Wrap up of PNG

Hey all,

So this is my last wrap up blog about PNG. I just wanted to summarize all that we did and learned. We visited about 5 different villages over the 5 1/2 weeks. We did home visits where we prayed for different people and families in their homes. We visited a hospital to pray for people and visited an elementary school to do health care checks on the kids. We did many programs which involved dramas, songs, and preaching. We each preached at least 2 times on our trip. I taught on identity in Christ as that is a passionate subject for me. We also did several kids programs which involved HUGE games of duck duck goose, goofy songs, and short teachings. We trekked throu

gh the jungle for hours, got stuck in mud almost to our knees, made sago (it's the stable food of PNG, it's basically tree bark), went fishing, spent many hours in prayer and worship, baptized about 31 individuals 27 of whom were new converts, and befriended many of God's beautiful children young and old. It was an extremely challenging experience in ways of stepping out of my comfort zone, giving up common luxuries at home that are so often taken for granted, speaking in front of people, keeping peace within our group, sweating constantly, and missing my family, however the fruit of the ministry we did was so evident through the new converts, baptisms, and just our relationships with so many dear and close friends halfway across the world. God really emphasized the importance of discipleship to me on this trip and how missions is not simply converting people but the discipleship is just as important. God also showed me how we are all equal in his eyes and I have something in common with my brothers and sisters in PNG, we both worship the same God. I am so thankful that I had this opportunity to travel to PNG and want to thank you all for your prayers and support. Keep reading my blog cuz my missionary work is just starting.

I am planning on heading out back to Australia in April to do the Staff Leadership Internship at Reef to Outback YWAM. Thanks!!

Hey Everyone!!

So this is one of my favorite stories from Papua New Guinea. My team was planning on heading out to a nearby village for 2 weeks and while we were walking to the beach our dingy (boat) driver stopped us and told us that we weren't going because the village wasn't ready for us. We were confused because our main contact was already over in the village. So we turned around and went back to our host house discouraged as this was the second time we had planned to leave for a village but something stopped us. We went back to our house, set up our mosquito nets again and brainstormed as to what we could do that day. We decided that we would go to the hospital down the road and pray for people. There were 3 pregnant women we prayed for, one had walked a very long distance to give birth at that hospital, one was having complications because the baby was turned the wrong way, and one was 5 weeks over due. We prayed for each woman individually and then went back to our host home. The next morning we found out that ALL 3 babies were born that evening!! They were all healthy and we even got to go visit 2 of them. I had been praying for a miracle before coming to PNG and God blessed me by letting me witness and be a part of this amazing story.  One of my favorite things about this story is how God took our discouragement of not getting to go to a village and turned it into good.

Papua New Guinea Week 1

Hey everyone!

I am now safely back home with my family preparing for Christmas. Thanks you for all of your prayers and support while I was in Australia and Papua New Guinea. I spent a total of 5 and 1/2 weeks in Papua New Guinea with my team from my Discipleship Training School. The first week we did several different things in a city called Kerema. We split up into 3 different groups and did house visits where we went around to different families houses and prayed for them. One of the woman we prayed for is named Maggie and she was home alone with her baby boy Shalom. We prayed for her husband who is a Christian but has been backsliding lately. She was so grateful and appreciative that we came to pray for her that she anointed our feet with oil. She wanted to give us something and that was all she had so she went around individually to each one of us and anointed our feet with the little oil she had. This is just one example of the extreme hospitality and generosity of the people in Papua New Guinea. 

That week we also did several children programs in a beach village called Karieta. We did games, dramas, songs, and short messages. I got the opportunity to speak on identity in Christ to a large group of kids. We played the biggest game of duck duck goose i have ever played. There were probably about 50 or more kids playing plus my mission team. The kids absolutely loved the songs and games and asked us to come back the next day to do another program.  We did probably about 2 or 3 programs in Karieta. The last day we were there the kids organized a volleyball game and the girls prepared refreshments for us. They had gone to the market earlier that morning and bought fruit and refreshments with their own money just for us! This is yet another example of the loving generosity of the people of PNG.