to the Lord for direction. We thank the Lord for the time he has been able to spend with us and for the projects he has been able to help on while he is here on the field.
It is our desire to continue to serve our Lord here in Papua New Guinea. Only the Lord knows how many more years we will be able to serve Him in this country. Papua New Guinea has been open to missionaries for many years. There are still many tribes that need to hear the true gospel. Please pray for laborers to join us here. We need missionaries who are willing to go into the hard to reach areas that are only accessible by small, fixed winged aircraft and/or helicopter.
We would like to send a special thanks to you for praying for our family. We would also like to ask for your continued prayer support in 2010! Attached to this e-mail update is a recent picture of our family and also a picture of Andrew. We count it a privilege to serve our Lord with you!
Looking for His return,
Brent, Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber and Victoria Brielle Dodd
Brent, Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber & Victoria Brielle Dodd
Serving With New Tribes Mission Aviation in Papua New Guinea
New Tribes Mission
www.ntm.org
Sorry, no pics transferred over! Barton Church
November 13th, 2009
Living on the mission field, you never know what a day will bring forth. Last Saturday, I received a phone call saying I needed to meet to decide how two other pilots and I were going to cover the Sepik flight program, since the pilot who normally covers the program now has his wrist/arm in a cast. (About six months ago, he fell on his wrist/arm playing on a rip stick in a toy store and broke a bone which has not healed properly.) He will be in a cast for the next 6 weeks. The decision was made that I would take the first and last week and the other two pilots would each take one week. Thankfully, two of the six weeks were already blocked off for a two week break for the injured pilot, so two of the six weeks have no flights scheduled.
I flew down to the Sepik Region on Sunday because Monday had a full day of flights scheduled. I enjoyed flying for the Sepik missionaries, once again! They are a sweet group of people! It was a busy week of flying, but I was able to bump Friday’s flight to Thursday and then return home a day early, which was a blessing because there was a missionary who needed me to fly him around on Friday, in the Highlands! The Lord gave safety and good weather the whole week. Thank-you for praying!
There is a new missionary family who are presently going through their “bush orientation” in the Sepik. (See attached picture) During “bush orientation”, they work on learning the trade language (Pidgin English) and observe how the existing missionaries function in a tribal setting. This particular family is looking to join an existing work, so they are visiting the tribes that need another family to join the work. Brent had the privilege of flying the new family to a tribe that is in need of another family. Please pray for this family, as they look to the Lord for direction on where to locate.
Thank-you for praying for our family. We are thankful that Andrew continues to do well in college! Blake returned to our home, yesterday, and will serve in the Highlands until the end of January, Lord willing. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Pal team now plans to go to their helicopter only allocation at that time, Lord willing. Hollie and Brielle are both feeling GREAT – thank-you for praying for their healing! Amber is spending the weekend away at a Spiritual Emphasis Weekend. It is a highlight of the year for so many of the high school kids, and Amber was looking forward to it! Please pray for the hearts of the teens, that they would be malleable in His hands and that they each will be attentive to what He has to teach them this weekend. The Lord continues to do his work in the remote jungle areas of Papua New Guinea. Please pray the Lord of the harvest will send more missionaries to join the work here. Many tribes still need to hear of God’s gift of salvation before it is eternally too late!
Serving Him with you,
Brent for Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber & Victoria Brielle Dodd
Brent, Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber & Victoria Brielle Dodd
Serving With New Tribes Mission Aviation in Papua New Guinea
New Tribes Mission
www.ntm.org
8/21/09
Thank-you so much for partnering with us to reach the tribal people of Papua New Guinea with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are privileged to be co-laborers with you until the last tribe has heard and the trumpet sounds, calling us to our eternal home that is being so very carefully prepared for each of us!
