God Bless!
(You don't need a Facebook account to look at this.)
Monday, March 26, 2012
Sea of Faces
I just created a photo album of some of the many faces that we see every day. I pray that as you look through these faces that you will be reminded to pray for the people of Papua New Guinea and the minstry that is taking place here.
God Bless!
God Bless!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Hospital Ministry
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| The high school kids leading the worship music. |
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| Ethan and I praying with a patient and her child. |
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| Patients listening to the service. |
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| A short term volunteer helping out. |
In the 2 wards that our group visited, we had 4 people, that we know of, pray to accept Jesus. Praise God! I have included pictures of 3 of them.
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| Julieanne and her baby Katherine |
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| Sam recommitted his life today |
Please pray for these new believers that they were sincere in their commitment and that they will continue to grow in their relationship with God.
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| George (on right) also accepted Christ! |
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| Peter relaxing in his bed during the service today. |
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Spring Break!
Last week was Spring Break. While we don't technically have Spring here, it was still a nice vacation and a good time to get other stuff done that I have been wanting to do. The evenings were filled with a busy social schedule: Tuesday was a fundraiser for the kids quizzing trip; Wednesday night we had dinner with the visiting General Superintendent; Thursday was prayer meeting; Friday we had a Super Bowl party since we finally got the DVD of the game; and Saturday was a pizza potluck for all the missionaries.
For something fun to do over Spring Break, we decided to take the kids into town to swim at the hotel there. It was a fun day together but despite applying sun screen twice, we all paid for our trip with painful shoulders and backs the next day.
To close out Spring Break, we went with Dr. Jim Radcliffe and his family to a remote church on Sunday. The road we travelled on was the most "bush" road I have ever driven on (and that is saying something!) While the road wasn't the muddiest or the bumpyest, it was more grass than road. Through the 1.5 hour trip into the bush we took our 4 wheel drive Land Cruser up a mountain, forded 3 rivers with no bridges, crossed a scary wooden bridge, and went down into a valley to the church. The wooden bridge we crossed (see picture below) didn't exist a few days earlier. The members of the church came out and built it for us before we got there and we were the first vehicle to ever test it out.
The service itself was really good and the people were wonderful. Dr. Jim played his trumpet and it was the first time anyone in the church had heard one before. I personally was very impressed with how organized the pastor of that church was. Organization is not a typical quality you find in Papua New Guinea so to see a pastor out in the bush who had actually had a schedule printed for the next month's worth of services was impressive. Because of how beautiful that village was and how impressed I was with the church, I am wanting to plan a hike there. I would hike to the village, stay 2 nights with the people to get to know them, then hike back.
As you know if you read my previous posts, our Regional Director, Verne Ward was recently elected to be the Global Mission Director. That means that we now have an openning for the RD position. We have been asked to make recommendations of names to be voted on to fill the position so if any of you want to be the next RD of Asia-Pacific let me know! But seriously, pray for our region as we make this transition and that the right person will be elected.
Enjoy the pictures of our trip last Sunday!
God Bless!
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| Kids Serving Tacos for their Fundraiser |
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| The kids enjoying some pizza by the pool. From left to right, Ethan Myers (8th grade), Jessica Myers (Junior), Quinton Schmelzenbach (Junior), Lydia Radcliffe (7th grade), Josiah Radcliffe (Sophomore) |
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| Trying to stack 4 high. If you look close, you can see me under the water trying to lift them all up. We never quite got it. |
To close out Spring Break, we went with Dr. Jim Radcliffe and his family to a remote church on Sunday. The road we travelled on was the most "bush" road I have ever driven on (and that is saying something!) While the road wasn't the muddiest or the bumpyest, it was more grass than road. Through the 1.5 hour trip into the bush we took our 4 wheel drive Land Cruser up a mountain, forded 3 rivers with no bridges, crossed a scary wooden bridge, and went down into a valley to the church. The wooden bridge we crossed (see picture below) didn't exist a few days earlier. The members of the church came out and built it for us before we got there and we were the first vehicle to ever test it out.
