New Grandson Arrives!

Sue says:



Our new grandson arrived Wednesday afternoon! He is doing well. It was a 39-hour labor for his mama, so she will be needing some help during her recovery time.

We got to see The Babe through the nursery window yesterday. Today we hope to visit when he is awake so we can hold him.

His big brother, Little Man (LM), isn't quite sure who the new baby is yet. We plan to take LM with us to the hospital today so he can see Mama and Daddy and get more used to The Babe.

On the same day as The Babe was born, my mother had a heart attack. Please pray for her swift recovery, and that I would have peace about where I am needed most.

Back in the USA!

Blowing Bubbles in the Backyard


Jeff writes:

I am sorry about the long time between posts. We have been back in the US for over a week now. As you know we were not able to post as often while we were in Port Moresby because of restricted internet access. Our excuse for not posting sooner here is we have been having too much fun catching up first with Sue's parents in Fresno and now with our oldest son's family in Blacksburg, Virginia.

We have some praises for a safe trip. We adjusted well to the time change while in California. The three hour difference between the east and west coasts of the US turned out to be another issue, but now we are fine. So far I have a cold and that is all. I have until next Tuesday to see if malaria shows up but so far no signs. Sue is doing fine. In Fresno the Bridge Church said hello. We will be welcomed by Blacksburg Christian Fellowship (BCF) on Sunday at a special potluck lunch after church. It is good know that people here have been praying for us as many have told us so.

Sue and I will present an overview of our ministry tomorrow at BCF. I will preach at their Chinese fellowship on July 12 and during the main services on August 2. Please pray that we will be able to humbly and ably serve these fine folks.

The photo above and the one below were taken today of the two of us enjoying our grandson. We have another grandson on the way in the next week or so, so remember to pray for Ellen as she awaits the delivery.

Golfing Buddies

Port Moresby General Hospital Visit

Jeff writes:

Last Sunday we visited the Port Moresby General Hospital surgical ward. We came with a group from Waigani United Church. We have grown close to this warm band of believers and were overjoyed at the opportunity to minister in this way with them.

The ward had between 60-80 beds in it in a large common room. The place was packed with patients (men, women, and children) and their families. In PNG the family is responsible for bringing personal items for the patient like sheets, soap, clothes and food.

Singing, Worship and Preaching



Our visit started with the group singing several worship songs. A church deacon shared a brief message, and then we fanned out to distribute bars of soap and rolls of toilet paper to the patients.

Sue went with a team of ladies to visit the women in the ward. They came across one woman lying naked under a sheet. She had no clothes, no food, and no one to visit with her. It was a pitiful sight. The lady was so ashamed she refused to speak to the team or allow them to pray for her, but she did take the soap and the toilet paper.

Sue with a Patient and His Wife



I prayed with an old man who had lost the use of his legs. In the next bed over I spoke with the young man in the picture. His name is Solomon, and his older brother had cut him up rather severely with a bush knife (machete). (This type of violence is all too common here.) As it turned out Solomon hails from around the CLTC campus in the Highlands. Sue and I knew two of his relatives. We were able to pray with Solomon to be reconciled with his brother and to start attending church again here in Moresby.

So the next time you go to a hospital and spend time in a semi-private room, remember to thank the Lord for the way He has blessed you. Also remember to pray for Solomon and for that dear lady in need.

FM Radio Light

Jeff writes:

Last week Sue and I were able to participate in a radio program called "Prayer for the Nation." It was broadcast by FM Radio Light and could be heard all over PNG. Carl Kaumi, who teaches here at the Port Moresby (POM) Centre, arranged for us to go.

Carl Kaumi prays on the air.



Two Newly Minted Radio Personalities



The CLTC was responsible for a full week's worth of half-hour programs where we prayed for the theological colleges of the country. Sue and I took part in two broadcasts. The theme of the first one was reaching the lost through our colleges, and the theme for the second was for our colleges to accurately teach God's word. Since there were three of us praying, each one took around ten minutes to share a Bible passage or verses, and then pray through them. Port Moresby is certainly an entirely different environment from what we are used to in the Highlands, and we are thankful that the Lord has opened new opportunities for ministry for us here.

(To our blog followers: because Internet charges are so incredibly high here in Port Moresby, we have not been able to post to our blog as often as we would like. Keep us in your prayers as we battle city noises, the heat, and loneliness. God is sustaining us, and we know He is using us here as well. I have a new class starting this week entitled "Genesis and the Pentateuch." My last class ended well. Sue is making great headway on the plans for a graduate refresher course to be held in December on the island of Bougainville. Pray for her as communications [telephone and mail] have been difficult with our Bougainville contacts. Pray also that funding will be available to conduct the class. We value each and every one of you. May God richly bless all of you.)

