If there was one word that we have heard the past few days, it would be ‘waiting’. We have waited in airports for boarding calls, waited for take-off clearance, waited for the next flight. Even while enjoying a few days in Madang, there was a sense of ‘waiting’.
As we walked the streets, adjusting to the heat, the crowds, the sounds, and aromas, our minds were still on what lay ahead – POC, Ukarumpa and Lae.
But it wasn’t just us. In a way, the whole town seems to be waiting.
Street-stall vendors waiting for a buyer; labourers for their rest break; water taxis for the next load (or more than a load) of passengers; door security guards for someone to test their authority.
And always, there is the sense that they are waiting for something to happen.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Romans 8:19-21
Madang is no different from Townsville, or anywhere in Australia. The developed world simply masks the waiting with schedules, projects and timetables. We plan to work, to eat, to exercise. We even plan our leisure time months in advance.
That isn’t the PNG way. Here, they wait.
Please pray…
- that we patiently wait for God to unfold all that He has in store for our next four months
- that POC be a valuable learning experience for all – 30 students and 17 children
- for good relationships during the next twelve weeks, as we ‘live in each other’s pockets’
- for the PNG church, as they wait for God’s glory to be made known across their country
ning last Sunday (August 3) was everything we had hoped it would be. It was not so much a tearful farewell, as a joyful send-off from our church family of the past nineteen years. Special thanks to those visiting friends who joined us on the day – a reminder of the way in which our concept of ‘church family’ has been redefined over the past eighteen months.
With six weeks to go until our scheduled departure, it feels like we are at the highest point of a wild ride, with gravity about to kick in! From the moment of stepping on board in December 2012, we have been conscious of the fact that it is God, not gravity, controlling things. The sense of trusting Him is progressively building along the way. We have been encouraged by those who have been on the ride before us, and their cries of “It’s AWESOME!”
e! The Regional Centre managers directly assist multiple translation and literacy teams, providing administrative support, financial management, arranging supplies, transport or medical aid, and maintaining their lines of communication with the organisation and Partners. The Centre
also provides temporary accommodation, and facilities for training and other events.
tragedy which preceded it in the Solomon Islands. Flooding resulted in the deaths of twenty-three people with more unaccounted for. As the media in Australia focus on the Qld situation, 10,000 have been left homeless in Honiara alone, and over 50,000 people are in need of aid. 
oomba, we picked up a study on Matthew by Phil Moore, planning to use it for regular reading together. On returning to Willows church, we found the current preaching series working through Matthew chapters 3 to 7. God is less than subtle at times!
campbell ramblings 
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