NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

House building over the last 2 weeks. We rebuilt the red house when it was toppled by a landslide a little over a year ago. The multicolored house (yet to be painted) is for a new missionary family who is joining the work in this tribal location.

A ‘quick’ one night trip led me over the roughest roads I have seen yet. Bill and I traveled to two tribal locations in 2 days. In one spot we installed a repaired radiator in a missionary’s vehicle. In the other location we installed a radio antenna, fly wire, and repaired the rainwater catchment system. Here are just a few pictures of the road that I snapped for fun- I do apologize that I don’t take more interesting pictures!

Back in August, Bill and I were able to go out to the Islands to finish up a missionary’s house. Many work teams had made their way over to PNG from the States to work on building this house, and they did a phenomenal job! All that was left was the Solar Electric system and some of the plumbing. We spent a week on the small island and were able to finish the electrical and plumbing. The Island is only a ¼ mile wide by a ½ mile long, but home to a language that is spoken by a large people group that extends to many other islands. Missionary families have been ministering to this language group for many years, and there is a small group of believers that meet regularly for worship and teaching. However, they still don’t have a complete new testament to read from. There is still lots of work to be done including: teaching literacy, translating the bible, and discipleship. However, there was only one missionary family left to perform all these tasks. For this reason, a new missionary, Aimee, has decided to move into the location and partner with the other family in completing these goals. Aimee and I went through all four years of missionary training together. It was neat to see her on this side of the world doing what she trained so long for. The change of scenery was great. The mountains in the highlands are beautiful, but they lose their majesty after a while (as I am sure the blue ocean and palm trees do too). It was still PNG, but it felt very different. Much more peaceful and laid back (which is fitting for an Island culture!) Now that Aimee’s house is finished, she is working on learning the language and culture of this little island so she can present God’s Word clearly and effectively in the years to come.

RIGHT NOW, it seems like Bill and I spend most of our time fixing things at the center where we live. Occasionally though, we get to go out to the bush and help a missionary. It is all fun(mostly), but it is a special blessing and encouragement to me when I get to go out to a tribe and help a family who is struggling with their electrical or mechanical systems. I get to meet new missionaries all the time and see the different works- all in different phases of ministry. Some works have only one family ministering, some have three. Some works are only in the beginning phases, and the missionary is still learning the tribal language. Some are in their 10th or 15th year, and have churches, all staffed and led by the local people in the local language. Some works even have a complete New Testament in their language, and the missionaries are in the final stages of transitioning out of the work completely. And even other works are completely finished, with only local leaders carrying on the ministry (If you remember Mol and the generator- this is one of those works).

LAST WEEK I had the opportunity to take a helicopter ride into a remote village about an hour away. One missionary family is there, and one family will be returning from Home Assignment shortly. Some of the problems that needed addressing were: Broken Instant Hot Water heater (the family has four boys, and has to boil water on the stove each day for baths- avg nighttime temperature at this mountainous location is probably around 45-55F !)

*Faulty Batteries – batteries would not hold their charge, and we found that the internal connections were broken. We brought new batteries in, and so I was able to install those. The old batteries were only 1 year old, and should be expected to last 4 years! These are some of the unexpected expenses that missionaries often face. A new set of batteries can cost from $500 (for a very small system) to $2100 (for a normal sized system) to $4200 (for a large 24v system).

*Faulty Battery charger – turned out to be a blown internal fuse. Sounds a lot easier to fix then it actually was!

*Low power from Solar Electric system – turned out to be some corrosion in the wires and some loose connections

*Faulty Inverter- replaced with another inverter they had brought in.