The service itself was really good and the people were wonderful. Dr. Jim played his trumpet and it was the first time anyone in the church had heard one before. I personally was very impressed with how organized the pastor of that church was. Organization is not a typical quality you find in Papua New Guinea so to see a pastor out in the bush who had actually had a schedule printed for the next month's worth of services was impressive. Because of how beautiful that village was and how impressed I was with the church, I am wanting to plan a hike there. I would hike to the village, stay 2 nights with the people to get to know them, then hike back.
As you know if you read my previous posts, our Regional Director, Verne Ward was recently elected to be the Global Mission Director. That means that we now have an openning for the RD position. We have been asked to make recommendations of names to be voted on to fill the position so if any of you want to be the next RD of Asia-Pacific let me know! But seriously, pray for our region as we make this transition and that the right person will be elected.
Enjoy the pictures of our trip last Sunday!
God Bless!
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| Near the start of the road where we first put the vehicle into 4 wheel drive. |
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| The road going up the mountain, if you can call it a road. |
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| One view from on top of the mountain |
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| Another view from on top of the mountain. |
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| The bridge that was built just for us. |
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| The view of the mountains from the village |
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| Amy and Dr. Imelda posing with some local boys. |
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| Pastor Robert playing a recording of the Bible. |
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| Lydia playing her ukelele by the river. |
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Bible Quizzing
Dear Friends,
I wanted to let you know about what our MKs are up to here at Kudjip. As part of our school curriculum, the kids take a Bible class. This year, we decided the "class" would be teen Bible Quizzing. The first semester of school, we treated our quizzing more like a Bible study than a competitive activity. None of our teens here have ever participated in Bible Quizzing before so it is a brand new experience for them.
After Christmas, we had a meeting to discuss our quizzing and what the kids would like to do with it. The kids voted unanimously that they would like to travel to the global quiz tournament taking place at Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois this July.
Going to a competition of that level means a lot of things have to happen. First, the amount of effort the kids were putting into quizzing had to increase. Second, we needed to teach these kids how to compete in quizzing. And third, plans would have to be made to go back to the United States this summer.
The material for this year's quiz is Hebrews and 1 & 2 Peter. Once it was decided that the kids would be going, the effort they were putting into quizzing sky rocketed. They moved from a half-hearted effort to spending nearly every free moment studying. Two of our teens already have all of Hebrews memorized word for word and that is just since the beginning of January!
We have 2 coaches for the kids. As a former quizzer and quiz official, I am acting sort of as the "jump coach" for the kids helping they understand the logistics of quizzing competition. Dr. Bill McCoy is a veteran quiz coach and he handles the content side of things. The kids have official practices for an hour every Monday, Thursday, and Sunday. Dr. Bill also holds "flash practices" at 6:30 AM multiple times a week.
In order to work on our second objective (teaching them how to compete), I hold a 1 hour jump practice on Thursdays during school hours where I teach them how to jump, when to jump, and other logistics of quizzing. We also have been holding mock quizzes for the team against some adult missionaries who have been studying as well. It will be quite interesting to take this group of quizzers, who have never been to an official quiz, to compete against the best teams in the world.
The third point to work on is the transportation to and from the quiz. The team is planning to fly to Ohio a week before the quiz, and then travel to Illinois to quiz before they go separate ways to see their families or fly back to PNG. Unfortunately, the logistics of this trip are quite complicated and expensive.
If you would like to see pictures of our quizzers in action or if you would like to get involved with our quizzing ministry, please visit Dr. Erin Meier's blog: http://erininpng.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/quizzers-need-your-help.html.
This will be a wonderful experience for all our teens and they are preparing videos to share with and minister to churches they will visit while they are home. My experience as a quizzer tells me that the quiz itself will be a life changing experience and make a great impact on their lives.
Please pray for them as they continue to study God's word and prepare for this quiz. Also pray for them that the stuff they are learning will make a difference in their lives and the lives of those around them. Finally, if you feel God leading you to be more involved, please visit the link above and learn more about this ministry.
God bless you all on this Valentine's Day!
Stephen Hollenberg
I wanted to let you know about what our MKs are up to here at Kudjip. As part of our school curriculum, the kids take a Bible class. This year, we decided the "class" would be teen Bible Quizzing. The first semester of school, we treated our quizzing more like a Bible study than a competitive activity. None of our teens here have ever participated in Bible Quizzing before so it is a brand new experience for them.
