Another Day in Paradise

Another Flower

2012-01-28T15:55:00.001+11:00

A couple of years ago I had a Saturday afternoon project of photographing every kind of flower in our yard. In a couple of hours, I took (as I recall) over a hundred photos of about 80 kinds of flowers. Then I posted them on Facebook, here.

A few days ago I saw a flower that I hadn't noticed before. It's the flower of the passion fruit that is pretty common here, localled called "suga frut". It's a pretty spectacular flower, almost 3 inches across. When I got up close with my camera, I saw the bee who was harvesting nectar inside.

The Big Present

2012-01-25T13:57:00.001+11:00

It was just a couple of weeks after Christmas when we received this big package from Nazarene Hospital Foundation.

It was quite a bit larger than most of the presents that any of us received at Christmastime this year. In fact, it was larger than any present we'd ever gotten from NHF. Although some of us had not taken down our trees, this box wouldn't fit under any of them. We had to put it under a really tall tree up by the warehouse.

Many of you know that NHF in a ministry headed by Dr. Todd Winter in Medford, Oregon. It's mission is "to support the ongoing work of Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in Papua New Guinea through the collections of medicine, medical supplies, equipment and cash donations." They collect much-needed medical supplies and equipment, and ship it to us several times per year. There were items from this container that were in use before the day was out.

The day that a container arrives is always exciting for us, as it often means the relief of at least some of the shortages that we have been dealing with. It means that we can serve the people of the PNG highlands even better. But this one was an especially big deal, because it was a 40-foot container, the first one ever sent by NHF. They usually send a 20-foot container. Judy is in charge of the medical storeroom, and is responsible for receiving, unloading, and distributing or storing the supplies and equipment that arrive. For weeks she had been clearing out her various storage areas in anticipation of this day. We usually only know approximate arrival times, so she is on edge for several days!

When the container arrives, Judy calls together "her men". No, I don't worry about her having a lot of men--these are faithful hospital staff and a few missionaries who come to do the hard work of unloading. This time, since it came on a Saturday, I could be one of her men!

When we first open the door of the container, we have to be careful. Like the flight attendant always reminds you, some items may have shifted. This time nothing fell out!

Many of you will recognize missionary Jeff Myers, getting that critical first box off the load.

Some of you may remember Apa, about whom I posted a couple of years ago. That's him in the black shirt and the shaved head. They are still having to be careful about not letting things fall.

Each item is labeled. As each one is unloaded, Judy calls out the orders as to where it should go: "Container 1" (she has 3 containers used as storage space), "Pharmacy" (this one goes on a truck that will ultimately haul several loads of medicines), "Storeroom" (these are items that need to be sorted, but that will be put into use in the immediate future--they go on another truck). The relay of helpers moves them to their destinations.

And that's MK Ethan Myers with his back to the camera. Strong kid, big help!

Heavier items need a team effort. Here a crate of surgical instruments is unloaded.

And here comes a new anesthesia machine! That's a big deal!

Even with a team, we didn't try to carry this one very far! We moved it from the container onto a truck, and then backed up to the warehouse. That's my "concentrating real hard" mouth. You know I'm focused when you see that. And that's Jeff, telling me what to do. Of course, that's what I needed.

Thanks to Todd and his crew of helpers in Oregon for all the work involved in collecting, packing and loading all of this. And thanks to all of you who donated supplies or funds to NHF. If you want to get involved, see their website at this link.

1090

2011-12-08T22:01:00.002+11:00

No, that's not a date. Well, it is, but as a date that number is not the subject of this post. 1090 mililiters. That's over a quart, for those who need to know it in those terms. Not a lot of liquid, really, depending on the context. 1090 ml of gasoline would take most cars only a few miles. 1090 ml of warm water would be enough to wash your face. 1090 ml of bloody serum in a man's pericardium can be the difference between life and death.

I don't often get into medical detail here, but you need to know that the pericardium is the membranous sac that surrounds each of our hearts. It is normally a pearly color, smooth, with just a bit of moisture inside to allow the heart to slide smoothly under it as it beats. But Joseph's pericardium has turned against him. Swollen, red from the tuberculosis that spread there from the surrounding lung. Over the last few weeks, he had become increasingly short of breath, and weaker. As the inflammation of the pericardium increased, serum began to ooze from it's inner surface, and blood began to leak from its now-engorged capillaries. As the fluid built up, it began putting pressure on the heart. More and more, the heart could not fill adequately between contractions, so the amount of blood it could pump diminished. Joseph's blood pressure decreased. Any movement became an exhausting exertion.

Joseph went to the nearby clinic in his village. A few days of amoxicillin did nothing to reverse the relentless progress of the TB. Finally, Joseph's relatives realized that he was dying. They found someone who would drive them to a nearby government hospital. There they were told that there were no doctors to see him. In PNG, it is the privilege of all senior doctors to take "Festive Season Holiday"; basically 2 months off. The junior doctors who are supposed to keep things going want to be like the senior doctors, so they take some time off, too. Joseph's family headed toward Kudjip.

When they brought Joseph into the ER, I was working on another man. I saw that the nurses were checking him. One asked to use my pulse oximeter. This showed that Joseph's blood was carrying adequate oxygen. I did not fully appreciate just how sick he was. I listened to his lungs and heard good air movement, so I left him for the nurses to "screen". He was making a lot of noise, and I thought maybe he was just being dramatic. A little while later, the nurse told me that Joseph was ready to be seen. I examined him more carefully this time, but didn't find anything specific, except that his heart beat was rapid and soft. I ordered a chest x-ray.

Some time later, I was informed that his x-ray was ready. Here it is:

For those of you who don't know what you're looking at, suffice it to say that it's not OK. I went and got the ultrasound machine. It showed me that most of the volume of what appears to be the heart on the chest x-ray was fluid. The heart was barely contracting under the pressure that surrounded it. There was also a fair amount of fluid in the right pleural space, the space between the lung and the chest wall. There are many things that can cause this, but here, most of the time, it's TB.

By this time all of the patients in the Outpatient Department had been seen, and doctors were starting to home. I felt that we needed to drain some of that fluid out of the pericardium, but I'd never done it before. I knew that Dr. Erin Meier had done several, but she had left. I found Dr. Steph Doenges, who is on call this evening. She had helped on a pericardiocentesis once. She agreed with my idea of involving Erin. After sever failed attempts, I reached Erin, who came right in. The three of us began to assemble supplies. It was decided that since I had never done or even helped with one before, that I should be the one to do this. This may seem like backward logic to some of you, but it makes complete sense to us.

Erin held the probe for the ultrasound that would guide my needle into the pericardial space. I use an intracath, usually used as in intraveneous catheter. This is a plastic tube around a steele needle. We found a nice long one. I washed his chest with an iodine solution. Ering guided the ultrasound as I guided the needle into his chest. The needle appeared in the image. I slipped the steel needle out of the plastic sheath, and connected a syringe. As I pulled the plunger, dark, bloody fluid filled the syringe. 20 ml. They say that many times you only need to remove a few ml from the pericardium in order to make the patient much better. The patient didn't look any better. I tried connecting some IV tubing so we could just let it run, but the blood was too thick, so I went back to the syringe. Syringeful after syringeful came out, and was emptied into a nearby basin. When the fluid wouldn't come any more, we'd reposition the catheter. We worried that a random movement by me or by the patient would dislodge it, so Steph put on sterile gloves to hold it. The patient's relative counted syringefuls, and totaled the volume.

"Wow, we're past 100 ml!" one of us commented.

A few minutes later, "hey, that's almost 500!."

Then Joseph began to quiet. With her free hand, Steph felt his pulse. "Stronger", she said. We could see the movement of the heart on the ultrasound screen returning to normal.

Joseph began to talk to us. Erin and Steph asked him about his wife and children. A boy and a girl, ages 5 and 3. The brother and I were counting and adding. The tally was nearing 1000 ml. A liter! Now we began to have to manipulate the catheter more often, but still the flow came.

At some point someone (yes, it was me--the mood was much lighter as we watched Joseph improve from moment to moment) began to speculate as to whether the Guiness Book of World Records had a category for the largest volume of fluid removed in a pericardiocentesis. Probably not.

We help people all day long. And once in a while, with God's help, we do we have the opportunity, despite our limited equipment, supplies, and experience, to save a life. Sometimes in a critical situation there isn't anything we can do, and that is miserable. But often it goes well, and a life is saved. That's really a lot of fun!

Thanks to Dr. Steph for her photos!

My First PNG Friend

2011-11-27T00:50:00.000+11:00

In 1974, I participated in Student Mission Corps, a Summer ministry program for college students in the Church of the Nazarene. I was assigned to the Philippines, where I was involved in music for evangelistic services. While I was there, 2 teen age young men from PNG had a layover in Manila while traveling to Switzerland for NYC (Nazarene Youth Congress). They stayed the night in the home of the missionary I was staying with. One of those teenagers was a Missionary Kid, one of the Blowers boys, possibly Larry. The other was a national named Tarp Goma.

When I came to PNG, I was anxious to meet Tarp again. When I asked around, I learned that he had been a pastor and an educator. I even learned that our neighbor Tundai Goma was his little sister. Our paths didn't cross for some time, but eventually I had a chance to visit with him briefly.

This morning, I attended the graduation of Melanesia Nazarene Bible College. Among the graduates were members of the first class of a new Master in Ministry program. This is an extension program from Asia Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary in Manila, Philippines. I knew that some of my friends would receive their Master's degrees (that was a big part of why I was there). Tarp was one of the Masters graduates. I visited with him briefly, and had someone take a quick photo.

The kina shell hanging from his neck is not part of the MNBC graduation regalia: it's a traditional PNG symbol of honor and prosperity, and was given to him by his daughter Grace, as he stepped off the platform after receiving his diploma. Grace serves as secretary to the national board of the Church of the Nazarene in PNG, and works here at Kudjip.

In a few days, I'll tell you more about the graduation.

Baby Allen Has A Name

2011-11-23T21:41:00.000+11:00

In PNG, babies are often not named for several weeks after birth. Most babies are named by the time they are about 6 weeks old. Once in a while it takes longer. The reason for this isn't completely clear to me, but it may be that in the country with the highest infant mortality rate in the Pacific, and one of the highest in the world, people wait to see if the new one will survive or not. Maybe, without a name a baby seems less like an individual, and it is easier, or people anticipate that it will be easier, if the baby dies.

I've seen the parents of babies with and without names watch their babies die. Believe me, it doesn't make it any difference if the little one has a name or not.

Or maybe the reasons are lost in antiquity, and now it's just the custom. Sometimes, however, a specific reason comes to light.

A few weeks ago, I cared for a little one on the ward. He was listed on the chart simply as "B/O Anna"--Baby of Anna. He was almost 6 months old, so I asked his mom why he didn't have a name. Her answer stunned me. "His father has left and is with another wife. He doesn't care about us."

"Well, he needs a name," I replied.

"You can give him a name."

When I looked up at her eyes in surprise, I knew that she meant it.

"Really? You want me to give him a name?"

"Yes."

"I'll have to think and pray about it."

To be honest, I didn't think about it much. When I have been in a similar position before, a name turned up in by Bible reading the next day that I suggested. Other times there was an immediate inspiration, like a medical student, or a volunteer from America. There is a little Christiana, named after our recent student. But no name turned up in my readings for the next couple of days, and no other ideas presented themselves.

The next time I saw him on the ward, and thought about it, I got an inspiration.

"My father's name is Allen. He is a good, kind man, a man of God."

"Alright."

And so it was settled. The little one was Allen. I took a photo of him, and after a couple more days he was well enough to be discharged. There were several photos of moms and babies on my camera, and when I downloaded photos a few weeks later, I couldn't remember the significance of the cute little guy with the pretty young mom. Just one more CLK, a cute little kid.

Then a few days ago, I was doing rounds, and saw a newly-admitted baby. His name was Allen. "Oh," I said. "My father's name is Allen."

"Yes", the young mother replied, "you gave him his name."

I was embarrassed not to have recognized them, but if you saw as many cute babies as I do all day every day, you'd understand.

He had a mild pneumonia. He wasn't as sick this time as last time, and was able to go home after just a few days. I remembered to get another picture this time, which helped me sort out which picture was him before. You can see that he has grown and thrived.

Bless you, little Allen. I pray that you grow to be the man that your namesake is.

A Weekend Away

2011-11-13T23:40:00.000+11:00

Mondomil in the distance

This weekend we went up to Mondomil for Saturday and Sunday. This was for a little R&R, and because I was invited to preach at a church near there, at a little place called Kamang. Kamang has been a favorite place of our son Sam, since it is the home area of his "PNG Mama", Esther Tausi. Sam has spent a fair amount of time in and around Kamang, and refers to Esther's male relatives (at least the adult ones) collectively as "The Uncles". The Uncles is a diverse group. Some of them have been Jesus followers for a long time, some are notorious sinners. At least one has been a talented marijuana farmer. A good number of them have made commitments to Christ in recent weeks.

Kunje

I'm telling this story out of chronological order, in the spirit of "most important first." In the service this morning, we heard testimonies from 2 people who mentioned that Sam was influential in their coming to Christ. One is one of the "Uncles", and the second is the wife of another. The first is the local Councillor, or elected village leader. He said that Sam's influence contributed to the planting of the church there. The second was Kunje the wife of Wilson, a nephew or cousin of Esther. They had named their new baby Sam, in honor of Sam Bennett. One day when Baby Sam was learning to walk, he toddled into the fire, badly burning his legs. At first they intended to try to care for this at home, but Big Sam talked to them, and urged them to take him to the hospital, even giving them some money to pay bus fare and other expenses involved in going to Kudjip. Then later at the hospital, Sam talked to Wilson about the importance of Christian fathers, and his need to turn his life around, for the sake of his son, if for no other reason. In the next few days both Wilson and Kunje gave their hearts to Jesus.

Wilson and Sam

Kunje then asked Judy and me to stand, so she could thank us for Sam's role in their salvation. Well, anyone who knows me knows that tears were streaming down my face. I can't take credit for Sam, for his salvation, his love for the Lord, or his love for his PNG family--it was God working in and through him, and he made the decision to follow Jesus. But of course, we were proud, and happy.

I preached my Prodigal Son sermon--the second time in Pidgin. Three people came forward, I think all three committed Christians just coming to pray, not new believers. That's OK.

+++++

Well, more about the weekend. We had wanted a little time away, and had thought to go to Mondomil, a place we love, and have been to numerous times before. We invited Stephen and Amy Hollenberg to join us, as well as Dr. Steph Doenges and medical student Christiana Metzler. We went up Saturday morning, and planned a hike up "Elephant Mountain" (named for it's shape), for the afternoon. It was too rainy to try the steep, clay-mud trails. So we enjoyed a warm fire, coffee, hot chocolate, tea, food and games in the holiday house.

Warm fire, good friends, good coffee, good food.


Stephen, Amy and Judy


They said that it looked like I was smoking something. I am not. I'm using a piece of pipe to blow air on the embers. It worked well.

Steph is knitting, if you wouldn't have guessed!

This morning we had a pancake breakfast, then headed off to Kamang for church. I preached, and Judy and I gave the congregation a Coleman lantern for use in evening services (there is no electricity in this area). They had prepared a lunch for us (despite our telling them in advance that we could not stay), but we had to hurry away.

The steps were slippery.


This little guy was already asleep. I wondered if he'd heard that I was scheduled to preach and was already bored!

The very young missionaries sat on the floor. With Amy is Christina Metzler, a medical student from California.

Christina and Amy

After the service we went back to the holiday house for a quick lunch, packing, clean-up and a fast get-away to try to beat the rain, and the risk of an even muddier road. We were home in Kudjip about 2:30. Here's a look at one of the views we had on the way back down into the valley.

Sign, sign everywhere a sign. Do this, Don't do that. Why don't you read the sign?

2011-11-09T15:13:00.002+11:00

This falls under the general category of mundane daily life on a mission station. I have noticed these flyers posted on or near the garbage bins around the station. Our maintenance crew is responsible for collecting the trash, so I suspect someone from Maintenance posted them.

Read my translation first, then go back and study the photo:

"Notice: Please do not put dirt or plant material in the rubbish bins. Only put plastic or metal (in the bin). Whatever material you can make into compost in your garden, do not put in the rubbish bin. Please pay attention to this notice. If you continue to put these things in the bins, you will pay a penalty. Inform everyone in your house."

The Big Party

2011-11-08T01:00:00.000+11:00

We missionaries, we really know how to party. And some amazing people show up for our parties! Just look at this!

Dr. Einstein graced us with his presence. He also brought a nice popcorn ball cake that was very popular. I thought it was odd that he'd have to carry a reminder card in his pocket.

Who knew that Dr. Einstein was such good friends with Hawkeye Pierce? Oddly, Randy Goosen was nowhere to be seen whenever Hawkeye was around!

The party was invaded by this band of pirates! It turned out that they were quite friendly. Notice that the smallest pirate (Ethan Goosen) wears his eye patch up on his forehead! The medium-sized pirate is known as Jo Radcliffe in his other life.

