Blacksburg Christmas

Jeff writes:

We got to celebrate our first Christmas in six years with our children and grandchildren, and it was great!

Everything was in abundance: food, kids, presents, joy and thanksgiving. I thought the pictures could speak for themselves.

 

We were blessed with a white Christmas.

Happy grandchildren!

Delighted grandparents.

God is SO good. May your Christmas be a blessed one as well.

Welcomed by Wintry Weather

Jeff writes:

This post is dedicated to our friends in Melanesia and Polynesia to help them to understand one critical difference between their countries and ours ... the WEATHER.

Since arriving here in Blacksburg the low temperature has been a -12 degrees Celsius and with that cold we have had winds that gusted to 80 kph!

How do we stay warm? First of all by not going outside. Secondly, when we do go outside we layer up with shirts (one light and one heavy), coat, gloves and hat.

The picture we posted above was taken from a movie we made at our son's home. When we see all of you in January, we can show you the entire thing. In the meantime enjoy your fine summer weather.

Blessings to all of you.

Bad News and Good News

Jeff says:

We have been in Blacksburg for nearly one week. After leaving CLTC on Sunday 28 November we arrived here last Wednesday. So why did it take us so long to post this item? Well the answer is there was some good news and some bad news.

First, the bad stuff ...

Sue took home a cold with her from PNG which turned for the worse as she spiked a fever while we stayed overnight in Charlotte, North Carolina. All of our emails were wiped out on the CLTC mail system. (So please accept our apologies if we did not respond to yours.) After moving from the sunny tropics to face an arctic storm, I caught Sue's cold. As a consequence of five airplane flights I came down with phlebitis in my right leg. (The doctor cleared me today of deep vein thrombosis, which means my leg still hurts, but I won't need to go to the hospital.) My computer crashed, but my son, the computer engineer, got it going again.

Now for the good news ...

We were happily reunited with our children and grandchildren over a great spaghetti dinner with all of the trimmings. Last Saturday night we celebrated Virginia Tech's ACC Championship victory over humungous ice cream sundaes.

The wonderful people at Blacksburg Christian Fellowship (BCF) welcomed us warmly last Sunday where I got to preach on the 23rd Psalm. A couple from our BCF home group loaned us their car, and tonight we visit with the BCF mission's committee for a ministry debriefing and a welcome home from them.

These experiences remind me of what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4 where he says that Christians may be perplexed but not despairing. Why? We do not lose heart because we preach and believe that Jesus is still Lord.

Thanks to all of you for praying us through.

42nd CLTC Graduation

Jeff writes:

Today the college graduated 61 students from three of our core programs. We awarded Bachelors of Theology, Diplomas of Theology and Missions, and Rice Certificates.

It was a wonderfully sunny day and a sense of joyous relief filled the air. We were relieved to finish what has been a sometimes stressful year full of water shortages and security threats. At the same time we rejoiced to see the end of our work, the finished product. These students will be able to go into all of Melanesia and other parts of the world to do work we could not do. The battle for the Kingdom of God has a new cadre of capable foot soldiers to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.

Our commencement speaker was the Governor General of Papua New Guinea Sir Paulias Matane. Sir Paulias spoke on loving one's neighbor, and he shared his many life experiences. He began life 80 years ago in a village that practiced cannibalism. He learned to read at seventeen and has never been the same since. When he went to school, his teacher told his students that there was one rule that must be strictly followed. No one could not ask him questions. When Sir Paulias became a teacher, he returned to his village and immediately abolished that rule. He is a naturally curious man, a truly Renaissance Melanesian. As a man of grace and courage, Sir Palias is a statesman of the first order. He has visited all seven continents, written scores of books, fights against corruption, and lives out his faith.

In spite of his stature, he surprised us all when he came down to our faculty building early while the students were getting their graduation gowns on so that they could pose for pictures with him.

