In an age where the significance of the Easter celebration is under constant pressure from many commercial influences, how refreshing to see a public service entity acknowledging a reality far removed from bunnies (or bilbys) and chocolate.
The message above was posted on the Facebook page of our PNG National Airports Corporation, and hopefully viewed by many pilots, ground staff, and administrators within the aviation industry in PNG and elsewhere.
There are many people in positions of authority in Government, corporate and business circles in Papua New Guinea, who would seek to honour God in their day to day responsibilities.
Please pray that the Spirit of God would be evident in their decisions, priorities, and relationships in their workplaces.
This is certainly our first blog partially written while airborne, at around 10,000 feet over the central highlands. We are in transit back to Australia, having to overnight in Port Moresby as we were unable to coordinate our internal mission flight with a commercial flight to Brisbane.
In this inconvenience and additional expense, God is still working out His purposes. On arrival in Port Moresby, Keith will have meetings with two of our mission’s corporate suppliers – a global freight company and a local fuel supplier.
There are financial and administrative matters which have generated an ongoing exchange of emails between our respective staff, but have yet to be resolved. When Keith suggested taking advantage of our extra day in the capital to meet up, managers from both companies were keen to make time.
That is the way of corporate life in PNG, where the base principle of finding agreement is handled with a warm handshake and a face-to-face exchange. Yes, we have phone and email communications, but the personal touch still achieves what other methods cannot.
On the ground late in the day, and meeting with the four senior personnel was so worth it. They were all encouraged by putting a face to the many emails, and we parted with a better understanding of the issues and the next steps to be taken.
This beats online chat any day!
Prayer points
Pray that our mission organisation maintains a positive Christian witness as we wrestle with difficulties on a daily basis.
Pray that Keith can maintain the momentum of improvement to our systems during the next two months working remotely, and sporadically.
During our years in Lae, we often shared stories of the Numanggang OT translation team, headed up by brothers Isum and Saleng. A highlight was seeing Saleng’s hand-written translation of Deuteronomy before sending it up the mountain to Ukarumpa so that it could be typed up for consultant checking. March 2016 newsletter. At the time, Keith noted Saleng’s beautiful flowing script, evidence that he had certainly written out the text more than once.
This past month, the translation team has been in Ukarumpa working on consultant checking of the last five Old Testament books, so we took the opportunity to invite the brothers for a meal. While Saleng’s handwriting has not diminished one bit, this dear saint has lost much of his hearing, and struggles to participate in open conversation even with a basic audio mic and headphone system. Isum is very gracious, and often repeated key points loudly and clearly so that his older brother could be included.
What was clear, though, was the bond between us of serving together in the Kingdom task of Bible translation. Our brief nine years seems nothing compared to the decades committed by these two, yet they greeted us as valued colleagues, and friends.
There is much more to tell of the Numanggang OT work as the team nears the end of the task, but we’ll make space for that in our June newsletter.
Prayer points
Praise God that the Numanggang OT is now fully drafted, and final consultant checking is in progress.
Pray that Saleng – who is about 86 years old – remains in good health to see the complete Bible published. His dear wife went home to Jesus in 2022 after several years of poor health.
Isum is also heavily involved in training the community in literacy and Scripture use. Pray for wisdom as he undertakes this foundational work.
Our Ukarumpa community gathered at 6am on Easter Sunday for praise and thanksgiving, remembering the pivotal moment in history when death was defeated and Christ arose in victory.
Several people read a compiled account from all four Gospels which highlighted the emotional turmoil faced by the women at the tomb and the disciples in their ‘safe house’, on the news that the tomb was empty.
Luke’s Gospel (chapter 24) is particularly telling as it recounts the angel’s incredulity at the women’s expectation of finding a body to tend to given that Jesus had told them he would be raised on the third day. Luke then emphasises the point by noting the disciples’ reaction to the women’s testimony considering it nonsense.
We may be tempted to join in the angel’s incredulity for a moment, before we consider the ways in which we might turn to our own ‘safe houses’ when confronted with turmoil. We can try to fix things ourselves, working a bit harder, investing a little more, striving to get on top of the situation and reclaim control. Or perhaps like the disciples, we simply give in to the hopelessness and turn to familiar comforts in an attempt to ease the pain.
At these times, the many assurances of Jesus may seem far off in our overwhelming situation. The angels may well say to us, ‘Why do you look for life in these places? Remember the words of Jesus.’
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:31-33
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27
Prayer points
Praise God that Christ is the victorious Living One, the Alpha and Omega, and that ‘It is done’. Revelation 21:6
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.
Slight difference in the daily dosage requirements…
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.
Canavan’s, Campbell’s, Lithgow’s.
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.
campbell ramblings 
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