Canns of Clay

Literacy Goes to Kongo

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 09:14:32 GMT

As I wrote in the post "A Busy March," we have been working toward establishing literacy in a village a couple mountains away - Kongo. Kongo is still among the same language group and they heard that we had a class available to learn to read and write in their heart language, Do (pronounced Doe). And so they sent six men to come and take part in our literacy class last year.

For the sake of this post, let me introduce them here: Dewiwi (the leader among them), Iramo, Simit, Dawa, Parati, and Idige.

After they graduated, we started making plans for them to teach others in their own village. The deal is: they must to have enough people finish literacy that they can appoint 3-4 as teachers, they need to build a classroom, and they need to have community support (ie: not just one family who wants to start literacy somewhere). If a village can do all this then we will pay for and print all the materials.

In March, these six Kongo graduates hiked back over to us and set up a meeting to tell us that all was ready! Do we have materials for them? Would I be willing to come next month to an opening of the Do literacy class in Kongo Village? Yes and yes.

They hiked all the books, a big wooden box (to hold them), two chalkboards (!), and a bunch of smaller miscellaneous supplies to Kongo and then Monday we set out to visit them.

Two of my village mamas, Bangena and Erinumeng, came with me to join the celebration and carry my bag (since I am a white lady whose "legs don't know how to go around in these mountains" - truth.). Also, Maikepe and Namura our literacy teachers, Wione a Lutheran leader, and Kenimo who was one of our first literacy graduates.

After hiking down and then up up up, we were met by another guy, Amba, who carried my bag the rest of the way (down and down a bunch and then back up and down and up :)! (So thankful for that guy!)

We were met right outside of the village where they did a ceremony. They cut open a heavily decorated door made of banana leaves. If you try, you may be able to make out some of the writing on the sign below (long means "to" or "on" or "in" and tok ples means "local language"):

After the door was cut they brought us into the village with traditional singing:

...and had a short program introducing us to the village.

After an evening and morning of generous food and accommodations, Maikepe, Namura and I spent the morning with the new Kongo teachers putting the final touches on the classroom.

Mid-morning we dressed up for the formal classroom opening ceremony (we are standing in front of the home we all stayed in):

We were walked back over to the classroom which was so beautiful (and they welcomed me with a note of flowers - Wel kam to Miss Kasti):

There was singing and a prayer for the new teachers.

Dewiwi stood up during the opening, thanked many for their part in the opening ceremonies, and thanked us for teaching them. He then broke down in tears as he spoke of the hospitality in Mawerero during their stay with us during our class last year.

I was able to speak. I honored the Kongo men for their sacrifice in walking all the way to Mawerero and back each week for literacy for THREE MONTHS - and their wives and moms for sacrificing to be without them during each week, too.

I told the community that their hard work is why this school is now available in their village. And I explained that the reason we made this school is so they can all read the Bible in their heart language. I brought them a copy of Ephesians in Do and gave it to the new teachers.

They finished the opening ceremony by giving us a pig and other food to enjoy that afternoon.

The next morning we hiked home.

This is the bridge over the last river before Mawerero.

My boys and Erinumeng's ran down a bit to meet us and take some bags.

I have a special affinity for anyone I get to help teach in the literacy class... which, of course, was only fueled by their lavish display of gratitude and honor to all seven of us who came to the opening. I wish I had taken a picture of Namura and Maikepe on this trip, because they are doing the hard work of staying in Kongo for a couple weeks to coach these new literacy graduates take on a class of their own with confidence.

I would love it if you could pray:

For Maikepe and Namura to be discerning about the best ways to help the new teachers and how long they need to stay. For health for them as well (Maikepe had a cold and fever when we left).
For Iramo, Simit, and Dawa who will be the main new teachers in their village and for Dewiwi who oversees it. Please pray for them to teach confidently and to keep growing in their reading speed so they can quickly access the teacher manual and teach what it says.
That everything for the class is within the materials I gave them. If anything is missing, we need to wait for someone to hike all the way here and back before I can replace it.
For the people of Kongo to learn to read and gain access to God's Word in their heart language.

Dewiwi, Simit, and Iramo with their copy of Ephesians:

Jude is Fourteen!

Thu, 09 Apr 2026 01:46:15 GMT

Last week we celebrated Jude's birthday! We had a special lunch, cake, presents, and games. Birthdays here are twice as fun with teammates!

On our last supply run, the Ukarumpa store forgot to send all our fridge items... so we put aside our last stick of butter for frosting for a cake. THEN Autumn and Josh donated the last of their butter and cream so Jude could enjoy sour cream for the tacos and butter on his breakfast. It is sweet how much appreciation we can feel for gifts like that!

His gifts included a video game, chocolate, and a knife ;)

Oliver organized and created three games: D&D Bingo, a photo scavenger hunt, and blind-folded laser tag:

Or not blind-folded:

Jude is growing up! He is the first to help us find things, he is considerate, and he is smart! He is ace-ing Greek and Algebra, beats all of us in geography games, and loves history.

On Wednesday nights, the boys take turns having a date with me or having a date with Dad and their sisters. Jude and Zach usually take the girls to an imaginary ball on their nights. So precious.

His birthday interview:

A Busy March

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 05:37:13 GMT

I know there are some seasons, at least I HOPE, where our updates are more frequent and therefore can be regarding a single area of ministry. That is not the case currently, but I am thankful that we are busy with good things over here - for the praise of God's Name!

The picture above shows a recent visitor, affectionately called Mr. D, who came to help and to spend time with the Millers. A close family friend and professional carpenter, he and Josh put up the office, constructed a permanent awning for us, and oversaw the demolition of a storage shed that had served to house building materials ever since the earthquake.

The new office:

Though we paid workers and provided some answers/support, we were mainly hands-off on the building projects - for which we are very grateful!

Our attentions have been primarily on teaching, discipleship, and literacy.

On the teaching and discipleship front, Zach has still been meeting with men each Saturday afternoon. He is able to provide teaching on basic Bible reading and sermon prep. He is showing these men how to read God's Word, think about what it says, and then think about what it means. This month he added a book study to that time. They spend the last portion of each meeting reading through and talking about a book called (translated into English): The Marks and the Character of the Elders (or watchmen, as they say in the trade language) of the Church. It was written by New Tribes Mission.

There has been encouragement here and discouragement. There are some leaders here who have been making excuses and not attending. But there have also been a couple men who have surprised us by their faithfulness and the fruit of their understanding and application to their lives. They are thinking about God's Word, how it applies to them, and about the character requirements of those who will lead the church. Please pray for them and Zach!

As Ellie has moved out of baby stage, my thoughts have turned toward a more formal discipleship class with the women here. So I have been working to write up some lessons - going through Fundamentals of the Faith.

This past Saturday afternoon we met for the first time for Meri Baibel Skul (Ladies' Bible School). Our first class had 10 ladies and was primarily about intentions: I want us to share our thoughts and questions without shame so we can check the Bible and either correct those thoughts or strengthen them.

The ladies seemed eager and attentive and I am thankful for that. Writing and teaching are not areas where I am gifted, but I am thankful for any inroads into spiritual conversation with these precious women. Please pray for them and me!

Literacy is also on the forefront of our minds and schedules right now.

Men from the village of Kongo, who attended our last literacy class, have now built a classroom and are ready to begin teaching nDo literacy in their own village. So I have had meetings with them and have revised and printed all the literacy materials. I spent several hours last week painting chalkboards for them - the difficulty of which pales in comparison to their work of hiking these boards to their village!

They asked if I would be willing to come and be a part of the opening of their first literacy class, so I am also thinking through logistics of a 6 hour hike followed by a 2 night stay in Kongo. The current plan is for us to hike out in 8 days. You can pray that I stay safe, my shoes don't wear out, and for Zach as he holds down the fort with all the kids.

We feel privileged to be a part of what God is doing here and we gain so much encouragement through any good conversations with our Do friends. BUT we also do feel weary. And our kids all need good attention, too, and they can feel the busyness of the season we are in. So we would also love prayer for endurance, balance, wisdom, and joy.

The Brutally Brief Biography of Eneas Sage

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 12:03:33 GMT

I was reading a biography recently. It was a relatively short biography of John MacDonald, which takes up a single chapter in Iain Murray's book A Scottish Christian Heritage . And in that chapter there is an introductory paragraph about a man who was a missionary pioneer in northern Highlands of Scotland. His name was Eneas Sage, and his whole life fit quite neatly on the first half of page 130.

Evidently, Sage moved into the town of Lochcarron in 1726 and ministered there till he died in 1774. Murray provides Sage's own testimony that he went to this dark and cold place "merely to pave the way, if it were practicable, for settling the bounds with a gospel ministry, though it should be at the peril of my life." And peril he faced. His house was burned down and at least three attempts were made on his life. After six years of work, there was one family coming to hear him preach in a tiny thatched church. After 20 years of laboring, he was still treated as an outsider and had to evade yet another assassination attempt. But at the end of nearly 50 years of toil, there were some who "were themselves the primitive fathers of the spiritual generations that followed them." And with that line, the story of Eneas Sage came to an end, and the story moved on to recount the accomplishments of others.

A whole ministry boiled down into a paragraph. 50 hard and lonely years, summarized in just a few sentences. A whole life that serves as an introduction to the next. Yet I cannot help but admire how the Lord Jesus used Eneas Sage. Someone had to go and start tilling that soil. And that is exactly what Sage did. He paved the way—just like he intended to do. And while he is literally what we might call a footnote on the pages of history, his toil mattered to his Master. And who cares what history records, so long as at the end of our labors we get to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master" (Matthew 25:23).

Equipping Hour on Mark 6

Wed, 04 Mar 2026 09:18:31 GMT

Zach recently recorded a Sunday school hour for our local church. The first ten minutes are few videos with the kids of some new things on our ridge.

The rest of the video is about the challenge of determining story breaks in Mark. Specifically, he discussed Mark 6 and the connection between the sending out of the disciples and Herod's beheading of John.

See below if you are interested!

The Millers Have Landed

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 07:57:23 GMT

Please join us in welcoming our new teammates: Josh and Autumn Miller!

We got to know the Millers about 3.5 years ago. We were living in Madang following the earthquake that knocked down our home in Mawerero. And the Millers' were in Madang to bring a season of ministry to a close. And so, as the Lord would have it, we were neighbors for about 6 months. We got to spend lots of time together and fellowship with them was so sweet as we both dealt with trials. Soon after, the president of FinisTerre starting discussions with both of us about the possibility of the Millers joining our team in Mawerero.

Fast forward through more transition for them, a new baby, raising support, and house building... and yesterday they landed on our ridge and moved into their new home and new ministry!

The Millers were able to shake hands with lots of people who came out to greet them and we are excited for the friendships that will form with people here!

You guys! This is huge! There is so much to do: Preaching, translation, Do literacy, Tok Pisin literacy, discipleship, Bible study, meeting with leaders... not to mention all the other non-ministry things that take up time...scheduling flights, fixing electric/water/gas systems, hiring help, navigating requests from individuals and the community... Praise the Lord with us for providing coworkers for the work here!

Married 15 years

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 03:19:57 GMT

15 years, 7 homes, 4 kids, 2 continents later...

I don't really write many blog posts anymore. It takes a significant event to pull me away from other duties to write a blog. And the anniversary of being married to Cassidy is certainly one of those events.

Cassidy and I met each other three separate times before we started dating. Once in 2003 at a Campus Crusade for Christ barbecue event for freshmen at Arizona State University. Then again in 2004 in a Spanish class (also at ASU). And then again at Grace Bible Church in 2008. Then I got her email address, bought her a smoothie, and now she's the mother of my children. Life comes at you fast.

We got married on January 15, 2011. 15 years ago now. And those years have been full. Full of joy and adventure. Full of trials of various kinds. Full of kids. Full of some spectacular days, and of course, lots of mundane ones too. And looking back, I told Cassidy, "If I had to do it all over again, I would." It hasn't always been easy, but it has always been good.

