Melanesian Christmas

Jeff writes:

Our son Jonathan suggested that we send him some Christmas photos from our celebration here in PNG, so here they are.

We begin by wishing all of you a Merry Christmas. At this time of year we miss you more than ever. However, God comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to offer His comfort to others. (2 Cor. 1:3-4)

Yesterday, these men in the picture distributed Christmas presents - live chickens for a special feast. We had a choice between a big live tough bird or a smaller, more tender, frozen one. Guess what we chose?

Sue likes to bring Christmas cheer indoors. Yesterday, these dahlias were cut from our flower garden just outside our kitchen window.













We have a locally-crafted manger scene. The animals and figures are burned into bamboo by a red-hot piece of coconut husk. You should be able to recognize a shepherd, two sheep, a donkey and a cow, Mary, Jesus in the manger, Joseph, and the three wise men.

The entire scene is back lit by our Christ candle. We wait to light it Christmas morning to celebrate our Savior's birth.




We had a request to show all of you what our weather was like on Christmas day. This photo was taken from our front porch. It rained hard all last night so the morning was foggy. However, at about 9:00 a.m. the fog lifted. The mountains in the background are still hidden by clouds. In the foreground our neighbor's garden is in view complete with their banana trees. They put a sack over the banana bunch to help it ripen and to keep the flying foxes (fruit bats) from eating them.













Sue is modeling her "elf hat." She received this as a special gift at our Christmas Eve service. It lasted from 7:30 to midnight. Our principal gave these out as special incentives to get people to stick around for the whole thing. First, he presented hats to all the kids, then at another break the moms, and then (I assume) the dads. However, by that time we were both dead tired (I had preached twice that day.) We went home at 11:00 in a pouring rain. Needless to say I did not get my matching "elf hat." (If some of you are worried about our principal handing out "elf hats," he didn't. I just call them that. They were actually give aways from our vet Te Awamutu Veterinary Services. Each one has its name boldly stitched on it.) Notice that Sue is wearing hers inside out.

Sue took this shot to make you all feel envious of our perpetual spring-like weather. Of course, the drawback to it is it doesn't feel like Christmas. It got up to around 80 today.













Our principal Ezekiel started our Christmas morning service off by reading good wishes and Christmas greetings from our friends throughout the world. People really took care to create a festive holiday atmosphere in our auditorium. The poinsettias in the flower basket were picked right here on campus.









What would Christmas be without a special story for the children? Don, who is a great mate of mine from Australia, entertains the kids. Don and his wife Heather are SIL missionaries doing Bible translation work for a neighboring people group. Don is an all-around guy, who helps with all kinds of "fix-it" projects including our computer network. His wife Heather planned the worship time for our service. We enjoyed hearing the Christmas story and singing lots of familiar carols though some of the tunes were different from what we were used to singing.


The kids did a Christmas drama. I especially liked the eight-legged camel which carried the wise men to Bethlehem. Four kids got under bed sheets to bear the three wise men. One stood up at the head, and the other three bent over and held on to on to one another with each one carrying a wise man on his back. We all laughed a lot. Here they are singing their final song.









Our principal Ezekiel preached the Christmas sermon. He spoke about the two sides of Christmas. He said just like both sides of a bank note tell a person that it is genuine, the Christmas story too has another side to it which makes it true - Christ's death on the cross. The baby in the manger without the cross is not the true gospel, and neither is the cross without the Incarnation.








After the service we dedicated a new 15-seater college van to the glory of God. This van was part of a bequest from a supporter of the CLTC. This person made it possible for us to buy two vans and to pay off our remaining debt on our Port Moresby campus. We had a lot to be thankful for today.

After church Sue and I headed home to our own private celebration. She made lots of good food. We got to take a nap. We opened presents; had some cheese and crackers; ate apple pie. (Yum!); and watched the Nativity Story.

Well I have been working on this entry for a couple of hours now. (Our Internet is very slow, and Blogger has not been very cooperative.) I am going to head to bed. God bless you all and Merry Christmas!

Communication

Communication is funny. It seems that it's taken 34 years for me to really listen to what special baked goods Jeff wants me to make for Advent/Christmas. OK, maybe I'm hard of listening. I'm glad I finally got it right. He likes sweet rolls with a buttery, sticky sauce for them. Here's what this year's sweet rolls look like.
Yeah, some rose better than others, but Jeff feels heard.

Solved Baby Adoption Conundrum

Jeff writes:

It has been quite some time since I posed the conundrum of what to do with the baby I was offered to adopt. (Click here to see our post on October 4.)

This turned out to be a triam tasol. The father, who offered me his child for adoption, was trying to see if I would be interested in the hopes that I would raise it and more importantly pay for its education.

Missionaries and other ex-patriots have been offered children like this before. The scheme works like this. The ex-pat does decide to adopt the child. It is easier to do this informally ... no paper work and no bureaucrats! In fact the child's relatives encourage this. The ex-pat raises and educates the child. When the original family gets wind of this, the following happens. The child's parents or their relatives come to demand that the now well-educated child be given back. Of course, the ex-pat refuses to do so, but now he or she knows that the family can no longer stay in PNG. However, the government won't let the family leave. Why? The child is not legally theirs. Child goes back to tribe. Tribe wins. Child and family loses.

