Sue says:
On Sunday our Pioneers co-worker in Banz, Kent, received word that his dad had had a stroke at home in the US. By the end of that day, Kent's dad had died.
Kent and his family quickly made plans to return home for the funeral. Before they could leave, though, our Melanesian neighbors (in Banz) came by to sit with them and pray for them.
Yesterday, Kent and and his family arrived in Moresby and they stayed overnight with us. Again, our Melanesian neighbors here asked the family to come to what amounted to a Christian haus krai. We were able to attend the second one.
A traditional haus krai is the Melanesian way of mourning the dead and saying good bye to someone who has died. We found the Christian adaptation of this custom very special.
Kent has only been a part of Christian Leaders' Training College for about six months, so I thought it was unusually caring for his neighbors and co-workers to show the concern they did.
The gathering last night started simply with the singing of Christian songs. One that stood out in my mind went like this:
Yu no save long mi
You don't know me
Na mi no save long yu
And I don't know you
Tasol nau, Jisas i bungim yumi
But Jesus unites us
Yu kam long arapela hap
You come from one place
Na mi kam long narapela hap
And I come from another one
Tasol nau, Jisas i bungim yumi
But Jesus unites us
Yes, yumi kam bung wantaim
Yes, we come together
Na kamap femili, femili bilong God
And we become the family of God
The senior statesman in the group shared thoughts about Christians leaving their temporary home in this world (our tent) and going to our permanent home in heaven, the thoughts taken from 2 Corinthians 4 and 5. Then Kent was asked to share thoughts he had.
Next, the women offered cookies, cake and drinks they had prepared for those present to share while they talked together.
Melanesians are community-oriented. Most of them live in small villages in which almost everyone is related to everyone else. The way they included us "outsiders" was very meaningful last night.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
A Truly United Church
Sue says:
It was a pleasure on Sunday to visit a church that is joyfully multi-cultural.
There are at least eight language groups that attend that church, and they have found ways to incorporate the groups into a happy congregation. The Sunday service is held in English, with some pidgin mixed in, as languages common to all.
During the week, each language groups is a "cell group" that cares for the needs of its own members. We heard each group consists of about eight families. The thing that was striking was the joy that the people displayed as they met together on a Sunday morning.
Each week a different group is the designated servant. For that week the servant cleans the church building and places flowers in the sanctuary. The group of the week also prepares some kind of song to sing in their language at the service. Then they serve snacks to visitors after the service. I believe they also give a gift to the pastor for his support that week. People of all ages worked together to perform all these services to the rest of the congregation.
Besides the groups serving each other, the pastor brought a message about the risen Christ meeting with His disciples after the resurrection. Another interesting thing was that the announcements were made AFTER the sermon.
It was a blessing to worship the Lord together with this congregation.
It was a pleasure on Sunday to visit a church that is joyfully multi-cultural.
There are at least eight language groups that attend that church, and they have found ways to incorporate the groups into a happy congregation. The Sunday service is held in English, with some pidgin mixed in, as languages common to all.
During the week, each language groups is a "cell group" that cares for the needs of its own members. We heard each group consists of about eight families. The thing that was striking was the joy that the people displayed as they met together on a Sunday morning.
Each week a different group is the designated servant. For that week the servant cleans the church building and places flowers in the sanctuary. The group of the week also prepares some kind of song to sing in their language at the service. Then they serve snacks to visitors after the service. I believe they also give a gift to the pastor for his support that week. People of all ages worked together to perform all these services to the rest of the congregation.
Besides the groups serving each other, the pastor brought a message about the risen Christ meeting with His disciples after the resurrection. Another interesting thing was that the announcements were made AFTER the sermon.
It was a blessing to worship the Lord together with this congregation.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
We Try Saursap
Sue says:
We arrived safely in Port Moresby on Wednesday. The CLTC staff here is a gracious group. They have given us a short introduction to what goes on in this city ministry, one family has had us to dinner at their home, and they have kindly driven us to get set up with supplies we need.
On our first day here, Ruth showed us some of the places to buy food. At a market, we saw something new to us.
Saursap looks something like an enormous pear with bumps on it. We thought it looked intriguing, and we were assured that it is sweet--otherwise we might have passed up this odd thing.
