February 22, 2007
Church Group Spends 2 weeks in Papua New Guinea
working with New Tribes Missions
working with New Tribes Missions
You are going where?
On March 17, nine people representing Holly Springs Bible Fellowship will board a plane in Omaha, Nebraska to travel to Papua New Guinea. In a two-week span, we will fly over 22,000 miles and spent 8 hours traveling by boat to our locations. The team will have a twofold purpose. One week will be spent in Hoskins, PNG at New Tribes Mission headquarters. The second week will be spent with the Patpatar people in Bom (rhymes with “home”.)
Each year New Tribes hosts an annual Island Region conference for all of their island missionaries. Approximately 160 people will be attending the 2007 conference. This is the only time many of these missionaries will meet outside of their tribes for the entire year. In previous conferences, the missionaries took care of all the logistics (cooking, watching children, activities, etc.) for the conference. After working in the bush for an entire year, they went to the conference and worked again serving each other.
After talking to one of the missionaries, some people were wondering if there was a way to minister to these people and allow the conference to be a time of refreshment, relaxation, and encouragement. Pastor Jim Thomas at Holly Springs Bible started contacting with the 2007 Conference Committee in October of last year. For the first time in the history of the conference, a team from the states will be taking care of the daily routines involved in running the conference. This year we will be pioneering a new approach to the conference. A team of 9 people will be taking care of the logistics and programs for the missionaries. We will be servicing their computers and networking the conference center. We will also be cooking 2 meals a day for the entire conference. In the past, the people were responsible to feed themselves in each others’ homes. Our service will provide these missionaries an opportunity to encourage one another and get a break from the difficult, harsh, tribal environment they experience every day.
After the conference the team will fly to Rabaul and take a 4 hour trip across the ocean in a 23 foot banana boat to a hamlet called Bom on New Ireland Island. For 5 days we will assist 2 missionary families, Aaron & Lori Luse (Sioux City) and Butch & Tammy Kunzer (Atlanta, Georgia). While on the island, we will do repairs on their homes, and take care of projects they do not have the time or expertise to finish. The largest project will be preparing a new boat for the missionaries. A new floor, transom, and console will be fiberglassed into place. This project will be completed within 4 days in 100 degree weather with 90-95% humidity.
Holly Springs Bible has been to Bom before. In 2004 a group of 7 people spent nine days on the island of New Ireland with the Luses and the Kunzers. Some of the projects included cement work (ferro type cement), plumbing, electrical, building, servicing of vehicles, running water lines, establishing a wireless computer network, and installation of a satellite phone for emergency contact to the outside world.
The 2007 team includes Pastor Jim Thomas (Climbing Hill) , Jimmy Thomas (“JT” – a recent Woodbury Central graduate), John & Michelle Bainbridge (Smithland), Chuck & Gloria Jackson (Oto), Chad Jordan (from Morningside Bible in Sioux City), Cheryl Jarvis (Hornick), and Jared Schramm (Woodbury Central Junior). Each team member has specific roles on the trip while at the conference. Cheryl will be in charge of cooking and Michelle & Gloria will assist her. Jimmy will work on computer repair and maintenance. Jared will be working on the sports activities at the conference and Chad will be working with the music for the conference. Pastor Jim will be teaching the children, as well as the senior high students. John and Chuck will be assisting with the maintenance part of the Mission base.
This trip has been financed by generous friends and the church family at Holly Springs. The entire church is a part of this trip and these 9 people are simply going as representatives of the church. We have also had a number of people assist us in keeping costs down by giving us reduced prices or supplying items to take with us. Terra Chemical is sending 5 laptops which they no longer need. Shoe Carnival (Sioux City) is providing special shoes for the team and missionary families. McDonald’s has provided some toys to take over and give to the missionary children. Specialty Tee’s (Sioux City) has designed a unique team shirt for our entire team. The response from individuals and the community has been overwhelming.
The church will have a special dedication service on March 11th and a testimony service on April 1st. The group returns to Omaha on March 31st. All of these people and their families are making an incredible sacrifice to go. The church has made a tremendous commitment to this conference and our missionaries. Pastor Jim feels like we are the real recipients of blessings. “This has been a great project for our church, and we are looking forward to see how God can use a group of people from Iowa on an island in the Pacific.”
The church currently has a blog which provides very detailed information about this trip. The team also hopes to post daily updates while in Hoskins if the internet connection is working. You can read all the details at http://pngmissionstrip.blogspot.com/
2004 Team at a Traditional Moo Moo
