Unrest in Lae--Day 4

When we woke up this morning, we weren't sure if it would be safe enough to worship at our church, but a couple phone calls to the members there and we decided it should be ok. The benches were a little emptier than usual as many stayed home because of the uncertainty. Smaller in number, but still we offered worship and praise up to the Lord and a message on Ephesians 6:18 was very fitting during this time of unrest. ("And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."). We do need to be fervent in prayer as reports of injuries and deaths continue and the crowds are massing for payback.

Those living at our church witnessed much pain and at times feared for their own lives when they met up with the crowds yesterday. One couple shared that they were walking along the road when a father and son came running towards them and basically fell into their arms, just shaking with fear. They had just escaped from their burning house. Another family fled their home and slept on the floor of the church, fed and looked after by the members who were still there. Others spoke of being up all night, watching and waiting, wondering what would happen.

The situation remains tense and uncertain. There are rumours that the Morobeans will try to present another petition to the Governor tomorrow. Police patrols are around town and also along the outskirts. It looks like the military will also be deployed. But even as we say all this, we know that the Lord is in control. Nothing will happen outside of His will. So thankful for that.

Things Have Gotten a Little Chaotic

6:00am

The headline on the front page of the newspaper yesterday read, "Lae in Chaos" and certainly things have been a bit crazy around here the last few days.

As is most often the case, the chaos is a result of a clash between two tribal groups--this time two very large groups--the people from this province of Morobe and those from the Highlands. "More than a thousand Morobean youths had decided to take the law into their own hands to bring back peace", the paper read. Except they were trying to bring peace with bushknives, sticks and rocks, in their hands. While this large group was waiting outside government offices to be addressed by the governor, a fire broke out at a shop near the main market and hundreds rushed to the burning building, hoping to loot whatever they could. As the police came to restore order to that part of the city, others took advantage and tried to begin looting shops at another area in town. It really was chaotic.

This resulted in many shops, businesses and schools being closed. Our children's schools are already closed on Monday too. Later in the day yesterday we saw large groups of men and even boys, still carrying knives and sticks and rocks, walking past our gate and apparently heading out to an area further out of town to fight.

It's too early to tell what's happening today, but definitely we will be more careful when we go out---we have no choice as we do need some groceries to get us through the weekend. We will be careful but we do not worry about being targeted as this issue is really between the two groups and we are very noticeably not part of either of them! Although there is the chance of unknowingly getting caught in the middle of something. And that uncertainty makes the situation a bit worrisome...But we are in the Lord's hands--there's no better place to be!

8:00am

All the shops are closed. There will be no buying groceries today. We can make the food in our house stretch for a couple days, but our PNG friends who typically buy what they need for the day everyday will find it more difficult. Thankfully, quite a few of them have gardens, but still the situation will get desperate quite quickly.

Throughout the day, we make and receive phone calls--our friends and church members are all ok so far, but there is fighting in a few areas around the outskirts of town. Everyone is very tense and it is uncertain what will happen. It is confirmed that the police have already shot and killed 2 of the Morobeans. Rumour has it that there have been other deaths as well.

3:00pm

Ian receives a call from the families living on our church property asking if he can pick up the women and children and bring them to a safer place. Our church is situated on the edge of one of the largest settlements and as Ian drives up, he witnesses hundreds of women and children carrying as many of their earthly belongings as possible and fleeing the settlement. Where they will all go, we have no idea. But the Morobeans have been burning down homes of the Highlanders at the back of the settlement already and the worry is that a big fight will come up in that settlement.

Please pray with us for PEACE.

Airplane Crash

Our country is in shock over an airplane crash that left 28 dead and only four survivors. It was an "Airlines PNG flight"one of the two major airlines in PNG, and the plane was flying from Lae to Madang. Those who saw it go down say there was smoke coming from the engines. The plane crash-landed and then exploded. It seems many survived the crash, only to be burned alive. Such a horrific tragedy, and people all over the country are in mourning. The big question on everyone's minds is, WHY? Why did this happen? Engine failure? Faulty fuel? Bad weather?

