TRIP DATES: July 6 - July 23
SUNDAY, JULY 23:
Team Papua New Guinea has arrived home safe and sound.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 19:
Bob and Lorin were successful in leaving the tribe today. They will be traveling to Australia with the rest of the team of a period of rest and debrief.
TUESDAY,
JULY 18:
Shari
Ogg writes:
Just thought we'd let you know what went on with
the team today. The pilot was able to land here
and take the Chan family and Dennis over to an airstrip
about five minutes away, drop them off, come back
and pick up the Walkers, Lindsay, Spencer, and Esther
(she's going out for senior retreat) and take them
straight to Goroka. Meanwhile our weather closed
in again and Lorin and Bob are here with us for
another night. The Chans and Dennis had to sit at
the other airstrip for several hours waiting for
the pilot to make his rounds and he has now picked
them up and is on the way back to Goroka with them.
So, it has been a crazy day, but we are glad most
of the team is out. Please pray that the other two
guys will make it out of here tomorrow. The pilot
will try for a dawn departure so he can get them
out to Goroka ASAP as he has other flights to do.
We'll let you know how it goes.
We had a great time with everyone and are
sad to see them go. But we know they will all
be glad to get home again. The Lord really
answered our prayers for good weather while they
worked on the airstrip and went on a couple
of hikes so we are grateful for that. I'm sure
Lori told you about the Simbari woman who had
to be taken out to Goroka on an emergency flight
on Sunday. Her baby came out arm first and got stuck,
so it was a critical situation. We just heard that
the mother is alive but the baby girl died. So sad.
We are praying that God would use this situation
to draw the mother and father to Himself. It was
hard, but good for the team to see. Then this morning
while we were waiting for the plane,
the people brought us this little baby
who was gasping for breath with eyes rolling
back in her head. I gave her a strong antibiotic
injection but she really needs to be on oxygen too,
so I'm not sure if she will make it or not. It seems
like these things often happen when we have
teams here.....
Anyway, thanks so much for your prayers
and all you did on your end to make this team
visit possible. It has been such a wonderful time!
We miss all of you there at Grace and are excited
about furlough next summer.
SUNDAY,
JULY 16:
Two days ago some of the team went on the Kudimangi
hike that Charlie Davis wrote about and went on
in January while here. It was four miles through
mud slides, rocks, log bridges and water. I kept
asking Dave Ogg, "Are we there yet?" And he would
say, "Almost", every 1/2 hour! Many of us
fell or slid on our "behinds". We ended at a river
with a cliff to jump off of. Lindsay, Spencer, Dave,
Lauryn and Lorin jumped off the cliff into
the river. Lorin did a backwards somersault off a 18
foot cliff that was crazy and we caught it
on video. We are getting to know each other's personality
well on this mission trip. Least to say, Lorin is
daring. I was so happy to have made the long trek
and get back to the house, I wanted to kiss the
ground.
Yesterday we had Sunday service in the native
Simbari language, lead by Raymond, one of the
natives that accepted Christ 5 years ago. We sang
in the native tongue. We sat in front of Raymond's
house. Seeing the natives lead the Bible study is
one of the highlights of our trip. We no longer
have any hesitation sitting on mud with ants walking
all over our legs. The natives walk barefoot all
over the place. We fall because of all the mud,
but they run with perfect balance. Many of the natives
are constantly coughing because they have
chronic bronchitis or pneumonia due to the wet/damp
weather here. I, myself, caught a "Simbari" cold,
but it is much better now. After service, we had
a "Mu-Mu". It's a traditional Simbari meal cooked
in the ground under palm leaves and above rocks.
We had the traditional Simbari meal of Taro Root,
Sweet Potatoes and other types of root food I can't
remember. We ate side by side with the Simbari people.
Later some of us played volleyball against the Simbari's.
Earlier Sunday morning, a tribal woman had to
be airlifted to a hospital in Goroka. She had been
in labor for three days and the baby was coming
out sideways. Shari could only help her get the
baby's arm out. So after three days, the baby died,
still in the mother's uterus and birth canal. The
mother was going to die had not the tribe gathered
enough money to pay for a plane to come airlift
her out of the area and take her to the hospital
to have surgery. It was wonderful to see how each
tribal family chipped in to pay for this lady's
flight. That's what happens here, each family
in the tribe, helps each other.
Many of us were hoping to lose a few pounds from
all the shoveling and work we are doing on the airstrip,
but Shari Ogg has fed us so well, that it's a losing
battle with the "bulge". This morning we had buscuits
and country gravy. Shari makes everything from scratch,
no processed food here! It's been encouraging to
see how the Ogg family ministers to the Simbari's
with such passion.
Tomorrow
we leave for Goroka to help construct and paint
a home for one of the missionary pilots at Lapilo.
We get to fly the Cessna plane again!
Keep praying - we certainly appreciate
it!
Orientation
time with the Ogg's
Arriving
in the tribe!