After Christmas, we had a meeting to discuss our quizzing and what the kids would like to do with it. The kids voted unanimously that they would like to travel to the global quiz tournament taking place at Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois this July.
Going to a competition of that level means a lot of things have to happen. First, the amount of effort the kids were putting into quizzing had to increase. Second, we needed to teach these kids how to compete in quizzing. And third, plans would have to be made to go back to the United States this summer.
The material for this year's quiz is Hebrews and 1 & 2 Peter. Once it was decided that the kids would be going, the effort they were putting into quizzing sky rocketed. They moved from a half-hearted effort to spending nearly every free moment studying. Two of our teens already have all of Hebrews memorized word for word and that is just since the beginning of January!
We have 2 coaches for the kids. As a former quizzer and quiz official, I am acting sort of as the "jump coach" for the kids helping they understand the logistics of quizzing competition. Dr. Bill McCoy is a veteran quiz coach and he handles the content side of things. The kids have official practices for an hour every Monday, Thursday, and Sunday. Dr. Bill also holds "flash practices" at 6:30 AM multiple times a week.
In order to work on our second objective (teaching them how to compete), I hold a 1 hour jump practice on Thursdays during school hours where I teach them how to jump, when to jump, and other logistics of quizzing. We also have been holding mock quizzes for the team against some adult missionaries who have been studying as well. It will be quite interesting to take this group of quizzers, who have never been to an official quiz, to compete against the best teams in the world.
The third point to work on is the transportation to and from the quiz. The team is planning to fly to Ohio a week before the quiz, and then travel to Illinois to quiz before they go separate ways to see their families or fly back to PNG. Unfortunately, the logistics of this trip are quite complicated and expensive.
If you would like to see pictures of our quizzers in action or if you would like to get involved with our quizzing ministry, please visit Dr. Erin Meier's blog: http://erininpng.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/quizzers-need-your-help.html.
This will be a wonderful experience for all our teens and they are preparing videos to share with and minister to churches they will visit while they are home. My experience as a quizzer tells me that the quiz itself will be a life changing experience and make a great impact on their lives.
Please pray for them as they continue to study God's word and prepare for this quiz. Also pray for them that the stuff they are learning will make a difference in their lives and the lives of those around them. Finally, if you feel God leading you to be more involved, please visit the link above and learn more about this ministry.
God bless you all on this Valentine's Day!
Stephen Hollenberg
Monday, January 30, 2012
Long Time, No Update!
Dear Friends and Family,
Sorry that is has been so long since the last newsletter! Time seems to fly by here and before I realize it, months have passed without an update! Let me get you caught up on our lives since before Christmas!
Back in mid-December, the Dooley family went back to the USA for furlough. Allison Dooley was one of my students so my school is down to 5 students until April when the Dooley’s return. While they are gone, they asked us if we would be willing to house/cat/dog sit for them. We have been living at their house, about half a mile away from our house, for a little over a month now. It has been a good experience overall and we enjoy being closer to our friends (and my former roommate), Jordan and Rachel Thompson.
Christmas caused a little homesickness (especially for Amy) and definitely had a different feel for us. While we did have a tree decorated, stockings hung by the chimney, and Christmas music playing, the 70-80 degree weather kind of offset the mood. The missionaries here enjoy making Christmas a fun time though including the annual Christmas party, the children’s Christmas program at church, and the Christmas Eve, Eve party. Amy and I chose not to give presents to each other since there isn’t much here that we really want but a box from our church in Maine and some presents from some of the missionaries still made Christmas morning exciting.
We have had some enjoyable visitors recently at Kudjip. For about a month over Christmas the Radcliffe’s daughter, son-in-law, and their twin daughters came to visit. It was especially fun for me since they were both friends of mine while growing up at Kudjip and I enjoyed seeing them again. Just recently, we were visited by Bruce and Carolyn Blowers, former missionaries to Papua New Guinea. Bruce was one of the very first Nazarene missionaries to Papua New Guinea and it was a blessing to all of us to share with them while they were here. There is almost always a medical student or resident visiting the hospital for a number of weeks. There is one here currently who Amy and I have really enjoyed having here. His name is Daniel and he is a resident from New Zealand. Sadly, his time here comes to an end this Friday but we have enjoyed the weeks he has been here.
