When you think of a highway, you probably think of a nice paved road, high speed limits and multiple lanes of traffic that can take you to all of your destinations with ease−but that is not the case here in PNG. I have done the trip from Goroka to Madang province twice this month, which is a 7 ½ hour drive on what they call the “highway”. You drive several hours of up and down mountains on a road that barely fits two cars and no shoulder, you are stop-and-go because of the huge gaping holes in the road that you can lose a small child in, and you are dodging missing pieces of the road from mountain slides. Then you are on the flat part of the road where it feels slightly more “normal” until you are dodging yet again more ginormous potholes. Then you get to what the call the “finnastair mountains”. Now you are going up and down more mountains that have 20% grade or more (all of the nice potholes included), missing chunks of road, the nice washboard feel from what is now a dirt road that has been rained on everyday, and sheer drop-offs with no railings to make it all the more safe. Then you finally drop down into the coast, with the beautiful coconut trees, jungle vegetation and smoldering heat to reach your destination, Madang province.
Why did I do this, twice? To help a fellow coworker build his house on the Volcanic Island of Manam! It was a great experience of learning how to wire up solar panels, plumb in toilets and sinks and learn just some of what it looks like to have a house built in the middle of nowhere. In three weeks, with three different groups of men and women the house is finished and the missionaries can now start the process of learning language and culture to bring the gospel to this people group! It’s a pretty amazing feet and can only be done with the help of the Lord!
Good News
We are excited to be thinking that in the next several months, we can be in the same process that our friends in Manam are in! Yes we have some good news! A man approached us a few weeks ago and told us of a people group that has been begging for the gospel to be brought to them. They have seen the changes in the people group that the missionaries are in and they want this in their lives too. This church wants to help reach these people but they are a totally different language than them and they know they don’t have the resources to move six hours up the mountain and be able to provide them with the Bible in their language. That’s where we come in. We have the opportunity to partner up with this church and go into this new people group to help bring the Word of God into their language. Please be praying for us as we are looking into this people group that the Lord would direct our steps and if this His plan, that He’d make it clear to us.
Prayer requests
-please pray for us and the leadership as we work towards going to this people group
-pray for our coworkers as they head home next month to have their baby. Pray that it would be a smooth delivery with no complications and that they could get back to PNG ASAP
-pray for us as we wait, that we would be content in what the Lord has for us here and now
-pray as we start to make purchases for our tribal house, that God would continue to provide the big funds needed