Earthquake Repairs!

In June we sent out a newsletter and in that newsletter we had a prayer request.  We knew that before too long we would need a new water tank.  Within 2 or 3 days of that post there was a 5.2 Earthquake 7.2 Miles away. We actually fared really well but our old water tank blew a hole in it.  

 Thank You so much to those of you who gave specifically for that tank!  We were able to get a new one installed the week that we got back. This is what that process looks like.

Grayson with our old tank.  You can't see the hole on this side but you can see all the rust spots on the side which have actually rusted through from the inside.  It was time.

"Dig Deeper Kids!" There is no child labor going on here.  Grayson, as well as our neighbors Benny and Josh were very helpful.

Two of my Carpenters also came by to help. Abel and Baffen (pictured with Benny). We had to dig it lower because it was a taller tank and we had to get it lower than the gutter.

Time for Concrete!

Luna (the dog) has upper management skills.

Finished! I also added a pergola and planted Passion Fruit to grow over it.  Jealous?  Come join us.  We've got water!

Delicious Red Tree Ant of Papua New Guinea- by Matt

Two weeks ago I found my favorite ant....to eat....in the Markam Valley of Papua New Guinea. Widely known here as Kurakum Ants, but there are a few locals that call them Muli Ants. "Muli" basically means lemon or any citrus. The Oecophylla smaragdina AKA weaver ant, green ant, green tree ant, and orange gaster actually is a source of vitamin C and protein. Many people are surprised when I eat them (just a few) but they taste good, like a lemon.

To see more pictures and read more about this fascinating ant go to: https://www.jungledragon.com/specie/3767/green-tree-ant.html

Bilums are not boring - Read on!--Story by Matt

Matt- Could you pick a more boring subject? Now wait. What may seem like a non-subject is really quite interesting. When I first came to PNG, I noticed that there were bilums literally everywhere, but they really didn't catch my eye. I kinda thought that bilums were only to sell to tourists.  Bilums, however, are a way of life. So much time is spent making them and giving them as gifts. They may look like purses, but they are not just for girls.  No joke, guys wear them with pride!

Every Papua New Guinean knows that a bilum is special. They can tell by looking at it where it was made. They can be very specific in how they are made and used: design, material, size, for work, or for special occasions. Wearing a bilum really says: "I've been there, done that, I got the bilum." Being given a bilum likely means that you are loved.

Local bilums for sale at our market.

This bilum was made for me by a friend and given to me at a school opening.  Can you believe that I found a house to match?!

"Bilas" are decorations or pieces of flair.

Um.....I don't know that boy. Small bilums are worn on the chest to keep valuables close. You ain't gonna steal my money or my beetle nut.

Bilums for babies. So cute!
(Photo: vacationsandtravelmag.com)

Babies are frequently seen in bilums hanging from tree branches or carried on their mother's back. (Photo: Vanishing Cultures Photography)

I think women may be the hardest-working in PNG. It can be an everyday thing to see women carrying heavy bilums on their backs, for long distances, filled with vegetables and even loaded up with firewood. The bilums are tightly stretched across their foreheads.

Say what?

A special, natural-fiber bilum given to Laura.

A "nambis" coastal bilum. These are made from nylon rope and are waterproof, so really handy at times.

A cloth one that carries lots of vegetables or a baby, if we had one.

These are only about half of the bilums in our house.  We feel blessed. Thank you ladies!

Gwahatike Survey Trip (The Story in Pictures)--By Matt

In October I got to do something different from my normal job. I went with a survey team to evaluate the use of the Gwahatike language Bible. The New Testament was finished about 17 years ago.  Jon Jagt currently manages this language group and several new translation projects in the surrounding languages. He asked me to go and evaluate the current translation office and its building needs. As a bonus, I got to spend the rest of the week doing personal interviews for the survey team.

In each village we discussed barriers that keep the Gwahatike speakers from reading their Bibles and strategies to overcome these barriers. Literacy levels and other factors can be real problems.  Sometimes surveys themselves can be a real catalyst for change.

"I can read it.  I understand it and I follow it." An encouraging statement from one young man.  He told me that he reads his Gwahakite New Testament twice a day!

I really enjoyed this break from building.  Pray for the Gwahatike people. Enjoy the pictures!

Personal interviews and lots of selfies because we were working alone sometimes.

Found some friends at the local market. Played soccer with these guys after work the previous day. The guy in red wants to be a doctor!

Joined by a local pastor.

God's blue ocean!

Some people make me feel tall. No, I haven't grown.

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I gave out balloons in one village.  After many kids tried to blow them up themselves they gave up and brought them back to me for help #whyaretheseballoonsallwet?

Rachel leads a discussion on Bible usage!