How did I learn this? I consulted with the Dean of Students, who is a good Melanesian friend. He also told me that abortion is illegal in this country. (Infanticide is practiced, but it is rare.) Second, he said that if the mother did abort or kill the baby her tribe would be extremely angry as children are seen here as a sign of wealth.

I still had the problem of how to say "no thanks" to my friend without harming our relationship. Again the Dean came through by offering this Melanesian way to decline such a "generous" offer. I did follow his advice, and it worked.

This is what I eventually did.

I had not seen my friend in quite some time, but last week he came by my office to give me back his key to our weight room. I had been rehearsing my speech for some months, so I was ready. I told him that I was honored by his request. However, the government's adoption process is a long and a costly one. In addition, CLTC policy allows new employees to bring their already-adopted children to the college, but to adopt a child while living at the college is not permitted. I told him this, and I hoped that he and I could still be friends. He agreed and that was that. Finished!

We still have a lot to learn so keep us in your prayers.

NEW Protozoan Diet!

Jeff writes:

I think I have discovered a new diet. It really works. You can eat all you want and still not gain weight. It is all natural. No dietary supplements or drugs are necessary. It is the new Wunderdiet!

I call it the Protozoan Diet. Just fill up your stomach and small intestines with all these little critters and bingo the pounds just melt away! Imagine billions of guests at your dinner table. Eat all the ice cream you want. Cake no worries! Forget diet coke; go for the real thing. Eat real sugar. Enjoy real fat. Super-size at will. Feel REALLY satisfied. Do you like chocolate? Good have some more! There are plenty of mouths to feed.

Side effects you ask? Well yes ... there may be some burning in your gut generally accompanied by prodigious amounts of gas, but think of all the fabulous fatty food you can consume. Think of all the pounds you can lose. No pain no gain. Right?

To be truthful I can't say I really recommend this as I am trying to get rid of my "guests." So far I have tried twice to do them in, but you know what? They just won't go. So yesterday I went to Kudjip Hospital to get some REALLY STRONG antibiotics. Hope they work, but then again ...

Early Christmas Present

This may sound vain, but I was so happy recently to find a beautician who can cut my hair! We have lived here almost three years now. A couple friends passing through have been willing to help me out on occasion. A couple commercial haircutters have botched the job.

Now I've finally found a gal in Hagen who does good work and charges a reasonable price. What a relief a simple thing can be.

Another Campus Robbery

Our finance manager and his family were held hostage Saturday night while robbers went to fetch college cash. It's disturbing that these robbers had a lot of inside knowledge about our campus and the habits of our security guards. Though the family was not physically hurt, a hostage situation is psychologically upsetting.

Please pray for those who are preying upon our campus to be found out. There is also the continuing trial of a campus employee accused of helping plan a robbery of campus funds in Hagen and an unsolved robbery of our campus store and a stolen campus vehicle which is unrecovered. Ask God to bring about His justice in these situations.

Reflections on the Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Sue writes:

One of our favorite Christmas stories is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Again this year we read it aloud for advent. And God is stretching us as He did the congregation in the story.

With the missionary who has discipled M gone, Jeff is the chief contact with this village leader of the Bung Bible study. M is such a sincere guy. He has great wisdom for a new believer. He also has lots of ups and downs.

Last night Jeff was showering about 9. I heard a little knock on our door. I ignored it. It came again. Since I was expecting a neighbor to come by to say good-bye before she left for Christmas, I opened it. It was M, with his wife D and their sleeping son.

The day before, a 3-year-old child had died in Bung village. The father was from Bung. The mother from Bunem Wo, just next door. The father’s clan (M’s clan) had never paid bride-price to the mother’s clan. So the mother’s clan seized its opportunity to renew demands for money. They have kept the father’s clan from burying the child’s body until some money is paid. The mother’s clan reinforced their claim by cutting down some banana trees belonging to the father’s clan. And saying they would start burning houses and ruining whole gardens if the money doesn’t arrive today.

M and D are part of the clan that has to pay up. They wanted us to give them some money. I thought Jeff was wise is saying he would give some money, but M and D need to do a service for us. They gladly agreed. We prayed about the situation together, and the couple was visibly relieved.

As they were walking out at 10, M brought up another problem he has. I was at my wit’s end. I just wanted them to get going. But Jeff listened a bit and said he’d consult with another missionary about the problem.

Then they did head out into the night. They had to walk a half-hour through the dark tea plantation to the place the wake was going on for the child.

What a gulf there is between us, kind of like the church in Best Christmas Pageant and the Herdmans. Like the church in the story, I have a lot to learn about really caring about others and seeing what difference the Christ Child in the manger makes today.

Like Gladys in the story said, "Hey! Unto you a Child is born!"

It should shake up our world.

