Le Mahieu Letters From PNG

Home Sweet Home

2011-09-04T15:08:00.000-07:00

Iowa - Exploring Old Haunts

2011-09-04T14:58:00.000-07:00

It is great to be in our home again after 3 years away. Our intentions were to sell our acreage in 2008, but God in His providence knew how important it would be for us all to have a place to come back to that we could call home for this year.

More Mount Rushmore

2011-09-04T14:35:00.000-07:00

Mount Rushmore

2011-09-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

Good-byes at the airstrip - June 24th

2011-08-26T09:16:00.007-07:00

After months of preparing for furlough, the day finally arrived; we were excited but saying good-bye to new friends was hard too.

Wisconsin

2011-08-26T09:16:00.006-07:00

We flew Port Moresby to Hong Kong to London to Chicago. The entire flying time was about 28 hours, not including an eleven hour layover in London. Doug’s parents, and sister Rebecca, husband Jim and their 2 little girls picked us up in Chicago. It took us about a week before we weren’t falling asleep at 6 or 7 pm every night. Doug’s parents live on a lake so the kids had a great time swimming and kayaking, and tubing with their Uncle Devin.

Alberta, Canada

2011-08-26T09:16:00.005-07:00

We spent 3 weeks in Canada with Benita’s family. There were a few more boy cousins for the boys to play with and we didn’t see them most of the day as they kept themselves busy with building forts, 4-wheeling, and fishing.

Working on the Farm

2011-08-26T09:16:00.004-07:00

The boys had a good time working on the farm too. It was nearing harvest time, so they helped harvest beets.

Hiking in the Canadian Rockies

2011-08-26T09:16:00.003-07:00

River Fun

2011-08-26T09:16:00.002-07:00

Montana - Road To the Sun - Glacier National Park

2011-08-26T09:16:00.001-07:00

We spent some time in Montana visiting Benita’s sister and brother-in-law. The hiking in the park was spectacular.

First Snow!

2011-08-26T09:16:00.000-07:00

The kids were excited to see their first snow in 3 years!

Walking Home

2011-05-22T00:53:00.000-07:00

Presentation and Dedication of the Agarabi New Testaments

2011-05-22T00:51:00.000-07:00

It was a special moment when the Bibles were carried to the front and the
boxes opened.

Onlookers

2011-05-22T00:47:00.000-07:00

Drama

2011-05-22T00:45:00.000-07:00

A drama was presented about life for the Agarabi people before contact with
the outside world and knowledge of the gospel.

Agarabi New Testament Dedication

2011-05-22T00:40:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, May 22, 2011 our family had the priviledge of attending the
Agarabi New Testament Dedication ceremony. This New Testament translation
had been started in 1959 by various teams and now completed by a family who
had been with the Agarabi people since 1995.

William and Tia

2011-05-20T16:38:00.001-07:00

Last night was "Hamburger Night". The teens in the community on most Friday
nights sell burgers and fries and it's a fun family thing to do. William, a
translator friend from Enga Province, is sitting beside Tia. Tia has got
into wearing the "Highlands Hat" with the PNG colors, made by the nationals
here.(not that it's cold here or anything:)

View from our backyard

2011-05-20T16:33:00.001-07:00

A few scenes from our back yard; the red grass is blooming which is so
pretty, but not good for allergies.

Cole's 8th grade play

2011-05-20T16:28:00.001-07:00

"A Brief Unit on Interdimensional Heroism" was the play performed by the
Grade 8 Drama Class. Through "molecular defibrillation", the class travels
to other interdimensional locations and must save the world. Interesting!

STEP course

2011-05-20T16:12:00.001-07:00

Lukas (man second from the front in striped shirt) is the literacy worker for the Gwahatike language on the Rai Coast. He came to Ukarumpa the beginning of May for a STEP course – Strengthening Tok Ples (vernacular) Education in Papua New Guinea. It was a computer course to help literacy workers design literacy materials for their area. Only about 20% of the people on the Rai Coast are able to read. For many of the participants in the STEP course this was the first time they used a computer.

