Tyler and Emily in PNG

Last Monday, Jun 10 was a national holiday in PNG. The office was closed for the Queen’s Birthday. I decided to invite all the single ladies in the office plus Emily to Pig Island for a day of relaxing on the beach and snorkeling. It was me the captain plus six women…I felt humbled to be in their presence.

We all enjoyed a day in the sun away despite being stung by a jelly fish. Thanks for some Advil and cold packs, I was able to survive the sting. Now I have a small bottle of vinegar stored away on the boat for next time…lesson learned.

For your viewing pleasure I shot a short video.

The many names of Jesus…if you recall in the fall of last year we were raising the awareness for a new branch vehicle in Papua New Guinea (PNG). In Oct I posted this article ‘100% ROI’.

The headquarters in Dallas gave us a matching gift which was our aim to meet and surpass. All team members were challenged to reach out to their networks of churches, families, friends, and supporters for the plea of the branch in PNG.

Two weeks ago, a new blue 4 door (double cab) 4WD Toyota Hilux was in our hands. Yeah! Praise God! The Provider has answered our cry and heard our plea. Thank you!

This new truck will enable us to provide secure and safe transport of both missionaries and national colleagues. It will be used to take people and cargo to and from the airport, transport equipment to and from the village, and any other needs that arise for a truck. Though most importantly a reliable vehicle that we can trust and depend on.

Both Emily and I say thank you for praying and giving towards this new vehicle purchase. God is in the business of answering prayers and He is hearing our heart cry here in PNG not only for a truck but for more labours in the fields. God is truly our Provider. All praise and thanksgiving goes to you, the Provider.

Emily reflects on her recent 10 day trip to Gandep Bible College in rural Papua New Guinea to teach a scripture use course.

At the recent Scripture Use course I taught, the students were asked to pick a verse from whichever book of the Bible that had already been published in their language. In the past the teachers assigned a scripture verse for the sake of making memorization charts lesson easier for the students.

During this course some students only had the book of Mark; others the book of Luke, and a few had a whole New Testament in their language while others had no translated scripture in their language at all. It was unique to see what verses of the Bible they chose. Yes, of course a few students found a really short verse since it was easier to memorize and put on their chart they were preparing to make…the least amount of work possible. But others chose meaningful, lesson teaching opportunities.

I was blessed by our student Peter’s choice. Peter is a Kire speaker and has had the New Testament in his language since 2000. He chose Revelation 3:20. Now my first gut reaction was when he came to me with his selected verse was, oh no what in the world will this memory verse chart say. But when I opened up my Bible to check the context of the verse I was happy to read-

“Nde mbarara, gu thçmkamani thsgap kav, thçma fukfugap ki. Guma the na kamthooý mbararagip, thçma ntararga, guv hen ýgirçp, ana phorgç kçrga. Gu ana phorgç kçv, ana phorgç mbçrga, ana na phorgç mbçrga.” (Kire translation)

Okay, so I really didn’t understand it in Kire so I had to look at it in English,

“Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, we will share a meal as friends.”

It is a verse from the “message from the one who is the Amen-the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.” The verse reminded me of the gift of community so many Papua New Guineans have taught me. It also brought out the image of Christ that someone else would see and humbly reminded me of how precious it is to be a part of the family of God. It also deepens my desire which burns inside of me to share a meal as friends with Christ and many, many Papua New Guinean brothers and sisters in heaven.

As I sat in church, I glared out the top window and noticed huge palm branches stretching out in all direction. I remember as a child we would also wave palm branches or something resembling palm branches on Palm Sunday. We would yell ‘Hosanna in the Highest’ and sing song as we heard the story of Jesus arriving in Jerusalem on a young donkey.

Though this Sunday the message was not about Palm Sunday or Jesus arriving in Jerusalem, I still like to read the account in the gospels of Jesus. I was particularly attracted to Luke’s account in chapter 19 and how Jesus approached the Pharisees.

As Jesus was riding on donkey and approaching the city of Jerusalem and crowd was shouting…

Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory to God. v38

The not so friendly Pharisees who were amidst the crowd asked Jesus, ‘Teacher, make your disciples stop shouting!’ Another words, these followers of yours are making us, Pharisees, uncomfortable with all of this ruckus. Jesus answered them with this cute response, ‘If they keep quiet, these stones will start shouting.’ Could you image a concert of stones or perhaps a rock concert shouting out to God?

Every Sunday there is a given time for testimony during the service. This Sunday a man stood up to testify. He told a story of a man at a previous church that shared a testimony every single Sunday. The man continued to say, this gentleman had a fire inside his heart to share the amazing things of Christ. He had a concern for others and for the sake of Christ.

As I listened to his testimony, I pondered, do I have a fire in my heart to share Christ every day or every moment I have? Do I have a testimony to share every Sunday or any other day? I was challenged by this man as well as the disciples to ‘shout’ Hosanna for the coming of the Lord.