I believe Quinton Schmelzenbach was a blind beggar. Maybe he wasn't blind. Well, maybe he wasn't a beggar. I'm pretty sure it was Quinton Schmelzenbach. We usually just call him "Q", so that we don't have to type "Quinton Schmelzenbach" as ofter, since "Quinton Schmelzenbach is long, and hard to type.

This medieval princess is sometimes known as Allison "Alley Cat" Dooley.

Can you read their name tags? They are "Jean" and "Gene" and dressed in blue. You figure it out. Stephen and Amy Hollenberg.

There was even a concession hawker. Lydia Radcliffe didn't manage to sell much.

This, I believe, is a Gypsy fortune teller. I don't usually patronize fortune tellers, so I wouldn't know. She does look a lot like Jessica Myers.

And my personal favorite costume, Karla Deuel as a refrigerator door. It is decorated, as all good refrigerated doors should be, with missionaries' prayer cards, held on with refrigerator magnets! I do notice that our prayer card is not there.

Every good harvest party needs games. Bobbing for lemons didn't turn out to be the most popular.

And, of course, treats. Each family brought something to cook for themselves on the fire (most popular were "hobo dinners"), and a treat to share. There was enough.

The foil packets on the fire are the hobo dinners. I wanted to include a few more missionaries, and this shows Jordan Thompson in the red shirt, Scott Dooley cooking 3 hotdogs (I'm sure he was helping his kids) and Tim Deuel in the white shirt. And of course, Hawkeye Pierce on the far side of the fire.

As you can tell, we have a lot of fun together. We are blessed to serve with a wonderful, compatible, congenial, godly, faithful group of missionaries, and we love getting together. We thank God for them. I'm sorry I can't show them all.

The Gas Boys

2011-10-29T11:30:00.000+11:00

These are our nurse-anesthetists. They are all graduates of Nazarene College of Nursing, and of the Post-Basic training program in anesthesia in Port Moresby. They have all three proven themselves to be careful and serious about their work, and they all have great attitudes toward service to the people here. When we have to do something after hours, it is a great blessing to have staff who come cheerfully without complaining. They are David, Petrus and Las (pronounced "lahsh").

The Big Wedding

2011-10-24T22:48:00.001+11:00

Many of you know that we've been building up to a really big event here at Kudjip--the wedding of Dr. Becky Wallace, and MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) missionary Matt Preece. Becky is with for a year, as a volunteer through World Medical Mission. The story (many stories, really) can be found on their individual blogs at here (for Becky's now discontinuing blog) and here (for Matt's side of the story, and the one they will do together from now on).

Well, Saturday the big day finally arrived. I'll try not to tell you too much detail, but understand that other than a skeleton crew left behind to keep the hospital functioning, all of your Kudjip missionaries, and many of our national friends were away for the day. MAF is a much larger group than we are, and although only a fraction of their folk could come, it was an even larger group than the Nazarenes!

The wedding party and the musicians went up to Randan Ridge Friday evening, a group left at 7 AM Saturday to help with decorating, and the rest of us, in 4 more Land Cruisers left Kudjip about 8. Most of us got back between 5 and 5:30 in the afternoon.

Randan Ridge, for those of you who don't know, is a hotel. It's high up on the mountain to the south of the town of Mount Hagen. The road is very rough, but once you get there, things are very nice. They usually ferry their guests up in a huge 4-wheel drive bus.

There is the main lodge, a long, curving building, with a large covered patio within the curved part. Beyond that is a long, winding fish pond. There is a foot path that goes all the way around the pond. The wedding party stood on the foot path, across the pond from the guests.

The wedding party was Dr. Erin Meier, Becky's sister Tammy, Becky, Matt, Matt's friend Mark from Australia, and Daniel, Matt's good friend and wrokmate at MAF.

Our table at the reception, with Brad and Nikolai Ballin and Cherith and Mikelle, and Simon and Esther Tausi.

Jim Radcliffe speaking on behalf of Kudjip Hospital.

Matt and Becky sharing at the end of the reception.

By the way, most of the PNG Nazarene Missionaries who blog have stories and photos. See our blog roll on the left of the screen.

Golnamne Church of the Nazarene

2011-10-10T00:05:00.001+11:00

This morning we were off to a bush church at a place called Golnamne. Not hard to pronounce once you practice it a couple of times. It's the home village of our friend Apa. We shared his story in April, 2010. Our friends Simon and Esther Tausi (we've talked about them too many times to link to all of them) and Simon's brother Nason and his wife Neom are here, both for the recent Women's Conference, and for the upcoming National NMI Conference, and they all came along as well.

Golnamne is in an area we've never visited before. The church people worked on the road, so it would be easy for us to get there. The road must have been pretty bad before! Going down a hill, at one point the mud was so slippery that even in 4-wheel drive, the steering had no effect on the direction of travel of the cruiser, and the left tires slipped right into a drainage ditch. That wouldn't have been so bad if the ditch had been going our way, but it was clear that I couldn't continue to follow it indefinitely! Apa is a very strong man, and he was surrounded by his strong relatives. In a few minutes, they had brought a couple of big planks and built a ramp out of the ditch. I drove right out, and the rest of the road went by without problem. However, Judy and several of our friends had decided to walk down the hill.

The folks who walked down the hill arrived a few minutes after we did.

The congregation had prepared welcome signs on the ground made of flower petals.

The church lined up to receive us with warm handshakes and a welcome song.

Me preaching

Visiting after the service

Some people had no confidence in the car, and walked back up the hill. There was no trouble getting up in the car!

Here's a little video, shot with my pocket camera of the welcome, then of the Tausis and a few other friends singing a special song in the service. There's also a brief shot of Simon giving a testimony. It was so moving that I wanted to share it, but I was disappointed to discover that his voice had been too soft for my camera to record. His face and gestures say a lot.

A Night Away

2011-10-09T02:24:00.001+11:00

How our friends Larry and Aarlie Hull came to own a coffee plantation is a fascinating, but long story. For now, all you need to know is that we have American friends who have a moderate-sized coffee plantation about a half-hour's drive from Kudjip. They travel back and forth from their home in Centralia, Washington to Madan Estate several times a year. We have visited them there several times, but never over night. But last night we changed that. We drove out right after my work at the hospital was done for the day. We had supper on their verandah, visited into the evening, then slept in their upstairs master suite.

The Hulls don't use the suite themselves. I'm sure that this goes back to the days when they were partners in the plantation with another couple, who lived at Madan full-time, and slept in the crow's nest. Larry and Aarlie still sleep in the same downstairs bedroom that they started using in those days. The suite has a bedroom with a big round bed, a separate room that was probably originally intended to be a study and a bathroom. The bedroom has windows on three sides. You have to understand that it's built on top of a big house that's in turn built on a big hill. Sorry that we don't have a photo taken from the suite. You'll have to use your imagination based on the photo taken of the house from across the coffee fields. By the way, Judy is pretending to be a security guard there at the gate!

Saturday morning we got up and had freshly-roast peaberry coffee (if you don't know what peaberry is, you won't be impressed anyway) on the verandah, along with fruit, toast and cereal. Then we were off for a stroll around the plantation, along with some of the Hull's delightful employees. I'll just caption the photos.

The Hulls have built a health clinic on the plantation, and are in the process of finishing a birthing center, which you see in the left background. In the picture of us with Larry, are the nurse and 2 aides that they have hired to staff these facilities. Above the birthing center are small apartments for the aides. The new literacy center and library will be built near-by. They have already had literacy classes, but the new building will allow them to expand this ministry.

One of the security men told us about some small caves on the hill where the house is. The local people revere these caves, apparently as being home to "dwarfs" leprechaun-like legendary creatures. The man who originally built the plantation promised the local people that except for the house (a pretty big exception, I think) nothing on the hill would be disturbed. When the owner before the Hulls started clearing some forest and leveling some land for staff housing, the locals became upset, but the owner said that as a Christian he didn't care about the stories of the dwarfs. One night, the security man told us, the dwarfs came and climbed up on the roof of the house, and stomped around loudly, frightening the owner and his wife, who called for help from the security staff (I don't know what they did to help) and then stopped the construction project. I wanted to see the caves.

In the picture we are in front of the rock structure where the caves are located.

The first cave I saw was very small, just a bit of a cleft, with a lower area extending back a few feet, but the second one extended further. By crawling in a little way, I could see into a chamber that would have been big enough for me to sit up in, but not stand.

Here's the crawling part. I could see an extension, but couldn't tell how far it went, and I didn't want to go through the small passage I would have had to crawl through to get in and see more.

You can see how muddy my legs and arms got.

We went back to the house to wash up and have some lunch (along with some more of the great Madan coffee) before heading home.

All photos by Aarlie Hull.

Quick Update--Meri Bung

2011-09-30T07:28:00.000+10:00

Dr. Neville Bartle, former missionary to PNG and a bunch of other places, and now DS of the Nazarene Church in New Zealand was in-country to teach a course, and was able to speak at the Meri Bung. He was here at Kudjip last night, and gave us a glowing report of the conference, as well as some photos and video. There are over 2000 women attending!

Though out of order, this is Neville's picture of the buses coming up the hill to Kuli Gap, a pass in a low mountain range between Kudjip and Mount Hagen on their way to Mendi.

Meri Bung

2011-09-29T16:26:00.001+10:00

Ladies from Jiwaka Province (here)

If you spend much time in Nazarene churches around PNG, you will catch on that one of the most exciting times in the life of the church here is the semi-annual "Meri Bung", literally women's meeting. In English it's the Church of the Nazarene National Women's Conference. Ladies go to extraordinary lengths to raise the money and plan the time. They sell vegetables at the market, make extra bilums (string bags) to sell or find odd jobs. Then they plan with their sisters, husbands, older children or neighbors to care for their small children for the week.

Ladies from Port Moresby

Ladies from remote areas usually have to walk out, as flying is prohibitively expensive for them. For some of them this is their first time out of their isolated mountain villages. For some, it is the first time to see a car or truck, a paved road or large western-style building. They come in groups, with a few husbands and pastors coming along for protection. They created uniforms, different for each district, consisting of matching "meri blaus", a piece of clothing that is sort a combination blouse/dress.

25-passenger buses lined up and ready to go

They come to key gathering places and then buses are chartered to take them to the meeting. This year, it's being held in Mendi, Southern Highlands Province. Kudjip was on of the gathering points. I counted 48 vehicles in all, some 15-passenger vans, 25-passenger busses, open-backed trucks and a few Land Cruisers (a big sort of SUV that is very popular here). They were meet an unknown number of additional vehicles in Mount Hagen on the way to Mendi. Some vehicles were packed in so tightly with ladies and all their baggage that I don't see how they could move. Most Westerners would feel pretty claustrophobic.

Some were settled in the busses 2 hours in advance!

Departure was Sunday morning right after the church service at Emmanuel Church. Excitement was in the air, for sure. There has never been a bunch of junior high kids leaving for Summer camp any more excited and giddy then these ladies. Some groups were singing. Some were just laughing and smiling. There were all ages, all socioeconomic groups, all degrees of education.

The meetings are being held on the grounds of a school, with the classrooms being used as dormitories. I'm sure that the organizers also build dozens of temporary bush houses. Many ladies are staying in local churches of many denominations. The men who go with them patrol the grounds all night for security.

The buses head out

It's now been four days since they left. A few missionaries went along for the first couple of days, and have returned. In addition, Judy got a call today from a friend who is attending, who reports times of the moving of the Holy Spirit, with many receiving spiritual help. Interestingly, she said that there were 38 street boys who have given their hearts to Jesus. What were street boys doing at a Nazarene Women's Conference you ask? Well, any big meeting in PNG is bound to attract a lot of locals. I'm sure that these young men, almost certainly criminals, just heard the music and saw the lights and came out of curiosity. But they heard and responded to the gospel message! Praise the Lord!

The Foot Club

2011-09-24T14:46:00.001+10:00


This is why I always reinforce Jeremiah's casts with fiberglass!

Yeah, it's a pun. As people who follow this blog know, I have a special interest in treating kids with clubfoot, (technically called "congenital talipes equinovarus"). These kids are treated by the "Ponseti Method", which involves stretching the ligaments in their feet, and applying casts. The procedure is done weekly for several weeks, and then is usually followed by a simple operation to lengthen their Achilles tendons.

Seeing the kids over and over weekly allows me to develop more of a relationship with them than with most patients. Most don't come to love me as much as I love them, however!

Some members of Dr. Andy's Foot Club

Lately I've had several older kids (treatment started after the age of 24 months is called "neglected clubfoot" and is usually more difficult than when you start younger. One is Jeremiah. He is five years old, and is not at all afraid of me nor of the power cast cutter that I have to use to remove his casts each week.

This past week, because of a heavy work load, I asked him to skip a week, and come back after 2 weeks. This gave him extra time to destroy his casts. He usually crawls around in the dirt and rocks, but this time has obviously been in some serious mud. For kids who are big enough to crawl, I always reinforce the plaster casts with fiberglass. Just imagine what these casts would be like if they were only plaster!


Feet are pointed down, turned under, twisted at the center

People here rarely have the opportunity to develop friendships outside their own or neighboring clans. The families that gather every week outside the orthopedic room for my clubfoot clinic, have a lot in common in their children. They get to know each other, they sometimes helps with holding kids, giving advice, etc.

The talipes work is one of the most rewarding parts of my life here. You've seen this in some of the older posts, like this one. Seeing a child who could only look forward to a life of disability and exclusion from a normal life be able to return to normal in just a few weeks provides a special feeling. And for most of these kids, the contrast is really that great. With untreated clubfoot, they are marginalized, unable to participate in many normal activities. After treatment they usually can live and function normally.

Preaching At a Bush Church

2011-09-18T23:37:00.005+10:00

I was invited speak this morning at a new preaching point. It is an offshoot of the Kurumul church, which is the second-oldest Nazarene church in PNG. I didn't realize that it would be about a half-hour walk from the road, but it wasn't a difficult walk.

Here is a "preacher's-eye" view of the church. I preached from Luke 15, the story of the Prodigal Son, one of the clearest passages we have on grace and the Father's love for us. Nine people came forward to pray, all Christians, several of them believers for many years.

Round Numbers

2011-09-16T18:06:00.000+10:00

Number 190035. I think.

Yeah, I'm the kind of guy who loves to see big, round numbers. Like on the odometer of a car. I think it's fun to notice when the mileage rolls around to 100000, or 123456, or 111111, or 020202. I have even been known to pull over to the side of the road to stare at a number for a minute, or to take a picture of it.

So naturally I took notice when I started seeing the patient numbers at the hospital approach 190,000. When we write a discharge summary for a patient who is well enough to go home from the hospital, we note the number so that the hospital record can be found easily later if needed. I started wondering when the numbering system had been adopted. Was it with the first patient who was admitted, or did they start this system at a later time. I asked around, but no one seemed to know.

Then I had an inspiration. I correspond with Hal Frye, who was either the first, or at least one of the very early administrators here. I emailed him and asked about it. He wrote back to say that he believed that the system started from the very beginning.

When I saw that the new numbers had gone past 190,000 I got to thinking that it would be fun to take a picture and to tell you all about him or her. After a few days, I "sprung" (sometimes I spring slowly) into action, and went to the log book and looked up patient number 190000. It was a lady named Elis who had been admitted to the maternity ward several days earlier. I went to the ward in hopes that she was still there, but she had had her baby, and was long gone.

The next morning I was discharging a baby from the pediatric ward, and noticed that his number was only about 190035 (sorry, I didn't write it down, so I'm not sure). I figured that he was the closest I'd come to documenting the big even number, so I took his picture.

What's the point? It's that the hard work, prayers, giving and dedication of Nazarene people everywhere (and a lot of others as well) has resulted in ministry to 190,000 men, women, boys and girls in the wards of Nazarene Hospital. If you think about the families of patients, I'm sure that you could multiply this number by 5 or 6. Then think that we see about 10 outpatients for each inpatient, and the number is into the millions.

Some of those people had minor problems, some had devastating diseases or injuries. Some recovered, some died. Some were Christians, some weren't. Some heard the gospel and accepted it for their soul's salvation. Some turned cold hearts away from the message. But every one was touched in some way. Every one was loved. Every one was prayed for. Every one was more than a number.

You Can't Have Too Much of Baby Andy

2011-09-10T08:06:00.000+10:00

This is a first for me, embedding a video in the blog. However, it is a far too important video not to publicize far and wide!

There you go! Amazing, huh?

My Morning

2011-08-31T23:21:00.000+10:00

So, ya wanna know what I did between ward rounds and lunch today? Today was my "half-day", which is one day per week when each doctor has some time away from the hospital to do non patient care work, or catch up from times on call. Whether is is really half of the day, or more or less depends on how many doctors are here, and how busy things are. Sometimes there are enough doctors that we can leave the hospital right after ward rounds. Sometimes we work in outpatient until lunch time. If we are particularly short-handed, we don't take the half-day at all. But this week we tried out a new system; after ward rounds, we see eight patients in outpatient, and then go.

Patient number 5. With his mother.

So, I thought you might like to know about the eight patients I saw. They represented a good selection of the patients we see.

1. A young adult woman with a bladder infection. She had taken medicine for a week, but didn't get better. I was pretty sure that it was really a bladder infection, so I prescribed a different antibiotic.