Martin

2011-05-20T16:06:00.000-07:00

The end of April, Martin,(one of the national translators on the Rai Coast)
came up to Ukarumpa to visit us. A year ago, he had fallen off the roof of
his new house(shown on picture - plant marks place where he fell). He had
suffered a compression fracture at that time, and was still experiencing a
lot of pain and not able to continue with his activities in the village. We
experimented with a TENS transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation)unit
and got him on a regular schedule of anti-inflammatories and a muscle
relaxants, and after about a week, he felt ready to go back to his village.
He recently called and is doing great and continues to use the TENS unit in
his village. It will be interesting to see how the TENS unit holds up in
the village with the hot, moist weather.

Gathering wood and taking a break!

2011-04-09T18:56:00.000-07:00

My special friend

2011-04-09T18:53:00.000-07:00

I was happy to see my special little friend, named Allen. It was so good to
see his beautiful smile again. In village living he was always our escort
whenever we went somewhere; we found him playing on the beach when we
arrived.

Swimming in the Ocean

2011-04-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

We visited our "wasfamili", the family we spent 5 weeks in the village with,
when we first arrived to PNG in August 2008. It was great to see them
again, and swim in the ocean. Unfortunately, the sand flies were still a
problem, and we came back covered in bites. While in village living, we had
a constant battle with skin infections from the sand fly bites.

Trip to Madang

2011-04-09T18:44:00.001-07:00

April 5th, our family also set off for Madang, with Nafian's motorbike on
the bike of a pick-up truck. He wants to use this bike in his travels from
village to village visiting different translation teams. It was slow going
as there are two mountain passes to go through before you get to the coast.

Back Home

2011-04-09T18:37:00.001-07:00

On April 4th, Nafian and Janet began their trip back to their village. It
had been over 2 months that he had seen most of his family. They drove with
another family the 4 1/2 hrs to Madang, then caught a boat to the Rai Coast,
and then another 3 hour hike back up to his village. It was a happy reunion
for them all, and we praise God for allowing Nafian to continue his teaching
and mentoring in Bible translation.

Nafian's recovery

2011-04-09T18:32:00.000-07:00

Following a 2 week stay in a provincial hospital in Madang, Nafian and his
wife Janet came to live with us to continue his recovery. He had some tests
done at the clinic in Ukarumpa, which showed improvement of his liver tests.
The cooler air of the highlands also helped him in his recovery. Seen here
is Tia and Nafian watching "Swiss Family Robinson".

Prayer Request For Nafian

2011-02-21T21:24:00.001-08:00

Soon after Doug's visit to the Rai Coast we had word that Nafian was ill. Initially he thought malaria and treated himself. He never improved and since then has developed a myriad of symptoms. This situation has been especially difficult for a number of reasons. His language team at this moment does not have an official advisor working with them because he has been on furlough. Often advisors working closely with the national translation team also act as advocates for them in many different areas, including medical issues that arise. We are a 5 hour drive and then boat ride from him, so although we communicate frequently on the phone, it has been hard to get a clear picture of his medical situation. Nafian also waited very long to seek medical care, despite frequent urgings from us to see a doctor in town. Dealing with a medical system that is very different than ours and limited resources is also a constant challenge. On different occasions we've heard he had malaria, typhoid and the most recent mumps. We saw him last Saturday and were extremely concerned about his condition. Please pray for him that God will heal him. Pray that the tests they are doing will not reveal anything ominous. Pray we will put him in God's hands. This has been an emotionally draining time for our family.

We also apologize for the gap in communication. We have not been able to send out updates due to our computer's hard drive crashing over a week ago. I don't know when we will have access to it and retrieve all our addresses.

Thank you for sharing this burden with us.

Weary traveller arrives home

2011-01-15T23:18:00.000-08:00

Doug made the trip home in two days. He got on a boat again and went to the
city of Madang, stayed the night, and got on a PMV (public motor vehicle)
home. It was about a 5 hour drive. He was wet and tired, but so excited
about the trip. He really felt it had been a time of building relationships
and making connections with the people on the Rai Coast.

Miscellaneous pictures

2011-01-15T23:14:00.012-08:00

Market Day

2011-01-15T23:14:00.011-08:00

Once a week, nationals come to sell their produce at the market.

Translation office

2011-01-15T23:14:00.010-08:00

This is the central office where the translators keep their supplies.
Although Doug doesn't consider himself computer savvy, he was glad to be
able to help them with some computer questions, and get their printer in
working order.

