Attacked in Dempta

 

Dempta is the small port town that exports ships full of palm oil to the rest of the world.

We rode for 3 hours and went about 25 miles “as the crow flies” but about 60 miles as the road bounces.   If you look at my GPS we’re virtually back to where we began.   Dempta was our destination but the road to Dempta goes around the mountain and through the woods.   3+ hours of Rock-n-roll roads.   Just 6 inches of black top on top would have made this journey less memorable but 6 inch potholes make it highly memorable.   Then just 5 minutes before we arrived an elder from the Dempta Adventist church came zipping up the hill on his dirt bike to intercept us.   “Can’t come right now!   Police are everywhere.   They’ve done it again.”

“Who has done what again?”   I asked.

“The local churches from other denominations have banded against us.   They’ve torn our tent and decorations down that we had set up for the Ground Breaking.”  Said the elder. (The same happened last time we tried to come here for the Cornerstone laying Celebration.

“What’s going on now?”  Pastor Hugo asked.

“They are waiting on Pastor John Umbora (mission secretary) to come and talk with the head of police.”

Finally, Pastor John and his family arrived behind us.    As we rounded the corner we caught sight of the beautiful village of Dempta.

Getting closer to Dempta.   The day was windy and wavy.

We soon passed the site where we were coming for the ground-breaking and laying of the first stone for our new Seventh-day Adventist Church.   Police stood all around bearing machine guns.   “What has happened?” I asked not fully understanding the Indonesian that everyone was rapidly chatting in.

The Tent that was temporarily built for the Ground Breaking and laying of the Cornerstone Celebration was lying mostly on the ground.   Locals had come early and attacked the deacons who’d come early to wait for our arrival.   Police had been called and stood bearing machine guns all over the grounds of the Adventist’s land for our future church building.

“The area protestant churches have incited a band of thugs to stop our building of the church here in Dempta.   See the tent that’s torn down and the chairs thrown everywhere?”   Someone explained

We all sat in silence not sure what to do.   Pastor Arie Dien the Global Evangelism Coordinator from the Union asked for a place to go to the bathroom and I thought it was a good idea, too.   We’d been in the car for over 3 hours sloshing around at breakneck speed on “Rock-n-Roll” roads.   My bladder was full but where was there a private location.   Someone mentioned that we could go to the Police station and take care of our needs there.

We arrived and all the locals had gathered in force to be heard by the Head of Police.   Some had been brought in by force to share their opinion.   There were more in favor of the Adventist side than any others thanks in large part to the vast caravan of cars that had come to witness the Ground breaking and Cornerstone laying service.   There was representatives from the largest church in Papua.   A Parliamentarian from Papua’s Autonomous Parliament was present.   The head of the Education Department from the region was present.   The Adventist Mission Secretary who is originally from this booming town was present.   After taking care of mother-nature in the “very clean” police headquarters toilet I rounded the corner to see what was going on on the Head of Police’s front porch.

75-100 people stood surrounding the Head of Police’s office.   He has a big front porch for events like this.  Tensions filled the air.   Prayers were being whispered in small groups in the parking lot.

Soon the Mission Secretary, Pastor John Umbora, motioned to me to come sit beside him.   It was an honor to be seated in this impromptu hearing by the Head of Police.   The Secretary from the synod of the largest protestant church was shouting, “They can’t come to this town.   They’re not from here.”   Never mind the fact that not more than 50 meters away the Muslim Mosque blared the call to prayer 5 times per day.   Never mind that she was from another part of Indonesia entirely.   Never mind that the Adventist representative of Parliament was native to this tribe and she was trying to make a point that Adventist are not Papuan but outsiders.   Never mind that Pastor John Umbora the same position as the lady now shouting is born of this tribe.   Some of the locals said “Amen” to her.   But the wise Police Chief listened back and forth to both sides for about an hour.   The tension was high.