I don't write Cassidy a poem on every anniversary, or even every year, but we were without internet for a whole month (mid-December to mid-January), so I had some time to put my love and thankfulness for Cassidy into meter and rhyme. She said I could share it with you all here.

Again

Fifteen years now we’ve walked and together have talked

Plodding along the way

Though it oft hasn’t seemed the way that we dreamed

With confidence I can say:

Remember, my doe, those days long ago

When we were both young and in love?

Not sure of a thing the future might bring

But sure of our King up above.

I remember asking of you to say that “I do.”

And to my delight, you said yes.

And the years since I heard you speak that sweet word

Have certainly been my most blessed.

And if somehow I went back in time to then,

Without even a doubt I’d ask you again.

With fondness and bliss I remember that kiss

On the day that we were wed

Our vows we did make, and yes, there was cake

And many kind words friends said.

But to kiss you each day as we jump in the fray

Of life here to serve our King

Has made my life sweet though at times we do meet

Necessary trials and suffering.

And if the Lord tarries and delayed is our end

Then I’ll kiss you and kiss you and kiss you again.

These past fifteen years, have brought us some tears

In seasons of joy and sorrow

But the Lord has been good and done what he should

And will do so again tomorrow.

We’ve endured sun, great rains, crossed seas, great plains,

Lived on mountains steep and high,

We’ve seen sunsets, sunrises, and many surprises

And weathered wet season and dry.

We’ve slept with roach and with mouse, lost children and house,

Left family and saints behind

But the Lord, through the cross, has said that each loss

Will surely be repaid in kind.

So if someday we should gain yet still greater pain

And the costs should once again rise

If there be no olive on tree or fish in the sea,

And our hopes go out with the tide,

And no horse in the stall or sheep in the pen.

I’ll hold you and say, let’s trust him again.

And oh the vast pleasure, the undeserved treasure

The Almighty has already bestowed

His Son took our place, and given us grace

Removing the debt that we owed

He gives us his best and infinite rest

And gives us our daily bread

In our home, His true Word is both read and it’s heard

And by it we all are fed.

Though often alone, together we’ve grown

To love and spur each other on.

And what a joy it has been, to have such a friend

Over all these days now gone.

So as we keep living for the ruler of men,

Let’s trust him, my love, let’s do it again.

And if our end should be hurried and one of us buried,

And we be parted by death.

Though painful the grief, the parting is brief,

For life is here but a breath.

And once again we will sing of our glorious king

Side by side, perhaps, I hope.

Not married, but friendly, in a life never-ending

With a future eternal in scope.

When we’ve basked in the Son for a century times ten,

Then we’ll get to enjoy him once more and again.

Oliver Turns 12 + Christmas

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 05:29:38 GMT

Oliver turned 12 last week! This guy brings joy to us. He is able to laugh at himself, he loves snuggling his sisters, and he is funny. He is also creative - he loves to draw maps and write stories. He loves Dungeons and Dragons and made up a game with D&D figurines that he likes to play. He LOVES board games and card games.

He put together a schedule by the hour of how we would celebrate. :) We had a fun lunch of pizza pockets, followed by pazookie, and party games.

Party games:

Oliver also loves doing his ninja course inside and really wants to take ninja classes again on furlough.

He also loves his little sister and tries to get her to hold his hand... which she allows sometimes.

Since we were disconnected (internet-wise), our Christmas was quieter in our home - no phone calls to grandparents, etc... but it wasn't small. Both of our moms made sure to have gifts to us in time, and our support team at our home church sent several packages. So our kids were very excited to see many gifts under the tree!

Lots. of. sugar.

The boys are slowly re-gifting all their stuffed animals to the girls each birthday and Christmas...

Though our home was quiet, our neighborhood was not! Many people here had family visiting the village from town and they held many church services between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day. Zach was asked to preach Christmas morning.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!

Here is Oliver's birthday interview:

Literacy Graduation for Class 5

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 03:48:55 GMT

The day we returned from Madang we found out that the literacy class had finished their last class a few days earlier and just wanted to wait for us to arrive before doing the graduation ceremony! I am so proud of these teachers and these students. They worked hard and have now learned how to read and write all the sounds in the Do language.

The ceremony was completely planned out by the students, using the pattern of the previous classes. The singing was accompanied by the ladies who are in the reading class, which was so sweet to see.

The students told a short story in Do, each reading one line, to demonstrate their new skills.

Namu (teacher), me, Josep (assistant teacher), and Maikepe (teacher):

Eki and Zach spoke to the students and those watching, explaining the importance of literacy to be able to access God's Word:

Each student received a certificate of completion:

Eight of the men in the class were from villages outside of Mawerero. They left their homes each week to live here so that they could learn to read in Do and bring literacy back to their own village! I have come to hold all these students so dear over the course of the last 3 months as I have assisted the teachers and helped in the classroom twice a week.

We are thankful to the Lord that more people are learning to read, so they can read His Word in their own language!

Madang and Time with the Yates

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 01:26:09 GMT

We just returned from a great time in Madang. We got to spend lots of time with the FIVE other missionary families currently living there, and we also welcomed our pastor, Smedly, and his wife, Janet, for a visit. It was a full and fun and encouraging time with so many brothers and sisters in Christ. We feel refreshed and ready for another stint in the village! Here is a highlight reel in pictures:

Our new best friend Johnathan (who is he? See this blog: here ) had to leave to go back to his life in the states, but not before giving us all Christmas gifts. (You might also be able to see how Ellie feels about him):

As soon as the Yates landed in Madang, they were all-in. They played lots of games with each of the kids:

Janet got to join us at a princess birthday party for our friend's daughter:

We made Christmas cookies...

...and gingerbread houses with the Twomblys:

Bryan took Zach and Smedly fishing:

A supporter gave us money for Christmas which we spent on a day at a hotel pool (of course, we invited all our friends!):

Time at the beach (Jais Aben):

Finding sea horses:

And jumping into the water at the rocks outside the base:

We had so many good conversations with our friends in Madang and with the Yates. We were spurred on in the work here, updated about our church and friends in AZ, given advice on our parenting and home life... and we just also enjoyed each other! We are thankful for our time with everyone. AND... it is sweet to be back home in Mawerero!

Annie is Four

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 05:48:59 GMT

Our Annie Rose turned four today. We are thankful for her!

She is our little go-getter. She likes being a part of all the action and is tough enough to handle it. Going to someone's garden, playing games outside, going on a hike, helping out when we are working on a project together... Annie wants to be involved.

She also really loves helping. She begs to help me cook and has become actually quite helpful! Shredding cheese, sifting bugs out of flour, cracking eggs... she is a hard worker.

Because her birthday fell during a break to town, she got to have two celebrations. The first was in the village with us, our new teammate, Josh, and his house building buddy, Johnathan. The second was today and included all five families that are in Madang right now! Here are some pics and her birthday interview:

Sifting flour for me:

Favorite new shirt from her friend, P.J.:

In Madang, today, a friend Rose gave her a bag made out of possum fur:

Her party was a magic show and slip and slide:

So much fun with a sheet of black plastic, dish soap, and lots of water.

She got to share her party with our teammates' little boy who turns one on Thursday:

Gifts!

Happy birthday!

Birthday interview:

Juli's Funeral

Fri, 31 Oct 2025 04:01:41 GMT

Juli died yesterday. The news came to us through Bangena and her young daughter on our steps.

“Juli died and her brothers are trying to hurt her husband. They are hiding him there in the Counsel’s house," they said, pointing to our next-door neighbor’s hut.

So many people were shocked. “How could she be dead? She wasn’t sick. I saw her just a couple days ago…!”

Eventually we learned that Juli had hemorrhaged all night and had died in the morning. A brand new baby, miscarried, and they could not stop the bleeding.

Juli has seven children close in age (the youngest was still nursing). Her parents knew that children so close together can cause complications, so a while back they told Samuel to stop getting his wife pregnant. Samuel agreed and promised his wife she wouldn't have any more kids, but it was a promise he couldn't keep.

Fast forward to yesterday and the brothers’ grief, anger, and desire for revenge makes more sense. They only know how to grieve "without hope" as it says in 1 Thessalonians 4:13.

The whole situation is so weighty and sad.

Can you imagine? Can you put yourselves in Samuel’s shoes? You try to care for your wife all night, she dies in the morning, and now you are hiding from her brothers, armed with machetes.

Can you put yourselves in their children’s shoes? A mother gone. A father blamed for their mother's death and on the run from his accusers.

This morning we donated some food to those who dug her grave. As we've spent time with the village, we have had several good conversations with those who are grieving and in shock:

How we don’t know the day of our death, when our eternal state is sealed.

How we can, now, repent and believe in Jesus and be forgiven for our sins so we can be with him forever.

How we can have peace here on earth and peace after death.

We are thankful they asked Zach to speak at her funeral so he could give hope and the good news of the gospel at such a weighty time:

So much discipleship is needed here: what does the Bible say about marriage, kids, death, revenge, etc… and we are still teaching the basics of the gospel! We covet your prayers.

Millers' House Build

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 04:39:20 GMT

As you may have read in email updates and other posts, we have new teammates - Josh and Autumn Miller! We are so thankful to the Lord for giving this sweet couple a desire to serve the Lord here among the Do people. They have been working since July to turn our previous office into their new home!

Josh and Kombuk (our Madang carpenter friend) have flown in every couple weeks to work. A close family friend Johnathan is also here helping with the build. He flew out from the states in August and is staying here in PNG until the house is done! Johnathan has stayed in the village even between trips to keep working, which has been sweet for our family as we have been able to get to know him.

Here are some pictures of the build.

Marking out new posts on the front addition:

Girding beams and floor joists:

Adding walls:

Now with new bamboo siding and paint (Everyone loves the black and white!):

Of course, there has been major work going on INSIDE the house as well - electrical, plumbing, walls, paint...

...building a kitchen...:

etc, etc, etc... There are so many pieces to put together, but they have been working hard and they are rounding the last lap. Hopefully the Millers and their baby get to move in early next year!

50th Independence Day

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 04:13:19 GMT

On the 16th, PNG celebrated 50 years of independence! There were big celebrations all over the country. In our village, they had a flag raising ceremony at the school to start off the week. Then there were basketball and soccer tournaments, dart games and lots of food.

Hiking down to the school:

Marching to raise the flag:

Sitting with a cute lady:

All the kids dressed up:

We bought an otter pop at the market next to the festivities. Of course, with no refrigeration they are just bags of juice!

Up at the main village is where the basketball tournament took place:

The week was so so SUNNY. These girls played all day, in the sun, most of them barefoot. They are tough ladies!

Peek-a-boo with Ellie:

With the holiday, many people have family visiting from other villages. Ruben here was sitting at his house, next to the basketball game, working on milling rice for a big meal with his grandkids.

Ellie with a cool grandma, Mananuwe:

We also got to enjoy a package from a faithful friend and supporter in Arizona!

If you receive our email updates, you would have heard that there has been a man with mental issues who has been causing disruptions. To give you all an update on him: his behavior had calmed down for the last couple weeks, but it seems like this morning he is beginning to have another episode. Please pray for the village leaders to lead well with courage and wisdom in this situation!

Literacy Class 5

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 10:39:22 GMT

On Monday, a new literacy class began! Our literacy teachers, Maikepe and Namura, have been gathering names and school fees for a year, but interest here was low. Once some men from a nearby village decided to join, interest (there and here!) spiked and we have an overflowing classroom.

Sewing to bind four more literacy books to account for the extra students:

(In case you are confused: I coach the reading class on Saturdays for those in our village who have already graduated from literacy and want reading practice. The Literacy Class 5 I am referring to in this blog is the class for brand new students. It will run Monday-Friday morning for 3.5 months.)

