Road to Indonesia-----Haitian Missionary Release

 A fellow CMA missionary here has a personal contact with the missionaries kidnapped in Haiti.  Her daughter-in-law's aunt was one of the hostages. On Sunday the friend here was able to tell us the story which is now public.  On Sunday we were still asked to wait to tell the story, but we just listened to a newscast from Christian Aid Ministry.  The 12 missionaries who were left imprisoned waited on God and became convinced they were to try to escape.  At the point when there was a shift in guards and no one was present, they were able to open the door where they were being confined and walk 10 miles through the jungle to safety.  This involved a 10 month old that they had securely wrapped so the briers they traversed would not harm and a 3 year old.  The missionary here related it to Peter's escape from prison.  What an incredible story of faithfulness. The mission newscast was full of prayers that the kidnappers would find faith in Christ. They ...

Road to Indonesia---Fear of Death and "Holy St. Francis"

 The assignment was to personalize quotes from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar .  This response relates Shakespeare to Papua.  “Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.  Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,  It seems to me most strange that men should fear,  Seeing that death, a necessary end,  Will come when it will come,” (Shakespeare.2.2.32-37).  In this excerpt, Caesar is replying to Calpurnia’s outbursts of worry for his fate. She is begging him not to go to the Senate that day as the omens are incredibly bad. But Caesar in his arrogance replied in a steadfast way. He believes that only cowards bow down to the fear of death, therefore dying even before the fight. The brave and honorable, however, proceed in the face of death and welcome death when it comes. He thinks that everyone will experience death in the end and that it is not worth fearing.  The thing that captures my attention is...

Road to Indonesia---Staff Party

 Just had a lovely staff Christmas party.  The interim director's wife pretty much did the whole thing.  It was such a success with beautiful enchiladas.  Now, you might think that rather strange for a Christmas banquet, but there is no Mexican food here unless we make it ourselves, so it was just wonderful to have enchiladas with all the condiments.  And carrot raisin salad....raisons are not available often. Some people could not come or were late because it was raining and motor scooters are not the best transport in a downpour.  Again, what one does not think of when you are sitting in the US.  Of course it is rain not snow that we are contenting with.  It is 90's most of the day, and humid....have I mentioned that it is always hot? In the picture I am wearing a 3/4 length sleeve. I really questioned if I could walk the quarter mile from my house to the a/c in the school with this length sleeve?  I doubt I have had on long sleeves more th...

Road to Indonesia---"So that He could be killed"

 Today in church we were given a quote by Tim Keller, "Jesus became human so that He could be killed."  That is a shocking statement to me, but completely true.  One cannot kill God.  The only way for God to be killed would be for Him to become human. That is what Christmas is all about, the beginng of the end.... of the beginning.   The peacher also gave a fun illustration that those of us who have lived in tropical countries understand. He said when he was a little first grade boy in the dorms here in Sentani,  he once saw a troop of ants trying to move a cicuk (geiko) from the floor to the hole in the wall that lead to their home.  The little tiny ants kept manfully (personification) carrying the huge cicuk up a wall, over some sort of window sill, down the wall, across the floor, and into the hole in the wall. Now all they really had to do was stick to the floor and they would get to the hole in the wall.  The preacher as a boy, kept lick...

Road to Indonesia---Hallelujah! Our Money from the Bank

 We are in  the final steps of getting the last of the money out of our bank account in China!!  For two (2) I repeat 2, years we have spent time and energy (and frustration) on trying to access our China bank account. During this time,  PKU has conitnued to pay our salaries into these accounts for 2 years.  Did I mention that this process has been pursued for 2 years? The convoluted process is too long  to outline, but it involved an overnight drive from SC to PA to deliver the paperwork to the PA Secretary of State, notary publics illegally trading our signatures on papers,  hiring someone to take paperwork to the China embassy in New York, bothering friends in Beijing to go strip our account after affidavids presenting our passports, signed notarized documents,  verification of who the  notary was who verfied our documents through state departments,  apostille kind of paperwork from embassies, etc. etc.  Then the money being wire...