NEW GUINEA REPORT August 1975
Dear Brethren:
The Word of the Lord continues to be proclaimed and souls
continue to respond to the gospel call. This month has seen the
addition of 35 precious souls into the Kingdom of God from here
in the Highlands: Goroka (English cong.) - Kolish a young lady
who works in the bank here in town; Yuana- 2 young men; Bima Piau-23
men and women; Kumogoko- 9 men and women. Praise God! Bima Piau
is one of the villages we first had contact with in May on our
Sina-Sina campaign. Some of the villagers still rebel against
the "white man" rule because they still remember when
the first explorers came to this area in the 50's and shot many
of their tribe. But the Lord and His Word are still able to change
hearts.
During the week of the 17th of Aug. all the missionaries
of the church here in New Guinea (with the exception of the Gary
Hyer family) gathered for a week long workshop in Wau. Wau is
located in the heart of the goldfields here about 100 miles south
of Lae. The theme of the workshop was "Communicating the
Gospel." We discussed various hindrances each of us have
Faced in our areas of work and offered each other solutions. All
of the 23 present enjoyed the week of discussions, edification
and relaxation. During the afternoons we played golf, tennis,
snooker, swam etc. After a month of being alone here in Goroka,
we enjoyed this week of fellowship.
WAU
WORKSHOP
This month as well as being one of spiritual upliftment has been one of physicaL
exhaustion. We had to move from the Wallace's house which has 3 bedrooms, office,
workshop, large garden, enclosed yard. We moved into the only available reasonable
flat in town which is 2-bedroom flat (coupled with 3 other flats), no office,
no yard, no garden. We do have a porch which we hope to enclose about half to
make an office for my study. For the time being we are short the $50 necessary
to buy wood to enclose it so we are a wee bit cramped at the moment.
The Wallaces arrived Sept. 8th and it sure was a relief
to see them back. With John back this will give us more time to
work with the Pidgin brethren here in town and be able to go to
our brethren in the Sina-Sina more. (They are 35 miles up the
Highlands highway). We do have a major problem though as we were
using John's 4-wheel vehicle we now have vehicle to drive for
the work. Please pray for this need.
Papua New Guinea is now in high gear for Independence
on Sept. 16th. Many Fears and theories are in the air as to what
will happen then. Some believe that the world will end then. Others
are proclaiming that all people here will receive "cargo"
just like all the white men have on Independence. (Such as cars,
planes, money, clothes, etc.) This is indeed a giant step for
these people who have just in the past 20 years come out of their
stone age cultures into our modern world of technology. We government.
They are planning celebrations Monday thru Thursday. These people
really know how to make me feel good as they have declared my
birthday Sept. 17th a national holiday as well.
Please continue to pray for the work here and if you
can help in any way financially, no matter how small it may seem,
please let us hear from you. I have asked Kathy to write a little
in this newsletter so you can see her involvement as well.
A CHAT FROM KATHY:
Well ladies, I thought I was going to the ends of the
world when we went out to one of the villages where you and I
have 23 new brothers and sisters since the Gospel campaign in
May. The name of the village is Bima Piau. we only went five miles
off the main "highway," but it took us 30-45 minutes
to get there. It also tore up the tires on John's rover.
After we arrived, I laid down for awhile but soon discovered
the fleas were taking over my body. Jason and I after sleeping
there that night looked like we had the chicken pox because of
the numerous fleas. Tobey and Terasa had no visible bites though.
That afternoon when it was suggested we go down to the river I
thought that was a good idea. However, no one mentioned the fact
it was a good two miles down. One of the students from Lae was
with us and he took off with Jason on his back while Tobey, Terasa
and myself brought up the rear. We made it fine (down) except
for my shaky legs. On the way up it was a different story. It
was 4 PM with the sun shining and no shade available. Tobey had
brought back some water from the river for which I was thankful.
Anyway after about 6 rest stops on the way back up I made it to
the village. Hurrah! Not bad for a city girl!
The next weekend we were invited out to Yuana to spend
the night and to attend "sing-sing bilong salim meri"
(sing-sing to buy a bride). There was close to 5000 Kina or $6500.
US, plus bananas, pawpaw, coconuts and betal nut (this they chew
and it turns their gums red and works like a narcotic).
After we drove 15 miles and walked 3 miles more, (hey,
I'm getting good at this), we reached the village of the celebration.
There were women (meris) coming with $2 bills wired on long and
short lengths of bamboo. Some of these poles had as little as
4 Kina (New Guinea Dollar) and there were some poles with over
$300 Kina wired to them. Each of these were presented in turn
to the father and mother of the bride to buy her. Only the women
danced in the sing-sing and presented the money. The men took
care of recording where and who gave the money and they passed
out the kai-kai (food) that had been cooked the night before to
all who gave money. This money-giving started at 10 AM and it
lasted until 3:30 PM when we left.
At about 3:00 PM the meris (women) who had given their
money to the cost of the bride and had been waiting started singing
and dancing and trying to hurry the men up with their counting
of the money. Needless to say neither the women or the men were
too happy with the other, but it all settled down before we left.
By the way, this experience has let me in on some of
the ways and customs of New Guinea. Another custom was viewed
one afternoon while Tobey, Andy Scott and I were out on the porch
of John's house. We watched as one of Goroka's fireman drove up
beside a woman, stopped the truck, jumped out and proceeded to
beat, kick and throw the woman to the ground, get back in his
truck and drive off. This was his wife and he was trying to get
her to do something. This ladies is what each woman in New Guinea
faces if the man so chooses. The government does nothing unless
the woman complains. You and I of course, would complain but 99
out of 100 here will not. Please pray for your sisters here and
your brothers that they may learn the way of the Lord, instead
of holding on to the customs of New Guinea.
Em tasol na susa na brata (that's all now sisters and
brothers).
Because of the cross,
The HUFFS