In the middle of one of the more tense filled speeches a gust of wind blew so hard that the bolt on the flag pole broke sending the flag pole crashing on to the parking lot.    “Clang-Clang-Clang” sounded the metal flag pole as it bounced on the gravel parking area.   Nearly everyone raced to see who might have gotten struck by the flag pole but amazingly it missed everything including a small 18 month old who was running right into the path of the pole when it fell.   His mother grabbed him up and cried her delight out that her daughter had been spared.   Now we all trudged back to the “hearing”.

When at last the Head of Police spoke he basically gave the speech that No church has the right to religiously oppress any other.   Indonesia is in theory a country of Religious Freedom.   One has the right to listen to the dictates of his or her conscience. 

Here’s my rough interpretation of this man’s passionate speech:   “Look at the Muslims they worship loudly 5 times a day and non of them are from Papua.   Look at you, your religion came by missionaries who came from outside like this pastor (pointing to me).   I don’t know him but we’re grateful for him.   I belong to your church (pointing to the leader who had been speaking against the Adventists) but today I want it to be known I’m embarrassed by my church inciting this illegal display of public demonstration against some of God’s people, The Adventists.   If you want to threaten anyone’s lives go do it someone other than here,  Not in Dempta,  Not in Papua, Not in Indonesia.   For this reason I declare my decision, On the Third full week of February the Adventists will be allowed to peacefully go about laying the first cornerstone.   You may ask, why the third week of February?  Because there are some who are threatening to shoot any Adventist who lays the cornerstone.   Give us time to find these crooks and deal with them in just ways and then you can come again for your celebration.   Welcome Adventists!”

The rest of the day went relatively peaceful with a prayer and food and a few dignitaries making speeches about the hope that the Adventists will build in Dempta and be a light to the surrounding village.

The lady in the Green uniform is the head of the local regions schools.   She hopes that one day Adventists can build a school in this community.

As we asked questions we realized there are several opportunities for our Adventists in this growing town.   1) We need to work hard to make good relationships with the local community churches.   Perhaps doing things like basic charity clinics together with them in their own churches.  2) Using the influence we have with the Parliament to reach some of the goals that the town has for itself.  3) Working together with our Adventist Doctor and nurses who work in the Local government clinic. 4) Friendship, Friendship, friendship.

Please, pray for our leaders in this new church that is developing in this small port town of Dempta.   Pray that despite the threats and attacks God’s work will grow and go to surrounding places.

Behind Every Good Pastor stands a Great Wife

Behind Dwight Nelson stands Karen. . . Behind Dr Derek Morris stands Bodil. . . Behind Mark Finley stands "Tinnie" (Earnestine).   But what about the rest of us pastors are our women just as supportive?   Yes and even more important to us.

Recently at the ordination of the 9 Pastors here in Jayapura my attention was drawn to the fact that standing 2-3 paces behind the ordination candidates were 9 women.   Many of these women have moved many times in support to difficult places in support of Pastors whose mission is constantly in a state of move.

9 Pastors wives stand as the Prayer of ordination is prayed over their husband Pastors.
There are very few callings or jobs in life that are more publically scrutinized than that of being a Pastor.   Frankly, if it were not for the calling of God most of us would find something far less open to peoples opinions to do for work.   You can finish working a 80 hour week and then find someone who says,  “Pastor I don’t know why you Never returned my phone call this week.   Honestly the last pastor was way better. . . he came to see my Grand-Nanny 3 times a day 8 days a week for the last 590 days of her life.”   (exaggeration intended for emphasis of the point). 
  
Dr/Pastor Bruce is backed by his wife, Dewi, who has moved with him for the past dozen plus moves.
So how do we Pastors make it through all the criticism and stressors of living in the public eye?   By God’s grace!   And in God’s grace he gave us a wife. . . who sometimes has to sit quietly by watching as the members verbally beat on us.   Sometimes she knows we deserved it yet she still supports us.    She is the fill in Pastor when we are called away for the Wedding, Funeral, Baby Dedication, Evangelism Meeting, Board meeting, Committee Meetings, Conference or Mission office, Youth Camping, Church building project, Baptism and countless other things that we preachers do.    She does all that while dealing with our sick kids and answering our phone calls and planning the social that should be planned by someone else but they decided “they aren’t going to do anything this year because they are needing to take a break.”
Pastors wives keep us Pastors going.   Without them we’d be non productive.   Pastors wives cook our favorite meals before that high stress event and then consul us after that high stress event doesn’t go as well as we’d hoped for.   Pastors wives have to give us that helpful challenge to our prideful selves that will keep us from getting to high on ourselves.