When school started up again after the New Year, the younger school, at which Amy was teaching math, handwriting, and spelling, only had 2 students. The Dooley’s are on furlough and another missionary family, the Kerr’s, were reassigned leaving the school mostly empty. For that reason, Amy was no longer needed to help teach. While it seemed like she might not have anything to do, it turned out to be a blessing because it finally gave Amy the free time to insert herself into the hospital. Officially, she is not allowed to work as a nurse at the hospital but she can find areas to help as long as she doesn’t have to sign off on any paperwork.
She has really been enjoying her time in the hospital this last month. On Tuesday and Thursday she assists Dr. Jim Radcliffe in surgery. Monday and Wednesday she spends her time in the Maternity Ward of the hospital delivering babies and assisting with anything they need. Friday morning she assists Dr. Andy Bennett in the club foot clinic. She was so excited yesterday because she felt like a real nurse again!
About a month ago I got a chance to explore a cave in the mountains. Four of us from the mission and 3 Papua New Guinean guides led us about 4 hours into the mountains to a cave. The area looked like a scene straight out of Jurassic Park and was an amazing looking rainforest. We crawled down a cave that had a small stream flowing into it and began a half hour trip into the cave. Right near the entrance of the cave was a 15 foot waterfall that we had to climb down. We had brought rope with us specifically for that reason. Without the use of safety equipment or helmets, this trip was quite exciting and a little scary. Each of us was equipped with a headlamp but walking/crawling through a foot of water and guano made the journey even more exciting. We were told that the cave is normally covered in bats but on our trip, we only found one. It was definitely the most adventurous thing I have ever done.
Well, that about catches you up on our lives over the past couple months! The high school is going strong into the 2nd semester and they are all starting to work really hard on Bible Quizzing so they can head to the world quiz in Illinois this summer. Thank you those of you who contributed to our Christmas box! Your gifts are highly valued and appreciated!
Some Prayer Requests:
-2 days ago, Amy’s grandfather passed away. We knew when we left Maine that there was a good possibility we wouldn’t see him again but it doesn’t make it easier. Pray for Amy as she deals with this while being separated from her family.
-The PNG government has been having some major issues over the past couple months. Pray for them and for the national elections coming up this summer.
-The hospital is still in a staff shortage and could use your prayers for more funding or staff.
-Pray for us over the next couple of months as we begin thinking/talking about next year and the possibility of staying a 2nd year.
Thanks so much for your prayers and for being interested in our lives! If you live in Maine, we may be speaking at the District NMI convention happening April 27-30 via Skype.
God Bless,
Stephen and Amy
Sorry that is has been so long since the last newsletter! Time seems to fly by here and before I realize it, months have passed without an update! Let me get you caught up on our lives since before Christmas!
Back in mid-December, the Dooley family went back to the USA for furlough. Allison Dooley was one of my students so my school is down to 5 students until April when the Dooley’s return. While they are gone, they asked us if we would be willing to house/cat/dog sit for them. We have been living at their house, about half a mile away from our house, for a little over a month now. It has been a good experience overall and we enjoy being closer to our friends (and my former roommate), Jordan and Rachel Thompson.
Christmas caused a little homesickness (especially for Amy) and definitely had a different feel for us. While we did have a tree decorated, stockings hung by the chimney, and Christmas music playing, the 70-80 degree weather kind of offset the mood. The missionaries here enjoy making Christmas a fun time though including the annual Christmas party, the children’s Christmas program at church, and the Christmas Eve, Eve party. Amy and I chose not to give presents to each other since there isn’t much here that we really want but a box from our church in Maine and some presents from some of the missionaries still made Christmas morning exciting.
We have had some enjoyable visitors recently at Kudjip. For about a month over Christmas the Radcliffe’s daughter, son-in-law, and their twin daughters came to visit. It was especially fun for me since they were both friends of mine while growing up at Kudjip and I enjoyed seeing them again. Just recently, we were visited by Bruce and Carolyn Blowers, former missionaries to Papua New Guinea. Bruce was one of the very first Nazarene missionaries to Papua New Guinea and it was a blessing to all of us to share with them while they were here. There is almost always a medical student or resident visiting the hospital for a number of weeks. There is one here currently who Amy and I have really enjoyed having here. His name is Daniel and he is a resident from New Zealand. Sadly, his time here comes to an end this Friday but we have enjoyed the weeks he has been here.