2. A young woman with a couple of lumps on her arm. I told her that these were lipomas, and were harmless, that they didn't need to be removed. She was quite uncertain, and asked several time if they should be removed. Finally she asked if they were cancer. I assured her that they weren't, and she finally seemed relieved.

3. A man in his early thirties who had recently completed treatment for abdominal TB. He was feeling well, his exam was normal. Those meds really work! And, yes, TB can infect areas other than the lungs.

4. An elderly lady with a chronic cough. She has been treated for both pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but has recently started coughing up blood. I got her most recent chest x-ray from the x-ray room to review. I then sent her to the TB nurse to start TB treatment.

5. Baby boy with several days of diarrhea. Not sick enough to need to be admitted to the hospital (he was laughing and smiling, for goodness' sake--a sure way for a baby to disqualify himself from admission to our hospital!) I prescribed some meds, and asked his mom to bring him back on Friday, sooner if he should get worse. See photo above.

6. A young woman with chronic pelvic pain. She had been treated several times for pelvic inflammatory disease, without any improvement. When I examined her, I noted that her uterus was enlarged. In fact, it was about the size of a uterus with a 12-week pregnancy. Yeah, yeah, I should have asked her about menstrual periods earlier, but I asked then, and she said that she hadn't had any for at least 2 months. An ultrasound revealed a healthy 14-week pregnancy (2 weeks error ain't too bad in this situation). I gave her vitamins, iron tablets and paracetamol to take for her pain.

7. Young man with a severe cough, fever and a sore in a location that suggested a venereal disease. I sent him to the lab for a test called a VDRL, and to the x-ray room for a chest film. Because I thought he was number 8, and I didn't want to wait around, I asked Dr. Imelda to review his results and write for meds when he got back.

So now I realize that I only saw 7. Wait! There was an old man who wandered into outpatient who thought that when the doctor told him to come back in 2 weeks that meant he could skip paying fees and waiting his turn in the long discouraging line. I had sent him to go pay and wait. I wasn't going to count him, but without him, I only saw 7, so now I think I should count him. He has benign prostatic hypertrophy, by the way, with complete urinary outlet obstruction. He was being treated with a catheter and medicines.

There. That's 8. Good variety, but not fully representative of what we see. There was no trauma in the group, no fractures, no arthritis, no abscesses, no malaria, and no AIDS, which are all pretty common in our work.

Saturday in Kudjip

2011-08-21T08:24:00.002+10:00

What do we do on a Saturday on a tropical island?

Some of us sleep.

Some of us long to eat small children.

Some of us work on refinishing the tennis/basketball court.

And some of us watch.

Some of us make dog and cat food.

Some of us keep working and working.

And some work in different ways.

Newly engaged couples take romantic walks - not holding hands of course.

And we knit!

Catching Up

2011-08-06T11:46:00.006+10:00

Yes, we're back in Kudjip after a wonderful 3-month home assignment and 4 weeks of vacation in the US. We had wonderful times with our kids extended family, friends and hundreds of Nazarene supporters. Here are a few photos to catch up on the trip back and the first few days here.

In the morning of our departure day we stopped by to see my dad at Karcher Estates, where he has lived for the last 15 years or so, first in Independent Living with Mom, then in Assisted Living, and now in "Health Care". Dad had a stroke in December, and is now unable to walk. It was hard to see him so dependent, but wonderful to see how his spirit, his love for Jesus, and his indomitable humor are still fully intact. We hope to see him again here on earth, but if that is not in God's timing we will plan on a big reunion in heaven.

My sister Cammi and bro-in-law Denny Ellis took us to the airport, along with Sam and Amy. Here Cammi is showing the info sheet on their new sponsoree in the Nazarene Child Sponsorship Program. He is Josiah John, the son of one of the pastors near Kudjip. His family have been our friends from our earliest days in PNG. He has a little brother who is my namesake.

Our return route took us through Fiji. Because the Pacific Air did not check our bags through to PNG, we had to claim them in Fiji, wait in the very long lines for Fiji Customs and for Immigration, and then take them a distance to the arrival lounge to the Air Niugini counter and check them again. It took a long time, but went OK, and Air Niugini did not charge us for excess baggage, as Pacific Air had done (we're not feeling like recommending Pacific Air right now).

When we finally made it through to the departure lounge, we only had about an hour to wait for our flight. In typical Fiji fashion, they had this group of musicians performing for the waiting passengers.

The big surprise was who we encountered among our fellow passengers: Harmon and Quinton Schmelzenbach. Harmon is our Field Strategy Coordinator (fancy language for "boss"). They were booked on the same Air Niugini flight from Fiji, but only as far as the Solomon Islands (Fiji and the Solomons are both part of the territory that Harmon is responsible for). They were actually in the flights immediately behind us on the plane, so we managed to have a good visit as we traveled. (That's Quinton in the middle of the photo, using the free internet.)

We arrived back in Kudjip, 36 1/2 hours after leaving Boise. It just took 6 flights (Boise-Phoenix-Nadi-Honiara-Moresby-Hagen). The ride from Hagen to Kudjip was provided by Tim and Karla Deuel, new missionaries who arrived in Kudjip just a couple of weeks before we left. At the house were the usual welcome signs. It took a while to locate the keys to our house, but eventually we got in for quick showers before proceeding to supper with Randy, Joani, Emma, Alexia and Ethan Goosen. They are new missionaries who arrived just days after we left for home assignment. We met Joani's parents in the US, but this was our first meeting with them.

Emma and Alexia Ethan

Simon, Esther and Ishigel Tausi came by the next day. Here they are looking at our album of photos of Baby Andy.

Our "old friend" Bobby is doing well! He's now living with the Tausis. He got some lollies from the bag of candy that Sam sent for his PNG brothers, sisters and friends. Bobby's new favorite words are "choc", "o" and "late". "Late is pronounced like "late at night".

***

We're now settled back into our Kudjip routine. Each departure from the US is different than the others. This time we were affected by the fact that we were leaving a new little grandson behind, as well as our kids, Dad and the rest of the family. The veteran missionaries told us early-on that the departures don't get any easier as time goes on, and they were right. But we love PNG, we love Kudjip, we love our family here, both missionary and PNG, and we love being in God's will. We know that, for now at least, this is where He wants us, and we are happy serving him here to the best of our abilities.

One Last Visit

2011-07-12T18:18:00.000+10:00

We've been able to spend a few more precious hours with Drew, Andrea and Andy.

After arriving here in Spanaway Sunday afternoon, we went with them to worship in a park with the church body they have been attending. We enjoyed meeting their pastor and friends. Then today, Judy, Amy and I went with Andrea and Andy and drove into Seattle. We met Drew for lunch at a chowder place in the Pike Place Market.

By the way, that's apple juice that Judy is drinking!

Drew went back to work while the rest of us spent some time in the market. At quitting time we went up to see Drew's office. It's a new job where he's been for about 3 weeks, and he loves it. Here he is at his desk.

I'll put up a new album of photos on Facebook, too. Tomorrow Judy, Amy and I head back to Nampa for 3 days of last-minute tasks and packing.

Friends of Nazarene Hospital

2011-07-12T17:25:00.000+10:00

Yesterday, we spoke at Grandview Church of the Nazarene. Technically our home assignment is over, and we are on vacation, but we didn't have any other time, and we have friends in this church. Two couples, Steve and Linda Elerding, and Al and Carrie Fiedler have both been in PNG. Steve is a surgeon, and Al is a family doctor.

We enjoyed fellowship with them and the NMI council from the church Saturday evening, and then a good service Sunday morning.

After lunch on Sunday, we drove to Spanaway to have one last visit with Drew, Andrea and Baby Andy before heading back to PNG next Saturday.

It may be boring for you, but we're pretty excited, and we're going to force you to look at more pictures of our grandson

2011-06-22T17:08:00.001+10:00

This past weekend, we spoke in our home church in Marysville, Washington. Before and after our time there, we have spent time with Andy, Drew and Andrea. Here are just a couple more photos:

Baby Andy with Drew and Andrea

The hands are Grandma Judy.

For even more pictures of Andy, go to this link. You don't have to belong to Facebook to see the pictures.

The Very Latest Very Biggest News

2011-05-29T15:04:00.000+10:00

So, look at this:

Ain't that the cutest, sweetest baby you've ever seen?

That's Andy.

Andy Bennett.

Yep, that's his name. More formally Andrew Raymond Bennett. Born to our oldest son, Drew and his wife Andrea 2 days ago, May 26. 17 3/4 inches (that's an important 3/4 inch!), 4 pounds, 2.4 ounces. His birth was induced about 4 weeks early because of some pregnancy complications. He's small, but doing very well. We were able to get to Swedish Hospital in Seattle within about an hour of his birth, and were able to stay around for about 2 days.

He'll be in the hospital for a few more days, just until he is growing, taking adequate nutrition and regulating his own temperature and blood sugar.

So, from now on, we respond better to the names "Grandma" and "Grandpa". If you were wondering.

On the Big Island

2011-05-06T05:29:00.000+10:00

I don't really think that I need to blog every detail of our home assignment. Really, I don't. But here's a little more about our time in Hawaii before moving on to other things. We went to the "Big Island" to speak at several events at the Hilo and Paradise Park churches. We were also able to go to Kona for 1 day of delayed anniversary celebration, and then to speak to the youth group at the Kona church.

Angel Falls in Hilo.

With Pastor Rick Ragle at the Hilo church.

At the Paradise Park church. We had a combined service with the Micronesian and the English congregations. Here the Micronesian people are doing a song with marching and motions. Our PNG friends would have enjoyed this "drama".

Some old family friends, the Birds, who were in our church in Kalispel, Montana, when I was a little kid.

We spoke in the chapel service of the preschool at Hilo.

In a Starbucks in Hilo, we saw a poster for Kigabah Estate, the coffee plantation owned by our friends Billy and Joesa Gardner, just down the road from Kudjip. They were the recipiants of the Black Apron Award in 2005, the award for the best green coffee that they bought this year. We've seen the poster a few times in the US.

Judy with Captain Jack, in Kona.

Shave Ice, a Hawaii specialty. Judy loved this. I thought it was a lot like ice with flavor on it.

Speaking to the youth group at the Kona church. We had a great time there!

Pearl Harbor

2011-05-06T04:55:00.000+10:00

We did have some time for sightseeing while on Oahu. Our priority was seeing the Perl Harbor memorial. We were able to visit all four of the major sections (Arizona Memorial, USS Missouri, Pacific Air Museum, and the USS Bowfin/submarine museum), as well as several of the smaller exhibits. Obviously, this was more of a moving emotional experience rather than being fun, but it was a good day together, seeing history, and remembering those who gave their lives, not only for the USA, but for the free world.

I'm showing PNG on the giant map of the pacific in the entry area at the memorial.

A long view of the Arizona Memorial and of the USS Missouri, which is now a permanent museum in Perl Harbor.

One of the turrets of the Arizona is visible above the water. I assume that this varies with the tide. Other parts of the ship are vaguely visible below the water.

Inside the memorial. There is a large opening in the floor. The structure blocks a lot of the glaring light, so you can see a little more of the wreckage under the water.

The memorial wall, listing the names and ranks of each of the men who died on the ship. Most of their bodies were never recovered.

One of those Wallaces was the uncle of our Dr. Becky Wallace. Maybe great uncle.

A conning tower of a WWI-era submarine that saw some service in WWII. The periscopes work!

The USS Missouri. She has been de-commissioned, moth-balled at Navy Base Bremerton, re-commissioned, moth-balled again, and now is on permanent display in Perl Harbor.

The plaque in the deck of the Missouri, marking the place where the Japanese surrender was signed, marking the end of the war in the Pacific. Copies of the surrender documents are displayed nearby.

The mess in the USS Bowfin, a submarine that is displayed.

Speaking Schedule, Washington

2011-04-27T14:13:00.000+10:00

Sunday, May 1, AM, Gig Harbor
Sunday, May 1, PM, Camas
Tuesday, May 3, 11 AM, Seattle Aurora
Tuesday, May 3, 7 PM, Port Orchard
Wednesday, May 4, Kent
Sunday, May 8, AM, Seattle Beacon Hill
Sunday, May 8, PM, Everett South

More Hawaii

2011-04-27T08:27:00.000+10:00

If you haven't caught on, we really enjoyed our time in Hawaii. Here's a little more about our time there.

Speaking at kid's camp.

On the first Tuesday we spoke at kid's camp. We had a beautiful drive across the south part of Oahu to the camp, then had a very fun time speaking to the kids. The highlight for them was when we dressed one of the young pastors in PNG clothes. They didn't care that every item he was wearing was from a different region.


Waves on the North coast of Oahu

We went back via a different route along the north coast. It was a windy day with a very high surf, so we stopped several times to take pictures of the spectacular waves.


Waikiki in the dark!

The only time we could find to go to Waikiki Beach was late one afternoon. By the time we got there it was dark. Oh, well. We had a great time walking along all the stores and the people in the area. That's our hosts Al and Linda, along with Judy.

I'll try to do one more Hawaii post before moving on to CANADA!

Catchup. Not ketchup.

2011-04-22T03:55:00.000+10:00

As promised, I'm going to try to catch up on our travels and deputation.

We took a route home that we've never tried before; from PNG to the Solomon Islands to Fiji to Hawaii. We did 2 weeks of deputation in Hawaii before travelling on to Idaho and our family.

Scott and Olivia Dooley

The Dooleys took us to the airport. This is Scott and Olivia. We successfully avoided overweight charges, got checked in and away to Port Moresby without too much stress. We spent the night in Pt. Moresby, staying at Mapang Missionary Home. Early Sunday morning we left for the Solomon Islands.

Airport in Honiara, Solomon Islands

This is our only evidence that we were ever in the Solomons, and not very good evidence, since you probably can't read the sign. We didn't go through Immigration (so we don't have stamp in our passports), just got off the plane, went through security, waited a few minutes then got back on the Air Niugini flight.

Singers in the Nadi (pronounced "nandi" if you care), Fiji, airport.

This is our only evidence of ever having been in Fiji. We just went through as transit passengers, so still didn't get our passports stamped. These young men were there in the airport playing and singing Fijian music for the people waiting in the line for the transfer desk. After a while I guessed that they were singing Christian songs, based on the fact that some were to familiar hymn tunes. As I sang along in English I made eye contact with the guitar player, who smiled. When they finished, he came over, shook my hand and introduced himself. He confirmed that they were, indeed, Christians, and were from a church there. What a delightful break in the boredom of standing in line.


Judy with happy little kids at the Living Waters Church of the Nazarene

Even thought it was Sunday morning when we left PNG, we crossed the International Date Line, so it was Sunday morning again when we arrived in Hawaii. Well, missionaries doing deputation can't waste a Sunday morning, so we got off the plane at 7:30 AM, and were speaking in a church at 12:00!

This was in a delightful church plant called Living Waters Church of the Nazarene. They meet at noon, because that's the only time they can get time in the school where they meet (apparently 6 or 7 church groups meet at this school). They are effective in ministry and evangelism--a significant number in the church are homeless, and many are new believers. The pastor is R.J. Strickland. He and his wife were both music majors at NNU, and have a great ministry in teaching music lessons. In fact, one of the requirements for being in the worship band is taking weekly lessons.

We don't have any pictures of us speaking there, but we weren't too alert by then. We were thankful to go to the house where we were staying and take a nap!

More about Hawaii soon!

Update and apology!

2011-03-31T16:28:00.000+11:00

OK. I see how long it's been since I blogged last. I'm ashamed. I have lots of excuses, but they probably aren't very interesting to any of you. Suffice it to say that as we got closer and closer to home assignment time, the harder it got to sit down and do it. Plus, the internet trouble we've been having at Kudjip made it hard.


Photographic proof that we were in Hawaii.

Well, we are now on home assignment. We left Kudjip March 12, and flew to Port Moresby, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Hawaii. We spent about 2 weeks in Hawaii, speaking 10 times--in churches, on the radio, in a preschool, at Bible Studies, and doing a just a litle bit of touristy stuff. We left there this past Monday evening, flew overnight to Phoenix (no, I don't understand airlines) and on to Boise, arriving Tuesday afternoon.

At the radio station with Pastor Rick Ragle

We have had a few precious hours with Amy and Sam, and with other family. This morning we spoke in chapel at Northwest Nazarene University. Tomorrow we will speak to a class (if I can finish this, and organize what we are going to do). Then Friday we leave for Spanaway, Washington to spend a few hours with Drew and Andrea (our son and daughter-in-law) and then on Saturday we will head to British Columbia for a 2-week district tour.

My assumption is that we will have some free hours while we are in BC, and I can blog in more detail about some of our adventures along the way.

Here's our schedule for BC:
April 3 - Surrey (Guildford) - am, Abbotsford - pm
April 4 - OFF
April 5 - Langley (Living Hope)
April 6 - Betel/Primera (Spanish Congregations together - location to be determined)
April 7 - Vancouver
April 8 - Burnaby (Como Lake)
April 9 - OFF
April 10 - Kelowna - am, Penticton - pm
April 11 - OFF
April 12 - OFF
April 13 - Nanaimo
April 14 - Port Alberni (Southside Community)
April 15 - Duncan (Cowichan Valley)
April 16 - Esquimalt (9:30 am breakfast meeting)
April 17 - Victoria - am

Letter to a Medical Student

2011-01-21T00:00:00.002+11:00


Photo explanation below!

