...Tidings of Comfort and Joy

This is Karen, sporting her new necklace which was given to her by this lady. We were walking through this settlement by Kamkumung church 'trying' to talk to the people and meet them. Karen also was given a bilum (a large purse) by another lady in the Bumbu settlement. As you can see she is such a beautiful princess!

Hi everyone, we hope that you are having a great Christmas season! I cannot believe it is dec 22 already. We are dreaming of a white Christmas, but its only a dream. However, we are not complaining at all, we are quite enjoying the incredible blessing of being here in PNG. The weather is quite beautiful again today, very hot, and once and awhile we get a nice, cool breeze coming in. I am trying not to burn myself again, as it only takes a few minutes in the sun.
Karen and I wanted to say Merry Christmas to everyone, and the LORD's blessings during this Christmas period as we look to wrapping up 2006. To all our friends and family back home, our friends and family around the world, including those in Haiti, are soon to be new home - Merry Christmas!

On Thursday Karen and I, the Wildeboer's, and the Vanderheide's, went and helped out at the VBS at Kamkumung Church. It was much the same program as the other church, just all different children. It was a lot of fun. There were about 40 children who came out and participated.
In the afternoon, Ian and I went to the hospital to visit one of the church members who was recovering from TB. Ian took the opportunity to share a message, not just with him, but the whole hospital ward. Every opportunity you get, you share the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ!

Today, we had VBS again, which was a lot of fun. We sang, and coloured with them, and played some games, and the story of the wise men who saw the new star and came and looked for Jesus Christ, the new King. This afternoon we did some shopping, driving around, and now we are preparing to have a dinner at the SIL compound, to see if our dog kennel is still standing.
Since we usually go to a hospital and old age home on Christmas day back home, we decided to do that here as well. So on Sunday afternoon, we are going to the hospital to do some carroling, and Ian is going to present the Christmas story and do a talk for them, so that should be exciting. We hope that will be a blessing to the people, to encourage them, and to tell them of God's love for them. And we also look forward to Christmas day, celebrating with the church - we are having a combined service - the two congregations, and quite a few visitors. A time to worship our Saviour.

Ian is also trying to get me in shape. We are running the track near his house - well, he is running and I am trying to catch up. And we are also doing a lot of swimming. So, hopefully i will be in shape soon.

One of the things I am really enjoying is just talking to Ian and Nadia, and Andrew and Natalie about mission strategies and how to live out the gospel in another culture, especially in a poorer one, with all the implications that go with it. How do we best love our brothers and sisters here and all the people around us? This trip has been so challenging in that regard. Discovering culture, and how the gospel is embodied and contextualized in each culture. There requires a lot of humility in all of the work because there is so much to learn. That's why the confession is always, Unless the LORD builds the house, the labourers build in vain! In the LORD's strength the work must be done, seeking always to Praise and glorify Him!

Well, i have to be off now. I was hoping to download a whole pile of pictures but it takes so long, and half the time it doesn't work. So i will have to try again later.
God's blessings to all of you. May you find in Him your treasure, and may this season of Christmas be one of peace and joy.

Blessed Christmas - Randy and Karen

It was the sixth day of before Christmas and ...

