January-February 1996

Dear Brethren and Friends;

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our trip and arrival back home in Papua New Guinea

At the close of our last newsletter (January) I said, (and I quote) "We will overnight in San Francisco, overnight in Manila Philippines then into Port Moresby and on to Lae. That is the way the tickets are booked the final result will be anyone's guess." Wow! what a fun time we had! We drove from Joplin to Springfield to catch out flight to Frisco with only one lane of the interstate open due to a snow-ice storm the day before. We were able to visit with Charles and Barbara Haynes (Kathy's uncle and aunt).
During our sojourn in the States Kathy and I both had to take medicine for various ailments. Both times Kathy had a reaction and the last time was just the day before we were to leave. She thought she was coming down with an infection and thus was taking medicine for that. When we got to San Francisco we were met by Lance Friis (a good friend who served in PNG with us in the 80's). We had to get our trunks and stored them at a room there in the airport. Lance then tried to take us out to Fisherman's Wharf for dinner. The operative word is tried. The place he took us had a waiting list of over 40 minutes and by now Kathy was really not feeling well (I mean REALLY not feeling well.) Sooooooo we had Lance take us to the Mt Zion medical center where Kathy was seen by a doctor and given medicine for a tract infection (which when taken seemed to give another reaction). Sooooooo I called a good doctor friend in Texas and he suggested it was not a reaction to the medicine. Our tickets would not allow us to delay in Frisco so we had to leave in the morning. FLASHBULBS in my head, Kathy's symptoms were MALARIA. So I put her on malarial medicine. The attack came on because of the recent cold weather we had been thru in Joplin. (We finally ate at McDonalds around 10:00.) After a night's sleep she was a bit better, so Lance and I bundled her off to the airport where we picked up our trunks and checked in for our flight to Manila PI. Like always we are over suitcased (that means we had two suitcases too many). That is not a problem because all you do is pay overcased charges which amounted to $300. We were taking back a number of computer items and other things which were more valuable than the chance of losing them in the mail (like Tootsie rolls). We paid for charges to Manila as we had to overnight there before heading on to Port Moresby. The airlines said that they would check the bags all the way to Port Moresby. (They did but the bags got waylaid. More in a minute, let's not get ahead of ourselves.)

By the time we arrived in Manila Kathy was felling a bit better but not 100%. We cleared customs but left the trunks at the airport because (remember what the airlines said) the bags were supposed to be checked all the way to Port Moresby. (That was logical to me as we were only overnighting in Manila.) So after a night's sleep Kathy & I stayed in the room during the day and we went back to the airport and checked in for our overnight flight to Port Moresby. When checking in the airlines staff took our baggage stubs and said they would make sure the trunks were checked in also. Right....wrong!!!!!

We arrived in Port Moresby PNG at 7:00am 23 January. We cleared customs but guess what, wa-lah no trunks....not one!!!! We talked with the airlines baggage representative and left a description of the trunks. We then went to the domestic terminal where we waited for our connecting flight to Lae. We had been scheduled to fly to Lae at 10:30am but were able to get our tickets changed to the 7:45 flight. The only problem was Jab was supposed to come get us at 11:15. I went in search of a phone to call him. HA HA HA HA!!! The only phones they had working at the airport were card phones. I went all around to find out if anyone sold the phone cards at the airport. HA HA HA! They were sold downtown at the phone office only. That's fine I would call him from the airport at Lae when we landed. HA HA HA!!!! They did have a coin phone but it was broken. The airport at Lae is 30 miles from town. Kathy was still not feeling real good so we rented a small car and drive into Lae and told Jab not to come pick us up. (He was washing our car under the house.) Wow, we are back home. Next time we travel I am going to find a pinch traveler (you know like a pinch hitter in baseball). I'll let them travel for me and I will only go to the airport and leave the airport (after customs of course). After over 35+ times of transPacific travel it is old. We made it to 8:30pm that night before we crashed in bed.
Back in the humidity again

The next couple of days were needed in unwinding. We didn't have to worry about unpacking bags as we didn't have any. I also had a huge stack of mail to go through in my office before I could find my desktop. By Friday we knew we were home. The fly foxes were roosting in our trees dropping seeds on our roof all night and a snake had been seen on the back steps. Electricity was off for 4 hours on Friday morning. On the front of the property there was a coconut tree which had begun leaning toward power lines. I called the power company who said the local council would have to cut it. The council sent someone around and he said they would get to it later (it was no problem on Wednesday). Friday early morning a rain squall came thru the area and the coconut tree fell into the power lines. The lines did not break and so the electricity ran down the tree to the ground where the tree roots began to smoke. Velma Forman who lives in the front house by the tree called the power company who shut off the power before the fire in the tree could take hold. So the power company spent the morning cutting the tree off the power line (I have a picture but it would have made a good Funniest Home Video.)