You can see it is white inside, and it has what look like giant-sized watermelon seeds. The flesh is soft.
"OK. Guess I'll be bold!" Yes, it has a taste something like a mango. An Aussie friend described the taste as similar to "fruit salad."
We arrived safely in Port Moresby on Wednesday. The CLTC staff here is a gracious group. They have given us a short introduction to what goes on in this city ministry, one family has had us to dinner at their home, and they have kindly driven us to get set up with supplies we need.
On our first day here, Ruth showed us some of the places to buy food. At a market, we saw something new to us.
Saursap looks something like an enormous pear with bumps on it. We thought it looked intriguing, and we were assured that it is sweet--otherwise we might have passed up this odd thing.
You can see it is white inside, and it has what look like giant-sized watermelon seeds. The flesh is soft.
"OK. Guess I'll be bold!" Yes, it has a taste something like a mango. An Aussie friend described the taste as similar to "fruit salad."
Sunday, April 19, 2009
God Be With Bung 'Til We Meet Again
Sue says:
Before we head to Moresby, the capital of PNG, later this week, we wanted to say our good-byes to the Bible study group in Bung village today. Jeff has been organizing some residents of our Bible college community to take turns going to Bung on Sunday mornings to review the discipleship lesson the group should be studying for the week. Today, a new Solomon islander came to give the Bible lesson. He was a little shy about his pidgin (Solomon islanders speak a different pidgin), but his love for the people and knowledge of God's Word really came across.
Several men and women gave testimonies or sang special songs today. In the picture above, Doris leads the children in singing and using motions for a song about Who made the flowers and the fish and the birds and you and me. The kids and adults also sang not one, but two, special good-bye songs. We were moved to reciprocate, so we sang the Irish blessing about "until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of His hand."
After our meeting, all the group lined up to shake our hands, and Peter showed us a bird of paradise he had caught to give to Jeff. He said he would feed it for us until we return.
You've got to love such group and pray that they will continue to grow in their new faith in Christ.
Before we head to Moresby, the capital of PNG, later this week, we wanted to say our good-byes to the Bible study group in Bung village today. Jeff has been organizing some residents of our Bible college community to take turns going to Bung on Sunday mornings to review the discipleship lesson the group should be studying for the week. Today, a new Solomon islander came to give the Bible lesson. He was a little shy about his pidgin (Solomon islanders speak a different pidgin), but his love for the people and knowledge of God's Word really came across.
Several men and women gave testimonies or sang special songs today. In the picture above, Doris leads the children in singing and using motions for a song about Who made the flowers and the fish and the birds and you and me. The kids and adults also sang not one, but two, special good-bye songs. We were moved to reciprocate, so we sang the Irish blessing about "until we meet again may God hold you in the palm of His hand."
After our meeting, all the group lined up to shake our hands, and Peter showed us a bird of paradise he had caught to give to Jeff. He said he would feed it for us until we return.
You've got to love such group and pray that they will continue to grow in their new faith in Christ.
Monday, April 13, 2009
A Melanesian Village Resurrection Sunday
Sue writes:
Jeff preached in a village church by the Ane River on Resurrection Sunday. He also spoke at the dedication of the church building at that place shortly after we arrived in PNG in 2006. The congregation hasn't grown yet. In fact, it seemed there were fewer attendees than at other times we have visited. Please pray that the Wara Ane church would make an impact on the lives of those who live around it.
We did have a meaningful service. The pastor accompanied singing on his guitar as we sat on the straw-strewn earth floor. The children wriggled as we nine adults sang Resurrection songs. This is how one goes:
Jisas i dai long diwai cross Jesus died on the cross
I winim Setan long matmat He beat Satan at the grave
Jisas i dai na kirap bek Jesus died and rose again
Jisas i win oltaim He's the eternal victor
There were a couple testimonies and spontaneous songs from the attendees. Then Jeff spoke about the events of crucifixion week in Jesus' life on earth. He compared Jesus' death to the death of a recent graduate of CLTC which occurred last week. Both died at an early age. In both cases, it could be assumed that Satan had won. Yet, both had accomplished what God had planned for them. There was grieving for both, but Jesus' resurrection showed that there is life after death and that the Father approved of the sacrifice for sin that the Son had made. We who believe in Christ will see both Him and the CLTC grad in heaven.
