Girl in Sigri Village Dies

Sue writes:

Kids everywhere are full of life, aren't they. So, it's especially distressing when a little, innocent one dies. That happened again last week in Sigri, a village next to CLTC.

It is the second time since we have been here that a child has died for a reason that was not obvious. And the second time talk of sorcery has started circulating.

When talk of sorcery starts, the conversation will at some point get around to compensation claims and possibly taking physical revenge against the sorcerer. The father of the girl who died put that talk to rest this time.

At the funeral of his daughter, the father said, "Our girl's body is dead, but her spirit is with the Lord. We will not listen to any talk about sorcery. We will not seek compensation. We will feed all those who have come to be with us today (as opposed to shunning the person who was said to have performed sorcery to kill the girl)."

This talk of forgiveness and trust in God rather than seeking revenge is rare even among Christians here in PNG. We rejoice in the faith exhibited, yet we grieve for the family which has lost its child in the here and now. Please pray God will comfort the family and use their example of faith to inspire others.

First Day of Fourth Term!

Sue says:

The fourth and final term of the 2008 college year at Christian Leaders' Training College opened Monday. That means we lecturers ran around making sure there were enough chairs and desks in our classrooms. Jeff will use powerpoint slides this term for his Church History class, so he had to hunt up the proper plugs and other equipment.

Besides Church History, Jeff is also teaching computer skills, preaching and an Ephesians class in which he instructs the students in inductive Bible study to prepare for their own teaching. His class notes for Church History still need to be bound.

I am teaching History of Missions. Like Jeff's history class, mine will try to speed through a couple centuries of developments. I'm enthused about my class because we will talk about different people groups, some famous missionaries, and the way God has been reaching out to mankind in graciousness for the last 2000 years. All my sixteen students are already interested in missions, and they are asking God where He would like to use them in spreading the Good News of His kingdom.

Graduation takes place at the time of Thanksgiving in the US. Thesis students (doing a fifth year of study) are working hard to finish their big writing projects, and excitement is in the air as students anticipate concluding their studies.

Please pray that we all will be growing in our relationships with God and each other in this term.

Updates

Thanks for your prayers for us. We are trying to get to the point where we can print out our students' notebooks today so the binder has time to bind them before fourth term classes start Monday. Jeff is preparing two notebooks, and I am working on one.

In another area, the CLTC employee who is awaiting trial has been suffering asthma attacks. She has been taken to the hospital twice because the other inmates smoke and she has trouble breathing the smoky air. The guards have allowed her to sit in and sleep in the reception area so she has purer air to breathe. Please pray for her improved health, and that a just trial will be held 29 September as (re)scheduled.

The last update is on our washing machine. Our CLTC delivery truck transported it safely to Kainantu (a four-hour drive away) and technicians picked it up and took it to Ukarumpa (another half-hour drive). The technicians say the trouble was with the transmission. If all goes well, the delivery truck will bring the washer back next Wednesday. We are so glad our neighbors have allowed us to use their loaner in the meantime.

Back Home Sore and Safe Pictures to Follow

Jeff writes:

We made it back yesterday from Keglsugl, which is the village below Mt. Wilhelm. My feet are a wreck, but I am glad to be home. I will post some pictures later. God had some other plans for my trip other than climbing that mountain that I will also like to comment on. Thanks for your prayers.

Mt. Wilhelm Update

Thanks for your prayers. God gave all four guys the strength to get to the top of the 15,000 foot mountain Sunday. Two guys arrived back at CLTC yesterday (Monday) bringing news about the other two.

Jeff and a national guy are still on their way back. Jeff said he needed to rest up some more before completing the walk down the mountain. He and his friend stayed another night at a wayside lodge and plan to PMV (public motor vehicle) back today. Please pray that Jeff will have the strength to complete the walk down. He isn't injured, the high altitude and soreness and his shoes slipping are just a challenge.

Updates

This picture is of some fruit and vegetables that were recently given to us as thanks for helping some needy national friends. May they be a reminder of our thanks to you who pray for and give toward our ministry. Your giving enables us to give to others. God is eager to make Himself known to all people, and your prayer for us is an important part of God's name being given the honor it deserves here in PNG.

Thanks to you who prayed for our relations with the College Council which met recently. I'm not sure the strain of the workload is sufficiently understood by the Council, but we did have a friendly working relationship.

The saga of the ransomed van continues. Someone is holding the van. The college doesn't want to pay ransom.

The story of the broken washing machine continues too. The people whom we helped and who offered us the pictured goodies have loaned us their old machine while ours gets fixed.

The college employee accused of complicity in robbing college money was supposed to appear in court last week. I haven't heard any news about what happened there, but there is joyful news about her ministry in the prison. Large numbers of women are listening to her witness to them, and they want Tok Pisin Bibles. People from the college are gathering them to send.