Mrs Dike (with the Mic) gives a charge to the pastors wives.
But enter the Pastor and his wife from the third world. . . They take the meaning of “behind every good man stands a great wife” to a new level.   I’m use to Pastors being able to stay in his district until God impresses him that its time to talk to the Conference office about a potential move.   But here, often with the first complaint from a church member, the Pastor is moved.    One retired pastor moved 36 times in his 40 year ministry.   That’s even more amazing when you consider that his last 5 years were spent in 1 house.    He and his wife had 4 children and 2 of them died while he served in a remote location where there is no phone service and then his wife died while he was taking a boat down river to try to get help for burying his children – Malaria.   He eventually remarried and as I talked with him he said, “Thank God for a Great wife but why did my first wife have to die?   That was probably the lowest I’ve ever felt in life.   I was feeling low about loosing my 2 youngest children but when I learned my wife died I just wanted to die myself.”
These Pastors wives have to be ready to move with only a day or two notice and often to locations that have no consideration to the needs of their family at the particular time.   Through giant waves and torrential tropical downpours.   Having to feed every guest who decides that He’s out of food, ‘So lets just go to the pastors home’ to dealing with disgruntled members.   She is the wind and sometimes even the wing that keeps the pastor going.   Pastors wives house hundreds each year as they pass by their house.   They give and give and give and get little in return.    Thank you ladies for your incredible support to your husbands and for keeping his head high even in stress-filled times.

As for this pastor.  I know that without my Ruth I’d be Ruth-less.

He Ordained 12–We Ordained 9

Pastor LeRoy and Rikka are the pastors of the church we get to attend when we aren’t traveling. 

When Christ walked the face of this earth He ordained 12 of his closest disciples.   What is Ordination?    It is to consecrate or set aside for holy use for Holy orders.   Christ ordained 12 ordinary men.   Some were tax officers for the Roman government, a number of them were fishermen, one was the accountant.   All had sinful human characteristics like doubt, anger issues, jealousy, pride, liars, denial issues, and much more.   Yet despite this Jesus set them aside for Holy purpose.

The Ordained pastors ordain the 9 pastors in this photo.

About 3 Sabbaths ago 9 Pastors in the Papua Adventist Mission were Ordained.   Some have faithfully served for many years.   All have made mistakes  because we humans aren’t perfect yet.   We sensed the spirit of God working powerfully in the lives of these 9 ordinary men.   Some have been ministering for many years.   There are youth minded pastors and highly evangelistic pastors and family ministry pastors and teaching pastors.   God indeed has all the gifts in His church.

This was a huge event in the lives of these 9 people.   Unlike my home country where if you’re faithful as a young pastor you will be ordained in 5 years here its based on a different set of criteria.   Some of them have worked as a minister for more than a decade or nearly 2 before they were ordain.   Congratulations to Pastors Steven, Erik, LeRoy, Bruce, Wagimin, Jerry, Eric, Franky, and James.   May you always follow in His footprints.  Jesus Keep them Close to the Cross!

Pastors from Left to Right: 1) LeRoy, 2) Erik, 3) Steven, 4) James, 5) Jerry, 6) Eric, 7) Franky, 8)Wagiman, 9) Bruce

Papua New Guinea

I thought I’d share some of the non politically charged issues in this post from my recent trip to Papua New Guinea.    I was asked by the Secretary of the East Indonesian Union to “go and see.”   So here’s some of what I saw.

Me goofing off next the the carved post that holds up the corner of the immigration building at the border crossing in PNG.   Notice any similarity to the shape of its mouth and mine?

I liked the Border patrols houses at the border.   They had Solar H2O heaters on the roof and large tanks to catch rain water from the roof.   Plus big screen windows to keep things cool.

