Hello prayer partners
Today I was again impressed by the commitment of the students. One of the students received a report that his father was quite ill and that he needed to come home, maybe to bury his father. He left on Saturday and returned late Sunday back at school. He reported that his father is ill but there is nothing to do but wait and so he chose to return to school and hope that all would be well until he returns home at the end of school in about three weeks. I would appreciate your prayer for J Y and his family during this time.
There is also a great deal of pressure on the students because of the drought. Their families are running out of food and there is a need to start planting something before all the food runs out. We have not had any sizable rain for almost three months. What has been planted is not growing or is being ruined by the drought, and with no rains the vines needed for planting are not developing. Even if you have vines to plant, it is so dry they just dry up and die.
We are seeing the effect of the smoke and drought on the school garden. The ground is so dry that it cracks, exposing the roots of the plants and the kaukau that is growing. This allows a destructive insect to deposit its seeds on both. The resulting worm from when the egg hatches quickly burrows into the kaukau and spreads, making the kaukau inedible. Without water, the ground continues to dry and crack, exposing more and more of our harvest to this insect. I have had to go to the market many times to buy enough kaukau so the students can eat.
I try to buy several days’ worth, but that is not easy. Many vendors are reluctant to sell that much to one person. If they sell in smaller quantities, they can slowly raise the price as the day progresses and more people desperate for food, and willing to pay more, come to the market. I usually have to buy from several and what they are selling is really poor and many times they have cut away the infested portions, so they have something to sell. And the prices are climbing. Having to buy kaukau is depleting the school’s finances and what little we can give to supplement it.
The fires and smoke are the result of traditional belief and practices here. It is believed by many that building fires and sending smoke into the skies will help form clouds. The error has resulted in the destruction of huge areas of trees as the fires get out of control and then burn freely because of how dry everything is. We need some heavy rains to put out the fires and clear the air of all the smoke and soot. The government is recommending that everyone buy face masks and filters because there is so much soot in the air.
Today we had less than one-tenth of an inch of rain. That is all we had last week too. The drought has become very serious. Compounding that is the smoke that has covered the area. It is so tricky that most of the airstrips in the highlands have been closed, due to poor visibility. Yesterday an Australian Army plane crashed because of the conditions. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. And it has made it almost impossible to get aid to the most.
These are difficult days here in Papua New Guinea and yet we sense all the more that this is where God wants us to be. We find that our strength and skill seem so small when compared to the need and ask you to pray that God will take our small gifts and be able to use them in the most effective way to teach and preach the gospel. The task of ministry and serving can seem like a giant. Yet God does not ask us to stand alone and fight the battle. He will stand with us. He also calls us to unite in prayer and ministry. When we are united in word and deed God will give the victory.
In His service Perry J & Nancy Hubbard
When there are difficult times how will you respond to the needs of others? Will you be willing to give sacrificially? How will your attitude affect what you do?