Students Declare God's Glory

Sue says:

There was excitement in the air as the students mounted their posters for display in missions theology class. They were to make a poster to help them teach people what God's glory is.

One woman is impressed with the beauty of God's creation. It gives Him glory to appreciate the marvelous things He has made.







A guy is amazed that the Father would send His own Son to give His life as payment for man's sin. As we recognize how precious God's gift is, it gives Him glory. The guy drew the Father's hands, the Son on the cross, and a map of the world. He collected pictures of people from all continents.







There were lots of other great efforts in the poster department.


Do you think the class looks relieved to be done with an assignment? They range in age from about 20 to around 60 years old.




About half of this class will go out on internship after this academic year ends. They will serve in their home churches as missions awareness resources, work with youth on short-term missions, work at a refugee camp or go out on their own mission. They would appreciate prayer that God would help them give Him glory in their internship year.

Highland's Wedding

Jeff writes:

We attended our first Highland’s wedding two weeks ago. Jonathan, who is the CLTC’s IT manager, married his long-time sweetheart, a young lady named Natasa. The wedding combined a traditional bride-price ceremony with a Western church wedding. We all had a great time, so I thought I would tell all of you about it.

(Be warned there will be at least one photo of a dead pig in this post.)

Six of us loaded ourselves into a 15-passenger van to make the six-hour 250-kilometer (150 mile) journey from the CLTC to Kainantu in Eastern Highlands Province where the wedding was to take place.

Jonathan had gone on ahead to finalize all the arrangements. He wanted to have both a traditional ceremony plus a church wedding. Because Jonathan's father had passed away, his uncle, Elijah hosted the traditional ceremony. When we arrived, preparations had progressed quite nicely.



The ladies were preparing kaukau (sweet potato), chickens and greens for a mumu to feed around 100 hungry guests.

The bride price is the amount of food, pigs and money required for one clan to buy the bride from another. Jonathan negotiated this price with his future father in law. In Tok Pisin the term is simply baim meri or to buy the woman. Upon our arrival there was one heap of food already.



Pigs are the traditional medium of exchange for the Highland’s people, and I was surprised not to see one. It was not long until a group of men came dragging one of two very large pigs. They placed it beside the pile of vegetables.



When the preparations had been completed, there were two heaps of bride-price offerings. One went to the father of the bride’s family, and the other was for the extended members of the clan. After both heaps were completed, the bride’s clan was invited to come into the compound to start the ceremony.

Elijah, welcomed Natasa’s father and her clan. Behind him on the line are bilims (string or yarn bags), clothes, and laplap or cloth, which were also part of the bride price. (Note the man in the white shirt standing to Elijah’s right. I will tell you about him later.)



After Elijah's welcoming speech, a representative from Natasa's clan responded with thanks for the day and satisfaction for the gifts Jonathan's clan had prepared for them.



The speeches alternated from one clan to the other. They expressed their unity by joining together and giving warm hugs.



In the photo above the first speaker from Natasa’s clan is embracing the man in the white shirt. We later learned that this man was a last born child to a family from Natasa’s clan. As an infant he was given to a member of Jonathan’s clan to raise as a first-born son. This greatly elevated the infant’s standing within his adopted clan, and this adoption helped to cement friendly ties between the two clans.

The honor of the last speech was given to Natasa's father. In it he praised his daughter and the contribution she would make to Jonathan's clan. Earlier, Jonathan's clan members said what a good man she was getting. This was an emotional speech because Natasa is his first born, and it was readily apparent that it was hard for him to part with her.



After he finished his clan collected the bride price, and the traditional ceremony was over.



This step of the traditional ceremony would be the equivalent to a Western engagement. The ceremony of salim meri or givim meri is the final step of a traditional Highland’s wedding. The bride’s family formally gives the bride to the groom’s clan. (Natasa was not present at the bride-price ceremony.) In order to finalize the wedding, the festivities moved to a church where the couple exchanged vows and signed their wedding certificate.



After the wedding Natasa said some tearful farewells to her friends.



After the wedding the invited guests gathered outside the church. We then went back to Elijah’s home where we were served a sumptuous meal. Lord willing we will be able to go back to experience the second half of the traditional ceremony. If we do, I will post the experience and photos on our blog.



Remember to pray for Jonathan and Natasa as they start their new married life together at the CLTC. She will be his assistant in the IT department. In November she will graduate with a degree as an IT Technician. Her job will be to repair and configure computers on campus. They are a wonderful couple, and we all wish them the Lord’s best.