Sunday worship

2011-01-15T23:14:00.009-08:00

On Sunday, Doug was asked to give a little talk on why he was there. He took
the opportunity to build awareness for Bible translation, and the importance
of the work that Nafian, Roman, Noel and Martin are engaged in. It is
important for the villagers to feel like they are part of the project also.

Martin

2011-01-15T23:14:00.008-08:00

One day Nafian and Doug went to visit Martin and his family, another
translator we've become good friends with. Martin is the one who fell off
the roof of a new house he was building (pictured) and suffered a
compression fracture in June. His back is still giving him troubles, and
his wife is working hard to help complete the house they began. Martin's
little girl, also pictured, had heart surgery a few years ago.

Roman and Noel

2011-01-15T23:14:00.007-08:00

Roman and Noel are the other two translators working on the Rai coast that
we have gotten to know.

Cocoa beans

2011-01-15T23:14:00.006-08:00

Cocoa beans are being dried in this cocoa dryer. The difficult part is
getting the beans to town to be processed.

Movie night

2011-01-15T23:14:00.005-08:00

On two evenings they got out a generator and old T.V and watched a Michael
W. Smith concert. They were surprised when Doug told them that when he was
in college he had gone to a Michael W. Smith concert. "That can't be. He
can't be that old", they said.

Literacy

2011-01-15T23:14:00.004-08:00

Lucas, shown with his family, is one of the literacy workers in the
community.

Yam garden

2011-01-15T23:14:00.003-08:00

Nafian and Doug worked a bit in Nafian's yam garden. Yams are a staple food
for Papua New Guianeans.

Runway

2011-01-15T23:14:00.002-08:00

This is a airplane runway used during WWII. It the locals would keep the
grass cut it could still be used as a runway today.

Cell phones

2011-01-15T23:14:00.001-08:00

I had the habit of calling Doug at the most inopportune times. Actually,
most of the time we didn't have a good signal, and the calls kept dropping,
but at least he could check in with us almost every day.

Papaya

2011-01-15T23:14:00.000-08:00

The coast has the juciest fruit you can imagine (especially when you're hot
and thirsty it tastes so good). This is a papaya. Although we grow papaya
in the highlands, they are not near as big or sweet.

Vanilla crops

2011-01-15T21:41:00.001-08:00

Vanilla crops are one kind of cash crop in PNG. Roman, Nafian's brother,
also a translator, is seen here pollinating the vanilla pods.

Others in the village

2011-01-15T21:37:00.001-08:00

Nafian's mother is an elderly lady that is almost blind. A "nursing home" is
a very strange concept to Papua New Guineans. Their elderly parents are
taken care of by the family and clan.

The shower

2011-01-15T21:33:00.001-08:00

Using bamboo cut in half, water drains from a far away stream, down the
bamboo, into a barrel. This was one of the washing places; they often use
the river, but thought it was too far away for Doug to walk to.

Nafian's village

2011-01-15T21:30:00.001-08:00

Doug stayed in Nafian's house (the furthest house away on the picture). The
middle building is the "haus kuk" where they do all their cooking, and
Nafian's mother stayed in the 3rd house.

Sights along the way

2011-01-15T21:25:00.000-08:00

The next morning they started the climb up to Nafian's village. As hot as
it was, Doug was surprised to see the little child in a snow suit!

Doug's trip to the Rai Coast

2011-01-15T21:23:00.002-08:00

January 4th - January 14th Doug was able to take a trip out to the Rai coast
to visit the villages of some of the national translators we've gotten to
know. He took a plane to Madang, got on a boat pictured here, then hiked
further inland about 3 hours up to Nafian's village. The dip between the
faraway hills is where he was heading.

Stopping overnight

2011-01-15T21:23:00.001-08:00

Since it was too late to get up to Nafian's village they stayed the night in
a nearby village. They slept in something called a "haus boy"; sleeping
quarters for the younger men of the village who all stay together in one
house.