After the ceremony the students headed off to their mumus (tons of food steamed by hot stones). Hundreds of people came to celebrate and to eat. Sue and I went to one such party off campus. Matthias and his wife Jennifer invited us to come to their place to rejoice with their friends, family and community leaders. After about two hours of speeches we got to feast on mumued pig, chicken, bananas, veggies, rice, soft drinks, and cake (which Sue provided). It was our Thanksgiving.

What a great day! Tomorrow we get on the big bird and head back to the USA for a short two month stay. What a huge change awaits us! Nevertheless, for now we remain content to rest here and enjoy the time we have left.

Again thanks to all of you who pray for and support us. God has been gracious once again to allow us to enjoy this day for all of you. May the Lord richly bless each and every one of you.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

Sue says:


Though it is graduation week here, we remember that our American friends are celebrating Thanksgiving. It is a well-established tradition with my family to express what we are thankful to the Lord for each year. So for 2010, we have to say:
1. Helping us finish strong in our fifth year teaching at CLTC
2. Giving us Melanesian friends to enjoy and learn from
3. Enabling us to grow in our walk with the Lord, seeing Him in new ways through life here
4. Giving us the opportunity to see our dear family members soon 


Let the peoples praise Thee, O God;
Let all the peoples praise Thee.
The earth has yielded its produce;
God, our God, blesses us.
God blesses us,
That all the ends of the earth may fear Him.
Psalm 67:5-7

Graduation Week Opens

Sue says: This week will be full of activity. Our Sunday service featured several individuals and groups singing  farewell songs 

.

These men from our cell group sang praises to the Lord in the village language of the one in the center. He and the guy on the left will graduate.

 A number of graduations have occurred. Last week 12 campus workmen graduated from a preaching class. This week these community women's leaders graduated from a Know Your Bible study.

 The worship committee asked Jeff to preach from John 15, where Jesus gave His last instructions to His disciples before they "graduated." Pictures from when we lived in a vineyard a year ago came in handy. Many people in Melanesia have never seen grapes growing.


.

Classes Finish for 2010

Classes at the Christian Leaders' Training College finished for this academic year. That means that the students are finished. Of course the instructors will keep going for a while with red pens and calculators to come up with final grades.

There was a sense of relief among students today. It was a good day to enjoy a video with the history of missions class. We ate some banana cake and watched EE-Taow! The Next Chapter. Anyone seen it? It shows how some New Tribes missionaries evangelized a New Britain (part of PNG) tribe, and then they trained them to take the gospel to their neighboring tribes. It's one of the few videos I've seen with PNG characters and customs, and I think the students enjoy that.

Here's the missions history class looking relaxed. The guy at top left will graduate and go back to Port Moresby to work with youth (remember that's quite a broad term here) and run an after-school program something like Awana to disciple kids in his settlement.

The second guy top left hopes he will be accepted for a cross-cultural internship in the Solomon Islands, ministering with a male classmate (not in this picture) and his wife, the woman front left. The man at top, second right will intern in Western Province at a feeder school  in Mapodo, the home of the guy second left.

The two men in the top middle and the ones top right and seated right are first-year students. They will return to their homes to earn fees for classes next year.

The man second right will intern with his denomination in Western Province. He is eager to evangelize his area.

The gal second left is graduating. She will return to her home in the Sepik to teach children. Perhaps the Lord will open the way for her to go as a missionary to Indonesia.

We ask the Lord to use these students to build His church in Melanesia and beyond.

TEE Students Graduate

Sue says:
Theological Education by Extension (TEE) is a useful concept here in Papua New Guinea. People who can hardly read and live in remote places can join study groups to learn how to use the Bible themselves. Pastors can increase their biblical knowledge individually without moving away from their ministry. Our Bible college students use TEE materials for their own discipleship. We also train students and community members to be TEE tutors, those qualified to lead Bible study groups using TEE booklets.

CLTC recently awarded certificates to 91 people who have completed TEE studies this year. We are happy to see youth groups and people of all ages reciting Scriptures and growing in their knowledge of the Lord through studying these TEE courses.

