Jun. 10, 2008 - Leaving on a jet plane - don't know when I'll be back again...

Well, we are definitely in a season of change here at the firehall.

If you have been following the sparse blog entries here or at Onfire, Bloggerjoe, Redwall Reader - you would know that we have sold the "Old Boys Firehall" and we are moving to Papua New Guinea and going to work for two years as associate missionaries with New Tribes Mission Canada.

We are hoping to fly out on July 10th if everything comes together in time (obtaining work permits, visas and raising monthly financial support).

We are amalgamating our blogging efforts and will now be posting at Onfire in PNG. Please visit us there and leave a comment!

Also, if you are a Facebook junkie, we will try to keep our group updated: The Campbell Family is Going to Papua New Guinea .

See you later... from just above down under!

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May. 14, 2008 - In Today's Petrolia Topic

A friend of ours (who organized the recent work party at our place to help us get ready to sell) submitted a lovely article to the local newspaper, which was published today:

I know that the picture above is likely too small to read, but if you're using Internet Explorer, you should be able to click the magnifying glass in the bottom right corner of your browser to zoom in and read it.

 

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May. 2, 2008 - Lots to blog... No time

So here is a really brief update...

We have worked like crazy - and a pile of friends came and helped last weekend - and we were able to get the For Sale sign for our house up yesterday... the end of the month, as we had hoped.

Now we are praying for it to sell quickly and for the right price (right price being defined as the price we agreed on with the realtor and God).

Now I am extremely tired after staying up waaaay too late last night to get the house ready for our realtor to take some pictures today.

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Apr. 18, 2008 - Going to Papua New Guinea

Well, I have been wanting to blog about this more, but it has been mind-boggling trying to keep up with all that is happening and I have hardly known where to start.

I would like to tell you everything, but in the words of Inigo Montoya, "there is too much... lemme summup"

- We applied to New Tribes Mission as associate missionaries to work as a support to those doing Bible translating and tribal church planting.

- We were accepted.

- We have now begun all of the many things necessary in order to go to PNG including:

we got our passports

we are applying for Work Visas

we got our vaccination shots

we have had some medicals, bloodwork and X-rays done

we have begun the task of raising support

we are preparing to sell our house (we hope to have it on the market at the end of the month)

we are trying to find opportunities to speak to churches about our plans

 

In case you are not on our mailing list, here is a copy of our latest update letter we sent out:

 Dear Friends, time for an update...

        We are sending out this update to our friends to let you know where the Campbell family is at and to ask for your continued prayer support.  We understand that some of you are receiving this letter for the first time as we have found more e-mail addresses since our first letter.  We trust that you can see how this adventure fits into who we are as a family.   

        Update number one:   New Tribes Mission Canada sent us our official approval status this past Wednesday, Praise God! So we now call ourselves Associate Missionaries.  Strange but true.  We have also managed to complete what they refer to as “wave one” with the exception of Neal’s passport, which has yet to arrive in the mail.   We have begun the paperwork for “wave two” and it seems daunting at the present.  Wave two is the paperwork necessary to apply for our work permits.  Once that is completed, we use the work permit number to apply for the entry visa.  One step at a time.  We cannot begin to tell you how incredible this whole experience is and how helpful our new friends Mike and Beth Sutton have been in holding our hands through this process.  They will, Lord willing, be arriving at the Islands Region Supply Centre the week we will be in training, in Durham.

        Update number two:  Our training takes place June 24^th to 27^th in Durham and should prove to be a crash course in living in the Islands Region of West New Britain, PNG.  We look forward to that time as a mini vacation of sorts and a reality check, too.  Currently we are having fun reading the manuals and studying Tok Pisin.  Em makin wanem?  Translation: what are you doing?  We are also excited about how this will lead to a different way of living along with more time as a team, seeing each other in a new light.  I (Kristina) am not ashamed to admit I am also excited at the knowledge that the boys will have a math teacher!  Whoo hoo!  Mike, their teacher, is also known as Mr. Show Your Work.  I will not miss teaching math!

How can you pray for us?  Well, besides any way you feel led, I will ask for some specific requests.

