The Local Valley

We are blessed to have this view from the back of our house:

The village in the photo is one of several that are within walking distance of the Ukarumpa centre.  These villages are home to many of our Papua New Guinean colleagues and friends.

 This statement was put out by our organisation here in PNG:

'There has been fighting between two villages in Aiyura valley where our headquarters is located, but approximately 2 kilometres away.   Proactive security measures have been taken to closely monitor traffic through our centre and minimize the number of staff travelling through the valley.  The Royal PNG Constabulary (police) have sent a team of officers to restore law and order, and attempt to enable a peace agreement.

Several of our staff's friends or paid staff's loved ones have been impacted by this fighting – and we are concerned for their well-being.
Although the unrest is not targeted at our organisation, please join us in prayer that God would bring about peace for His glory.'

Thank you for praying with us.

For some encouraging news, read about a literacy course attended by many from local villages.  Participants found they were able to read their Bibles for the first time ever after attending the course.

Coffee!

Did you sample any of the Kamano Kafe coffee that we took with us on our travels last year? 

I (Clare) recently accompanied a class trip to the hut where the Kamano Kafe Bible Translation Team produces it:


First, a hand crank hulling machine is used to remove parchment (a thin, paper-like membrane) from the dry beans.  Next, five kilograms of coffee beans are put into the roasting machine (see picture below), where they are constantly rotated to prevent burning.  A window in the machine means that the operator can see when the desired roast has been reached. 



Finally, the coffee is poured into bags and sold.  The profits are used to fund the continued work of Bible translation into the Kamano Kafe language. 

School Holiday Fun

At the moment our children are enjoying their five-week school holiday.  Here is their guide to staying entertained while living in a remote location:

1) Take the lid of the crate that came by ship filled with shoes, clothes and other items that we'll be using between now and 2021
2) Draw pictures (in this case, of a light bulb, a child and a cat)
3) Cut out head holes
4) Stick your head through and get your Mum to take pictures

Next week, Levi (9) will begin Grade 4 and Heidi (6) starts Grade 2 at Ukarumpa International School. Eowyn (4) has another year of pre-school; on some mornings she'll stay home with Mum or with Mama Hana, a wonderful Papua New Guinean lady who helps us at home.

Andrew at the Autoshop

What does it look like to support Bible translation in Papua New Guinea?  For Andrew it looks like this:

In this photo Andrew is replacing the drive chain and sprockets on the 'Jesus Video Bike', used to distribute scripture, Audibibles, hymn books and educational supplies in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

Andrew has helped many people this year in his role as a small engines mechanic.  He worked on an all-terrain vehicle that will be used to transport members of a multi-language project around the areas where they work; he has advised on the maintenance of airstrip mowers (so that planes bringing translators and supplies can land); and of course he has performed maintenance on many motorbikes and other smaller vehicles.

We're home!

We are so glad to have returned to our own home in Papua New Guinea and to have completed the long journey back here.  The following picture was taken during one of the better moments of our 12-hour layover in San Francisco; the children had already been awake for 16 hours at that point.  Twenty-nine hours later we arrived in Cairns, Australia.

After some swimming, repacking and two nights of sleeping, two short flights brought us to our home on the Ukarumpa centre.

* We praise God for allowing us to return to Papua New Guinea.  We are grateful that our luggage made it too!
* We are thankful that our home and dog were well taken care of by missionary colleagues.  The children were particularly concerned about the dog while we were away!
* We've felt the effect of your prayers as we've parented Levi, Heidi and Eowyn through this time of transition.  We've gained various helpful insights as we continue to raise our children.
* We would appreciate prayer as we return to our roles on the Ukarumpa centre and find our place amongst our colleagues.