Ridge Missions

Last month, we shared about a coffee business in Jentuberi, a remote village in Southeast Asia, where agriculture is helping to build trust and relationships. Here is an encouraging update to that story.

Tk* unexpectedly returned home from university and joined the coffee business. In the mornings, she works for the coffee business, and in the afternoons, she helps their team learn the local language. Because of her return, the Jentuberi language is now being written down for the first time. A language once only spoken is being preserved in writing, creating opportunities for future generations to read and treasure God’s Word in their own heart language.

Teammates carefully hand-pick coffee beans from the harvested crops.

Another sign of hope is also emerging nearby: a new home for future teammates. After years of uncertainty about whether other believers would be welcomed into the village, God is beginning to answer those prayers. Soon, the work of cultivating coffee, building friendships, and sharing the good news will be carried out through additional brothers and sisters serving among the Jentuberi!

Please continue praying for God’s provision and for His name to be made known among the Jentuberi people.

*Names have been changed for security reasons.

“How far is too far to share the gospel?” It’s a question Ridge supported missionaries: Matt and Liz Gentry with Wycliffe often ask themselves in Papua New Guinea (PNG).

Scattered across this breathtaking country are remote communities separated by rugged mountains, washed-out roads, and miles of open ocean. Families travel incredible distances to reach schools, healthcare, or groceries. Many of these communities are still waiting to experience God’s Word in their own language.

This month, Wycliffe celebrated 70 years of Bible translation in PNG—a powerful reminder that the gospel is worth every mile traveled. We praise God for 233 completed New Testaments, 12 completed Old Testaments, and 145 active translation programs currently underway!

As Scripture continues to be translated and made accessible, we are grateful for the ways the Lord is also using Matt and Liz to strengthen the local church through Wycliffe’s SALT program—Scripture, Application, Leadership, and Training. By training local PNG pastors, the Gentrys are helping equip leaders to faithfully make disciples and shepherd their communities long after the work of translation is complete.

In January 2026, we shared a story about a coffee business in Jentuberi, a remote village in Southeast Asia, where agriculture is fostering trust and relationships. The story below is connected to our partnership with BLESS and one of our supported workers within their UPG portfolio. Names have been omitted for security reasons. Over the next 10 years, they will continue to focus on language learning so they can translate the Bible into their 💚 heart language.

“The months since our planting day have been difficult. A fungal disease destroyed one-third of our coffee nursery, leaving us uncertain how to provide seedlings to families who placed their hope in our coffee co-op. Language study has slowed without a consistent translator. Our team is stretched thin. And as our children grow, we navigate how to help them trust a good Heavenly Father while they witness the daily weight of poverty around them.

These questions are real. At times, anxiety and fear feel close.

But when we turn toward the light of the Son, those struggles begin to settle into perspective. Still present, but no longer overwhelming.

The loss of seedlings has deeply affected farmers who courageously left behind low-yield crops for sustainable coffee. Their desperation sometimes shows as frustration, yet beneath it is a deeper longing—for stability, for assurance, for something certain to trust.

It’s painful not to deliver what we planned. Yet this moment is revealing something greater: material scarcity often exposes a deeper spiritual need.

Even here, hope is growing.”

🙏 PLEASE PRAY for restored provision—for healthy seedlings procured in-country and wisdom to meet practical needs. Pray for open hearts in the village, for perseverance for our Jentuberi team, and for their children to grow in deep, steady trust.

https://austinridge.org/groups/upg