January-April 1998

Dear Brethren and Friends;

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord has been good and the Lord has been great.

BACK IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA
We had a great time in the USA visiting family and friends but it was just too short. We were able to visit both of our children where they live. We had some very good time with our granddaughter Ragan but just too short (not her, the time). Our second grandchild was born on New Year’s Eve. His name is Harrison Tyler Davis - 7lb 8oz, 18.75 inches long. Large lungs small bladder. (Comments submitted by eyewitnesses!) Mother, father and sibling doing fine. Reports are that he was 14 lbs March 22nd. "Roll me out to the ballgame."

We spent a couple of days with friends in Brisbane Australia. They picked us up from the airport (after they remembered we were there, 5 hours late) and treated us to a great time. We arrived back in Papua New Guinea on New Year’s Eve and after a wait in Port Moresby did finally fly on to Lae and arrive there (howbeit 3 hours late). We have since found that we were fortunate that we had a plane and that it was only three hours late. Many of the flights now days are being cancelled because they don’t have enough airplanes to service the various routes. (They are a state run airlines and are a banana peal away from receivership according to reports in the newspaper today.) One Port Moresby to Lae daily flight #108 is now known as "flight 1-0-late."

We would like to especially thank Kylie Beck who loaned us her Geo car to use while we were travelling around in the USA (we only put about 8,000 miles on it). Thank you Kylie! We know where she learned this heart of sacrifice - her parents Ken & Wendy Beck of Lebanon Tenn. Thank you Ken & Wendy! Also to all of you who opened up your homes and hearts to us (even when you knew us) thank you so much.

I found out why so many of you gave me that blank look when I started talking about the drought disaster that we had been experiencing in PNG in 1997 due to El Nino weather conditions. The box full of the newsletters that I had sent Airmail in May of 1997 to be mailed in the USA about the Disaster arrived in Joplin in December 1997. It was the report which talked about the initial disaster. The box went surface mail and when I got back here I went down and complained to the local Post Office. They have said they will reimburse me the difference, when their budget is passed in parliament in 1998. (Choke, choke - I shouldn’t hold my breath.) But they did!!!!!!!

CONTINUING RELIEF EFFORTS - WE HAVE SUFFICIENT FUNDS - THANK YOU!
The Lord opened up hearts even without this newsletter and as of April 1998 we have sufficient funds to complete the relief for those people most affected by the drought and fires. Thank you so much to all of you who shared in this need. The main factors which determined we have sufficient funds are:
(1) the depreciation of the local money (25%) against the US dollar means we were able to get more local money for the funds we had;
(2) the government has finally been getting relief supplies out;
(3) rains have returned and continue to be experienced throughout the country. The local people are finding an abundance of leaf crops, corn, peas, beans etc to eat. Yams are starting to be available, small but will be bigger in the months to come. The government is cutting back because too much of the relief supplies have been sold and otherwise not been used properly. Some areas are off-limits due to tribal fighting and lawlessness.

Kathy and I will be leaving Papua New Guinea by the middle of this year. I should be able to wind up the Disaster Relief by then. We are holding $10,000 for re-livestocking in the Waria Valley when they have sufficient garden production for themselves and livestock. We will be shipping in chickens and breeder pigs. This was the area which lost everything in the initial disaster. Hopefully we can do this by mid June.

MOVING ON
The move out of PNG is based on the supporting congregation of the Bible School in the USA seeking to have the local Bible School run totally by National Papua New Guinea brethren. They have asked that I step aside when a new National board is installed in May/June of this year. The primary reason for our moving back to PNG in 1995 was to work with the upgrading of MBC and as that work is no longer available or desirable, by the sponsoring congregation, then we are no longer required in PNG. Lae was really not our pick of places to move to but the Bible School was located here and we felt that the Lord was directing us to this work for a period of time. It now looks like that period is over, hence the move. As there are no additional qualified National teachers available to staff the Bible School this will necessitate the lowering of curriculum standards that we are presently trying to initiate. Jab Mesa will remain as the principal.

