Tuesday Mornings

Every Tuesday morning, I get together with a group of wonderful sisters in Christ. We meet to study God’s Word together and usually this happens either at our church or in the settlement where many of the women live. However, the last two weeks we have met unexpectedly in other places to encourage those in need, and it seems this kind of unexpected encouragement is often the most appreciated.

The first Tuesday morning, as we waited at the church for everyone to arrive someone mentioned that an older woman who usually comes to church was quite sick. We decided to see if we could go and encourage her. Someone ran ahead to see if this was ok. Others searched the Scriptures for texts to share.

The ok was given and we walked the short distance to her home. We met under a house on stilts, and sat down on woven mats on the floor, and were joined by our sister and her relatives—sisters, nieces, aunts and one lone man. We all shook hands in greeting, as is customary here. Our host explained that she had planned to travel to a hospital in the Highlands to have her sore back looked at, but then she became very sick with malaria and could not travel. For the past month, she had not been able to go anywhere or do much of anything because she was feeling so weak and ill. We explained that most of us hadn’t known this until today and that’s why we had come. We prayed, sang songs of praise and then the Word was opened. I was not surprised that the texts chosen were all taken from the book of Psalms, wherein every emotion is so powerfully expressed. We then ended in prayer, also praying for the Lord to heal and encourage our sister. She was moved to tears that we had come—she had felt so alone and discouraged at times, but now knew that we were there for her and even more, she was reminded that her Father in heaven knows every pain and burden she carries. Having shaken hands again to say goodbye, we left our sister, some promising to be back soon to see her again. What a beautiful morning.

This week Tuesday, our group had planned to meet in Biwat settlement, but upon arrival someone asked if we could visit a family whose father had just died. This family lived a short distance outside of the settlement, and on the property of a concrete factory. We had to walk right through all the noisy machinery and workmen to get to the area where we would meet to encourage the women who were grieving. The man who had died was a relative of many of the people we know from Biwat settlement—he was predeceased by his wife (many years ago) and also his only son. He left behind his second wife and two daughters, who were about in their twenties. I was told that he died from something like asthma and as I sat there breathing in the dust from the factory, I wondered if a life of working and living in this place had anything to do with it. Of course, the fact that the deceased man was also a heavy drinker wouldn’t have helped either. Still, I couldn’t believe that the owners of the factory could live with themselves knowing that their employees and their families—young children and babies included—were living with the noise, fumes and dust of pipe and concrete making—which goes on night and day. I had to push my anger over the living conditions aside and focus on why we were there.

Sister Polena had prepared the devotion not knowing of course that we would be comforting a grieving family, but the Lord knew and her message on ‘fellowship’ was fitting and encouraging.Again the family was so encouraged that we had come and said they would like to join our group more often. We hope they will. And we hope that the Lord will give us more unexpected moments to encourage others when they need it the most.

I wonder what next Tuesday will bring?

Here are various photos of the women from Bible Study:

Marriage Conference

Last weekend, we held a Marriage Conference at our church. Ian and John Lanta (pictured below) both lead sessions during the conference. It began on Friday night and continued until Saturday night. There were many people who came and went throughout the conference and of course many, many came to watch Fireproof on Saturday night. But we were most thankful for the small, core group who were with us for all the sessions. We shared ideas and struggles, asked questions and enjoyed some good laughs together.

This is Andrew and Agnes, demonstrating the "Trust Fall"!

Matthias and Jakina and their son, Stanis.

They were with us for the entire conference and

are now excited to share what they learned with their family members.

Up close with Stanis. (Have you ever seen such long eyelashes?)

The youth from our church cooked the food and sold it as a fundraiser for their own youth weekend later this year. The food was delicious--rice, plantain bananas and a stew with cabbage, carrots and chicken.

That's a big pot of rice!

The girls are still smiling as they cut up all the veggies.

We're thankful to God for blessing our weekend--hopefully it's the first of many. And we pray that He will continue to change and strengthen and purify marriage relationships in Lae, to His glory.

Goodbye, Jerry and Annie

Last week, we said goodbye to the second couple from Lae who is studying at the Bible College in Port Moresby. Here are Jerry and Annie and their daughter Christina (in the pink) with Annie's mother (far right) and sisters and niece, just before they headed to the airport. It was a sad goodbye as they will not see each other again until the end of the year most likely.

Christina gives her cousin Louisa one last hug.

The whole crowd--mostly aunties and cousins--who came to see them off.