Tribal Fighting

Jeff writes:

While we were living in the U.S., I first heard about tribal fighting in Papua New Guinea from a missionary we had supported here. Deb served in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. Her descriptions of tribal fights conjured up visions of warriors slugging it out with bows, arrows, spears, and shields much like in the Westerns I had watched as a kid. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.

In the past week I have heard about three major fights going on near to us in the Highlands where we serve.

Aviamp Fight

The first is in the Aviamp area and has involved hundreds if not thousands of people. People have been killed. Houses have been burnt to the ground. Gardens have been destroyed. Rival factions have set up roadblocks on public highways. They stop vehicles looking for enemies to kill. Our student cell group was scheduled to minister at a church in the heart of this troubled area this weekend. Although it appears the fight is dying down, right now it looks like our visit will be cancelled.

Bunumwo Fight

The Bunumwo area is a short drive from our campus. Fighting has been going on there off and on for many years.

A student from Bunumwo came to my office to tell me that his clan had attacked another clan. They did this to retaliate for a man, who had his arm whacked off with a bush knife by a drunken youth from the “enemy” clan. The payback came swiftly as a group of my student’s tribesmen snuck up on their enemies’ houses in the dark of night. Waiting until four in the morning, they attacked.

Wielding bush knives and shooting guns, they rampaged for two hours burning houses and wrecking gardens. At the end of the attack 500 people were homeless and without food. Miraculously, no one was killed because the inhabitants had already fled.

Now the victorious tribe is demanding 100,000 kina ($40,000.00) for the loss of the man’s arm. When the other side asked about their destroyed homes, the winners said that at least they could rebuild their burnt houses. The man, who had lost his right arm, could not.

Keep in mind that there are literally “churches on every corner” in these areas. Professing Christians are involved in these fights. Why?

Loyalty to one’s clan is the reason.

These are not necessarily tribal fights but tribal wars. Although PNG is a sovereign nation. her people are loyal to their tribe first and the nation second. Each tribe sees itself as a mini-nation. Because this is true the participants think that they can ignore the Scripture, which says, “Vengeance is Mine. I will repay, says the Lord!” (Rom 12:19; Deut 32:35)

Chimbu Fight

The third fight is underway in Chimbu Province, which borders our Western Highlands Province on the east.

Elijah (not his real name) is one of our CLTC staff members. He and his family are living in fear of retribution here on campus because of a tribal fight going on in his area. He does not leave his house at night and has taken other precautions to protect his family.

The fight started about six weeks ago, when Elijah’s tribe was attacked by their enemies. Elijah’s tribe’s enemies had pooled their money to rent military machine guns at a rate of K1000 ($400.00) per week. In addition, they bought bullets at K20 ($8.00) apiece. These costs are incredible when the average wage people receive to pick coffee is under 40¢ per hour and a mature pineapple sells for around 80¢.

The reason the enemy tribe attacked was for payback for a fight they had lost nearly 30 years ago!

That fight started out as a land dispute.

In it Elijah’s tribe killed many of their enemies and burned countless houses. His tribe took over their land and gardens, and their enemies never forgot it.

Even after being soundly whipped in battle, the enemy tribe resorted to guerilla tactics to gain revenge.

One especially gruesome attack took place in a hospital. An enemy tribesman pretended to be injured and was wheeled into the emergency room for treatment. When the doctor, who belonged to Elijah’s tribe, came to help him, the “patient” cut his throat with a concealed knife. Why? Payback.

The tribes keep score. Instead of touch downs and home runs, the only thing that counts is a death for a death. In the old days this meant the death of a warrior. Today, anyone’s death will do. Parents tell the old stories to their kids, so they will know the score and so they will take revenge.

Hence, for thirty years these tales have been told and retold.

About a year ago the time for revenge had come, but uncharacteristically, the enemy tribe tried another tactic at first.

They went to court to get the disputed land back. The judge ruled against them because they had no clearer claim on the land than Elijah’s tribe. Having failed to gain their objective legally, they returned to the old ways. They chose to take what they thought was theirs by force.

Elijah’s sister’s house was one of the first to be burned to the ground.

The surprise attack also took place at night. Her house was set alight. It was not a bush house mind you, but a permanent solidly constructed one like the house in which we live. She and her family fled in the darkness. Unfortunately, a young male relative, who had just come that night to stay, was cut down by machine-gun fire and died.

In spite of this attack, Elijah’s tribe did not retaliate. Again more houses were burned, and calls for revenge began to build.

