Perry J. Hubbard

Friend

We are all going to school.You heard me right.

The kids are enrolled in a private Christian school. Many of our friends at BT encouraged us to consider this school for our kids. There are at least 5 families that are sending their kids to this school and our kids know or are friends with many of them. We really wondered if this was even possible and then the school offered me a job. (I think one of our friends, who knows I love music, talked to the music director, and it turned out he needed an office manager). As a result, I will be going to school three and a half days each week to work in the music office. Not only does this cover the tuition for all three kids, but I get to listen to great music all day long – everything from Bach to Jazz.

And Christian Life School is a great place for the kids-spiritually, academically, and socially. Both the boys are already on the soccer team and are starters. Jess is in the elementary band and plays clarinet. The next big step is that John is now taking driver’s ed and hopes to have his driver’s license before the end of the year. That will be great, and he can help with driving to and from school, especially on the days that I don’t work in the office.

So yep, I am back in school along with the kids. So far, they don’t seem to mind having mom in the same building as them. In fact, John has arranged for his dad to come and speak in one of the chapels.

Now we have done all the forms of schooling possible. We have done home school and used video schooling and correspondence materials. Mom and dad have been the teachers on several occasions, as well as grandma who came for a year as a private tutor. The kids have attended public school, private international schools, and now a Christian academy. Oh, and two of them have attended a boarding school. They have done well in all of them. Each has its pros and cons. None are perfect. But we are thankful for the access we have had to each and how well our kids are doing overall. A credit to them and maybe to their parents. What do you think?

Oh, and Perry, he is back in school as well. The last time we were home, he was accepted into the doctoral program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS). And if all goes well, he will complete the program this year. That means 2-3 times a week he travels and spends the day at TEDS, mostly in the library, going to classes, and doing research for his doctoral paper. The focus of his paper is on understanding the spiritual world, a critical issue that we have encountered over and over and seen a lack of clear understanding of what that is and how to deal with it.

So don’t come to visit us without prior warning or you may find yourself nose deep in books and people studying for any number of classes, projects, and activities. If we are not studying, then we are at a sports event, concert, or some other school related activity. Or we are not home because we may be on our way to visit you to tell you about what God is doing and where we are going next to serve.

We are all back in school and enjoying it all.

Love Nancy

Is there a best way for our kids to receive their education? What role do you play in making any of them work? How do you affect the way your kids respond?

 

Apple pie for braces

Hello sam

I, like many parents, maybe more so because I have worked as a dental assistant, am concerned about my children’s teeth. I make sure they brush after every meal and monitor how much sugary sweets they eat. I also watch how their teeth line up. One of the more feared words is orthodontist. For the parents, this is a costly process. For the child, braces can be embarrassing and require a lot of upkeep. Continue reading “Letter 137 Jeff – Apple Pie for Braces”

Farewell PNG

How does one say goodbye? It has never been easy. Since the day we headed to Sierra Leone, we have dealt with this reality. Saying goodbye to friends and family then meeting a new set of people who become friends and family replacements. Then we repeat the cycle to leave a new home to go home. And so the cycle goes.

To be honest, coming back to the states sometimes feels like moving to a new country. So much has changed in so many areas, even in the family. Life moves on, people grow up and grow older and you were not around to be part of the process. Coming home is more about catching up before leaving again. 

But this time it is different. In every other place, we have said goodbye in the knowledge that we would be returning whether it be in a year or 3-4 years. Those goodbyes are not as difficult. But this time we are saying goodbye with the knowledge we, in all likelihood, will never return. And there is very little chance we will ever see them again, except for a few of the missionaries who may happen to be in the states at the same time. Even that is often rare because of the nature of our travels and schedules.

So, there we were, at the Bible school with a larger crowd than we expected, going through the process of saying goodbye to students, coworkers, national leaders, and many others. Bible school children that called us grandpa and grandma.

Heart-wrenching sounds too horrible a phrase to describe the emotions, but its alternative is heartbreaking and it sounds just as bad. Both accurately describe the emotions experienced that day. We felt it as each person gave us a gift, gave us a hug, struggled through the tears to share a thought and a memory. PNG people have no stigma about crying, male or female, and they cried openly and expressively. Our hearts were wrenched and broken over the separation that was about to occur.

We were presented with so many gifts, some really unique, like the choker made of brilliantly colored beetles and an incredible mumu prepared by the students and a farewell cake. The program took at least three hours, as everyone wanted to say something, or try to say something. 

Now we are packed and at the airport and they have come one more time to hug and cry and say goodbye. Lord, it is hard to leave such wonderful friends and family. It is hard to understand your plan to send us to the other side of the world. We have no words adequate to express what these people have come to mean to us. 