New York Times Article

Jeff writes:

For those of you, who are interested in what it is like to do business here in Papua New Guinea, you may want to read this informative article that appeared in the New York Times last month. The article is entitled "Riches May Not Help Papua New Guinea." You may access it by clicking on this link.

Kain kain hevi i kamap, tasol...

Sue says:

This Pidgin title means "All sorts of troubles exist, but..." You may have seen the title without any text another day. The satellite connection was particularly bad that day, and I wasn't able to post. That wasn't one of the troubles I had in mind.

You may have read another recent post about the trouble with village people thieving and then killing a security guard at Ukarumpa. Our situation has escalated to a serious injury of one of our guards and a robbery on campus in which a number of villagers took part. Please pray for our leaders as they deal with these villagers who are also demanding that they be our security--after they behave as they do.

There is also a serious matter with a student who is supposed to graduate, but may not be allowed to. Please pray humility will grow in the life of this student.

Remember there is a "but" in the title of this article. We don't like to keep talking about these negative things, though they are a factor here. The "but" is that there to introduce the contrast that positive things could result from these negative events. Our prayer is that God's ways would increase in our own lives and in the lives of those to whom we minister. Sometimes this comes about through problems such as these and others we have now. Thanks for sharing in our troubles. May knowledge of God's wonderful help come as a result of them. Thanks for joining us in prayer.

There are other really great things going on here. I will make an effort to write about the joys next post.   

Fall Nostalgia

Sue says:

I saw a picture of a maple tree turning color in Blacksburg this week. It made me nostalgic for home. The family will be planning Thanksgiving and a family meal. Hmm. Won't be there.

A couple pumpkins were at hand. Pumpkins here are green when ripe. See the one on the right above. It's flesh is the same orange color inside that North Americans are used to. You can see the seeds, left,  are similar too. I toasted them in the oven and they taste good salted.

Fall always inspires me to bake. That crispness in the air makes it cool enough that heating up the oven doesn't make the house too hot. I got out my mother's pumpkin cookie recipe. 

Since I was going to bake anyway, I started some bread rising while I baked cookies.

Though it isn't fall here, I made a little arrangement of the bounty from the garden and the kneading bowl. I miss you, Loved Ones At Home. Thinking of you today.

A Sad Day for the Lord's Work

Sue says:
A tragic situation has arisen at the large Wycliffe Bible Translators (known here as SIL) missionary base at Ukarumpa. It typifies the difficulties many Christian missions in the highlands have with neighboring villages. This is as clear as I could piece the story together.   

Early this year there were a number of forced entries and burglaries of homes at the SIL Ukarumpa base. At Easter a number of village youths committed their lives to the Lord. The break-ins stopped.


A while later the same tribe took up the breaking-and-entering again. Ukarumpa leaders appealed to the village leaders to rein in the illegal activities of their youth. The village leaders said it wasn't fair for them to be asked to "turn in" their youth. If they were being asked to act as security, they should have the security guard contract and get paid for what they were doing.

Recently, a drunken man from the same village was ejected by security guards from Ukarumpa property after he pulled a knife on the guards. After the 10 pm lock-up, the same man was found on the property again. The guards loosed a dog on the man, and he escaped with a dog bite over the security fence.About sunrise the next morning, the security guard at the Ukarumpa airstrip was beaten in retaliation by a few men from the man's village.

Later that morning, the village leaders showed up with the man with the dog bite. They demanded compensation for the dog-bite their relative had suffered. When they were informed that some of their tribe had already beaten a guard for compensation, they were angry at their relatives for negating their claim. Ukarumpa leaders saw that the man's dog-bite was treated at the Ukarumpa clinic. He did not need any further care. The leaders said no further action would be taken against the security guards. The police were made aware of the incident.

On the night of 31 October, an unknown person with a gun entered the Ukarumpa airstrip property. The person shot and killed a security guard. Local police are investigating.

