Weekly Update #2
As we come to the end of our second week living as missionaries in Papua New Guinea, we are still very much on “high alert.” I’m learning to juggle leadership responsibilities at the Mount Hagen Missionary Home while making sure my family’s needs are met, caring for employees, and driving in a foreign country where the laws and customs are very different. All things considered, we are adjusting well.
If you’ve noticed less activity on the CPR Missions Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok, that is because we’re intentionally trying to “take it easy” so we don’t make unnecessary mistakes or experience burnout. PNG is often referred to as the mission field where missionaries “go to die”—not in a physical sense, but because the phrase “what can go wrong, will go wrong” has proven true for many. The constant pressure and stress have caused some missionaries to leave the field. We’re aware of that reality, but we’re trusting the Lord and taking things one step at a time.
This week, I spent time getting to know the eight employees at the Mt. Hagen Mission Station: Ipson, Tama, Raphael, Samson, Delma, Loame, and Esther. We have been planning the upcoming Holiday Party, which will be a great icebreaker and an opportunity to meet everyone’s families. I also spent time explaining some business matters, such as their regular, overtime, and double-time pay rates, and showed them how to calculate their own wages. I told them it was important for them to know this—not only to protect themselves from mistakes, but also to ensure nobody would ever cheat them. Most of them didn’t fully understand the concept, but the gesture was well received and helped to build trust. They appreciated having open communication and knowing that I was “for” them.
Missionary Chad Wells from the Pangia Ministry Team has invited me to teach evangelism classes at his Bible college, about three hours away. These classes will begin in June and will require a weekly commute by bus and an overnight stay at the Pangia Mission Station. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to invest in pastors and preachers in PNG who want to learn how to effectively lead people to the Lord.
As a family, we’ve started attending Temple Baptist Church in Mt. Hagen. I strongly believe in the local church and that ministry should flow from it—even though our sending church is 8,000 miles away. I asked Pastor Camulus if he would shepherd my family and me and look after our souls while we’re here. He was happy to do so, and the church members have been very welcoming. We’ll be praying about how I might be able to help at the church and/or Bible college.
Toward the end of the week, I asked a fifteen-year-old national to sit with me on the front stoop of the missionary home so I could practice speaking Pidgin. His mother soon approached us—she turned out to be one of the housekeepers at the mission home. Her name is Loame.
I shared the gospel with her son, mostly in Pidgin while reading from my notes. When we came to the “good news,” Loame looked surprised. She had never understood grace. She believed Jesus taught us how to become good enough to go to heaven, but she had never understood the atonement—until that moment. I quickly ran to my flat, grabbed my English/Pidgin side-by-side Bible, and read through the key passages explaining why Jesus shed His blood, that the payment for sin had already been made, and that salvation is a free gift by the grace of God through faith in the finished work of the Savior. There was a sweet spirit present as she trusted Christ as her Savior from the heart.
Then another miracle happened. A lady approached us from off the streets with tears in her eyes. She saw a white man holding a Bible and sharing the Word of God and felt compelled to come closer. Her name is Nancy. She said she had been living on the streets for the past two weeks and had been staying at the hospital (haus sik) across the street. She also believed she needed to “change her ways” and “be a good person,” but she saw in the Bible that the victory was won at Calvary.
I invited her to sit with us on the stoop. Without any prompting, she bowed her head and prayed—along with Loame and her son. Afterward, Nancy said, “I can’t describe it, but I feel so free and relieved.” She agreed to come to the mission home Sunday morning and ride with us to church.
Loame confessed Christ as her Savior and was overjoyed that God sends missionaries to preach the gospel. She was especially thankful that God had lifted her burden. Seeing the care-worn heaviness leave her face and be replaced with pure joy made every challenge we had faced so far worth it. Loame was just as excited to see the Spirit of God draw Nancy over so she, too, could partake of the water of the river of life—freely!
The next day, Loame was willing to do a testimony video, where she expressed her gratitude for salvation and for God sending missionaries to the people of Papua New Guinea. It will be published on the CPR Missions social media platforms very soon. Be on the lookout!
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