Melanesian Bible School classes were supposed to start on Monday January 29th but because most of the students had not arrived we started a few days late. This was alright as the notes for my class were in the trunks that were somewhere in the Pacific enjoying a vacation. I was therefore having to work up my notes again not having much faith that the trunks would arrive before my class began. I called the airlines daily to check on our trunks but seemed to be getting nowhere. So I called United in LA who then called their agent in Manila and told them to check the storage room in Manila. Wah-La! They then called the agent here in PNG who then called and said our bags were found and they should be here Friday or Saturday. (They finally arrived two weeks to the day after we arrived.) Actually this was God's way of helping. We did not have to pay anymore overweight from Manila to Port Moresby or on to Lae. We didn't even have to go through customs with them. Who knows what they would have charged us on the Tootsie rolls? Or even the computer gear? See things do work for our good. I just don't know what to do with the solid block of Hershey candy that resulted from the trunks sitting in the hot sun for a couple of days. I guess we will just have to eat chips off the block, because I sure am not going to throw it away.

Kathy is better now. We are just trying to get re-used to the humidity and heat, her more so because I have an A/C in my office. We are getting back into the time change (15 hours ahead of CST) but it is hard when we get calls at 3 in the morning. All the boxes we mailed in November last year have arrived. Right after we got back I went into the container I have WBS materials and my library books in only to find that it had leaked while we were gone, there was mildew everywhere. One of the pressed board bookcases had collapsed and boxes of material and books on the floor had soaked up water. All my back issues of Firm Foundation had sprouted yellow fungus. I took everything out of the wet area and put fans in to dry it out. I hung up the FF on a clothes line to dry and laid out books to dry. I have since put a roof over the container to shade it from the sun as well as from the torrential rains we get. I hope to put a small air conditioner in it when the funds become available.

After the week delay MBC started and I taught a four week course on Old Testament History & Geography in Pidgin English to the Basic class. In block two I taught Isaiah in Pidgin to the fourth year class and taught an English night class on Basic Bible Doctrines. In addition to teaching at the school I have been teaching the Sunday morning class on Kristen Marit (Christian Marriage). All the courses in Pidgin English I have had to create the notes. Next month I am teaching on the Christian Family. In my spare time I have been working on a new song book which will include music for the songs with words in English and Pidgin together. (Up to now we have Pidgin songs but without the music.) I am also producing a course on leadership in anticipation that we will appoint a steering ministry within the year with a goal for elders soon after. I have also been doing electrical work for some of the evangelist houses and fixing fans and lights at the church building. When the brethren wash the mold and mildew off the ceilings periodically they just hose it off (does wonderful things to fans and lights resulting in having to replace many). Kathy has been teaching a literacy class 3 mornings every week with the women.
medical work in papua new guinea

We want to thank all of you who have given medical supplies and funds to ship such in the containers which Healing Hands International is now shipping. When we got back several of the hospitals have had to stop all elective surgery because they have no gauge, tape and such. Just this week the local government hospital cancelled elective surgery because they have no Valium, Prostigmin and Thinopenpone. There is a need for a continuous supply of medicines and medical supplies mailed on a monthly basis. (A list can be send on request.) Can we get Bible classes to make this an ongoing project?

PRAYERS NEEDED
Please also remember our needs lists down below. The Sombo Dowara family we are praying will be able to get to Vanuatu to help the brethren in May. They will be staying for two years. They need help with travel funds only. If you would like a PNG 1996 calender drop us a line or a line on the front of a check and we will send you one.

In Christian service, your co-workers for the cause of Christ in the South Pacific,

Tobey & Kathy Huff

the Huffs