We sincerely thank everyone who continues to work with us to the ends of the earth, making it possible to spread the Gospel in remote areas of Papua New Guinea. As we prepare for our move and three-year term of service in PNG, we are acquiring some things now to use upon arrival.
As many of you already know, one of our ministries in Papua New Guinea is medical. We not only have a clinic that serves up to a hundred Papuans every week, but we also make outreach visits to remote villages to share the Gospel and help the sick who cannot reach the clinic.
We have the opportunity to connect with a mission that collaborates with missionaries and distributes medical tests for typhoid, malaria, hepatitis, and other diseases. The cost of one test is one dollar, and each one is a potentially saved life. The number of tests we can buy depends on how much we have financially, so we humbly request your participation in this need.
One woman from a village who had to walk for eight hours to reach the clinic did not make it with her sick child. Her child died six hours later – she did not make it in time. Unfortunately, there are many unknown cases like this in PNG. Thank you for your open heart!
We never cease to thank God for those people who bear responsibility for the churches in the villages of Yonki, Asas, Atuka/Anditapa, Tompetaka, and Obura.
Reaching villages, like Obura, for example, is not so easy. First, you travel to the city, then change to a truck and drive for another 2 hours, clinging tightly to the handrails and quietly (just in case!) whispering a prayer of repentance: the road is long, the cliffs are steep, and the sticky clay under the wheels constantly tries to test your faith. Anything can happen on the way: a bridge breaks, a truck breaks down, the road collapses, a river overflows, or most often, the road is filled with an angry crowd with spear tips, arrows behind their backs, and ash-streaked faces – a sign of tribal war. In short, you are lucky if you manage to reach the village and not forget the entire sermon, which you so diligently prepared, out of fear.
One of our pastors was almost stoned, and hostile villagers threatened to burn his house down. Churches don’t gather in beautiful buildings, and for example, in Atuka village, there isn’t even a building yet – the congregation gathers on the street, and regardless of any weather conditions, they joyfully praise Christ in simplicity.
Please pray for each of our pastors and their families in our five churches in PNG. Pray for new souls for Christ and the spread of His name where it is still unknown.
We thank the Lord for this year, the reloading and preparation for further service in Papua New Guinea. Not only was I finally able to translate the first book into English and Ukrainian, and write the second one, but as a family we were also able to seek God’s face more and receive a more accurate vision of our service in PNG. Although we are still waiting for confirmation of our three-year visa (please support us in prayer for this), little by little, we are starting to prepare for departure and further service on the edge of the earth.
As part of this, I (Ira) plan to take MMI (Missionary Medical Intensive), a short course for missionaries without medical training who have to handle medicines. The cost of this training is 1000 USD, and it will take place next March in the USA
A little about how we carry out medical service in remote villages in Papua New Guinea, I write in this book my book, and of course, we plan to continue doing it, hopefully even more effectively. Thank you to all who sacrificially support us!
Eugene and two ardent brothers, whom the Lord put on their hearts to spend these 5 weeks in ministry at the ends of the earth, are preparing to leave for Papua New Guinea! Pray for them, they all have families, children who have remained on prayer support here in the States, while the ministers will carry His Word to the ends of the earth.
Eugene plans to camp and encourage all of our (five) churches, trips to remote villages – They won’t be bored, that’s for sure. Please support those brave men in prayer. Also, we hope, we will be able to extend our volunteer visas in order to return to Papua New Guinea again soon.
Pray for a speedy resolution of this issue as well. I’m in the states now, sitting on an easy chair with a mug of steaming black coffee. It doesn’t matter if I have a microphone in my hand, a pencil or a cutting board. If my heart is right before God, it is equally important to Him.
Therefore, breathing in the aroma of American coffee, I pray for Eugene, who will be at home on “Promise Land” this Sunday.
We live by prayers for peace. I think the events in Ukraine have forced many Christians around the world to unite both in prayer and and in help. Sometimes, we hear comments from “well-wishers”, well all dear, with war in Ukraine, all your support will stop, and you might as well pack up and go!
And although it is true that last week we received only 30% of the usual financial support, but we are not going to leave the ministry. There were times when we slept in a hut and ate frogs and worms, And in which case, we will gladly return to them. But we have no plans to stop missionary work here in PNG, no matter what. As part of the medical service we could visit the villages of Kamufa and Hagunamura.
We spent hours in prayer for these people, and then hours in conversation with them. Yes, we bandage wounds, but only the Lord can heal broken hearts. I met a woman who has a chopped off leg with a machete by her husband, just below the knee. When we began to preach the gospel, many wept and in prayer invited Christ into their hearts. Thanks to everyone involved in this ministry!
I can’t even describe how great the need here is – the farther we go into the jungle, the more terrible the conditions are under which people live. There is a huge number of patients with AIDS, typhoid and tuberculosis, people with open wounds, twisted bones that were broken for many years, but did not heal properly. Bones are sticking out from under the bloody wounds, and are all wrapped up with one piece of torn and dirty rag, or worse, wrapped in an old greasy plastic bag on which flies crawl out – and this horrible smells of cadaverous, deadly stench, from which I literally had to put all my strength in order not to turn away. People are coughing up blood, their bellies are swollen, and worms are crawling inside their wounds. They lie and wait for death – on a dirty floor, on a dirty pillow, in a hut without windows, and fleas jump all over from ripped blanket.
To reach before them, we need to go through the mountain that are overgrown, deeper and deeper into the jungle. We go on foot for a prolonged time, this is the only way to reach them. Thank you to everyone who supports our medical trips financially and prayerfully! We are indebted to you.