A Sweet Aroma

Sue writes:

But thanks be to God, who... manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 2 Corinthians 2:14



The other day I noticed an appealing smell as I approached the door to our flat. I couldn't locate it at first. Then I figured out it was the papaya flowers on a tree near our door. In the picture, you see the truck, branches, leaves and flowers of the papaya tree. Boy, it's a delicious smell. Wish I could post that too!

Please pray for us as we continue in our work. May the message of the Lord we give out be a sweet aroma of life to those we work with.

Jeff is finishing a God, Man and Satan class next week. He will then begin a Pentateuch class and continue with a Bible interpretation class. He also preaches for Sunday services in churches in the Port Moresby area. The heat and humidity in Port Moresby make living here a challenge.

I am working with a team to plan a graduate refresher course in Bougainville. Communications are very difficult because our contact doesn't have a phone or mail delivery. Please pray we will be able to set the location and dates and send invitations. I am also adapting materials I previously have taught in Christian Counseling for this gathering. I need God's insight to plan for the needs of these graduates who are in ministry.

The internet service has been too expensive here. This may be our last post for a while.

Church in a Settlement

On Sunday Jeff preached at this church in Kila Kila, a settlement that is part of the National Capital District. A settlement is a village of squatters who come to a city to find work. Often there is no work to be found, so the squatters have lots of problems. The congregation which owns this building hopes to reach out to help the people who live in the settlement.

A number of the people who are a part of this congregation are taking Theological Education by Extension (TEE) courses from Christian Leaders' Training College.





After the service the women and children gave big Mother's Day smiles.

Visiting Ela Beach by PMV

Sue says:

Sunday afternoon was another hot day, so we wanted to find somewhere cooler. Were we brave enough to try a PMV (public motor vehicle or bus) ride to Ela Beach, the city playground, on our own? We were.

We walked up to the Waigani market bus stop and asked people which buses to take and how much to pay. Then it was time to jump on.

You do pretty much have to "jump" on. People push and get in front of you. You have to be determined to get on. We let a couple buses go by that were overly crowded. When one with the right number and plenty of space came by, it was our turn.

The paying of fares is a little different here. You get on and start going, and then you pass your fare, hand to hand, to the conductor or boskru. We are often told to pay higher fares than locals, so Jeff tried handing up what it looked like other people were paying. The boskru took it without a blink.

At Four Mile, we had been told we must change, so we got out at that stop. Nothing there of interest: a gambling den, shops that were closed on Sunday. So, we again asked directions. It is pretty fun to be able to speak pidgin and work things out.

Our second bus came right along, and in no time we were jumping off at Ela Beach. The beaches we've seen here are nice family places. Everyone dressed modestly. Folks playing basketball, volleyball and soccer. Little kids running in and out of the water. Boy, the sea breeze felt good! But where, oh, where, was the ice cream man?

A couple unusual things (for here) were going on. One guy was hang gliding. Lots of folks were watching him as though they hadn't seen such a thing before. And, a group of locals was baptizing new Christians in the (Coral) sea. That wasn't attracting as much attention as the hang glider.

It doesn't take long for the sun to go down in the tropics. About five o'clock we thought we'd better head back to our flat. All good folks are inside before dark here.

There were crowds of people waiting at the bus stop. We all waited a longer time than usual. When the right bus did come by, folks were extra pushy. Some jumped in the opened windows. After about three of our bus number went by jam full, a police officer came out of the station by the stop. We stood out as the only white folks there, so he asked us if we knew where we were going. He let us know a number of pick-pockets were in the pushy crowds.

Seeing the officer talking to us, the next boskru asked us where we wanted to go, held all the pushy people off his bus, and told us two to get on. Then he allowed the other people on. We wouldn't have asked for that treatment, but we were thankful for it.

Back at the Waigani market, we found our ice cream at a petrol station "mini mart". And the two ice creams cost more than our fares to the city and back (two ice creams, US $2.25 and two round trip fares $1.60).

As we licked our ice creams, we walked back to the CLTC Centre. It was pretty dark. Two young men and a young woman were walking behind us. The guys had the gal ask us (in English) if we knew where we were and where we were going. We assured them we were going to the CLTC Centre close by. They said they were two brothers and a sister going to their home not far from our destination.

Moresby has a reputation for raskols, and they are here. But we're thankful for many helpful people here too.