Though I taught and then coached the first, second, and third class, the fourth class was completed while I was on furlough back in 2021 and it was clear that the teachers are still in need of help.

For background: these literacy classes have students from all across the reading spectrum: some read and write in Pidgin very well, some haven't written more than a handful of times since grade school and can only barely read their own name.

As I watch this class beginning, I can see one big problem: whether from shame or passivity, some of the unschooled students are allowing their friends in class to help them and do work for them. I have taught the teachers to curb this, but it's evident that this needs to be driven home acutely. So daily I have been encouraging the teachers to remind the students that they will not learn if they allow others to help them during these important foundational lessons.

So, you can pray for us! I don't EXACTLY have 2.5 hours each morning to devote to literacy, so Zach needs to step into homeschool and taking care of girls during that time... pushing back his workday significantly.

But for now, we both think it is important for me to be there for now.

Literacy is a foundational need for a thriving church here! We want to see men and women know how to read in their own language and then be able to access God's written word in their language so they might grow in the knowledge of God and be able to share that knowledge with others! God's Word is in a book and therefore we must work hard to equip the people here to understand it for themselves.

JAARS Video

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 21:37:40 GMT

JAARS trains and sends pilots over here - we are thankful for them!

Highlands Break

Fri, 01 Aug 2025 05:23:12 GMT

We were able to fly up to the highlands to take a break at SIL's mission base (called Ukarumpa). We wanted to rest, see doctors, connect with coworkers, and give the boys time with friends.

The first week we were there, we got to spend time with our new teammates. Josh and Autumn arrived back in country in June and have been living in the town of Madang. We were glad they flew up to the highlands so we could see them and meet their baby.

Autumn even made me a cake for my birthday!

We loved having some quality time with them and had good discussions and good fellowship together.

During our second week there, the Twomblys and Donckels drove up from Madang and joined us. If you keep up with us, you have been introduced to the Twomblys many times... but if not: the Twomblys are working to plant a church in Madang town where the FinisTerre base is located. Bryan is also the field director for our organization and so he handles overseeing new missionaries.

The Donckels just moved to PNG and are learning language and culture in Madang so they can do church planting in another village in the mountains here. God is raising up more workers!

Here is story time with Mrs. Twombly:

...and the boys with two of the Twomblys (since I took basically no pictures of the adults):

We loved our time with them!

Here are some other pictures of our break. The boys learned some cool new tricks from Josh Miller:

We played lots of card games:

Annie's first dental cleaning:

Ukarumpa is cold, so Zach made lots and lots of fires.

One sweet surprise is that our break lined up with seeing our former heli pilot. Gavin and Carrie served in PNG for 20 years - Gavin has flown supplies in, us out, handled medical emergencies for us, and was the one we called to pick us up when our houses fell down in the earthquake. They were at Ukarumpa packing up their things to move back to the States and we got to give them hugs before they left.

They had a birthday party for their quints (yes, quints) and set up the waterslide. A fun way to end our time in the highlands!

Annie and friend Kori giving the "Go ahead" to the other kids.

We flew back in on Monday. Jude up front with our new pilot Greg.

We are still just BARELY able to fit us and our supplies in one heli load. It is getting tight though!

Josh came into the village on Wednesday to begin work on his house! We gave them the office and he is expanding it into a home. Exciting!

We had such a refreshing and fun break - we are thankful for that time away, especially for the boys. And now we are back to work. Zach has been busy prepping for Sunday and working through checking his translations of Genesis, Jonah, and Ephesians. The rest of us are prepping for school to start on Monday.

Thanks for praying and keeping up with the Canns!

Teaching Video

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 07:32:20 GMT

Zach and I put together a video for our church's Sunday school hour. The first small part explains how we keep ourselves supplied and the rest of it is how Zach handles foreign concepts in translation.

If you have an hour and want to know more about the work here, see the video below:

Ellie Turns Two

Sat, 28 Jun 2025 05:23:15 GMT

Our littlest Ellie turned two! We love this little girl and thank God for completing our family with her.

We can see her beginning to grow A BIT in independence and contentment as she matures and is able to communicate.

She has lots of words, giggles often at Annie's silliness, loves rice, and (as a last born) is usually just along for the ride.

She is happy to write in the dirt or play on the rope swing, look at books on the couch or look out the window in a hut, but if anything goes wrong, she just wants her mama.

It is sweet to see how good the boys are with her, and Annie is a good big sister, too! (Though Annie DID have a good cry a few days ago when she realized she wasn't going to get any presents on Ellie's birthday ��)

She (and Annie) will eat bananas and corn with anyone who will share.

We celebrated her birthday on Friday because weekends are so busy. We had pink funfetti cupcakes and some fun presents.

The boys get to give away their stuffed animals one by one as the girls grow.

Rocking her mama's super straight hair.

So thankful for our last little girl! Here is her first ever birthday interview... she didn't understand most of the questions, but I'll post it here anyway. ❤️

The boys loved her "Oooo!" as she opened her presents.

April and Easter

Sun, 04 May 2025 00:54:03 GMT

After celebrating Jude's birthday, we had a pretty low-key April and Easter. Zach has been faithfully preaching through Ephesians, and there have been good opportunities to follow up with people afterward.

The ladies usually don't approach Zach, so I try to engage with them whenever I can.

Zach answering questions in the background while Ellie visits with a grandma:

This month a lady came to our village from another province. She said that her father was a Lutheran pastor here about 50 years ago (she was actually born here). She claimed that the Holy Spirit had sent her back here with a message for the people.

