campbell ramblings

Over recent months, I (Keith) have focussed on the implementation of a new system for the Aviation section processes involving parts ordering and aircraft maintenance. One essential component of this has been the training of PNG staff, an activity which initially made the new role an attractive prospect.

While much of the training to date has been informal and unscheduled – pointing out efficient methods of carrying out day-to-day tasks – the need arose in January for specific training in some of the financial controls involved in managing our parts inventory.

I initially thought that working through the complex material might be a hard slog for some of the staff more accustomed to routine tasks, but the team all responded positively, accepting the challenge of raising their engagement with the work to a higher level. In a feedback process, they each indicated that further training would be appreciated.

The next few months will involve putting the training into practice, as we work together to further hone their skills, applying them to the overall goals of the team.

Prayer points…

• Praise that the team is learning to trust each other’s abilities, particularly the newer staff
• Pray for opportunities later in the year to extend the training to other areas within Aviation and to the wider mission workforce

Elspeth’s role organising the Orientation Course for our latest intake of mission staff sees her in Goroka for two weeks, immersed with the eleven course participants in cultural studies.

The Melanesian Institute seeks to inform and challenge new mission staff to be aware of the history and cultural traditions of PNG, as well as the current social issues that affect the people today. This cultural training will enable the missionaries to be more effective in their work of translating and / or supporting translation work alongside PNG co-workers, and to thrive within local communities.

The workshops also include international ministry staff from local churches. One Tanzanian pastor serving in the Hela Province shared his experience with translated Scripture.

He noticed that the people struggled to understand the Tok Pisin language used in the church services. Outside of church – at school, in the market, at home, in business – the people predominately speak their own vernacular language, Huli.

This posed a challenge for the pastor, as the people were not being truly impacted from the Scriptures which they heard each week in church.

The Bible had been previously translated into Huli – the heart language of the people – so the pastor decided to use it to try and engage the congregation with the church service and the gospel message.

Using the vernacular Bible for the readings, and even attempting to preach at times in the Huli language, drew a response from the people as they whispered and talked to each during the readings and the preaching. During the service, the pastor was assisted by an elder who translated the message. At the end of the service the congregation clapped and spoke of how their hearts were moved as for the people on the day of Pentecost when everyone heard the gospel for the first time in their native tongue. Everyone expressed amazement that the pastor, who came from another country, could communicate in their own language.

In God’s providence, the pastor’s own vernacular language uses many of the same letters and sounds as the Huli language, making it easier for him to read the Huli Scriptures, even though he struggled himself with comprehending the full meaning.

Lomo 10:13-14  Huli NT

13 Anduane Homogonaga mbugani lo ngadagua ogo, Anduane Homogo mini olararu Ngode Datagaliwabehanda ti pele mulebira, lalu gilibu nga. 14 Ani ngago tigua ibuhondo mini mbiraore nawiyagua ibu mini agua olabehebe. Bi mana hale naheyagua mini mbiraore agua wibehebe. Bi mana nalamidayagua hale agua habehebe.

Romans 10:13-14

13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

The following Sunday … the people came back to hear more.

PRAYER POINTS

That this Huli church community would experience God’s love and grace in their lives, flowing to their entire community

That the material presented at the Melanesian Institute would be helpful in equipping staff to work, and thrive, in PNG.

That the participants from eleven different countries will also be blessed through sharing the internal cultural differences within the group.

For strong relationships to grow within the Orientation Course group – as it did for ours – out of the time spent facing challenges together.

Keith thoroughly enjoyed his birthday on Saturday, December 17, with a number of Ukarumpa folk coming together for The Oval Birthday Test. Only it wasn’t his birthday being celebrated, but that of an American mission colleague. We discovered that Joshua and Keith share a birthday after Becky, Joshua’s wife, purchased a cricket set we advertised on the local intranet. She wanted to surprise Joshua with a birthday treat, as he had experienced cricket while on a ministry trip to India, and became fascinated by the sport.

The sale of the cricket set was quickly negotiated to include a coaching session, and umpiring a friendly match on a patch of lawn locals refer to as ‘the upper oval’. Keith mowed and marked out a standard pitch, then had a fun morning explaining the basics of the game, answering many questions from our US friends such as, “Can you tag the runners with the ball?” and “Why are there two batters at the same time?”. He translated as much as possible – ‘pitch’ for ‘bowl’, and ‘home plate’ for ‘stumps’ – and avoided the complexities of fielding positions such as silly mid-off and the slips cordon.

As it was, Keith’s use of cricketing jargon as play progressed drew laughter from the participants – noting Becky’s work as a ‘gun fielder’, and a team mate ‘putting down a sitter’.

