Holidays and Beyond

Hey you guys. I hope your Thanksgiving was as wonderful as ours. Emma came from Arkansas and we had such a great time all together just the six of us making memories, (and cookies), playing games, and laughing until we are sore! 

Garth is almost done with his treatments and is doing great. We are so thankful to be living somewhere where he can easily get treatment for his cancer. And so many people have stepped up allowing him to live with them, so his housing has been provided. God is so very good.

I want to give you an update on what's going on with us.

Some things we know and some things we don't know, yet. Garth's last treatment is Dec. 11 and we are planning on leaving the Washington area on Dec. 12 to head toward Wisconsin for the Holidays. After that we are not quite sure what God has planned. Our hearts lie in Papua and we are hoping that all of the details work out for us to go back there. The school in Papua got a family to run the dorm for us while we have been here and so there isn't an immediate need for us to go back as dorm parents. There is, however, a need in August but MAF can't just have us sit around and wait until then. So, as of right now we don't know what is next.

Please be in prayer with us about all of these details. God is such a great God, so full of wisdom and we can trust Him to be faithful and true. 

We will keep you updated as we know. Thank you for always supporting us and praying. God has used you in an effective way in our ministry and we greatly appreciate you.

Garth and Rachel

From Garth

Hi, I just want to update all of you.  

Today, Rachel and I had a meeting with the urologist who performed my biopsy.  He tried his best to explain all of the ways that they grade prostate cancer in regards to aggressiveness and advancement.  We were able to get a gist of what he was saying.  And then we started asking about treatment.  He said that if I lived in the area (based on the grades and scores) he wouldn't treat me right now.  He would just monitor me very closely.  However, since I would like to get back to Indonesia where the medical isn't as good, he suggested that I should investigate treatment at this time.  I've had some friends who've gone through this before and they have given me some good advice.  So, at this venture that's what we will be doing.  Thanks for your prayers and encouragement.  I will try to keep you informed along the way.

From Garth

Well, here we are at the end of a fantastic summer furlough.  We have spent so much great time with our whole family together experiencing some great things.  We've visited family in Wisconsin, attended a memorial service for my step mother in New York, spent a fun week at headquarters in Nampa, and visited some beautiful places in the Northwest as we ended up in Vancouver, WA soaking in the love from New Heights.  It's been a great summer.

But now we come to the end of the summer and have to deal with my medical issues.  Up until yesterday, I was so hopeful that my health issues wouldn't get in the way of our returning to our beloved perch on the hill above Sentani in the dorm.  But God has other plans apparently.  On Friday, August 3, I had a prostate biopsy done because of multiple heightened PSA numbers.  Yesterday, the doctor called me to let me know that the test revealed cancer.  I am confident that it is treatable, but it's going to take some time.  I have an appointment to meet with the doctors on the 20th to discuss what treatment plan would be best.

As you can imagine, we are somewhat reeling with the news.  What's going to happen at the dorm?  Should we start Sophie and Cale in public school here?  How long is this going to take?  What's going to happen to our dog Chester?  But we also know that our Father is big enough to handle all those issues and more.

 I know this email will bring up questions, and right now there are a lot of unknowns. As we get information we will be sure to let you know. As of now, just please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Garth for Rachel and the family

Update from Washington

Hey everybody! I hope you are enjoying your summer as much as I am. We have been connecting with family and friends in Wisconsin, New York, Idaho and now we are all together in the beautiful state of Washington. It has made my heart very happy to have all 6 of the Erickson's together again. God is so good! But, starting tomorrow things are going to change. Wyatt will leave to go back to Corban in Salem, Oregon. He is on the soccer team and needs to get back for pre-season.Emma is going to a college retreat from Aug.5-8 and then will leave for college on the 10th. She is going to go to John Brown in Siloam Springs, Arkansas and Garth is going to drive her the 2,000 miles to get her there. Sophie, Cale and I are supposed to leave Aug 13 to start the trip back to Indo and Garth will follow once Emma is settled. 

        

However, there is a chance that we will stay in the area longer. Garth has had a lot of medical work done during our time here. He found out that he has diabetes and is on medication for that. He found out that he has high blood pressure and is on meds for that. He has also seen a specialist about his Hepatitis C and is currently on a treatment plan to cure that. But the factor that is pressing on us today is his prostate. (Sorry. I know. TMI.) He is going in for a biopsy and will get the results of that on the 10th. That is cutting it close to our departure date. If the results come back and the doctors feel that they need to treat him then we would need to stay in this area longer. That would mean making a lot of decisions quickly. Where to stay, where to put the kids in school, how long to be here, what to do about a vehicle to drive etc.

