FM Radio Light

Jeff writes:

Last week Sue and I were able to participate in a radio program called "Prayer for the Nation." It was broadcast by FM Radio Light and could be heard all over PNG. Carl Kaumi, who teaches here at the Port Moresby (POM) Centre, arranged for us to go.

Carl Kaumi prays on the air.



Two Newly Minted Radio Personalities



The CLTC was responsible for a full week's worth of half-hour programs where we prayed for the theological colleges of the country. Sue and I took part in two broadcasts. The theme of the first one was reaching the lost through our colleges, and the theme for the second was for our colleges to accurately teach God's word. Since there were three of us praying, each one took around ten minutes to share a Bible passage or verses, and then pray through them. Port Moresby is certainly an entirely different environment from what we are used to in the Highlands, and we are thankful that the Lord has opened new opportunities for ministry for us here.

(To our blog followers: because Internet charges are so incredibly high here in Port Moresby, we have not been able to post to our blog as often as we would like. Keep us in your prayers as we battle city noises, the heat, and loneliness. God is sustaining us, and we know He is using us here as well. I have a new class starting this week entitled "Genesis and the Pentateuch." My last class ended well. Sue is making great headway on the plans for a graduate refresher course to be held in December on the island of Bougainville. Pray for her as communications [telephone and mail] have been difficult with our Bougainville contacts. Pray also that funding will be available to conduct the class. We value each and every one of you. May God richly bless all of you.)

A Sweet Aroma

Sue writes:

But thanks be to God, who... manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 2 Corinthians 2:14



The other day I noticed an appealing smell as I approached the door to our flat. I couldn't locate it at first. Then I figured out it was the papaya flowers on a tree near our door. In the picture, you see the truck, branches, leaves and flowers of the papaya tree. Boy, it's a delicious smell. Wish I could post that too!

Please pray for us as we continue in our work. May the message of the Lord we give out be a sweet aroma of life to those we work with.

Jeff is finishing a God, Man and Satan class next week. He will then begin a Pentateuch class and continue with a Bible interpretation class. He also preaches for Sunday services in churches in the Port Moresby area. The heat and humidity in Port Moresby make living here a challenge.

I am working with a team to plan a graduate refresher course in Bougainville. Communications are very difficult because our contact doesn't have a phone or mail delivery. Please pray we will be able to set the location and dates and send invitations. I am also adapting materials I previously have taught in Christian Counseling for this gathering. I need God's insight to plan for the needs of these graduates who are in ministry.

The internet service has been too expensive here. This may be our last post for a while.

Church in a Settlement

On Sunday Jeff preached at this church in Kila Kila, a settlement that is part of the National Capital District. A settlement is a village of squatters who come to a city to find work. Often there is no work to be found, so the squatters have lots of problems. The congregation which owns this building hopes to reach out to help the people who live in the settlement.

A number of the people who are a part of this congregation are taking Theological Education by Extension (TEE) courses from Christian Leaders' Training College.





After the service the women and children gave big Mother's Day smiles.

Visiting Ela Beach by PMV

Sue says:

Sunday afternoon was another hot day, so we wanted to find somewhere cooler. Were we brave enough to try a PMV (public motor vehicle or bus) ride to Ela Beach, the city playground, on our own? We were.

We walked up to the Waigani market bus stop and asked people which buses to take and how much to pay. Then it was time to jump on.

You do pretty much have to "jump" on. People push and get in front of you. You have to be determined to get on. We let a couple buses go by that were overly crowded. When one with the right number and plenty of space came by, it was our turn.

The paying of fares is a little different here. You get on and start going, and then you pass your fare, hand to hand, to the conductor or boskru. We are often told to pay higher fares than locals, so Jeff tried handing up what it looked like other people were paying. The boskru took it without a blink.

At Four Mile, we had been told we must change, so we got out at that stop. Nothing there of interest: a gambling den, shops that were closed on Sunday. So, we again asked directions. It is pretty fun to be able to speak pidgin and work things out.

Our second bus came right along, and in no time we were jumping off at Ela Beach. The beaches we've seen here are nice family places. Everyone dressed modestly. Folks playing basketball, volleyball and soccer. Little kids running in and out of the water. Boy, the sea breeze felt good! But where, oh, where, was the ice cream man?

A couple unusual things (for here) were going on. One guy was hang gliding. Lots of folks were watching him as though they hadn't seen such a thing before. And, a group of locals was baptizing new Christians in the (Coral) sea. That wasn't attracting as much attention as the hang glider.

It doesn't take long for the sun to go down in the tropics. About five o'clock we thought we'd better head back to our flat. All good folks are inside before dark here.

There were crowds of people waiting at the bus stop. We all waited a longer time than usual. When the right bus did come by, folks were extra pushy. Some jumped in the opened windows. After about three of our bus number went by jam full, a police officer came out of the station by the stop. We stood out as the only white folks there, so he asked us if we knew where we were going. He let us know a number of pick-pockets were in the pushy crowds.

Seeing the officer talking to us, the next boskru asked us where we wanted to go, held all the pushy people off his bus, and told us two to get on. Then he allowed the other people on. We wouldn't have asked for that treatment, but we were thankful for it.

Back at the Waigani market, we found our ice cream at a petrol station "mini mart". And the two ice creams cost more than our fares to the city and back (two ice creams, US $2.25 and two round trip fares $1.60).

As we licked our ice creams, we walked back to the CLTC Centre. It was pretty dark. Two young men and a young woman were walking behind us. The guys had the gal ask us (in English) if we knew where we were and where we were going. We assured them we were going to the CLTC Centre close by. They said they were two brothers and a sister going to their home not far from our destination.

Moresby has a reputation for raskols, and they are here. But we're thankful for many helpful people here too.

Moresby Classes Begin

Sue says:

Classes at the CLTC Port Moresby (POM) Center began this week. Jeff's teaching a God, Man, and Satan class above. Because the students are part of cultures that traditionally worship spirits other than the true God, there are many situations in which even Christians are tempted to go back to worshiping other spirits. This class gives students confidence that the Creator God is able to meet all their needs and Scriptures to use to teach others.

Jeff also teaches an interpretive class on Ephesians. The students are already leaders in their churches, so they have natural outlets for what they learn. Jeff enjoys the way the students readily interact in class.

A Christian Haus Krai

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.

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.