Pictures

Here are a few pictures of our kids & cousins Unfortunately, it's not all of them, missing are Eli, Isabella, Levi, Charlotte & Gabriel.

 Helena & Poppy

 Ivy

 Lily

Baby Denver (Ivy & Lily's little brother) 

 At the beach just down from Grandma White's house

Jonah

Goodbyes, Crates, & Runny Noses

Yes, runny noses are always fun! The last few weeks has been crazy for our family. At the very least, I've re-assured myself that being a professional mover is not something I'd enjoy as a career! I sense some irony in the fact that we're moving to a remote part of Indonesia & we don't like moving :)  But who really does? It's kind of like installing drywall - nobody really likes it, but some people just do it anyways. One major difference between this move and any of the other 5 moves Amy and I have survived, is the amount of planning and preparation that is involved. You can't just throw those 'last few items' in the back of the truck and give 'er...everything has to go somewhere - permanently!  For us, it has been one of 4 places:
1) Get rid of it  Sell it, give it away, burn it (just joking, burning only happened when we lived out of town & I had some extra Jet A 'fire encourager' on hand) or, in the dumpster.
2) In the crate  Is it HAZMAT safe - can you start a fire with it? Will it sink a giant ship? (examples are hand sanitizer, some bug sprays & vanilla extract, DANGER!)  If the item is good to go, record it in a spreadsheet list to be certified later, & record what bin it goes in. Next item!
3) On the road & on the plane  What we take on the plane with us from Canada is everything we'll have from Canada in our first year overseas. It's really not so bad though, we'll be furnishing a home there, it's not like we're eating rodents on a dirt floor by candle light - at least not all the time :).
4) In Storage  Thank you to some very kind folks (thanks Beth & Owen!) & our lovely families who have provided places to store all that stuff we can't take with us, but would love to keep for a future home.

Helena helping Dad move the crates

About to leave home & Prince George

Amy and I are not the most dis-organized people in the world, but I must say, it is hard to imagine how much work this all is until you actually do it. When you live in a home for a few years and have four kids, you tend to acquire 'stuff'. We would actually of had a lot more except we've known this move was coming for quite some time.

The month of June also had our first major goodbye. Six years ago to the month Amy, newborn Luke, and I were just moving to Prince George. We started attending Central Fellowship Baptist Church because it was just down the road from our basement suite. Six years later we are saying goodbye to so many good families and friendships we've developed over this time. Central is a major part of what God has called us to do overseas, and Amy and I can see how and why God lead us to be a part of this church during our time in Prince George. And although it hurts to say goodbye, it is so neat how Christ's body of believers at Central will play such an important role in how God uses us in Papua, Indonesia. They have put a lot into us as a family and a lot into our ministry, and we are excited to share together in God's blessing in the future.

We left Prince George on the 19th and headed to Kamloops where we were able to share at Kamloops 1st Baptist that Sunday night. We really appreciated meeting the folks there, and were encouraged by their prayers (and of course visiting with Auntie Helen, Uncle Earl, & Cousin Lana!). After that, on to Revelstoke for a few days before heading to the Sunshine Coast.

Now we're vagabonds - homeless & on the road! Well, not quite...we're on the road but our home is sitting empty in Prince George. It has been caught up in a swirling mess of undecided indecision. "To be sold to new owners, or become a rental" That is the question. We appreciate your continued prayers about this, as we need to figure something out quite soon.

Being born and raised in Canada, I haven't ever had to wonder where the next meal is coming from. But I think we all can relate to stressing about financial 'unknowns', whether it's a home that needs to be sold, or a business, or something else. I recently read over a portion of Matthew 6, and what encouragement the following passage is. It's a little long but it is better read as a whole:

²⁵ "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?^[g] 28And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

 ³⁴ "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

 A visit to Blanket Creek Provincial Campsite outside of Revelstoke. Chase the gophers!

 Soaking up the rays with Mummy!

The perfect nutritional snack for a small wild animal (to reduce human interference with pristine nature) is mini Ritz crackers.

Pretty good Kiddies...

Despite the 'unsettledness' in their home of late, our kids are doing quite well, and are looking forward to what Mom & Dad tell them about our "pending adventure" in a far away place.

Simon is so proud to announce he's riding his bike without training wheels!  

 Check out his rad moves.

 This is Luke's 3rd summer riding a bike, now he's got little Bro to tag along.

 Amy and Charlotte getting a little sun.

 Helena being Helena...full of mischief.

Papua, Indonesia (Part II)

MAF Then...
MAF has been operating in Papua since 1952. Two mission organizations TEAM and UFM invited MAF to come with them to Papua (then called Dutch New Guinea) to provide their flight needs. At that time, the Island of New Guinea remained largely untouched by the outside world. It is really exciting to read some of the accounts of how early missionaries went to Papua following God's calling & literally risking their lives - not in an attempt to bring their culture to Papuans, but to bring the Gospel of Christ.