So, we would appreciate your prayers in all of this. The kids and I are going to be packed up on the 10th just like we would be to leave on the 13th. Garth will be on the road with Emma. We will go from being all together, to being very split up. Pray for Sophie as she would really like to know where she is going to school. She has started making friends at youth group but doesn't want to invest too much in case she leaves in 10 days. I am feeling unsettled because of not knowing. Garth would like to be healthy and do what would be best to help make that happen. So, a lot going on. But God is in control, and we trust Him completely.

Over the nine years we have been with MAF, we have been short-term associates.  That means that MAF has been supplementing our support to the tune of about about $3,000 per month.  We have been so thankful for that.  Seriously, we wouldn't be ministering in Indonesia if it wasn't for MAF, and couldn't do it without you and your prayer and financial support. We are asking you to commit to praying about this need. If you are willing to begin partnering with our ministry or increase your financial support there is a link below. We have two years left in Indo unless God shows us otherwise. We really want to finish strong.

We're all in this together,

Rachel

www.maf.org/erickson

Internet is Back

Hello. We finally have our internet back!!! Woo hoo!! It is definitely a blessing to be connected with everyone again. There were a few government buildings that had internet so I could write emails at home and then drive around looking for a signal and quick try to send them but this is much better!

I hope you are all well. We are in the home stretch here which brings up a mixture of feelings. This is Emma's last year and I am so not ready to say good-bye, but I am ready for a break. This has been a difficult year for us. Very trying and stretching, which has left us quite exhausted. Please pray for us as we have just over 2 weeks left. 

Cale has been sick a lot this year with dengue, stomach infections, his second concussion and now he has mono. His little body is so skinny and he is tired of being sick. Please join us in praying for healing.

We have had a lot of good times of connecting as a dorm lately. Last weekend we went to the beach, grilled chicken and stayed to watch the sunset. That was amazing! We also had three birthdays this last month including Emma's. She turned 18. She is a such a beautiful, kind hearted young lady. I am so blessed to be her Mother.

 One of the difficult things about living here is that there is always a lot of hard goodbyes. This year especially we will be losing some very special people here in the community-some of our dear friends. As much as you try to prepare your heart for that year after year, it is still incredibly hard.

Wyatt is finished with his first year of college (Wow!) and is now in Wisconsin to work. We will be going on furlough this summer! (Yahoo!) We have about 10 weeks and will be spending it in Wis., New York, Idaho, and Oregon. It will be fantastic to see you all again. We really need this break. At the end of the summer, Sophie, Cale and I will fly back to Papua, Wyatt will start his second year at Corban, and Garth will drive Emma from Oregon to Arkansas where she will be attending JBU. We have lots of details to work out with all of that, but we are trusting that God is in control.

Well, happy day to you!

We just might see you soon!

Rachel

OE Pictures

You guys, so much has happened since the last time I wrote. I am bursting with miracles and answers to prayer!

I just got back from 2 weeks in the village of Pogapa. I went with the high school (99 total) for Outdoor Education - OE. Every year the students go to a different village to serve. It was such an amazing time. God showed up in so many ways.  My group and another group hiked from Pogapa 6 1/2 hours to the village of Mapa. An hour from the village one of our boys, J, fell and twisted his ankle quite badly. Some of the locals cut down two trees and made a stretcher to carry him in. 

In the village our second day a fight erupted when we tried to do our HIV/AIDS presentation for the people. God used the Jesus film we brought to calm the people down. God just kept showing up and bringing peace. Peace when a large snake showed up in our path, peace when two kids had their shoes stolen, peace when one of our boys had a panic attack and passed out, peace as the villagers carried J all the way back to Pogapa on our last day, peace when it was too foggy for the planes to land on our airstrip, peace when a man with a badly cut hand came to our clinic and when two scared parents brought their little boy dying of meningitis and we were able to save his life...I could go on and on. It was such a beautiful time. I feel so blessed that God used me.

Above -This is the boy that would have died from meningitis if we weren't there.

Below- this is him a few days after receiving the meds

I love hanging out with the kids!


This was a good-bye feast. The people were so thankful to have us there. I have so many stories, but can't put them all in one email. If you want to see more pictures, check out my Facebook page.

In other news, Garth's step-mom, Priscilla, passed away and he made a quick trip to New York to see his Dad. We are all feeling the loss of such a remarkable woman. On the way back, Garth stopped in Singapore to have surgery on his knee. He is still recovering from that. Two of our dorm kids left to return to their home country of South Africa.

Emma has less than 9 weeks until Graduation and is still undecided for sure where she should go to school. We are planning a quick summer trip to the U.S. after two years away, to get all of our dental, medical, eye check ups, see family and friends, have a memorial for Priscilla, see Wyatt and hopefully get Emma settled somewhere before heading back here to start another year. Please continue to pray for us and all that we have going on.