Stopping for Gas

2011-01-15T21:23:00.000-08:00

This is the gas station the boat stopped by to fill up. It was about a 2
1/2 hour boat trip.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-19T16:50:00.000-08:00

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We feel it has
been an incredible blessing for us to be here in PNG supporting Bible
translation and we know that without all your prayers, encouragement,
emails, and financial assistance this would not have been possible. Thank
you!! We hope our newsletters have helped you realize what an important part
you have played in spreading God's kingdom around the world.

Although we will miss being with family and friends, we look forward to
spending Christmas day with a translator couple from Switzerland, and their
two national translators. God bless each of you as you celebrate Christ's
birth.

Return to PNG

2010-12-13T00:03:00.001-08:00

December 10th we flew back to PNG, and it looked even more beautiful to me
than usual. We were so thankful to be back and be reunited with the rest of
the family again, and want to thank everyone who prayed for us and supported
us in so many different ways. It's great to be part of the body of Christ.

Tourists in Cairns

2010-12-12T23:57:00.001-08:00

The last week we rented a car and visited the zoo as well as some beaches.
Cairns is a beautiful place to vacation, but it wasn't quite the same
without the whole family being there to enjoy it.

Another hospitalization

2010-12-12T23:47:00.001-08:00

The next few weeks dragged by as we waited for his foot to respond to the
antibiotics, made a few changes in antibiotics, obtained an MRI, reopened
the foot and washed out the joint, restarted IV antibiotics for a week, then
returned to our hotel on further oral antibiotics.

McDonalds in the hospital

2010-12-12T23:42:00.000-08:00

November 4th the abscess was drained and the next day, a very kind friend
brought Leif McDonalds which he hadn't had in a long time. Needless to say,
it disappeared quite quickly. I was happy to have an iced coffee.

Getting ready to leave

2010-12-12T23:36:00.000-08:00

Noah and Tia were anxious to say good-bye to Leif; little did we know we
would be gone for 5 weeks. As we put on the water vests, I kept thinking to
myself that hopefully we wouldn't be needing to use them. We flew in the
new Kodiak airplane.

Leif's medevac to Cairns, Australia

2010-12-12T23:32:00.000-08:00

On November 3rd, 2010 Leif and I were sent to Cairns, Australia for an
infection of joint and bone in Leif's foot. He initially had a soccer
injury, but then an infection he had simultaneously in his elbow, travelled
to his foot.

Bible Dedication

2010-10-28T22:47:00.000-07:00

The Yopno New Testament was dedicated this past August. Wes and Leann
raised two children while they were in PNG working with the Yopno people.
Their children, along with an in-law and grandchild, were able to return to
PNG for the dedication. Wes and Leann spent over 20 years working on the
translation, and just returned to the U.S this month to begin a new phase of
their life.

Back to Ukarumpa

2010-10-09T18:16:00.001-07:00

Ukarumpa from the air

In Madang

2010-10-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

While in Madang, Doug visited the market, which is a lot bigger and has more
of a selection than our market in Ukarumpa.

Martin and his family

2010-10-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

Doug was able to visit with Martin, one of the national translators we've
talked about in our newsletters. Approximately 4 months ago, Martin fell
off the roof of his village house and ended up with a compression fracture
in his back. He needs to stay in Madang for at least another 6 weeks before
he can attempt the boat trip of 3 hours out to his village. His wife and
little girl, Karisma, who is Tia's age are staying with him in Madang,
because Karisma was just recently hospitalized for malaria. A few years
ago, Karisma also had heart surgery for a congenital heart defect. Martin
is anxious to get back to his village because he has 2 other little boys at
home whom he hasn't seen since June, when he had the accident.

Flight to Madang

2010-10-09T18:03:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Doug had the opportunity to fly to Madang (a city on the coast of
PNG) for the day. It was over a year ago that we were all in Madang. To
drive it would take at least 6 hours depending on the roads. It's a
beautiful drive, but the roads aren't always the greatest to travel on.

Tia's 7th birthday

2010-10-09T02:18:00.000-07:00

October 1 Tia celebrated her 7th birthday.

Marching Band

2010-09-18T19:04:00.000-07:00

Cole and Leif both love marching band. Cole plays the clarinet and Leif plays the trumpet.

Beautiful Rai Coast - Madang Province

2010-09-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

Our friend, Nafian and his family are pictured here. Nafian is a Papuan New
Guinean translator working on the Rai Coast in the province of Madang, with
the Madi people. His house is pictured in the dusk, close to the ocean.