My Russian Connection (Matt)

For four years now I have been searching for a new radiator for our vintage 1992 Toyota Hiace truck. The owner before us had been soldering the radiator since 2007. The truck was imported to PNG from Japan.  In 2013, I ordered the radiator from a company in Japan, the only place I knew where to look. They came back to me only to say that the radiator was discontinued and they could not get it. It was re-soldered and still continued to leak. I kept nursing the truck along and kept looking. This year it developed a worse leak and got to the point where it was draining completely everyday.  This year a company here told us they could get one out of Japan and we ordered again, but after waiting 6 weeks we were told they couldn't order it after all! I found one on a Chinese website and we ordered it only to have our money credited back when they came up empty-handed. I had looked into having it rebuilt, but the price was high and I would have to take the radiator out of the truck and send it overseas. Frustrated. Demoralized.

 Our one-of-a-kind 1992 Toyota Hiace truck.

Finally I found one, but it was in Russia. It was in South Eastern Russia, as close as you can get to North Korea! The website was not in English, and I would describe my Russian as "weak".  They were able to help a bit with a chat person who spoke some English. I was not ready to buy at that time. After taking a break for a few months I decided this was my only option. I used Google translate to translate the first page, but could not get it to work on anymore pages.  After spending an entire morning translating every word one at a time through Google, I got to the payment part only to find out they would not take credit cards and I had no way to pay them! Also, they could not ship internationally. Extremely frustrating. At this point I realized there was nothing more I could do and decided I needed to leave it in God's hands.

"What's wrong with your truck?" "What's a radiator?"

Progress?! I found out that my friend Jon Jagt had some sort of confusing connection to Russia. Jon said he would contact his Dutch cousin, Marcel. As I understand it, Marcel used to live in Moscow and had a friend there named Boele. I think Boele is the kind of guy who get things done. When Boele was contacted, he was also unable to ship the radiator internationally. To my surprise however, he just ordered it and had it sent to himself in MOSCOW. Say What?!! That was the wrong direction and about twice as far away. I knew shipping would be high from Russia, but 1100 Euros ($1,300 USD)? That was bad news. I figured I could just pay Boele for the radiator and he could keep it, since I had no intention of paying $1,300. Marcel then figured out that it would be less than 300 Euros to ship it from the Netherlands and because Boele or one of their friends was flying from Moscow to the Netherlands they decided to check it as a part of their luggage. Astonishingly, they were not charged customs and they were able to ship it from the Netherlands to our purchaser in Australia, Martin (who had also tried to find this radiator for me more than once). Our aviation department then flew the radiator from Australia to our center here in the Highlands. I almost can't believe it!  This week our radiator was installed by our mechanics and is working great! It would not be here if it weren't for the huge help of Boele and Marcel! 

Our Radiator has seen parts of the world that I most likely will never see.

 

The Jagt girls!  Providentially the Jagts were walking by when our package arrived.

If you have read this far down, you must like radiators or cars. Thanks to everyone who helped us with this endeavor: Marcel, Boele, Jon Jagt, Martin, Auto Shop, our Aviation Dept, those who helped with the finances, and God!

Boelen's Python-Snake on a Plane! --By Matt

Some of you who hate snakes, will also hate this story and all the pictures. This is the story of our Boelen's Python. While at work one day, one of our electricians, a Papua New Guinean named Brian, came rushing up to me with a picture on his phone of a snake I've been hoping to see for a long time. He said that he found these guys walking down the road with this huge snake. Shirking our work duties, we rushed off together to go find them. The snake is a rarely-seen Boelen's Python. It only lives on this island, in the highlands like where we are. They don't live outside of Papua New Guinea and the other end of our island Papua, Indonesia. This is its home, however most people who live here have not seen this kind of snake, and no one I've talked to has seen one this big. In fact, it is the most protected reptile in PNG!

We encountered the snake in the road near our center, however these men caught it in the jungle a couple hour's walk away.

The guys told me they were going to eat it and have a feast so I made them an offer and then let my wife know that we had a new pet! She loves surprises!

The following day, Kurt Metzger helped me get it out for the first time. It's good to have an extra pair of hands in case the snake becomes aggressive, but it turned out to be a rather calm snake.

Two months and 4 live rats later, it became apparent that this snake wouldn't eat in this environment. Maybe the cage was too small. This rat, which we meant to serve as dinner, started sleeping in the snake's coils.  The two became roomies and I even started feeding the rat to keep it alive. The rat had to be removed. I had a problem. I then heard about a Nature Park in the capital, Port Moresby. They were excited about the snake when I contacted them, and we made plans to make an exchange. The snake would fly in one of our Kodiak planes.

We generated a lot of excitement with the aviation staff.

Last hugs from the "Ukarumpa Strangler".  Pilot John Mork was not concerned about this odd passenger. Of course it flew in a bag, inside a box.  The snake now resides at the Port Moresby Nature Park. This is a professionally-run and well-maintained park.

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