We are very thankful for you and the part you have in making this ministry happen. God has blessed us with you!

Rachel

OE Update 4

I just received this OE update as I'm about to head down to the airport to pick Rachel up.  Thanks for praying.

Garth

Darren woke up at 4:30 AM to the sound of pouring rain.  By 6 AM the airstrip was covered in fog and the first of many prayers went up “Lord please lift the fog so groups 1 -5 can get out of Pogapa today”. 

By 8 AM they could hear two airplanes circling, but could not see them.  (I understand that one pilot eventually landed elsewhere to wait for the fog to lift!) 

By 10  (or there abouts) three flights had landed in Timika.

By 11:06 all 6 flights had picked up everyone in groups 1 -5 and had headed to Timika.  Thanks for answered prayers.

Currently groups 6 -10 are in Pogapa doing work projects and trying to complete their anthropology papers.

Last night they had a debrief as a whole group and the students shared how God had worked on them and through them during this time.  There were some struggles, but “we could see how God was molding and shaping us”. 

People are starting to get sniffles and colds.  Most are doing all right.  Thomas Barber has been in sick bay resting today as his sore throat came with a slight fever as well.

Darren praises the Lord for a fairly healthy OE. 

For groups 1 -5 – they have enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of the Latumahinas in Timika.  One group did an English class before lunch and then later this afternoon they will head to the church for a big kids club which they will split into TK, lower elementary and upper elementary/SMP.  They will have their final night meeting before heading to bed to get up bright and early to catch their flight to Sentani.

OE Update 3

Sorry that this is getting to you so late.  I've been having computer issues.  And really, it's the only update we've received since the last one I sent to you.  At the end of this email it says we will receive more communication on Monday, but we didn't.  I'll let you know as soon as I hear something.  Thanks for praying - Garth

From Darren – We are ½ way done and God has been working.

This morning Groups 7 – 10 left on their hikes to their villages where they will be until Monday.

Groups 1 – 6 arrived back from their villages and are in Pogapa.  A few groups had a very long hike.

Jonny twisted an ankle on the way to the village on Thursday.  He managed to make it back to Pogapa today where Dr. Di examined his ankle and determined it was just a sprain.  The sick bay remains empty!

The students are recovering from their hikes and enjoying each other’s company. 

Dan and John (John Cutts, the missionary hosting this OE) have been taking turns speaking each evening.  It has been powerful.  To hear about how God has opened up the area is a testament to how God works.  Dan has been sharing about the characteristics of God.

The students have shown an exceptional work ethic and spiritual maturity.  It has been a joy to see.

Please continue to pray.  In particular  that the HIV/AIDS presentations would be well received and understood

Next communication is scheduled for Monday afternoon. 

OE Update 2

From Pogapa:

Wednesday evening the HIV/AIDS video that had been translated into Moni by some of the SPH* kids was shown to a crowd of 700 people in the church.  The crowd was engaged and identified with the characters and that was a big encouragement to see.

Today groups 1 – 6 (Rachel is in group 2) hiked out to their villages.  They were all on the trail by 7 AM!

Please pray for safety and that their lives would be touched by those around them and that they would show love to those people they encounter.

Groups 7 – 10 (Sophie is in group 7, Emma is in group 10) have stayed in Pogapa and they have been involved in teaching English and music to the TK, SD and SMP** classes.  They have also been planting seeds, working on the airstrip and helping with a water project.

All the kids are doing well and working hard.

The sick bay is empty!!!

Thanks for your continued prayers.

*If you don't know about SPH yet, please go to their website and check it out.  It's a vibrant ministry that is making a difference here in Papua.  There are 10 students from SPH joining our kids on OE this year.  This is a first.

**TK = Kindergarten, SD = Elementary, SMP = Middle School

More

Here's one of the first updates from OE.  I will forward these to you unless you don't want them.  And I'll also try to fill in some details that you wouldn't otherwise know.  Thanks for praying.

Hello from Pogapa.  Everyone made it in by 10 AM.  We are all together and we are all well.  Thanks to the pilots who flew us in and thank you to the families that hosted us in Timika and Nabire

​ (If you look at the map of Pogapa that I sent in the last email, you will see Timika and Nabire in close proximity to Pogapa.  These are bigger towns that have paved airports that can handle large commercial airliners.  Groups flew there from Sentani on commercial jets and then were ferried in on MAFs smaller planes)​

.  Thanks be to God for the good weather which allowed everyone to be flown in. 