TUESDAY,
JULY 11:
Lori
writes:
We landed here safely on a smooth Cessna
206, 6 seater plane ride. I was a little scared
at first, as my father, never liked small planes
and would have had a heart attack knowing I was
flying in one. We needed 3 of those planes to get
all 11 of us and our luggage over to the tribal
area in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea.
The projects that Dave Ogg gave us to do
included extending the airstrip by stripping the
hard lawn dirt and bringing in new clay dirt to
cover the area (100ft x 100ft) . The second project
is to dig a 6 foot deep trench about 50 ft long
to prevent rainwater from coming toward the Oggs
house and trenching the area. We have 4 other projects
to do, but these are the big ones. We are making
progress and finished the later one today. We are
working side by side the Simbari people, which is
amazing.
The whole trip is amazing. Today, one of
the tribal people invited me into their small grass
home. He had one small hut for sleeping and one
for cooking. His name was Belden and he spoke some
English, which is unusual.
Everyone is well. We are working well together.
We play jokes on each other quite often. We
come back to the guest house with mud all over us.
One time the mud was so thick and deep, it sucked
the shoes right off of Bob. Bob has a talent we
never knew, he drives the tractor! While we haul
the dirt in and out of the trailer attached to the
tractor. Imagine, "Bob the Builder"!
Lindsay is staying with Lori Morley (the Ogg's
teammate), while the rest of us share a 3 bedroom
guest house. Lauryn found a cockroach in her back
pack last night! Shari Ogg prepares every delicious
meal for all 11 of us and her family of 6.
17 of us gather around the table in her house
like a big Frat dorm, talking about the day's work.
The weather has been beautiful. Dave Ogg said the
weather has not been this great in months. Bob said
we brought the LA weather with us.
We are sore and tired by 4:00pm, at which time
we take turns using the one bathroom and the "bucket"
shower. (We heat water on the wood stove, which
we burn the wood ourselves, then poor into a bucket
along with cold water, and then lift the bucket
over our heads.) It is not bad at all, and we realized
how much water we waste back home taking a shower.
All the work is worth it knowing that it helps
the Ogg family, who wouldn't be able to get to these
big projects on their own. If they had to do it
themselves, which is difficult, it would take them
away from the purpose they are here, which is to
translate the Bible into Simbari language so they
can continue sharing God's word to the tribe's people.
I wish I could attach some of the great
pics we took, but the Oggs email can't send pics
well. Hope all is well at church and please say
hi to Mike for me! We are taking good care of Bob.
Today, we filled his bucket shower w/ cold water,
as a joke.
Leaving
Goroka for the tribe
SATURDAY,
JULY 8:
Lori
writes:
We arrived
in Port Moresby 1 and 1/2 hrs late due to plane
delays. So, the airline had to hold our connecting
flight to Goroka for us. Praise the Lord we received
our 11 visas in New Guinea without a problem and
for 1/3 the price if we had to pay them ourselves.
The New Tribes Mission group paid them for us and
had them waiting when we arrived.
It is
hot in Port Moresby, so we were glad to take off
for cooler Goroka, where we saw our first look at
the native people from the New Tribes van that picked
us up.We were greeted by dancing natives in traditional
tribal outfits and face painting, but found out
they were not there for us, but for a group of people
who had built a school for the city and was returning
to see their friends in Goroka. (We knew they were
not there for us, but it was nice anyways.) We are
now in the New Tribes complex relaxing after an
Indian curry dinner. We will leave for the Oggs
on Monday, if weather permits. So, please, our prayer
is there is some clear weather for our plane to
be able to fly on Monday. (There has been bad weather
here lately.) The plan is to return back to Goroka
on the 18th of July to help finish building a home
for the missionary pilots.
Everyone is healthy and well rested. We have adjusted
to the time change quickly. The team is bonding.
As we speak, Katie, Spencer, Lindsay, and Dave are
playing cards and Dennis is playing with some other
visiting missionaries from Australia. Jones is talking
with the New Tribes missionaries eating fresh bananas
from a tree. Lauryn & Alex found some good books
to read from the library here.
FRIDAY,
JULY 7:
Lori
writes:
Our team
arrived in Brisbane (for a one day layover, in order
to break up the 26 plus hour plane ride to PNG)
and enjoyed a leisurely visit with koalas and kangaroos
at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Bob Wilson and
the Chan family held & cuddled koala's, kangaroos,
chicks and Emu's. The team then ventured to the
beach along the Gold Coast. Lauryn lost her
glasses playing in the sand, but thank the Lord
we found them after combing the beach for 1/2 hour.
God has
blessed us with renting a car with a GPS system,
otherwise we would be lost. Bob is our navigator
while Jones and Lorin are doing the driving.
Please pray for Dennis Luther's toe, as he stubbed
it on the side walk, while looking for our rental
car. We leave for New Guinea tomorrow.
FRIDAY, JULY 7:
The team
arrived safely in Brisbane, Australia. Following
a bit of sleep at a hotel, they had a day to spend
in Brisbane. Later in the day they flew from
Australia to Papua New Guinea.
|
