Orientation Week in Full Swing

First year women confer with senior student on library verandah


First year men check the notice board and get to know each other

It's another exciting time of the Bible college year. The 30 students who have been invited to be a part of the incoming class are here for orientation. The registrar is figuring out who has arrived and which have their school fees in hand. Senior students and deans of students are showing the new ones around. Faculty members have been leading them in devotions from the book of 1 John. Tonight faculty members are hosting small groups of new students and their families for games and dessert.

You may have noticed from the pictures that the men and women don't mix. As time goes on there will be brother-sister relationships growing. It is culturally appropriate for things between the sexes to stay at that level.

Jeff led devotions on 1 John 5 this morning. He's interviewed five of the incoming students to get an idea if they're finding their way around. Tonight two couples and their six children will come to our house.

A half-dozen of the new students haven't yet appeared or do not have fees for various reasons. Please pray God will make it clear through His provision which He wants to be ready to start classes on Monday.

CBC Highland's Youth Convention Porgera

Jeff writes:

We made it back from the CBC Highland's Youth Convention in Porgera last Saturday. Thank you for your prayers.

As you know we gathered in this mountainous locale made famous by a gold mine. The conference lasted from Sunday to Saturday, and since I was the only invited speaker to show up, I spoke every day.

Some quick facts: Over 500 "youth" attended. (Some were men and women older than me.) Ten people were baptized. I am told that 73 people gave their lives to Christ. We dedicated a new church. Hearts were touched, and I learned a lot about being a missionary.

Our theme was "Come and Walk with Christ," and I spoke from Ephesians and focused on the many relationships found in the book. Acts 19 formed the backdrop for the series. I then spoke about the walk we have with Christ as believers (Eph. 1:3-14), the walk we have with God through prayer (Eph. 1:15-23; 3:14-19), the walk we have with each other in the Church (Eph 4:1-16), and the walk we have in our fight against the spirit world (Eph. 6:10-20).

Speaking in Pidgin for an entire conference was a huge challenge. At the end of the day I just had to crash. Everyone was very supportive though, and for that I am thankful.

Below are some photos that show some of the highlights. I hope you enjoy them.

Actually there were over 50 of us from the Western Highlands, who crowded into two vans and one coaster bus. The excitement was palpable.



The organizers did a wonderful job getting ready for the convention. These signs were everywhere in town. In addition the local committee built a large grandstand, and a huge "tent," which was constructed of bush materials and tarps and was easily capable of seating all the attendees.



The Highlanders have a real sense for pageantry. The conference kicked off with a parade. On Sunday evening we marched around the meeting place several times to announce that the conference would officially start the next day. On Monday we gathered again to march to a river for baptisms, and then back through the town to open the conference.



As we marched 500 strong to the river for the baptism, the locals followed on until we had a huge crowd to witness what I called a baptism of biblical proportions. Look at all the people!



Three are being baptized in this photo. As you may notice baptisms are done a bit differently here. The person being baptized merely squats down in the water to be immersed. Pretty clever eh? No water up the nose that way!



The official opening took place after the baptisms. After that they asked me to dedicate a new church. They sure did pack a lot into one day, and Monday was just the start!



After the church dedication we sat down to a huge mumu or luau. The pork was juicy and lip-smackin" swell and the steamed ferns and kaukau (sweet potato) were greasy good. The photo shows the food just as it was taken from the mumu pit. The men are getting ready to divide it up among the guests.



The Melanesians have a wonderful sense of beauty. Flowers of every color of the rainbow grow here. The photo below shows the flower arrangement that was laid out in front of the stage inside the tent.



All told there were ten different groups that came to the conference. This youth is sporting a Highland's cap made especially for this event. Hela will soon be one of PNG's newest provinces.



Other than being held up on the way back by a drunk with a very large bush knife, the trip home was pleasant. This shot shows a roadside rest where we stopped to buy some steamed karuka, which is a large nut and is very tasty.



Again thanks for your prayers. We are so grateful for each one of you. May the Lord bless and keep you all.

Hens Report Zilch

Sue says:

With Jeff away, I invited the other three single ladies from my neighborhood to contribute to an evening meal together. Some would call such a gathering a "hen party."

What a nice combination of dishes we assembled: chicken curry, brown rice and vegetables with prawns, fish cakes, bananas creamed in coconut milk, fresh pineappple and papaya, homemade ice cream and chocolate chip cookies. Yum!

The other women are national ladies who work in the administration and finance departments. It was nice to sit around after we finished work and just unwind together. After we talked over the news, we tried a game of zilch.

Zilch is a dice game. You try to roll ones or fives. You can roll as many times as you want in a turn. But if on any roll you get no scoring numbers, you get zilch (zero) for that turn. This is not a gambling game, but just one to laugh over together when a person throws zilch.