I was immediately impressed by the better road design and lack of potholes in PNG.  But of course there are probably 600x’s as many vehicles in Indonesia.

The Adventist Churches in PNG are much more simple than in Indonesia.   This one was typical of several we saw with open sides.

Nice Beaches with far less trash than our side of the border.

Food stands along the side of the road.   Some of the sellers are from the Indonesian side and I was able to ask questions of them in Indonesian.  These particular ones said they were legally in PNG.

The bay in Vanimo.  One of our Adventist churches is high on the hill in the background.

Looking down from the hill that the church is on this is a shot of the “City” of Vanimo.

I’m not sure what this is but it is pretty.

The Open Air market in Vanimo.   Most of the clothes, etc are bought by PNGers from Indonesia and then sold again at a higher price in PNG.

We were impressed with the simple but well built church here in East Vanimo

It felt funny to have the “Welcome the Sabbath” devotional and not use translation.

This is a very typical Toyota Land Cruiser 4x4.   It faithfully held between 15 and 20 people up and down mountains and threw mud and rivers.  Here we’re getting ready to load to head to church.

Praying for our members in P.N.G.

Malaysian Palm Oil plantations have wiped out 1,000’s of hectares worth of virgin Rain Forrest.   They promise local people lots of things but in the end the politicians are the only one who get anything other than a very rough road according to the locals.   “They kill all our hunting ground by completely extincting every living creature.  They dry up our rivers by taking all the logs that were once holding the soil down and then irrigating from the rivers.   It’s hotter now.   It’s drier now and we have nothing but a road to show for it.”  

 

Piles of Logs are waiting transport to the ocean where they will help build the modern world as we rape poor peoples lands without thought.   Think again next time you use Palm Oil when cooking.  Or order that rare wood piece of furniture. . . make sure you are helping people not hurting them.

A Divine Appointment was that the New District Pastor was headed from the border area toward us as we traveled.   Someone recognized the district churches car and flagged it down and everyone met the new pastor as he’d only been present for in Vanimo for less than a week.   He has a great bass voice I hear.

A Flat tire.   But in 10 minutes were were back in order.

Yet another Divine Appointment as we headed down the road on Sunday back toward Indonesia coming the opposite way were my new Friends Gary and Toni Lewis.   They are self-supporting missionaries seeking to start up a mission flight program in support of our Adventist work in the Sepik Mission in PNG.   Pray as their Cessna 180 makes it’s journey by crate across the Pacific to Guam where Gary will assemble it and then fly it to PNG.  Toni is a nurse. 

 

Someone’s going surfing.   The waves looked like nice rollers 5-8 feet high.

Pray for the believers in P.N.G.   May their enthusiasm continue.

P.N.G. and Papua Indonesia Border Evangelism

Note: Because of the sensitivity of the location where I was I’ve chosen to not post any pictures with this particular blog.   I will post a latter blog with pictures of places, people and ministry that is completely non-sensitive but I can’t post pictures in this one which probably means it won’t be read by as many. . . but I’d rather risk that than to loose an opportunity to share the Gospel in the name of getting readership.

Two Countries, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia, split the Island of New Guinea.   Before colonial days and even well into colonial days, head-hunting cannibalistic tribes ruled around 550 separate language based cultures on the Island of New Guinea.   With the advent of the discovery that the world was round, Europeans peoples raced around the world trying to claim the most territory.    Along with them came their own style of leadership.    Ultimately, the Netherlands held the west half and the British and later the Australians held the East half of the island of New Guinea.   

But when modern countries decided that self rule was better than foreign rule the question was raised, who should rule New Guinea?   Australia first took the helm for Eastern New Guinea when the British left.    The West half went to Indonesia.   How do you have a fair system of representative government in a modern society when there are 256 native tribes just in the Indonesian side alone?   Politics and faith have different boundaries.   Men chose sometimes arbitrary lines but God chooses “Every Kindred, tongue and People.”   With God there are no borders!   In the Seventh-day Adventist church we have “area’s of stewardship” that God has given us to manage for Him.   We call those local church districts or local missions or Unions of churches or World Divisions.   I happen to be an associate steward for a specific area of the East half of Indonesia.   But what do we do when those for whom we have stewardship over of go to a new area of stewardship because a government may deem them dangerous to the political stability of their mother land.   Enter 7,000 plus Political Escapees, Refugees or whatever label you want to call them.   7,000 people mainly from certain mountainous tribes in Indonesia have run across the border into Indonesia to escape sometimes political persecution.   Their new home happens to be independent state of Papua New Guinea.  