I recently read "The Peace Child" by Don Richardson, a story of how the Richardson's spent years of their lives living with, building relationships with, & learning how to communicate with a Papuan people called the Sawi (group #242 on the linguistic map on my last post). The result was a translation of the bible in the Sawi language and a growing vibrant Sawi church. As our family prepares to serve in Papua, it is amazing to think of the generations that have gone before ours, and have served in many different areas, roles, and organizations - all with a common goal.

MAF Now...
Today, MAF has about 38 full time missionary families based in Papua, along with about 80 Indonesian staff. Currently with a fleet of 13 aircraft MAF operates out of 6 different bases located around the province.

















MAF supports churches and mission efforts, and also provides medical assistance, disaster relief, education opportunities, and community development. Who and what MAF carries in their planes from landing strip to landing strip has become much broader since 1952, but one thing that hasn't changed much is the reliance on aircraft. For example, the city of Wamena located in the Baliem Valley in the center of Papua has a population of 10000 plus and is the largest 'urban' centre south of the capital Jayapura (Wamena is also the location of one of MAF's bases). If you want to travel to Wamena, and don't want to spend weeks to months walking, you have one option - air travel! Considering this, you can imagine the challenge of transportation to and from the hundreds of smaller villages scattered throughout Papua.

A random example of an air strip in Papua. To regularly fly into and out of strips like this, one can see why MAF puts such an emphasis on training & preparation for both the pilots, mechanics, and other support staff. Compared to most flying here in North America, there is less 'room for error' due to shorter runways and a lack of places to land if you do have an issue in the air.

From afar, this mountain valley looks like it could be north of Revelstoke, BC (the town I grew up in) in the Selkirk mountains...except for the airstrip and the lack of logging roads :)

Papua, Indonesia (Part I)

This past week Amy and I found out that the Indonesian province we are heading to is Papua! For us, this is pretty exciting news in that it allows us to plan and prepare a little better for the place we will soon call home.

Recap...
Last August is when our family found out we would be heading to Indonesia to serve.  MAF operates in three different provinces of Indonesia that are all quite different from each other - both in the people and in geography. So, in the last number of months Amy and I have often found ourselves thinking, praying, & researching about what Indonesian province we might end up in. Both of us have felt drawn towards Papua. But, not knowing if Papua would be where we would end up, we did not want ourselves to get "too attached", as we ultimately wanted to go where God wants to use us, as MAF has much needed & effective ministries in the other two Indonesian provinces of Sumatra and Kalimantan. We also new it would be exciting no matter where in the world we ended up!

"Why does it take as long as it does to find out what specific province you're heading to?"
The reason is, we will not be heading to Indonesia until early November, and our first nine months in Indonesia will be spent in language school on the Island of Java. Often the needs of a specific MAF base in the different provinces can change quickly. As a result, the location most suitable for a pilot or mechanic could end up changing. Thus, MAF likes to wait until later in the process to reduce the chance of this happening.

"Papua...is that Papua New Guinea?"
No, the Island of New Guinea is basically split down the middle. On the right side is the country of Papua New Guinea. On the left side are the two most eastern provinces of Indonesia - Papua, & West Papua (together formally known as Irian Jaya).

New Guinea is the second largest island in the world behind Greenland, which is just over 25 times the size of Vancouver Island. Stretching about 1600 km's, it has both vast rain forest lowlands and a long central mountain range boasting the highest peaks between the Himalayas & Andes.

The People...
Although Papua's population is growing quickly due to high birth rates & immigration from other Indonesian provinces, it has only 2.9 million of Indonesia's 237 million residents. The people of Papua are very diverse.

Due in large part to the geography, there are around 274 separate people groups in Papua separated by language. Although some groups have a fair amount in common with their neighbours, some neighbouring languages actually have less in common with each other as English does to Indonesian!

I found this map (above) which gives a great 'visual' of the 274 different language groups in Papua (map not including West Papua). In recent years there has been an influx of population growth in the coastal areas due to immigration (encouraged by the government) from other heavily populated Indonesian Islands such as Java. This has brought about some issues between the immigrants and the indigenous Papuans.

Poverty...
As Indonesia's poorest province, about 40% of Papuans live below the 'Indonesian poverty line'. Due to large distances and a huge lack of infrastructure, isolation plays a big part in the resulting poor education and healthcare for Papuans. Unfortunately, another growing issue in Papua is HIV / AIDS. The number of AIDS cases in Papua is almost 20 times the national average, and has become nothing short of an epidemic in some communities.

Papua has many needs, but it is both exciting to read how God has worked in New Guinea in the past, and also to hear & see how He is working in the lives of Papuans now! It is also exciting how an organization like MAF can be used in such a place. For the majority of Papuans (outside the few small cities), there are no roads - just jungle, swamps, raging rivers, and mountains. In my next post I'll try tell a bit of how God is using MAF in Papua!