Just this evening I answered an email from a medical student who wants to come to Kudjip for an elective rotation. He also asked me for what advice I might have for a Christian medical student in his first year of study. He said that any advice would be appreciated! By now, he may be regretting saying that.

Well, at first I didn't think I had any advice, but I thought it was important enough that I should try. So I started typing. As I went along, I found that I was sharing some of my strongest beliefs about missions. When it was all done I was a bit surprised at it. I thought maybe I should share it with a wider group of friends. I'll edit it a bit for you folks, but other than that, here's what I told him:

Dear _____ :

Thanks so much for your interest in our ministry here in Kudjip.

We need to start planning for you to come here... in your fourth year (or possibly late 3rd).... We should get you on our schedule as soon as possible, as some students plan 2 or more years in advance.

My main advice for you is to put your spiritual life first all the time. A medical missionary who is not in the center of God's will is useless, however well-meaning he might be. God's will first--if that is to be a missionary, don't even think about being anything else. If not, then don't even think about becoming a missionary. If God is calling you to be a missionary, then make up your mind now that that will be your life's work until such time as God clearly directs differently. Don't approach it as "I'll try this out, and if it doesn't work, I'll try something else." If God calls you to something else, don't feel like that is second-best. His will is always first-best!

I notice that you said "I am interested in going to the mission feild full-time at some point in my life time." Interest is a great thing! But I also noticed you said, "I can [here he listed a couple of other options] or go into missions." That make me think that at this time you don't have a clear call to missions. That's OK for now, but if that call does not come, scratch the "go into missions" off your list. Pray earnestly that God will make it clear. A rotation at a mission hospital can be a valuable thing. It can help you understand more about missions. Sometimes God uses an experience like that to make his will clear. But by itself it shouldn't be the determining factor in the decision--God's call should be!

I'll boldly barge on into one of the biggest implications of a divine call--romance and marriage. I don't know how many missionary careers have been scuttled by unwise choices in this area. If God is calling you to be a missionary, and calling you to be married, you don't have to be the one to work it out--God will lead you to the right woman. His will in one area of your life will never conflict with his will in any other part of your life. So if God is calling you to be a missionary, don't even consider going out with a girl who is not called to be a missionary. Sometimes you hear a story of a spouse who does not feel called to be a missionary, but is willing to be married to one, and says "where you go, I will go". Maybe that's OK in some cases, but I believe that it is not enough. When times get hard, if your wife is not convinced to the bottom of her heard that she is under divine mandate to be a missionary, things could fall apart. It happens all the time. The wife of our mentor couple told us, "there will be times that your call is all you have."* (This was a plural "your", as she was speaking to me and my wife.) If you and your wife don't share that conviction, either your missionary careers or your marriage or both could be in danger.

Well, I didn't realize that I had so much advice to share, and I rambled on longer than I intended to! Oh, well. I trust that it will help you on your journey.

If you are interested in some of the day-to-day events or our life, you might be interested in our blog at http://day-in-paradise.blogspot.com/. In the side-bar there is a blog roll of the blogs of several of the other missionaries here, including some of the docs.

Yours and His,
Andy

About the picture: All advice given to missionaries about their blog says to include lots of colorful photos, and if I don't put in a picture this will the the third pictureless post in a row, and that would be a bad thing, so here is a cute young mom and her cute little baby with a quizzical expression in it's cute little face.

* That statement was from Mima Hughes. She and her husband Ted were missionaries in several Latin American countries, as well as among Cuban refugees in Miami.

Hospital Open

2011-01-18T00:00:00.000+11:00

Friends:

I wanted you all to know that the hospital opened this morning at about 11:00. Things are pretty slow until word gets around that we are open.

The situation is not ideal yet, but enough has been resolved that the staff feels safe going to and from work. Sister Josina, the nurse who was attacked is doing as well as can be expected. We expect her to regain full use of her hand.

Thank you all for your prayers.

Pray for Nazarene Hospital

2011-01-12T23:54:00.000+11:00

At the moment, the hospital is temporarily closed. The following is from our security committee:

"Please pray for the Nazarene Hospital as our administrative team and the village leaders liaison group are meeting daily to work on issues resulting from one of our national nursing staff being assaulted on our mission station. The nurse is in good condition and is being treated as an outpatient now. The hospital is closed to new admissions and to outpatients until some resolution is reached."

I really want to emphasize to everyone that no missionary is in, nor has been in danger. We are just doing what we need to do to insure that the hospital is safe for ALL of our staff.

Thanks for your prayers.

Christmas at Tumba

2011-01-03T18:01:00.001+11:00

Just when many of you are putting away your Christmas decorations, I'm going to post one more Christmas blog.

The morning after Christmas ("Boxing Day" throughout the British-influenced world) Judy and I, along with Stephen Snell, an American Family Practice resident, drove up to the village of Tumba, to worship with our friends there. The Tumba Church of the Nazarene is co-pastored by husband and wife Elis and Kopi. The service that morning featured a big "drama", a term applied to any skit or play.

The folks here often have a drama as part of a special service. We've seen reenactments of the arrival of the first missionaries, the early days of the hospital, or scenarios depicting the consequences of sinful living. Costumes and props are improvised, and usually simple. Makeup is sometimes used to a limited extent. This drama was the entire Christmas story.

Pastor Elis greeting Stephen with a big hug.

This dear, faithful lady can't stand upright, and needs her stick to walk. Little things like that don't keep her from worship, nor from participating in the life of the church, as we'll see below.

Since they were expecting us, they had prepared a formal greeting, as befits the arrival of anyone so important as a doctor or a missionary or a visitor from America. And our group included 2 doctors, 3 missionaries, and 3 visitors from America!

Pastor Kopi and the folks singing "You are from the USA, we are from PNG, but God unites under the cross".

All the churches decorate their sanctuaries with flowers, fruit, vegetables and greens every Sunday, but Tumba usually is a bit more elaborate, and at Christmas time goes over the top.

If you look closely, you'll see candles placed along the edge of this display, quite close to some of the greenery. I needn't have worried. As soon as the leaves caught fire, a young boy ran up to put them out. He wisely blew out the other candles as well.

It's almost time to start, and almost half of the people have already arrived. The level of excitement was.... Well, I can't think of anything very funny. I'll just say that a lot more people arrived eventually. Notice the little guy in the isle. He was cute and I wanted to be his friend. After all, I'm trying to refine my Grandpa skills.

He was clearly not interested in having me practice on him. Big white guys are pretty scary!

This was the day that the people brought gifts for their pastors. I'm not sure that most of the churches do this, but I was happy to see it, as Elis and Kopi give and work sacrificially, and don't receive much in the way of cash salary. One of the gifts was the mattress. You'll also notice pillows and a blanket.

The time for the drama has arrived! Pastor Kopi draws back the curtain to reveal the stable. It is made out of leafy branches, and is decorated with a small (insert dramatic pause and drumroll here)...

MANGER SCENE. It's a simple little one that Judy bought in a yard sale in the US several years ago, and gave to Pastor Elis as a gift. They have used it as some part of the decorations in the church ever since.

The drama begins with Mary.

The angel Gabriel (and a few of his friends) come to tell Mary what's coming up.

Mary is, of course, surprised and a bit alarmed at the news that she will be pregnant.

Angels, apparently, have pale white faces.

Joseph, meanwhile, is snoozing over by the left wall on a bench by his dad. It's his turn to have a visit from Gabriel. He's upset by the pregnancy news, but resolves to make the best of things and obey the angel's instructions.

So M&J talk it over, and decide to go ahead with things.

I have always wondered what Caesar Augustus looked like. This is one idea. I'm not entirely sure that I buy into this particular artistic vision, but it's interesting. I don't know why I don't have a full-face shot of him. Pretty intimidating, if you ask me. If he told me to go to my "as ples" (home town) and "raitim nem" (sign my name), I probably would. Apparently M&J don't see any reason to resist.

So they head out to Bethlehem (not on a donkey, which isn't biblical anyway), only to find each of several inns have no vacancy. Every one of the inn keepers looked a lot like Pastor Elis. Mary is in the throes of labor, as you can tell.

Finally, one of the inn keepers (who again looks like Elis) offers a "rabis haus" (garbage house), full of the smell of feces and urine of the animals. Joseph seems to think that this is the best offer he's likely to come across, and books the stable. The happy couple disappear into the leafy bower.

Meanwhile, there were in that country, in the back corner of the church, shepherds watching over their flocks. They in turn get their visit from Gabriel and company. They head straight to Bethlehem.

There are several new things that I learned about shepherds. One is that they have a penchant for wearing leafy branches on their heads. Also, since there are more female actors available than male, many shepherds have to have painted-on beards.

My flash wouldn't cycle fast enough for me to get a good shot of this particular shepherd, but he was played by the same hunched-over little old lady that I included a picture of at the beginning of this post. She looked like she was having a lot of fun being a shepherd.

Now, of course, it's time for Herod to do his bit. This was clearly the award-winning performance of this production.

Herod was escorted by his soldiers. Scary soldiers. I wouldn't want to tangle with either one of them!

King H awaits his audience with the wise men...

who are on their way, following the star.

The star was rigged on a pulley system so that it could be advanced along a string overhead to lead the wise ones to the stable. We won't get into the details of what is strictly biblical here.

Great crowns, eh?

The star pauses while the wise men meet with Herod, who is quite distressed about the prospect of a competing king.

Herod consults his own wise men, and decides to send the 3 from the East on their star-following way, with instructions to return with detailed intelligence.

The star leads them faithfully on their way.

Herod, meanwhile, broods while he awaits their return, muttering about his feelings in regard to a baby king being born in his territory. Even as he does, the wise men sneak out the back door of the stable, circle around the back way, and escape stage left.

Finally, old Hal realizes that he was been tricked, and explodes with rage. It scared my right off my bench!

Gabriel and company make one last visit to warn M&J...

who in turn sneak out the back door of the stable, circle around the back way...

and head to Egypt with the baby Jesus. As a blow for biblical authenticity, this kid is about the size that Jesus probably was when they headed out.

And the cast gathers for a curtain call and a closing song. Herod, as it turns out, is quite a good guitar player!

After the service, they passed out gifts to children who had attended Sunday School and Children's church faithfully throughout 2010. The gifts that the largest group received were just cups--simple drinking mugs. But that is a pretty nice gift. Someone had to come up with the money, go all the way to Hagen, buy all the cups, bring them home, and wrap them. This church is strongly committed to ministry to the children.

This little friend, so scared of me at the beginning, played his part as baby Jesus, and then watched, not too patiently, as his friends and siblings went up and collected their presents. He cried, and tried to go up several times. When his name was finally called, he zipped up to claim his prize. He was much happier than he looks in this picture.

The Kopi family--Michael, John, Kopi, James
Agnes and Elis.

They lost little Nensol to meningitis about 3 years ago

On our way back to Kudjip, we stopped for Stephen to photograph scenery, and asked a passerby to take a picture of the three of us. Stephen is a fine young doctor whom the Lord is calling into a life in medical missions.

A late Merry Christmas, and a not-quite-so-late Happy New year to all of you. May the Lord bless and guide each of you in 2011!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T22:41:00.001+11:00

One of our favourite customs at Kudjip is caroling on the hospital wards which we do each Christmas eve. We sing on each ward and this year we had a trumpet quintet that played! We even had a live nativity. We recruited "Mary" and her baby from the maternity ward.

The MKs helped me make up presents for each of almost 100 patients.

Andy and Judy in their silly caps

Emma, Allison, Lydia and Jessica helping fill the gift bags.

Ethan and Josiah having fun

Andy trying to get the bags of gifts to stay on the carts

Tim, Andy, Josiah, Bill and Jim playing their horns

Living nativity came with us to each ward. It's a real newborn with it's momma.

Some patients didn't seem to pay much attention...

...but most were pretty excited.

Thanks to all our supporters whose donations help us make Christmas special for these dear patients every year!

Merry Christmas to each of you!

AB/JB

Cheap Blog Post

2010-12-12T23:31:00.000+11:00

Here's the link to Dr. Steph Doenges' blog. You should read it.

Yeah, this is kinda cheap, just posting a link to someone else's blog instead of writing something original. But I was just looking at Steph Doenges' blog, and one post particularly touched me. Steph has a special relationship with some of the tiniest people in PNG, and their moms. She loves these babies, and the moms know it, and return the love on their babies' behalf.

Steph is a special lady, a hard worker, a great doctor, a valued colleague.

Once you read this, look at some of her other posts as well.

This photo doesn't show her face very well, but it shows her hard at work.

The Rat Patrol

2010-12-05T21:34:00.000+11:00

Okay, fellas, wake up and grow! You've got work to do!

Do not worry!

2010-11-20T20:44:00.000+11:00

"...See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these!" Matthew 6:28, 29

This past week we received a 40 foot container from Samaritan's Purse. It was packed full with a new generator for our station, an x-ray machine, an autoclave and parts to the hydro we hope to build and box upon box full of medical supplies!

The Newest MK in PNG

2010-11-08T00:24:00.004+11:00

That's me on the left, Piper Faulkner front and center.

Friday afternoon I had the privelege of ushering Piper Fern Faukner into the open air of the world. Her parents (Mark and Belinda) are missionaries with To Every Nation Ministries, working in the Goroka area. They, along with Piper's 2 big sisters (Bradley and Erin) have been here for about a week to be ready for the big event. It's been nice to have them around.

Piper and me after the surgery Friday

And here's one from Saturday, because, well... because it shows me better.

Bradley and Erin stayed with Judy on Friday, so that Mark could be free to be with Belinda during her c-section, and stayed with Becky Wallace that night so that Mark could be at the hospital with Belinda and the baby. We got to have the group, including little Piper for supper Saturday evening.

The Faulkner family (minus Belinda) at our house for supper.

Bradley with her newest little sister.

Erin and Piper

I didn't have my camera at the missionary potluck this afternoon, where Piper was the hit of the show, eagerly competed for by all the wannabe grandmas and grandpas (her mom didn't attend!) They said it was OK for me to post some photos here.

Belinda is doing well, and will probably be able to move back to the guest house tomorrow.

All the Blue Shirts

2010-10-31T11:04:00.000+11:00

Every three to four months, Nazarene Hospital receives a shipment of medical supplies from Nazarene Hospital Foundation, a non-profit organization formed by Dr. Todd Winter of Medford, Oregon. These 20 foot containers are filled with valuable and often desperately needed equipment and supplies. Many times, God has provided what we have needed that very day the container was opened. There are stories of items going directly from the unloading area into the operating room to be used immediately!

Todd is often able to send other cool things. Like a shipment of extra t-shirts from a research study. It was great fun to hand them out to every patient. On the pediatric ward, it was the parents who received the shirts! This day it was Stan and Gabby who helped us pass them out. We had a little fun with the XXXXL shirt!

For more information about Nazarene Hospital Foundation and how you can help, check out the website.

Worship at Bilu

2010-10-10T22:47:00.002+11:00

This Sunday I was invited to preach at one of the "bush" churches, at a place called "Bilu". Judy was not able to go with me, and there were no missionaries or volunteers who could go. I asked some of the college of nursing students if they'd like to go. Five of them decided to go along. I had never been there before, so the pastor offered to meet me in Banz. The only problem was that we forgot to specify a time! I guessed the time, but the pastor had wanted to start early this week, as it was a special service. He waited patiently for me, however.

Lina, Lydia Kolum, Elvis and Nixon, NCON students went with me.

The Bilu Church of the Nazarene's sanctuary and prayer house. A foundation has been poured for a new sanctuary in the future.

We drove to the village and then walked a short distance to the church building. The people were waiting patiently for us.

It turns out that this was a special service for this church. They had participated in a community evangelistic crusade in which 179 people had made commitments to Christ. Twenty-seven of these had chosen to unite with the Nazarenens. After greeting us, the people invited us to wait with them for the group of new Christians to arrive and then participate in greeting them.

A lot of kids were trying to get into every picture I took, so I took a group photo to placate them. Some "big kids" sneaked into this one.

While we waited the pastor got his hammer and tore the woven matting that is used as wallboard in the thatched buildings from a section of wall at the back of the little sanctuary. When we talk about a church "splitting at the seams" we don't usually mean it this literally!

There! Instant overflow seating!

The new believers process in

The group of new Christians arrived, led by three members of the organizing committee for the recent crusade. They passed through a double row of people singing a welcome song, and went into the church building.

The worship team led in lively worship

The NCON students shared a testimony and a song

This is the "preacher's eye" view of the congregation. The people raising their hands are the new believers.

Well, of course they would have a lunch for the guests. It's a good thing that I took the NCON students along, or it would have been a very lonely lunch for me. This was a very nice meal, including several grand (and expensive) touches. There were 2 kinds of rice (and rice is pricey for most people), chicken (and chicken prices are up as well, do to high feed prices), and of course a variety of fruit and vegetables. Garden produce is also getting hard to come by due to the drought.

Click here to see some additional photos, see my album on Facebook. You don't have to be on Facebook to see these.