Right now, I am in the USA settling Andrew into college and trying to make sure he is ready and prepared for life “on his own” in the country of his birth. He has completed his first week of college – PTL! There were many hurdles we had along the way to get him to this point and I thank the Lord for opening doors for us and being “right on time” in getting him enrolled and processed at the college. He is excited to begin this new chapter and add these experiences to his life’s journey. As his mother, I am thankful that we both know and serve the same God! I know it will be hard to be half a world away from Andrew, but I thank the Lord that HE will never leave or forsake my son – so he is in GOOD hands. Please pray for me as I hug his neck and leave him here while Victoria Brielle, Blake and I head back to PNG in a few weeks, Lord willing.
This afternoon I sent the last of Blake’s necessary paperwork for his Visa to be stamped in his passport, Lord willing. We were not informed that he would have to have a chest x-ray and that we needed to get him tested for HIV/AIDS on top of the physical he had gone through and the police report we had to send, as well. It came as quite a surprise, this week, when I was talking to the PNG embassy representative and she informed me they would not stamp the passport with his Visa until they had the original doctor/police reports arrive on their desk! Thankfully, my sister called her doctor’s office and one of the doctors there was able to see him the very next day and we only had to wait one day for the results of the HIV test! God is so good and I pray Blake’s passport will be in our hands by the end of next week. Will you please pray with us to that end?
Victoria Brielle is really missing her daddy and her big sister, Amber. This morning, as we talked with Brent on Skype, tears started to smart in her eyes and her lips began to quiver when her daddy told her he wished he could give her a hug and that he missed her. Please pray for all of us in this time of separation. One thing that I pray about often is the mixed emotions I am dealing with - the joy of being with my eldest and helping him get settled is tainted with the sorrow of being far from my sweetheart and eldest daughter. On the other hand, I can hardly wait to be reunited with Brent and Amber, but that will bring the sorrow of leaving my dear Andrew behind. Please pray for me as my mother heart cries out to the Lord to comfort Andrew and the rest of us as we are looking at three years before we are reunited. Three years seems like an eternity to me, and though I pray God will work a miracle and it won’t end up being that long, that is what we are looking at right now. Pray for us, that we will trust in Him and rely on His enablement so we can be LIVING sacrifices (not wiggling off the altar) for His honor and His glory until He returns or calls us home.
Longing for His return,
Hollie, for Brent, Andrew, Blake, Amber and Victoria Brielle Dodd
Your co-laborers for the sake of His precious gospel being proclaimed in Papua New Guinea!!!
Brent, Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber & Victoria Brielle Dodd
Serving With New Tribes Mission Aviation in Papua New Guinea
New Tribes Mission
www.ntm.org
8/17/09
Andrew, our oldest son starts classes at Greenville Technical College today. Please pray for him as he travels back and forth to classes that the Lord will give him safety on the road. Please also pray that he will have a clear mind and that he will be able to retain what he studies. He will initially be taking his general education courses. Depending upon the grades he gets, will determine whether he is chosen for the next group of students that will be selected to take the dental hygiene course. The Lord has graciously provided a computer for both Andrew & Blake through one of our supporters. It is exciting for us to see how the Lord is continuing to provide for our children. Thank you for praying for Andrew.
Blake’s visa paperwork is in the P.N.G. Embassy in Washington DC. This last Friday we received word that Blake needed a physical examination and a police report so the paperwork process can be completed. Lord willing, we will be able to get that paperwork to them within the next couple of days. This will allow Blake to have the proper visa stamped into his passport, so he can return to P.N.G. to help with the opening up of a new tribal work in the Pal tribe. Please pray the paperwork process will go smoothly. We will let you know when he has his passport with the new visa stamped in it.
Serving Him with you,
Brent for Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber & Victoria Brielle Dodd 7/20/09
Tomorrow we have a busy day of flying. We have a work team of 9 people from the States that have been in the Norambi tribe helping out on different work projects. The weather was not very good when we flew the team out to Norambi last week. We ended up having two futile flights trying to get them in. Our two aircraft were 5 minutes away and the weather closed in and the aircraft had to return back to home base. Please pray for good weather, safety and no mechanical problems tomorrow as we fly. We plan to do a first light departure as it will take at least 4 flights to get the team out of Norambi. We hope to depart at 4:00pm EST on July 20th. Thanks for praying. We will let you know what the Lord had planned when we get back from the flights.