In youth conference news, Jeff asks for prayer that he finish well. He is quite tired after the long week of events, yet he wants to do justice to Ephesians 6 from which he will preach today. He says the youth continue to be exuberant about the gathering and the Lord.

Jeff Reports from Porgera

Sue says:

Jeff called to report from Porgera (see previous post). The trip took longer than the expected four hours because part of the road is unpaved through the mountains. He says about 400 people had arrived by last night, and they had a meaningful time of worship together.

He is the only invited speaker to have arrived so far. He is scheduled to begin speaking tonight. A church leader from Tari, Southern Highlands, volunteered to be a speaker too.

The group is enthusiastic, and Jeff expects fruitful times together. A baptism and a church building dedication are planned besides preaching times.

The organizing committee has booked Jeff into a nice guesthouse so he can study and have a quiet place to prepare. He is thankful.

Since our brand of cell-phone doesn't have coverage in Porgera, Jeff probably will not report again this week. Because fewer speakers arrived than expected, the meetings may finish a day early. He could be back on Friday.

Jeff Speaks at Youth Conference

Sue says:

Jeff's been working hard preparing sermons from the book of Ephesians on "The Christian Walk" for the Christian Brethren Church's youth conference in Porgera this week. He and 26 youth (again, 18-40-year-olds) and their leaders left early this morning in two vans. The meetings will open tonight and run through Friday night. The main speaker is a CBC district leader and a student at our Bible college.

Porgera, four or so hours west of here in Enga Province, is reported by Lonely Planet to be the most mountainous area of the country. It is even higher there than the 5100 feet at our Bible college, so people tell us it will be cold in the mornings and evenings.

When Jeff left, we knew little about where he would stay, how he would get food, how many times he would speak or any other details about the conference. Please pray the logistics will be worked out and the time away indeed will help those attending to grow in their relationship with the Lord and each other.

Bung Yut Celebration

Jeff writes:

The day after Christmas we headed up the hill to Bung Village to celebrate the goodness of the Lord.

We were royally welcomed by the whole community. The day included singing, speeches, a sermon, a drama, a re-dedication of marriage vows, two graduations, and a baptism, which was followed by a hearty lunch. Wow, what a day this was. The Lord as you will see in the photos below has been working mightily in this place.

The festivities were to start at 8:00 am sharp PNG time, which means that they will start right on time regardless of what time it is. This photo shows all of us, who showed up on European time, waiting to be welcomed.


After a hearty Highland's singsong welcome, we were presented with fresh flower leis. Dan is receiving his.


We marched in between two parallel lines of villagers. We did our best to shake hands with each one. They blessed us by throwing flower petals along our way.


Speaking of flowers this bouquet decorated the speaker's platform or grandstand as they say here.



The youth performed a drama of the Wise Men coming to worship Jesus.



Michael and Doris repeated their wedding vows (and were later baptized). Sue saw tears in Michael's eyes as Dan led them through the significance and the beauty of Christian marriage.



After several welcoming speeches and a sermon, we presented certificates to the youth who had completed a five-book 37-lesson study entitled Rot i Go Antap, which loosely translated means the "The Way to Heaven." This was a more challenging discipleship course than the one we did last year. Needless to say we were very proud of each one who completed the study.



Our graduates are pictured below.



Don and Heather are SIL missionaries. They conducted a literacy teacher training program. This photo shows their graduates receiving their certificates. Literacy is vital to learning the Bible, and these graduates will now be able to teach others in their villages to read.



The baptisms were the last part of the program. We conducted a three-week baptism course for the youth, so that everyone could understand its meaning. However, the symbolism is so powerful that the act speaks for itself.



I baptized three ladies, and Dan baptized Michael and his wife Doris. It was a beautiful setting. The youth had dammed a small creek. The water was covered in flower petals, and a group sung a special baptism song. I was grateful not to be the center of attention. It was slippery going into the water at first, and it was the first time in my life I had the privilege of baptizing anyone. Thankfully the ladies knew what to do.

This last picture is of me showing some children my "dog." I can make a dog with my hands by interlocking my fingers in a special way. (I learned this in the seventh grade in gym class.) It is a great bridge-builder, especially with the children, who are often afraid of me because of my skin color and size.



Some days it is great to be a missionary, and this was one of those times. You may have noticed that there were three missionary couples each from different missions involved in this work. The youth come from at least a half-dozen different denominations. What binds us all together is the Kingdom Mandate to make disciples and to let others know of Him by our love for one another.

Wish you all could have been here. The Lord be praised!

View December Prayer Letter

Click here on our December 2009 Prayer Letter to read its contents.