And so into the airport and on to the next journey, the adventure that awaits us. While saying goodbye has been painful, it will give us the strength we need for what lies ahead. Their love and prayers will sustain us as we reconnect with our family and friends in the states and as we prepare for the next phase of the journey, we have been called to travel and we will do it as a family.

Perry J, Nancy, and family

Have you ever had to say goodbye to people knowing you would never see them again? How does one handle the emotions involved? Do you know how to correctly handle their emotions and the gifts they may bring? Is it possible to prepare oneself for such an event?

Plane clash and heading home

Hello my friend,

It has been an interesting day and a reminder to keep our eyes on God and not depend on our wisdom and ability. Continue reading “Letter 135 Plane Crush”

Greetings ladies,

One thing can be said about campus life here. It is never boring and to prove that I want to share with you stories and highlights from three areas.

Church planting

A necessary and challenging part of the students’ schooling is to be involved in a local church every weekend. Their assignments include leading the music, preaching, and teaching Sunday School.  Recently, we attended a new church called “Cornfarm.” As its name suggests, we worshipped in a small clearing, surrounded by corn and coffee plants. This small group of 30 people spreads a tattered tarp on the ground every Sunday and worships the Lord. Three of our students lead this group.  At the end of the service, the people gave our students a thank you gift for coming – some corn, pineapple, greens, and bananas.

Another new church in our area is called “Mopi”. To get to Mopi, we drove about 45 minutes, then left the truck and continued on by foot. We crossed a long, swinging, cable bridge (which swayed a little bit more than I liked!) We walked another 45 minutes, over trails, log bridges, and coffee lanes. We arrived, finding 75 people, who were ready to begin. The church building isn’t completed yet; but that doesn’t stop the enthusiasm and joy that we sensed in the hearts of the Mopi people.

As we rode home from worship this morning, one of the students riding with us commented that he thought there would be many more churches starting because of the Bible school. There is growing excitement for the September outreach ministry. Five locations have been marked and already the students have made a short trip to one of them, to meet people and begin planning for that program.

Pregnancy stories

Kabli delivered a beautiful little girl on Easter Sunday morning at the hospital.  Her name is Esther.   Mother and daughter are doing well.

Margret, Job’s wife, had a petite little girl the first part of June. Margret realized that she wouldn’t make it to the hospital in time, so she delivered her baby on campus, with the help of the other student’s wives.  The women had recently completed a course in Midwifery…just in time!

Now, we wait for the third and final baby.  Will it come before our departure in June 1999 I have given that directive, but will the baby cooperate?? It did. Our family is growing. There are now 55 men, women, and children who are our brothers, sisters, and friends. We came to teach them and they in turn have taught us. We will leave here better people because of them.

We got the following note from the fathers.

The three of us (Ibanda, Job, Sale) want to say thank you for your gifts given to our pregnant wives. We don’t have anything to give you, just our thanks. Thank you for the way that you showed your love to us, through actions.

The gifts that were given to the ladies were the layettes, baby clothes and diapers that have been sent to us by various WWI groups, including your group. So, this letter was accepted on YOUR behalf. They were really pleased to receive the items. So, thank YOU for your love, through actions!!

Student Retreat

We decided that it was time to have a retreat and focus on key areas of spiritual growth and formation. It was going to be a bit different, since the retreat would be held on the school campus. We didn’t have funds to rent a retreat center, cover the cost of transport, and the extra cost of feeding.

It was going to take some creative effort to convert our usual environment into something special. To do so we reorganized the different spaces and involved everyone in the retreat. This was going to be a family-oriented retreat, something new for PNG.

It was an incredible time. I have never laughed so hard, cried so deeply, and enjoyed such rich fellowship. The parents quickly embraced the idea of including their children in the lessons and teaching. We had family dramas, family singing, family testimonies. Oh, and yes, the games. So much laughter and fun. There were numerous occasions of people laughing so hard they collapsed to the ground.

Finally, the lessons and teaching were exactly what the students and their families needed. It has been a challenging year in facing a number of threats to the unity that has developed here. We watched as we saw the depth of the bonding that has occurred since the arrival of the first 10 students 2 ½ years ago. God used this time together to help them deepen those bonds. We are praying that all that has happened here will give them a solid foundation for unifying the many tribes that are part of our church and giving the strength to reach their people as well as others.

Well, that is what has been happening in the last couple months as we finish our time here in PNG and prepare to return to the states and our transition to Guyana

Thanks for being part of the team

Love Nancy

How do you know if your life is having an impact in the lives of the people around you? The other question is how do you know if you have allowed them into your life and changed you? How do you measure your level of friendship with others?