Double Whammy Tsunami Power Surge

Last night Sue and I were relaxing watching a video after a long day in Mt. Hagen buying supplies and driving others around to procure their necessities. All of a sudden were heard a loud noise, a pop, and then our borrowed DVD player began belching white smoke.

When the dust had settled, we had lost our borrowed TV too, and every surge protector (including the one protecting the DVD player and TV) in the house save one. It was connected to our refrigerator. It and our microwave were the only appliances to survive.

Apparently two major power surges struck within milliseconds of each other. The first one disabled our surge protection systems, and the second overwhelmed them to affect the appliances or computers they were designed to protect. When I arrived at work today, the damage was total. We lost nearly every UPS on campus. A UPS is supposed to protect from this kind of a surge. When we checked the UPS's protection fuses, some had been blown apart. We tried to replace the old fuses with new ones, and when we did, they too failed. At last count we have lost 56 UPS systems, many monitors, most of our printers, and some computers. Thankfully our copy machines seemed to have made it through. Other people lost appliances in their houses like refrigerators, microwaves, TVs, nearly anything that was plugged into an outlet.

Today we were able to restore most of our key communications and give life to some of our most important departments (such as payroll), but our total recovery will take months. We praise the Lord that no one was hurt and that the students are away on break. With this catastrophe we will undoubtedly spend many long hours working our way out.

Pray for us as we try to find replacements for everything that was damaged, and pray for those who lost personal items. We are hoping that we can cover the loss either via the college's insurance policy or that PNG Power will compensate us. Only time will tell.

As they say about PNG, "Expect the Unexpected." And as we say God is good all the time. All the time ...

Baking for Rock Star

Yesterday was Rock Star's second birthday. He is the son of Michael, who leads the youth Bible study in Bung village. Rock Star's mother, Doris, is a vibrant Christian woman. Her implicit trust in the Lord is an inspiration. She talks about the Lord in a natural way wherever she goes.

Doris came over to bake a banana cake for Rock Star's birthday yesterday. As we were baking, she told me more of her testimony. While the cake baked, she helped me plant tapiok (from which we derive tapioca) and strawberries. She also told me more about tu-minit kumu, a green and yellow leaf that grows on low bushes and can be cooked in two minutes.

I wrote out the banana cake recipe for Doris. When she bakes it at home, she will use a drum oven, made from an oil drum, heated underneath by an open fire.

Doris told me that some of the established ministries in their village are jealous about the Bible study that is going on. Some folks are saying that the (Bible study) group is circulating Moslem teaching, which is absolutely without ground. The studiers welcome people from all denominations and they urge them to continue in any church they are already a part of. (Most of them have no church ties at all.) Please pray with us that no divisions among denominations will deter these Bible studiers from growing deeper in their faith.

The relationships that are growing with these villagers are so eye-opening about the way most of the people of this country live. We thank God for these people and insights.

Jesus Film Showing

The Lord answered our prayers about the showing of the Jesus Film.

The venue was the "mess hall" of a local high school, one of the few places with electricity near Bung village. The electricity was out for about 20 minutes as the villagers were gathering to watch the film. After some introductory remarks, it came on and stayed on for the entire showing. (By contrast the power flickered on and off numerous times during Monday and Wednesday evenings.)

About 150 people, men and women of all ages and lots of children, were in attendance at the film. Afterwards several people got up to say they appreciate the interdenominational Bible studies going on in the village.

We had expected some to come forward in response to the message of who Jesus is, but we trust God is continuing to work in the villagers despite what we expect.

Heart-Felt Call for Prayer

Sue writes:

If you look back at the post called, "Great Day to be a Missionary" you will gather some background for this post. Jeff is working with a group of 70 or more young villagers who claim to have an interest in becoming Christians. About 30 of them have completed a workbook about the basics of the faith. They are memorizing Scripture from the lessons.

Someone comes from the group every day with some new idea the group wants to act on. The thing is, the idea usually involves us giving them something for them to use. We don't mind giving them things, but we sometimes wonder if some of them are just greedy and the claim to faith is just a way to "get things."

Jeff has asked God to give him contacts "outside the fence," so we want to follow God's leading. We are asking Melanesians and other missionaries for insight into this situation. Jeff is trying to orient the new IT manager, field constant requests for his time, serve on a curriculum review committee, update course notes for next term, and fulfill the other things his job entails. Still, he wants to follow God's leading. Please pray for Jeff to see what God wants.

Tonight we are scheduled to show the youth group the Jesus Film in Tok Pisin. It clearly presents who God is, His overtures of love toward people, who Jesus is and what He did to provide salvation for people.

The group came up with the idea of holding a ceremony of conversion before the film. Working with them in Tok Pisin, we are not absolutely clear what their motivation is for this ceremony. Please pray for Jeff to have wisdom as he deals with the youth.

He also asks for prayer that God's Spirit would be working in the lives of those who watch the film and that PNG Power would supply the power we need to show the film.

In 2 Corinthians 1:10-11 Paul wrote about his missionary quandaries. Though we are not experiencing the physical threats he was, we identify with the pressure he felt as he said:

On [God] we have set our hope that He will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.