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!

Juli's Funeral

By Cassidy • October 31, 2025
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.

Millers' House Build

By Cassidy • October 30, 2025
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.

50th Independence Day

By Cassidy • September 28, 2025
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:

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.