Flying for Jesus,
Brent
6/15/09
Thank you for all who have prayed for Hollie, Andrew, Blake and Victoria Brielle as they traveled back to the United States of America! The Lord gave journeys mercies. As far as we know, they have not contacted swine flu. P.T.L.!! The Lord is the one who gives us good health and protects us from sickness.
Lord willing, Victoria Brielle will be turning 3 years old June 16th. Yesterday she celebrated her birthday early with many family members in SC. She had a wonderful party and was one excited little girl. Please pray she will get saved at an early age.
The plan is for Andrew to take dental hygiene classes at Greenville Technical college in Greenville, SC this fall. Please pray for Hollie and Andrew as they work through the registration process and figure out his class schedule. Andrew is excited to get started and is thankful for the experience he has already received in the dental clinic here at Lapilo.
Blake plans to get his SC drivers license. He has his drivers permit, but was unable to get his license, while we were in the States because he had not turned 17 yet. Please also pray for him as he prepares to come back to the field and help out with opening up the new work in the Pal tribe. We will keep you posted as that happens.
Amber has been a big help to me since the rest of the family has headed back to the States. She is turning into quite the cook and has been a huge help around the house. She has also been able to help do some clean up work at one of the sports facilities here on the compound.
This last week I was involved in a medical evacuation of one of our missionaries to Cairns, Australia. Nathan Schrag and I had the responsibility of flying the doctor and patient safely in our King Air C-90 to medical help in Australia. (Nathan and I both are MKs and graduated from high school here in P.N.G. We also went to aviation training in the States together. We are now serving together on the field. God is good!) We were able to fly direct to Cairns, Australia and it took us 3 hours. The Lord gave safety, good weather and we were able to get the patient to medical help, she could not get in Papua New Guinea. She has had surgery and is doing well. Lord willing, she will be able to return this next Tuesday. We thank the Lord for this aircraft and for allowing us to be a part of saving peoples lives.
Please continue to pray for our family during this time of separation. Your prayers will make a difference. I continue to fly the Cessna 206. Please pray for safety and workable weather conditions. We are encouraged and are excited to be a small part of God’s big picture. You are a vital part of the team.
Under His Wings,
Brent, for Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber & Victoria Brielle Dodd
Serving With New Tribes Mission Aviation in Papua New Guinea
New Tribes Mission
www.ntm.org
6/1/09
Hollie, Andrew, Blake & Victoria Brielle are on their way back to the U.S.A. They left this morning. Please pray for safety and strength as they will be flying for quite a few hours. Amber and I have come back to a very quiet empty home. Please pray for us as we remain here on the field and serve the missionaries who are out in the remote jungle areas. Thank you for the part you have in our lives. We will do our best to keep you updated.
Brent for Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber & Victoria Brielle Dodd
Serving With New Tribes Mission Aviation in Papua New Guinea
New Tribes Mission
www.ntm.org
4/21/09
Greetings, once again, from the highlands of Papua New Guinea! Another month has come and gone. Our family would like to thank-you for the prayers you have offered on our behalf. God continues to answer your prayers. Please continue to pray for us. Though we have battled a little this month with a stomach virus, the Lord has given each one of us strength for each day. What a blessing to be cared for by the Lord and to have the work of the Great Physician in our lives!
Our family is in the midst of a transition. We praise the Lord we have a Heavenly Father who is our Rock and Fortress. He is there for us in the easy times and in our needy times. Andrew and Blake’s graduation from high school is just around the corner. Graduation day is toward the end of May. Each weekend is getting busier with activities leading up to their graduation. Please continue to pray for Andrew and Blake that they will be able to concentrate on their studies and finish well.