The leaders allowed her to preach in the Sunday church service and what she shared directly contradicted the Bible. Zach was able to discuss her message with her directly and with the village leaders in various meetings afterward. Here he is talking with Eki about the dangers of claiming to speak for the Holy Spirit.

~~~

Here are some other pictures from this month!
Oliver and Ellie by the church:

The girls and our friends, hanging out by their house:

A sweet mama taking us to see her garden:

And of course, rainy season makes the waterfalls are bigger and the pools deeper:

(And the trail to get there much muddier!)

We celebrated Easter a few days early because holidays get busy here with lots of people around and lots of church services. I bought some special candy in Australia, so the kids had Easter baskets with... ring pops!

We are reminded at this season of the victory of Jesus over death and the hope we have in Him! That is why we are here!

Jude is a Teenager!

Mon, 07 Apr 2025 05:08:50 GMT

The boy that made us parents turned 13 on Friday! This boy is growing up!

He has always been an analyst, but now he is thinking big thoughts about future plans and budgets. He has always been conscious of the feelings of others, but he is now taking more initiative to step up and handle things for others.

He still loves reading and is half way through the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. He is CLOSE to surpassing me in height, probably by the end of the year. He plays with his little sisters each day... to be fair, he is required to for homeschool, but he is enjoying it more and growing in tenderness with them.

Birthdays in the village (especially during seasons without teammates) are very simple, but Jude was still VERY excited to celebrate. He chose chocolate cake with chocolate frosting - because he is about maximizing the richness of dessert. He picked out a laser tag gun set in Australia with birthday money from G-Pop and Mimi and so spent a good chunk of the day playing that with Oliver.

He also got binoculars from us and spent time with boys on the ridge looking at different hamlets and villages on nearby mountains.

The older Jude gets, the more imminent his departure from our home and onto college/career/etc feels! So we stand back on days like his birthday and thank God that we still get to have him at home for now. We love him so! Here is the birthday interview for those of you who want to watch:

Australia Break

Thu, 20 Mar 2025 06:46:10 GMT

Last month we got to take a break in Australia! Our first stop was to the town of Madang where we spent several days with the Twomblys and the Ruscios.

I have basically zero pictures, but we LOVED our time with them.

In Australia, we stayed on the Gold Coast, a bit north, in a sweet Paradise Point neighborhood with lots of parks and restaurants along the water. We went to Costco and ate good food and played in the ocean and felt so refreshed and thankful for our time! Here are some pictures.

My mom and Zach's mom flew over and stayed with us for the first half of our trip. SO great to see them and we miss them already!

The grandmas loved on our kids and got to have one-on-one time with each of them.

Though the Gold Coast is a tourist destination, our rest looked like a lot of just drinking special coffees and watching our kids swim and play in a clean place. Think: lifting the weight of language, ministry, logistics off our shoulders and just sitting on a park bench chatting with our moms... very relaxing for us :)

We did stay right next to a reserve that had a bunch of kangaroos, though, so we trekked through there for an Aussie experience. (There is a kangaroo in the background.)

Zach got to take walks and pray with his mom which they both loved.

Boys got to go to a cool place with rock climbing, laser tag, and go karts:

The bay nearby was like lake water, but this pic captures how this girl feels about swimming:

For the second half of our trip, my dad and stepmom came and joined us!

So glad we got to make memories with them!

Our last day we were on our own and did dates with the kids. The girls and I ate ice cream and played at the splash pad:

The boys did an inflatable water park:

We flew back to Madang, bought and packed supplies (with much help from the Twomblys and Rucsios!), and are now settled back up at home in the village. We are so thankful for the time!

Teaching on Baptism

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 21:04:19 GMT

The established church here in our village is Lutheran. Or, at least, it’s called Lutheran. In reality, it is a mix of Lutheran religious practices, animistic beliefs, and a false gospel of being good enough to be accepted by God. One of the practices here is that they baptize their babies and believe that this baptism saves the baby. After being baptized as a baby, the child should grow up and do good things and will go to heaven.

After Zach’s original teaching through the Bible (2020-2021), he did not draw a line in the sand, telling people to leave their previous “Lutheran” identity and join a new church. He has been very slow and patient with them. He preaches the gospel each week and calls people to repent and believe, but he has not quickly jumped to teaching on obedience to commands like "be baptised" until they understand the foundation of Christ's work on the cross.

He teaches on Sunday evenings in the main public area. He has preached verse by verse through the first 3 chapters in Ephesians and comes back each week to: “How can we be forgiven of our sins and be a part of God’s family? By trusting in Jesus for salvation.” Again and again he shows them from the Bible that their good works cannot forgive their sins.

However, a watershed moment is coming. Ephesians 4 says that there is “one baptism” and now Zach is ready to teach on this. To start, he did a small Bible study with the leaders. He met with them for two Saturdays to lay out various Scriptures regarding baptism. He gave them time during the week to study it, and then they came back the next Saturday to read through the passages together. The Bible is clear that baptism is not what saves a person, but is an opportunity for someone to testify to God’s saving work in their lives and to identify themselves with Him.

Last Sunday evening, Zach began teaching on baptism in his main teaching time and will teach more in-depth this upcoming Sunday. If there are some who desire to be baptized, it will be a clear rejection of what they were taught in their Lutheran church and will be the beginning of a new church - a new group of believers who have publicly testified to God’s saving work in their lives and have been baptized.

Hopefully this post helps you know where we are at in ministry right now! If you pray for us, please continue. Pray for the believers and pray for those who may oppose God’s Word. Also, please pray for Zach. He carries a lot of this on his own, though he LOVES teaching and especially loves interacting with the leaders on things like this. You can pray for wisdom and encouragement for him.

Oliver Turns 11

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 22:36:18 GMT

This boy turned 11 on Sunday! He chose cookies and ice cream as his dessert because he knew everyone would enjoy it. Sundays are a busy day, but we celebrated midday with food and dessert and presents, followed by some fun family games.

It is a joy to watch Oliver grow in wisdom and stature. This year he finished his first trek through the Bible, memorized Psalm 139; he listens to and think through the great claims of the good news of Jesus Christ, and is making efforts to be generous with others (especially his brother). On the stature front, Oliver is probably the strongest member of our family - certainly for his size. He is regularly swinging from his ninja course - a series of ladders, ropes, and handles hanging from our rafters. He can do a 6 minute plank and 35 pushups (far surpassing his parents' abilities in those categories). And we love how he uses his strength to care for and protect his little sisters.

This was his first birthday in a long time where the celebration was only our family (the last time was his 5th), but he was a good sport about it!

Jude was making us laugh by groaning about how many treats the Twomblys sent Oliver.

Happy birthday, Oliver!

Birthday interview:

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Christmas with the Demarests

Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:28:58 GMT

We were thankful to host one of our pastors, Scott, and his wife, Sarah, for five days this month. We got to do our Christmas activities and advent readings with them each day and had such a sweet time with them.

(Since they TOOK most of the pictures, they are absent from many...).

Gingerbread cookies instead of sugar cookies this year, which was the right choice. Why haven't I been doing this all along?!

Oliver wanted to make up a plate of cookies as if he were Santa.

Of course, we took them to the waterfall!

Scott enjoying the rest before hiking back:

The leaders made sure the Demarests had good chairs right up front for Zach's teaching:

They spent lots of time hanging out with our kids. Playing games with the boys:

...or doing crafts with the girls:

We also had an early Christmas because they brought gifts from our support team at our home church, Grace Bible Church. Oliver has been asking for a "ninja course" and they brought the pieces to make that happen!

We had such a sweet time as a family with the Demarests as well as encouraging conversations about our lives and our ministry, about church and parenting, etc... It put wind in our sails to keep working hard here until our upcoming break.

Merry Christmas all!

The Death of a Baby

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 21:22:02 GMT

Sepla came to our door two days ago asking for an egg. Her baby boy was very sick and she needed the leaders to pray over an egg so they could confess any wrong they had done, eat it, and Alfons could be released from the sickness.

Zach explained to her that this practice is not from God, and therefore has no power. He got Eki and the two of them went to Sepla's house to pray to God that her baby might get well.

Sepla is a good example of the syncretistic thinking prevalent here. She attends church faithfully, but she holds on to many animistic beliefs. A very imbedded core belief is that sickness can be caused by the bad thoughts of a wronged person, or in some cases: a sorcerer who is actually intent on evil.

Sadly, Alfons died yesterday afternoon.

The leaders asked Zach to speak at their vigil in the evening and he shared two things. First, he read from Psalm 139 and explained that Alfons lived exactly the number of days that God had decided. God is in control of life and death.

Second, he shared the story of David and Bathsheba's baby dying in 2 Samuel 12. There, the Lord is in control of everything. He is the one who passes over David's sin and gives the child a sickness. God is the one to whom David prays while the baby is alive and worships when he dies. Zach pointed out at the end that David says that someday he will go to him, but his baby boy will not return to him. From this text, Zach explained that Alfons' spirit isn't wandering around on the earth! David believes the child is in heaven where someday David will be. Zach said he believes Alfons is in heaven, not because he was good, but because God is merciful.

What we also need to consider, Zach explained, is if WE will someday be with God. He shared the gospel with them and encouraged them to repent of their sins and trust in Jesus for forgiveness. Some of those attending last night, like Sepla's husband Bui, never attend Zach's teaching and therefore didn't know this good news.

Please pray for Sepla and her husband Bui.

Annie Turns Three

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 05:44:38 GMT

This girl is three today! We celebrated with cake and presents and phone calls. Sadly, she had a tummy bug, so she spent much of the day heading back to bed to rest, but true to character, she was a happy girl nonetheless.

The boys each gave her a stuffed animal and she got some other gifts from near and far.

We had a pink cake and accidentally used trick candles.

We love this big girl! She is funny and friendly, happy and SO helpful. She sucks her thumb whenever she finds something cold or snuggly. She dances and laughs and brings much joy to our home. We are thankful for her!

Now for her birthday interview...

Scott Maxwell and Uriah Come to Visit

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 04:16:10 GMT

As you may have read in our email update, we were able to host Scott Maxwell and Uriah earlier this month!

Scott was our pastor for many years, is a close friend and mentor, and is the president of FinisTerre, our sending organization.

Scott was able to sit with the leaders in the village to discuss the ministry here.

The five days were FULL of good conversations about ministry, missions, and church.

We were thankful Scott got to meet many men he has been praying for and hearing about for years.

Since Scott was coming for just five days, we and the Twomblys arranged for their son, Uriah, to come up here with him to surprise our boys.

A picture of them realizing who was in the heli:

So excited!

They took him to the waterfall every day...

They also did legos and shot arrows and played board games...

It was such a fun long weekend with their buddy.

So thankful for our time with Scott - it was an encouragement to us to have him here! And we are so glad the Twomblys trusted us with their boy - it was a joy for us to have him!

A Hike to the Pig House

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 10:07:37 GMT

This is Oliver and I am writing my first blog. Today Jude and I went on a hike with my dad's language helper, Giye, and his sons. We hiked from our house to Giye's pig house. A pig house is a second hut they build to look after their pigs.

This is a view back toward the village after hiking for only a few minutes.

This is a river flowing at the base of the mountains called the Kuso. We had to cross this river to get to the pig house.

When we left the Kuso we went through this place that was pretty steep and had lots of vines.

We arrived at the pig house.

These are the two pigs that Giye owns.

We had stopped here to see a waterfall.

This is Jude holding a harmless snake that the village kids found.

Back at the Kuso, one of the village kids found a frog and this is a picture of Jude holding it. The villagers eat these frogs.

When we had almost made it back we saw these big mushrooms.

It was a really fun day. I am glad that Giye invited us along!

Oliver Finishing the Bible

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 05:25:42 GMT

When our boys learned to read, we encouraged them with the words of our pastor: "Now you can hear from God yourself!" Learning to read means we can read God's Word, the Bible. What's why we need a strong literacy program here in the village!

Oliver began reading the Bible right after his sixth birthday: February 2020, with a Bible given to him by his Aunt Sandy. In these 4 and a half years, he has plodded well, and on the 18th of October, 2024 he read the last chapter of Revelation!

This is cause for celebration in our family. He had picked out a new Bible in the US and we gifted that to him and ate cake.

The next morning, he began his second reading through the Bible. How different his understanding of Genesis must be at ten years old versus six!

Then and now.

He chose a s'more cake:

Being goofy:

We are proud of him!

Ruscios' Visit

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 22:31:17 GMT

Our mission organization, FinisTerre, recently sent a new family to do ministry in Madang. The Ruscios only arrived in PNG in July, so they are just starting to learn PNG culture and the trade language. As part of their orientation, they came up to stay in the bush for a week. We SO enjoyed getting to know them. Frank and Jacklyn have three boys and a girl, so it was a fun week for our kids, too!

