Adventures in Pidgin

Although I have always been a fan of amusement park rides, I’m not so sure I enjoy the roller coaster and bumper car experience on the bush roads. We bump, jostle, jerk, slip, and slide on the way to church, and I want to hold my breath each time we drive through the narrow part with the 100‐foot drop‐off. However, I’ve tried to follow the other missionaries’ examples and sit calmly with my hands in my lap, but I mustadmit that sometimes a nervous squeal pops out! Our team ministers at two different churches in the highlands of PNG. Each Sunday morning we drive to Rapture Baptist Church in the village of Kilau. The drive is about 20 minutes on bush roads and can be rather exciting, depending on the weather and condition of the roads. After the morning service, we return to our village and hold another service at Victory Baptist Church in the village of Abai.

Although my main ministry in PNG has been to teach in the Christianschool, I have been so thank‐ful for the opportunities to minister in the churches as well. Many Sundays I help in the nursery, a little hut with a tarp thrown down over the dirt ground. Ten to fifteen toddlers play with toys on the ground, while the infants are in large woven bags that hang from nails on the wall. The children are lively and fun, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know the national women who help in the nursery. For about eight months now, since my pidgin has improved, I have been teaching Sunday school. My pidgin still has room for improvement, and perhaps that is why I am teach‐ing only the two‐ to four‐year‐olds. This current Sunday school rotation, I have also begun to train a national lady to teach Sunday school. I am excited for this ministry opportunity and look forward to working with each of the Sunday school teachers. I would greatly appreciate your prayers for this ministry. Please pray that I will be a blessing and a help to these women and that my pidgin will continue to improve as I communicate on a deeper level.

Prayer Requests:

*Pray that during our fourth term in school, God will continue to work in the hearts of our students.

*Pray for the family of three of my students as they face a difficult trial. Pray that this family will know the peace of God, that their faith will increase, that they will be protected from physical harm.

*Pray for my Sunday school ministry with the students and teachers.

*Pray “that that our God would count [me] worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in [me]” (II Thessalonians 1:11–12).

Thank you for upholding me and this ministry in your prayers.