The Ukarumpa leaders gave the whole security company the next day off to mourn the death of their co-worker. Some Ukarumpa missionaries also joined in the mourning and sent money to help the family with burial expenses. Some of the missions women brought cooked food to the mourners.

Leaders from Ukarumpa released this statement about the situation:

The culture dictates "payback" for every wrong, which leads to an
unending cycle of revenge. We ask our larger international community to
pray for a peaceful and lawful resolution to the current issues facing
our Papua New Guinean security contractor and the SIL-PNG community.

Many highlands cultures live by the "might makes right" motto. When opponents do not use force to back up their position, they are considered perfect targets. So where does this leave missions organizations? Asking God to intervene. Please join us.

 

 

Women's Fellowship Farewells Graduating Women

The women's fellowship of CLTC gave a farewell meal and send-off for the women who will graduate from the college this year. Each neighborhood cell group hosted several students for a meal together, then, with a scriptural challenge and singing, we blessed them as we sent them out to serve.

It was a solemn moment for the twenty-five women who will graduate this year. The four main teachers of the pidgin women's program lit the candles the students held and challenged them to carry with them the light of God's love as they go out to serve others.

We have observed this batch of students from the time they first arrived.  We welcomed some of them at a gathering for new students at our home the first week they were here. They were shy, wondering if they could make it. Many of them have become more confident and able in their handling of Scripture. We pray God will use this class to make a difference for His kingdom in the various places they will minister after graduation.    

Table Tennis Championship for 2010

Sue says

The Christian Leaders' Training College grand final in table tennis for the year took place today. With papers due and quizzes being given, not too many students came to watch. Several of us enjoyed the diversion anyway.

In the above picture, you see Jeremiah, representing the Solomon Islands, playing the last game against David, representing Samoa. All three games were close, but in the end Jeremiah won.

Above you see our Dean of Studies, left, awarding Jeremiah his prize. Our Public Affairs Officer is on the right. Food is a popular prize. And since no restaurants are nearby, Jeremiah was give rice and mackerel for his wife to make a tasty dinner. His family will feast tonight!

Upgrade of Classroom Building Half-Complete

Jeff and Sue say:
Improvement of half the original classroom building has been going on for two weeks of last term and five weeks of this one. It looks like we will be able to move back in next week. What an improvement has been made!

The original classroom building had four classrooms with a small bookstore in the middle. In the above picture you can see the the old classrooms at the far end along with the old bookstore. The two classrooms on the near end are being refurbished. The new building will be wider than the old one. This additional width will provide space for a larger bookstore located at the near end of the building and two smaller tutorial rooms. To do this, both the interior and exterior of the old building was removed. In addition, most of the interior studs were taken out.  A new larger roof has been installed with ceilings underneath. This will keep the classrooms cooler

This picture is looking at the same side of the building from the old classrooms. You can see the nice new siding and coat of paint on the building, poles and walkway. More lighting has been added along the walkway and inside the classrooms.

This is the opposite side of the building. You can see that the old part of the building, on the left in this picture, is narrower. The wider building will have more spacious classrooms. In addition, we hope to have a computer room capable of supporting 32 computers. So wonderful!

Neither of us will teach this term in a new classroom, but we will be relieved to have the noise of floor sanding and hammering finished for a while. Classes have been meeting in a conference room, the library, on the stage in the auditorium and in another large meeting room.

The other two classrooms and the old bookstore in this building will probably be upgraded next year. We are thankful to volunteers from New Zealand and our own workmen for the fine new rooms that are ready to use.  

Closing Up Events

Sue says:

We're half way through the last term of the year. Graduation will take place in five weeks. Those will speed by full of closing up events.

One of our goals is to have all the students in our cell group over to our house for dinner. These guys on the right are the last group, the single guys. The two on the left plan to graduate. One asks God to use him as an evangelist among the people of PNG. The middle guy leads the youth in his settlement outside Port Moresby. The man on the right is an instructor at our CLTC Moresby center. He is getting more training at our Banz center.