This will be their third year at the Bible College and although they have enjoyed it very much, there have been some very hard times. The most difficult was during their first year when their infant son was stillborn at full term. Especially Annie has really struggled and until this year has not been interested in taking part in any of the courses. We're so thankful she'll be taking two courses this year and pray that through them the Lord will grow her in her faith and knowledge of Him and His Word. We also pray that He will bless Jerry as he begins the Pastoral Program.

A Desperate Dad

What would make a mother leave her husband and 8-month old son? I've been pondering this question the last few days since the husband and baby came to visit us. The baby was a beautiful, chubby, big brown-eyed, adorable little guy, who stole all of our hearts in the short time he was with us. I've gone over all the possibilities as to why his mom would leave him--maybe her husband was abusive towards her, or maybe unfaithful. Maybe they were arguing all the time. Maybe she herself was struggling with depression or another mental health issue. Or, maybe selfishness won out and she simply did run off with another man because he had more money than her husband, as her husband shared with us.

She left about 2 weeks ago. He was very emotional about it and moved to tears because of his struggles with caring for their baby son on his own. Not to mention he was very angry and saying rather matter-of-factly that he wanted to kill his wife. He also said he had resolved to give his son away to someone who could care for him, but then he remembered that his son was a gift from God. As he talked with us, the little boy snuggled up against his father and started to cry as he looked at our strange (that is, white) faces. He hadn't eaten yet, so we warmed up some milk for him. He had no bottle, but he was used to just sipping from a cup. Mid-way through our conversation with the father, the baby decided to fill his pants, and since he was only wearing underpants, things got a little messy. Thankfully, Caleb's XL diapers fit around his chubby legs!

The father then told us that he had actually hoped that we could have cared for the baby. At that moment, my heart melted as I looked at the adorable baby boy, all smiles with us now that his tummy was full. But at the same time, I knew this was not God's will for us, not at this time anyway. Since it's common for extended family members to care for children, we asked the father if he had any relatives who could help him. In the end, we helped pay his way to his village, where his mother and sisters lived, which is two days away--a long bus and boat ride away from here.

I've wondered many times how they're doing. Did they make it to the village, or did the father change his mind? How is the little guy doing? Is he healthy? Is he hungry? Will his grandmother and aunties lovingly care for him or will he simply be another mouth to feed? Will he ever see his mother again? And most importantly, will he grow up to know and love His Maker? So many questions, but no answers. The silence in the unanswered questions reminds us to leave this father and little boy in the Lord's hands.

"He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young." Isaiah 40:11

Our Homecoming

Just over 2 weeks ago, we arrived back here in Lae. Our home awaited us...with a thick layer of dust over everything. Ian mopped our floors over and over again for an hour and a half just so the soles of our feet wouldn't be blackened! Communication with the outside world was also limited--the phone was disconnected and internet not working. That was ok, after a day of travelling we were too tired to talk, skype, blog or email anyway! And besides, we had to be up bright and early the next morning for the kid's first day of school. Or so we thought. Turns out we got the dates mixed up somehow because we were the only ones who showed up for school that day! Oh well, try again tomorrow. The other surprise awaiting us when we got home were some unexpected visitors. It's not ideal to have visitors when you're just getting settled in, but these aren't the kind who get in the way at all. In fact, we don't see much of them, especially during the day. The only problem is they haven't yet let us know how long they're planning to stay and to be honest, it's getting a bit inconvenient to have them around, as discreet as they are. So, we've set some traps with a little bit of peanut butter and put out some poison and we're hoping these visitors of ours will soon be here no more, as inhospitable as that may sound!

Our first Sunday back at church we were glad to see many new and old faces, and especially some that we hadn't seen in a long time. John Lanta (pictured below on the left) and his family have returned after living in Brisbane, Australia for 2 years while John studied for his Masters in Mathematics. He's returned to his teaching position at the University of Technology here in Lae. The man in the middle is Martin Makusi, a long-time member of the Reformed Churches of PNG who recently repatriated back to the other side of the island, West Papua. He was on his way to also visit the churches in Port Moresby and stopped by to say hello. And lastly, on the right is Rumanasen, the oldest member of our church and also our faithful and honest treasurer (a rare find in PNG).

John and Polena Lanta's daughter, Yoni.

The school year at the Bible College in Port Moresby will also soon commence. Here are Gami and Joel, who have already returned to the Bible College to get their children enrolled in school and do some work on their garden, which will hopefully provide them with fruits and veggies while they study.

They were a blessing to the church while in Lae as Joel helped lead some worship services while we were away; Gami met with the Sunday school teachers to encourage them in their work; and they both travelled to another area of PNG where there is interest in starting another Reformed Church and met with the people there.

May the Lord give them and all the students and staff at the Bible College a blessed year of study again!