Thanks to YOUR prayers – last month’s literacy trip to Amdu happened! And equally in answer to prayers, God made it clear the literacy trip to Kaje was NOT to be on my agenda.

What does “autumn” conjure up in your memories? Changing leaves? Apples & pumpkins? Black cats & Halloween? This year for me has been fallen to all things pertaining to Literacy!

Combine the hospital visitation ministry with May River Iwam and what do you get? Some prayer needs far more interesting than my humdrum life! Joel Naiti, a man from the village of Aumi where I lived from 1980 until 2000 has been here in the hospital. Joel came to Wewak several months ago with an eye problem. He opted to spend big bucks (K200 = about $70) to go to a local clinic for a “full body scan” to tell him the source of his illness. The scanning machine also supposedly cured all that ailed him and he went home. Last month he came back to see a real doctor as he has an extreme case of exophthalmos – one eye so swollen it’s nearly pushed out of the socket.

You know the feeling: life stuffed to the brim with a multitude of duties crammed in and spilling outvthrough the gaps. It’s a daily prayer need that I not let anything fall thru the cracks! Without the Lord I would certainly succumb to the mental fatigue — but amid the fullness of life He gives us He is ALWAYS all sufficient. His blessings abound! God graciously allows me to be your representative to His people here in PNG and for that He allots to each day ALL things needful for the charges He commits to our care. And then, as I let Him, He does more! He faithfully uses each assignment He gives as an opportunity to further His work of conforming me to be more and more like Christ. Though a colossal undertaking – He never gives up. Thank you, Lord!

Some years ago when I first moved out of the jungle and into a provincial small town setting I had to learn to live in the urban realm again. It was decidedly not the norm for town living though. If I remember right, we got our:

• Chicken at the gas station
• Butter at the bank
• and money at the grocery store

or some equally unexpected combination for finding and purchasing the above.

Some days it’s a challenge to do even simple mental endeavors. Like today. I counted a stack of office money and came up with K300 total. That was sort of right. If you add another 0 it’s prefect! K3000 – not K300. How do I make such ridiculous mistakes???? Somehow God always intervenes to keep making everything in the finance office balance even when I succumb to such careless errors. Though 2021 is my target date for retirement, on days like today I question whether I will mentally last that long!

“I no yet.” “I no yet.” “I no yet.” (“Nothing’s happening yet”) was the continuous mantra from the hospital staff as several of us stood watch overnight (March 27th) waiting not so patiently for our dear friend Rosie to deliver her twins.

I’ll spare you most of the specifics of the prolonged unproductive labour and eventual grisly delivery other than to say if anything could go wrong, it did. The live birth of twin #1 was the decided bright spot of the ordeal and that was accomplished only by last ditch traumatic techniques by the hospital staff. After numerous further unsuccessful attempts to deliver twin #2, a C-section was the only viable option.

A year ago (January 2016) we were rejoicing on the marriage of one of our employees – young Rosie — to Rex, a Christian from the YembiYempi tribe. Over the past year many of you have continued to pray for this young couple. Now – some specific prayers will be muchly appreciated! Rosie is 38 weeks into her 1st pregnancy and on her clinic visit last Tuesday was told she is expecting twins! Because this was so unexpected and not discovered until so close to her due date, she was sent for an ultrasound – kind of a “last resort” effort here rather than a normal part of prenatal checks.

Answers to YOUR prayers! Over the past couple of years I asked you to please be praying specifically for new missionaries ….. Here’s what God has been doing!

New Year’s musings

Between Christmas and New Year’s 1970, I was privileged to attend Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship’s 9th mission’s conference at Urbana, Illinois. The musician who led the singing (Bernie Smith) would occasionally stop in hiscomments between songs and say, “Attitude check!” The appropriate congregational response was our 14,300+ voices shouting back in unison, “Praise the Lord!” 46 years later God still brings that to mind. Likely because I am often in need of doing just that – checking my attitude toward situations, my reactions to circumstances, my riotousthoughts when things weren’t going according to MY plans. Each day God brings to mind many needful “attitude checks” in my life. I admit praising Him has too often been way down the list of my responses. God is so faithful to bring me round to look at things from His eternal perspective, and as I do that – what else can I say? Praise to Him is fitting in each and every thing He allows to touch our lives as He works to mold us into the image of His Son.

Remember the song “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth….”? I don’t generally itemize or publicize my desires but I have quite a wish list this year — things that YOU can be a part of seeing become reality by praying with us!