Farewell Friends!

Our Aussie friends left us a few days ago to return home to WA.

(Thanks for all your hard work, team!)

They did an amazing job turning a carport at the pastor's house into a living space for an older man in our church! This is Len Vandyk and Andrew working on the outside walls.


Korinda and Andrea made a bed, a little table and foot stool for brother Rumanasen too!

We didn't make them work every minute though...here they are enjoying Lae Yacht Club. We really appreciated the work they did and also how they supported us and kept us laughing despite some stressful times we're having in our ministry work (details to follow about that in another update).

We couldn't bear to be totally alone after the team left, so Wayne and Cheronne sent Cheronne's parents to console us for the weekend!! They are Hans and Margaret Vermeulen and we really appreciated their company too. They've since gone back to Moresby to spend some more time with Wayne and Cheronne and kids.

Aussie Visitors

Last week Monday, five visitors from WA, Australia joined us here in Lae. Their main purpose in coming was to help with a couple work projects, namely a concrete floor in the church and finishing off a room in the pastor’s house. But I think it’s become much more than that. Yes, the work’s getting done but the team is gaining so much more. They’ve become acquainted with the people, culture, climate, and road conditions of PNG! Their patience has been tested as they waited an hour to buy a roll of plastic at a hardware store and then 3 hours for the cement truck to come. They’ve gotten used to breathing the thick, humid air. They’ve taken in God’s beautiful creation in lush vegetation, mountains and waterfalls. They’ve endured the bumpy roads with ease. And last but not least, their hearts have been touched by the people they’ve met. They have tasted PNG!

And it’s been good for us to have their company too. Here are the kids with "Uncle" Len Vandyk.

We worshipped at the church with the new floor today and wow, does it make a difference. The church building looks nicely finished off now, there’s lots of space for people to sit down, better acoustics for singing, and our kids didn’t come home covered in dirt!!

The team was deeply thanked for the work they did as the people have wanted to finish the flooring for a long time. As a gift of appreciation, they were each given a traditional PNG bag, called a “bilum”. It was said, these bilums symbolize us giving our hearts to you in thanks for what you’ve done.

This is Andrea Strating and her husband Henry in the background.

And of course, there was food to enjoy too! Here's Korinda Bruning and Andrea savouring the PNG kaikai!

The team will be with us until Friday and will work at completing the room at the pastor’s house and spending time with the people, and with us too! They will then fly to Port Moresby for the weekend before heading back home to WA.

They will be remembered here by the people for years to come!

Home again

It’s amazing that no matter how much you enjoy a holiday, it is always good to come home. We’re glad to be back in Lae after our travels to Port Moresby and beyond, which for us was Cairns, Australia. (FYI Canadians, you pronounce it “Cans”. Although we’re not sure why… because Australians usually add “r’s” onto words, not take them away!).

Port Moresby was busy, but a great time. It was a blessing to take part in what’s happening at the Reformed Churches Bible College. I was thinking back to a presentation that Rev. Stephen ‘t Hart made while they were on furlough in Canada 3 years ago where he shared the vision and need for leadership training in the churches in PNG. And now here we are today—with that vision already realized; the prayers answered. The RCBC has a beautiful, functional property, which houses two missionary families, and everything for the school—classrooms, a resource room and student houses! It’s incredible how the Lord made it all come together in a short period of time. And of course there are already men and women who are being trained there to serve in different capacities in the churches! And as Ian sat in on some of the classes, he quickly realized that the students are privileged to study under both Rev Stephen 't Hart and Wayne vanderHeide. We’re excited at how the Lord will use the Bible College to help build up and strengthen the Reformed Churches in PNG for many years to come.

Here are our kids with the VanderHeides--Sjaan, Bryce, and Cameron…ready to be home-schooled! (taught by Cheronne, also a very good teacher!)



Cairns is just a 1.5 hour flight away from Port Moresby. It’s a beautiful spot for a tropical holiday, and at this time of year neither too hot nor too humid! Almost paradise…(as far as weather goes). We hardly sweated at all for a change! Anyone who wants to meet us for a holiday there some year, let us know! (And then of course you’ll have to take a little detour with us to PNG before heading home again….:) This is Jonathan, at Muddy's Playground, the best place for kids!


Karlyn and me at Lake Placid…how can you not relax with a name like that??

Australia has the most incredible beaches! Here's Ian and Jonathan about to ride the waves at Trinity Beach.