FOUR OTHER GUYS took advantage of the helicopter being in the area, and flew in to this tribe as well. So including the two pilots, there were 7 guys working for a day and a half to fix other issues and clean/repair the returning missionary’s home. Another job they accomplished was digging a long deep trench for a water line. The missionaries had set up a rain water tank for the local guys to use, but the water pipe needed to be buried. The shortest and easiest place to bury the line went right by the entrance to the little hut where they teach literacy. This was not an option, because the people have a taboo about women stepping over food or water that might be consumed by a man. They believe it will make the man sick and weak. So the ditch had to get dug about 5 foot deeper and run the long way around the literacy hut. I trust, that some day, when the people have a chance to hear about the freedom in Christ, they will have this water line as a reminder of the fear and deception that use to rule their lives…

ON ANOTHER NOTE I asked you to pray about getting down to the Islands region to do some work there. On Aug 1st Bill and I will fly over there to setup a new PV system on a new bush house! We will be there for a week. I am thanking God that all the details worked out at the last minute. NTM’s large plane (a C90 King Air, for those that care) will be flying that way to pick up a team of ITF students (Remember, I got my feet wet at ITF too! ). The plane is flying down empty, and this gave us an opportunity for a direct flight down to the Islands. The only problem was that the Solar Electric system, and much of the other equipment we were going to install had not arrived yet! The crates were going to be delivered to the Wharf this Wednesday, to be put on a boat and shipped the 100 miles or so to the right island. However, the King Air will be flying right by where the crates are, and has the room to carry most of that stuff along with Bill and I to the right spot! So we will make a stop to load up all that equipment and fly it to the correct place. Then it is only a 30 minute boat ride to the tribe. All the details came together just in time for us to purchase our commercial airline return tickets at the advance purchase discount rate! Thanks God!

FINAL NOTES I am just really excited that I was able to repair a fridge here at the center yesterday. I worked on the thing on and off for about a week, fixing the gaping hole in the refrigerant lines, getting all the moisture out of the system, and recharging it. This morning I found out it was working great! Hopefully it stays that way for years to come.

On Monday a missionary family called and said their battery bank had collapsed.  About 2 weeks ago we had worked with them over the phone to get one bad battery removed (it was filling their house with a rotten egg smell).  2 weeks later another battery died, leaving them with only 2 partially functioning batteries. 

Monday afternoon we went into town to buy batteries.  That was the easy part.  We actually have 8 batteries that have been sitting in our workshop for 3 weeks waiting on acid.  But the Lord Provided!  We were able to find acid, and for a better price than before!  Last time we bought acid, we payed over $6 per liter.  This time we found acid for $2.47 per liter.  (our normal supplier charges $2.66 per liter, but has been out for 3 months).  When each battery uses 18 liters of acid, the price difference really adds up.

Tuesday we filled and charged the batteries, and picked up a new vehicle (another huge praise!)  Wednesday we headed out for a 4.5 hour road trip to the bush.  Renae and Kai we able to go this time as well!

click for larger pictures…

We were able to install the batteries that afternoon, and install a newer Solar Charge Controller as well.  This allows the panels to charge the batteries more efficiently, but required that we rewire the panels.

We headed back the next day after fixing a leak in the water tank.   It was a very encouraging trip.  It was so nice to sit down and visit with them about their work and lives.  The team has just started translating scriptures.  Currently working on the stories of Joshua and Joseph.  Lord willing, they will be able to start evangelistic teaching in October!

A citizen translation helper called in on the radio yesterday asking for help. He said the mower for the airstrip and the generator were both broken. Missionaries in this location are currently on furlough. Not sure when I can head out to this location, but it needs to be soon, as the grass will quickly close the runway. I am also working on filling/charging batteries, cleaning septic tanks, fixing leaks, and maintaining our Center generator. I also have the responsibility now of managing the citizen workers who maintain the grounds here at the Center.

When we get some extra time, we hope to be able to build a few more racks for Solar Panels and more shelves in the workshop.

We are really feeling swamped with the current workload.

