Pulled Two Ways

Tomorrow is the opening of the hospital. We have known for some time that it would not be complete by then, but this is when church leaders were already scheduled to be in PNG, and the date has been set for a long time. The push this week was to get things as finished-looking as possible. Work continued today, but a lot of what was done was purely clean-up; washing walls and floors, carting away trash, moving unused building materials out of sight, etc.

Again, I spent part of the afternoon on the construction site, as did several of the doctors and other volunteers.

However, this evening was the final session of the district assembly of the Western Highlands District of The Church of the Nazarene. The final evening is usually reserved for the ordination service. The district nominated 18 candidates, a record number. Included were 6 women, also a record for PNG. Several of our friends were being ordained this evening, and we felt strongly that our family should be represented. Since Judy was sick with a bad cold, I needed to be there.

It was a great service. Our denomination is lead by a group of 6 General Superintendents. They divide the world into jurisdictions, and rotate responsibilities every 2 years. The one who is currently in jurisdiction over our part of the world is Dr. Jess Middendorf. He conducted a beautiful ordination, and it was a real joy to be able to witness it.

Photos:
1. The "main entrance" of the new hospital. The Outptients building is on the left, and the maternity ward on the right behind the site of the pharmacy.
2. Pastor Elis Kope, with her husband Kope kneeling beside her, is ordained by General Superintendent Dr. Jess Middendorf.

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