Eki gave them a proper welcome:

We set up a time for our friend Yase to give them their own bows and some archery lessons:

Their boys spent hours each day shooting at a target (a banana tree stump) with Jude and Oliver.

Zach took them on a hike to the Kuso river:

Lots of kids interested in these new white people:

Frank got to practice his language skills by introducing himself at church:

The Ruscios got to see lots of interactions between us and our friends here, ask questions, etc, so we trust it was a helpful time. It certainly was a joy having them.

A couple other pics of the kids:

The boys got to play D&D with their auntie on FaceTime. So fun for them:

Stickers :)

Storytime:

It was so good to have fellowship with the Ruscios, an encouragement after being on our own for three months. And we are thankful to the Lord for sending a new family to serve in Madang!

Back to the Village

Sun, 18 Aug 2024 05:43:07 GMT

We have been back in the village for almost a month now! It has been a season of adjusting physically (cloth diapers, cooking, laundry...!) and relationally, doing the final unpacking/minor projects, and getting back to work. We are well, we are grateful, and we are moving forward with ministry! Here are some pictures.

Jude and Oliver recruited some old friends to build a little shelter:

The boys are our first line of defense against unwanted guests.

Walking through the village:

We started school August 5. We now have a fifth grader:

a seventh grader:

a pre-preschooler:

and a pre-walker:

Zach began formal teaching again last Sunday. Here Eki is praying before Zach begins.

And here is this girl guarding her string bag of raisins that are supposed to keep her still while Daddy preaches :)

Jude spent a lot of his last summer days reading:

And of course we have taken the kids to the waterfall several times:

Annie loves it the most.

Many of you have asked how we are and we appreciate your prayers! My (Cass) job is mainly the same: lots of time teaching, parenting, and diapering children, prepping and cooking food, cleaning the house and clothes... but there are some small opportunities for me to interact with women.

While my job stays constant though the location and particulars have changed, Zach has pivoted from housebuilding to ministry. His time and energy is now able to be focused mainly on Bible translation and teaching, which he loves!

Zach should be updating everyone more fully in an email update soon, we are thankful to all of you who are praying and giving and caring for us from far away!

Ellie Turns One + Update

Sat, 29 Jun 2024 10:00:30 GMT

Much has happened in the last two months. Zach, Bryan Twombly, and Brett Stuart flew to the village in May for Zach's LAST build trip. They finished plumbing, painted the whole house, finished cabinets, and moved all our personal bins and furniture inside.

For those of you who haven't read all our updates, Brett (pictured above) came with some guys from his church, Countryside, for the 9th build trip. He stayed a month, joined Zach and Bryan for the 10th trip in March, went back to TX, and then came again for this 11th trip! He is a young guy, but a hard worker and knowledgeable. So glad he was willing to come to PNG to help us in the village and Bryan in Madang.

Then there is this guy! Bryan joined Zach on FIVE of his build trips from October of last year to May of this one. On this last trip, he finished our cabinets and painted them while also helping Zach paint. We are so thankful for him.

We had a few interim weeks of finishing homeschool, packing and supply buying for our move in July...

... then, on Monday, Wendy and Kate from our home church, GBC, came to join Kerra Twombly and me in the village for a cleaning and unpacking trip.

These three ladies did SO much to get our house ready to move in. We did things we expected, like clean and unpack and wash all the dishes. We did things we didn't expect like clear out rats' nests and burn ruined toys. And we did lots and lots of things that didn't quite fit in either category but will help us function in the new house and get back to life and work quickly: things like replacing the kitchen faucet,

cleaning and adding new shelves,

putting up curtain rods, adding a screen to the water tank overflow, hanging clocks, organizing the desks, cleaning out the stove (which had also once housed a rat's nest), cleaning wasps from windowsills, installing a medicine cabinet, hanging an indoor laundry line, filling cracks with Great Stuff, moving lots of tools, etc...!

Here is an after photo:

It was also a sweet reunion with some of my friends:

and I got to show these ladies my village! Thank you to Kerra and Kate and Wendy for all they had to do to come and help me. And thank you to anyone else reading this who helped send them and cover for them (like Bryan with their kids!) and who sent wonderful care packages to us in their bags.

And then there is this sweet baby! Ellie turned one today! She is timid and gentle and cautious and generally content and happy. We celebrated her with some purple cupcakes and snuggles. We love you!

Cake!

If you get Zach's email updates, you will know that his dad passed away this week. Zach left today to begin traveling to the US to grieve with his family, attend his father's funeral, and also attend his sister's wedding (we are all so excited to welcome Max into our family!). He would love your prayers as he travels and spends time serving his mom and siblings.

And we would love your prayers as well - we have lots to do here to prepare to move back to the village in three weeks and it will certainly be more complicated to do it without Zach. We trust God though and know that He always does what is best.

We are rejoicing that Bruce is in heaven now, though we miss him dearly!

Sorry for the fire hose of information, updates, etc... but I wanted to jump on here and get everyone up-to-date - thanks to all of you who have reached out!

Jude is 12 + Update

Fri, 05 Apr 2024 06:34:07 GMT

Happy birthday to Jude!

Jude is the man. Quite literally. Our first born officially no longer qualifies for children’s fares on airlines or anywhere else such discounts are offered. He is certainly growing—now a towering 1,486mm (that’s 4 feet 10.5 inches for those not in the metric world).

Jude does everything at full speed. He reacts quick to situations (too quick at times). And his reactions are big, be it big joy or big disappointment. He reads at blinding speeds and seems to finish a book a day. His consumption of food has started to rival his dad’s. He loves spice and lots of it — he’ll add buffalo or sriracha sauce to just about anything. He loves salt, butter, tacos, dessert, and dreaming about American fast food.

Jude is a lover of people and adventure. He is quick to make friends with anyone his age, and usually leads the charge in whatever shenanigans they set their mind to. He notices when people are happy or hurting and intuitively knows how to sympathize. He has embraced life next the ocean with all the exploring, fishing, and snorkeling it has to offer.

Jude is also growing in wisdom. He reads the Bible every morning and thinks deeply about eternal things. It has been so exciting to see the Lord growing Jude in his faith and repentance — especially as Jude faces the challenges of living overseas with a greater understanding of the costs.

We love this buddy!

For his birthday we had the Twomblys and two other boys over for playing outside and lentil tacos and nutella-stuffed cookie bars.

He was only a little upset that Annie "helped" him blow out his candles.

Some favorite gifts.

Boys this age are so much fun!

I'll post his birthday interview here (keep reading below for an update):

House building trip 10 went well. It was the longest one (in recent history for us), but Zach, Bryan, and Brett (visiting house-building extraordinaire from Texas) were able to get plumbing finished, the whole kitchen put together, and most of the walls up!

Bryan took on the undesirable job of turning this pile of deconstructed ikea stuff...:

...into cabinets, shelves, and drawers.

Brett plumbed a sink and a sink and a sink and a sink and a washing machine and then also finished the gutters.

Zach put up many many sheets of plywood for walls, then ran out, then did one wall with our old flooring.

When the guys returned, we celebrated Easter and then said goodbye to Brett:

Easter baskets:

Lunch with the Twomblys:

Also, lots of ocean time:

What's next for us: April is travel as a family to the highlands and the capital. We have appointments with eye doctors, dental hygienists, medical doctors, and nurse practitioners. Then we have four days of rest in the capital city. In early May the Twomblys are traveling as a family for a break and then later in May will be the next (Zach's final!) house building trip. June will be me and other womenfolk heading in to clean and organize and unpack.

Build Trip 10

Mon, 11 Mar 2024 05:17:59 GMT

Thank you for praying for trip 9. The team from Countryside in TX were able to do so much! It was not only productive, but spiritually encouraging to have those guys visit and help.

Zach and Brett worked on getting the solar panels up and wired.

James and Les wired outlets, lights, and fans.

Trying to read our less-than-professional drawings.

All the wiring joined together here in the mudroom where our batteries are stored. One battery seems to be a dud, so that one will be flown out here to town where we will try to revive it. Otherwise we will begin the process of shipping a new one from the states.

After electrical was finished, the guys all started work on plumbing.

Looking for the correct pieces for the drains and fixtures.

Finding some of those pieces on the other tub.

The guys were able to explore the village a bit and attend the church service there.

These guys were such a help to Zach in the village! Their expertise made it possible for our house to be wired and plumbed really well.

One of the TX team, Chas, stayed behind in Madang to learn more about the ministry here.. Everyone loved having him here for that week! He was able to see the work the Twomblys are doing, encouraged all of the adults in the Lord, and spent quality time with the kids.

Not even phased by four kids hanging on him and vying for his attention :)

So thankful for the time these guys gave to serve here!

Brett, from the TX team, stayed here in Madang to keep serving and join the next build trip. So we have been enjoying having him join our lives and work here Madang in the meantime. It has been a bit of a more calm season between trips.

Enjoying the ocean.

We were able to each take the boys on dates.

Brett worked on building out a shed on the property, working on making it a live-able space. He worked with Zach and Seken (our guard) a couple days to install a ceiling.

New Paragraph

Fun Annie.

Sweet Ellie.

This morning, these three left on Build Trip 10. They hope to finish the plumbing to the bathrooms, attaching vanities and sinks and fixtures. The next big thing is re-assembling the kitchen. Interior walls, then mold paint, then assembling cabinets, then sink and countertop. Also on the list is running propane lines for hot water and the gas stove, hanging interior doors, and more interior walls and paint.

Goodbye!

Charging Jude as the man of the house ;)

This will be Zach's longest trip so far since we have been back. Thank you for praying for us! I spoke with Zach this morning who said that the internet up there isn't working and they don't know why. They are still able to call on our cell service, but connecting with them will be severely limited if the internet stays down, so you all can pray for that!

Build Trip 9 - Countryside Team

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 05:14:46 GMT

Thank you to all who had prayed for the last build trip! With the three guys from Orland, the floor, frame, and roof were finished on our new house:

Outer walls:

Rafters and purlins:

Insulation foil:

Finishing the roofing metal and flashing:

As you may expect, building in a remote spot with materials from deconstructed houses requires lots of organizing and manifesting:

The guys finished everything they had hoped to do:

At home, things are going well. The girls are still cute:

The boys are still funny (posing the same as the girls):

Annie has play time with the Twombly girls:

There has been lots of swimming with friends...

... and shopping for visitors:

Ellie is growing, still...

... and battling new sicknesses.

Because we don't get to decide exactly when the heli is free, there are some build trips close together and some far apart. In this case, we said goodbye to the Orland team two weeks ago and quickly got ready for build trip 9 which began today. On Saturday, two groups came to our base: a build team from Texas and a scouting team from a church in California. (They hope to send a family from their church here to be a part of the next church planting team.) It has been a whirlwind weekend of fellowship. Here is a pic of everyone who has been staying on the base here this weekend:

And these are the guys flying in to the village today. They left this morning and their main goal is starting and finishing all our electrical and plumbing.

As I write this, they are all already landed and working in Mawerero. Thank you for praying alongside us!

Oliver is Ten!

Sun, 21 Jan 2024 05:22:04 GMT

Double digits for this guy!

Oliver brings so much laughter and beauty to our lives. He is the family funny man, with so many jokes, humorous anecdotes, and a contagious laugh. He also takes after his grandpa Bruce with his love of art, music, film, and all things beautiful. He is learning to play the piano, edit photos, and loves to draw and color. And while reading is not his favorite, he loves a good story. He enjoys people and becomes fast friends with whomever is around, whether we're in a city or jungle. He loves junk food, knives, screaming at the top of his lungs, pestering his sister, climbing trees, swimming in the ocean, and finding new ways to be Jude's best friend and worst enemy (Tom Sawyer would be proud of this kid). We're proud of him too.

His actual birthday was low-key since his dad was on a building trip with friends from Orland, but he did want to go to Eden with the Twombly family:

...so he could eat Chinese food and then play out front on the coral with them:

We also had funfetti cupcakes because a supporter sent a box mix and sprinkles!

We celebrated yesterday - he got to go to the beach with our visitors and then have a dinner party last night.

Chicken curry and lemon meringue bars were his choices:

And a birthday interview:

Happy birthday to Oliver! Thankful for you!

Update and Build Trip 8 - Orland Team

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 04:44:52 GMT

The last build trip was a success, thank you to all of you who prayed and asked us about it! Bryan, Zach, and Kombuk were able to completely demolish the second house, which was their primary goal. In addition, they were able to store and organize the building materials and household items, and they were able to finish all the girding beams and floor joists on our new home.

Starting with the solar panels on the roof:

... then the roofing, and then wall by wall:

... then organizing all this wood and metal and beginning work on the floor.

Partway through their trip, we sent an extra helicopter up to the village to drop off plywood. Here is a truck I hired and the guys loading it on:

Work on the foundation interrupted by the extra heli:

They sent the heli back out with some bulky items we don't have space for (since we are going from two houses to one):

Spending time with people, strengthening relationships, reminding them of our purpose in rebuilding - so we can keep teaching them the good news.

Bryan and Kombuk, along with some village helpers, finished all of the girding beams and floor joists!

Back in Madang, we kept on with our advent activities and school:

In the southern hemisphere, slip n slide can be a Christmas activity!