Sports Day at the Primary Campus

2010-09-18T14:59:00.001-07:00

Sports Day is always a highlight of the school term for the kids. The
rivalry between the yellow and red teams makes it a lot of fun. This year
the scores between the two were so close they needed a tug-of-war to break
the tie in favor of the red team.

Little Tia/Big Tia

2010-09-18T14:54:00.001-07:00

A friend of ours named their little four month old girl after Tia. Tia was
pretty pleased!

Trapped in our compost bin

2010-08-18T23:31:00.000-07:00

This bird which looks like a hawk to me, but referred to here as a 'kite',
was found in our compost bin.

Yeah!! The treehouse is done!

2010-08-18T23:22:00.000-07:00

Today the kunai grass roof of our treehouse was finished. The kids are
pretty excited and hope for a sleep out this weekend. Morvin, our yardman,
and his 2 brother-in-laws and wives cut the grass, and today they put it all
up. It is pretty labor intensive, especially cutting the grass.

Happy Birthday J.C

2010-07-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

Today J.C is one year old. He has been so much fun for the kids. They
wanted me to make a birthday cake for him, but I think he'll get a bone
instead.

Treehouse project

2010-07-05T15:06:00.000-07:00

We have 5 weeks of school break and are working on a treehouse project.
This is stage one. The next part is builing a bridge to the next tree(which
you can't see) with another room. I don't know if that will happen or not.
We only have 2 weeks of break left.

"This is Alpha 338"

2010-07-05T14:49:00.000-07:00

The radio is a great tool, used here to communicate with translation teams
out in their villages. Often cell phone reception is not good or not
accessible at all for those teams back in the bush.

Here Doug is talking with Nafian (the man pictured a few blogs ago). "This
is Alpha 338. Nafian yu stap?" Unfortunately on this occasion, Nafian was
having troubles with his batteries on his radio, so he could hear Doug, but
Doug had a hard time hearing him. We hope to see Nafian again in a few
weeks, when he and a few other men from his team come to Ukarumpa for a
Hebrew class.

"Bikpela Kus"

2010-07-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

On a recent village clinic to do well-child check-ups, one of the most
common complainst we heard was that their child had a "bikpela kus".
(Strong cold). Respiratory illnesses like pneumonia/bronchiolitis are very
common,(PNG'eans are around fire and smoke a lot - they sit around fires,
cook over fires, and burn in their gardens).However on this occasional only
one child required antibiotics for a possible mild pneumonia. We weigh the
babies and chart growth and development. Other things we can treat for
while on a village clinic is malaria,skin infections, and eye infections and
worms.

Translation in Ukarumpa

2010-07-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

When national translators come to Ukarumpa to help work on the translation
they spend a lot of time in these little rooms. William, shown in the
picture is from Enga province, and is working on the New Testament
translation with a couple from Switzerland. His language group has about
700-1000 speakers. Willaim, age 26, finished grade 12 and would like to
apply to teaching colleges.

Nafian

2010-06-06T03:40:00.000-07:00

This past month we had the pleasure of getting to know Nafian who was in
Ukarumpa for 5 weeks teaching workshops for other national translators.
Nafian who helped with the translation of the New Testament for his own
language group, the Gwahatike people (completed in 2000), now is mentoring
other PNG's in another language group, the Madi's who live in Madang
Province on the Rai Coast.

Leif's 12th and Cole's 14th Birthday

2010-06-06T03:02:00.000-07:00

Sports Day at the Highschool

2010-05-23T03:34:00.000-07:00

Cole had a great time on Friday and Saturday competing in Sports Day. Over
the years the school has been divided into two teams, Alpha(red) and
Beta(blue). For the last 6 years Beta has won, but this year Alpha came out
on top. Our whole family is assigned to the Alpha team, so Leif, Noah and
Tia had to take turns waving the Alpha flag.

Water Tank

2010-05-23T03:21:00.000-07:00

Our drinking water is collected in this tank off the roof when it rains.
Since it it dry season now, we do need to conserve water a little and use
the river water for washing clothes and showers. The river water is pumped
into our houses.

One of the last days of Rainy Season!

