Our 2-weeks of February in PNG adventure: "It's the posh, posh, traveling life for me!"

Yes, here I am, once again joining my husband on a Papua New Guinea adventure.  Dan has traveled so much in the last year that he has obtained "gold status" on Air New Zealand.  That means marvelous things for his traveling companion: ME!  We don't have to wait in long lines of people.  Our line is short and quick.  Best of all, Dan can take a guest into the Air New Zealand lounge while waiting for our flight.  

In the olden days (before the conferring of the "gold status,") we'd arrive at the airport, wait in a long line, get our bags checked in, and then hurry to McDonald's for an Egg McMuffin breakfast while waiting for our flight.  Now, however, we're checked in lickety-split, and off to the "lounge," where there's free food, soft chairs, and nicely dressed people.  Instead of an Egg McMuffin, my breakfast was scrambled eggs with chives, a melon fruit salad, and raisin-bread toast.  (Free food of this quality is a missionary's dream!)  There's even a friendly wait-person to take away my dirty dishes.  A girl could get spoiled!  No wonder the grandpa's song from Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang was going through my head:  "Oh the posh, posh, traveling life, the traveling life for me.  First cabin and Captain's table, regal company..."

 

PNG Starting a New Year - Day 2 (of 8): Fiji High Commission

We are sending the PNG missionaries to Fiji this year.  It will probably weaken our movement on campus a bit, but it's a risk we are willing to take.  The main reason we are sending them is that we do not have any trainers in the country to train our staff (we have young missionaries).  Lillian, for example (in the orange below), is in her 5th year as a missionary and has only had 1 year of training.  We are sending our missionaries to Fiji so that by the end of this year Lillian (and possibly Elton as well) can be fully trained and then be trained as a trainer - then any new staff women that join can be trained by Lillian.  

This year is also good because the vast majority of our movement are students in their 3rd year - and they will still have one more year (2017) before they graduate to reap the benefit of a better trained Elton, Lillian and Dianne.  We also have no STINTers (from another country) coming to help this year (and we should have several in 2017).  So, this year is the only possible year.

Part of my trip here is to help Elton, Lillian & Dianne to think through what the students need to learn (or practice) before the 21st of February.

Another part of my trip is to help Elton, Lillian & Dianne to get everything ready like their Fijian visa. So today we went to the Fiji High Commission and spoke to the First Officer there and received the correct applications.  The are getting their Police clearance and their medical report and hope to submit the application my next Friday (the 5th of February).  They are getting excited about going to Fiji (again) and being involved in a large movement (our Fiji ministry has about 25 Fijian missionaries and are growing every year).

Thanks for praying for these three wonderful people (Elton, Lillian & Dianne)!

PNG Starting a New Year - Day 1 (of 8): Getting ready for 30 Jan and 21 feb

Hello again!

I came a bit early to Papua New Guinea this year.  We have the opportunity (& the funding) to send our 3 PNG missionaries to Fiji for the year (more on that later), so my schedule of trips to PNG this year will be different. There are 3 major times in the next 5 weeks (4 major in the next 7 weeks), but instead of coming here for 5 weeks (which would wipe me out), I'm here for only 1 week, then home (New Zealand) on 2nd Feb for 2 weeks, then back here (PNG) for 2 more weeks - with Kaylynn :-).

Elton, Dianne & Lillian - our 3 PNG missionaries

My goals this trip are to: 

1. Help Elton, Lillian, & Dianne, our 3 PNG missionaries, to get everything ready for their 8-month move to Fiji;
2. Help Elton, Lillian, & Dianne form goals for how they want to coach the students in the next 4 weeks - before they leave for Fiji on 21st of February;
3. Help help to get things ready for the project coming up on the 30th of January with 6 Australians and 8 (hopefully) PNG students (more on that later).

Thanks for praying for the Gospel to flood Papua New Guinea!  I'll write again in a couple of days...

PNG End of the Year-Day 11: "Straddling the Countries!"

As we pack up and prepare to fly home...and as we prepare for the last-minute meetings lined up until we get on the plane, I feel like we have a leg in one country while attempting to step into the next. We still have things left undone here that we will try to do from New Zealand. 

Last night we had our farewell dinner with our little staff team.  Lillian couldn't make it because she just found out she has malaria and typhoid.  (Because of the drought here, I guess the water quality is becoming compromised in some places.)  We brought her chicken and a case of bottled water on the way home.  I was so glad to see her standing at her gate when we dropped off the stuff.  I was grateful to God for the medicine He provided   that enabled her to be standing there.  (Malaria and typhoid are not things I normally deal with in New Zealand and sound a bit scary to me.)  Bottom line?  I got my hug from Lily, and I saw God was in the process of healing her!

Let the record show:  We believe all three PNG banks are now on line!  (This is after 2 1/2 years of attempts!)  Although one bank is still untested, this has been a major step!

We still need to see 2 miraculous solutions:  storage for the extra office supplies stored in George Puipui's house as the family is in the process of selling the house; and housing for our staff between when the university year ends and before they go to Fiji next year for training.  We'll be working on finding God's solutions to these needs from New Zealand.

Thank you to all who have prayed for us!  Blessings upon you!

 

PNG End of Year Celebration-Day 10: "Can You See the Stars?"

Staying at a place like a missionary guest house is a pretty humbling experience.  We meet all sorts of people doing some amazing things.  For instance, we had dinner with a couple who are involved in church-planting in the southern area of the Fly River just across the border from West Papua (Indonesia.)  It's a pretty isolated, hard area to work. Papua New Guinea is going through a drought at the moment and that particular area is really dry right now.  The couple have just returned from their furlough and are wondering if they'll have any drinking water when they get there.  The wife was telling me that she was teaching once in their village about creation.  She found out that the islanders there were afraid to look at the stars.  They believed something terrible would happen if they did.  Can you imagine?  "The heavens are telling the glory of God."  I'm glad God put that couple just where He did so that the people can now get a glimpse His glory!

I also get to hear stories about my husband who helps people when I'm not around.  Last trip he helped out this same woman who was having booking issues with the rooms here.  Her husband thanked Dan yesterday for coming to the rescue of his stranded wife.  (I'm married to a knight in shining armor!)

PNG End of the Year Celebration-Day 9: "Coxwain!"

It was only for the space of 3 minutes, but I saw Coxwain today!  He dropped by the Mapang Missionary Guest House.  How good it was to see this old friend from the Solomon Islands.  He was there when Laurie was just born.  He was there when she went into heart failure.  He was the one singing hymns with Dan during their devotion time together.  He's the one that had a contest with Dan about who saw the newest car on the road, evidenced by the license-plate number.  He was the one who supervised Norm Edney's emergency air-lift rescue after his bike accident.  He was in our house in New Zealand when he first told our CCC staff family about a special girl in his life:  Doreen.

Coxwain is now working with the Jesus Film project and travels all around.  He's on his way to Goroko, PNG as I write this.  His son, Norm, is 11 years old already.  

Christian family makes the world a smaller, much more appealing place!

PNG End of Year Celebration-Day 8: "More Pics!"

Here are some more photos of our celebration day!

Dan's challenge to hear God's voice this summer

A ministry partner & board members

I gave a devotion

2015 and 2016 student leaders