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.
I can’t even explain what God does during our short medical visits. On another trip, we were stopped by tribal warriors, armed in full ammunition with spears, bows, and arrows, and they delayed us for a whole hour.
People here live in extreme poverty and that breaks our hearts, repeatedly. We see the eyes of the blind. The eyes of the sick. The eyes of the poor, the widows, and orphans. The woman’s eyes, whose husband’s hand was cut off. The deaf, paralyzed, broken bones, and broken hearts all look at me. The white woman, of course, she knows. Certainly, she will help. In their eyes, I see pain, hope, and a desperate cry for someone who can tell them they are loved. They are found and not forgotten. And even if I can’t “fix” everyone and everything, in the end, ultimately, I can love them and I will. I will climb one more mountain. I will sit with them in the dust, in the mud, under the rain. Yes, we give food, medicine, and seeds, but the most that we give is the love and heart of Christ. Thank you to everyone who makes this possible!
On the weekends we were able to hold a youth convention from all our subsidiary’s churches. Over 100 people who were up to 20 years old gathered to worship the Lord together and study His Word. We were able to provide three meals a day and prizes for sports achievements, and thanks to your prayers, many of them used the time to repent. So happy to see the youth, who voluntarily got up at 4 am without reminders, for prayer and worship! Let the fire which they undoubtedly carry away to their villages, that will not fade, but will grow! Thanks to you, we were able to visit the tribal victims of the wars in the village of Atuka and Anditapa and evangelize.
We also blessed especially needy families who have lost literally everything – with shovels, axes, mattresses, and other necessary things to start life over from scratch. We saw many repentances. In that area, there are no evangelical churches, and people are very hungry for the Word of God, so we decided to send pastor Matthias and his family to live here permanently and minister here. Lord willing, we plan to buy a piece of land and start building a house of prayer in Atuka/Anditapa region in very soon.
Here is how we live: waking up, getting the kids to school, quiet time with God, and then work work work. Close to the afternoon I remember that I had no breakfast, I hastily swallow my coffee with one hand keep typing the alphabet for preschoolers with the other. Outside I hear a fight, I suspect our kids Michael and Feli, who love to tease each other. But it turns out, it’s not them – the noise comes from the fact that the time has come for the pastor’s wife to give birth. All hospitals in the area closed due to covid, so I skipped the coffee almost knocked down Feli on the way, yelling into the void, hoping someone will hear me: “Boil water and bring towels!”
This experience is the second time in my life being a midwife, it was beautiful and literally half an hour later I hold hands smiled at the chubby baby, which was named Caleb. Pray for our Senior Pastor Joshua and his wife Jill who gave birth to three beautiful children and never complains about the schedule of the ministry, nor about their living conditions. Thanks to everyone who prays and supports our ministry in Papua New Guinea.
Living and raising children in the jungle is not an easy task, I’ll tell you but we try to be not “correct” but “real”. We include them in conversations discussing everything as it is. Recently I was talking with our teenager Matthew. We discussed our upcoming trip home. I have for the millionth time described the snow they will finally see, a McDonalds which they can again
visit and many more other things that my little Papuans already have forgotten after many years of life in the jungle.
I told them that in Ukraine, we will visit many churches and most likely they will be bored listening to the same story hundred-thousandth of times, but they should try to be quiet (to which Matthew stated that he can handle it easily until it’s time to eat.)
And then I said: “Children, you know, nobody us will understand us. Some will admire the way missionaries live, others will condemn us as parents that we took our children’s childhood away. You will ask and you will need to answer the most stupid and serious questions. In the world of white people its not that easy. There are certain rules how you should be dressed and how and when you should talk”. I know life on a mission is not easy. But you know what? This life is the most real life.