In hopes of heading off more violence government officials came to try to make peace with the warring factions. We prayed that they would be able to stop the fighting. Their efforts appeared to bear fruit.

However, the enemy tribe attacked again at a high school.

All tenth grade students in PNG are currently taking compulsory exams to see if they will be allowed to enter eleventh and twelfth grades. Thinking that things had quieted down a number of students from Elijah’s tribe went to school to take their exams.

Students from the enemy tribe saw them come and reported that fact to their tribal leaders. Men with guns were dispatched to kill the kids.

One boy, who was Elijah’s nephew, noticed that they were coming and urged thirteen other children from his tribe to escape through a second-floor emergency exit. He said that he would follow, but before fleeing himself he wanted to lock a classroom door on the first floor to slow down their pursuers. What he did not know was that his killer was waiting for him down below. When he descended the stairs, he was shot to death. His heroic act saved the other’s lives.

This second death really created more pressure for retaliation. Now Elijah’s tribe gathered their guns and attacked. They burnt many of their enemies’ houses and ruined their gardens.

However, there is something to praise the Lord for in the midst of this violence.

A group of Elijah’s clan has refused to enter into the cycle of violence. While most of their neighbors have emptied their houses of all their possessions to carry them to a place of safety, these folks are depending on the Lord and His protection. By day their neighbors come back to their emptied houses to work in their gardens, but at night they flee to the mountains.

Elijah’s immediate family members have refused to leave, and they have refused to finance the counter attack.

Elijah told me yesterday in my office that he has a house in his village with his possessions in it and that in the interests of peace he is willing to lose that house and his things if necessary. At the same time he and this little group are standing up for the principle of allowing the Lord to watch over them, their possessions, gardens and houses, and, if required, for Him to take revenge!

Will you uphold them in prayer? We are praying for God’s protection, and we pray that if the enemies come another night that they will see God’s angels guarding this small group of homes and the people inside them.

Pray too that Elijah’s fellow tribesmen will not take retribution on him and his extended family for their stand. Members of a tribe, who either refuse to fight or to contribute money to finance the fight, are considered traitors. Their own people will plunder their houses to sell their goods to raise money for guns and bullets! Please pray that this does not happen.

Pray too that these three fights will come to a peaceful end soon.

And before you judge these folks too harshly, ask yourself what you would do if your son had been gunned down at school, and you knew that the police and the courts would be powerless to bring his killer to justice?

Sometimes it is hard to be a Christian.

Graduating Students Give Testimonies

Sue says:

One of the highlights of fourth term is hearing the testimonies of the graduating students. One of the recurring themes is the hopelessness many PNG youth feel because there is no place to get work. Many descend into drug and alcohol abuse. Marijuana and homebrew are readily available. A number of guys who were in this category have become Christians, and God has really turned their lives and outlook around.

This week we heard from a guy who was one of the first new students we welcomed to our home when we had just arrived at the college. He was full of thanks to the Lord for the ways the give-and-take of the many in the community has had positive influences in his experience here. Though, it's not top quality, his picture is below.



After the soon-to-be grads speak, we pray that God will use them to affect their country as we send them out for the Lord's service.

Farmside Women Host a Fellowship

It's fourth term at our Bible college now. Graduation will occur in six weeks. Those of you who work at a school know that means lots of end-of-year events.

Last night, the women of our Farmside neighborhood hosted a closing up event for seven women students, shown below.



You would have liked to have seen my neighbors and the mountains of food we prepared, but our tentative satellite connection wouldn't allow me to add those now.

Anyway, our neighborhood includes faculty women, and the wives of farm workers, poultrymen, the butcher, and the grocer. These seven women students (actually eight, but one had to go home because she has tuberculosis) have met twice with us this year for a meal and fellowship time.

Last night, I was asked to lead the devotional, so we looked at Romans 12 about many different parts making up the one body of Christ. The section about spiritual gifts being given for the building up of the entire body was something to think about as four of the women will be leaving for new assignments at the end of this year. Three will graduate (from the pidgin training program)and accompany their husbands to his new ministry. One will go out with her husband for a year of internship and then return for a final year of study. So these parts of the body of Christ will be joined to a new group of believers.

We assured them of our continuing prayers while they are away from us here. We hate so see those we have grown to know leave, but we eagerly anticipate God using them to train others to walk more closely with Him.

Jeff's Birthday!

Sue says:

Jeff had a birthday this week. We've been having trouble downloading pictures from our camera lately, but I'll make an effort to show you the birthday boy and his well-wishers here.



