Water Temperature

Since Madang is a costal town it makes me curious what the temperature of the water is.  The article below is a snippet from a diving website discussing the water in PNG - Enjoy!

The waters around Port Moresby and Eastern Fields are noticeably cooler than other areas due to current streams circulating up from southern latitudes. Temperatures can range between 74-87 deg F (24-28 deg C). A full wet suit with a minimum of 1/4 inch or 3mm is recommended, as well as a dive skin plus hood. Therefore you can dive and photograph until your hearts content with being chilled by days end. The waters in Madang, Wewak area and the Bismark Sea tend to be warmer and dive skins and Lycra suits can be used on a lot of dives, but it is still prudent to bring that wet suit.

info courtesy of:  http://www.mvgoldendawn.com/water_temp.htm
Image by: rapidtravelchai

Papua New Guinea - 4 days before departure

I had mentioned a few posts back that I was going to be heading to PNG for a preparation trip.  Well...time goes quickly because I depart on Sunday afternoon!  There is a small team that is going:  Joey and Brooke Tartaglia, Mike and Pam Feather, Jim Vonderhaar, and me.  this is a 2 week trip - just long enough to to establish contacts and make preparations for our pursued departure in 2014.

This will be the first time that I will step foot in Papua New Guinea, and needless to say... I am looking forward to the experience.  I can't help but think on the food that will be there, the people that I will meet, having to speak Tok Pisin and deal with not being able to communicate as I would like.  Being able to grasp things that are starkly different than what I experience daily in The States will be priceless.

The itinerary includes 3 cities, and 1 visit to a remote tribe.  I plan to collect some of the following information:  Establish contacts (organizations and people), look for housing, create a true cost of living, meet with doctors on Belle's asthma, taste the food, experience the heat, check availability of furniture, survey the layout of the towns, take TONS of photos, capture video, see if there is a local representation of the church in Madang.

Below is a quick snapshot of our financial support:
If you have a desire to start supporting us as the gospel goes to Papua New Guinea please visit our Get Involved page.  As 2014 approaches we need monthly supporters that would consider continued financial commitment to keeping us in the field with their contributions.  Please contact me if you are interested in supporting us this way - we will bring the Lehman tribe (Greer, Belle, and Knox) over for dinner!

Recent Earthquakes

Extra, Extra - Read all about it!

There have been a few recent earthquakes in PNG's surrounding islands.  Currently New Brittan was hit with a 7.2 magnitude quake.  You can follow this at the earthquake-report.com.  Papua New Guinea  frequently has earthquakes, as well as occasional volcanic eruptions.   The greatest concern when there is a earthquake is the possibility of a tsunami following shortly after.

This most recent quake happened at 6:30 AM local time.  Could you imagine this being your alarm clock?

Knowing God

I am in the middle of J.I. Packers book "Knowing God".  It has been a refreshing tool that continues to cause a greater desire for God's word.  It has also caused me to ask myself questions regarding my thankfulness for the Holy Spirit's ministry in redemptive work and, my daily sanctification.  Below are a few highlights that I have been chewing on so far this week.  I pray that these highlights are an encouragement to you as well.

"Disregard the study of God, and you sentence yourself to stumble and blunder through life blindfolded, as it were, with no sense of direction and no understanding of what surrounds you. This way you can waste your life and lose your soul."

"To be preoccupied with getting theological knowledge as an end in itself, to approach Bible study with no higher a motive than a desire to know all the answers, is the direct route to a state of self-satisfied self-deception. We need to guard our hearts against such an attitude, and pray to be kept from it."

"Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life’s problems fall into place of their own accord."

"Many have said what pride they felt in rendering personal service to Sir Winston Churchill during World War II. How much more should it be a matter of pride and glorying to know and serve the Lord of heaven and earth!"

"John Owen and John Calvin knew more theology than John Bunyan or Billy Bray, but who would deny that the latter pair knew their God every bit as well as the former? (All four, of course, were beavers for the Bible, which counts for far more anyway than a formal theological training.) If the decisive factor was notional correctness, then obviously the most learned biblical scholars would know God better than anyone else. But it is not; you can have all the right notions in your head without ever tasting in your heart the realities to which they refer; and a simple Bible reader and sermon hearer who is full of the Holy Spirit will develop a far deeper acquaintance with his God and Savior than a more learned scholar who is content with being theologically correct. The reason is that the former will deal with God regarding the practical application of truth to his life, whereas the latter will not."

"Surely something is amiss here. How can we justify neglecting the ministry of Christ’s appointed agent in this way? Is it not a hollow fraud to say that we honor Christ when we ignore, and by ignoring dishonor, the One whom Christ has sent to us as his deputy, to take his place and care for us on his behalf? Ought we not to concern ourselves more about the Holy Spirit than we do?"

All quoted texts are taken from J.I. Packers - Knowing God
Image by: le vent le cri

Learning Melanesian Pidgin - Tok Pisin

This is a picture of my side of the family and boy oh boy is there a lot of grandkids!

We started a new training module called orientation.  In this module we are focusing on the living in the town of Madang before moving to a tribe.  Last week we focused on the trade language of Papua New Guinea:  Tok Pisin (Pidgin).  There are many words in Tok Pisin that sound similar, and many that are there own in sound and spelling.  Below are some simple phrases and words that you can try!

English word/phrase  -  Pidgin equivalent

Good morning  -  Monin

Good afternoon - Apinun

Good night - Gutnait

Father - Papa

Mother - Mama

Brother - Brata

Sister - Susa

Man - Man

Woman - Meri

Children - Pikinini

Yes - Yes

No - Nogat

Friend - Wantok

Money - Mani

Coconut - Kokonas

I do not know - Mi no save

Where are we going? - Yumi go we?

I walked to the store - Mi wokabaut i go long stua

Our strategy in learning Tok Pisin is to learn as much stateside as we can before we leave in 2014.  From phrases to individual words the more that we know before we go the faster CLA will be.  

Continue to pray for us, that we would be diligent.  There is much to do in preparation to leave, and there can always be the feeling of falling behind.

picture by:  Janelle Zeller Photography