When school started up again after the New Year, the younger school, at which Amy was teaching math, handwriting, and spelling, only had 2 students. The Dooley’s are on furlough and another missionary family, the Kerr’s, were reassigned leaving the school mostly empty. For that reason, Amy was no longer needed to help teach. While it seemed like she might not have anything to do, it turned out to be a blessing because it finally gave Amy the free time to insert herself into the hospital. Officially, she is not allowed to work as a nurse at the hospital but she can find areas to help as long as she doesn’t have to sign off on any paperwork.
She has really been enjoying her time in the hospital this last month. On Tuesday and Thursday she assists Dr. Jim Radcliffe in surgery. Monday and Wednesday she spends her time in the Maternity Ward of the hospital delivering babies and assisting with anything they need. Friday morning she assists Dr. Andy Bennett in the club foot clinic. She was so excited yesterday because she felt like a real nurse again!
About a month ago I got a chance to explore a cave in the mountains. Four of us from the mission and 3 Papua New Guinean guides led us about 4 hours into the mountains to a cave. The area looked like a scene straight out of Jurassic Park and was an amazing looking rainforest. We crawled down a cave that had a small stream flowing into it and began a half hour trip into the cave. Right near the entrance of the cave was a 15 foot waterfall that we had to climb down. We had brought rope with us specifically for that reason. Without the use of safety equipment or helmets, this trip was quite exciting and a little scary. Each of us was equipped with a headlamp but walking/crawling through a foot of water and guano made the journey even more exciting. We were told that the cave is normally covered in bats but on our trip, we only found one. It was definitely the most adventurous thing I have ever done.
Well, that about catches you up on our lives over the past couple months! The high school is going strong into the 2nd semester and they are all starting to work really hard on Bible Quizzing so they can head to the world quiz in Illinois this summer. Thank you those of you who contributed to our Christmas box! Your gifts are highly valued and appreciated!
Some Prayer Requests:
-2 days ago, Amy’s grandfather passed away. We knew when we left Maine that there was a good possibility we wouldn’t see him again but it doesn’t make it easier. Pray for Amy as she deals with this while being separated from her family.
-The PNG government has been having some major issues over the past couple months. Pray for them and for the national elections coming up this summer.
-The hospital is still in a staff shortage and could use your prayers for more funding or staff.
-Pray for us over the next couple of months as we begin thinking/talking about next year and the possibility of staying a 2nd year.
Thanks so much for your prayers and for being interested in our lives! If you live in Maine, we may be speaking at the District NMI convention happening April 27-30 via Skype.
God Bless,
Stephen and Amy
Monday, November 21, 2011
Hospital Happenings
Greetings Friends and Family!
Rainy season is in full swing here now! Rain comes every day now and sometimes multiple times a day but we are staying dry and doing well.
We wanted to bring to your attention a prayer request for our hospital. Recently, the PNG government started passing out a lot more money to hospitals, which sounds great, except for how it affects us. According to the government, any church run medical center is considered a "clinic" and not a hospital. Because of that, our hospital with a staff of over 100 is only considered a clinic and does not receive this extra money. Our hospital sees approximately 3/4 the number of patients as the nearest government hospital but we receive 1/10th the the government funding.
Because of that difference in pay, our hospital is going through a mass exodus of sorts. In the last month or so we have seen over 20 staff members leave the hospital, mostly nurses. This is causing huge problems for our hospital and every week, we hear of another staff member who has applied to another hospital or quit. In addition to the hospital staff leaving, we have also lost about 3-4 (maybe more) of our college of nursing teachers. Since we only have 8 or 9 teachers, this is going to really effect our college if the spots don't get filled by next semester.
So our prayer request comes in 2 parts. First, pray for our staff that they will view this hospital as a ministry opportunity and not just a pay check and pray that we will get more staff. Second, pray that we will get more funding for the hospital and that the government will upgrade our status so we can get the funding we need.