We have an unusually large group of students, about fifty, graduating this year. The above students had just given their testimonies in chapel. At the time I took the picture, the faculty and student body were praying God would use them in His service after graduation.  

We faculty members interview the students in our cell group each term. We pray with them about their needs. The student pictured left had her need for school fees met by a member of one of our supporting churches. She will graduate soon. One of the possibilities she is considering for her future is nursing training.


A fun event that began in the last week is a table tennis tournament. The first round has a number of faculty members pitted against students. Jeff was so determined to take part, that he played left handed (because his right elbow is the one with the wound). He was a good sport even though he was eliminated in the first round (seen below). His wound is healing quite nicely, though.

What about your day jobs?

Jeff writes:

With all the posts dealing with hiking, infected elbows and poisonous snakes some of you may be wondering about whether we are still active in ministry here. We are.

I am currently teaching three courses: cell group leadership, discipleship and Colossians.

My students in the Colossian's class get to write a paper on what the Colossian heresy or syncretism was. We have spent the last week or so learning a lot about first century pagan religious practices and philosophical systems to try to shed some light on what problem Paul was addressing in the church. The study is particularly relevant to my students because they face similar issues in their cultures today. Just like the Colossian believers my students deal with the fearful reality of facing a hostile spirit world. Hopefully, our study will help them to hold fast to Christ to win these kind of battles.

Sue is reprising her History of Missions class. She has but eight weeks to cover the history of Christian missions from 33 AD to the present. She does a remarkable job combining lecture, student presentations, and missionary biographies to teach her course. It has been a stretching experience for her, and she has really grown in the process. Needless to say, I am proud of her.

Both Sue and I are cell group mentors. As such we are members of a student cell group. We participate with them in their meetings, and go out on ministry outreaches with them to a local village church.

My other duties include planning the graduating students' retreat, and I am in the process of ordering graduation regalia for some of the students. I recently became a member of the faculty executive team. As such I get to go to a meeting every other week and discuss and hopefully resolve academic matters.

My boss, who is the Dean of Studies, wants me to go through all of our course offerings to determine whether they are truly written at the college level or not. This last assignment is important because of our recent accreditation. We need to make sure that our courses meet not only our internal standards for excellence but  those of the larger academic community here in Papua New Guinea.

So as you can see we are both busy. Pray that we do all things well and that we do not grow weary in well doing.

Poisonous Snake Second Take

Jeff writes:

Dr. Addy from Rumginae in the Western Province of PNG does not think the snake I photographed on the Kokoda trek was a death adder. She thinks that it was a candoia carinata or Pacific Boa. She sent me this photo to show what a real death adder looks like. Note the triangular shaped head and the very small tail.

Daddio also left a comment to say that he thinks that it is a type of boa as well. He identified as a New Guinean ground boa. He supplied a link to the photo below.

Thanks for your timely responses.

I am inclined to agree. Although when I tell the story to my grandchildren, I will probably refer to the extremely rare maybe poisonous but who knows? New Guinea Pacific ground boa or something like that.

Elbow Update

Jeff writes:

Last Friday afternoon I was the happy beneficiary of much pain as Dr. Becky at Kudjip Nazarene hospital removed a bunch of green gunk from my infected elbow.

She took out a chunk of what she called necrotic (dead) tissue about 1.5 cm by 1 cm across and a full 1 cm deep. My once healthy flesh had been destroyed by the infection. By Sunday night the redness surrounding my elbow had subsided, and for the most part it appears that the infection is nearly gone. There is still some puss in the wound, but I am hoping and praying that I have turned the corner.

Right now I am taking a combination of 24 anti-biotic pills round the clock. In addition to the flu cloxicillin I had been given, Dr. B is having me take chloramphenciol. Lord willing with Dr. B's fine work, these drugs, and your prayers the elbow will heal.

A good friend of mine Dan, who is a veteran missionary in PNG, tells me that I am now officially a member of  "I have a hole in my body caused by a tropical infection missionary club."