Well, we are having a great week this week so far, filled with many exciting opportunities and blessing from our LORD!
Monday and Tuesday morning we were able to help out at VBS at the Tent City church. It is a nice opportunity having the children's school break at Christmas time because they are all thinking about Christmas, and so it makes sense to have VBS then (at least it does to me). Anyway, there was about 35 children who attended each day, and we had a lot of fun. The Christmas story, singing, prayer, and making a craft filled our time. It's a beautiful thing to see the children so excited about everything. They loved the colouring and cutting out of the characters in the Bible story.
On Monday afternoon, Karen and I worked on our dog kennel. We finished it off, putting on the cage, and the roofing. And voila there was the kennel! It was such a nice project to do, and we are so thankful because it turned out not half bad.
On Tuesday afternoon we ventured out looking for a crocodile pond that Ian and Andrew had heard was near the city. So we went looking for it hoping to see one or two crocs. Well, we found the operation. It wasn't just a pond but a whole crocodile business, the 3rd largest in the world. The manager, after informing us that it was not a tourist spot but a business, gracefully gave us a tour guide and we got a tour of the operation. They have about 30- 40 thousand crocodiles on site, from eggs to full size crocs. It was quite a site to see. That afternoon we also checked out the Swiss Mission, which includes a store with fresh milk, eggs, etc, and also a Christian book store.
Wednesday, this morning we had a nice morning, as it was raining so our plans were pushed back till the afternoon. In the afternoon we had an amazing opportunity to go to a settlement, Bumbu, where Ian and Andrew are planning to do a church plant. We walked through this settlement and met a lot of the people and spent time getting to know some of them. One of the guards from the compound where Ian and Nad live, live in this settlement, and he showed us his house. Underneath his house, as the house is on stilts, he has a pet crocodile which he caught in the river. He has been raising it for 2 years now, and hopes to sell it for some nice cash when it gets bigger. That was pretty neat to see. He doesn't have to worry too much about someone stealing it at least. Karen and I also tried our hand at playing marbles with a lot of the children. We were not that good at it, to say the least. It was a very interesting afternoon, as we also sat down, and discussed a plan for outreach in that area. We rejoice in seeing the excitement in the settlement already about the possibility of having a Reformed church there. Seeing the Good News go out is amazing, and just being able to share God's love with people is such a gift. We are so thankful for the opportunity. Please keep this in your prayers.
Tomorrow and Friday we look forward to doing VBS in Kamkumung, the other church they work at. We are anticipating a lot more children, with the same amazing message of Christ. I think we are also going to walk through the settlement there and let people know of the programs and of the church service on Christmas day. We prayerfully look forward to it.
Well, we are learning lots, having a great time with our friends here, having some great talks, playing some interesting Settlers games, and are enjoying the weather the sun, rain, heat and everything else. And we are growing in our faith and our passion for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are seeing all around us the need to share the love of God with everyone, to preach the Good News, and to delve into the Word of God, sharpen our swords, and spend time with HIM, our All in All!
...I have to run now, but i hope to write more a little later. God bless!

I'm Dreaming of a white Christmas...

Hi everyone. Well, its bin awhile since we have had a chance to catch up with our blog. We had a great time in New Zealand, and now we are in Papua New Guini.
We left New Zealand on Monday morning, and flew to Sydney where we spent the day touring around. We took a ferry through the port to a beach, explored around the Opera house, and rested. On Tuesday morning we flew to Cairns, then to Port Morsby and then to Lae, where Ian and Nadia Wildeboer picked us up from the Airport. This begins our adventure in Lae, Papua New Guini!
Andrew and Natalie Vanderheide live in the same compound as the Wildeboers so we have seen them lots as well. On Tuesday night we just hung out with everyone, caught up, and opened presents.
On Wednesday we had an opportunity to walk through a village near one the Reformed churches with Rev.Andrew. This is an area where they are doing a VBS program next week. So as we walked through we stopped and talked to a lot of people, who helped us learn a little Pidgeon (spelling?). It was a very nice walk which right away introduced us to the way of life in this country.
On Thursday Karen and I began our building project at S.I.L (Summer Institute of Linguistics)(Wycliffe) visitors house. This is a beautiful compound that houses visiting missionaries and workers. They asked us to build them a dog kennel, which would house the visitors' dogs when they came. So, thats what we did on thursday and Friday. We still have about one more days work to finish it off. That has been a fun project. On thusday night we went to a Bible study at Tent City, but the electricity was out, so it was cancelled. Just another of the variables that you have to deal with here.
Saturday was filled with odds and ends - going to the Market, more shopping, cleaning, cooking, swimming, and running, finishing off with a Settlers game in which we let Nadia win. Actually she destroyed us all.
Today we had another beautiful day. We worshipped at the Reformed church in Tent City. Rev. Ian preached on Matt 1:1, how Jesus Christ was the son of David, the son of Abraham, and the Son of God! It was a beautiful worship service. It was nice because the service was in Pidgeon but we could understand a lot, as you could pick out a lot of the words. Anyway, beautiful singing, fellowship, and it was nice to listen to Ian open the Word for us again.
This afternoon a bunch of us guys went to explore an old cave in the mountain behind the compound. We brought with us rope, flashlights, and knife, and our camera, and where ready to explore. The cave was an old japanese hide-out during the war, and most of the locals would never go in. So we decided it would be fun to try. So we went in. The cave went in about 50 metres before it was blocked off with a cave-in. So we couldn't go any further. We tried another entrance and it had the same result. But it was fun none-the-less. After that we climbed that mountain which was quite the work out- i definately need to get in shape.

Well, its kinda weird being in the hot during this Christmas time. We are definately dreaming of snow, and skating, and sipping hot chocolate by the fire place. But instead its really hot and humid. But we are not complaining. We are excited to spend Christmas with the Wildeboers and the Vanderheides. And to the Dejonge's who are doing their gift exchange today, or yesterday, i can't remember what time it is in Canada right now - but save us some food, you can take one gift out of our room, and make sure you write us a poem!

