July 2025
Dear Praying Friends,
Is there anything better than yielding yourselves under the Hand of the Almighty? No. Nothing. It is such an exciting journey walking hand in Hand with the One Who would have all men trust in Him. Even in the hardest of trials we have faced over the years, our Lord has been there every step of the way. His Word continues to sustain us during these days of furlough. Our hearts are in PNG, and pray that all will go smoothly as we progress in this time of recess. The biggest prayer concern is getting our work permits renewed and visas put into our Passports before the end of December. Our current visas expire in December. Please pray that the Immigration Office in Port Moresby will not delay the application process that will commence by the end of August. There are new changes in this process, so we pray that it will not be too complicated.
Father has provided so many hand-fulls-on purpose thus far. Since our last newsletter in May, we have presented the ministry to 17 different churches. So many kind words, helping hands and care from the Body of Christ has been shown to us. One of the most encouraging meetings we were able to attend was in Montreal, Canada at the Bible Baptist Church. The “All Canadian” is an annual preachers meeting to encourage the Independent Baptist Churches and WOW! it was such a spiritual blessing. After being out in the jungles of PNG for 3.3 years, we sure needed that “shot in the arm”. I had not been to a “revival” meeting like that since I was a boy. It definitely was a refreshing time. To God be the Glory, for He doeth all things well.
This past June, Christi and I were able to take (and successfully pass) the Supervisor Training course for the ACE schooling curriculum. As we have been praying, and as the Father supplies, we have a vision for more education among our Baptist children of Kaintiba. ACE has a course that is made for students learning English as a second language. It also has character building lessons that are needed to develop a righteous generation. Please pray with us as we seek to do as much as is possible to get these first-generation Christians able to READ God’s Word for themselves. Herein they will be able to grow and mature in a greater way.
Our car (that was given to us) has been running well. A few weeks ago, as we were driving down the road, I THOUGHT to myself: ‘This car is going to need new tires soon”. Within 2 days, cash was placed in my hand, which was the amount to replace all 4 tires. Not even my wife knew my thoughts concerning this need, and I never mentioned it to anyone else. Only Father knows our thoughts “afar off”. When the tires were replaced, the tire shop employee mentioned that the rear shocks and springs needed to be replaced also. A week later, I found an auto repair shop (Righter’s Auto Repair, Grand Ledge, MI) that could get the car in for this repair work. When I went in to pay, they told me that they had received a call by someone who paid for it anonymously. WOW! So many like things have been keeping us moving to the goal of raising new support and encouraging people to enter into the work of foreign missions.
We pray for you all, and thank Father for His mighty Hand in our lives. 21 years ago we set out on this journey to do this work in PNG, and He has never failed us. Any person who submits to the Lord will have no regrets!
Christi’s Corner: This furlough so far has been very busy. I was blessed to be asked to teach the ladies at the Word for the World meeting this year. The other missionary wives that taught were also a huge help to me! The theme was “45 years and Counting”. It was a great meeting with many Veteran missionaries there.
As Mark also mentioned, being able to visit with long time friends and getting to be a part of special meetings along the way has been a big boost to our spiritual and emotional tank.
We have a new driver driving us around quite a bit. Hope has her permit. Serenity is getting hers on the 21st of August when she turns 16. AHH! Two new drivers?!
God is good all the time! All the time God is good!
For His Glory,
Mark and Christi Helzerman
Hope, Serenity, and Glory
(Hadassah and Grace are living in the USA now)
E-mail: mhelzerman@gmail.com