After three trips in two months, Bryan and Zach sorely needed a rest. We had a few weeks of break and celebrated Christmas. Pictures of that time:

Our coffee date (my mom's Christmas gift to us):

Christmas morning:

Christmas dinner with the Twomblys:

Ellie still growing up:

Swimming outside:

Bryan trying to show Zach how wonderful fishing is (it did not work):

Fixing screens on the property:

...and lots of prep for the next build trip.

As for current events, today build trip number 8 began! On Sunday, three guys arrived from a supporting church in Orland, California and this morning they flew into the village. They hope to strengthen the bearers, brace the corner posts, put down a plywood floor, frame all the walls, put up roofing, make some sort of roof cap, and wrap the whole house in plastic. If these things happen quickly, they will begin to frame and hang doors and windows and/or build steps to our front door.

We are thankful to have these guys here to help! One of the men, John, is a professional carpenter and came twice in 2015/2016 to help build the first houses. So sweet how he uses his specific skills to support God's work in the Finisterres.

Here are some pictures of the last couple days:

Prepping our cross-bracing, third-world-country style. Kyle helping John bash the metal flat and then Oliver is helping Warren (in the background) drill holes for the bolts.

John made friends with Annie:

Kyle the amazing pianist encouraging all our young piano players:

Ready to leave this morning:

Please pray alongside us again for this trip! Lots of the same requests as before: that these guys would be efficient and safe and not get sick, that relationships with the guys in the village would be smooth and encouraging, that tools would work and every bolt/nail/piece of wood/etc they need would be on hand. And our ultimate goal is that God would be honored in this one trip, in our house building, and in our whole work.

Build Trip 7

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 03:46:54 GMT

The day before Thanksgiving, Zach, Bryan, and Kombuk returned - thank you for praying! This morning they all left again for the 7th trip. So here is an update on trip 6, what we have been up to in the interim, and what they hope to do on trip 7. On build trip 6, Bryan finished all the posts for our new house:

Kombuk helped with the posts (he is there in the background of the picture above), and also worked on building another storage shed.

One thing the guys needed to do was move all electrical to the new office. They were still relying on the Mitchell's old house for powering the internet, charging power tools, and running the freezer. When they tried to pull up the old satellite cable and run the internet to the office, it didn't work. They tried for awhile to fix it and patch it together, but in the end they just had to return it to the old house and put in an order for new cable to come in next time. (Honorable mention to Mac from PBT fielding calls to try to walk Zach through splicing wires together. :)) Here is Zach trying to make it work:

If you have ever had to move houses, you know that after packing necessities and then non-necessities you get to a point where you wonder why you have so much stuff. There are cotton balls, and old files, and cleaning supplies, and kids crafts, and so on... We have felt that way ever since the houses fell and it is still the theme of much of each of these trips. Zach spends so much time cleaning out belongings and trash and furniture and old things and new things and electronics... so that kept him busy on this trip and there is still a lot to do. They got many many things out of the Mitchells' (our things and their things) and they all also began the process of gutting the home. Here is the kitchen after all the upper and free-standing cabinets were removed:

Zach asked to preach at their service on the Sunday they were there. (See the title pic above and another here.) He was thankful to be able to share the gospel with everyone again and afterward had a couple encouraging follow up conversations.

Flying out. This is Zach, Kombuk, and our neighbor in the village: Fainuwo. He has been sick, so we were glad he could catch a ride to Madang to go to the hospital.

Thankful to have Daddy back.

In the two weeks while home, we got back into a normal routine and celebrated Thanksgiving and Annie's birthday. Reading the Bible with an infant:

Thanksgiving meal with the Twomblys.

Keeping a two year old (see her birthday post here - https://cannsofclay.com/annie-s-two ) busy:

Everyone trying to stay cool:

Enjoying the scenery:

Growing up:

We decorated for Christmas and started our advent activities. Here is a picture of our Christmas music dance party.

This morning we said goodbye and the guys left for the 7th build trip. Goodbye to the girls:

(See if you can find two boys in this photo):

Last hugs:

During this next week, the men would really like to completely tear down the last house. In order for that to happen, the last pieces of furniture and bins etc... need to be cleared out and stored, the rest of the cabinets need to be removed and packed, then the solar panels and wires, etc... need to be removed, and then the whole structure will be torn down from the roof down. After the floor is removed, there will also be the task of sorting through whatever personal items have been pinned under the house... and dealing with all the bees under there. Yes, bees. They have moved into the small spaces and taken over it would seem.

Annie's Two!

Fri, 24 Nov 2023 07:17:05 GMT

This little girl is two years old today! She is a joy to our family and it was so fun to celebrate her. She loves jumping and singing and dancing... she loves her baby sister, and loves her brothers a ton, and misses her mom and dad if we are more than 15 feet away.

We are living on the base with the Twombly family, so you will hear about them in her birthday video. Here are some pictures of the birthday girl this week.

Drinking a kulau (coconut water):

Hanging with Ellie:

Jude and Oliver bought her presents with their own money, set them up last night, and then led her down the hall to them as soon as she woke up this morning:

She loves the song "Mr. Golden Sun" so that was the theme of her birthday:

Cake!

With the Twomblys:

I don't think I have ever done a birthday interview with a two-year-old... Since she is hard to understand, I added subtitles:

Thankful for this little girl!

Build Trip 6

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 03:52:44 GMT

Build Trip 5 was successful! While it was a bit crazy to head into the village only eight days after arriving in country, it went smoothly for the guys and smoothly for us back in Madang. Thankful that Bryan is willing to do hard things with Zach to get us into the village soon! And thankful that his wife is willing to do the hard work of life on her own here so he can go and help! Here are some pictures of the week:

Zach got to introduce Bryan to the people we love and got to reconnect with many.

Enjoying time with some of our dearest friends:

Zach and Bryan installed all of the solar panels for the office, installed the lights and outlets, and ran the wiring all back to the main brain of it all.

The only missing piece was the breaker box. So the lights work and the outlets should be functional as soon as the breaker box is installed!

The village installed the outer walls while we were gone, so those were pinned in the final places, interior walls were installed, and even some cabinets.

Also, super exciting: On November 2nd, the men broke ground on our house! Bryan got the four corner posts in the ground and was able to use those to measure for all the rest of the exterior ones.

Back at home we celebrated Halloween. Thanks to the beautiful Kerra, we did more than just our usual one-house trick-or-treating: she helped the kids make spooky themed pizzas and they watched Charlie Brown. But here are the pictures of the costumes:

A greaser, homeless man, Hawaiian girl, and mummy.

A jellyfish, ballerina, and dragon.

We got settled in to our new normal:

Homeschool for the boys.

Preschool (blanket time) for Annie:

These last 13 days back, one major project was cutting and welding the rest of the exterior posts for our new house. They cut them to size and then welded tabs on so they can be attached to cross-bracing.

This morning we said "goodbye" again to our husbands as they head back to Mawerero for another trip.

They are hopi ng to finalize the plumbing and electric on the office, move internet and power over to there (the fridge and freezer), and then get as far as possible with emptying and gutting the Mitchells' old house.

So thankful for Kombuk and Bryan!

In God's kindness, the Mitchell house's electrical system worked after the earthquake and we have been able to charge power tools, use the fridge, and run the internet all 13 months since then. BUT... when the men landed today they found that that system is now dead. This is the trip where we were going to move all electrical to the office anyway, so now there is extra motivation.

Please pray for easy transitions: moving a DC fridge and freezer system, laying satellite internet cables to a new spot... sometimes it is just a matter of FINDING the piece we need among all the piles in that old house.

Please pray for good weather so items can be moved without getting wet.

Please pray for good relationships with those in the village. Zach will be hiring some people to help him, Bryan, or Kombuk.

Please pray for safety and health for them and for us back in Madang.

And please pray that we can all be joyful as we serve God and not ourselves in all of this. His plans may be different than ours and we want to wholly submit to Him.

Thank you to everyone who gives prayer, money, and encouragement to us as we work to see God's name praised in the Finisterre mountains.

Return to Madang and Build Trip 5

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 03:00:43 GMT

Hello from Madang! It has been a bit of a whirlwind this past week. Our last flight from Port Moresby to Madang was canceled, so we spent the night at the "Shady Rest" hotel. That is its actual name. :) It was fine and the restaurant was delicious and it was all paid for by Air Niugini, so that was nice.

Monday we arrived in Madang and were welcomed by the sweet and awesome and lovely Twomblys (Bryan, Kerra, and their three kids). The week has been full of unpacking suitcases, unpacking our boxes here, setting up the kitchen and homeschool spaces, and cooking. A lot of cooking. Plus, we have had lots of good time with Bryan and Kerra; and our boys have played with theirs at pretty much every opportunity.

This week this lady has made us a meal, shared her homemade cookies, and watched all our kids so we could shop.

A heart-to-heart about potty training :)

Blanket (towel) Time

Unpacking old toys.

Getting back into Legos.

Growing up!

Early after we arrived, Bryan suggested to Zach that we charter a commercial heli and they fly to the village asap. He is eager to help us get our office finished and our house built. Bryan has never been to Mawerero, so this trip will help him see the scope and scale of the work as well as some of the obstacles and challenges of working in a remote place.

So... this morning (Monday) Bryan, Zach, and Kombuk left! Phew. They are hoping to get these things done: bracing the office, starting the electrical and plumbing work on the office, building a storage area, and setting the first four posts for our house. Of course, they could do more and of course they could get much less than that done.

You can all pray for efficiency: for having everything they need for a job, for tools that work properly, etc... And you can also pray for relationships: for navigating the business relationships with guys who helped while Zach's been gone, for various requests and problems, for good communication between Zach and Bryan as they work hard in an uncomfortable place.

Goodbye to Dad

Kombuk has been on a couple of the previous trips. He is going to start off today building a temporary-but-strong storage structure while Zach and Bryan start on bracing and electrical.

Last hugs

And you can pray for us here. We have school to teach, infants to nurse, toddlers to chase (and take potty), food to cook, and above all we have to care well for our own hearts and the hearts of these little ones.

Home school this morning. The boys are doing great! And the little girl is... keeping busy for five minutes.

Kerra sent her girls up to help with Annie for 30 mins!

That's all for now! Stay tuned for more updates... whenever we have time next to send them!

Two Months with Ellie

Sun, 03 Sep 2023 23:06:29 GMT

It has been a busy and good two months adjusting to life as a family of six. We love little Ellie and the unique things she brings to the Cann Clan. For a family that has a long history of baldness during the baby years, Ellie is rocking in the hair department. She also wins for having taken the longest to sleep through the night... not a record we were hoping for but a record nonetheless. She loves ceiling fans - we haven't had a baby who didn't. And we think she loves us too. She almost never spits up, which is cool. Looking forward to getting to know here more and more as she grows.

We have been home much during weekday mornings because these boys started school:

As for Ellie, she was able to be with her G-Pop on his 70th birthday...

...and with the whole Thompson family for a reunion:

She was able to meet her Aunties Esther and Emma, plus spend more good time with Auntie Carebear::

She was able to meet her Grandpa Bruce and Grandma Mary:

She also got poked a lot by her curious big sister:

These two months have been full and busy and sleepy and we are so thankful for how God has knit together our family. A few more pictures of the last two months:

Ellie Paton

Wed, 26 Jul 2023 15:25:14 GMT

On June 29, we welcomed Ellie Paton into our family. At 7lbs 1oz and 19.75 inches, she was our littlest one yet, but she beats out her siblings in the hair department.

Pregnancy and labor was certainly more exciting this time around. Ellie was breech, transverse, and vertex (flipping between these three several times) in her last two weeks in utero, and her entrance into the world was more exciting than her siblings'!

Here are some pictures and some more commentary:

Meeting her siblings and grandma at the hospital:

Three days before and three days after:

More photos of Ellie's first few weeks:

We think she looks a bit like Jason Bateman:

As a family, we are adjusting to life with four kids, as well as working to get Ellie's documents in order for our return to PNG. On her 10th day we got her birth certificate, on her 20th day her social security card came, the next day (July 20th) we submitted her passport application (expedited ), and now we are waiting. Once her passport is issued, we can finish applying for her PNG visa and we will be set to leave once that is approved. You can pray with us that it will all be in order by the time our return flights are scheduled: September 27th.

Jude's 11th Birthday and Back to the U.S.

Sat, 08 Apr 2023 20:30:34 GMT

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us as we traveled from PNG to Phoenix! We chaperoned two missionaries' kids, so we were a big group (and certainly got the most preferential treatment during boarding ;)). Though we were delayed by a day on the front end, we made it to Phoenix only about 12 hours later than expected and safely handed the two extra kids off to their grandparents.

Our family spent our first week jet-lagged, sick with sinus infections, and going to the doctor (prenatal for me, allergy testing for Oliver, and a first round of overdue vaccines for Annie). This last week we moved into the rental house (where we will settle for the summer), and started homeschool back up. We have had lots of time with Zach's parents and mine, received meals from friends at our church, and are now all sleeping through the night again.