In case you can't pick him out, Jeff is at the left rear. The faculty and some staff were smiling about the banana cake we were about to share.

Dependence on God through Prayer

Sue says:

The dedication at our Bible college to talking to God in prayer impresses us. Women meet to pray at 5 on Saturday mornings, students Friday nights, missions students during lunch on Tuesday, and the whole college community one morning per month.

Today was the monthly morning for prayer. The theme was "Many Parts, One Body (in Christ)".

One man gave a testimony about how he could feel the love of the community when individuals came to his bedside to pray for him after a car accident. He's back to work now.

Another told how he was having trouble doing his job at the machine shop because of shortage of parts, which he hadn't been able to find anywhere. Some Christian supporters of our school came up to help out recently, and what did they bring with them? Some of the parts that were needed. He was thanking the Lord.

Our sales manager said his department has been able to sell all we have been able to produce on our farm in the last nine months. That's an answer to prayer. He also asked us to pray that we will do well in selling against a new competitor which has a larger operation than we do and the competitor can lower prices more than we can.

Students and faculty members from different countries led us in praying for their home places. An offering will be taken this week for the relief of the hundreds of people in Samoa who have been left without homes due to the tsunami last week. (We are giving to that country because one our students is Samoan, and he can help us find a worthy organization to give through.) Prayer was also raised for the victims of floods and earthquakes in Philippines and Indonesia.

We were all touched to hear of recent gestures of two benefactors to our college. One was a team of students and faculty from Victoria College of the Bible in Australia. This team came to lead children's Bible activities during their college break a couple of weeks ago. Before they left, they decided they wanted to give us still more. They took up a collection among themselves, and they left 500 kina (about $200 US) with us.

Another was a bequest that was sent from Australia. An anonymous donor left us $500 Australian. With unusual needs as we seek accreditation and oversee other projects, we thank the Lord for sending us these unsolicited funds.

God be praised for meeting many different kinds of needs here at our Bible college by using many members of His body!

On Meeting Physical Needs

Sue says:

There are so many physical needs in the world today. I find it difficult to know which ones God wants me to get involved with.

This week in the news we read about devastating earthquakes in Indonesia and a tsunami that flattened some sections of Samoa and Tonga. Real people are hurting.

The one Samoan student at our Bible college was seriously concerned when he couldn't reach his family after the tsunami. Later he reached a cousin by cell phone, and he found out his family's possessions were washed away, but their lives were spared. Schools that are standing in Samoa are setting up shelters for the displaced. Some people are still trying to locate loved ones. When I know someone who is suffering, it makes sense to help them out.

There are so many physical needs here in Papua New Guinea (and any other undeveloped nation). One could run around all day giving alms or weeping with hurting people.

This week a man from the village next to us came into the faculty building with a note in English saying he needs an operation and he wants a contribution. He told Jeff in pidgin that he is the head of security in the village--thereby suggesting he will send someone to deal with whoever doesn't contribute? Jeff gave a small amount to maintain relationship with the village (but he didn't even know the man).

Today i was at the vegetable market outside the gate of the college. As I came back in the gate, a well-dressed man I didn't know offered a basket for me to buy. I said I had enough baskets. (I do have one just like the one he offered me.) When I got home, I realized that he had followed me. He came up to my door before I went in and asked again. I told him he had already asked me, and he shouldn't follow me. He made a pantomime like he was hungry. I had visions of all kinds of people following me home whenever I go out. (And I think he has wantoks, tribal relations, to help him out.)

I guess this is bothering me. I want to be compassionate. It seems some discernment is required to recognize genuine need. We foreign missionaries look very rich to the nationals. "O, Lord, please give me compassion and wisdom to recognize the ones you want me to get involved with."

So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. Galatians 6:10

My Dad's Health

While we were home recently, Jeff and my dad were painting together before Dad took sick suddenly.

Sue says:

Thanks to you who have been praying for my dad.

You may not know that at the end of August he had a blood infection, and he was quite seriously ill. There was never any known cause for it. One night while he was in intensive care, we feared he would not last the night. We asked God to give him strength to turn the corner and come back to us. God did. The next day Dad was doing better, though he needed to stay in the hospital a few more days.

The doctors have done a plethora of tests on him. One medication makes a side effect that calls for another medication. Last Sunday he was able to get out to church for the first time in a month. But after he has a good day, he seems to have a bad one. He hemorrhages if he's having a bad day.

His doctors are attending to him, but he's still having to fight for good health. We appreciate your prayers.