1.       That we will all tolerate the myriad of medications we need to begin taking very shortly to prepare our bodies.

2.       That our house will sell quickly and for a fair price …. Whatever the Lord has in mind

3.       That wave two of paperwork will be done speedily and properly so we can move our concentration to wave three

4.       For a constant renewing of our minds and a true deepening of our faith

What we will be doing will allow others to continue in their tribal church planting efforts.  At the heart of it all, this trip is not about the Campbells and what we will do, but about the many tribal people who are without knowledge of Jesus Christ. We are fitting into the team that is already at work translating and teaching the Scriptures in the language of these precious tribal people.  We were made aware this last week that we are “desperately needed” at Malango School.   Kristina's name is the last on a list of 6 to 8 other English teachers that for one reason or another could not continue on in the application process.  It is, indeed, encouraging to know that we are on the right path in obedience.

In Him,

Neal & Kristina, Jonam & Evan Campbell

 

Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
      And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

For information on what Tribal Missions is about or to financially support Neal & Kristina Campbell, contact:

USA Office:
New Tribes Mission
1000 East First St.
Sanford, FL 32771

Canadian Office:
New Tribes Mission of Canada
PO Box 707 Durham, Ontario
N0G 1R0     Canada


Cheques must be made payable to “NTMC” (or “NTM” in the USA).  A separate note should be attached to indicate that the donation is “intended to support the ministry of Neal & Kristina Campbell”.

 

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Apr. 9, 2008 - Spring Poem

SmallWorld is having another most excellent contest:

Here is the dealio, for realio:

In celebration of "the white cloud's intricate maze, And the blue sky's beautiful sheen," I am hereby announcing SmallWorld's In Just-spring Mudluscious Poetry Contest. It's really quite simple. Just copy and paste this orange-lettered section onto your own blog along with a poem that in some way celebrates spring. (Copy the contest photo above if you want, as well!) Leave me a comment with a link to your contest entry. The poem doesn't have to overtly use the word "spring," but it should in some way evoke the feeling of spring. If you don't have a blog, just leave a poem in the comments.

I'll be running this particular contest until April 10, so you've got plenty of time to find just the perfect poem. I will randomly choose a winner, who will receive a box in the mail filled with some of my favorite spring things  (think gardens, good smells, and prettiness, unless the winner is male, in which case, scratch the good smells and pretty things).

For my entry, I found this most incredible, exquisitely written poem about spring, by Kipling or Eliot or me or somebody... I'm not sure:

Out from a long dark night of sleep, my nose awakes.
What is that sharp, piercing odour that cut's through the misty morning like death's cold steel?
Skunk.
Welcome, spring!

 

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Apr. 8, 2008 - Reduced Blog Activity

Is it just me, or has blog activity slowed down a bit lately?

We can still count on SmallWorld for regular entries, but even she is down from the 5 or 6 entries per day that she once posted.

I thought DrHibiscus was blogging less than his usual quarterly posts, but I see he is about on par with his frequency last year and updates his avatar more often than he posts new entries.

Rcelliott made up an excuse about some chicken mummies kidknapping Emma and heading south with his computer, but I think he is trying to catch up now.

I have noticed also, though, that fewer comments are being left. Are there fewer people commenting because there are not as many blog entries to capture their interest? Or are bloggers blogging with less frequency because they feel that no one is reading anyway?

Hhhhmmm???

If you are someone that used to read my blog, but lost interest and no longer read it, please leave me a comment to let me know why you quit.

Thanks... That would really help me to know what not to blog about in the future.

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Apr. 7, 2008 - Down with Oprah!

Is it a sign that your family has been involved in too many community theatre melodramas when your 11 year old son shouts "Down with Oprah!" out in church?

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Apr. 3, 2008 - I'm in shape... Round is a shape.

Kristina mentioned yesterday that we had our medicals done for our mission application. Everything seemed to be fine and it appears I am in good health.

I did not want to schedule the medicals at this time because our doctor is away and we had a fill-in doctor see us. As it turns out (as Kristina blogged) he was a very nice Christian man who even prayed a blessing over Kristina when she was done!

The one thing that I couldn't figure out though, is... Why did the nurse round my weight up and my height down? It makes me feel like a circle!

So then Kristina was calling me '199' last night. I'm not sure what she was referring to. I think it is my secret agent name. 

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Mar. 31, 2008 - *PUSH*

I got word today that I was accepted in the LOOK Show again this year!

I am very happy about this. The piece that was accepted is entitled "PUSH".

Please come and see it...

 

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