I have taken almost no pictures, but we did celebrate Jude's birthday with family on the 4th and I managed to get in his yearly birthday interview. We are thankful for this guy! Thankful for his sharp mind, his laugh, and thankful to see him growing in wisdom as he grows in height. This year has been an interesting one: we celebrated his 10th birthday in the states, moved back to the village, saw our house fall down, moved to Madang, and now are back in the states again - all during his 11th year. He and his brother (along with his parents and baby sister) are learning the resilience and dependance that comes with following the Lord in uncertainty.

Deconstruction Trip: Our House

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 20:50:00 GMT

Yesterday the guys returned from the third trip into the village since the earthquake. While the last trip was gutting our home, this trip was taking the structure down and beginning the footings for the office. Here are some pictures (with a little more "how was the trip?" at the end):

Ryan, Lington, Kombuk, and Zach. Kombuk and Lington are trained carpenters who live in Madang. We hired them for these last two trips and have been really thankful for their skill, help, and for the relationships they build with our friends in the village.

Step one: removing the roofing iron.

There was a pretty significant earthquake on the day when they were removing the roof, but no one was on the roof at the time and the house didn't sustain any more damage - for that we were thankful!

Step two: Removing the walls.

Look at our floor!

Taking down the last few walls.

Step three: removing the floor.

Removing the floor trusses.

All that is left for now is our water tank and the concrete footings.

While all the pieces were coming down, we needed to hire other men to remove nails.

Early in the week, Ryan oversaw the construction of this shed to house all the wood.

Organizing the wood by size.

Securing building materials inside.

Ryan worked hard also in marking, digging, and pouring cement for the office footers.

All ten footers done.

We hired several men from the village each day to help.

And many of our close friends came each day to help for free.

The guys spent a full seven days working hard.

You might expect that a trip like this would be difficult. Let me tell you, it WAS difficult. Physically, it was hard. Ryan suffered much with an injured knee and back. Zach and Ryan both had trouble breathing (and therefore sleeping) each night in a smokey hut. And waking each morning with sore muscles to remove nails and haul wood again was tiring. Yes, it was physically difficult.

But let me tell you: emotionally it was more difficult. As an example, removing our boys' green walls: walls that were installed at the cost of lots of time away from wives and kids. Walls that we painted army green for Jude and Oliver in the early years of Mawerero ministry. Walls that saw those little boys do so much growing up. Walls that still had various artwork and nicknacks tacked to them. Those walls had to be ripped out and new ones will have to be rebuilt again some day. Yes, it was emotionally difficult.

Yet Ephesians 5:20, Paul tells the Ephesians that they are to give thanks always and for everything. Not just to always find some reason to give thanks, but to actually give.thanks.FOR.everything. Because of God's promises to us in the gospel, Zach (and I from afar) can give thanks to God for the very removing of our walls since in His wisdom God is doing all things for our good and the good of all those around us who know Him.

We are so very thankful that they finished all they set out to accomplish on this trip. Even more than they expected. And we are thankful to be back together!

Oliver's 9th Birthday and Party

Sat, 14 Jan 2023 20:53:27 GMT

On Thursday, Oliver turned nine! Since we weren't at our normal residence, we celebrated early (New Year's Eve, actually) by doing a pool party at a hotel in town with friends. On the actual day, we celebrated as a family.

We are thankful for how the Lord made Oliver! He loves to laugh and say funny things, he is humble and teachable, and he is affectionate. He loves his baby sister so much that he sometimes smothers her and he is a good friend to Jude.

Here are some pictures from New Year's Eve and from Oliver's actual birthday on the 12th.

Jude, Oliver, Annie, the Mitchells, the Beltramini's from YWAM, and the Paris' from PBT.

Zach, Annie, and Marcos Beltramini.

Elna and Autumn

Oliver chose lemon cake and wanted it in the shape of an O.

On the 12th, we downloaded a new movie for Oliver, and he also got a book from the Lehmans and lots of chocolate.

See below for the yearly birthday interview:

Christmas in Madang

Thu, 29 Dec 2022 21:41:59 GMT

We had a full Christmas season here in town! We got to host and attend some Christmas events with our local church here as well as other mission organizations based in Madang. Thanks to restored internet, we were able to connect with family in the states! Praise the Lord! And though displaced from where we planned to be, we enjoyed some of the Cann Family advent traditions that we do every year. Add to this, that against the odds, we even received a package from our friends in Orland! (USPS no longer delivers to PNG, but they found a way through another carrier.) Here are some pictures of how Christmas looked for us this year.

Being in town means that we get to connect with missionaries from other organizations. We all have a great relationship with the people at Pioneer Bible Translators, which is also based here in Madang. Our first Christmas event was to join in on their progressive Christmas party which included a photo booth (above) and a reenactment of the Christmas story (below).

Oliver and Zach were shepherds and Jude played Joseph.

The boys were invited to a fancy Christmas tea at the Mitchells' home. The other two in this picture are Yohan and Valentina, from Brazil, whose parents are missionaries with YWAM and who live just across the street.

Advent day 3: Bake Christmas cookies.

Advent Day 11: Look in your stocking for a gift. These Lego minifigures were sent with us in our baggage by their grandparents. So fun! The other grandparents sent some Christmas money which we will use to enjoy a date tonight and a night at a hotel as a family on Saturday.

Advent Day 17: Make Christmas cards. It is much easier to make cards here than to find any to buy.

Advent Day 21: Another "Look in your stocking for a gift." For this one, we gave them Pop Rocks (found these in the missionary store at Ukarumpa when I was there!) and an invitation to a fancy Christmas lunch.

Fancy means steak and Martinelli's.

Because we are on school break, we got to have a couple extra dates at the (air-conditioned!) coffee shop nearby.

On Christmas day, we did a gift exchange with the Mitchells. Their visitor, Ian, from South Africa had also brought us gifts! You guys, he thought about items, bought them, and then carried them in his baggage for so many hours. And he hadn't even met us! So thoughtful. Here is Annie with her new teddy bear.

Package from Orland!

I will end with this video of Annie falling asleep at lunch... because this is one of my favorite things.

Family Trip to the Village

Sat, 17 Dec 2022 21:58:01 GMT

Last month we finally had the opportunity to fly back into Mawerero and handle some of the clean up from the earthquake. Zach and I decided that we really both needed to be there, so we brought the whole family.

Though we have lived in PNG for eight years, and in the village for over six, this was a fairly new experience for us as a family. Zach spent many weeks living in a hut during housebuilding, but I and the boys didn't move into the village until we had our home.

We spent five days mainly cleaning up and packing all salvageable personal items, then moving them up to the Mitchell's house. We lived in a hut nearby, used an outhouse, and ate food provided by our hosts. It was a great time for our family and a great time for our relationships with people in the village. (Zach explained this in our last update letter.)

Here are some pictures with more details:

Flying in.

Our awesome pilot, Gavin, with John from SIL. Ryan coordinated with John (who works in construction and maintenance) to come into the village for the day and assess the safety and teardown of our homes. Thankful for his assessment and advice!

John's assessment of our home was that it was unsafe to enter until it could be braced, as the left side of the roof is not well supported and in danger of falling in. So Zach and Ryan worked on that the first day so we could get to work inside.

This is the room our hosts set aside for us Canns to sleep in. Much to their curiosity, we set up Annie's pack n play since we needed her to be able to nap without supervision.

We brought snacks to eat for two of our meals each day. Annie and Oliver are enjoying clif bars and raisins in our room. These clif bars were sent by our sweet friends Jeff and Lorie all the way from America in the Mitchells' baggage.

More snack time with lovely Bangena. Though Annie would cry, Bangena took care of her as much as possible. It was SO helpful since we didn't feel comfortable having her in our house while I was working... what with the roof wanting to cave in and the glass all over the floor.

Also pictured, a green bag full of dish towels we cleaned out of the kitchen after finding a rat's nest inside. Homes left open to the jungle don't fare too well. ;)

Since we had no running water, we retrieved water each day from a pipe about 100 yards away. So we were always thankful when rain allowed us to wash our hands and fill our buckets without the trek! It rained several times during the five days.

Our toilet.

We ate in Ryan's room each evening.

Sharing Annie's raisins while we waited for the heli on the last day. My friend, Rani, thought they were a food ONLY for kids (since I said they were Annie's), so she shared them with any kids who were brave enough to try something new.

After moving all personal items to the Mitchells', we boarded up all the windows to lessen the burden of security for our friends there.

Giye holding Annie while we loaded the heli. I had to take a picture of her being held without crying.

All in all, our trip was successful and our next one will be interior demo on our home.

Happy Birthday Annie

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 20:03:36 GMT

Happy first birthday to Annie! This girl has had a full year. She has taken 17 commercial flights, 2 rides in a fixed-wing kodiak, and 4 helicopter flights.

She slept overnight in 14 places, which included eight states in the US, and then two mission bases, one town, and one village in PNG. Now on to milestones:

Though last month I thought she’d never crawl, she picked it up soon thereafter. She is crawling when she has nothing to hold onto and standing and walking when she does. She hasn’t taken a step on her own yet, but that seems close.

Annie says “Hi” and “Uh-oh” on purpose. She is eating a lot (with only two teeth so far) and says “more” and “all done” in sign language.

Really, she is a sweet little one and the boys are very tender with her.

Jude and Oliver are doing well. The Mitchells are next door and there is another missionary family that lives one street over with two kids the same age - so they have school in the mornings and play outside most afternoons.

In other news, another FinisTerre couple has joined the Mitchells and us at the base here in Madang - Josh and Autumn Miller. They are part of another team, but it has been really nice to have more fellowship. AND awesome Josh Miller has spent some of his days off playing with our kids! They have done water guns, slip-n-slide, and then today he brought out his K’nex and spent a couple hours building things with Jude, Oliver, and Sebastian (the Mitchell’s boy).

Happy Thanksgiving from the Canns!

K'nex with Mr. Miller.

Annie and Jude. Clapping for herself because she stood up on her own.

Annie MAY have burnt her hand on the candle just before we began singing:

Figuring out how to use a spoon because it has birthday cake on it:

More pics from the last month:

Swimming at a hotel and waving to her favorite people.

Jude and I made pasta together for a school project.

This marks the end of the monthly updates on Annie. We are all so thankful that the Lord has given us 12 months with our baby girl!

Annie is 11 Months!

Mon, 24 Oct 2022 20:33:34 GMT

(I was able to get our blog to load! 5:30am there is enough bandwidth to get this out to you all.)

This girl is 11 months now. She is standing all the time and no where close to figuring out how to crawl. It seems like she will be our earliest walker, since she is on her feet all the time and her brothers didn't walk until 15 months. She still has only one tooth, barely, but she is eating more and more and still loves vegetables. She learned to say "hi" and wave to people, which makes her even more popular when we are out and about. She also says "mama" and "all done" now when we ask her to.

This month, besides enduring a large earthquake, she got to see the Mitchells again (we are all so glad they are back!) joined Oliver and me on a trip to the highlands to see the dentist.

She is still super easy, happy, and laid back. Here are some pictures of her and then a couple more of our last month:

With Jude's feet who was trying to get her to smile.

Here are some more pics from the month:

Our guards killed a snake on the property, but didn't want to pick it up to throw it into the fire, so Jude did.

Jude and Mom date at the Lodge coffee shop.

Just a little game of "try to catch daddy and spray him with water."

On our way back from the highlands, we had a layover in Port Moresby where our friends, the Potinus, took us to the Moresby Nature Park to see some animals.

The cockatoos and parrots started squawking so loud that we ran out of this exhibit.

In the airport on our way back from the dentist. Most expensive cavity ever.

A Glimpse of Home Life

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 07:10:46 GMT

O ftentimes, I neglect jumping on the blog to write a quick story, or quickly posting a few photos on Facebook, because I feel like our lives here are so different and I haven’t posted often enough for anyone to be able to really understand.

But I want all of you who are family and friends and supporters to be able to have a context for our lives here! I want you to remember us in your prayers because we need it every day.

So for today, I will post (some un-posed, all un-filtered, some blurry) snapshots taken throughout my day these last couple days and you can at least get a glimpse through my eyes and a quick update on us.

Laundry: Weaning and/or the stomach bug that passed thru here = lots of dirty wet diapers for this baby. During the week of diarrhea, she was happy and content, but she sure did require lots of bathing, washing, hanging laundry, and stuffing diapers.

Saturday is a local "market" day and I can't physically hold Annie, get money out of my bag, and put vegetables into my bag. So Annie sits with Dad and visits.

After a couple days of throwing up last weekend, we went to the waterfall on the boys' first healthy day. They were able to walk there and back, but at the waterfall they were too tired to play, so we sat and chatted.

Sick again. Her belly was so uncomfortable she wasn't napping well, so I put her on my bed and patted her bottom while trying to write an email.

Zach teaching on Sunday afternoons. I am usually standing in back with Annie who likes to yell when there is too much silence. This pic is from a while ago when our coworkers, the Mitchells, were still here.

On our way back from the teaching: Zach entertaining some kids with a trick.

Watching Dad repair a screen.

Laundry, again. Hanging laundry on the line is the reason Annie is usually just wearing a diaper ;)

Last weekend, these boys got it in their heads to type two stories each. They have never done this and they wrote about 4000 words each. SO! This week we skipped dictation, writing, and narrations in school. Win.

This girl loves corn from here so much that we save it for dessert. She doesn't have ANY teeth yet, still, so she just sucks and gnaws on it.