And The Children Waited

2010-10-06T22:55:00.001+11:00

Life can sometimes be full of disappointments especially for children in a third world country.
We have a great work and witness team here from Australia. They are helping to build some desperately needed employee housing for the hospital. Some of the team wanted to do bible school activities with children from the surrounding villages and I arranged the times and places and drove the cruiser.

We were scheduled to go to Lena's church on Friday. Lena is our friend who is working at the volunteer house, cleaning and helping in food preparation for the team. On Thursday, she asked that we reschedule to Tuesday. She was worried that there might not be many kids attending on Friday because it was the end of a holiday week. Well . . . through a series of miscommunication, the children expected us on Friday. They all went to the river to wash and then dressed in their sunday best and waited. We didn't come. Lena got home that night from her work and reassured them that the missionaries would come on MONDAY. (No, it was Tuesday!) The excitement mounted again! By 10 a.m. on Monday morning, everyone was again clean and waiting. They waited. And waited. They sent runners up the dirt road to watch for the mission landcruiser. They waited until 4 p.m. We knew nothing of this! Lena came home from work and explained that tomorrow was the day for the Pikinini Klub.

With great faith and probably lots of hope, the children again washed, dressed and waited. Would the missionaries come this time? Thankfully we did! They were ecstatic! We had a great time. People from throughout the village were drawn to the church by the happy laughter of the children. Thank you, Australian team members, for caring about these children!

The Challenge of Continuing Education

2010-10-01T18:04:00.000+10:00

Many of you probably understand that all doctors in the United States are required to acquire continuing medical education in order to maintain licensure. So . . . why should that matter to a missionary doctor you might ask? Well, for several reasons, not the least of which is my desire to try to stay up-to-date with current medical knowledge. But more pressingly, in order to remain licensed in PNG I must remain licensed in the U.S. Therefore, even when I'm here in PNG I need to keep up on the requirements.

While there are many ways to earn continuing education credits, one of the best ways continues to be live, in person medical conferences. There are none of these offered in Papua New Guinea. I can try to attend some during my furlough time while in the U.S. but many of the conferences offered there are not particularly relevant to my work here. Most missionary physicians have a similar problem.

For a number of years now, the Christian Medical and Dental Society has offered a solution. Dedicated volunteer faculty from all over the U.S. go out every year to teach CME courses to missionary doctors. Many of them have either served in the past on the mission field or have volunteered at missionary hospitals. They understand the conditions under which we practice. The meetings are designed to also be a time of spiritual refreshment for the missionary families.

The doctors here at Kudjip take turns attending the conference which is held in Thailand. This coming February its my turn! The hospital here helps as much as they are able. There are still many expenses involved that are not covered by other funds. It will cost about $5000 for Judy and me to go.

Would you prayerfully consider helping us to attend? If you want to chip in, please send your donation (which is tax deductible) to: Nazarene Financial Services, 17001 Prairie Star Parkway, Lenexa, KS 66220. Mark the check "Work of A & J Bennett."

If you prefer to give online, go to this web site.

The Independence Day Accident

2010-09-26T16:19:00.002+10:00

PNG's Independence Day is September 16; it fell on Thursday this year. Since a lot of our staff like to have a long weekend, the hospital administration decided to stay open on the 16th and close on the 17th. So it was pretty much business as usual for us on the morning of the 16th.

For me, Thursday morning is Talipes Clinic. I've written several blogs (also here) previously about my work with kids affected by talipes (clubfoot).

Taking a cast off one of my talipes babies. Another is waiting her turn.

I do the talipes work in the orthopedics area, adjacent to the emergency room. I was finishing up, just before lunch time, thinking about going to the house for some food, a cup of coffee and the chance to sit down for a few minutes, when Judy (who was there helping me with the talipes clinic) told me that a vehicle had just arrived carrying 13 victims of a motor vehicle accident. We have something called "Public Motor Vehicles" or "PMV"s. These are privately-owned, but licensed to carry passengers for hire. Some are small vans, some are larger buses, and some are open-bed trucks fitted with benches that can carry 20 or 30 passengers. It was one of these that had slipped off the road on a steep slope and rolled down the hillside. The accident occurred about 45 minutes travel time from the hospital. We never found any evidence of alcohol use on the part of the driver.

Me, working on one of the motor vehicle accident patients

As I looked up I saw that there were already patients on most of the exam tables in the ER, and they were starting to bring a patient into Ortho. As I was finishing with the last of the talipes babies and sending him on his way, our medical student Charlotte arrived, and the two of us started screening the patients. An ER nurse started phoning the wards to ask any nurses or nursing students who could to come to help. The initial screening process consisted of feeling for a pulse (if the pulse rate is normal, there isn't much blood loss), seeing if they were breathing, and asking the patient where they were injured. If they could respond that also told us something about their mental status.

Nursing staff working with MVA patients

As extra help started arriving, I instructed that each nurse or student should attach themselves to one patient, get full vital signs and evaluate them in some detail. A piece of paper was placed with each patient to record the vital signs, and other information as it was gathered. Very early in the process, Dr. Susan Myers came over from Outpatient. Also, Dr. Steph Doenges was already there, but was tied up treating a child with severe facial injuries from a different incident; she eventually was able to join us in the fray.

Family members watch at the ER window

Only one patient stood out in the first round of screening, an older lady who seemed to have injuries in several areas of her body, and a rapid pulse rate. I ordered IV fluids and some x-rays. The trouble was, the x-ray staff had gone to lunch, and one had the morning off.

Then staff called me to re-evaluate a young lady that hadn't seemed too bad on the initial check, whose pulse rate was only a bit up, and who was talking at first. They called out to me that she was struggling for breath. We quickly started ventilating her with a bag and mask, and then intubated her trachea so that we could ventilate more effectively. Immediately, air started accumulating under her skin, indicating major injuries of her lungs and airway. She died within moments.

Family members (or curious onlookers) outside the ER window

We all continued working our way around the patients. Eventually the ones who needed IVs had them in. Patients with fractures had splints on to stabilize the injured limbs. Before long the x-ray folks got back from lunch, including the one who had had the morning off, and x-rays started coming back. Dr. Graham Wetzig, our volunteer surgion had been in the operating room all morning. He was able to come in and take over the supervision of the situation. Eventually the rest of us were able to go get some lunch.

One other young man seemed to have some internal injuries, and Graham took him to the operating room later that afternoon, and cleaned out a large accumulation of blood from behind his bladder.

Later we learned that 2 men had died at the scene of the accident, and hadn't been brought to the hospital at all.

The old lady with multiple injuries died later that evening.

A number of less-seriously injured patients were brought in throughout the afternoon. Altogether we believe that we treated over 20 survivors. Many were treated and released, but a good number were admitted. Most have now been discharged. One little girl will undergo some skin grafting on her face later this week.

A boy with minor injuries waiting to be treated

I was pleased at how well things went. Staff worked well together. Patients were evaluated in an orderly way and treatment started promptly for those who needed it most urgently. Thank you for your prayers--it is God's strength that keeps us going every day.

She's Not Heavy, She's Sombody's Grandma

2010-09-21T22:22:00.000+10:00

Walking past one of the grassy areas by the hospital this afternoon, I saw three nursing students helping an elderly lady out of a wheelchair so that she could sit down on the grass. The urinary catheter trailing out from under her skirt confirmed that she was a patient. She obviously preferred to sit on the ground over sitting in the wheelchair.

I was impressed with how tenderly the students were treating her. They couldn't have been more gentle and kind if she had been their own grandmother. Who knows? She could have been a relative of one of them. It's a small country, and it's not rare that a relative of a student or staff member is a patient here.

Kids In The Trees

2010-08-24T21:32:00.000+10:00

The kids are pretty good about asking if they can climb our guava tree to pick an afternoon snack. We joke about the fact that PNG children have no idea what ripe guavas are because they pick them as soon as they are big enough to eat.

I heard a cry for help and there was Emelton hanging precariously from a high branch. As the tallest person there, I ran to help him and caught him as he fell. One of the injuries that the doctors see often in the emergency room is broken arms from falls from guava trees! In fact, Andy remembers one little girl a few years ago who managed to break both arms in one event! Since both arms were in long-arm casts, she couldn't feed herself for several weeks.

The pictures here are reenactment of a real event!

Being There

2010-07-17T23:10:00.000+10:00

So, we spent a week high in the Bismark-Schrader mountains. Judy and I were at Dusin for the full week, and Jonathan and Sam spent 3 of the days in Gebrau.

The first photos are of Dusin from the air. You can compare them in the photo in the last post. You can spot the house just off the airstrip. Unfortunately, my photo software at the moment doesn't provide for drawing, or I'd add an arrow or a circle. Also, note how many more houses are around now as compared to 1970.

The third picture is just a face to represent all of the great people we visited with during our time there. More details later.

Getting Away

2010-07-08T21:46:00.003+10:00

We're about to go on vacation. It's a pretty exclusive resort. In fact we'll only be the 3rd party to stay there this year. The luxury accommodation has 4 bedrooms, and indoor plumbing! It will have running water as soon as we get the pump fixed. Until then, the "running" water will run on 2 legs! The cost? We have a list of repairs to do while we're there.

It looks like we're packing to move, but it's just for a week. The food at this resort is good, but you have to bring your own groceries. And cook. The fridge at Dusin no longer works. It is (or was) kerosene-powered. Yeah, I'm with you, I still can't really understand how a little flame can make something cold. In this case it doesn't any more. So we're taking a big industrial-quality cooler chest full of frozen food and ice that is guaranteed to give us fresh meat even on our last night.

If you wonder where Dusin is, don't bother looking on any map you are likely to find. If you can find the old NWMS (now NMI) reading book called "The Edge of Nowhere" by Daryl Schendel, there is a simple map there. Let me just say that Dusin is so far into the mountains that if you go any farther you're going out the other side.

As an afterthought, I'll go find a copy of the book and scan the map and maybe a photo.

Here it is.

Dusin is in the upper left quadrant of the photo. Note the little rectangle that represents the airstrip. The airstrip is build on a 12% grade, which makes it very "interesting" to land at. However, since the first landing there on May 17, 1973, Mission Aviation Fellowship (and a few other agencies who occasionally use the strip) have a perfect safety record.

Notice the lower left-hand corner where the arrow points down the road, and it says "To Kudjip" and the legend that says "Simbai to Tabibuga (2 days' walk)". You should know that very fit nationals can make that walk in 2 days, and about another days' walk from there to Dusin. You understand why we fly!

And here is a photo of the airstrip under construction. The house shows as a white rectangle just to the right of the center of the photo, just off the runway. I'll try to get a shot from this angle to compare, and post it when we get back.

See you in a week!

Extreme Makeover: Pokarumb

2010-06-19T12:34:00.001+10:00

Each time we passed the Pokarumb church on the way to town we noticed how rundown the building looked but we understood that the cost of a gallon of paint is roughly equivalent to 5 months of a pastor's salary ($80 US!).

Pokarumb was the third church started in PNG. Syndey Knox, the pioneer missionary, worked to build a building for them to worship in, in 1957. Its land has unfortunately been at the center of some terrible tribal fighting over the past 6 months. The lay pastor, Pastor Elis, tells the story of being "hands upim" (held at gunpoint) with M-16s in the front yard of the church. The enemy line cut down the huge old trees surrounding the building, stole windows from the church and tried to destroy the sign. She pleaded with them not to destroy the parsonage and they left it standing, after taking everything from inside. The house of the retired pastor was dismantled and taken.

The fighting is over now. 17 men were killed on both sides. The church almost died also. It went from a sanctuary full of men and women to 7 faithful women. The men had to flee the land to save their lives.

The faithful few prayed that the Lord would help them to fix the church building. They felt it would be a new start for the small group of believers. The next day Jonathan, Sam and I talked with them about coming to help! How sweet the Lord is!

We, along with a team of MKs and volunteers, spent a Saturday painting, repairing, installing new window glass and having our own tribal war with 2 hives of bees (they eventually lost but left wounds on many of us!). A group of us went the next to day to worship with them. What a privilege it was to encourage this small group of brothers and sisters in the Lord. We took two special pictures--one of mostly women who had stayed during the fighting and one of young men who had fled and now returned home.

For an album of photos and captions that go with this story, click here.

Being Used by God

2010-05-21T16:25:00.000+10:00

It was a routine clinic visit. A teenage boy, accompanied by his mom. His problem is a little unusual, a bone infection in his jaw. Oh, bone infections are NOT unusual here. They are common in the long bones of the leg, but not in the jaw. So that I can use some shorthand, I'll explain that the official name for bone infection is "osteomyelitis" and that doctors usually shorten this to "osteo." It is a difficult and frustrating problem, requiring months of treatment with antibiotics and usually surgery, which must be timed properly. If surgery is done too soon, the dead part of the bone may not be separated from the growing, living bone. If it is delayed too long, there is increased deformity of the bone, and potentially, spread to additional areas.

So it is necessary to review the status of osteo every few weeks, checking xrays to see how the bone changes are progressing, and blood tests that help to assess the severity of the infection. We change antibiotics every 2 to 3 weeks to try to avoid the development of resistance to the ones we have. Patients often don't understand why they have to come back so often. They often do not see much change during this time, and sometimes just give up, and stop coming. Then many times the infection spreads, and things get much worse. It is helpful when we can explain some of the whys and hows of this disease.

But honestly, we often don't explain, for many reasons. Sometimes there are things that I just can't explain well in Pidgin. Often we are pressed for time. Since patients often see different doctors each time they come, and it's easy to assume that one of the previous doctors explained.

So this boy (I'll call him "Michael") has been coming faithfully every two weeks for xrays, blood tests and adjustments in his medications. Today was the first time I've seen him, although I've know about him from conversations with the other docs. For some reason I felt the need today to stop and explain in some detail about osteo. I launched into my "didactic mode", drew diagrams and sketches. Somehow the Pidgin that I needed flowed easily. The mom is a bright lady. I have no idea how educated she is. I could tell, from the expressions on her face, and from her comments and questions that she was understanding what I was explaining.

But here is why I'm even telling you this story at all. At the end of my lecture, Michael's mom said, "Yesterday I was praying. I prayed like this: 'God, tomorrow I'm taking Michael back to the hospital. I don't understand what's going on with him, why we have to go back so often but see so little progress. Please, let the doctor explain this disease to me tomorrow.'"

Wow. How humbling, but how exciting that I got to participate in an answer to this dear lady's prayer. I realized that the Holy Spirit had prompted me to give the explanation. It was at the end of the day, and I was tired, and anxious to get home. It would have been easy to prescribe the new meds, and tell them to come back in 2 weeks.

Before Michael and his mom left, I prayed with them. I prayed for wisdom, understanding and patience for them. I prayed for healing for Michael's osteo. I prayed for Michael's education and future. I thanked God for all his blessings.

One of the big blessings for me is the privilege of participating in what God is doing in His world, of being a character in His play, a worker on His crew, a tool in His toolbox. Today it was a blessing to get to be part of the answer to a dear saint's prayer.

The photo is of some happy kids playing in a beautiful river. They don't have osteo, at least not yet.

Surprise!

2010-05-10T22:14:00.000+10:00

A pig was squealing in the middle of the night in Kawi village. An unusual occurence that awoke our friend, Meti. She thought perhaps a thief was stealing it. She didn't have a pig and there was nothing she could do so she went back to sleep.

This was the night before Mother's Day. The women of the Kawi Church of the Nazarene didn't know it but the men of the church were preparing a mumu feast to honor them! Pastor James had recruited even the non-Christian husbands of some of the women who attend the church. They had secretly bought a large pig, hiding it in someone's car so the women wouldn't know about it. All night the men worked, first killing and butchering the pig - traditionally a man's job - and then cutting and peeling a huge pile of vegetables - a woman's job.

The next morning, the ladies of the church were greeted with a beautiful banner that said "Happy Mother's Day! We love you Mumma. You are our heart!". The men entered singing a welcome song and showered the women with flower petals. Pastor James spoke using the passage from Genesis 1:27. He talked about how we must honor our mothers and our wives. We must never call them names or hit them. We must share the workload with them. We can wash clothes. We can change the baby. We can cook food and wash dishes. If you've shown disrespect to your mother or wife, you must say you are sorry to them.

Pastor James said, "Look at me. See my head, arms and legs. Now look at this woman. We are the same. God created us equal. A mother is even better than a man because she can grow a child inside her body!".

At the end of the service, the men insisted that the women come and look at the mumu. I think they wanted their approval! Then the women went back inside the church where they were served first and ate until they were full. The men ate outside with the children.

In a culture where women are mistreated and devalued, what these men did was an amazing thing. Many of these women have never felt this special since the day they were bought by their husbands.

As this wonderful time was ending, the women told the men "Don't worry. Father's Day is coming!".

The Last Man Before the Animals

2010-05-05T20:44:00.001+10:00

Those of you who heard the presentation that we gave during our 2007 furlough, and a few times during the 2009 furlough might remember Old John, who lived at a place that our friend Meti referred to as "the last place before the animals". In other words, his home was so remote, that there were no more people living beyond it. Because of the kindness of Meti, and other members of the Kawi Church of the Nazarene, John's life was saved, and he came to know Jesus as his savior.

He eventually settled into a house in the village, and we hadn't heard much from him for a long time. Last Sunday Judy took a group of people to Kawi for the Sunday service. While out on the road with Meti, they met John and visited briefly. He seems to be doing well, but there wasn't a chance to talk much.

