Bridge Failure?                                       
Archive: April 2007

Konofi BridgePlenty of rain during our Highland's rainy season have swelled local rivers.  The nearby Ba'e river decided to change course somewhat near a major bridge that connects our Aiyura Valley and its many agricultural businesses to the Highland's Highway.  This is the only route to major centers such as the coastal port town Lae, or Goroka in the Eastern Highlands Province.  

The present Minister of Parliament has located around K100,000 (US$ 34,000) to rebuild the footing now washed away.  We would need approximately K200,000 more and there are discussions with the Public Works Minister about allocating additional funds.  Nothing, of course, moves as quickly as one would like, except perhaps the river itself.  There is a ford, but heavy cargo trucks cannot cross at all. Both the SIL Center, our airstrip, and the Aiyura National High school in our valley are affected by this.

Back from Furlough New Starting January 2008

Just back serving our many friends here in Papua New Guinea. Here is our latest newsletter, recently published in April, 2008.
Read More »

Many plans are in a man's heart, but the counsel of the LORD will stand.  — Proverbs 19:21

We seem overwhelmed at times with too much to do.  Constant planning meetings for SIL, and interactions with the local church, plus local friends 'dropping in' seem to contend for our attention.  It doesn't help to have Helen suddenly jump on a plane for a medevac in medical service which takes her away for days at a time.  Schedules are very hard to keep.

Insights into Papua New Guinea Life

ANHS Cool ShadesHere is the entrance to our photographic favorites.  Come journey to the "land of the unexpected" as seen in our eyes after 20 years of ministry in this fair country.
See More from Years 2007 to 2005»

Higher Resolution Photos are freely available upon request.  Just email and let us know what you would like.

Woodlark Island Stays "Green"

Woodlark island mapWell, of course, it would have still been green if the old plans for a massive new Palm Oil Plantation project had gone forward, but recently the unique ecology of this island was saved when about 100 islanders traveled to Alotau, the capital of Milne Bay Province to protest the planned deforestation of the island. Potentially destroying 70% of the present forest habitat would have seriously affected the Woodlark Islanders who live off gardening, raising wild pigs, and occasional hunting

Why all the interest in Palm Oil Plantations around the world?
The search for Bio-Fuels, the so-called "salvation" of the planet, has captivated the world, as it looks for alternatives to traditional fuels like petroleum.  It turns out that the savings to the ecology of the planet by not burning fossil fuels might be totally offset by the increased deforestation of the planet due to increased production within the bio-fuel market.  Carbon Dioxide levels could actually increase in the atmosphere in the process even as we burn these more clean alternatives for our energy needs.

But beyond the potential Global Warming issues (whether man-made or not is another question entirely), there is the potential for other human abuses. Specifically, toward the indigenous peoples that live in the rainforests.

there remains on the island something of a unique example of a regional social and ecological system that supported human and other life for 2000 and more years." If 60,000 hectares of the island had been deforested and turned into a monoculture, there is little question that the Woodlark Islander's unique way of life would have been changed irrevocably.
— Dr. F.H. Damon

Continue to pray...  for wisdom for our global leaders in government circles and especially the Western world to not look for global solutions to world problems beyond their own back-yards.

Tropical Islanders Win Battle Against Palm-Oil »

Biofuels Versus Native Rights »


Abundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor, But it is swept away by injustice.  — Proverbs 13:23


So What Does Helen Really Do?

Helen with PatientHelen has been way too busy at our clinic. Pray for plenty of restful, rejuvenating moments in the midst of all that medical work. Since her return in January she has been out of PNG twice on medical evacuations including a recent trip in which she accompanied a patient back to the US. Praise the Lord for endurance and strength during these trips.

She is also working to get all of our clinic staff up to date and certified in CPR. Pray for the teaching, learning and testing process which has been frequently interrupted by her out-of-country travels.


So What Does Brian Do Anyway?

Brian's work, being the quintessential techie, is a little harder to explain.  Think computers and you are part-way there.  Think about the difficulty of representing languages on a computer and perhaps your "eyes start to glaze over" because the English speaking world basically does not have any problems with modern computers.  The assumption is that the rest of the world is the same.  Not true.  Brian is part of a world-wide team creating our fourth generation software to facilitate the analysis of formerly unwritten languages.  

Baseline TextOne aspect of the work is helping the Unicode Consortium not forget the minority languages with unusual needs in Papua New Guinea.  Another aspect is providing feedback to world developers creating the software that renders complex scripts around the world, particularly in Asia.  Read More »

Fast link to short video on SIL Graphite technology.  See Video »

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands;
— Revelation 7:9