NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

Along the way we stopped for supper at a roadside restaurant. It was rustic. It had a dirt floor and the family’s communal bed was right there in the corner. Their living room/bed room/dining room was our dining room. We picked some fish out of a cooler, and they cleaned and grilled them over an open fire for us. You can never be sure what makes a person sick, but Doug wasn’t right after this meal.

Ojek ride

After letting the local police know we were in the area, our rental drove us up the first leg of our trek in. Tim says that saved us about an hour of walking. Where the SUV could go no more, we transferred to motorcycle taxis—ojeks.

This ‘taxi’ service hasn’t always been available. When Tim’s parent’s, Bonard and May, first started living with the Lauje people, there were 30 river crossings. Since then, the government has bulldozed a ‘road’ down the side of the river that the bikes ‘manage’ to drive on.

While riding the ojek, twice the bike couldn’t make it to the top. The first time we backed down safely. The second time, I got off when it quick climbing, and the driver went back down, backwards. Only he didn’t keep it steady, and laid it down against the side of the mountain, breaking the rear light.

Hoofing it

Tim’s reminiscing about his childhood didn’t end there. I thoroughly enjoyed all that he had to share. As we continued walking, he pointed out the hill top where his brother almost died from heat exhaustion.

Further on, Tim pointed out the three initial locations that Bible teaching have taken place over the years.

Tim also showed us where the first and then second, better, airstrips where built in the valley, explaining how the SuperCub airplane had to approach and turn at the last minute before touch down, and then rev the engine to get to the top of the steep airstrip. There it would turn around and wait to roll down the side of the mountain, turning at the bottom before hitting the other side of the valley.

Tim also shared about the time the plane did crash on takeoff.

As we approached Tim’s childhood home, the stories kept coming. He showed us the hydro-electric generator. He explained how his dad got the flush toilet and shower working in the middle of the jungle. He shared about all the fruit trees and animals that his dad had introduced to the tribal people.