Montoya Mission UPDATE #7

Malo e Lelei (Tongan for “Hello, how are you?”)
We pray that you all are doing fine. We have just arrived back from Tonga and have completed our 6 month DTS course with YWAM. Yeah!!! It has been an incredible, learning and challenging journey for us.

During our last weeks of outreach in Tonga we saw and did much. We visited the hospital, a home for the disabled, went door to door in a fishing village, and we even shared our story on the national radio and T.V. stations. We prayed for a noble the day before Parliament sessions began. We visited local schools with the YWAM Tonga Team Xtreme (a group of world class athletes, conditioning experts and power lifters with a concern for today's young generations). Those were just a few of the many opportunities we had in sharing our faith with others. We also had the privilege of developing relationships and getting acquainted with the Tongan culture while staying at the YWAM base.

One scary and stressful time in Tonga was when we were in an accident. We were traveling in a van which had only front passenger and driver seating and 10 out of 13 passengers sat on the floor in the back of the van. We were hit on the drivers side and we were thrown around in the van. We suffered some few minor injuries with the exception of a neck injury and a badly broken arm to a husband and wife (Brian and Janet) on our team and also a neck injury to the driver. Brian and Janet were flown back to Australia by a medical air ambulance because the hospital in Tonga was not equipped to care for them. They are now recovering in Perth. We thank God for his protection over our lives!

Next we begin to gear up for the BAS program (Birth Attendant School). Betty will be trained in all aspects of midwifery as they focus on Muslim countries. On outreach our family will be working with the fathers and children as support. It runs from July 5, 2009 through June 5, 2010. To get more information on the BAS program go to: http://www.ywamperth.org.au/bas/

Richard has been accepted on staff and will provide art and media services to the base. Gabriel will be looking into attending college courses in Perth. Emilia will continue home schooling and Isabelle will resume her education at Rehoboth Christian School.

While in Tonga we applied for a temporary one year resident Australian visa. It is still being processed while we are in Australia. Our current student visa expires in July 2009. We are required to leave Australia and re-enter on the new visa which YWAM refers to as a “visa run”. We will travel to the closest country, looking for the cheapest airfare, probably staying at a YWAM base until the visa is granted and we re-enter on the new visa. Please pray with us that everything goes efficiently and quickly.

We are now enjoying ourselves with our dear friends the Wards (Dave, Joanne and daughter Nicole) as they are visiting us and taking in the Aussie way of life! No worries, we will take good care of them. We are blessed to have them with us!

We have come to realize these past 6 months, it is not so much what we DO for God, but who we ARE in God. Our family has grown so much in our time in Perth and on outreach. We can’t wait for what God has next for us. We have been blessed when we bless others. We love you all and miss you heaps. We would love to hear from you. Thank you for your love and support.

Please view our pictures from Tonga and Papua New Guinea (our outreach locations) by clicking on the sidebar photos.

Peace+
The Montoya’s