Accreditation Team Positive

Sue says:

An accreditation team visited our campus last week. The visit resulted in a valuable interchange of ideas. The members made an effort to be approachable from our first meeting at a potluck at the campus guest house. Professors from the University of PNG and Pacific Adventist University in Port Moresby and Divine Word University in Madang and employees of the Office of Higher Education were on the team.

They sat in on classes, peeked into student houses, reviewed our finances and organization, met with departmental heads, viewed all aspects of the farm operation and held sessions with different groups on campus. In the end (pictured above) they assured us they would give a positive recommendation to the Office of Higher Education (OHE).

There are still two committees at OHE which must also endorse our application for accreditation, and it will probably be the beginning of next year before the final written recommendation comes back to us. When it comes, it will have suggestions for our improvement as well as praises for what we do well. Accreditation would mean that our diplomas and degrees are recognized by other universities within the country and outside.

In the mean time we thank those of you who prayed for this event. It was a little daunting to have folks sitting in on our classes, but we feel we all have benefited from the new relationships that have begun as a result of the visit.

Graduation is a Bittersweet Time

Sue says:

Despite all the excitement of the graduands getting ready for their sendoff, it must be admitted that graduation is also a painful process. For this current batch, we've known a few of them their entire four years. Some of them we welcomed to our house when we were just new here as well.



This female student came into my office this week to invite Jeff and I to her graduation party. It was very difficult to say that though we would love to attend, we had already accepted another student's invitation.

So I asked her to sit down, and we thought together about the things people would comment on at her party. She was unsure of her English at the beginning of her studies, but she worked on that subject. She was in my counseling class and Jeff's church history.

In her intensive year, she needed to help her ailing mother. Since she must stay close to home for that, she wasn't able to raise the fees she needed for her last year. We happened to be home at that time, and a female physician who attended one of the meetings at which we spoke was concerned for women students in PNG having a more difficult time with their fees. The supporter made a contribution that helped this student and several other females for this current year. What a blessing to be able to return with that good news.

When this student arrived back on campus, she was surprised to be asked to be one of two senior students who look after the single women. It had previously been arranged that two other women would be the seniors, but neither of those women was able to come back. Would she do it?

Being a senior student takes a lot of time and effort above the usual class assignments. Knowing the difficult position the single women's faculty supervisor was in, she said yes. It has been a stretching year. One single woman had to be expelled. Though it was a wrenching process, it was gratifying to hear that the counseling training had been a help in the senior student role.

Yes, we came to train students to be Christian leaders, and part of the process involves trusting God in difficult situations. This student and others have seen God prove Himself strong in their years of training here. We rejoice with them! And we shed a few tears together too as we prepare to part.

Graduands’ Retreat

Jeff writes:

Last weekend was one of the highlights of my year. It was our annual graduands’ retreat. I have taken part in the last three retreats, and each one has been a special blessing.

The retreats focus on the students. Each year they give a personal testimony of what God has done in their lives over the years here at the CLTC. We were privileged to hear how the Lord has miraculously met financial needs, gently overcome fears of failure here at the college, faithfully walked with students in their studies, and kindly introduced them to new lifelong friends.


This year’s retreat was the first one held off campus since I have been at the CLTC. We made a short journey to the village of Domil in the Western Highlands. Domil is a model Highlands community. Their red, black and gold community flag bears the motto “Jesus is Lord”. (I hope to share more about Domil in a future blog post.)

The retreat started on a Friday evening at our campus with an inspiring movie of the life of Billy Graham.

On Saturday morning we loaded into two vehicles for the trip to Domil. They gave us a nice morning tea, which was followed by a tour of the village and a special meeting with the village elders. After that session we heard a short message from Doug, who is our Dean of Studies. That was followed by ten student testimonies.



On Saturday afternoon we took a hike up to a special prayer house, which the people of Domil had built on top of a mountain ridge overlooking their village. After the hike we took “showers”, which consisted of a bucket of water, some soap, and a bowl to ladle the water over one’s tired dirty body. They were most refreshing.



One of the key ingredients to a good retreat is lots of food. Our hosts provided a prodigious amount of tasty treats. I especially liked the sweet bananas cooked in cabbage leaves. Yum!



That evening I shared on John 14 and focused on the need for humility in service. After my talk the three faculty members washed the student’s feet in remembrance of what Christ did for His disciples. After the foot-washing ceremony, the students got to share their testimonies.



Sunday dawned with a hearty breakfast. The final group of students gave their testimonies. The weekend concluded with a communion service led by Graham, who is a member of our faculty.

The weekend was full of good memories. I returned emotionally and physically exhausted, but at the same time I was grateful for all that had happened. God had indeed really blessed each one of us with a wonderful mountaintop experience.



Thanks to all of you for praying and giving to allow me to enjoy this special privilege to serve in this place.

Security Company Sacked

Sue says:

You may remember that I mentioned earlier that I wasn't feeling secure on our campus (Saturday, October 3). Other women in our neighborhood had experienced beggars coming to their doors in the middle of the day when our husbands weren't home. One guy even came right into the faculty building using veiled threats to get people donate to his "medical" fund. We had had things stolen right off our porch too.

To the credit of our management team, when these things were reported to them, such activity stopped. Probably a guard was posted at our back gate so people couldn't just get onto campus unnoticed.

About a week ago, a story circulated that some of the security guards themselves were involved in the stealing of our chickens. Large numbers of chickens with a possible value of tens of thousands of US dollars. There must have been some truth to the allegations because the police were seen on campus right after that.

Last Friday the old security guards all were fired and a new company's guards are here. We know some of the old guards were faithful and honest. It is a shame they had to be released too. We hope they will soon be assigned somewhere else. This is, we think, the third guard company since we have been here. The others were dismissed for the same reasons.

It's sad that the work of the Lord is impeded in this fashion, but the atmosphere is the same all over the country. We will start fresh now with high hopes for a more secure environment.

Jesus Is Stronger than Sorcery!

Sue says:

Thanks to those who have been praying for my learning curve as I have studied Scriptures about sorcery. Sorcery, witchcraft, love potions, charms, curses and related things are great concerns to people in PNG. Even pastors here often are not aware that they can be free from fear of powers which would harm them.

A great resource in Pidgin has come to my notice. It's called Jisas i Winim Sanguma na ol Kain Kain Pawa (Jesus is stronger than sorcery and all sorts of powers). This booklet by Neville Bartle, a Nazarene missionary, is written in a style that appeals to Pidgin-speakers. There are lots of stories about people who had different fears in this regard, and the scriptural answers that helped free them from the fears.

Jeff is finding the booklet helpful in his ethics class too because this kind of power struggle is actively going on here. My missions students are interested in it too.

We appreciate your continued prayers as we use this scriptural resource to explain to people that Jesus is stronger than all other powers.

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.