They often don’t understand the language.   Regardless of what side of the political opinion we may have they are people who need Christ.    7,000 people from Indonesia have settled in one particular area along he border but additional people are scattered all along the border.   7,000 people who have babies and children.   7,000 people who have to make a living from their new land.   7,000 people whom can scarcely communicate in their adopted culture.   7,000 people who sometimes are hunted for activities they’ve done and therefore are not trusting of many other than those they know very closely.  

This compelling challenge has lead local Seventh-day Adventists on both sides of the border to ask what can we do?   How do we reach out in the method of Christ to meet needs in the hopes of winning peoples confidence so they will trust us when we share the Gospel?   

On the Weekend of Feb 1 I went with a team of PNG people to see the situation.    I asked lots of questions.   What are the needs?   Here is a summary of what I heard our members say. 1) We need to learn each others languages so we need language schools.  2) We need religious materials in one another’s languages such as Bibles, Sabbath School lessons and picture rolls.   3) We need help with doing medical ministry.   4) We need help in teaching jobs and having jobs that can support our these people without supplying them with funds that will be funneled to forceful opposition.  5) We need schools for the refugee children.

Because of the chain of stewardship within the Adventist Church I’m going to be talking with various leaders to gather their opinions to see how we might cooperate to reach goals together for the sake of the Kingdom.   We have to work wisely and not get sucked into a political vortex that could jeopardize our work on either side of the Island.   Please, pray for this work.   Pray for Adventist and political leaders who are on both sides.   Pray for wisdom.

Search By Helicopter for the Lost People of the Kehu tribe!

It all started by a Divine Appointment with a Village Chief who “just happened” to be in town while I was preaching evangelism meetings in Nabire in December 2013. . .    Over lunch one day Pastor Gad Windewani and Pastor Yordan mention the Kehu tribe.  Then the village chief showed up that very evening.   Talk about Divine timing. . . this village chief had to start riding down the river in his little boat a full 12 hours before we were discussing the opportunity to reach beyond the small foothold the Adventist church has in the Kehu village.     As Pastor Desmond Sirami and myself talked we learned that the Village of Kehu is the only “Civilized” village amongst the Kehu trive.  The other Kehu live deep in the jungle and swamps about 50 Kilometers East-Northeast from Nabire.   Their home until now is still lost to the outside world.

Kehu Village Chief, Marten Dida, eagerly awaiting the Helicopter to take us to explore his tribal lands for members of his tribe who have remained in hiding.

Village Chief, Marten Dida,  shared a story that many from this tribe had been living peacefully along a major river and its tributaries when one day a military group under past leadership in Indonesia came up the river to “squash” an uprising.    This military squad were fired on by bow and arrow from “nearly naked men.”    The soldiers in turn mowed down whole villages with their guns to squash this uprising.   No one knows for sure when this took place but estimates are around 30-40 years ago.   The result is that fewer than 20 native speaking Kehu were left according to eye witness accounts . . but their population has more than doubled since the time the Adventists entered this area in 1989.

The river that passes the “modern” Kehu village

Marten  Dida said, “Many ran into the jungle and vowed to never be seen again by these “big bang guys in green” (presumably soldiers who wiped out their tribe).   Incidentally the report from one Doctoral Student who is studying tribes in this area is that the commander of the platoon who killed the Kehu people was promoted to General as a result of him ‘squashing’ an uprising in the Kehu tribe.   In actuality, the Kehu probably never knew they had a government on the fateful day the soldier came to “squash” the “revolt”.   The “big bang guys in green” were some strange new enemy whom they couldn’t communicate with and they were determined to act bravely and shoot the first arrow.   