Apa

2010-04-24T22:45:00.000+10:00

I didn't know how one life could contain so much heartbreak.

He was born with deformed hands. His left hand has a normal thumb and one finger. His right hand has a thumb and 3 fused fingers. Somehow, he seems to be able to handle things and do basic sorts of work.

Although raised in the church, he had never asked Jesus into his life. He followed a life of crime.

By about 2 years ago, he was married and had 3 children. As the only son in his family, he had inherited a large piece of land, and felt pretty well set.

Then one rainy night, he was walking along a familiar path near a river with his 4 year-old son on his shoulders. He was depending on his knowledge of the route, along with the dim moonlight of an overcast night. What he didn't know, and couldn't see, was that there was a place where the heavy rains had washed a section of the path into the stream. He stepped off into the washed-out section and fell and tumbled into the river. He grasped his son's leg with his left hand, but his arm struck a stone, which loosened his grip. They both plunged into the cold, rain-swollen water. He was disoriented at first--perhaps he also struck his head in the fall. In the swirling water he heard a voice saying, "give your life to Jesus." The words were repeated 2 times. There in the blackness, he gave his life to Jesus. Quickly his mind cleared, and he was able to lunge to the surface of the water.

Apa called his son's name, and thrashed around in the water trying to find his son, but to no avail. It was not until 3 days later that the little boy's body was found, some distance downstream.

Sometime after this, his wife's family came and took her away from Apa. He had not paid any bride price at the time of the marriage, and because he couldn't work for wages (no one would hire him because of his had deformities), and because he didn't have any brothers or other close relatives to help him, he had not been able to pay, and her family had allowed him to postpone payment. But now their patience was at an end. Besides, they accused him of killing his son. If they were serious about this accusation, I don't know why they didn't try to take the other children away from him, but they didn't.

He was recently able to get a job as a security guard at the hospital, and thing were looking up. He assumed that if he could save up some money to pay bride price, he would get his wife back. A friend even offered a generous gift to help with the bride price. But then it became obvious that she did not want to come back to him. There were rumors that she had moved in with another man. Then she went to his employer with false accusations that lead to the loss of his job.

A few weeks ago, it became obvious that some of Apa's cousins were determined to take his land away from him. His coffee gardens were about his only source of income. Because there were many male cousins to divide their family's land, they didn't have much for each one of them. They told Apa that they wanted the land. However, Apa's mother was living on the land, and she had enough influence in the tribe to make it difficult for them.

Last week, Apa's relatives accused his mother of using sorcery to cause the death of another relative. In many deaths, especially ones that aren't understood, it is assumed that sorcery is involved. It is culturally acceptable to take revenge on sorcerers, and the sorcerer's family has no right of counter revenge. It therefore becomes convenient to bring an accusation of sorcery against someone whom one wants to hurt or kill. So the cousins accused Apa's mother of sorcery. They found her in the market, with Apa's 2 children. They attacked her and killed her.

They apparently intended to kill the children as well. The little girl was left on the ground unconscious, and assumed dead. The little boy got lost in the crowd, and was rescued by a female relative, who hid him under her coat. The murderers carried the body of Apa's mother away, and buried her in a location that is unknown to Apa, to deny him of the ability to hold a proper funeral and burial for her. After the murderers left, someone noted that the little girl was still breathing, and she was brought to the hospital, where she recovered. Both children are now safe with other relatives.

Finally, the relatives have burned Apa's house, along with all his possessions. The items he mentioned specifically that were lost were his Bibles.

He came to the house Sunday afternoon, along with Simon and Esther, mutual friends. We had known bits and pieces of his story, but not many of the details. Obviously, most of what has happened to Apa can't be fixed, but we are going to try to help with a few things. Judy had a new Bible which had not yet started "feeling like mine", and she gave it to him. I know someone who can talk to his former boss to see if there is a possibility of getting the job back, and I have shared the story with him. Apa has been given a little cash to help with immediate expenses. Most of all, we are requesting your prayers for him.

Late note: Apa may be getting his job back. His wife, who works at the hospital will probably be reprimanded for lying to the security company and getting him fired, and if he doesn't get the gob back, she will probably be fired. A tiny shred of justice in this painful situation.

Alfie

2010-04-11T15:10:00.000+10:00

I have written before about my work with kids affected by Congenital Talipes Equinovarus, commonly known as clubfoot. This is Alfie. He has clubfoot, but you wouldn't know it now. He is four years old, much older than what is commonly considered to be treatable by non-surgical methods. Until the day that these photos were taken, he had never stood using the soles of his feet. Because of the birth defect, his feet were turned under so severely that he had learned to walk on what would ordinarily be the tops of his feet.

He comes from a remote part of the Southern Highlands Province of PNG. His dad used all the money he had to bring Alfie to Kudjip, because he heard that there was someone here who could help his son. However, he came not knowing that the treatment process takes many weeks. He did not have anywhere to stay, and very little money for food. Certainly, traveling back and forth every week was out of the question. He was hoping that Alfie would be admitted to the hospital, or perhaps the problem could be corrected in a short time.

At the time they first came, our TB ward had only a few patients, and they all had been on treatment for a long time, so that they were not contagious. I asked our hospital administrator, and received permission to allow Alfie and his dad to stay there for as long as it would take to complete his treatment. As it turned out, on the first day they were here, they met someone they knew (probably a relative or an in-law) from back home, who now lives about an hour's walk from the hospital, and who invited them to stay there.

So treatment of Alfie's clubfoot began. Many children his age are afraid of white people, are afraid of doctors, and afraid of loud machines. Yet week after week Alfie would lay calmly on the treatment table while this white doctor would cut his casts off with a power cast saw, and would cooperate as I stretched the tight ligaments in his feet and placed them in new casts. I was excited to see how quickly his feet responded to the treatment. The callouses that had formed on the tops of his feet from walking on them were starting to soften. After just 5 weeks the feet were turned right-side-up, and were ready for a minor operation to lengthen his Achilles' tendons, so his feet wouldn't point down.

The final stage in the treatment process is to wear a splint to maintain the position of the feet. They wear it full-time for a few weeks, then at night for months or a few years if possible afterward. I have managed to build my own splints. They don't look high-tech, but they are quite functional. I usually

use baby shoes that come from the US, which I attach to a piece of plywood with up-turned ends. But Alfie is much bigger than most of the kids I treat. None of the shoes in my stock are nearly big enough for him. So, in the two weeks after his tendon-lengthening operation, I managed to get into Mount Hagen to shop for some shoes. I found exactly 1 pair that were his size, stout and stiff, as I need for the splints.

So last week Alfie came for his final visit. I removed the casts that had been on his feet for the two weeks after the tendon operation. My heart was pounding as I picked him up off the treatment table and gave him a big hug. Then I knelt down and gently lowered him to the floor. I knew that after 7 weeks in casts his legs would be too weak to hold him up, so I held onto him as I lowered his feet to the floor. (I'm crying now, as I try to type this!) With me supporting his weight, Alfie stood on the soles of his feet for the first time in his life!

I assembled the splint, using the shoes that I'd bought in Mount Hagen. These were the first shoes that Alfie had ever worn! At this stage I ordinarily ask the parents to bring the child back after 2 weeks, then every few weeks so I can check the feet, and repair or replace broken or outgrown splints. This time I knew that it would be very hard for Alfie's dad to bring him back. I instructed him as best I could, and encouraged him to come back after a few weeks if at all possible. Then I prayed with this dedicated dad and patient calm little boy, and said "good-bye". I hope I can see them again.

General Superintendent Visits Talipes Clinic

2010-03-31T12:53:00.000+11:00

Here at Kudjip, we get a visit from a General Superintendent about once a year. They always have a lot to do, meetings, problem solving, conducting district assemblies, etc., so they don't have much time on their hands. So for one of them to take the time to tour the hospital, and then to stop and take in interest in what I'm doing was a little surprising.

A few weeks ago, we had our annual visit from a GS, this time Dr. Jerry Porter. In my experience, the GSs that I've gotten to know at all have all been humble, gentle men and women, not self-important or arrogant at all. For those of you who aren't Nazarenes, there are six GSs, each elected for a four-year term. They divide the world up, and take turns being responsible for each part, two years at a time.

Dr. Porter took a tour of the new hospital--he's the first GS to visit since we moved in. They did the tour on Thursday which is the day when I have my talipes (club-foot) clinic. Dr. Porter stopped, watched me casting a kiddo's foot and asked questions. When I saw him again at a meeting that evening, he commented that he had Googled talipes, and read up about it. He asked a few questions about my work.

Finally, I can't resist adding a photo of Dr. Porter holding Noah Riggins. He and Noah seemed to like each other--I think Dr. Porter was missing his own grandkids.

Operation Warm Baby

2010-03-28T22:38:00.000+11:00

Imagine you are very poor. Imagine you are going to have a baby. Imagine you have no money to buy any needed supplies for a newborn, not even a blanket to wrap this new life in.

Last year over 1100 babies were born at Nazarene Hospital. Some mothers came in prepared to take care of their new baby but many came with nothing. In some cases the baby was wrapped in a paper disposable sheet after birth.

How could we help?

Nazarene Hospital Foundation stepped in! These supporters of Nazarene Hospital came up with an idea for a baby pack that could easily be given to new mothers - a zip lock bag filled with diapers, pins, plastic pants, onesies, sleeper, socks, hat, and soap. We called it "Operation Warm Baby" and spread the word about our need. Little did we realize the floodgates of compassion that would be opened!

Our church has a program called LINKS which is short for "Loving, Informed Nazarenes Knowing and Sharing". Our request was put on the unofficial list of needs. People began responding and sending. It was a huge response to our need!

Now we are able to give each woman who has a baby in our hospital an "Operation Warm Baby" pack! Many of these women have never received a present in their life. Some women cry when they receive this gift for their baby. They cannot imagine anyone caring so much about them. What a privilege to give in the name of Jesus!

A Love Story

2010-03-20T22:33:00.000+11:00

Michael and Meryl Stathis have been married for 45 years today. They are volunteering at Nazarene Hospital for the fourth time.

Michael is a general surgeon, the old-fashioned kind--truly general, with a wide range of skills, careful and systematic as a diagnostician, steady and precise as an operator. He is simply wonderful to have around.

Meryl is a sort of combination of big sister, mother and doting aunt--gentle, witty, concerned. Great cook, too.

Some of you will remember a couple of years ago when we took an emergency trip to Australia for medical assistance for Judy. The Stathises were some of the people that took care of us then--we stayed in their home, they fed us, prayed for us, drove us to medical appointments.

Michael was raised in a traditional Greek Orthodox home. His family was faithful to church, and believed that if they were good enough, they would go to heaven. As a teenager Michael fell in love with Jesus through reading the New Testament. Although his parents opposed it, they eventually allowed him to go to an evangelical church once a week. Through the church he met Meryl, and although they weren't really able to date, over a period of five years a deep friendship developed. Michael knew that he could only marry a woman who shared his faith in Jesus, and knew that God had led him to Meryl.

The elder Stathises were heart-broken that Michael should marry outside the Greek Orthodox Church, but eventually came to accept, and eventually love Meryl. But best of all, they eventually came to accept and love Jesus, too.

Today we celebrated with Michael and Meryl. We'd planned to drive to Randan Ridge, high above Mount Hagen town, to eat at what may be the nicest restaurant in the Highlands. As we headed out of Mount Hagen and up the narrow road, people by the road flagged us down to warn us that the road had washed away. Judy had been to Randan just a couple of weeks ago, and commented on the narrow road cut into the hillside, that then was barely passable. So we went back into Mount Hagen, and had a nice lunch at the Hagen Squash Club. The surroundings and the food were not quite what they would have been at Randan Ridge, but the fellowship was great, and the story of the courtship that culminated 45 years ago today was priceless.

The Prodigal Ring

2010-03-09T22:52:00.001+11:00

I found my lost wedding ring . . . on someone else's finger! Here's what happened:

Six and a half years ago it was stolen from our house. I resigned myself to the loss, thinking it had probably been sold at the market and was now on a grandma's finger in a village somewhere.

We kept meaning to buy new wedding bands--Andy had lost his in a hospital laundry in Montana years ago.

Last week, as I was walking to work, I stopped to talk with one of the nurses. The sun shone on the ring on her finger making the diamond glisten. It attracted my attention and I looked down at it. I looked again. I gasped--it was my wedding ring! I quickly explained this to my friend and assured her that I knew she had not taken it. It had probably passed through many hands before a little girl gave it to her little girl. She graciously gave it to me saying she felt bad that she had not known it had belonged to me before!

Thirty-five years ago Andy had chosen the ring for me. It's pretty special to have it back on my finger again! I am amazed at the sweetness of God! Just that morning I had prayed, "Lord, help me see your presence in this day". Hard to miss it!

JB

Blog Security

2010-02-28T17:06:00.002+11:00

I just discovered that there have been a lot of spam comments on this blog. So far, none that I have seen have been offensive, but I only looked back for a few weeks.

As of now, you will have to complete a text verification step in order to leave a comment. That's the picture of text that you have to type in, to confirm that you are a person and not a machine spreading spam to innocent blogs around the world. It's just a small step, so I hope you won't find it inconvenient. Also, I have switched on comment moderation. That means that I will have to see and approve the comment before it is published. That is no more work for you, and only a little click for me, so don't hesitate to leave comments.

Good Friends

2010-02-28T15:56:00.004+11:00

Tieme is a nurse who has served at Nazarene Hospital for 37 years. That's a long time! It's time for her to retire and she has had to make a decision about where to live. She is a widow and has no traditional family land to return to. It has been an agonizing process for her to find land and hire a carpenter to build her a small house. Leaving Kudjip Nazarene Hospital is like leaving her family.

Last Saturday, while Andy was on call, I drove a team of people, who love Tieme, to her new place in Minj, about a 30 minute drive away. She has a huge garden plot that needed lots of work before it could be planted. The men did the traditional manly work of digging the drainage ditches called barets. The women cleared weeds and burned brush. We worked throughout the morning and then enjoyed a 'garden luncheon' of rice, tuna, homemade bread and cake.

It was a good day.

Well, I Wasn't Going to Say Anything...

2010-02-27T22:49:00.002+11:00

but Judy had a birthday. It was over a week ago, and as you see, I'm a bit behind. I want to emphasize that she is much younger (11 days) than I am.

The Radcliffe's invited us for dinner the evening before. The evening of the 18th, it was the day of the local lady's Bible study, and they had a little surprise party for her there.

You notice the now-standard Kudjip Birthday Hat. If you pay attention, you will see it many times on this blog, as well as those of my fellow missionaries.

Forty-foot containers are really big!

2010-02-14T20:42:00.003+11:00

Saturday morning we were off on a trip to town to take some volunteers to the airport (good bye to Christine and Ryan Young!) and some shopping. We got a call with the news that a long-awaited container had arrived. This one was shipped by Dr. Bob and Carol Arrom, and contained some much-needed items, including new beds for the new hospital, and IV poles.

We hurried back to the station, and spend about 2 hours unloading the container, and helping to arrange some of the items in the hospital.

Thank you Arroms, and all those who helped them put this project together. Our patients will rest much easier, thanks to those wonderful beds!

The Ballins Are Back, and Andy Has a Birthday, all in one day!

2010-02-07T23:25:00.007+11:00

Yesterday, I celebrated my birthday in grand fashion. I slept in, was served coffee in bed, then French toast for breakfast. Overall, the day was quite leisurely, except for a few chores working on one of our volunteer flats in the afternoon. Later I had a great workout at the weight room.

The really exciting part of the day was that we got to see Brad and Nikolai Ballin, along with Chirith and Mekelle. We had not seen them since we were all in the US on our respective furloughs, and in fact it was our first time ever to meet M'kele. They just arrived back in PNG a couple of weeks ago, after serving over 2 years with MAF Australia in the Northern Territory of Australia.

For those of you who don't know, Nikolai grew up in our home church in Marysville, Washington. We've known her since she was 12 or 13. She was on a Work and Witness team that I led to the Dominican Republic in 1997. She came to Kudjip as the elementary teacher in 2002-04. Brad was an engineer for MAF in Mount Hagen. They were married in our yard here at Kudjip in the Spring of 2004, and continued serving in Mount Hagen for 2 or 3 more years before going to Australia, where Brad began his work as a pilot for MAF.

Now they have been assigned to PNG once again. They will be in Mt. Hagen for a few months at least. We don't know if they will be assigned there long-term, or to one of the outlying MAF bases. Either way, it's wonderful to have them back in PNG.

The Ballins joined us for my birthday dinner, along with Patrick and Allison Williams and their kids Elizabeth and Benjamin, their colleagues at MAF. A great evening!

The Long Haul

2010-01-30T21:15:00.003+11:00

A few days ago I was working in the ER, when one of the student nurses came in leading a little girl by the hand. Even while he was saying, "Dr. Andy--do you remember Elsie?" I recognized her. She had been a long-term patient on the pediatrics ward back in the old hospital. She had a mysterious neurologica deterioration, had been in a coma for several days, but had slowly "come back". She apparently had a stroke, and was left with one side of her body and a facial droop.