Isn't God good?

PS The picture shows a cotton ball that we stuffed into the hole after being saturated with hydrogen peroxide and iodine. For those with stronger constitutions I can send you a photo of the hole without the cotton.

Prayer for Healing of Jeff's Arm

Jeff writes:

I fell hard on my right elbow during the Kokoda trek and basically shook it off and kept going.

However, for the last five days or so an infection has set in. I may have ground some dirt under the skin or something like that. (I don't think that I broke my elbow.)

Currently, I am being treated with a powerful antibiotic, one used to heal staph infections that cause boils. I am now into my third day of taking it, and the arm is still painful, achy, and swollen.

A veteran missionary tells me that these infections are not uncommon here and that they are curable. This was good news because early on as the swelling spread and the pain got worse I had visions of losing my arm.

Having said the above please pray that the infection will be eliminated so that I can return to full functionality. So far I have not had to miss teaching any classes, for which I am grateful.

Ministry Weekend

Jeff writes:

Last weekend our cell group went to a local church in a nearby village to minister. The students put on a wonderful program.

After being introduced by a church elder, they ran the service. We have a particularly talented cell group this year. The music was led by four members of the CLTC music ministry, all talented musicians. We taught the congregation a new song.

This was followed by a short drama about the "Good Samaritan." Guess who got to play the donkey? (Please no jokes about that role being perfect for me!)

Ezekiel (pictured above) preached on this story and emphasized the need to serve our neighbor, who in this story is actually one's sworn enemy. As a Papua New Guinean he could and did say things that a missionary would not be able to speak about. It was a powerful sermon, and he received many loud responses and an ovation at the end.

We left feeling that the Lord had been honored.

On to another matter ... the answer to our snake question is it appears we may have been right. It was a death adder. Our area leader Tom concurred with our identification. He said, "Glad you didn’t step on it. 2 or 3 a year die at Suabi (where he used to live) from death adder bites."

Frangipani in Bloom

Sue says:

Despite the drought, the frangipani trees are in bloom. There's a pink-blossomed one in our yard.

The flowers have a delicious, sweet smell. I wish I could include it as a "scratch and sniff." You can see the cow pasture behind our house and the pineapple plants in our garden are brown from lack of rain.

We did have a glorious downpour of rain almost all of last night. Our drinking water tank is full, for which we thank the Lord.  There are still a lot of clouds in the sky today. We ask the Lord to send more rain from them.

Where's a Herpetologist When You Need One?

Jeff writes:

We encountered three poisonous snakes on our Kokoda trek.

I was able to photograph this one. It does not look in good shape as I think part of its body has been smashed by a rock. Nevertheless, it should be pretty easy for some budding herpetologist (someone who studies reptiles and amphibians) to identify. If you think you know what it is, I would like to know because Sue and I have looked on the web and our best guess is some species of death adder.

Oh yes, there is a prize for the one who identifies the snake. The prize is you will get your first name published on our blog!

Kokoda Completed

Jeff writes:

Courage, Endurance, Mateship, Sacrifice ...

These four words are engraved on black granite stones at the Isurava Battlefield. They exemplify the spirit of the Australian soldiers who resisted a determined Japanese advance along the Kokoda Track during the second world war.

We, who completed the 96 km trek, were able to understand first hand what these words must have meant to those who fought along this precipitous jungle trail 68 years ago.

For me "Mateship" (or friendship) was at the center of our effort as we became for eight short days a family with a brief though intensely shared history. We endured difficult muddy root-choked ascents and descents, thunderstorms, and poisonous snakes. We enjoyed jungle flowers, sweeping vistas, clear mountain streams, the sounds of jungle birds, the sights of brilliantly colored butterflies, and the sweet harmonies of morning and evening worship songs sung by our porters. Most of all we experienced the joy of good humor, camaraderie, and fun as we ate, hiked, and camped together. These Aussies were a delightful bunch, and they all made me feel right at home.