Who knows if this is a real story for after all. . . the Kehu are also sure there are people who have short tails who live in the jungle.   But as we talked further there kept being a niggle in my mind. . . are there Kehu people who are still unreached?   Could it be that some of the last people on earth who have never heard of Jesus are just 30 miles away from this developing city of Nabire?   The more we talked the more we had to know.   I asked, “do you know where your family members are who vowed to never be seen again?”

“Yes, but they live in a very hidden place deep in the jungle and swamps.”   Marten replied.

“How long would it take you to walk from your village to their places?”  I asked

“The closest ones would be up another river where there are three creeks close together and under the trees.    Probably 1 week walk away through swamps full of Crocodiles and thorns from wild plants.”  Marten answered.

Me: “Have you been to their village?” 

Marten: “Yes a long time ago. . . but many in our village see them when we go out hunting!   We keep inviting them to come out and join us back on the river where life is easier but they still remember what our parents told us about the “big bang guys in green!”   Perhaps they feel it will happen again and they are very afraid.”

Me: “Could you point out on a map where their homes were before?”  We were now bending over google earth.

Marten: “Yes, near a lake with three small creeks.”

As we conversed more, an idea was hatched. . . what if we could fly over the area and let the chief point out where he last saw his people living? 

Adventists first made contact with the Kehu tribe in 1989 and ultimately placed a Global Pioneer (Bible Worker) who was from the Kehu people in the only known existing village of the Kehu.  The Global Pioneer is originally from this tribe and was paid for several years to help raise up a church.   His name is Samuel Dotiri.   Samuel has prayed for years that we can reach the rest of his tribe.

The Kehu people eagerly await us as we land in their village via Helicopter.

Fast Forward to February 4, 2014.   After much dialogue with lots of leaders it was agreed that we should take a helicopter with the district pastor, myself, pastor Desmond Sirami and the village chief to see if we could find the unreached villages of the Kehu people.   Heli-Mission operates 2 helicopters for mission service.    Helicopter pilot, Erwin, took us around and around.   Within 10 minutes of reaching Kehu people I thought I saw a tree that had been cut.   Around and around we went trying to get a good view of it but at last we determined that is was just a termite ridden tree that died and fell recently.    Each time we thought we’d seen something we circled and circled and each time everyone in the back got more and more nauseated.   Each time we began to get more clues for what to look for.   1) Smoke = people burning fires below, No smoke except in the Kehu Village but that may mean they cook at night only.   2) bamboo in large clump = people planted it in this area for making things for their homes and to store food in, 3) things like Coconut trees are sure signs of life because in this area Coconuts are only naturally near the ocean and we were 15 miles away from the ocean.   4) cut trees, foot prints on sand bars, grass roof huts all would be signs of life.    Around and around we went.   But non of these things were at first evident.

Notice: Banana’s in the lower right corner and bamboo just above and towards the center.   These are signs of Human activity.   The Global Pioneer said it is their “old village”.   The dead bamboo tops in the water in the center of the picture in the water could possibly be evidence of humans cutting bamboo for some project not terribly long ago.

It was evident that our turning around was silencing the 3 in the back of the helicopter as they had to concentrate on keeping the contents of the stomachs inside their body.   Time to make for the known village and ask the locals more questions so we can pinpoint things.

Somehow in our excitement with 3 of us nearly constantly shooting our cameras the best shot of Samuel our Global Pioneer in the Kehu tribe.   He’s the guy in the yellowish T-shirt here.

Everyone was excited to see us.   There was not much space to land the helicopter but pilot Erwin is a bush pilot and at last saw a whole big enough just in front of the school.    Samuel the Global Pioneer came running out with enthusiasm.    He was so happy he was crying freely.   Never before the the history of Kehu people has a helicopter come without either looking for gold or to “squash” bow and arrow shooting peoples.   Some were reserved and in the shadows but not Samuel.   He soon was convincing enough that we left district Pastor Gad on the ground and took him instead.   