When she finally learned to walk again, she became very intrusive on the ward, going from bed to bed, touching the babies. We had moved her to the TB ward (we had suspected TB of the brain, and treated her with the full course of meds).

She had been discharged, and I had not seen her for any follow-up. I had often wondered how she was doing. But she was back. She saw Susan for the follow-up visit, and Susan said that she was doing very well. It's good to know.

Then last week, I was seeing a 9 year old girl named Anna. I can't even remember what she was in for--something minor. Whatever it was, I wanted to ask Susan's opinion about something, so asked her to step in. Susan immediately recognized her, and remembered her story in detail. She'd been Susan's patient when Susan first came to Kudjip. She (Anna, not Susan) had heart problems, and it didn't seem likely that she would live to be more than a few years old, or at least that she'd be seriously disabled. But Susan had followed her over the years, and was eventually able to wean her off the meds, and had watched her grow into an active, normal little girl.

What a blessing to see what God has done through Nazarene Hospital, and what we've gotten to be a part of.

Katie Is OK

2010-01-16T20:07:00.001+11:00

Although her injuries are more serious than originally thought, Katie Zook is alive and well. Her injuries are not life-threatening. We are praising God for this!

Here is a link to a video of a story that one of the Seattle TV stations did about her.

Friend Injured in Haiti Earthquake

2010-01-14T14:23:00.002+11:00

I suppose that by now you are aware of the earthquake which has git Haiti. We are thankful that all Nazarene personnel are safe.

A young friend of ours has been serving there with an organization that is related to Free Methodist World Mission. She is Kattie Zook, the granddaughter of the founder of Whitehorse Family Medicine, in Arlington, Washington, where I practiced for 11 years prior to coming to PNG.

The building where she works collapsed. Katie was trapped in the basement for several hours before being rescued. She was treated for a pulmonary contusion and a hematoma in her leg at the UN hospital, then evacuated to the US Navy hospital at Guantanamo Bay, where she was at first said to be stable, then later deteriorated. There is now a plan to transfer her to Miami urgently.

One national member of their staff there is confirmed dead, and three people (I'm not sure if nationals or missionaries) are still unaccounted for.

She was in school with our kids in Arlington, and then attended NNU. She's between Amy and Sam in age. She has had a love for Haiti, and made many (6 or 8) short-term mission trips there through high school and college, and has been very excited to serve there on a more prolonged basis.

Please be in prayer for Katie, for her mom and dad Greg and Dawn, and her grandma Renie.

Andy

Dumb Expressions

2010-01-09T20:13:00.002+11:00

Alright, it's time for a really stupid expression picture. I don't know if I've ever put up a worse photo of myself. Of course, it's not Noah's best, either, but he hasn't had very many months to accumulate photos with dumb expressions.

Well, he and I get a long well. Maybe this is why.

Jonathan

2010-01-07T23:07:00.004+11:00

I don't think I ever really blogged about him. Maybe I should read back through my old blogs to find out for sure, but I find them so boring (I already know the ends of all the stories) that I can't bear to.

Anyway, Jonathan was a kid who was admitted on about October 13 for a big bunch of enlarged lymph nodes. He was treated with antibiotics, but in the first few days in the hospital, began a neurologic deterioration that we couldn't explain. It wasn't sudden, but a relentless slide with weakness, loss of speech, then loss of movement and unconsciousness. We had no test that could shed any light on the situation. We tried a lot of medicines, but we were just shooting in the dark. I expected him to die at any moment. In fact, I was once summoned to the ward for a child who had a cardiac arrest, and when I got to the ward I was heading straight to Jonathan's bed when I realized that it wasn't him.

After several days of deep coma, he started to slowly improve; first opening eyes, then a bit of movement, finally a weak word once in a while. When we moved into the new hospital, he was one of the critically ill kids that I moved personally. He was just getting off oxygen, and was able to make the 10-minute trip without supplemental oxygen.

One of the hardest things was getting nutrition into him. We did tube feedings for a while, but he hated the tube, and promised to eat if I took it out. He tried, but didn't do too well in the eating department. His clinic book shows a weight of 36 kg (about 80 lb.) a few weeks before his admission. His lowest weight in the hospital was 20 kg (45 lb.)!

We did various bed exercises to keep his limbs limber, and eventually to try to strengthen them. Finally, we started trying to get him to sit up, and then to stand. It was a slow process, but it was progress. His speech was slurred, but he eventually talked enough to start bargaining with me, or making demands ("a toy car and a toy gun!"--I gave him 2 toy cars). By mid-December I began saying that I wanted to get him home for Christmas. As the day approached I began to fear that it was an unrealistic goal, and even announced that it was no longer the goal. I was afraid that I was pushing him out before he was ready. However, by Christmas eve he was trying hard to eat, was walking without support, and really wanted to go. I figured he'd do better at home.

Today, I was working in the orthopedics room. At one point I looked up, and there was a little kid standing at the foot of the table watching me. I almost didn't recognize him, but it was Jonathan, looking much healthier than when he left the hospital! He still walks with a bit of a limp, and his speech is still a little slurred, but he's much better than he was. Really fun to see him!

Typos, Typos, Typos

2010-01-07T23:06:00.000+11:00

Well, the i and the o are right there next to each other!

Home Again, Hime Again

2010-01-03T02:04:00.002+11:00

We've back from our trip to Madang. We got in about 6:00 this evening after 9 hours driving 445 km. That's 282 miles. If you'd add the total distance bumping up and down, it would be a lot further! Yes, that's just a little over 30 miles/hour on average. And only two brief stops. You just can't make much time when you have to crawl through potholes, and climb up and down the edge of ground-slips!

When we got in, the Radcliffes had a nice supper for us of corn bread and soup.

I've posted some photos and captions on Facebook. Just use this link. You don't have to be a member of Facebook (but you could join and keep track of us there) to see the photos. Click on the little photos to see big versions and captions.

Away for a Week

2009-12-26T00:29:00.002+11:00

Saturday morning Judy and I, along with Alanna, the Thompsons and the Kerrs, will be leaving for Madang, on the north coast of PNG for about a week of vacation. I may post if I get an internet connection, but if you don't hear from us for a while, that's why. We'll be back with lots of great photos, I'm sure!

Christmas Day

2009-12-26T00:05:00.007+11:00

The celebration just goes on and on!

This morning we took things kind of slowly. After coffee, I went to the hospital for brief rounds, then returned for a breakfast of fruit, eggs and pastry. Really. That's what it was. After dinner last evening, none of us felt like eating the light fruit/egg/pastry treat that Judy and Alanna had prepared, so we saved it for breakfast this morning.

After breakfast, we opened our gifts together. There's new music on the stereo, and new toys to be played with! There are beautiful hand-made items to beautify our home and our hearts. We relaxed, enjoyed our gifts and each others' company. And drank coffee. Lots of good coffee. Well, Alanna drank tea. We didn't adopt her early enough in life to teach her to drink coffee properly! He parents failed in this.

In the afternoon we went to the McCoys for another dinner, this time Mexican; enchiladas and tacos. Marsha makes the best salsa, with garden-fresh cilantro. Dessert was brownies with the choice of vanilla or candy-cane ice cream (I had both) and home-made hot fudge. (For those of you on Facebook, see Steph Doenges' recent posts about the candy-cane ice cream.) This was followed by a lively game of charades, which our team dominated, despite the dirty tricks of the other guys.

Photos:
1. About to head to the hospital for Christmas morning rounds
2. Back home eating fruit, eggs and pastry for breakfast
3. Bill and Marsha, good friends and gracious hosts. Marsha is a marvelous cook, and Bill is a master gardener. Between what Bill grows and the way Marsha cooks it, there's always great food at their house. They are both great story tellers, which keeps things lively.

Christmas Eve at Kudjip

2009-12-25T23:33:00.008+11:00

Christmas eve is a work day at Nazarene Hospital. It was a slow day, but I was on call, along with medical student Olivia Huang. We managed to finish up with some patients in the emergency room just in time to join the missionary family for the traditional annual Christmas caroling on the wards. We sang, prayed and gave a gift to each patient, tailored to their age and gender.

In the evening, we had our main family Christmas dinner. Guests were Olivia, Germaine Toh (also a medical student), Dr. Becky Wallace, and of course, Alanna Watton, who is staying with us. Yes, it was me and five beautiful women. We had a great time together, sharing a great meal and great fellowship. After dinner we were joined by Dr. Erin Meier for a showing of It's a Wonderful Life.

When you put a lot of photos on a blog without very much text, it gets kind of jumbled. Please forgive the lack of artistic layout!

1. Singing on the ward
2. Dr. Becky with a little friend
3. Judy shaking hands and giving out presents
4. Trumpets one last time for this season
5. Becky, Olivia, Germaine, Alanna, Judy
6. You figure it out!
7. Watching the movie

Christmas Eve Eve Party

2009-12-24T19:45:00.005+11:00

An "old" tradition here at Kudjip (well, maybe going back 6 or 7 years) is a party on the eve of Christmas Eve, December 23. It's the idea of the Myers, who host it each year. This event features more treats than you can imagine, silly games, warm fellowship. Good fun.

Photos:
1. Aden and Scot Riggins, Jim Radcliffe, Wayne and Pat Cummings (Susan Myers' parents).

2. Steph Donges, Grace, Anna and Rosie Kerr.

3. Olivia Huang and Olivia Toh, both from Singapore, and both medical students in Australia.

4. Wiley and Aden Riggins, Anna and Grace Kerr.

Christmas Ward Evangelism

2009-12-21T23:45:00.003+11:00

Yesterday morning we did a living nativity on each of the wards. Lots of photos and the whole story are here. As yesterday, click on the small photos in order to see bigger photos and captions.

Wild Party!

2009-12-21T07:58:00.002+11:00

Saturday evening we had our annual missionary Christmas party. You can see an album of photos by clicking on this link. The captions tell the story.

Teaching

2009-12-16T21:41:00.004+11:00

One of the things that all of us (speaking for the doctors) enjoy is teaching. We have a fairly steady stream of medical students and residents (usually Family Practice) from abroad who come here for elective rotations.

We are also involved in a training program for Papua New Guinean doctors that is very similar to a Family Practice residency in the US, but uniquely adapted to the needs of PNG. It's called a Master of Medicine (Rural Health). This program caters to people who have already displayed a willingness to practice in the under-served parts of PNG. Most of the training is occurs at the Christian hospitals. At the moment these people (called registrars) come here for surgical rotations. So far (we've had 3 of the registrars) they are excellent in skill, knowledge, attitude and commitment.

When doctors in PNG first graduate from their basic medical training, they serve for 2 years in what here is called residency. It is most similar to a rotating internship in the US, but lasts for 2 years. As part of their second year, they are required to do a 3-month rural "attachment" (we'd call it a rotation in the US). We have hosted several of these residents. Currently Dr. Penge Oko is with us, now about a month into his attachment. This is the last attachment of his residency, so when he is done here he will be registered to practice, and can apply for jobs at any of the rural hospitals in PNG. Doctors are required to work for two years in a rural area before they can apply to any of the Master of Medicine programs (specialty training).

One nice thing about Penge is that he's from the local area, so his first language is the first language of most of our patients. He doesn't need a translator even with the old folks who don't speak Pidgin. He's doing very well. He shows an openness about learning, and a willing to ask questions and ask for help that is making it fun to teach him.

In the photo Dr. Penge is treating a patient along with Dr. Susan Myers.

The Boys and Bob

2009-12-16T01:02:00.009+11:00

So last week after church we were visiting with our friends Aden and Wiley, and ended up inviting them over to the house for a little while. The big attraction at our house was that the new Chief of Storeroom Rodent Security was visiting us for the weekend. The storeroom was new to him, and he likes to be around people, so Judy thought that it was a shame to make him stay on the job the whole weekend.

One problem was that the new CSRS didn't yet have a name. So Aden and Wiley came over and visited with him for a while. Aden asked about his name, and Judy explained that he didn't have one yet, and perhaps he could suggest a suitable one. He immediately suggested "Bob." So Bob it is. Bob, CSRS.

Bob is now fairly comfortable in the storeroom. He has learned to use the facilities properly, and is quite happy sleeping among dusty boxes. And the word is starting to spread in the rodent community that their days of unlimited free run of the storeroom are limited. It may be a few weeks until he's ready to take out the biggest ones, though.

After the visit we walked Aden and Wiley home, visited with their parents and brother Noah a little bit, and sang the Kudjip Station Birthday Medley to their mom, Jill.

In the photo Jill is with Erin Meier. You can read more about Aden, Wiley and their brother Noah here.

Worship at Tumba

2009-12-14T01:57:00.001+11:00

This morning we walked to Tumba, about an hour south of the station, to worship with the church there. With us were Alanna Watton, Germaine Toh, and Rachel and Jordan Thompson. I've posted an album of photos along with fairly detailed captions on Facebook. You don't need to be a member of Facebook to see the photos--just click this link.

The Cookies--Cammi's Corrections and Recollections

2009-12-13T00:42:00.002+11:00

When you see this, read to post below first, then this.

I just got this from my sister, Cammi:

Actually, this came from her hand written cookbook and was the first recipe under "Cookies"... The covers of the book are wooden and it's tied together with a shoe lace... touching it and reading it makes me feel like I'm in her little kitchen with the wood stove and the old table with the oilcloth covering it. We'd bake the cookies with her. She was the baker and we were the helpers with aprons on, of course... I don't remember just what our jobs were, but I do remember cutting the cookies out with a tin can, cut out at both ends. She may have had a real cookie cutter, too. Round, of course. She didn't frost hers. Just sprinkled them generously with lots of sugar... there was always a dusting of flour left on the bottoms... just enough.

Grandma Bennett's Sugar Cookies

2009-12-12T17:54:00.005+11:00

We made some cookies today, using my grandma Bennett's recipe. We usually make some at Christmas time, although I don't think that they were particularly Christmas cookies to Grandma. Making sugar cookies with Grandma is a strong, favorite memory for my brother and sister. The times I remember with her were when she was less active.

Vena Duvall Bennett was physically a tiny lady, less than 5 feet tall, and I'd guess 90 pounds. She was raised by a somewhat unstable, stern, bipolar atheist. It would seem (from her own accounts of her childhood) that she had ADHD. She had a hard time in school because she couldn't sit still or keep quiet. One abusive school teacher beat her so regularly that at one point her older sister stepped in and physically defended her. This (the ADHD) explains a great deal about the family!

She was courted by a tall, lanky, funny, young man named Grover Bennett. He had an artistic bent, and became skilled at oil painting and photography. He had been raised, along with 4 brothers, in a single-parent home after his father died in a farming accident when he was a small child. They were nominally Christian, but not committed or active in church. After marriage, Grover and Vena moved to the state of Washington and staked a claim to the first of two homesteads near Colville, neither of which they were ever able to "prove up." Grover usually had to work elsewhere; the orchards of the Yakima valley, or the logging camps in the Cascades. She stayed back to care for the children that were starting to accumulate. My dad was number 4, born in one of those homestead cabins.

It was in one of the homesteads where she was surprised by a visit home by Grover. He walked in the door, and his first words were, "Ma, I got religion, and you should get it, too." She only hesitated a moment to make her decision, and replied, "alright." They knelt together on the dirt floor as she prayed a simple prayer giving her heart and life to Jesus. Her theology gained a little sophistication through the years, but her faith remained simple.

From the failed homesteads, she and Grover moved to a farm in Iowa, where more babies came along, 8 in total. Farming was tough, even with the free labor provided by a large family. At the height of the Great Depression they had to give up the farm. They joined the Dust Bowl exodus from the midwest, and moved to Yakima, Washington, where an able-bodied worker could earn the princely sum of $1 a day in the fruit orchards. Through the subsequent years, Vena followed Grover to a long series of jobs and businesses. None of these businesses were "successful" by the usual standards of success, but those of us who knew Vena and Grover, and who have known their children think they were very successful.

Neither Vena nor Grover had much formal schooling. I think Grover may have completed 6th grade; Vena completed 8th. But don't think that she was uneducated. She was a true life-long learner, reading, paying attention to sermons at church or on the radio, and usually taking careful notes. She kept binders that she filled with her notes, or with clippings from newspapers or magazines on a wide range of topics. Some of these were dedicated to humor. She'd save cartoons or jokes to later share with her grandchildren. Some were dedicated to recipes. Somewhere along the way, she wrote down her favorite sugar cookie recipe, the one she used when her grandchildren would come to her house. A testimony to her vocabulary and intelligence is that her last act in this life was to beat two of her daughters at Scrabble. She won the game, then laid back on her bed and died.

She and Grover inspired their children with a love of learning. The children went much further than their parents in terms of formal schooling. Most of their kids had at least some college. I think 4 finished. At least 3 had some graduate school, with 2 completing advanced degrees, one multiple degrees in multiple disciplines, including a doctorate. Most of the grandchildren went to college, and many went on to advanced degrees.

There wasn't a huge inheritance for her children, in terms of material things. Most of the children were surprised to learn that she still had a little savings which was divided among them. My parents used this money for the down payment on a little house that would later become their retirement home. Grandma had thought about every one of her children and grand children, and marked some keepsake for each one. For me it was one of Grandpa's paintings. For my sister it was a binder of recipes.