Sick again. There are kids with colds everywhere and it is nigh impossible to keep Annie from the germs.

Unable to agree on how to pose for the picture.

My view right now. This is the cost of writing a blog - give the baby all the markers to dump on the floor and try to buy yourself 20 minutes.

I'll finish with this pic of my friend holding my other friend's baby, because sleeping babies are the cutest.

Annie is Nine Months

Wed, 24 Aug 2022 09:28:40 GMT

Annie is nine months! This baby has had a full month of settling in here in the village and… growing :) No plane rides or trips to new places, just living the dream in t he jungles of Papua New Guinea.

Annie is vocalizing more and seems to be intentional about saying “ta-ta” when people wave at her and “yay” when she claps. She also says “Dada,” which is basically the same word as “ta-ta,” so we will see how that develops. And Zach taught her how to blow kisses and she does her best. (See the video.)

Looking for extra treats in her bib.

Everyone in the village is still so happy to see her and still so surprised at how fat her legs are. She DOES seem to be the fattest of all our kids, as I don’t have memories of Jude or Oliver not fitting in clothing matching their age. Mostly it is her chubby arms that we have to yank through any long sleeves…! She spends lots of time in the book nook just playing happily while life (mostly homeschool) happens around her.

Blanket time is easy when you can't crawl yet.

The boys each have 15 minutes of play time with Annie as part of their day. Annie loves them so much.

Here is a video of everyone trying to get Annie to do her tricks, but she is a little too distracted from all the attention...

A bonus video. Annie likes some games with her brothers better than others:

Back in the Village (+ Annie is Eight Months)

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 05:01:57 GMT

We have officially made it back to our village home. These last five days have been full of lots of work as we settle back into life here. I honestly don't even know what to write here. I could spend the blog talking about our coworkers, the Mitchells... how our whole way here was smoothed by them being in country before us, leaving food and gifts for us in Madang, cleaning our house up here in the village. And how, our transition back into the village has been so much easier this time because we had coworkers here. So any of our friends here in Mawerero who had a request, a spiritual question, etc... weren't waiting for our return. And how much better (infinitely better) it is to have fellowship with like-minded teammates than to come back on our own.

There is much to tell about the status of the work here, as well. Most obvious right now is the ongoing literacy program. While both of our families were gone, the local literacy teachers started and finished the third literacy class. Then, right before our return, the fourth literacy class was completed. I am SO proud of these guys for teaching faithfully! They waited for our return last week to do the fourth graduation ceremony and it was very sweet to hear one of the teachers, Namura, speak about how thankful he is that he gets to be a part of teaching literacy to his village.

Third literacy class graduates

Fourth literacy class graduates

The last significant aspect of our return that I'll mention is bringing a baby back!

All the people, especially the ladies here, were very excited to meet little Annie. Attention was most acute when we landed off the heli and has slowly waned, but seemingly everyone wants to hold and squeeze Annie, and she wants to be held and squeezed by almost no one. So Annie has spent more than usual of her last five days yelling.

In Annie news, she also turned 8 months yesterday. Gone are the days of bows and even pants and here are the days of big cloth diapers and sturdy clothes.

Her eighth month has been a big one. First international flight, first heli flight, and a move to a new house in a new climate in a new country with all new faces.

No crying on the heli = win.

Squeezing in a nap on the way.

No one can believe how fat her legs are.

First time sitting with someone without crying. Might have to do with the fact that Mananuwe didn't run away with her or pinch her... :)

I'll end here with a quick update on Jude and Oliver! These boys have been very happy to be back at their home. A big part of that is due to the Mitchells' kids with whom they have played for hours each day since returning. They also have found all their old toys, like the army men pictured above, and their legos. They are eager for us to get back to all our schedules here (When is family movie night? It is Friday, why aren't we having pancakes?), but I am a little too busy for now to commit to any of that for probably the next two weeks. But I LOVE that they love the routine here and that this home is comfortable for them... after leaving the US with all its desserts and amusements.

We must write another post soon on more aspects of the work and relationships here, but for now I will just say that we are so thankful to be back home and back to work!

On Our Way Back

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 05:19:31 GMT

If any of you have spoken with us through the last month, you would know that we made plans to leave in early June, but they were not God's plans. As Elisabeth Elliot said, when she, like us, did not receive something she desired: "Why? I do not know all of His reasons, of course. The God who orchestrates the universe has a good many things to consider which have not occurred to me, and it is well that I leave them to Him. But one thing I understand: He offers me holiness at the price of relinquishing my will."

After pushing and pushing even to leave a month after we had hoped, and receiving another, "Not yet," from God, he gave our family peace that can only come from Him.

This turned out to be the final, "Not yet." It was in the form of delayed passports which caused us to miss the flights we had booked for July 4th. So we canceled those flights and received our passports on July 5th.

The UPS envelope was so damaged that the passports could have fallen out...

...but all five were still inside and intact!

We rebooked our tickets for July 9th. After all the changes, it felt like we were moving toward PNG still not sure that we would end up arriving here this month. BUT all four flights were on time enough to get us to all our connections, and even all four of our bags arrived safely and on time.

So , from moving out of our house and in with our dear friends, the Hantlas on the 25th of June, to flights the 9th through the 11th of July, to Madang for these last 9 days, we are now 1 day from flying back into the village, Lord willing!

Here are some pictures from our trip.

Since we flew on the night of July 9 and passed the international date line, we skipped Zach's birthday. Jude used the last of his American money to buy Dad a coffee at LAX as a gift. While in the air, we gave him all his birthday cards and small gifts from friends and family.

Just a random picture of Zach as an awesome dad and husband. He is holding a playful baby and is also the favorite pillow for a motion sick boy.

It cost us $35 to sit in this seat that had a bassinet for Annie. You guys, it was the BEST. I put here in there and she slept for 12 of the 14 hours. This long flight turned out to be our easiest.

Celebrating my birthday in Madang. Two dear people sent gifts with me.

Our time in Madang has been sufficient to get over jet lag, connect with some people here, encourage our security guards, and do some logistics, but we are ready to be home.

Hopefully our next blog post will be from there!

Annie is Seven Months

Fri, 24 Jun 2022 18:56:57 GMT

This little one is seven months today. She is sitting and clapping and waving (we think...). This month she got to see her uncle Michael and go on walks almost every day with her grandma Mary. She still adores her brothers and is wary of almost everyone else. ;)

Getting the hang of eating watermelon.

New favorite toy: tupperware with coins inside.

Finishing the Bible

Mon, 30 May 2022 20:27:45 GMT

It took just shy of five years.

I think I was in my late 20s the first time I read the Bible cover-to-cover on my own. For as long as I can remember my parents and pastors encouraged me to do so, but my perseverance would always die somewhere in the wilderness of the Old Testament.

Jude, on the other hand, just finished reading through the Bible this week. He started reading on September 24, 2017, when his Aunt Sandy gave him a new Bible in an easy-to-read translation - the NIRV. At the time, Cassidy and I reminded our boys of what a treasure the Bible is. And what a gift to have the Bible in a translation we can read and understand!! This is, after all, the reason we came to Papua New Guinea. We want all people to be able to read, understand, and believe the Word of God. We want this for ourselves, our kids, and the Ndo People.

We told our boys that reading through the Bible is something to celebrate and that we would have a party whenever they finished the journey, regardless of how many years it took. Jude is a fast reader and plowed through the Pentateuch in just a few months (at the age of 5!!). But like his father before him, perseverance was difficult when so many pages were stacked against him. He's had seasons of consistent reading, seasons of no reading, and seasons of dabbling. Meanwhile, Cassidy and I offered encouragement, reminders, and strategies from time to time. It took 4 years for him to make it through the Old Testament. The turn to the New Testament sparked renewed hope as the finish line finally seemed attainable. During our year-long furlough in the states, Jude made the final push through to the end. He read 8 chapters of Revelation (chapters 15-22) on May 28, 2022 to bring his first walk through the Bible to an end.

We celebrated with an ice cream cake and a special gift - a brand new Bible. This time he chose a Bible just like his dad's, a ESV reference Bible. It will not be as easy to read, but hopefully it will help him study the Scriptures and grow in his knowledge of God. We pray that God would use His Word to awaken new life in Jude and bring him into God's family. And we are praying for Oliver as he continues his walk through the Bible. He's in the book of Judges and struggling. Pray for ya boy!

Annie is Six Months

Tue, 24 May 2022 21:36:24 GMT

Unlike previous months, Baby Girl didn't fly to any new states this month. She is getting better at sitting, tried and disliked solids, loves her walker, and visited the zoo with fun friends. She is low drama - content and happy, but hard to amuse! We almost always record her if she laughs because it is pretty rare. We are hoping her next month pics are in PNG!

Eating oatmeal is the worst.

6 month weigh-in a couple weeks early. 16 pounds, 9 oz. She is currently 50th percentile weight, 75th percentile height, and 95th percentile head.

Zoo with Joneses

Always loves seeing her brothers.

Jude is Ten!

Sat, 30 Apr 2022 00:41:27 GMT

Happy Tenth Birthday Jude!

This boy has had quite a year! From a broken jaw to a full year in America with all its perks (piano, extended family, brownie cake, driving farm vehicles) to a new sister, he has lived a lot of life in his tenth year. We are thankful for this empathetic, analytical, fun boy.

See below for the annual birthday interview, this time recorded at the Washington Monument.

The Christmas Chronicles

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 22:41:40 GMT

The last 10 years in Christmas Cards.

For the last 10 years, we have sent out Christmas Cards with family photos and a poem that summarizes the year. They are a testimony of God's kindness and faithfulness. There are stories of seasons of hope and fear, new life and death, courage and weakness, sunshine and rain, plans destroyed and plans fulfilled. Through it all, the strand of God's unfaltering care. As I wrote in our very first poem, God truly has given us grace "in ways that bend beyond what we can comprehend." So here is a trip down memory lane to the glory of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

2012 //

2013 //

2014 //

2015 //

2016 //

2017 //

2018 //

2019 //

2020 //

2021 //

Welcome to the New Blog

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 22:21:43 GMT

Our blog is back up and running again, thanks to our generous friend, Trevor! Take a look around on the pages to learn more about who we are and what God is doing in the mountains in Papua New Guinea.

Here is our current update video to give you a highlight reel of what has happened since we moved to PNG in 2014:

Why Canns Of Clay?

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 13:33:04 GMT

The good news behind our blog.

We love good news. And the title of our blog is all about good news.

But first, the bad news: We are in trouble with the God of the universe. He is the creator of everything - light, gravity, beetles, blue whales, astroids, and people. And those people did not esteem, acknowledge, or submit to their creator. And their progeny have only continued in the same vein of rebellion. Every single person is born with two terrible identities - immorality and mortality. Everyone is evil and everyone dies. That is bad news. But such a dreadful situation is prime for a spectacular rescue. Jesus, the son of God, came into the world to save sinners (those who have rebelled against God and his glory). He took the place of rebels and died in their place, so that if anyone trusts in him they will inherit righteousness and eternal life - the two things desperately needed. Peter, in his second letter, wrote that grace and peace with God are possible because Jesus' "divine power has given us everything necessary for life and godliness." That is good news.

But of course, while this good news is simple and straight-forward, few believe it. In Romans 10, Paul argues that though everyone must hear, not all have obeyed the good news. Heart change has to happen. How? God uses simple, ordinary, broken people to put God's great power on display.

2 Corinthians 4:6–7 (ESV)

⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

⁷ But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

Cassidy and I were ordinary people, immoral and mortal like the rest of mankind. And then God opened our eyes and showed us the glory of this good news in his son, Jesus! And now we are still ordinary people, earthen jars, but with a great treasure to share with the world.

Our goal is to make disciples, but we are under no illusion that there is any power in us to change people. That power is found in Jesus alone. And we are so thankful that when Jesus sent his disciples out into the world he promised them, "Behold I am with you always, even to the end of the age." So we go with confidence, knowing that the one who goes with us is greater than all the evil and darkness in the world. He overcame that darkness in our own hearts and minds and we believe he can do so in others.

We are but merely jars of clay

Our weakness plain and on display,

So prone to crack when we are thrust,

So quick to crumble into dust.

Completely useless when alone,

We have no glory of our own.

O how we need someone greater,

The living voice of our Creator—

The one who gives us life and breath

And takes the sting away from death.

He overflows our earthen jars,

Repairing all our cracks and scars.

Such sovereign grip and tender care,

That when perplexed, we don’t despair.

We’re poured out, but not depleted;

Often bruised, but not defeated!

We share in both his death and strife

That in Him we might have new life.

Do not lose heart beneath the weight,

For momentary is our state!

And tho our shell will waste away

Our inner self is new each day.

Not through things seen, which soon are gone

But through the LORD, who wakes the dawn.

Not for a second to forget,

How much we owe; how great the debt!

May we give praise to Him who paid it,

And give each day to Him who made it!