We first went in the direction of a completely unknown tribe not related to the Kehu but that proved to be a false direction.   Next we flew toward some lakes and trying to find the elusive three creeks.   Is there signs of life anywhere in these swamps?   Suddenly  Samuel and the chief were excited  “There’s the old village where one of the people were looking for is from.    See the bamboo.   See the beetle-nut trees.   Is that a Coconut tree?”    I had to admit these were signs of life from the past but where are they now?   We spent the next hour turning round and round and by now I was green with nausea.   We came to a small hill and Samuel said, “That’s the hill where we met them last week.”   But still there is no running native into the bushes.   Only lots of darting birds as they seek shelter from the chop-chop-chop of the helicopter flying a few meters above the tree canopy.

 

Our day was waning so it was time to go drop the Global Pioneer and pick up the pastor but first we had to stop by the small lake where our Helicopter had stashed extra fuel in some jerry cans.   Our 10 minute stop was incredible – a clear quiet lake on the edge of the foothills where no one lives.    Oh if I could come here again for a quiet time with God.

Marten – The village Chief and me (Pilot Erwin in the background)  At the small lake where I’d like to come for a quiet rest sometime.

We landed back in Kehu’s known village and handed out candy for the kids and concentrate baked Sago palm flour for our sago loving swamp people.   You would have thought I was giving away free gold bars on wall street.   We prayed with this tribe and we had just enough time to ask a few questions about their ministry and make tentative plans for what we will do next.

The Jungle Chapel built sometime in the 1990’s for the Kehu People to worship in.   The Termites are enjoying the church too.

The sign for all the “traffic” that passes.

1) We need Indonesian citizen nurses at this Kehu village and in the one down stream in Totoberi.  They desperately need medical help in both villages.  The government is willing to pay.

The empty clinic the government built.   No nurse and medicines.

2) We need a fiberglass or aluminum boat with two 40 HP engines to get around the rivers in this area.

Fiberglass boats stacked and for sale in PNG

3) We need a GPS unit with Bahasa Indonesian instructions so that someone can go by foot and find the unreached villages and mark them on the GPS.   Then they need to clear a Heli-pad so we can land or if its by a river or large enough stream we can go by boat.

4) They are mostly educated in basic Bahasa Indonesian but they need Bibles in the simple form of Indonesian.

In closing we brought up the subject with them about the road that the government is planning to build through their land.   Because of the previous perceived threat to the Indonesian government the government is planning to have the Indonesian Army build the road through their tribal lands. . . this is likely to cause more problems than solutions as many of the unknown semi-nomadic peoples are still afraid of the government.    Pray as we seek to help our government leaders understand that soldiers may not be the best way.

One of many Oxbow lakes surrounding by the much coveted Sago palms which are chopped down and the inner parts of the tree are beat into pulp and made into flour for consumption.

Baked Sago flour in the clear sacks and candy plus lunch was shared with the Kehu people.

The Kehu tribe has long promised land to the Adventist tribe for a future University.   In flying over this land we easily saw that there is plenty of land that is out of the swamps and on the edge of the foothills where Hydro electric power could be had.    We could easily see that there were thousands of fertile acres of land for a farm to help support student labor so that tribal people can learn new farming techniques and more.   There were pure streams flowing down from the mountains that were clean enough to drink.   While at present the nearest portion of the Kehu land is still 5 Kilometers away from the nearest road one day in the near future that could change.   Could it be that this could serve as a training school for a technical school and training school for Papuans who wish to serve their own people back in their own tribes?   Or will it be another place?   We left with more unanswered questions than answers.   We will search until we know.

Right now we are praying that as the district pastor seeks to make plans to find the semi-nomadic Kehu people in the “unknown” villages that 1) they will be open to the gospel, 2) that we can find them soon, 3) that we can find nurses and teachers who will volunteer time in this place.   Who will go? 

To help us support projects like this contact me by email:  pastordarronboyd@gmail.com

Me congratulating Heli-mission pilot Erwin on the landing into a very tight location in the Kehu Village.

The Children were not too afraid to pose in front of the Helicopter which came right in front of their school.