After graduation, the plan is for Hollie, Andrew, Blake and Victoria Brielle to head back to the States. Brent and Amber will stay here in P.N.G. Hollie plans to spend the summer helping Andrew get settled and ready to start college in the fall. Please pray that things will fall into place for his class registration and that it will be a smooth transition. We thank the Lord that his grandparents will be nearby, as well as two of his aunts and their families. Please pray for us, as parents, as one of our children will be leaving the nest. We are excited for Andrew and we are looking to Lord to show Himself strong on his behalf. We have a great God!
Our son Blake plans to return to PNG with Hollie and Victoria Brielle after the summer. Blake is only 17 and has requested to spend a little more time at home. To do this he will have to get a special visa stamped in his passport. Please pray as we go through the paperwork process. Unfortunately, to obtain a visa after he graduates, he must leave the country. While Blake is in the States, he will have to mail his passport to the P.N.G. embassy to have the new visa stamped into it. This could take a long time, or could be done quickly – please pray it will be done quickly! While in the States, he plans to get his SC driver’s license, Lord willing. He has his driver’s permit, but he decided to wait to get his drivers license because he had not turned 17, yet, and there would have been a bigger expense if he obtained his driver’s license at such a young age. Once Blake returns to the field of PNG, he plans to help two families move into a new tribe called the Pal tribe. He will help with the house building and initial move in to the tribe, Lord willing. We thank the Lord for Blake’s desire to serve in this way. Please pray for his safety, good health, and strength, as there will be a lot of hard work involved. He would like to stay in PNG for about 9 months.
We are in the process of purchasing tickets for Hollie, Andrew, Blake, & Victoria Brielle. Jehovah-jireh is our provider! By faith we know He will supply our needs this time, as He has always come through for us, in the past! He has already provided about two-thirds of what we need for this set of tickets. PTL! Thank you for praying with us.
This past month, Brent spent four days in the Islands Region to do some flying for the missionaries there. The pilot, who is assigned to fly in that region, is back in the States having his wife’s dental needs met. The Lord gave safety and good weather for Brent. Thank-you for praying! During his time there, he was able to be a part of facilitating a new family joining an existing tribal work. It is New Tribes Mission’s desire when a new tribal work starts out to have three families open up the new work. History has proven that over time missionary families leave for one reason or another. Some have to leave due to sickness, others leave because the work is too hard or they can’t get the language so they become discouraged. Some leave because they can’t get along with their co-workers. When a family leaves a tribal work, they leave a big gap. Most new missionaries want to open up a new work in a new tribe, when they arrive on the field. It is exciting when a new missionary family comes to the field and is willing to join an existing work, to fill a gap. Rejoice with us!
Brent has also been studying and preparing to get his P.N.G. instrument rating. He has his U.S. instrument rating, but the P.N.G. FAA equivalent (CAA) will not recognize his U.S. instrument rating. Praise the Lord, he took his written exam and passed. Lord willing, he will be taking a check ride on May 6th. An examiner will be flown up from the capital city of Port Moresby to fly with Brent. Brent has been putting in some long hours studying and practicing the different instrument approaches. Please pray that on the day of the check ride, the Lord will give Brent a clear mind and that all the instrument facilities in his flight path will be working properly so that he can get approval to fly the NDB, VOR and GPS approaches.
We trust the Lord is encouraging your hearts in Himself each and every day. This world is not getting any better, but we praise the Lord we are on His side – the winning side! The last chapter has already been written! What a privilege to be used of Him as He gives us the opportunity to be the avenue through which He brings His light to a world where there is no hope outside of Him! Please continue to pray for our family, as we serve with you to see the last tribe in Papua New Guinea reached with the Good News of Jesus Christ!
We need laborers on the mission field…Please pray for more laborers!!!
