Finishing the Bible

Zach Cann • May 30, 2022

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!

Literacy Class 5

By Cassidy • September 3, 2025
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:

JAARS Video

By Cassidy • August 6, 2025
JAARS trains and sends pilots over here - we are thankful for them!

Highlands Break

By Cassidy • August 1, 2025
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.

Teaching Video

By Cassidy • July 7, 2025
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

By Cassidy • June 28, 2025
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 😉)

April and Easter

By Cassidy • May 4, 2025
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.

Jude is a Teenager!

By Cassidy • April 7, 2025
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.

Australia Break

By Cassidy • March 20, 2025
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!

Teaching on Baptism

By Cassidy • January 20, 2025
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.

Oliver Turns 11

By Cassidy • January 15, 2025
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.