Hello everyone,

I love to visit the places where my students live. We have visited most of them, but there was one place I had not yet visited. It was the village of Negebare and is where Tau comes from. This is a very remote location and can easily be called the ‘ends of the earth’ type place. There is no easy access. The closest airstrip is five miles away as the crow flies, and that trail passes through some rough terrain. The next closest is about 8 miles away and, according to my sources, is uphill all the way. Continue reading “Letter 133 Helicopter rescue”

Last adventure club in PNG

We have had so much fun with our different trips and somehow, they always manage to involve a fish. Continue reading “Letter 132 Adventure club West New Britain”

Another change

Perry: Nancy I went to the mailbox and found a letter from headquarters. Are you busy or should we wait until later to open?

Nancy: No, I am not busy. Let’s open it now. After that meeting a couple of weeks ago, I would like to know what HQ is thinking.

Perry: Yes, that meeting upset me a bit. Maybe the letter will tell us something and then we will have some idea of what will be next.

Nancy: Yes, so open it.

Pause to read

Nancy: So, they are asking us to relocate again. But I have so enjoyed our time here. I have so many exciting and fun areas of ministry with the student wives, the international school, and the children’s choir.

Perry: Quite a switch from your comment in 1985 about never wanting to go to PNG because the people appear so strange.

Nancy: Yes, I have had to apologize to the Lord about that one. Even when we accepted the move to come here, I was still uncomfortable in many ways. God has helped me in so many ways to overcome those negative thoughts and attitudes. It is hard to imagine or even consider such a change.

Perry: This request makes me a bit concerned about the Bible school. They don’t have another person who can act as principal. It is one thing to cover a year while we are gone, but for years is a bigger issue and I have not heard that there is anyone being considered to come here.

Nancy: If there was, it would be several years before they could start working at the school. It takes time to learn the language and adjust to all the cultural differences.

Perry: And this time it is not just about us and the work we do. When we went to Sierra Leone, the kids were at an age where they could adapt easily to the new environment.

Nancy: But that depended on us, and fortunately it all went well. And the change to PNG was pretty easy to deal with. It was more of an adventure for them. But this time they are older, and they have become established here. They have friends and activities and seem to enjoy living here as much as we do.

Perry: And did you see where they are asking us to go?

Nancy: Guyana? Where is that?

Perry: Well, if I remember my geography, it used to be called British Guiana and is a small English-speaking country in the northern part of South America.

Nancy: English-speaking country in South America?

Perry: Sounds strange but yes, and it is the only one.

Nancy: Well that means there will be one thing we won’t have to deal with and that is learning a language.

Perry: Don’t be too sure. It is a different type of English. Kind of like learning to understand British and Australian English. Same basic language but very different accents and vocabulary.

Nancy: I get that, but it will not be like learning a whole new vocabulary and grammar. But back to the kids. You are right in the past we made the decisions, informed them, and then did what was necessary to help them adapt to the new language and culture. This time we can’t do that. They need to be part of the decision.

Perry: I agree, and that will be quite a step of faith for us. We will meet and talk tonight. And I think we should only talk about the content of the letter, not the other meeting.

Nancy: I think that is the right way to present the request.

Later that night:

Perry: Well kids that is what the letter is asking us to do. To move to Guyana so we can help in the construction of a new bible school building, so I can teach in the master’s program there, and work with all the churches in the region in developing missions, so they can send missionaries.

Nancy: It will mean another change, and Dad and I want you to be part of this decision. If you have any questions, we would like to hear them.

Time of discussion:

Perry: Now here is what we want to do. Over the next two weeks each of us is going to pray about this. We will not talk about it again until then. That way God can speak to each of us and then we will talk and hear what each person thinks before we decide.

Two weeks later

Nancy: It has been two weeks. I think today we will start with the youngest and see what Jess has to say

Jess: Mom and dad I have only one thing to say, I wish it wasn’t the right thing to do, but we need to go.

Jeff: Yep, that is what I think too

John: Sounds like we are in agreement.

Perry: Thanks kids. That is what your mom and I have been thinking as well, but it is great to see how God has brought us to this place of agreement without a lot of discussion.

Nancy: Well, it looks like we are starting another adventure, moving to Guyana.

How do you involve your children in major decisions related to the family? Do you think they should have the right to share their opinion? How will you respond if they are not happy about the decisions that are made?

 

Threatened

Nancy: Perry I am really anxious about all that is happening. Will it never end?

Perry: I think so. I just heard that the family has left Mt. Hagen and won’t be returning.

Nancy: What happened? Continue reading “Letter 130 Threatened”

My friend

Is it okay for me to do a little bragging about my incredible wife?

She has so many talents and skills. PNG is providing so many opportunities for her to use them and in so many ways. Continue reading “Letter 129 My Incredible wife”