We love you all. Let us know how you are doing, and keep sending those prayer requests!
Have a most blessed Christmas Season!

A few Pics of New Zealand

Castlepoint, which is quite close to Aunt Jayne's place
Sheep, sheep and more sheep
Aunt Jayne and myself walking at castle point.

Exploring South Island

Well, Karen and I were blessed to spend a few days on the South island, exploring just a fraction of the beautiful sights. We flew into Christ Church, and stayed there for a few days, and headed out from there. Here are some highlights

• World South Pole Artic Center. We took a ride in one of those South Pole vehicles through 'South Pole like' terrain. Quite fun. I got to get me one of those vehicles (Do you mind lending me 100 thousand mom?) We also watched the penguins for awhile. Our favourite was Elvis, the blind penguin, who kept walking into rocks, and walls and getting stuck in corners. Poor guy. And we got to experience Canadian weather again, it finally felt like Christmas, as we got to spend time in the snow, and experience a simulated snow storm.
• The Wild-Life Center. THis was a beautiful zoo, but with amazing trails on an amazing property, with a tonne of animals and unique creatures. Karen saw her side of the family (the apes and monkeys) and so that was nice for her (just joking).
• Boat ride/dolophin watch. So we took a tour on a boat and got to swim with the dolphins, although we didn't actually swim, although i think Karen was tempted to throw me over-board a few times. But we did see the dolphins swimming a playing and got an amazing view of the NZ coast line, and the city of Christ Church
• Gondola ride. Took a lift to the top of a mountain. Amazing view all around. Took a nice little hike on top.
• Train Ride and Ferry Ride. We took a train back up to the Northern tip of the South island which was incredible scenery. They had an open section of the train, which you stand in, which didn't have glass or anything, so you could feel the wind, and take some nice photos (or at least attempt). Then we took a ferry across to the North island again, and a train back to Masterton. It was a very beautiful trip.

Anyway, we are back at my Aunt's again, and spent some time with the children yesterday at the school, and today we are doing all our errands and getting ready for our next venture. We get to go to a Youth Group function tonight - a dessert evening with entertainment, so we are looking forward to that. And we are also looking forward to Church tomorrow - worshipping the LORD with our brothers and sisters here. Writing this, I realize that our friends and family back home are a day behind so while we are sitting in church you will probably be playing hockey (and for the Raiders -losing hockey) or doing whatever you do on Saturday afternoon/night. And to my family, as they do their gift exchange, remember to save me a gift, and save some desserts for me (I would like another expansion to Settlers, and a piece of mom's lemon merangue pie)

God's blessings everyone.May His joy and His peace rule your hearts and minds.

Cheers

Cruising with Aunt Jayne!

This weekend we spent an amazing time vacationing with Aunt Jayne. We drove up the West Coast towards Napier then across towards Taupo and then up just a bit more to the Waitomo caves and then back down all the way to little Masterton. The sights we saw were absolutely incredible!! God is so awesome! In Napier we saw a beautiful ocean and then driving from Napier to Taupo Randy and I got to try our hand at a little hole-in-one golf competition where the holes were floating in the ocean and you had to try to get it in. We didn't do so bad for the golf pros that we are... , we both had at least one good shot out of five. Once in Taupo we see tons of mud holes. They were so interesting, just a field of little smoke bombs going off it is what it looks like. They have a boardwalk going through it all and you just hear the mud sizzling, some of them you can actually see it boiling, just incredible. And then in the distance a snow peaked mountain. It looked unreal, like somebody had just pasted it on. After Taupo we went to the Hidden Valley were we saw more amazing sights. We took a ferry across a little lake and then got to experience a Diamond Geyser, a lookout, the Golden Fleece Terrace, Artist's Palette Lookout, more mud pools, Ruatapu Cave, Elephant Rock, Rainbow and Cascasde Terrace, Soda Fountain and The Resort Lookout. I can't even begin to describe the beauty we saw, the colours were amazing! We have some good pictures, they don't do half the justice but it will have to suffice, when we get a chance we will upload some. Our last stop was the Waitomo Caves, they were incredible! Randy and I took a guided tube tour through the caves where we got to walk through the caves, jump down waterfalls, float along in the pitch black and just marvel at all the glowworms and just enjoy the magnificence of the cave, it was unreal! Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of it, it's all just in our memory but we do have some good pics of how good we looked in our lovely wetsuits :) It's was a great time with Aunt Jayne, we got to spend lots of time together, see tons of amazing sights, see sheep, sheep, and more sheep, and just enjoy the beauty of New Zealand. It was awesome! What an amazing picture of the beauty of God's creation, just unreal how He created everything and formed it. Praise be to God!