Also, while American nurses aren't able to work at the hospital, they can teach in the nursing college. If any of you are nurses or know a nurse who feels God's leading to serve in PNG, let me know and you/they may be able to teach in our college.
Because of this staff shortage, Amy and I had an exciting opportunity recently. We went on an all day hike to a waterfall with some visiting volunteers. When we got back that evening, we were quite tired and just finishing up supper when we got a phone call. Jim Radcliffe, our surgeon here, was calling because he had to do an emergency surgery on a patient who had been stabbed and he couldn't get ahold of anyone else to help him. Amy and I headed down to the hospital and ended up scrubbing in and assisting with the surgery. After the hour and a half surgery, we were quite exhausted and went to bed.
Another prayer request. Our station has its own hydro electric plant. However, it hasn't been working for a few years. Without being able to generate our own power, we have to rely on the government power which isn't very reliable. The cost of government power is also quite high which is cutting into the funds we have available to pay our staff. Next week, we have 4 gentlemen coming here to inspect our hydro system and get the ball rolling on getting it running again. Once we start the project going again, we will need a project manager who will have to live here for 2 years to oversee the hydro. One of these 4 gentlemen is considering taking on that responsibility but if he decides not to, pray that God will lead a project manager to us.
Thanks for all your prayers and support. I will have more pictures available for you to see soon but our internet is having problems right now so uploading pictures is very hard.
God bless you all,
Stephen and Amy
Rainy season is in full swing here now! Rain comes every day now and sometimes multiple times a day but we are staying dry and doing well.
We wanted to bring to your attention a prayer request for our hospital. Recently, the PNG government started passing out a lot more money to hospitals, which sounds great, except for how it affects us. According to the government, any church run medical center is considered a "clinic" and not a hospital. Because of that, our hospital with a staff of over 100 is only considered a clinic and does not receive this extra money. Our hospital sees approximately 3/4 the number of patients as the nearest government hospital but we receive 1/10th the the government funding.
Because of that difference in pay, our hospital is going through a mass exodus of sorts. In the last month or so we have seen over 20 staff members leave the hospital, mostly nurses. This is causing huge problems for our hospital and every week, we hear of another staff member who has applied to another hospital or quit. In addition to the hospital staff leaving, we have also lost about 3-4 (maybe more) of our college of nursing teachers. Since we only have 8 or 9 teachers, this is going to really effect our college if the spots don't get filled by next semester.
So our prayer request comes in 2 parts. First, pray for our staff that they will view this hospital as a ministry opportunity and not just a pay check and pray that we will get more staff. Second, pray that we will get more funding for the hospital and that the government will upgrade our status so we can get the funding we need.
Also, while American nurses aren't able to work at the hospital, they can teach in the nursing college. If any of you are nurses or know a nurse who feels God's leading to serve in PNG, let me know and you/they may be able to teach in our college.
Because of this staff shortage, Amy and I had an exciting opportunity recently. We went on an all day hike to a waterfall with some visiting volunteers. When we got back that evening, we were quite tired and just finishing up supper when we got a phone call. Jim Radcliffe, our surgeon here, was calling because he had to do an emergency surgery on a patient who had been stabbed and he couldn't get ahold of anyone else to help him. Amy and I headed down to the hospital and ended up scrubbing in and assisting with the surgery. After the hour and a half surgery, we were quite exhausted and went to bed.
Another prayer request. Our station has its own hydro electric plant. However, it hasn't been working for a few years. Without being able to generate our own power, we have to rely on the government power which isn't very reliable. The cost of government power is also quite high which is cutting into the funds we have available to pay our staff. Next week, we have 4 gentlemen coming here to inspect our hydro system and get the ball rolling on getting it running again. Once we start the project going again, we will need a project manager who will have to live here for 2 years to oversee the hydro. One of these 4 gentlemen is considering taking on that responsibility but if he decides not to, pray that God will lead a project manager to us.
Thanks for all your prayers and support. I will have more pictures available for you to see soon but our internet is having problems right now so uploading pictures is very hard.
God bless you all,
Stephen and Amy
Sunday, October 9, 2011
School Starts, Independence Day, and a Cat!
Hello again Friends and Family!
I apologize about the two month delay in writing to you but time just seems to fly by. We have had a busy two months including that start of school, a trip on Papua New Guinea's Independence Day, and getting our very first pet as a couple!
