Easter Sunday

Well, Easter has come and gone again for another year. But we had a wonderful Easter Sunday here in Papua New Guinea. Our Lord can be worshipped and His resurrection praised anywhere, even half way around the world in the Highlands of PNG. I will say that our Easter Sunday started a wee bit early for me as Susan's alarm went off around 5:30 (yes AM). But that was the time to rise if we wanted to be on time for the Sunrise service that had been planned. We had a joyful time as we sang the Easter hymns, read scripture, some gave testimonies and Dr. Jim played his trumpet out over the hills. Makes me wonder what people across the valley were thinking who may have heard the trumpet sound. We had a wonderful time together as a mission family worshipping our Savior and celebrating His triumph over the grave! Thanks to God, it is the reason we have the hope of salvation and the forgiveness of sins. If you have never asked the Lord Jesus into your life you can't truly experience the fullness of Easter. But the great thing about what Jesus did for us on the cross and in His resurrection from the grave, is that we can ask Him into our hearts at anytime, even today, right now, and He will hear and He will save, right here and right now!

Our Easter Sunday didn't stop there, no sirree, we still had a full morning ahead. After the Sunrise Service we had about an hour before we needed to head out to the tiny little village of Kume (Koo May) where Pastor Dixon has a preaching point, just past Tuning (for those of you who followed along with Mom and Dad's adventures while they were here). It is just a tiny church and is only a year and a half old, actually here, it is considered a preaching point because it is not yet organized. Pastor Dixon had asked if I would come and Autim Tok (preach) at Kume when I Preached at Tuning in January. For this adventure we took along 4 single ladies and a volunteer couple and Micheal the security guard for the compound because he knew where we were going and we did not! So all 11 of us started off on our adventure. It took us about 50 minutes to get there and it was back in country a little bit, but half the fun is getting there!

We finally came to an Aid Station and was told to park because it was just a little ways up the road. Now the first lesson is when a National tells you it is only a little ways ahead you know that it is at least twice that far. But I am happy to say it really was just a very short ways ahead and then we headed up a steep bank. When we got to the top the church was right there. (You can see the inside of the church 2 pictures up, above is the outside with the trail coming up to the left of the church, and to the left is Pastor Dixon in the foreground and John who attends the church in the background) We were a little early and since the pastor had not yet arrived we all stood around and visited with the people that had already shown up for service. It wasn't too long and Pastor Dixon came and within a few minutes we moved into the church to start the service.

We moved in and as is typical with a PNG church service, we sang lots and there was a time for testimonies and scripture verses and the offering (every good Nazarene Church has one) and specials. Susan had a special, she played "All Hail the Power of Jesus Name" It was very nice, she used her flute and piccolo that she had received as a Christmas gift this past Christmas. Soon it was my turn to be apart of the morning service.

I felt impressed to shared about Peter and his part in the Easter story. There are times when I feel I can identify with Peter a good bit. I wanted to show how a man who had been with Jesus for around 3 years, could still deny Jesus and yet have the Lord reinstate Peter and as we see in Acts 4:8 "Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit ..." This is an exciting story. We all know that not one of us is perfect and we will have our moments along the way where we must ask the Lord's forgiveness. But because of Easter we have the assurance that He is always willing to forgive and reinstate any of us who are willing to ask, so that we too, like Peter, can be "... filled with the Holy Spirit ..." The Lord told Peter ahead of time that he would deny Him and when they were in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus said to them, after He found them asleep, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Mat 26:41 Three times Jesus went and prayed and came back only to find the 3 disciples still sleeping and how many times, I wonder, does the Lord look down and find us sleeping when we should be watching and praying, lest we fall into temptation! We looked at Peter's 3 denials of Jesus, the same man who in the upper room said, "Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you." Mat 26:35 We all have great intentions but sometimes they fall apart even when we did not mean for them to. But the beauty of this story is found in John 21:15-19. Jesus 3 times asks Peter, "Do you love me!" and reinstates him by telling him to take care of His sheep, feed His sheep! Jesus knows that we are weak but we MUST know that He is STRONG!! The power in the story is seen when we look at Peter in Acts. Look at chapter 4:13, I really like this verse, it says, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." Look at those words, UNSCHOOLED, ORDINARY, our God can use anyone who is willing to be used. But the best part is "... THEY TOOK NOTE THAT THESE MEN HAD BEEN WITH JESUS." Oh, how I pray that my life will reflect that, "this man has been with Jesus!" This should be the desire of each of our hearts. Each of us, if we but only ask, can be forgiven just like Peter and we can have the same power that Peter displays in the book of Acts if we allow control of our lives to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. If Jesus is not Lord of your life today, He can be if you will just ask Him into your life! I pray that you will!

This is the hill that we had to climb and then descend to get to and from the church!!

Pray for Jonah!

