April showers bring May flowers.....

We sure have had our share of March and April showers! It has been a very wet last few weeks. (Photos taken by friends, wish I could take credit! To enlarge photo simply click on it.)

The other day I drove some ladies into town to pick up some supplies and on the way we got hung up in some ruts and had to dig a bit to get out. But we made it relatively easily. The highway is about 5 mile away and it takes a good 25-30 minutes to get there.Once in town, everything went well. We were able to get our shopping done and on the way back were able to swing by our mission's store. They stock some American brand items there, which make for a nice treat. Once finished there it was time to head back to ITF (Interface). In the morning on the way out I had made the comment our way back will be nice, "we shouldn't get stuck, the sun will be out and the road will be dry." Just before we got onto the road to ITF, I made a similar comment.

One the way out I noticed a BIG hole in the road, and thought that will need to be fixed. Well on our way back I made just past the big hole, and what do you know, stuck! Well I managed to get unstuck just to get stuck again and again. I guess I was never unstuck, getting free is one thing and unstuck another. So finally I humbled myself and called for help. After I talked with the folks at ITF, we just waited around. I took advantage of the wait to check out that big hole I had noticed. This whole was massive big enough around to park a vehicle in and about waist deep! I was telling the ladies about it and one of them said, that she got a close up look at it as we drove by, she said that angels were holding the vehicle from falling in!

As time went by one of my national friends was coming out on a PMV (I am pretty sure it stands for People Moving Vehicle). This can be any kind of vehicle, in this case it was a flat bed truck with about 20 people on back. He rallied the people to help me and they started pushing and freed me just to get stuck again. So I surrendered the wheel to him, he has more experience driving in this kind of muck. Well he wiggled the vehicle around and couldn't get very far. Then I got the tow strap and we hooked to the bumper and all of us guys began to pull it out of the mud. It took a few times, but it worked- there were about 12 of us guys pulling. This is the second time that I was part of a crew pulling a vehicle.

Seconds after getting out, my mobile rang- it was the folks that were coming to pull us out. I answered with "we're out, we're out", their reply "good you can come get us out!" Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of all this.

Since then we have had a few dry afternoons and work has been done on the road, it is in much better shape than it had been. Praise God for holding off the rains for us to work on the road a bit.

Here is a portion of my latest newsletter:

".... returning form Australia I stepped into a very busy 2 weeks. The day I returned we began hosting the Highlands conference. About 120 men women and children, all missionaries from our region came to the conference. This was a time to be updated on what has been happening in other works in our region as well as a time to malolo (rest, in pidgin), fellowship, and of course eat! I believed everyone left encouraged and full. This group left on Monday, then Tuesday and Wednesday I went to to town to pick up supplies for the next conference- this one would be for about 200 manmeri (people, in pidgin). Thursday was staff meeting and I also moved into a vacant house here at ITF, one that has a bathroom in it! :-) And then on Friday the preparation began again.

For this conference we catered the lunch meals, which means we transported all the food in a big truck to Lapilo, our PNG headquarters. It is about 10 kilometers away (6mi), takes about 30 minutes to get there-on a good day. On Monday, as we were heading out a truck was stuck in the mud- blocking the road. All of us guys tried to push it out, it was hung up on the under-carriage. Then we tried pulling with our truck and us pushing! NOTHING. Then our driver went around the truck, a brave move. By this time I began to think that we will need to call Lapilo and have them come and get the food. (We have done the relay thing with our school kids. We go as far as the road allows and then someone comes from the other side for the pickup.) Well we made it out and tried one last time to get the other truck out, between the truck pulling and us guys pushing, we got them out."

PNG is the "Land of the Unexpected". But the more time I spend here the more I expect the unexpected.

Thanks for your Love and Prayers!

If you would like to get my newsletter via email or snail mail, just let me know.

What the Doc said....

I got back on Wednesday, and hit the ground running. We are hosting a the Highlands Conference this week. All the missionaries from this region, the region I serve in, are here to be brought up to date on what God is doing in other works through out the region. It is a little break for the missionaries, and they get some time with others who are like minded. I think that they really enjoy an opportunity to spend time with the other missionaries. This is a great time for them to reconnect and encourage each other. This week we are cooking for about 100 people! And I love it.

Well I had my MRI and saw the Doctor last Friday, the Doctor confirmed that there is a bulging disc in my back. Thankfully he said that it is not severe and WILL NOT need surgery. So he referred me to a physiotherapist, I was thankful that I was able to get two appointments in before I flew back to PNG. The therapist gave me some exercises to do to strengthen the muscles in my neck, she said that this would help reduce the strain on my neck and allow the muscles to support my head more than the spine. As I think about the problem I can see how it has improved since the beginning of February. There is also a physical therapist here at our support base and I hope to see about getting a few sessions with her.

Lastly, I would like to say thank you first and foremost to God- for providing such a wonderful group of men and women who are a part of what God is doing here in PNG. Also for Him using you to provide for this trip. As it looks the entire trip has been covered. I will know more once the final bills come in. But from what I can tell I have all the necessary funds, THANKS! Thank you to all who were involved in making this happen- through prayers and finances. God is good, all the time. All the time, God is GOOD.