First off, if you haven't seen pictures yet, you can click on this link to view pictures of our house here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hollenbergpng/sets/72157627358274853/
School started on August 29 and has been going well ever since. I started the year with only 3 kids who were in grades 7, 8, and 10. For the past three weeks, I have had another two kids added to the pile so now I have a 7th, two 8th, a 10th, and an 11th grader. My sixth student will be joining us on November 1.
A typical day of school starts with 15 minutes of devotions at the beginning of the day, then the kids begin their work. Most of the students classes are done either with video teachers or self learning. My primary job at school is to grade papers, plan for which video lesson they will watch each day, and to keep them on task. I do teach 7th and 10th grade math since we don't have videos available.
After lunch, everyone does a language class first thing. If you walk into the school during that time, it is quite a mix of languages. We have 3 students learning German, 1 doing Chinese, and 1 doing spanish. Combine that with English and some Pidgin and the room gets very exciting. The final class of the day varies between Bible, P.E., Art, and a fun elective.
For Bible, the kids are all participating in Bible Quizzing. We are studying and preparing with the hope that we can send them to the general quiz at Olivet this upcoming summer.
The elective period is supposed to be a very fun class so the kids picked things they want to do and most of them have 2 electives. I am teaching Josiah and Ethan computer programming and they are watching a video on computer repair as well. Allison is learning how to use Photoshop on the computer then spending an hour a week learning how to be a teacher at the younger kid school. Lydia is learning pottery and spending an hour each week learning how to garden with Dr. Bill McCoy.
Overall, school keeps me pretty busy and I am there from around 7:30 am till between 3:30 and 5:30 in the afternoon.
Amy has been keeping busy teaching handwriting, spelling, and math at the younger MK school in the mornings. She also has joined the hospitality team here which keeps her busy planning events and cleaning in the afternoons.
On September 16, Papua New Guinea had it's Independence Day and we were invited by the Dooley family (some missionaries here) to spend the long weekend with them in Goroka which is a town about 3 hours away. It was a nice relaxing weekend where we got to swim a lot and enjoy some restaraunts. The following link has pictures of that weekend:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hollenbergpng/sets/72157627668806253/
Amy and I haven't had a pet yet in our two years of marriage and we both like dogs more than cats. However, one of the missionaries here has a cat that had kittens right before we came. We decided that we would take one of the kittens and it turned out to be a great decision! We both (Amy especially) have grown very attached to our little Florence Nightengale, or Flo for short.
However, while it does seem like a silly prayer request, we have one in regards to Flo. Flo's brother, adopted by the Radcliffe family, has recently developed what appears to be a bone problem that is making it very hard for him to walk. We thought it was caused by an injury but just about 2 weeks ago, Flo started limping on her right front paw. We suspected it could be an injury as well but then tonight, she started limping on her back right leg as well so that she can barely walk.
We suspect it may be a vitamin deficiency so we are trying to increase her calcium and vitamin D intake. Flo has been a wonderful companion so far and keeps Amy company in the afternoons. We are praying that we can fix this problem and that it isn't a genetic defect but would you be willing to lift our cat up in prayer? She is our first "child" and it makes it very sad to see her hurting.
As a praise, my roommate from college, Jordan Thompson and his wife are coming back to PNG this week. We are really excited for them to come and it will be a wonderful to spend time with them while they are here. Thank you if any of you were able to support them in their ministry. If anyone else would like to contribute to their mission fund, you can at: http://web.nazarene.org/goto/thompson.png.
Thank you so much for all your love and support. I will leave you with some prayer requests and praises.
On the Journey,
Stephen
Praises:
-Jordan and Rachel coming back
-A great 2 months and being able to adapt
-Having a wonderful cat to keep Amy company on days when she has nothing in the afternoon
-A country wide women's conference had a wonderful turn out last week
Prayer Requests
-Pray for Flo that she can recover from this problem
-Pray that God will open some doors for Amy and I to new areas of ministry.
-We have a hydro-electric plant that isn't working right now but we are trying to get it started again. Pray for everything involved in that process because it will take a lot of work and a effort to get it going again.
