Ladies' Retreat Weekend at Kamp Kalina

Pray for Sue and many other CLTC ladies who are attending a women's retreat at Kamp Kalina this weekend. This beautiful center is run by YWAM missionaries and is located in the mountains above Mt. Hagen. Pray that the women will have a joyful time of fellowship, teaching and renewal. This will be a time where the women can focus on the Lord and their relationship with Him and each other.

To the right is the Kamp Kalina's main lodge. Below is a view taken from below the lodge of the Waghi Valley looking south toward Mt. Hagen. The ladies will be sleeping in houses much like the one pictured.



If you wish, you may access the current weekly issue of the Harim, which is the college's newspaper.

Monthly College Prayer and Praise Notes and Weekly Harim

We are going to try something new at our site. We would like to provide access to two of our college's publications.

Each month the college issues a daily prayer guide called Prayer and Praise Notes. We are going to give you access to these notes via our site for a limited time depending on your interest in looking at them. These requests and praises will give you some idea of what the needs are at the college in Banz where we are plus at our two remote campus sites in Lae and at Port Moresby. Most of the prayer requests and praises are self-explanatory, but some may require some figuring out. If you are perplexed about their meaning, leave us a comment on our blog or write us, and we will help you. Just click on the blue link above to access the notes. When the notes are visible, you may enlarge them by clicking on the "+" button. To come back to our site, click on the back button of your browser.

We have also provided access to our weekly college newspaper called the Harim, which means "hear," "listen," or "announcement." However, the best translation for the name of a newspaper would probably be the "Herald." In it you will be able to track goings on at the college campus at Banz. Some of the Harim is written in Tok Pisin, so you may have fun trying to figure that language out. It is close to English, so I won't be impossible to do. Sometimes the announcements are made in both English and in Tok Pisin. This should make your translation efforts a bit easier. (If you do have problems, drop us a line and we will translate for you.) Click on the blue link above to read last week's Harim. To enlarge the Harim, click on the "+" button. Remember, to come back to our site, just click on the back button of your browser.

Leave us a comment to let us know if you are interested in these publications. If there is an interest, we will keep putting them up on our site. If not, we won't.

Start of the 3rd Term Prayer Requests

Today (Monday) we took a PMV (public motor vehicle) into the closest town to us (Banz) to buy some rolls from the local bakery, some super glue to fix our broken blender pitcher, and some fresh vegetables and peanuts to tide us over for the week. It is a holiday here in PNG called Remembrance Day. It is celebrated to remember those who gave their lives in WWII defending PNG from the Japanese.

Tomorrow will be the start of our third term, and we have some prayer requests.

1. Sue will be teaching Introduction to Counseling. She would like prayer to be effective in communicating her ideas to her students. Melanesians have a different view of how to counsel, and she wants to be sensitive to it but at the same time be able to impart some new ideas in a culturally sensitive and biblical way.
2. Jeff will be teaching three courses: Christian Ethics, Person and Work of the Holy Spirit, and Computer Literacy. Pray that he would be effective in gaging his students' comprehension of the subject matter. Even a student, who is floundering with a subject will not admit it at the time, so pray that Jeff will be able to identify those who need help with their understanding of the material. The course on the Holy Spirit will be a challenge. This is the first time Jeff has taught this course. The challenge will be to relate the truth of the Holy Spirit to a group of students who have had intimate contact with the spirit world. Pray that biblical truth will prevail and that Jeff can more deeply grasp his student's understanding of and experience with the spirit world to be a more effective instructor.
3. Our class sizes are quite large. (PTL!) We have around 30 students in each. Pray that we can get to know our students to be able to minister to them both inside and outside of class.

Thanks for being part of our ministry in this vitally important way.

First Two Weeks--The Other View

Jeff has brought you up to date on a number of events in the first two weeks after our return to PNG. I think I'd add in my two cents worth on the changes I need to make to the move.

There are many "housekeeping changes." Bread needs (or is it kneads?) to be baked and yogurt made to help add good bacteria to the digestive system. Dishes must be washed by hand. The clothes are washed in a washer, but hung on the line and brought in (hopefully) before rain comes.

A garden is a necessity because fresh fruits and vegetables are a drive away (and everyone worldwide know that petrol is expensive and that time is even more valuable).

The roads are still abysmal. We had been told they surely would be paved by the time we got back. And robbery is still a fact of life (though we personally were not robbed when we were in Hagen last week).

The electricity and water for toilets may flow or it may not. It is especially embarrassing to have one's toilet not flush when guests visit.

Those are the negative things, but there are a number of positive things to be said for life here.

The people are very friendly, especially if an outsider makes the effort to speak Tok Pisin. We've lost count of the number of enthusiastic welcomes we have received since returning.

There's time to bake bread and make yogurt because we don't have a television. At least at our new house, we have hot water to wash the dishes. (Now we don't have to boil water and carry it to wherever we need it hot.)

As to a garden, this year has been a fair one even for starting a garden in dry season. It has rained four times already in the last two weeks, and it looks like number five is on its way. That's enough water to keep the plants going after transplanting them from the (watered every day by hand) nursery box outside the kitchen window.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are sold outside our college gate on Wednesdays and Saturdays. A trip there yesterday turned up some cucumbers, lettuce, choko (a tasty green), tomatoes, yellow beans, bananas, pineapples, peanuts, and a few other things. Those are useful, but sometimes one wants more variety.