Jeff and his team must have climbed Mt. Wilhelm today. The plan was for the four guys to take it easy back at the lake camp the rest of today after coming half-way down. They should return tomorrow.

This week as I was preparing for a History of Missions class, I was struck by Isaiah 45:22:
"Turn to Me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other."
He is the one true God. He wants all people to know of His kind intentions and His provisions for relationship with Himself.

On His Way!

Sue says:

Jeff left yesterday to climb Mt. Wilhelm, the highest peak in PNG. He's traveling with another missionary and two national guys. The nationals have been quite helpful in arranging transportation, since they know other guys who drive PMVs (public motor vehicles).

Friday at seven in the morning, the first PMV had pulled up in our driveway to pick Jeff up. (We had no idea how a PMV was admitted by the college guards!) When the group got to Kundiawa, Eastern Highlands, another driver met them. The second one is from Chimbu, the province where the mountain is located. He drove them to a lake on the mountain with huts for climbers to sleep in.

Saturday, the guys are taking it easy at the higher elevation. Tomorrow morning, they will be awakened by a guide at 2, so they can ascend to the 15,000 peak before dawn. If the morning is clear, those at the top should be able to see to the northern coast of the country!

Can't wait to hear the stories from this trip!

Thanksgiving Sunday 2008

Jeff writes:

Last Sunday the CLTC community celebrated our thanksgiving to the Lord for all that He has done for us this past year. The students really did a fine job presenting their offerings of garden produce. This year's offerings will go to the inmates at Baisu Prison. As you recall one of our employees (we believe) has been wrongly imprisoned there while pending her second trial. So this food will help her and the other inmates enjoy a special meal.

This year the students marched/danced in by church group. We have students here from over 20 different denominations. This first group is from the United Church, and they are predominantly from the island of Bougainville. These are some of the darkest-skinned people on the planet.

Can you see the offerings this group of Baptist students are bringing? They are carrying huge cabbages on their shoulders plus other produce in their bilums (string bags).

These offerings are truly from the heart. This is our dry season, and the people here call it taim bilong hangri (the hungry time) because their gardens do not produce well. The students do get a basic ration of food from the college plus a fortnightly allowance, but they depend on their gardens to provide variety and to add to their diet.


This young lady is part of our Pentecostal student group. She is wearing coastal dress while she dances.














The men as well as the women danced. Notice that the men dance with the men and the ladies dance with the ladies. This group of Solomon Islanders really stole the show! Here the men are enjoying themselves. It looks like they are really having a good time.










These are the Solomon Island ladies. This group of students belong to the South Seas Evangelical Church.














After presenting their offerings, like an island Pied Piper, this student leads his group out of the service.















This young lady is wearing the dress of one of the tribes close to the CLTC. She also happens to be in my Introduction to Computers class. Of course in class, she wears western clothing, but underneath I must remember that her worldview is anything but western. Pray that Sue and I would continue to grow in our knowledge of the customs and cultures of our students so we can continue to relate God's timeless and cross-cultural truths to these wonderful folk.

Petrus Released!

Sue says:

Praise the Lord! Petrus was released unharmed this afternoon. He called CLTC from the Christian bookshop in Hagen to report his freedom and to ask for a ride back to campus.

He had also been instructed by his captors to report that the college van is being held for ransom. Please continue to pray for our management team and security force to bring this episode to a peaceful conclusion in such a way that the carjacking does not continue.

PRAYER ALERT!

Sue writes:

Please join us in prayer concerning a hijacking of a CLTC employee in a college van. Three CLTC folks were driving in a van to Hagen this afternoon when they met a road block. Two people were pushed out of the van by the hijackers. Petrus was forced to stay inside the van as it was driven away by six guys who jumped in.

Please ask the Lord to protect Petrus and allow him to be returned unharmed. Pray that his wife and children would be comforted as they wait for news. Pray also for our CLTC leaders as they make decisions as events develop.

Caught in the Criminal Justice System

Sue writes:

A matter about a robbery of a CLTC vehicle has been dragging on since before we came back in July. A college driver and another employee were transporting a finance department employee to Hagen to deposit a large amount of cash and checks at the bank. The vehicle arrived in town before the bank opened. In the few minutes between the arrival and the bank opening, a raskol made off with the large deposit.

The finance employee was arrested. It seems the police didn't have enough evidence against the employee, because the case was thrown out by the judge. A new charge has been lodged, though, and the case is dragging on.

The female employee is now housed in Baisu Prison near Hagen. Folks from campus go often to visit her and bring food and other items she needs. It may be another couple weeks before the case comes before the judge again.

Here is the verse God gave me to share with the woman when a group of us visited her Sunday.

...the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
He rises to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for Him!
Isaiah 30:18

Please join us in praying that the Lord will bring about justice in this case and will show compassion to those who are waiting for Him.