​(Weather is a major factor when flying into remote villages.  Clouds often move in every day and make flying either dangerous or impossible)​

The group that flew to Nabire yesterday spent the afternoon cleaning garbage from the beach and around the MAF base.  They then did an HIV/AIDS presentation.  It was very encouraging to have the people request that they do the presentation again.  Plans are being made to do another presentation when they pass through there next week!

​This is a photo taken by the MAF pilot of his daughter as she arrived in Pogapa.  The man on the right in the blue shirt is John Cutts.  He is hosting OE this year.  He grew up in this village.

​

Arriving in Pogapa the planes were met with dancing and smiling friends.  The kids have great attitudes and will be working hard.  This evening we will have a talk from Dan Wisley

​ (Dan Wisley is the Bible teacher who will be speaking at the daily meetings with the kids)​

Another OE-Woohoooo

These three cuties just departed, along with the rest of the high school, for OE.  Rachel flew out on Sunday.  She flew with several others on a commercial airliner to Timika, stayed overnight and then MAF ferried them into Pogapa the next day.  Emma and Sophie flew with the rest of the group the next day.  Here's a link to where they are.

Please be praying for them.  Lots of ministry ahead of them.  Pray for restful sleep.  This is always difficult on OE as they are sleeping on hard floor surfaces.  Thanks so much.

​

Priscilla

Hey You guys! I can't believe it is almost March. I hope your year has been as full of blessings as mine! The good and the bad have been chock full of God moments and I am so thankful.

Garth's step-mom Priscilla passed away Jan.29, so Garth made a quick trip home to see his Dad. Priscilla was a wonderful lady full of life and laughter. It was terribly hard to be so far away, but we are thankful that Garth was able to go back. It is always hard to lose someone you love. Thankfully we have so much hope through Christ. What would we do without that hope?

​

Garth has been having loads of pain with his knee so the doctor suggested he go through Singapore on his way back here and  have it checked out. The Singapore doctor was able to repair Garth's torn meniscus, a loss of cartilage and to move his kneecap over since it had been in the wrong place. Currently, Garth is on crutches with a strong knee brace preventing him from bending the leg. Praise for the surgery going so well, and prayers for a smooth recovery.

​

It's been two years since we have been home so we will be making  quick summer trips to Wisconsin, New York for a family memorial for Priscilla, and Oregon to get Emma settled in college.

Yes, you heard me right. Emma and Wyatt will both be at Corban University. Wyatt is finishing up his first year there and Emma will be starting in August. This is a HUGE step for us. HUGE! To be on the other side of the world with two kids in America, trusting God to supply financially for us and for them, trusting God to take care of them when we are so far away. We have been learning more and more what it means to release them to His care. Please pray for the transition of all of that.

We will be spending most of our furlough time in the Oregon/Washington area. We need to get Emma settled, teach her to drive, get her license etc. but we also need some counseling time. Garth and I are fried. This is a hard job and we have had some very difficult moments. We need some time to debrief and reflect on things that have happened and get some counsel on how to proceed. We truly believe that this is where God wants us but that doesn't guarantee that it will be easy. A church in the Vancouver area has been ministering to us for years and has offered to provide us with the care we need. Please pray for Garth and I to be full to overflowing with God's gracious love and comfort, and for wisdom and strength to bring God glory through our ministry.

Thank you for always caring for our family. We appreciate you.

Garth and Rachel

Holidays Together

Hey! I hope you are all still enjoying the wonderfullness of this Holiday season. We are having such a great time together. Thanks to my family and my parent's Bible study group, Wyatt was able to fly to Indo to spend Christmas with us. That has just made it unforgettable for all of us. This is also our last break with Emma. The next break that we have is over Easter and she will be with her class in Bali. I can't believe that she is a Senior. Time goes by very fast, so we are thoroughly enjoying all of these moments.

We get to enjoy our moments in the sunshine and beaches. Many of you are enjoying the falling snow. Either way, we have the same thing to celebrate- The birth of the Savior. The best gift ever. I hope you can take time to reflect on how precious that gift truly is!

There are a lot of changes happening in the dorms. One dorm is closing down so the dorm parents can teach. There is such a shortage in teachers so both of the parents will put their teaching degrees to work at the school. We will greatly miss having them as neighbors. Some of those kids will be moving over to our dorm. Pray for the adjustments there.

Emma is trying to decide exactly what she wants to do with her future. She thought she had it all planned out with a gap year at a camp in Wisconsin but now she is looking into going straight to college. Pray for wisdom in all of this and guidance from God as we figure out how to pay for two kids in college off of a missionary salary.

We also need prayer to decide when to furlough: this summer or next. If we come this summer, we could help get Emma settled into school, but we would need a place to stay and car to drive etc.

We also need to let MAF know if we will be staying past this May. Pray with us as we make this decision.

Here are some pictures of our time.