The end result – the SIL Internationals, 0 dominating the Harber Reds, -36 – came about due to Keith’s rule variation which allowed a batter to remain after getting out, with a 5 run score deduction instead. Some fairly reckless attempted quick singles by the Reds saw the wickets tumble, with one player commenting, “I was so excited to actually hit the ball I just wanted to run!”. Stopping mid pitch to recover a hat after it fell off during a quick run didn’t help the outcome much either

The positive response from players has inspired Keith to consider another match on the main High School sports oval around the time of Australia Day, with two 11-person teams and something akin to standard rules. Should be a bewdy!

Prayer points

• Give thanks that Keith had such an awesome, unexpected birthday treat with our US friends
• Praise God for laughter, and the experience of two cultures coming together

This is the first blog since Keith commenced in a finance role at the SIL Aviation base, and although it features an image of aircraft, the main focus is not on these amazing flying machines. The image itself is a rare sight here in Ukarumpa, as aircraft from five mission organisations – MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship), New Tribes, Samaritan Aviation, Adventist Aviation, and of course, SIL – have been stationed on the apron at times over several days.

The pilots and staff have been engaged in a Joint Mission Aviation Conference [ which they probably refer to as J-MAC, given that pilots love acronyms – Keith ]. The gathering provided opportunity to share operational issues, methods of training, and to enhance our partnership in practical ways. Just this past week, our helicopter pilots worked with MAF to assist an aircraft stranded on a remote strip with mechanical issues, ferrying the maintenance team to and from the remote location.

There are a number of mission organisations, international and local, active in PNG, focusing on evangelism, church planting, health and education services, Bible translation and literacy, training pastors, and more. One common factor is the logistical challenges many face operating in a country such as PNG. The landscape is predominantly rugged and mountainous, and the road infrastructure is minimal. Aviation operations in PNG come at significant cost, and not without risk, but without access by aeroplane or helicopter, many remote communities would be isolated from the services provided by mission agencies.

Gazing out the window during a flight from Port Moresby to Ukarumpa hammers home these issues. Amidst mountains and valleys covered in dense forest, a cluster of village houses appears, perhaps alongside a river which provides both a source of water and transport to the next village centre, or alternatively, with a winding dirt track disappearing over the next rise. Were it not for SIL Aviation, getting back to our ministry roles in PNG after time in Australia would be a complex process indeed!

Prayer points

• Praise God for the technology that allows so many people to serve God in challenging locations
• Pray for continued partnership between mission organisations, that our unity may contribute to all of us effectively furthering the gospel

It has been quite a journey for us with Keith’s health issues, particularly the joint pain in the hands and wrists which has been tentatively diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. After a few false starts with medication while still in PNG back in October 2020, Keith experienced complete pain relief from the steroid-based Prednisolone. These ‘little white pills’ worked wonders… but carry some undesirable side effects. And with the advisable time limit of use being just 10 days, it did not provide much of a longer term solution.

Enter Omega-3 in the form of fish oil capsules. After a few weeks of popping nine capsules a day, any pain has been reduced to the level of the occasional mild inconvenience. This is a tremendous answer to prayer, as we were concerned about the impact of the pain on Keith’s ability to keep up with the demands of our current round of visiting churches and individual partners in south-east Queensland. With plans to preach on four occasions over the next three weeks, Keith certainly wanted to have a clear head.

Keith will see a Townsville specialist on May 10, after which we hope to establish a manageable solution that will free us up to return to work in PNG. If the fish oil needs to be a long term source of pain relief, then that does not pose a problem. It simply means we may need to make luggage space for around 4,000 capsules…. or 300kg of smoked salmon!

Prayer points

• Praise God for the pain relief, and at such a low daily cost
• Pray for a clear outcome from seeing the rheumatologist in May

[ Keith ] … A discovery a few days ago gave me quite a shock – realising that our previous blog posting was in October 16, 2021!  Admittedly, we have published two newsletters since that time, but to me, the blog postings have come to represent points on the journey where an event, or an interaction provides some insight into what God is doing either through us or in us.

Is the passing of twenty weeks without a sense of something ‘blog-worthy’ a cause for concern?

How easily the “cares of the world” take hold, as Jesus warned his disciples from the parable of the sower (Mark 4:1-20 ESV). We have celebrated a grandchild and supported her parents; hosted Christmas in Northern NSW; helped our younger daughter relocate to Perth and reunite with her husband; and set about long overdue maintenance on our Townsville house. Hardly “deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things” (4:19) you might say, as these are all worthy of our energy and effort. But for us, this represents quite a shift from being permanently focused on Kingdom work.

These past few weeks have involved serving at our home church in some small ways…. that’s a start. And today we met up with some PNG mission friends, sharing and praying together…. that helps. Next month we intend to be back in south-east Queensland visiting churches and speaking about the next stage of our mission service, with a view to returning to PNG in May…. that will be getting our hands dirty at last.