2010-05-23T03:15:00.000-07:00

Leif and 3 of his school friends almost demolished our front yard after a
soccer game. I think most of the moms are thankful that we have left rainy
season behind!

Cole and Leif's First Recital

2010-03-08T22:43:00.000-08:00

On Sunday Cole and Leif had their first recital. I accompanied them both on
the piano. Leif played, "Emperor's Hymn" by F.J. Haydn, and Cole played
"Autumn", by Vivaldi. Cole also played a duet with another boy in his band
class.

Book Character Day at the Primary School

2010-03-05T06:39:00.000-08:00

The kids had fun dressing up as a book character today. Leif was a union
soldier from "Killer Angels", Noah was Gilligan from "Gilligan's Island",
and Tia was "Super Girl" (not exactly book characters, but they had fun
anyway). Every year the primary school has a book festival week, where the
kids do activities all week based on books. ie. reading contests, making
dioramas of books, etc.

Cole's first basketball tournament

2010-03-05T06:33:00.000-08:00

Cole had a great time playing in his first basketball tournament last
weekend.

Fun at the River

2010-02-19T16:49:00.001-08:00

Saturday was another fun day at the river. Jerad and Freddie, the two PNG
boys in Leif's class, were so protective of Noah and Tia. It was really cute
to see. The water was a little higher and faster than we had anticipated,
due to the heavy rains.

BTA - Bible Translation Association

2010-02-19T16:49:00.000-08:00

These are the headquarters of the Bible Translation Association of Papua New
Guinea. The PNG Bible Translation Association is a national organization in
Papua New Guinea committed to translating the Bible into the languages of
the country. It is also involved in literacy -- teaching people to read and
write in their own languages. It was formed in 1974 by PNG Christians. To
date it has produced several New Testaments and assisted thousands of people
in learning to read. BTA works closely with the churches in PNG.

Lote New Testament Bible Dedication

2010-02-19T16:30:00.000-08:00

In January, another New Testament dedication took place on the beautiful
island of East New Britain. Some of the pictures were taken by a friend who
was one of the photographers at the event. The island of New Britain is to
the East of Papua New Guinea. To get to the dedication involved both plane
and boat transportation, so our family was unable to attend. At some time
during our stay here, we hope to attend one of the dedications. Right now
there are approximately 10 dedications scheduled for 2010.

Scripture Use Conference

2010-02-19T15:56:00.000-08:00

In the middle of January, a Scripture Use conference took place in Ukarumpa. Over 31 churches and para-church organizations attended the conference from all over PNG. There were 69 participants, although some arrived late due to landslides and roads being washed out. This was the first time a conference like this was held, uniting together church leaders from various denominations in PNG for a time of dialogue and encouragement. Workshops were held about Bible translation, children’s ministries ideas, and how to incorporate the “tok ples” Bible (vernacular) into their worship services. It was a time for pastors to make connections across the country, and strengthen and encourage each other in how God’s word can transform individuals, families and the nation.

Our family was able to talk with a pastor who was involved with recording the scriptures on audio players. Although, literacy work is done alongside Bible translation, there are still many who do not know how to read. This avenue opens up God’s word to these people. In a country where stories are passed on by mouth and memorized, recording scriptures is perfect for them. It was exciting to hear about this work.

Rainy Season

2010-02-19T14:56:00.000-08:00

These are the roads between the highlands and the coast. Without a 4 wheel drive, at times they are impassable.

Selling Kerosene bottles

2009-12-30T13:50:00.001-08:00

These men are selling the plastic juice and pop bottles to people needing
kerosene. Outside of town most people use kerosene lanterns since they
don't have electricity.

Trip to Kainantu

2009-12-30T13:46:00.000-08:00

Kainantu is a town about 10 minutes from where we live. We went with some
friends who had a vehicle to go second hand clothes shopping. The next
nearest place to go clothes shopping is 2 and half to 6 hours away.

