Missionaries To Papua New Guinea
July 22, 2014
Dear Praying Friends,
We would like to thank those of you who have been praying for the airstrip inspection and weather to allow the inspection. There was no rain on Saturday or Sunday. This was an amazing answer to your prayers as we have been having very wet cloudy weather for the last two or three weeks. However, we awoke on Monday (the day scheduled for the inspection) to cloudy misty drizzle, and we got nearly one half inch of rain on that day. Thankfully, the actual rain came after the landing and inspection. The pilot/inspector was very pleased with the inspection, and our airstrip is officially open. In fact Matt Crain is working on scheduling our first supply trip by air for next week. We praise the Lord for His powerful work in bringing this blessing to fruition. We praise Him for His goodness in prompting many of you to provide so generously and sacrificially. We thank you for your prayers which God in His unchanging love has answered so faithfully. Do join with us in praising and thanking our wonderful God.
Of course we are thrilled with the prospects of getting up at a reasonable hour, hopping on a plane and arriving in Goroka safely, and cleanly in 15 minutes (compared to leaving the house at about 3:00am and driving for 5 or 6 hours through mud and goop and stone and thieves). However, I trust that you will be reminded that this blessing and answer to your prayers is not primarily about making your missionaries lives easier. It is about God. He desires each of us to reflect on His great power and complete faithfulness over the 14 years of the construction of this airstrip in order to believe Him more fully for the myriad uncompleted "projects" in all of our lives. That wayward child, those lost loved ones, our own spiritual growth and victory, all of these are just a few of the many many works which our great God is prepared to bring to an amazing conclusion for His glory. Just as the Lord chided His disciples in Matthew 16:8 and following, He bids us remember this great work as a support to our belief for all the future needs and challenges which may come.
Now for the really good news regarding the airstrip inspection. After the plane took off, I gathered all the people (between 400 and 500) who had come to see the landing. After thanking them for their work and part in the airstrip (cutting posts for fencing, planting grass, etc. ) I had the privilege of direction their attention to the True Source of the airstrip. Through that I was able to bring their minds to dwell on God's greatest Gift and proclaimed the Good News of Christ to them. Pray that the Lord will use His Word to do a marvelous saving work in the lives of these "projects".
In Christ,
Michael
"he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth"
The plan
Thomas and Jonathan Rodgers are preparing for
a 3-week mission trip this August 7-28
a 3-week mission trip this August 7-28
to Papua New Guinea (a small island located north of Australia).
Both Jonathan and Thomas have experience using such heavy equipment; Jonathan owned a large landscaping company for a number of years, before entering the ministry himself in North Carolina. Thomas learned to operate the equipment while working for Jonathan, and has gone on to use bobcats and bulldozers frequently with his own renovation and property maintenance business. While the runway in Aibai has been "started", it needs to be graded, extended, and then topped with soil from another property to encourage a grass surface and prevent washout.
It will take the men all of their 2.5 weeks on the ground to complete the task, and hopefully will allow the Berbins to see the answer to 15 years of work and prayer, when they fly in and land on the new airstrip. For the first time they will be able to avoid the hazardous road trip to the village when they travel back to Aibai early this fall after their current furlough in the US.
The brothers will be working with some heavy equipment the Lord has miraculously provided to finish installing a runway on the side of a mountain at the missionary compound in Aibai, PNG. Aibai is a small village where our friends the Mike Berbin family and a team of other missionaries lead medical, educational, and church ministries.
Both Jonathan and Thomas have experience using such heavy equipment; Jonathan owned a large landscaping company for a number of years, before entering the ministry himself in North Carolina. Thomas learned to operate the equipment while working for Jonathan, and has gone on to use bobcats and bulldozers frequently with his own renovation and property maintenance business. While the runway in Aibai has been "started", it needs to be graded, extended, and then topped with soil from another property to encourage a grass surface and prevent washout.
(the airstrip is located to the left of the Aibai mission compound; note the goats and man standing on the near end of the large airstrip, and the washout lines currently crossing the property)
the current method of reaching the Aibai village:
a hazardous mountain trip over washed-out roads
a hazardous mountain trip over washed-out roads
and precarious bridges, through areas favored by theives;
this trip takes 6-8 hours *on a good day*.
this trip takes 6-8 hours *on a good day*.
The trip is highlighted by the raw beauty of the Papua New Guinea mountains.
How can you help?
Please pray!
-for Thomas and Jonathan to have safety as they travel and work
-for the equipment to work efficiently (no breakdowns!) during the short time alotted for the trip
-for preaching opportunities while the brothers are there - teaching the gospel to some who've never heard
-for safety of their wives and children staying behind in the States
-for financial provision - each brother is raising $4500 to cover trip expenses
Want more information? Email us