Also, another center about 10km down the road has asked if Bill and I would be able to maintain their electrical systems while their two electricians go on furlough (this center is about 15 times the size of our center). Please pray for energy and good time management

Kevin

Life continues in Papua New Guinea, but not like it always has. Both our lives and the lives of the Papua New Guineans are not what they used to be. 1. Our life is changed in a number of ways that are easy to imagine. Some changes though are quite subtle, unexpected, and rather hard to describe. Some of those “you have to live here to know” experiences. Didn’t you always hate that when you were told “you are too young to understand…”? Well, we didn’t like it too much either when we were told that we would “understand when you get here.” None of these experiences are bad or discouraging, they just remind us that we are adapting. Is this annoyingly vague or what!? 2. Papua New Guinea is changing. This is rather expected but not so obvious. We do not live “in the bush” but rather close to town and among New Guineans with “town culture.” As we endeavor to learn language and culture, we keep finding a bit of a step that exist between here and 20 years or miles away. But this “step” has no orange paint or “watch out” signage. Language here is different, with a myriad of English words that have Pidgin verbalizing suffixes attached. And culture almost seems a thing of the past. This is an impossibility of course. But, where we are anyway, it seems that people are in a flux between the “old ways” and a new media driven culture. If you ask what stories they tell their kids, they say “before we had a house-man or house-woman where the children would be told stories and taught…but not anymore.” Now it seems stories are passed along in school or through western movies. Yet, the impact on worldview seems quite delayed. Much of my confusion exists because I do not yet understand enough about those around me. Yet, there is a very obvious change taking place… and sometimes I wonder if it is just moving a little bit too fast for my finger to be placed on it. But out in the “Bush” where the mountains forbid roads to come; airplanes, helicopters, and feet are slower messengers of change. But it is still forging its way into the deepest darkest valleys. It is an interesting time to be in PNG. Almost like watching the American 19th century and 21st century merge in the time of one generation. But as a novice in culture study, it is a bit intimidating to behold. I wish there was a local anthropologist I could meet with over coffee once a week! Anyway, here are some recent yet random pictures.

A couple weeks ago a friend of mine, Abale, took me to the funeral of his cousin’s baby. By the looks of it, the funeral wasn’t that different from one in the States. Relatives came to show their sympathies (though it was done with loud crying instead of a hug and few short words), food was served afterwards (though the pig was brought to the funeral alive, butchered before the service, and cooked mumu style during the service), and the body was placed in a casket and into the ground (though the hole was dug next to the house in the flower garden). All in all it wasn’t all that foreign. But under the surface things quickly became unclear. Since this was a baby, none of the men expressed sympathy. When I asked why, I was told that the baby wasn’t old enough to matter to the men, and that since it was only a baby it didn’t require much appeasement. Evidently when older relatives die, their spirit must be appeased so that it does not cause harm to those still living. My understanding of all this is still very murky. Most of the time the daily life of the people around this area seems quite normal- by that I mean it seems fairly western, apart from a few cultural things. But every now and then someone will mention something that quickly reminds me that they think very differently than I.

Last week presented another opportunity to take a break from language learning. Earlier this year, while Jim and Judy were in the States, their tribal house was severely affected by an earthquake and sinkhole. No one is exactly sure what happened, but accounts from the people summarize a shifting of the ground that lasted throughout an entire day and night. Jim and Judy’s once level yard is now stepped in multiple places where the ground dropped away 3 to 8ft. Though the house is still standing, it is tilting down hill and must be dissembled and moved a couple hundred yards down hill. This last week 4 of us went out for 5 days last week and reassembled a shed down at the new location. This will serve as storage while the house is being disassembled and rebuilt. It will probably take 3 more trips through the month of October to finish. This was the first time I have built anything in the bush. I was very surprised to learn how long it takes! The timber is hard and crooked, the nails are soft, everything has to be pre-drilled, limited use of power tools, limited building material, less than ideal sleeping conditions, etc all make for a very long week. But in the end, we finished what we went down to do. There is so much left to do and your prayers for wisdom and endurance are much appreciated!