We have flown with this airline many times, and we were actually on the first leg of this exact flight just a couple weeks ago, as it's a Port Moresby--Lae--Madang route. It forces us to pause and consider that it could've happened to us.

It's a good reminder that this life is short, so short. Our days are numbered and only the Lord knows when it will be our last.

Please join us in prayer for those who have lost loved ones.

Mark and Liz in Lae

Our family enjoyed the company of Mark and Liz Mulder last week. Here they are on a visit to the Rainforest Habitat in Lae. Mark is the new chairman of our Mission Board and so we're glad they got to experience some of PNG's sights, sounds and smells--and get a real taste for what it's like to live and work here.

Our kids had a lot of fun with them too!

Karlyn and Mark: keeping cool in the pool.

Caleb is usually shy with strangers,

but thanks to Liz' gentle nature, he took to her right away.

For those of you who may not know Mark and Liz,

they have an amazing story of God's care and protection over Mark

when 95% of his body was burned in an accident 19 years ago.

Medically speaking, he shouldn't have lived, but God had other plans!

Their lives are such a powerful example of God's grace

and we're thankful that they were willing to share their story at our church,

and also with some of our other friends here in Lae.

Thanks again for coming, Mark and Liz!

Living at the RCBC

Last month, we spent 3 weeks living at the Reformed Churches Bible College (RCBC) outside of Port Moresby--home to about a dozen students and their families and also 3 missionary families (the Versteegs, VanderHeides and Doumas--from New Zealand). The highlight of the trip for our family was spending time with Wayne and Cheronne VanderHeide and family. Even though our kids were supposed to be on their school holidays, they still joined in on the homeschooling with the VanderHeides! It was crazy at times with all 7 kids in one classroom--there were occasional shouting matches, some tears and maybe even a few punches thrown here and there! But still a lot of learning took place (also because of their great teacher!) and they also had a ton (heaps:)) of fun.

A rare moment: the 5 year olds and 2 year olds

all sitting down at the table together!!

Cameron and Karlyn: BIG smiles as they do their work.

Jonathan and Bryce: Working out math equations together!

Will these homemade boats float?!

Two cheeky 2 year olds!

Even the chickens are friendly at the Bible College--

friendly enough to supply us with fresh eggs everyday too!

These are some of the men studying at the Bible College.

It was such a joy for Ian to teach them,

and he would be happy to do it again sometime.

There was also a women's conference that took place at a village about 4 hours from Moresby. Cheronne and Wayne were the main speakers. They taught on Proverbs 31--the wife of noble character.

Ten women flew over from Lae to attend the conference. They all worked hard to save the money to get to Moresby, also with the additional help from the Women's Bible Studies in Australia, for which they were extremely thankful. The conference was such a blessing to them. They are still talking about what they learned and how they were impacted by the weekend. In the photo, they're wearing traditional 'meriblouses' in the colours of their province. Although I was not able to go to the conference, they did still buy me a meriblouse just like theirs since I am now a "meri Morobe' too, they say (that is, a woman from the Morobe province)!

Back to the Bible College where our 3 are hanging out,

being silly and enjoying the go-cart.

Ian also had the opportunity to preach in 3 of the churches.

Here he is preaching in a settlement called East Boroko, for the first time.

It was a good opportunity to meet the people there and worship with them.

There is never a dull moment at the Bible College.

This was part of a Games Carnival that was organized one afternoon.

And here we are at the end of our time in Port Moresby,

so thankful for the times we had at the Bible College,

but also ready to return home to Lae.

The work at the Bible College is pivotal to the future of our churches in PNG, and it was an amazing privilege to be part of it, even just for 3 weeks. We continue to pray for the Lord's richest blessings on all of the students and staff. May He build up strong and faithful leaders in our churches. May faith grow and mature and may more people also come to faith in the Lord Jesus!