The above song ends with:
Aleluya! Jisas i win Praise God! Jesus won
Aleluya! I winim dai Praise God! He beat death
I winim dai na kirap bek He beat death and rose again
Jisas i win oltaim Jesus is the eternal victor
Jeff preached in a village church by the Ane River on Resurrection Sunday. He also spoke at the dedication of the church building at that place shortly after we arrived in PNG in 2006. The congregation hasn't grown yet. In fact, it seemed there were fewer attendees than at other times we have visited. Please pray that the Wara Ane church would make an impact on the lives of those who live around it.
We did have a meaningful service. The pastor accompanied singing on his guitar as we sat on the straw-strewn earth floor. The children wriggled as we nine adults sang Resurrection songs. This is how one goes:
Jisas i dai long diwai cross Jesus died on the cross
I winim Setan long matmat He beat Satan at the grave
Jisas i dai na kirap bek Jesus died and rose again
Jisas i win oltaim He's the eternal victor
There were a couple testimonies and spontaneous songs from the attendees. Then Jeff spoke about the events of crucifixion week in Jesus' life on earth. He compared Jesus' death to the death of a recent graduate of CLTC which occurred last week. Both died at an early age. In both cases, it could be assumed that Satan had won. Yet, both had accomplished what God had planned for them. There was grieving for both, but Jesus' resurrection showed that there is life after death and that the Father approved of the sacrifice for sin that the Son had made. We who believe in Christ will see both Him and the CLTC grad in heaven.
The above song ends with:
Aleluya! Jisas i win Praise God! Jesus won
Aleluya! I winim dai Praise God! He beat death
I winim dai na kirap bek He beat death and rose again
Jisas i win oltaim Jesus is the eternal victor
Friday, April 10, 2009
Missions Week
Sue writes:
For five days around Resurrection Sunday, CLTC is celebrating Missions Week. The students do much of the preparation and presenting, and there is an air of excitement to learn about what God is accomplishing around the world.
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Before the conference opened, a theme banner had to be painted.
Students silk-screen printed T-shirts with the theme info. This year the focus is on four countries in northeastern Asia.
Women arranged flowers from around the campus in the auditorium.
The registration table was ready to orient attendees from near and far. Some graduates and PNG missionaries have returned to give reports on their work.
On the opening night, student families from smaller islands surrounding PNG welcomed with singing and rhythm sticks those who had gathered.
The group that has attracted much attention is a delegation from West Papua. The people from this area of eastern Indonesia are related to the people of PNG, and CLTC has sent a number of missionaries there. The West Papuans are shown dressed traditionally and singing their praise to God. The guy in the back, playing the violin, is related to US missionaries who serve at CLTC.
For five days around Resurrection Sunday, CLTC is celebrating Missions Week. The students do much of the preparation and presenting, and there is an air of excitement to learn about what God is accomplishing around the world.
alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322960541547229666" />Before the conference opened, a theme banner had to be painted.
Students silk-screen printed T-shirts with the theme info. This year the focus is on four countries in northeastern Asia.
Women arranged flowers from around the campus in the auditorium.
The registration table was ready to orient attendees from near and far. Some graduates and PNG missionaries have returned to give reports on their work.
On the opening night, student families from smaller islands surrounding PNG welcomed with singing and rhythm sticks those who had gathered.
The group that has attracted much attention is a delegation from West Papua. The people from this area of eastern Indonesia are related to the people of PNG, and CLTC has sent a number of missionaries there. The West Papuans are shown dressed traditionally and singing their praise to God. The guy in the back, playing the violin, is related to US missionaries who serve at CLTC.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Village Worship Service
Sue says:
Sunday we were given a clearer picture of how tribal fights affect a community. Jeff spoke about the events of Palm Sunday to a congregation that has recently been torn by fighting within a clan over land. One side has paid the other to cease fighting, but a final payment has not yet been made. Therefore the men in the congregation did not feel it is yet safe to leave their homes unguarded.
We had sweet fellowship with those in attendance, but we could sense the tension that still exists.
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