Ian also went to see a naturopath while we were there. So now he is wheat-free, gluten-free and coffee-free. It's a good thing there's no Timmy's in Lae! He is also on some herbal concoction to help him fight the virus, whatever it is. We do thank God that he's slowly on the mend.

To Port Moresby and beyond...

We are still a little sleep deprived...but we can’t blame it all on our neighbours! Rather, travelling. Tomorrow we’re off to Port Moresby on the early bird flight—leaving here at about 5:30am. Meaning we’ll be up at least an hour before that. I don’t know about most of you, but I find I often have trouble sleeping on nights like this, mostly because my head won’t stop thinking—What if we sleep in? What if we miss our plane? Did I forget to pack anything? Etc. Actually already the last two nights I’ve lain awake for an hour or two, just thinking about all that I have to do before we leave. In desperation last night, I wrote down a few things on some tissues that happened to be on my bedside table. Just so I could stop thinking about them! Only to wake up this morning to the realization that you cannot write legibly on tissues, especially in the dark.

Ian is on the Board of Governors for the Bible College in Port Moresby and we’re going so that he can attend some meetings in this regard. We’re staying with our friends and colleagues, Wayne and Cheronne VanderHeide who along with the ‘t Hart family live on the Bible College’s property. So while it’ll be mostly work for Ian, it’ll be fun for me and the kids to hang out with Cheronne and Sjaan, Bryce and Cameron, as well as Dorinda and their kids. We’re looking forward to meeting the new ‘t Hart baby Jabez too.

Most of you have probably heard by now that Rev. Stephen ‘t Hart and Dorinda have accepted a call to a church in Western Australia. This means that sometime next year they will be leaving PNG. This will, of course, leave a huge gap in the churches in Port Moresby as well as at the Bible College. But we trust and know that the Lord will provide, according to His will and in His time. We pray that another missionary will accept the call to come work in Port Moresby next year.

So we’ll be in Moresby for the weekend and then as a family we’re taking a bit of a break—for about a week and returning to Lae on the 6th of May.

And before we sign off, here's a photo of our two children...stuffing their faces!

May the Lord bless and keep us all!

Sleep Deprived...

As I write this, there’s about a dozen young men and women enjoying the pool here in our compound, which happens to be right in front of our unit. (That's our unit in the background on the left side) They are having a great time, laughing and joking around. Yeah, so what’s the big deal, you ask? Normally we do find joy in other people's happiness! But when it’s alcohol and drug induced, and may deprive us of our sleep tonight, it’s a different story.

For the past year or so, the house behind us has served as a party house, meaning that almost every weekend and sometimes during the week there’s partying going on—all night long. We have been kept up or awakened at all hours to the sound of laughter, loud music, and sadly, a few times the sound of a woman sobbing or once a couple was arguing right outside our bedroom window. With only about 20 feet between the back of our house and theirs, and louvers instead of windows, there is little hope of blocking out the noise. Although we do try—with two fans and the air conditioner. At least the sound is a little muffled. Or on the nights when it’s really bad we crawl into bed with Jonathan whose room is at the front of the house and away from the noise.

It’s obvious that they have no concern or consideration for how they may be disturbing others. And it’s very frustrating because we have no recourse to try and deal with the situation. The man who rents the unit is a friend of our landlord and an influential man in the rather small community of Lae, so we know it would be futile for us to say anything. The crazy thing is that this man seems to seldom be here--he just houses his 20 year old girlfriend here while he lives with his wife in a nearby village. He comes and goes, and in the meantime, she parties with whomever she can find. Yes, sometimes we’re very frustrated with their selfishness and immaturity. But at the same time, we see how lost every one of them is, and how they try desperately to find happiness in drugs and drinking. We know how empty their lives really are. We see the lack of peace in their eyes, and on the nights we’ve heard the young girlfriend sobbing, we’ve heard her deep despair. If only they would know the incredible, inexplainable joy of knowing Jesus Christ! And that their thirst could be quenched forever by Him! Lately we’ve been praying specifically for more opportunities to reach out to them with the love of Christ, but I have to admit, it’s difficult when all you want to do is let them know how much sleep you’ve lost because of them! And even though we’re missionaries (who are supposed to have this down pat by now, right?!...Not!), we still struggle with taking that bold step in coming right out and witnessing to them. Could you please join us in praying for them? And pray for us to, that we may get past our own frustrations and be bold in taking every opportunity to show them love and acceptance, and to tell them of a Saviour whose love is so deep and so rich that He is able to cover all their sins and set them free, if only they believe in Him!