Kathy & I are researching as to the best location from which we would be able to base and continue to use our many talents and to be involved in Local Leadership Training programs here in the South Pacific. We are looking to Vanuatu, Fiji or Tonga. All of these places have needs and are healthier places than where we live now. (Kathy was down the first week of school with malaria again. She & I both had typhoid the month of March.) I found out today that the medicine I am taking for typhoid isn't for whiteskins. Hey, if it does the job then I will take it. It seems to affect whiteskins harder then Nationals. Kathy is taking another type for her typhoid. Velma Foreman, the nurse, found out she has typhoid also, this on top of malaria. We haven't figured out where we got it yet. I will let you know more about this move as is becomes clearer. Our personal sponsoring congregation is aware of the situation and are supportive of any move we deem necessary to make. (Well maybe not to Hawaii!)

Kathy and I will be traveling to Vanuatu, Fiji and Australia, April 28 - May 20th. Upon our return to PNG we will be packing up and hope to be moved by July 1st.

CONTAINER HAS ARRIVED
The container loaded in December at Healing Hands International with relief and medical supplies arrived in mid March. The container was brought into the property April 2nd. Wow! I got into it late that night but couldn't get into again until later the next day. I had to go with a brother and buy a casket for a family of one of the members who died on Saturday.
We had several broken plastic bottles of disinfectant and fabric softener because heavy song books were put on top of those boxes. It didn't ruin anything but we have had to wash off a lot of stuff. The students are putting "donated by" stickers in all the books prior to us giving them out to the government schools. They couldn't get over the amount of toilet paper (we used a pallet of it as packing material). Velma is in medicine heaven. A lot of the stuff we brought in she has been out of and the wholesalers have been out. The large amount of scrap bar soap is a welcome give away to those who don't use much. I was not attacked this time by bat pencils like last time, just soft rolls of toilet paper.

BIBLE SCHOOL RESUMES
The Bible School resumed classes Monday, February 2nd with 27 students. We have 4 returning students and 15 new students in the basic course. (We had 16 new students but one left campus within 24 hours of his arrival after finding it more challenging then his expectations.) In the advanced course we have 5 returning students and 3 new students. This year the student wives are required to attend chapel services also. I taught Isaiah and Old Testament History/Geography. Jab taught Psalms and Basic Bible Doctrines. Miamel taught New Testament Survey & Spiritual Discipline. Kathy is teaching a daily morning class to the students wives. She is teaching the Synoptic Gospels both Term 1 & 2. (She says to tell you it is her first try teaching this course.) Term 2: I taught, Denominational Doctrine & Basic Counseling; Jab taught, Restoration Principles & Christian Life; Miamel taught, Prayer & Teacher Training. I taught my last class at MBC on April 10th and will be going out to the Waria valley April 15-17th to determine when I will be able to send in the livestock. I anticipate being able to do so by the end of May.

WEB SITE AVAILABLE
For those of you who have internet access we have a web site set up. It tells about our family, the Oceania work, Melanesian Bible College and Vanuatu. I try to keep it as current as I can. If you don’t have internet access and only e.mail capacities then you can still drop us a note on e.mail. The internet access address is down below. Happy web surfing.

PRAYER REQUESTS
Please continue to include the following in your prayers: (1) Melanesian Bible College; (2) Our move from PNG; (3) Kathy's & my health; (4) Biblical leadership for the PNG and Island churches; (5) Political stability here in PNG; (6) Thanking the Lord for the immediate and sufficient monetary response to disaster needs here in PNG.

In Christian service.

Tobey & Kathy Huff

e-mail: THuff@online.net.pg
Ph/Fax: (011) 675 472 1264 (we are 15 hours ahead of your time - CST)
Web Site: http://www.online.net.pg/~thuff/OceaniaOutreach/Home.html
Sponsoring Congregation:
College St Church of Christ
134 South College Street
Lebanon TN 37087