Connecting with the people of PNG- Short-Term Missions 

I will be the first to tell you that I have been very negative in the past toward short-term missions. But through the years I have seen that short-term mission trips aren’t always just mission/tourism. There have been many skilled workers who were able to lend their particular abilities and make real contributions to the work while living their faith with the people and making a lasting impact on the people and the work. We have had translators come and create picture books that we use each year in our elementary school; doctors have visited and perform operations and given vaccines. We have had skilled carpenters come and hang doors, do finish work, and build furniture that is beyond our abilities; photographers come and give us beautiful pictures to use for our promotional materials, and books for the schools. 

One of the most valuable short-term trips incorporated many different aspects of missions. A supporting church sent skilled workers to come and work and observe our mission to report back to their mission board. These visits are vital to our work. When a supporting church sends a representative to observe the work, it reminds our people that all the “stuff” that we bring in and do isn’t ours; it belongs to God and His church. This distinction is vital for our good relationship with the people. If all the items of the mission, all the buildings they build, and programs they run are seen as belonging to the mission or missionary, the result is often jealousy, greed, mistrust, and eventually theft. Churches, we ask that you encourage these type of short-term mission trips; it is a way to truly connect with the Ap Ma people and OIPNG (Outreach International of Papua New Guinea).

Busy Summer 

We knew this summer was going to be a busy one, but we had no idea. We have been gearing up for a visit from my parents and a nephew (Richard & Tammy Peck, and Oakley Beliles). Our kids are so excited to have a cousin come and share their world for a bit. This will also allow some one-on-one time with grandparents. We were also surprised with another visitor this summer. Tomorrow on our way through Port Moresby, we will pick up Jacob Ridgeway. He is a missionary kid who has grown up in Budapest, Hungary and his parents are friends of ours from college (Johnson Bible College). He has recently graduated high school and is coming to spend a month with us in PNG. The timing has been interesting as it is working out that Jesse will need constant assistance as he is hindered by the movement in his hand. Jesse is glad to have a willing set of hands and we hope that Jacob will get to experience a very different type of mission field and maybe learn some construction skills as well.

Memories – Mr. Jamo 

A good teacher is never forgotten for they instill some of themselves in each of their students. Some of you will remember in the early days of our elementary school, we were so fortunate to have the assistance of a retired school teacher, Mr. Numa Jamo. He was born in 1932 and educated to grade 6 in the village. When the Australian government inspectors came through, he impressed them with his scores and attitude and he was selected for special training as a teacher. He was taken from the village to better schools to learn how to teach. God has had his hand on him from his youth. The inspector made a wise choice as he was a born teacher. He was kind, compassionate, loved singing with the children, and expected good behavior and obedience. He worked in our elementary school teaching and training our young teacher trainees from 2009-2012 when his shortness of breath caused him to fully retire. Mr. Jamo passed away in June, the day before the children and I flew to Madang for Jesse’s injury. He was a beloved member of our community and contributed so much selflessly to the education of the youth in our area. He was a devout Catholic and shared his faith openly with his students. Samban won’t be the same without him. 

Men’s Leadership Course 

We network with many organizations in PNG. One of our partners in medical service is Samaritan Aviation. They have helped us numerous times, flying patients from our clinic to the hospital in Wewak. They shared with us a desire to be more involved in the communities they serve, presenting the Gospel, and encouraging the churches. After sitting down and having a discussion about what their desire was, Samban became the pilot location for a village-based church leadership course. This course targeted not only pastors, elders, and deacons, but all Christian men discussing how to be a 3-L leader. These three L’s are: L1- lead yourself, L2- lead your family, L3- lead the church. 

The course lasted 3 days. All participants were very receptive and were positive about the course. In some cases, a few spoke about how convicted they were of needing to work on their personal walk with Christ before leading the church. We are thankful for Chris Cooke (Samaritan Aviation), Tim Askew (Zimzam Global), and Greg Greenlaw (New Tribes Mission) for coming to Samban and sharing the work with us and the Ap Ma people. We look forward to seeing fruit from this course in the lives of all who attended. 

Clinic Expansion Project

Over the years we have been amazed at how God has moved peoples hearts to give to our work. Recently we were invited to attend the Angoram District Plan Launching. The member of PNG parliament and his DA (District Administrator) had invited us to the event. Since we live in this district we felt we should attend. We were very surprised and humbled to be presented with a check for Kina 100,000 by Salio Waipo. As the Parliament Member he recognized all we have been doing in the medical field and wanted to support that. 

With this money we have already purchased quite a bit of the material for expanding our clinic. Our plan is to build on to our clinic a ward for in-patients and a maternity ward. Because of Jesse’s injury, some of the material is still in Wewak. Some of it has already made it out to Samban. We also need to finish milling the timber for the construction before the build can begin.

Please pray for safety for everyone while working on this project. Also, pray for patience for Jesse as he will be limited in what he can do himself. We have employees that can do the work, but it will be hard for Jesse to take a more supervisory role. Also pray for safety in travel and transport of the material. We are so thankful for the funds to be able to expand the medical capabilities in Samban.