A trip to Banz (half and hour's drive) or Hagen (over an hour away) are not always possible. Jeff has to drive because I don't have a license here. Gasoline costs four and a half kina a liter. That's roughly US $6.50 per gallon. What is it there now? We usually plan a trip to Hagen once a month.

As we were driving over the rough road recently, I was glad to see the improvements that have been made in the last months we have been gone. Deep barrets (ditches) lined with concrete and enormous drainage pipes with rock reinforcements have been put in place to carry the torrential rain runoff. Local people are being employed to procure rock, and the income spurs the economy of the whole area. Once paving is finished, these preparations will insure that the roads last longer.

But the flowers and herbs that still grow in my garden from when I planted them last year made me think this week. The number of vivid colors in the plants is so fascinating here! I can make flower arrangements with different color themes just from the prolific plants around our house.

We get to watch the contented cows and view the high mountains around us. The willy wagtails and the tarangaus soar on the winds. Yes, it is a lovely place here. Guess, just as if I lived in any place, I need to remember Jesus' words:

Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'With what shall we clothe ourselves? ' For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:31-34

" Yes, Lord. You are right. Please look out for our family and friends at home too..."

Two-weeks into Our Second Term

USA.

We have now been away from the USA for two weeks. These photos capture the warmth of new friends, happy family times and new experiences. Hope you enjoy them.

Our house group in Blacksburg gave us a great send off. The ladies prepared a favorite meal of ours (lasagne with all the trimmings) and a nice cake. After dinner they laid hands on us in prayer for our second term. This was a moving experience, one that we will remember for a long time. We felt like the Apostle Paul and his companions on the beach at Ephesus.


Part of traveling is schlepping luggage. We had six bags all together. The big ones could weigh up to 23 kgs and our two computer bags could hold up to 7 kgs. That sounds like a lot, but considering we were packing for two years, it isn't really. Nevertheless, dragging all those bags around is never any fun. Thank goodness we both got into better shape during our stay in the USA.

Of course all the weight (pun intended) was worth it, as we got to enjoy a fine family reunion in Monterey, California at a former YMCA camp called Asilomar. It was right on the Pacific Ocean. We had lots of tasty food, plenty of fresh air and we even got to enjoy the Monterey Aquarium. This photo to the right is of our eldest son with his firstborn wading in the surf at the beach.
While watching our nephew's stroller this guy in a wet suit decided to put on a show inside one of the large tanks at the aquarium.

The whole bunch got together to pose for a final farewell photo.

We got to celebrate our eldest son's 30th birthday, and we had another nice prayer time at our family Sunday worship.

In addition we had plenty of good food to eat. To top it all off, Sue' folks were kind to host us all for what turned out to be a great send off.

God is good!

Our departure day finally dawned on the 3rd of July. Sue and I posed for one last picture before climbing aboard our rented PT Cruiser for our drive from Sue's folk's house in Fresno to Los Angeles to catch an 11:30 p.m. flight to Fiji.


After flying all night for close to 11 hours, we had the joy of standing in some very LONG lines at Nadi Airport in Fiji. Instead of allowing us to wait in the transit terminal for our connecting flight to Brisbane, Australia, Air Pacific made us enter the country, go through customs, check into our Brisbane flight and go through customs again. On top of this our entry visas to Australia had expired, and we had to renew them. Consider it all joy ... James says regarding trials, but at the time they do not appear to be joyful at all. Nevertheless, God is still patiently trying to teach me (Jeff) patience.

We landed in Brisbane finally after another five hours sitting in the last row of the plane. It was worth it though. It is winter time now in Australia, but we had a great time on a Sunday afternoon enjoying sunshine and temperatures in the 70's. It was a great way to adjust to the time difference between this part of the world and the USA.

The picture is of a City Cat or catamaran. These boats are part of Brisbane's public transportation system. They are a bargain-basement way to see the city from the Brisbane River. For a total of $8.00 US the two of us could spend all day on the boats, buses and trains in the city.
This is picture taken from the City Cat as we were departing the central business district in Brisbane. It is a truly lovely city with much to do and see including these Australian ibises. They were all over the place at a city park at South Bank. The birds were there to enjoy all the people eating at outdoor restaurants, watching street performers, and shopping at a street fair.

On Monday morning the 7th of July we boarded a plane for Papua New Guinea. We stayed one night in the capitol city of Port Moresby, and then we took off the next day for the Highlands and the CLTC. There is more to say, but I am going to bring this post to an end.

Look for the rest of the story later.

Thank You, Sending Team

The last seven months in the US have been a wonderful time of reconnecting with supporters and family. Blacksburg Christian Fellowship in Virginia, The Bridge in Fresno, California, and a Sunday School class at Arcade Church in Sacramento, California, have shown new interest in our mission. We are thankful for both continuing and new team members as they pray and give to spread the love of God together with us. We pray that we will all grow in our understanding of God's goodness and generosity toward all men.

We have arrived safely in PNG to begin our second term. The legs of the journey had their hitches, but we are making progress. Today we are in Port Moresby awaiting our flight to Mt. Hagen. Two overnights in Brisbane and another in Moresby have helped us to reset our body clocks to this 15-hour difference from the US east coast.

This afternoon, our friends Dan and Janet have agreed to meet us at Kagamuga airport in Hagen. They have arranged to buy us groceries and have dinner on hand for us. We look forward to settling in back at the CLTC.

It is handy to be able to hook up to the internet at our lodging in Moresby. Parts of this capital city are modern. We hope things are going well with the satellite connection at CLTC. If so, we will post again soon from there.