Snakes, Crocodiles, Malaria, Dengue Fever

I’ve been given more responsibility thus less time to write blogs but more need to be blogging to let you guys pray and help.   So part of my additional responsibility is to help create new churches all across Papua and West Papua provinces of Indonesia.    Some of these projects are already under way and have been for a number of years.   Others have yet to be dreamed.   But in an effort to understand the needs I’ve been interviewing a number of pastors.   Trying to get a grasp of what they need.    
Pastors in Papua are often called to serve in districts where snakes are more like some pre-flood dinosaur  -- huge and vicious.    Then consider our three pastors who serve the 13 locations along the Mimbramo River.   They have vast territories along a river with edies large enough that a floating log 75 feet long by 15 feet around can disappear into the hole in the water and come up a mile down the stream.    Boats and passengers disappear into these edies never to be seen again.    If you make it past the edies and you happen to make it as far as the “falls” or rapids on the mighty Membramo River your next challenge is hitting rocks and tremendous current as you try to shoot the rapids going up hill.   If you get knocked out of the boat in the rapids sitting all along the banks are apparently lazy crocs waiting for opportunity to grab fast food.
If you make it past the rapids mid way up the river on your way to the highlands some 300 river miles beyond the rapids there are more snakes, and crocs waiting but the biggest killers of our Pastors, Missionaries and teachers through the years has been complications from lack of quick medical attention caused by Malaria or Deng Fever.    In the past 5 years we’ve lost 3 of our pastors or teachers or volunteer missionaries to Malaria.   All of them had run out of the right kind of medicine.
So far what I’m learning is: 1) a balanced diet is hard to come by on the river, 2) boats cost a lot of money to go up stream because of the fast volume of water pushing you down stream, 3) communication along the river is almost non existent so if you get sick and need help by the time help comes your either better or dead, 4) The utter isolation for months on end for the average person use to roads/stores and modern convience makes this a hard place to stay permanantly. 5) This is truly the worlds last frontier, 6) languages along the river are different every few miles and often take years to learn.  6) in the past we’ve sent kids from those language groups to schools and made great incentives for them to return to their home area to be Bible Workers, teachers, medical workers and more but for various reasons few ever return to this difficult life once they learn of a better life, 7) Radio communication in a place where humidity stays near 90% frequently ruins ham radio and other communication devices, 8) Frequent rain changes the course of the river almost daily.  9) World views even between city based Papuans and rural based Papuans are vast chasms apart. 10) you have to take 4-5 complete doses of Malaria meds for most of our rural Mimbramo River locations because your often out there for 3-6 months before the next supplies make it in.
And yet in all of this. . . Pastors still go risking it all for the sake of the Gospel.   Today, I preached in a suburban church and I appealed to the young people, Who will go and face the giant of Crocs, Snakes, Malaria, Deng Fever for the Sake of the call, wholly devoted to live or to die for the Sake of the Cross?   11 young people stood and said we will get the training and go.   Four of those young people were my own sons.   I’m proud of them.