Jonah needs your prayers! Jonah is about 8 years old and came to us the beginning of January with complaints of vomiting, headaches and some difficulty walking. It was obvious after my exam that Jonah has some sort of intracranial disease which is most likely to be a brain tumor or perhaps TB. When I suggested to the family to try to go to Pt. Moresby, the capitol city, where they could get a CT scan of his brain, they expressed that they would not have the means to get there. So, we started TB meds in the hopes that this was in fact TB. He was also started on Decadron, a corticosteroid, to help reducing the swelling. I expected at least some of the symptoms would be reduced if not by the TB medicines then by the steroids. Jonah did begin to feel better!! However, when the time came to begin reducing the steroids the symptoms got worse. He again developed head pain and vomiting. In my mind that pretty much sealed the diagnosis, he has a brain tumor and there would be nothing more that we could do.

By this time we were about 5-6 weeks into his treatment. We typically treat TB with an initial daily regiman of 4 drugs (we call this A regiman) and then reduce the treatment. We use the A regiman for 60 days. We, therefore, had only another 2+ weeks to go and so we decided to continue in the hopes that we might still see some favorable response.

The Lord answered our prayers and Jonah did begin to feel better again...even with reducing his steroids further!!!! On the 14th of this month (March) Jonah received the last doses of a 10 week course of A regiman ( I opted to treat a little longer with A regiman since he was slow to respond)and I allowed him to go home on B regiman ( a modified course).

I am having to rebuke Satan often as he tries hard to cast doubt in my mind as to whether what I have seen represents the beginning of complete healing for Jonah. Satan doesn't want us to believe that God has the power to heal but you and I know otherwise! Please pray with me that God will see fit to heal Jonah completely and that He will receive all the glory!!

Jonah is scheduled to follow up with me in the clinic on Wed. the 26th of this month.

Thank You,

Susan

Photo taken by Dr. Erin Meier

Hospital Construction Update

Hello All from PNG!

Well it has been a busy time since the last update from PNG Hospital. First we give God all the praise for work that has taken place to this point especially in the last 3 weeks!

God has given the patience and wisdom for all that is happening at the Hospital construction site! We have had 3 weeks of no interruption work! Wow!, things are turning and going at a fast pace. As you will see in the pictures you will understand the impact of God's work in PNG.

Dr. Bill McCoy has talked about the team concept and the huge meaning that the people here embrace. Well, keeping that in mind we have worked hard, to maintain this concept here, to accomplish God's work. The results are overwhelming we are making huge leaps to finish construction on the Hospital. For the past 2 weeks we have had a 10 minute devotion at 8:00 am Monday thru Friday. I have done 5 devotions and we are now bringing different people in to do the devotional. Pastor Tiame (PNG's first D.S.) Pastor Tony, Sailas Wusik, Hospital Chaplin Elis and Friday was the Hospital Pathology dept. All 7 of them came to talk to the workers. We feel that they are visual and so we would like to have many people sharing showing how God works in so many lives. We feel that God's presence has been a huge factor in the attitudes and actions of all on the site. We would like to keep developing relationships and friendships with all on site.

The contractor asked that I would part of a team of 5 working the management. This is different that what we do in the U.S. where we have a specific roll that we all are a part of. Here if you are the owner or inspector you are put right into the mix and decisions of all that goes on during construction. Next we have made the Elders of the communities more involved and listen to what is being said in the village. We had Papa Gola and Papa Wusik on site this week and talked and they are excited about the work and told us that everything is positive about the work. Wow Praise the Lord!
We are making such good progress that sometimes it makes me stand in awe. I was standing at the front gate to the Hospital, lower end of the project just watching the men work on site and while it is 85 degrees and they are shoveling gravel and making cement at the OPD building I noticed something that I had not heard yet on site. Singing! Wow these guys are having a great time working, singing and running with wheel barrels of cement. The only thing I could think of after seeing and hearing this, they are happy! This is good! In fact this is so good the security has been decreased and now sometimes the front gate stays open. What a change. When I was leaving the project today (Saturday) and the trusses went up on the ER building, mixing of cement going on for the OPD in the first 7 courses of block and Block in the operating theater for the surgery room is being finished off at the total height. I was walking back to the front gate, it is was wide open and no one around. Well they are feeling good these days.
OK, now for production,

Out Patient Bldg: This building has been left for last. The block is now at 7 courses.
Emergency Bldg: Block is finished and trusses were put on all of the building. The front of ER has a roof at the entrance that is not complete yet. Waiting on beams and steel posts for support before trusses.
Operating Theater: This building is 97% complete with block walls. Some top plate is complete for trusses.
Maternity Ward: This building is 96% complete with block. Above the windows is being worked on today. Core fill is complete about 85%.
Surgical Ward, Medical Ward: These buildings are about the same as the maternity ward
Pediatric Ward: Block complete, Core fill complete, Trusses are on the walls. Purlins are to arrive the first of the week for installation. Roofing for all the buildings is on site.

More pictures are going to be put on our web blog page under Construction Pictures. chapmanconnection.com

Prayer Request: Please keep the sewage in prayer at this time. We have met with the contractor, PNGIF fund manager and engineers. Costs for installation are still real high, funding is still an unknown at this time even though there are some verbal thoughts, nothing in writing. This has to be complete to open the hospital and we are pushing the time line for completion of the sewer system to be ready for the Hospital completion and opening.

Thank you for all your prayers and support.

Michael Chapman
PNG Nazarene Hospital,
NHM Project Manager