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?