I apologize about the two month delay in writing to you but time just seems to fly by. We have had a busy two months including that start of school, a trip on Papua New Guinea's Independence Day, and getting our very first pet as a couple!
First off, if you haven't seen pictures yet, you can click on this link to view pictures of our house here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hollenbergpng/sets/72157627358274853/
School started on August 29 and has been going well ever since. I started the year with only 3 kids who were in grades 7, 8, and 10. For the past three weeks, I have had another two kids added to the pile so now I have a 7th, two 8th, a 10th, and an 11th grader. My sixth student will be joining us on November 1.
A typical day of school starts with 15 minutes of devotions at the beginning of the day, then the kids begin their work. Most of the students classes are done either with video teachers or self learning. My primary job at school is to grade papers, plan for which video lesson they will watch each day, and to keep them on task. I do teach 7th and 10th grade math since we don't have videos available.
After lunch, everyone does a language class first thing. If you walk into the school during that time, it is quite a mix of languages. We have 3 students learning German, 1 doing Chinese, and 1 doing spanish. Combine that with English and some Pidgin and the room gets very exciting. The final class of the day varies between Bible, P.E., Art, and a fun elective.
For Bible, the kids are all participating in Bible Quizzing. We are studying and preparing with the hope that we can send them to the general quiz at Olivet this upcoming summer.
The elective period is supposed to be a very fun class so the kids picked things they want to do and most of them have 2 electives. I am teaching Josiah and Ethan computer programming and they are watching a video on computer repair as well. Allison is learning how to use Photoshop on the computer then spending an hour a week learning how to be a teacher at the younger kid school. Lydia is learning pottery and spending an hour each week learning how to garden with Dr. Bill McCoy.
Overall, school keeps me pretty busy and I am there from around 7:30 am till between 3:30 and 5:30 in the afternoon.
Amy has been keeping busy teaching handwriting, spelling, and math at the younger MK school in the mornings. She also has joined the hospitality team here which keeps her busy planning events and cleaning in the afternoons.
On September 16, Papua New Guinea had it's Independence Day and we were invited by the Dooley family (some missionaries here) to spend the long weekend with them in Goroka which is a town about 3 hours away. It was a nice relaxing weekend where we got to swim a lot and enjoy some restaraunts. The following link has pictures of that weekend:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hollenbergpng/sets/72157627668806253/
Amy and I haven't had a pet yet in our two years of marriage and we both like dogs more than cats. However, one of the missionaries here has a cat that had kittens right before we came. We decided that we would take one of the kittens and it turned out to be a great decision! We both (Amy especially) have grown very attached to our little Florence Nightengale, or Flo for short.
However, while it does seem like a silly prayer request, we have one in regards to Flo. Flo's brother, adopted by the Radcliffe family, has recently developed what appears to be a bone problem that is making it very hard for him to walk. We thought it was caused by an injury but just about 2 weeks ago, Flo started limping on her right front paw. We suspected it could be an injury as well but then tonight, she started limping on her back right leg as well so that she can barely walk.
We suspect it may be a vitamin deficiency so we are trying to increase her calcium and vitamin D intake. Flo has been a wonderful companion so far and keeps Amy company in the afternoons. We are praying that we can fix this problem and that it isn't a genetic defect but would you be willing to lift our cat up in prayer? She is our first "child" and it makes it very sad to see her hurting.
As a praise, my roommate from college, Jordan Thompson and his wife are coming back to PNG this week. We are really excited for them to come and it will be a wonderful to spend time with them while they are here. Thank you if any of you were able to support them in their ministry. If anyone else would like to contribute to their mission fund, you can at: http://web.nazarene.org/goto/thompson.png.
Thank you so much for all your love and support. I will leave you with some prayer requests and praises.
On the Journey,
Stephen
Praises:
-Jordan and Rachel coming back
-A great 2 months and being able to adapt
-Having a wonderful cat to keep Amy company on days when she has nothing in the afternoon
-A country wide women's conference had a wonderful turn out last week
Prayer Requests
-Pray for Flo that she can recover from this problem
-Pray that God will open some doors for Amy and I to new areas of ministry.
-We have a hydro-electric plant that isn't working right now but we are trying to get it started again. Pray for everything involved in that process because it will take a lot of work and a effort to get it going again.
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