Mamberamo River Trip

Singing before class

These Dani evangelists sing their lessons before beginning class each day. What a great way to remember.

Airstrip progress - end of May, 2011

Who needs a bulldozer, anyway?

Friday night meal with the evangelists and families

Noah and Alethea like to serve. There is usually singing and prayer before and after.

Plane Day

Thanks MAF, you guys are awesome.

Without your work, it'd be a 2-day walk upriver for us or else the very expensive and hard-to-schedule heli trip.

Sorry my "plane dock" is still a muddy sand bar.

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(photo by PJ DeVries)

Church in Danowage - May 2011

Family pic 2 in village - May 2011

This one is near our little river we use sometimes for bathing (the kids prefer another, bigger, river).

Me writing a letter - in the village

It is after a late morning swim with Noah and I am writing a letter to be sent by runner to another preaching post 6 hours to my north.

It is hard to communicate between preaching posts here, and even by letter it is hard to communicate since literacy and knowledge of the national language is so low.

Family Pic in the Village - end of May, 2011

Teresa is showing a little preggo pooch. Noah is trying to keep his eyes open despite the sun (even on this cloudy day), but otherwise not too bad of a picture(Alethea falls in the mud 3 minutes later).


A good pic of the house, too. The zinc roofing is rusting a bit, but still good. You can see our orange gravity feed water tower for our water system, and the awesome VSat satellite internet connection that I am now sending these pics to you with (with solar panel on a platform beside it. Behind the Vsat are two tall skinny poles with a wire between them, that is a radio antenna. You can also see our front porch where medical clinic happens every afternoon at four in the afternoon when Ali helps Mommy bang the metal pot signaling the beginning of clinic (otherwise people come at all hours and drives us nuts). We also dug up the jungle grass and planted Japanese grass to make a smooth, green yard.

Jimi recovering from a pig attack

A villager had brought a wild pig (with tusks) into the village. The pig chewed through its rope (err....vine). Jimi was worried about the pig harming the many children in the village and so approached the pig with a bow and arrow. He had jungle tangles to his back and when the pig charged, shattering his bow, he had no place to run.

The pig jumped on top of him and bit him repeatedly, almost severing his toe, puncturing his legs, thighs, rear, hands.

When we managed to evacuate him out, he was too weak to stand or walk. His wounds were already starting to fester and become infected.

This pic is post-op after his wounds were cleaned and a steel pin placed in his foot to save his toe.

Over ready to serve, Jimi is using his time on the coast to take courses as a village health-care worker to help the people of his village once he is healthy enough to return.

Scenic mountain with guests (January 2011)

This is actually one of the bases of General Douglas MacArthur during WWII as he advanced on Japanese-held territories.

Very scenic, overlooking the lake and very breezy in an otherwise hot and humid clime.

Noah loves to run and climb and play up here.

Late Christmas pics

I know, I know...but they're only 4 months late.

Alethea received a little "Princess Dress" but she was sort of tuckered out from playing and didn't model her new wears good in this pic.

I had to put Noah in a headlock before he was still enough to photograph without a high-speed camera.

Recent Survey here in the Mamberamo

http://thereformingtraveler.blogspot.com/2011/04/were-back-from-jungle.html

See my friend's survey trip into the Mamberamo. Here is what Kyle writes:




"I have just arrived back from a survey trip out to Papua with two dear friends (elders) from two supporting churches back in the States. What a blessing to have both Ronnie and Reagan along for this most important and rewarding trip.

We arrived in Sentani by plane and spent two days within the town preaching and teaching at a local GIDI church located there. We then boarded a prop plane out into the Memberamo region of fuau. A most remote location with very little outside contact. We spent two days in the locations as well teaching and preaching the gospel and meeting villagers there.

After our time there we took a 13 hours dug out canoe trip up the river to Debra, where we once again visited with locals, taught/preached the gospel and surveyed the land. This was a most joyous location as 32 villagers received Christ as their Lord and Savior. Only time will tell and reveal the true nature of their conversions. Please, continue to pray for these who still have yet to receive the bible in their own language and those who continually beg for a gospel/bible teacher to come and live among them.

Once again after about three days there, we were once again in a plane headed for Kaso and the Burmeso regions. We once again spent time teaching/preaching the gospel there and visiting and encouraging local believers.

I once again want to thank Trevor J, Brother Yuli, Ronnie B, Reagan K and both the fellowships of Basswood Church Knoxville, TN and Graham Bible Church Graham, TX for making this all possible. God bless you all and may He continue to use you all for His glory in your communities and ultimately the world."


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvab_YNBihY&feature=player_embedded

Yulianus and his source of income

Yulianus and the Fua people support their ministry and community development partially through crocodile farming and hunting.

In a sermon shortly after this picture was taken, Yulianus preached from the account of the miracle when Jesus multiplied the fish and the loaves.

Yuli pointed out that it was a little boy who volunteered all that he had, and not someone who was great by the world's standards, and yet Jesus blessed that. Jesus was pleased to use a little boy to help others and to glorify Himself.

Also, Jesus started from what the people had, from what was available, and so Jesus used the fish and the loaves to feed the people.

Finally, this little boy did not hold anything back from Jesus but offered it all to Jesus. Though it seemed small, it was a huge sacrifice for this little boy, and yet this boy handed all of his food over to Jesus without any hesitation noted whatsoever in the story.

In like manner, Yuli explained to his people, God has given the Fuau people crocodiles. Though not rich or important by the world's standard, Jesus has been pleased to bless the Fuau people by what they have available, even if this be crocodiles, and Jesus can use this means, too, if they offer it up to God and use it for His service.