All told there were seventeen of us who paid to walk the trek. We were supported by around 23 Melanesians, who served as guides, food porters, and as personal porters. Without them we would not have made it. My porter Bartz saved my bacon more than once. The photo below shows Bartz and me at the end of the trail.

It was a wonderful experience. There is too much to share on this blog, but when we meet again, I will be happy to bend your ear for a couple of hours ... that is if you are interested.

Thanks for all of you who prayed. Apart from some bruises and a pair of swollen feet I came through relatively unscathed. In fact no one in our party was seriously injured. We all made the hike from the youngest, who was eleven, to the oldest, me. God is good.

A Delightful Women's Retreat

 Sue says:

Over the week-end I was able to attend a retreat with the other women employees and wives of employees of our college and farm program. What a good time!

The setting was the mountains of Chimbu outside Kundiawa. It looks like Appenzell, Switzerland. So beautiful! We enjoyed teaching about the Holy Spirit, visiting the pediatric patients at a nearby hospital, and singing and giving dramas in our own meetings about the teaching we heard. It was a great time of bonding together.

Water Update and Other Reports

It's break between our third and final terms now. Time for lecturers to get their notes ready for the last term. Jeff and I are thankful we are doing well in that department.

A number of you are keeping up with our water situation. We've had about a week without significant rain, and our students are close to exhausting their water supply. They are back waiting in line for a daily bucket for the family. We had a short, light rain this evening. A heavier, longer one or more would help us a lot.

The water filter project is at a standstill. Someone has dismantled the feeder hose several times, setting the process back two weeks each time. We suspect it's a child or a group of children. Rather than our assuming the responsibility for keeping people away, we feel like it is the community's responsibility to look out for the thing that would benefit everyone. So, right now, not much is happening in that regard.

Blesing Tru! (It's a Real Blessing)

Sue says:

Well! We had an answer to prayer, but the answer didn't come in the way we expected. Some of you will remember that Jeff's low-top hiking boots were stolen off our porch a couple weeks ago. Jeff asked for prayer that the boots would be returned. He put up signs about a reward for their return. He talked about the boots to village folks. No report on the boots.

But our son offered to ship us his used heavy duty waterproof hiking boots and heavy socks that he wasn't using. We thought we'd give it a try. Although DHL promised a due date three days later than Jeff's departure date for Kokoda, we picked up the boots today. PTL! They're even better than the other boots were. They have high tops that will keep him from twisting an ankle. And second-hand goods come into the country cheaper than new ones.

OK. You can't see the boots so well, but you can see that Jeff is in shape and ready for his big Kokoda Trek.

Jeff here:

I just finished ten laps going up and down Vision Hill. The boots appear to be all right. I need to wear them a lot in the coming days to make sure that my feet don't blister.

Oh, for those who are REALLY interested ... I cut and filed all of my toe nails today. The time that I hiked Mt. Wilhelm I lost seven toe nails because my foot keep crunching up against the toe of my shoes while going down the steeps. Lord willing it won't happen on this trek.

PNG Independence Day Celebrated

Sue says:

Today is the thirty-fifth anniversary of Papua New Guinea's independence. The celebrations began with the primary school children being led in by their teachers. The employees' and students' children aged 4-7 years attend school on our campus. Below, the woman on the left is one of the teachers and our duplex neighbor. The head teacher wears a headdress from her province, Western. The whitish-golden feathers are from the bird-of-paradise. Many people were wearing the nation's colors, black, red and gold.

The flag was raised and the children led us in saluting it and singing the national anthem.

 Several of our leaders addressed us. In the picture below you can see the speakers on the left. The security guards who are not on duty are in the foreground. Behind them are orchids. The school children sit in the middle ground. The rest of us are in a semi-circle. Rear right is our auditorium. Rear left is our library. Center rear is Vision Hill. Our duplex is near Vision Hill. You can see it's a sunny, beautiful day.