Your co-laborers in the Gospel,
Brent, Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber and Victoria Brielle Dodd
Serving with NTMA in PNG
3/5
Today was school flights for all the students who board in the dorms, at Numonohi Christian Academy, where our children Andrew, Blake and Amber attend. They have just completed 9 weeks of school and will be on break for a couple weeks, or so. For the boarding school MK’s, it is an exciting time to be flown back to their parents! It is also an exciting time for the moms and dads who have missed their kids, while they were away at school. It is a very special time when families are brought back together, again. Both of us (Brent and Hollie) can remember those times, as we grew up in PNG and Indonesia, respectively, and attended boarding school away from the tribes where our parents served. On the flip side, it is a sad time when the parents and kids have to part and say their goodbyes for another couple months, when the kids are flown back out to school. Please pray the next couple weeks will be very special bonding times for the children who board in the dorms and their parents – that their “love tanks” will be filled back up, again.
This morning, Brent had four flights ahead of him when he woke up to rain and ground fog that obscured the mountains. Praise the Lord, amazingly, the fog lifted by 8:00 a.m. and Brent was able to complete the 4 flights without further delay. Thank-you for praying for his safety as he flies! We have some happy parents and children this evening. (See the attached pictures.) Simon and Rachel are the missionary kids that Brent flew into the tribe, this morning. Heather, Evie and Hannah are here as short term missionaries, and are all helping out at Numonohi Christian Academy. One is a secretary, one is a science teacher, and one teaches music and band. They teach our children, as well as Simon and Rachel. The three of them wanted to see first hand a tribe that their ministries impact. Dave and Shari are the parents of Simon and Rachel and little Jason, whom they home school. Lori is a single lady missionary who ministers with Dave and Sherry.
Thank-you for praying for the MK’s, that the Lord will bless them mightily as they sacrifice and live away from their parents for weeks on end, so that the tribal people may have a chance to accept Jesus and change their eternal destiny.
Flying MK’s for Jesus,
Brent for Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber & Victoria Brielle Dodd
Sorry I could not post the pics! (BCBC)
2/26
Brent just got back from his trip to the Sepik. Thank-you for praying! The Lord allowed Brent to depart at 6:00 a.m. He was able to get his passenger to the “shuttle” airstrip in time to connect with the helicopter. He did have to deal with a little ground fog at one of the airstrips, but the Lord opened up a hole that he was able to get down through in order to land safely. Thank you for praying! The Iwam New Testament dedication was scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m. and everyone arrived just a little before it was scheduled to start. It was a special time for the believers and the missionaries who have labored many years to make the New Testament translation, in the Iwam language, a reality. Hope, the single lady, is the one that saw the translation through to the end. She labored for years to get God’s Word into the Iwam people’s hands! John and Debbie, who left PNG quite a few years ago, were the couple that taught and discipled the believers. There were also several translation helpers that spent many hours to translate God’s Word into their mother tongue. There were many times throughout the dedication time that praise was given to God that they now have God’s Word in their language and that He was the One to get the praise. Please pray that the believers will now take the time to read God’s Word and apply it to their lives. What a joy and privilege it was for Brent to attend the Bible dedication with the Iwam people. We thank the Lord for our financial partners, too, as their sacrificial giving allows us the privilege of serving the Lord here. We are so thankful we are a part of the family of God!
Serving together with you for His honor and glory,
Brent, Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber, & Victoria Brielle Dodd
2/24
Dear Prayer Warriors,
Lord willing, tomorrow morning at first light, (February 24, 2009, 3:00 p.m. EST) Brent will be flying to the Sepik region to shuttle missionaries in and out of the jungle for the Iwam New Testament dedication. Another tribe in P.N.G. will have God’s Word in their mother tongue, tomorrow. PTL!!! The past couple weeks, the weather has not been good in the mornings, due to the rainy season. Please pray for good weather tomorrow and safety in flight – Brent will be flying many hours and will be gone for two days. Pray, too, that Brent will be able to get the missionaries to the airstrip in good time. From that airstrip they will be shuttled by helicopter into the Iwam tribe for the New Testament Dedication. These are exciting days! Your labor is not in vain!
Thanks for praying!
Brent, Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber & Victoria Brielle Dodd
Greetings in Jesus’ name from the Highlands of Papua New Guinea! January of 2009 is quickly coming to an end and we want to update you on what the Lord is doing on this side of the world. The Mariama people had their first baptism and many who have put their faith and trust in Jesus’ finished work on the cross were baptized. We praise God for the work He is continuing to do in the hearts and lives of the new believers. Be assured there is a spiritual battle that goes on each day, so we ask you that you continue to pray for these babes in Christ.