Police Vehicle

2009-12-30T13:43:00.000-08:00

PMV - Public Motor Vehicle

2009-12-30T13:41:00.000-08:00

This is a common mode of transport in PNG - the PMV. It's usually so full
of people that you wouldn't think you could fit anyone else in, but there
always seems to be room for one more. When we were in the village and Noah
cut his foot with a bush knife, we took a PMV to town. It wasn't too
comfortable, especially since we were stuck in the middle on the floor. :)

Time to eat

2009-12-17T00:12:00.000-08:00

After the singing and speakers, it was time to eat. The men retrieved their
plates and got in line. We were able to feed about 150 men and had some
food left over for the prison guards. Our prayer is that the Holy Spirit
will continue to convict the hearts of those who do not know Christ.

Prisoners say thank you

2009-12-17T00:06:00.000-08:00

The prisoners greeted us with music as we arrived with the food. We were
able to shake hands with about 130 inmates and were able to share some
encouraging words. The bottom picture shows one of the men thanking us for
our previous visits.

At the prison

2009-12-17T00:02:00.000-08:00

The top picture shows the prison warden.

The middle picture shows a man who had been an inmate previously in the
prison. He related how the gospel changed his life. After two years of
being incacerated he was found innocent and let go, yet he is not bitter
about losing two years of his life.

The bottom picture shows another speaker who urged the prisoners to keep
themselves connected to God and his word.

Visit to the prison

2009-12-16T23:56:00.000-08:00

One of the local ministries is a group of men from the center who visit the
prison twice a month to bring Bibles, pray, and minister to those who need
the gospel. This year for Christmas we were able to bring a meal for the
incarcerated men. The prison's typical diet is rice with some canned tuna
twice a day, so a meal of vegetables, lamb chops, and baked goods was a
highlight for the men.

The top picture shows the men listening to a program. A local church from
PNG did most of the food preparation and also led some singing.

The middle and bottom pictures also show the prisoners during the program.
A number of speakers addressed the group, challenging them in their faith
and sharing various Bible passages.

"Mumu" otherwise known as "PNG potluck"

2009-12-16T22:52:00.000-08:00

Benita was able to experience her first "mumu" as a farewell to Rachel, who
is retiring from the clinic lab, after working for over 25 years. Rachel
shared her wealth of knowledge with many, including Benita, when she first
started helping out in the lab.

A mumu is a special feast held on special occasions. The food, from their
gardens, (yams, taro, aibeka, corn, sweet potato, kumu (greens) is cooked
together in a deep hole in the ground over rocks, covered with banana
leaves, and left to cook for 4-8 hours. Pieces of chicken are also cut up
and cooked with the food. It's a lot of work to prepare, but tasted very
good.

"Well done, Good and Faithful Servant"

2009-11-27T20:27:00.000-08:00

On November 20th, we were able to celebrate and rejoice with Alex and Lois,
(one of the first translation teams in PNG) as they returned to Ukarumpa for
the last time from their village. After serving 52 years with the Tairora
language group, Alex and Lois will be returning to Australia. A red carpet
was rolled out to welcome them off the helicopter, and the band played, "To
God be the glory, great things He has done,". We couldn't keep back tears,
imagining the mixed emotions they must have been feeling leaving their
village, and getting off the helicopter for the last time. Alex and Lois
probably would have preferred to quietly slip away, and while we know they
didn't want any credit for anything they did, the community did want to
acknowledge God's faithfulness to them over the years.

They are an amazing example to us. We are so thankful we have been able to
visit them in their village. In the past year, we have often felt, "Are we
going to make it?" There have been times we have felt like we wanted to get
home as quickly as we could. God enabled Alex and Lois to finish well the
task given them, and we know that they will continue to serve Him until they
are called Home.

STEP cultural day

2009-11-27T19:42:00.000-08:00

At the completion of another STEP course, the attendees of the course put on a special “Cultural Day”, where they dressed up in traditional costumes. STEP is a workshop offered to Papua New Guineans from many different villages, with the goal of training and equipping them to meet the literacy needs in their community. STEP stands for, “Strengthening Tok Ples (vernacular) Education in PNG.

Carnival Time

2009-11-27T19:28:00.000-08:00

Every year in October, the highschool sponsors "Carnival" as a fundraiser.
There's lots of games and food. The highlight is always the homemade Ferris
wheel that highschool students made in their metals class probably around 15
years ago. Doug was in a booth making and selling doughnuts. Half of the
proceeds this year went to a ministry that is getting started in Port
Moresby for street kids.