And let us remember God is good whether He would have chose not to provide in this way or even if I had needed surgery. No matter what our circumstances God is ALWAYS good. His goodness never depends on our circumstances!

IF1 2010

The Students

This is the group of students(you can enlarge photos by clicking on them) who were here for the month of January. This was a very diverse group of students, including people from the UK as well as Germany. We even had a couple Missionary Kids(MK), although they are pretty big to be called kids. During their time here they were exposed to many aspects of the missionary life, the climax was the weekend they spent in one of the bush locations here in PNG. They flew into the tribe in a single propeller plane and they landed on a grass airstrip, the first for many of them.

It is always so encouraging to hear what the students say about their time here. Most all students say that their time here has opened there eyes to what missions really is, being willing to be used by God- it looks different to each individual. They also realize the need for missions, that people are truly lost and are going to spend an eternity in torment without Christ unless they place faith in His finished work on the cross. Christ's blood is the only way through which we can come to God. God often uses the program to bring missions off of the pedestal and place it on a level where the students can see that it something that anyone can be involved in. ITF has played a huge role in my choice to serve God as a missionary. It wasn't until I was really challenged to consider the destiny of the heathen- with the perspective that God is just, holy, and righteous- that I saw the need for missionaries.

The Interface (ITF) program plays a major role in recruiting new missionaries. Most of our students go on to serve the Lord in some form of ministry,several go on to serve with us- New Tribes Mission (NTM). You can learn more about ITF at www.ntm.org.

The Kitchen Crew

These are some pictures from around the dining hall that were taken during last program. This was the first program that I was responsible for planning the menu, ordering the food, getting the supplies (which is no small feat, imagine placing an order at the local shop-n-save and then going to pick it up and having them tell you that they didn't have any beef so they substituted with pork. Sure hope people like pig, pork stroganoff, pork subs, pork roast, pork pepper steak...you catch my drift.), and making sure that we have enough help.

Due to cultural reasons my interaction with the kitchen ladies is to be limited. Men and women here often don't enjoy friendship like we do back home. Most of the time guys and girls from the same family enjoy the friendships like we enjoy in America. One of the cultural differences that I found it most difficult to adjust to was not looking ladies in the eyes, I still struggle with that. My culture has always taught me to look people in the eyes, as a form of respect. Doing that with a lady here communicates a whole lotmore than respect.


PNG BBQ

In this photo I am cutting a squash to put into the "earth oven" (mumu), this is as common in PNG as BBQ's are in the U.S. The people dig a hole and place wood and rocks in it, then they start a fire which heats the rocks and let it burn for 5-6 hours. After the rocks are heated they remove the wood and begin to build the mumu. The start with scrap bamboo leaves, banana leaves, and even banana tree trunks (banana trees aren't like normal trees they are very soft and contain lots of liquid). All of this is to keep the food from coming in direct contact with the super hot rocks.

Now they begin to add the food: first, the kaukau (sweet potato), next the kumu (green leafy stuff- includes ferns), topping it off with meat-most often lamb- sometimes pig, cow, or chicken (kakaruk). The meat is last so the juices can drip down through all the other food, at least that is what I think. After all the food has been added they finish it off by placing a "bamboo pipe" into the pile, then cover with a layer of banana leaves and then cover it all with a layer of dirt/mud. Now they dump water down the bamboo pipe, this produces lots of steam when it hits those hot rocks! If they notice steam coming out of the pile they quickly patch it with some more mud.

Then it cooks/steams for about two hours. After the time is up it is time to dig in, literally with shovels. They carefully remove all the dirt and mud then the food. This process is called rausim mumu or rausim kaikai long mumu. Translated removing the food from the mumu. after the food is removed the hosts distribute the food to the families or groups. Enjoy!

Where I serve

I wanted to get some photos up so that you can see what it is like here in Papua New Guinea(PNG). These are a couple of aerial shots of Interface (ITF). We have 8 house used as staff homes and one duplex, half being a staff home and the other half being the office. We also have a large classroom, a kitchen/dining hall, and a large workshop, and 24 cabins. The main kitchen is where I work, it is in the photo to the right- it is close to center.

I and three other single guys stay in cabins. There is a very nice intern kitchen that we use (haus kuk in pidgin), it also serves as a place to hang out.You can see three cabins (above right) they are in the bottom right of the photo. To the right, is a picture of the inside of my cabin. As you can see the walls are really thin- made out of bamboo, called pitpit. This serves in allowing the local village rooster to be my alarm clock most mornings. In the next few days I hope to post some news about the group of students who were here in January.

Only One Gate.....

It has taken me a long time to think of a good name for a blog. It finally has come to me. The reason I choose the name Only One Gate is based upon Christ's words in John 10. Read for yourself. "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."

I would like to include the importance of Christ being the gate. He is the ONLY way to enter into eternity with God. That is why it is so important for everyone to have a chance to hear the Gospel message. Without hearing and believing in The Gospel Message all mankind is lost and headed for a Christ-less eternity in Hell. No matter how hard you try our best is never good enough. We can only be made acceptable unto God through the shed blood of Christ.

A little about what I hope to do with this blog. I desire this blog to be a means to bring God glory by sharing what He is doing in my life and in the lives others around the world, presently in Papua New Guinea.

Over the next few days I hope to finish setting up this site. So check back and see how it has changed.