The flight schedule has been busy for me and we thank the Lord for the safety He gives each day. Thank-you for praying! This past week, I had the privilege of flying part of an Interface Team to a remote airstrip where they were going to visit a tribe and see first hand what it is like to live in the middle of the jungle. Interface is a program that exposes people who are interested in missions to what tribal evangelism and church planting is all about. They are exposed briefly to the methods that are used to learn a foreign language and what a missionary may encounter in learning a different culture. During this time, the people going through the 4-5 week program can evaluate if tribal missions or overseas missions is something they would like to pursue. If you know someone who is interested in becoming a tribal or support missionary and they want to find out what it is really like to live on a foreign field, then you can encourage them to check out the New Tribes Mission web site www.ntm.org and click on the “Take a Mission Trip” link. There they can learn about INTERFACE mission trips. To us, the special part about this Interface Team is that the team leader (Rex) went to Bible School with us when the boys were little! We were very attracted to Christ in his and his wife’s life and from there the friendship grew! He is now a teacher at the New Tribes Mission Bible School. Rex is the man in the far right of the one picture. The couple (to the left of Rex) is looking to the Lord to join New Tribes Mission Aviation in the future. They still have a few more months of aviation training to complete at Moody Aviation before going for evaluation at New Tribes Mission Aviation in McNeal, AZ. The other young lady is looking to the Lord for direction on whether to go into missionary training. Please pray that the Lord would raise up missionaries for some foreign field from this group of Interface students.
Last week, I also got to go on a helicopter medivac. New Tribes Mission Aviation, in Papua New Guinea, has a Bell Long Ranger helicopter that we use for areas where there is no airstrip. We received a phone call saying a lady with a retained placenta needed to be medivaced to a hospital. I know the trade language (Melanesian Pidgin English) well, so the helicopter pilot asked if I would be willing to go along and help with crowd control and help with the loading and unloading of the patient. We were given latitude and longitude coordinates of the village, but come to find out the coordinates given were five miles off. Praise the Lord, we were able to find the village and a suitable place for the helicopter to land! The Lord also gave workable weather which was a real blessing as the village was in a very mountainous area. Praise the Lord, the lady arrived at the hospital before she passed away due to loss of blood.
Andrew, Blake, and Amber are back in school and are staying busy with school papers and sports. Andrew and Blake are both on the basketball team and Amber is on the soccer team this semester. Victoria Brielle loves to watch and cheer for her older brothers and sister, as they play. Hollie is keeping busy with her life as a mom and wife. A little over a week ago, she opened our home to her friend’s daughter who needed to stay 5 days to see the dentist. This week, she is taking care of my sister’s 3 children along with our 4 so Karen can go with her husband on his trip to a village. She is thankful to the Lord for the privilege of serving Him in this way.
We appreciate you and your prayers for our family. Thanks for being on our team – we need you! You are a strategic part of reaching the tribal people of P.N.G. with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Keep pressing on and looking up to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. His return is soon – may He find us about His business!
Serving Him together with you until we hear the trumpet,
Brent, for Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber & Victoria Brielle Dodd
We are so thankful for you, our faithful prayer warrior! Thank-you for laboring with us for Jesus’ sake and for His glory! The friend who was taken on the medivac to Australia has been released from the hospital and is doing very well. Thank-you for praying!
LOOKING BACK:
Where has 2008 gone? The Lord has given us another year to serve Him. As we look back on this past year, our hearts are full of thankfulness for what He has done! He has opened the darkened eyes of yet more tribal people in Papua New Guinea and they are now part of HIS family – OUR family – YOUR family! Many of you prayed and asked the Lord that the Mariama and Dinangat people would come to know Him as their personal Savior. Now, people from both those tribes are growing in the knowledge of their Savior, Jesus Christ. Thanks for being a part!