Until we return to working alongside our colleagues, advancing Bible translation, we will always feel like something isn’t quite as it should be. We are meant to be the healthy plants, firmly rooted, producing a harvest for the Sower, and it is clear to us that our “good soil” lies in the highlands of PNG.

Prayer points

Please be praying for us to maintain our focus, to be eager for Kingdom ministry in PNG and yet open to what God is doing in our lives, here and now, taking every opportunity to glorify Him.

One aspect of supporting Hannah and Corey in the lead up to the arrival of the baby involves tending to the multiple chickens, ducks and quail. This is a recurring responsibility, and Keith has been chipping in here and there as needed, particularly when Corey has other work responsibilities that can keep him away from the house for much of the day.

Some tasks can be easily taken on – topping up feed and water; checking for eggs; cleaning out and refreshing the brooding coops. Going beyond this soon tests the knowledge base, as even something as apparently simple as chickens reveals layers (no pun intended) of complexity. What mix of feed is appropriate? Which birds can be let out to free range together? Are there signs of illness or injury? Are the stored eggs actually fertilised? Addressing these issues highlights the difference between a helpful amateur and someone who has researched the topic eggs-tensively (pun definitely intended).

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The birds also seem intuitively aware of the difference. Two of the more difficult roosters – Dave, the old hand, and a newer bird Kosta (Keith named him after Kosta Tsyzu due to his diminutive stature being in complete contrast to his level of aggression) have assumed the responsibility of sorting out the ‘substitue guy’, puffing up their chest and taking an aggressive stance toward Keith at every opportunity. The hens often pick up on the tension, helpfully tearing around the yard while Keith attempts to herd them back into their coops after yard time without running into fruit trees or coathanging himself with the clothesline.

The whole experience is reminiscent of a teaching example Jesus gave on the issue of the Pharisees and their ineffective leadership of God’s people.

“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”    John 10:1-5

Ironically, the passage goes on to say, “Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.” (verse 6)

There are no shortage of people clambering to have their opinions heard on many topics, including spiritual issues. Mainstream and social media usher them into our lives constantly. We need to be as wise as dopey sheep and stroppy chickens…. and pay heed only to the Shepherd’s voice.

Prayer points

• Pray for Hannah and Corey as they await the birth, with the due date sometime this weekend.
• Praise God that we are able to be here, and to be of some help as needed.

We have thoroughly enjoyed spending several weeks in Queensland regional towns – particularly as we have avoided the areas of South-east Queensland enduring a lockdown.

COVID has left its mark on our travel plans, however, as we were forced to postpone visits to Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast during August. While visiting these areas may have been technically possible, we chose not to compromise the later return to regional areas, or to muddy our plans to head to New South Wales mid-September for the October birth of our first grandchild.

As we came over a crest south of Mundubbera heading for Kingaroy, the change in the road conditions (above photo) seemed appropriate to our situation, with all of the uncertainties we face over coming months. The figurative ‘road ahead’ appears a little bumpy, with crumbling edges and no clear markings. We are confronted by issues of border closures, travel permit requirements, and even uncertainty over how it may unfold with Hannah potentially giving birth in a region under lockdown. In the very least, we could say that nothing over the next two months is likely to be ‘normal’. Beyond that, we had hoped to spend some time at the National Centre for Wycliffe Australia in Kangaroo Ground, Victoria before Christmas – potentially more complicated border issues!

Jesus understands our tendancy to lose focus and be overwhelmed by the immediacy of our earthly problems.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?”   Matthew 6:25

He then draws our attention to the provision God makes for some of the least aspects of His creation – birds of the air and flowers of the field – before realigning our perspective…

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”   Matthew 6:33-34

Join us in bringing to God all of these issues… and whatever other ‘worries’ are on your heart.

Prayer points

• Praise that we can fully trust God with all of our ‘tomorrows’ – we are thankful for the ways He has proven Himself faithful in so much this past six months.
• Pray for those in border areas who are struggling with the restrictions, including the local authorities having to deal with the public.
• Pray that Hannah and Corey will have a birth free from complications, and that we can be there to support them as planned.

Just sharing a bit of fun for a change. Take a break from the current online doldrums and enjoy the cuteness! And for a prayer point, simply praise our Creator for His love of beauty and the variety which He brings into our lives.

Though not as memorable as the human conversations, we have made a habit of photographing Keith’s interactions with some furry friends belonging to our various hosts on our travels. Most are new acquaintances this year, while others have been a case of revisiting past good times of pats, tug-o-wars, and belly rubs.

We have also seen a variety of birdlife in both urban and rural Qld locations. Settling into the church housing at Bell has provided an ideal opportunity for some bird watching. The feathered locals have been conditioned to being fed by the previous occupants, so getting up close shots has been quite easy – we don’t even have to leave the comfort of the back deck!