In the late 1970s my brother Gaymon commented to my sister Cammi that it was a shame that no one knew how to make the soft sugar cookies that they remembered Grandma making. She agreed that it was sad. Some time later, Cammi was thumbing through that old, worn binder with it's clippings and hand-written entries, when a scrap of paper fell out. When she looked at it she recognized Grandma's handwriting. At the top of the paper was the heading: "Sugar Cookies". With excitement and anticipation, she quickly went to the kitchen, and followed the instructions. What emerged from the oven a few minutes later evoked a flood memories; memories of standing on a stool at the counter next to Grandma, memories of joy and laughter, memories of knowing that she was loved.

At the family Christmas gift exchange that year, Gaymon opened his package from Cammi. On top was a decoupaged plaque of a recipe. Underneath were a couple dozen of the sweet, tender cookies that he remembered from childhood, round, sprinkled with sugar. Now every year in our homes, and in the homes of many of our cousins, we partake of the cookies, and of memories of our wonderful little Grandma B. Now you can, too.

Grandma Bennett's Sugar Cookies

1 egg
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter
1/2 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. milk
3 c. flour
4 t. baking powder

Mix the egg, sugar and butter, then add the remaining ingredients. Roll out on a flowered board, and for truly authentic cookies, cut with the top of a drinking glass. Leave these cookies a little thicker than you would for more traditional cookies. Sprinkle the top of each cookie with a little sugar, and bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes, or until just golden at the edges. They should be soft, not crisp. You can, of course, cut them into any shape you like, and top with colored sugars, sprinkles, icing or any combination that strikes your creative fancy. Eat them and think of a little lady who loved Jesus, loved her family and loved learning.

Photos:
1. Grandma in the early '50s either about the time I was born, or when I was very small.
2. Grandpa with what I'm quite sure must have been his favorite grandchild.

Up on the Roof

2009-12-12T01:17:00.000+11:00

For some photos taken from our roof, go to this link.

New Faces

2009-12-12T00:30:00.006+11:00

This past week we were joined by three delightful young ladies. Germaine Toh and Olivia Huang are both from Singapore, and are medical students in Australia. They are here for the next month for an elective rotation.

Alanna Watton is an "old friend". I think she was 13 when we first knew her. Her family has served in Nigeria and Ghana as missionaries. We were in pre-field training with her parents way back in '02. She's been back in Canada for a couple of years now. She's been planning a big adventure trip for some time. She has already been in New Zealand for 2 months, she'll be with us for 3 months, and then in Australia for a couple more months. While here she is volunteering in a number of capacities.

The first photo shows Olivia, Germaine and Alanna, in order.
The second shows Olivia in peds ward with a patient named Sabbath, and one of our nursing students.

God's Appointments

2009-12-11T01:23:00.005+11:00

A mission trip to Papua New Guinea sounded like a good idea to 4 men from a Baptist church in Adelaide, Australia. Going by boat sounded like an even better idea. They hoped to visit and minister in an area of the coast where one of the men had lived as a child. I don't know the details, but it just wasn't working out. They had to call off the boat part, but they had the time away from home planned, so they still wanted to go to PNG. They ended up in Mount Hagen, at the headquarters of Mission Aviation Fellowship.

A couple of them visited Kudjip this past Sunday, and Judy and I met them. Judy found out that they were all musicians, hoping to find opportunities to minister through music. She realized what a great thing it would be for our patients if they would come and sing on the wards. So this morning she drove into Mount Hagen and picked them up, along with a young man from Ontaria, Canada who has been volunteering at MAF. They had lunch at out house, then went to the hospital and sang on each ward and in the waiting porch of OPD.

Late in the afternoon, but before they left we got word that there was some trouble along the road back to Hagen that made it unwise for them to go back today. So we got to have them again for supper. Then they came with us to missionary prayer meeting, and led us in some singing of worship choruses. Then it was back to our house for fellowship over cups of tea and coffee before they bedded down in one of the vacant houses. We had a great time with Les, Nathan, Sam, Jonathan and Aaron. They were a great blessing to the patients and families at the hospital, to Judy and me, and all the missionaries who were at prayer meeting.

There's an old saying, "Our disappointments are often God's appointments". Isn't it interesting that so often when our plans don't work out, that God has something else prepared for us? We're sure glad that God let them to Kudjip today.

Photos:
1. Aaron, MAF volunteer from Ontario, Canada, Nathan, Sam, Alanna Watton (who is staying with us, and whom I'll tell you a lot more about soon), Jonathan, and Becky Wallace, in whose home the prayer meeting was held.
2. Les, the fourth member of the team from Adelaide.

Smooth Ride

2009-12-07T14:00:00.003+11:00

We have moved into the new hospital, but the new x-ray room is not yet in use. The new equipment will come next June or so. In the meanwhile, we are still using the old x-ray room. The problem is, that was a long way away, and there was no smooth sidewalk from the new hospital to the old. Imagine if you had a painfully broken bone, and had to try to get to the x-ray room over a bumpy, rough path. Sounds to me like it would really hurt.

Well, our maintenance guys just finished building a new sidewalk that links the sidewalks of the new hospital with those at the old. Now you can at least have a reasonably smooth gurney ride to get your pictures taken.

Cute

2009-12-06T23:26:00.001+11:00

A cute little girl pushing her brother around in a wheelchair. They were traveling around quite a bit for several days last week.

Riley Again

2009-12-03T00:47:00.002+11:00

Riley left this afternoon, heading down to New Zealand. Last evening before he left, he had some of his Kudjip friends over for guitar playing and singing. Our house was filled with music for over 2 hours.

Riley: you'll be missed! Sorry about the confusion in Port Moresby. Hope it is all working out!

Riley

2009-12-01T23:45:00.002+11:00

For the past month we have enjoyed having Riley Klassen stay with us. He is from Calgary, and his parents attend Judy's home church in Lethbridge. He's volunteered in construction work, and has been valuable to have around.

His interests are not primarily medical, but he did want to observe at the hospital one day before he left, so today he went with me to peds ward and to Outpatient.

He leaves tomorrow to go to New Zealand to continue his adventures. May God bless Riley as he finds new friends in new places, and as he continues to explore life.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T23:20:00.006+11:00

Many countries have Thanksgiving. In Canada it is the second Monday in October. In Papua New Guinea it is the last Sunday of June. But most of the missionaries here at Kudjip are Americans, who are used to celebrating the last Thursday of October. That would be today.

Some years we have a big station-wide dinner, with decorations, and an elaborate menu. The year the Hospitality Team had enough to do getting ready for Christmas, so they decided not to plan a big one. So it was up to each family to plan their own celebration. Jeff and Susan invited us along with Riley Klassen, a young man from Canada who is staying with us, to join them. Also invited were Harmon, Cindy and Quentin Schmelzenbach and Steph Doenges.

Today was a blessedly slow day in the Outpatient Department. We actually finished up by about 2:30, which allowed a leisurely afternoon, and preparation for the evening. I got to have a nice long workout, then get home to do Facebook, shower and get ready for dinner.

We had a great time around the table together. The "Turkey" may have had small drumbsticks, but there were a lot of them, and there was plenty to go around, along with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, several vegetables, salads, fruit and dinner rolls. Dessert was a choice of pumpkin or pecan pie.

Photos:
1. Riley Klassen, Jessica Myers, Ethan Myers, Quentin Schmelzenbach
2. Cindy Schmelzenbach, Harmon Schmelzenbach, Steph Doenges
3. Jeff Myers, Susan Myers, Judy Bennett, Andy Bennett
4. These guys are really serious about their dessert, aren't they?

Back In Business

2009-11-25T12:47:00.004+11:00

My faithful readers (are you both seeing this?) will have noticed by now that I have had a break from blogging for about a week. I think I suffered a bit of blog burn-out over the time leading up to and including the hospital move. Well, I'm trying to get over that, and get back into a pattern of quick, easy blog posts almost every day.

An old reliable technique is the cute baby method. Everyone loves a cute baby, so it's a sure winner for a quick blog post. This is Noah. He likes me. He's also quite interested in my pulse oximeter (a cute little machine that tells me about oxygen in a patient's blood).

The Passing of a Hero

2009-11-21T07:56:00.008+11:00

Yesterday I got on the net to look for some educational material to use with the parents of my clubfoot patients. As some of you know, I have a special interest in treating children with this birth deformity. The method of treatment that I attempt to use, and which has become the "gold standard" of treatment for this was pioneered by Dr. Ignatio Ponseti. When I logged onto the web site of the Ponseti International Association, I saw the notice of his death about a month ago. There is a nice tribute there, as well as links to dozens of obituaries and tributes.

I have known of him for several years, and this past summer I was privileged to spend three days in the clinic that bears his name. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to meet "Papa Ponseti" (as he was known to the small group of his patients who were old enough to call him anything), as I had heard that he was no longer working. He had sustained a hip fracture a few months earlier, and at age 95, it was reasonable to assume that he would be staying close to home.

My first morning there, after about a half-hour of seeing patients with one of his younger colleagues, I came out into the hall, and there he was, a commanding presence, despite his slight build and the bit of stoop brought on by his 95 years, and a recent hip fracture. He was still coming to the clinic every day, although he no longer was directly treating patients. He watched the younger doctors, making occasional comments. Mostly he focused on the patients. The toddlers gravitated to him, standing at his knee, and exchanging stories and observations. They had no trouble understanding his weak voice and heavy Spanish accent.

I had a couple of brief conversations with him, and had my picture taken with him. Then on the second day, he left me a note, asking me to come by his office after his siesta in the afternoon. I hovered near his office, checking frequently to see if the "do not disturb sign" was still there. As soon as it was gone, I knocked. I spent the next hour and 15 minutes listening to his stories and answering his questions about myself, about PNG and about my work here. He gave me a treasure of gifts; teaching materials, practice models, and an autographed copy of his book.

Our conversation touched only briefly on spiritual things. He had felt deeply betrayed when the Catholic Church supported Franco in the Spanish Revolution. He served as a surgeon in the Loyalist Army, eventually evacuating 40 wounded soldiers by mule over the Pyrenees to France, where he continued to work for a time. His path led to Mexico, where he served as a country doctor for 2 years before seeking orthopedic training at the University of Iowa, where he stayed on as a member of the teaching faculty.

Through most of Dr. Ponseti's life, the medical world believed that the only treatment for clubfoot (also known as congenital talipes equinovarus, or just "talipes") was surgery. Dr. P noticed that most patients who had surgery for this problem ended up with stiff, painful, poorly-functioning feet. Through careful study of the biomechanics of the foot, he came to realize that gentle manipulation could correct the problem in nearly 100% of cases. Patients treated this way usually have pain-free, functional feet for the rest of their lives.

In 1948, when he was 34 years old, Dr. Ponseti had the insight that led to the development of his method of treatment. In 1963, when he was 49 years old, he published the definitive paper on the non-surgical treatment of talipes. He retired in 1984 at the age of 70, with very few people recognizing the value of his work. Only the orthopedic surgeons at the University of Iowa, and the ones that they had trained used his method. In 1986 he came out of retirement to work part-time, mostly treating clubfoot.

Then in the early 1990s when he was about 80, two key events changed his life. First, two younger colleagues published a long-term follow-up study of his patients, documenting conclusively the superiority of his method over surgery. Second, the internet happened, and parents seeking alternatives to surgery for their children started learning about The Ponseti Method, and started flocking to Iowa city, where their babies were lovingly and gently treated by this genius. Soon doctors started flocking after them to learn the method. Dr. P's younger colleagues have traveled the world, teaching it to thousands of doctors in dozens of countries.

From about 1994 until he sustained his hip fracture in January of 2009, Dr. Ponseti worked 3 mornings per week, treating children from all over the world in the clinic that is now called "The Ponseti Clubfood Clinic". He treated more patients in most weeks than he had treated per year early in his career.

My interest in the Ponseti Method grew out of necessity, seeing patients here in PNG who had talipes. I learned from books, and from the internet. A couple of years ago I contacted Dr. P by email to ask a couple of questions. I received a very quick and helpful response. Later he invited me to come to Iowa City, and spend time with him in the clinic. After his hip fracture, his work load was assumed by Dr. Jose Morcuende (also a Spaniard, incidentally), who graciously extended the same invitation to me.

I know that the details of Dr. Ponseti's life might not be interesting to everyone, but I just wanted to tell my friends about this great man who has had a great impact on my life and work. He epitomizes many of my cherished values; overcoming adversity, serving others. And, the fact that he did his greatest work in the last 10 years of his long life is a great encouragement to me.

The first picture is a stock photo from the University of Iowa obtained from the web, but it shows Dr. P very much as he was when I visited with him in his office, right down to the book case behind him, and the skeletal model in his hand.

The second is of me with Dr. P and Dr. Morcuende.

The third is one that I took of Dr. P and a little girl that he had treated some years earlier who was in for a recheck.

Sharing

2009-11-17T21:53:00.003+11:00

When you're a little kid, stuck in the hospital, what do you do for fun? Well, if there's a nice older kid on the next bed, wouldn't it be nice if she'd play with you? But if you are the big kid, and you're in pain, wouldn't it be easier just to lay on your bed and feel sorry for yourself?

Elsie has a pretty painful burn, but she somehow manages to entertain little Sabath. I don't know how long Sabath will remember Elsie, but for now, her hospital stay is a lot nicer because of an unselfish girl.

Things Are Slowing Down

2009-11-16T23:41:00.003+11:00

Well, it's now the beginning of the second week in the new OPD. As some of you may have noticed, I sort of burned myself out on blogging for the last couple of weeks.

I was on call yesterday. In the morning I did my first cesarean section in the new OR. My camera had dead batteries, or I'd have a couple of photos for you.

Let me tell you that the new facilities are great! Yeah, we have found a few glitches, and I'll probably share a few from time to time, but it's really, really nice. When I have occasion to go back into the old OPD, I just marvel at how run-down it was.

But I haven't been taking a lot of photos around the hospital the last couple days. But here's one of Bill McCoy seeing what was technically the first patient to be seen in the new ER. He is the son of a staff member who had gastroenteritis. He was admitted (making him the first new admission to the new wards) and recovered just fine.

A Morning Adventure

2009-11-14T22:53:00.004+11:00

This morning Judy and I, along with Swiss medical student Rebecca Buchs, young EBC missionary Sue (who's last name I don't know), and our friends Esther and Simon Tausi, went to visit the "Emmanuel Family Prayer Tower" back in the hills.

It's a bit of a long story, but to make it short, a family felt led of the Lord to turn part of their land into a prayer retreat, a place where people can go for some quiet time with the Lord.

We drove through the town of Minj (for those of you who know your way around these parts) and then up to Tsigmil, turned south (I think) and drove for another 20 minutes, parked and walked for about a half-hour.

We heard someone singing in the distance. I had not expected a formal welcome. I thought that we'd just walk to the place, look around, maybe rest for a little while, then walk back. But as we came around a curve in the path along a small river, we found a group of people singing a welcome song. There were about 20-- they had formed a double line for us to walk through. We were met by the "Papa Graun" (literally the father of the land--just means the senior member of the family that owns the land) who escorted us up a beautiful path.

They had transplanted flowering plants, including several varieties of orchid, and some soft fluffy moss to decorate the path. There were signs naming the several small streams that converged here after names of rivers from the Old Testament. They had added a collection of seashells from the coast, and a couple of rocks that they thought were fossils (which I don't think are).

The path leads to the site where one of their houses once stood until it was burned by enemies during tribal fighting several years ago. At that time they felt that God was directing then not to rebuild on that site, but turn it into a place of prayer. We sat around and sang songs, then Pastor Bill, one of the sons of the family shared a brief devotional, and we had a short time of prayer.

This was honestly the best time of worship I have had in weeks. I believe that worship is something between the individual and God, that no pastor or "worship leader" can make you worship, or keep you from it, for that matter. When music is not to your liking, or when the words spoken don't stir you emotionally, or the environment is not conducive to worship, it's up to you to worship God. When the music is your favorite, when the leader says things that really minister to you, when the surroundings make it easy to turn your thoughts to God, it's still up to you to worship. But for whatever reason, this morning in a little clearing near the top of a mountain in the jungle, it was easy for me to worship.

The folks had prepared a lunch for us. We ate together, walked back down to the car, then drove back to Kudjip. The day was little more than half-gone, and I had had an adventure, a time of worship, and a good lunch. What more could I ask for in a Saturday?

Five Years Ago

2009-11-12T00:58:00.003+11:00

Five years ago tonight, she was hurrying to get to the hospital. She was in labor with her second child, and had waited just a little too long to leave her house here on Kudjip Station. As she reached the top of the "Hydro Hill Road" she realized that the baby was about to come. She didn't want to give birth right under the security light, so she headed for the deepest shadows she could see--in our front yard.

The baby came just fine. What was the point in going to the hospital now? Well, I can think of several points, but she couldn't, so she headed back down the hill to home.

She and her husband had already decided to name the baby in honor of Judy if it was a girl, and it was. Ordinarily names aren't given until the baby is a month or more old, but we were about to leave for our first furlough, and they wanted to tell us before we left. So the day after the birth, her husband came to our house to tell us about the baby.

Today she's five, and very proud of the birthday cake that "big Judy" made for her, complete with candles!