God has provided for our family in so many ways this past year. We just want to list a few so that you can rejoice with us. At the beginning of the year, I (Brent) faced having his ACL knee reconstruction surgery. Thank you for praying! The knee surgery went well and my knee is now stable. I am even able to play basketball with Andrew and Blake, which is always a weekly highlight! We do have medical insurance, but the Lord provided the 20% that we had to pay out of pocket. At one point, we thought we were going to have to pay an astronomically large sum, but that was only due to a mistake on the part of the insurance company. Praise the Lord; all of my medical bills are paid in full.
Our family thanks the Lord for the thousands of miles of safety He gave as we traveled to visit supporting churches and friends. As you recall, gas prices were pretty high at the beginning of this year. We thank the Lord for His provision!
July was the month that we scheduled to fly back to Papua New Guinea. We needed $11,000.00 to pay for tickets to get back to the field. We thank the Lord for the sacrificial giving of so many whom He used to provide for our tickets! The Lord gave safety as we traveled over the big pond and arrived on the field in July. We asked that you would pray for our family as we transitioned back to the field and the Lord answered your prayers. Andrew, Blake and Amber have transitioned back into their studies and are ecstatic to be back with old friends. Andrew and Blake are enjoying their senior year and Amber is doing very well in her freshman year. How we thank and praise the Lord!!!
During the early part of summer, there was a shortage of pilots for the flight program here in Papua New Guinea. Another pilot and I returned around the same time and we were able to get checked out and “on line” again. It was a joy for me to get back in the pilot’s seat to serve the missionaries out in the remote jungle locations. As we have said before, it was a thrill to meet some of our new brothers and sisters in Christ who had heard the gospel in their own mother tongue for the first time. You will get to meet them one of these days - what a joy it will be for you to meet them face to face!
Victoria Brielle continues to grow physically and is able to communicate quite well. She sees her older siblings doing homework, so she thinks she needs to do homework, also - especially when it is time to get ready for bed. Please pray that she will come to know the Lord as her personal Savior at an early age. The Lord has given her good health, for which we thank Him. She loves the people here and is trying to learn little phrases in Melanesian Pidgin to interact with them.
LOOKING FORWARD:
As we look ahead to 2009 there are many unknowns. There are probably many unknowns for you, also. Andrew and Blake are seniors this year and will be graduating, Lord willing, the end of May. The plan right now is for Hollie to take Andrew, Blake and Victoria Brielle back to the States and be there for the summer. Andrew is interested in dental hygiene and Blake is pursuing furthering his Bible knowledge in a one year school. Please pray for our boys, as they look to the Lord for direction, that they will be sensitive to His leading. Please pray for Hollie and I, too, as we send our boys off that we will realize that our boys are in God’s upholding hands and that He will never forsake them and He will lead and guide them. Our prayer is that we have instructed them in the proper manner and that they will make wise choices. It is hard to let go, but at the same time it will be exciting to see how the Lord is going to undertake and provide for them. Please pray with us as we look to the Lord to provide the finances needed for tickets back to the States for Andrew and Blake and also return tickets for Hollie and Victoria Brielle.
The Lord has given many hours of safety to me, as I have flown. PTL! God has given workable weather and most of the flights were able to be completed to their destinations. The aircraft have run well without any mechanical problems, fragile lives have been saved through medivacs and many of God’s servants have been transported all over PNG. Thanks for your prayers!
Lord willing, within the next two months, I will be taking a check ride to get my P.N.G. instrument rating. Please pray for me as I study and practice the different instrument approaches and procedures. This will allow me to fly in instrument flight conditions. We will keep you posted.
Thanks again for being on our team! We will do our best to keep you informed on what the Lord is doing in 2009. Maybe this year will be the year of His return! May we all be busy in the Lord’s work - redeeming the time! It will be worth it all when we see Jesus! Have a Christ-filled and Happy New Year!!!
Serving Him with you,
Brent, Hollie, Andrew, Blake, Amber & Victoria Brielle Dodd
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