 
Below are our leaders and the organizers of our festivities. From the left, they are the student body president from Eastern Highlands; the assistant principal, husband of the head teacher of the primary school, from Western; the college secretary from Morobe Province; the administrator from Morobe; the principal from Bougainville and the chaplain from Western Highlands. Some of them wear part of their traditional dress.

 

Jeff was asked to lead us in prayer for the country. We thanked God for the many advantages and blessings He has given this land and asked Him that the leaders of the nation follow Him more and more closely.

Then we sang a wonderful song that is sung on special occasions.

This is My Country 

(not sung to the tune Americans know for a song of this name)

Islands and mountains, sunshine and breeze,

Flowers and moonlight, swaying palm trees,

Jungles and rivers, white coral sand,

This is my country, this is my land.

Dark were the days when men lived in fear,

Fear of the arrow, stone club and spear,

Fighting and hatred filled every hand,

That was my country, that was my land

Then came the change that brought peaceful days,

News of our Saviour, learning his ways;

Darkness is fading out of our land,

We know the peace of his guiding hand.

What of the future? Soon we shall be

Teachers and leaders of our country;

We'll build our nation as God has planned,

Make this his country, make this his land.

Then shall our country be free and strong,

Homes will be filled with laughter and song;

Peace in our hearts and work for our hands,

Unite our nation with other lands.

After the ceremony, the big event for the day was sports! Many students and college employees and their spouses play on teams each week. Today they had special competitions with those teams, meeting each other in basketball, volleyball and rugby touch. It's been a lovely day for thanks to the Lord, recreation and relaxation.

Term Three Closes

Sue says:

As the sun was coming up this morning, I was watering in my garden. The sky was showing sunrise pinks.  It's peaceful and still in the garden at that time. The lettuces are doing quite well. Some corn, green peppers, tapiok, peanuts, green onions, strawberries and peas are established. It's still wait-and-see with ginger, carrots, and recently transplanted tomato and cabbage. The lilies pictured above are blooming in the garden.

Next came Scripture-reading time. I wanted to read one of the letters Paul wrote from his first imprisonment in Rome because my class just finished the Book of Acts. Paul was in prison at the end of Acts, but he wrote several letters to congregations and individuals while he was there. Philippians is one of the books he wrote to a church he had established. He was writing to nurture the new Christians in their faith. Verse six of chapter one is one I pray for all my past and present students as we close term three of this college year.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

   

Stolen Shoes

Jeff writes:

For the last six months I have been training to hike the Kokoda Track. This is an arduous foot path. It connects the north coast of PNG at Popendetta with its south coast at Port Moresby. The track mounts the Owen Stanley Range, and all told it has more ups and downs than Mt. Everest.

More importantly, it is also the scene of an heroic WW II battle. Initially young, green, under supplied, outgunned, and outmanned Australian militia bought time and stubbornly resisted the Japanese advance. Later they fought alongside seasoned veterans and defeated a bloodthirsty enemy. Together they handed the armies of Japan their first setback of the war.

Sadly, however, in these final weeks before my departure someone came last Thursday night and stole my hiking boots from off of our front porch (I had left them to air out.). At this point they are irreplaceable.

To get in shape I try to hike ten times up and back down Vision Hill three times per week. (That is me training in the picture with a 20 kg pack on my back.) After the shoes went missing, I attempted to do this with an old pair of basketball sneakers. When I finished my workout that day, I noticed that the stress had almost totally separated the soles from both of the shoes.

So I really need these hiking boots back. I have spoken with as many local contacts as I can to get the word out. I am even prepared to pay a reward for their return, but so far no boots.

Many are praying for them to turn up as I now hope all of you will. If I can't get them back, I will attempt the hike in my running shoes. Lord willing that will not be necessary.

College Improvements Being Made

Sue says:

Our stage curtain in the auditorium was forty years old. We knew because the woman who sewed it told us its age.

Recently the wives of two past principals worked together to sew us a new stage curtain.

Believe me, the new curtain below is a big improvement!

Thanks, ladies!