Last Saturday we took a tour of a twenty two year old Coffee and Tea Plantation consisting of 1200 acres… It is the only plantation in PNG where a national is part of a three way ownership. Contrary to what we thought, coffee and tea are not indigenes to PNG. Coffee and tea were brought here in the 1930’s and the plantations came into being between 1950-60. They send out thirty five containers per year …each container weighing 18,000 Kilos and most of it goes to Starbucks. In the harvest season (May) they hire five to six hundred people who pick all the beans and sort them by hand. In the off season they keep around two hundred 
employees. It would take to long to go through the process here but if you ask me sometime I’ll be glad to tell you how the coffee bean is processed. Let me give you one tip that was given to us…if you grind your own coffee pick the larger bean over the smaller bean. When we arrived home, Jeff and Susan left for their short holiday. We made chocolate popcorn and had a great time with the grandkids. In the evening the power went off and we played Dominoes by head lamp ... reminded us of our time at Mondomil.
When I woke Jessica up for church she said “are we going to have an organized breakfast or everyone for themselves”. I told her we were having an organized breakfast. I hadn’t heard that expression before and it made me smile. We attended Emmanuel Church that is just outside the compound. Much to our delight, Harmon Schmelzenbach brought the morning message. He spoke from I Samuel 17...of the great battle between David and Goliath. What do we do when tragedy strikes…when the situation is out of control? David does not see what every one else sees. The battle is the Lord’s. There are many well meaning people willing to give us advice that does not know the word of the Lord…BEWARE! If you have to kill giants take advice from one who has killed giants. If you are 100 % alone in doing the right thing…are you prepared to be different? In Phil 4:8 Bible is clear what we should fill our minds with. When we have the least ability that is where God steps in…the battle is the Lord’s.
When we take our eyes from God …we are finished. He finished with II Cor. 12:9...My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. We have the privilege in taking part of what God is doing.
In the middle of preparing our dinner the electricity went off just as we were ready to mash the potatoes. Since the kids don’t have a hand potato masher John used the bottom of a glass then we went to a wooden spoon. Worked pretty well! The electric went off around twelve noon and didn’t come back on till evening.
This morning (Monday) the electric went on and off several times. I’m glad we have a gas oven so I could finish the bread and strawberry pie that was in progress. The men took a short recess from their project when the lights were off but they hope to finish it today.
Tuesday we finished making up the strawberry jam and did another batch of chocolate popcorn. Jeff wanted to see how it was made so he can make it when we are gone. Finished the day with a delicious dinner at the Radcliffe’s. We spent a very enjoyable evening visiting and singing around the piano.
Wednesday I spent the morning at the hospital with Susan. The babies were so cute but it was heart breaking as so many had heart problems. I have asked Susan to describe several patients that was seen that morning.
First, we headed to the Pediatric ward. The first patient I see most every morning is Samson. Samson is 18 months old and has been at our hospital since he was 3 months old. Samson was born with a heart defect known as Transposition of the Great Vessels. It is where the pulmonary artery (the large artery that leaves the right side of the heart and goes to the lungs to pick up oxygen)and the aorta (the large artery that leaves the left side of the heart and goes to the rest of the body) are switched around. He also has a large hole between the right and left ventricles, chambers within the heart, which is why this child is alive today. We have tried to find help for Samson, but largely because there has been damage to Samson’s 
lungs secondary to his heart condition, he is not considered a good surgical candidate. His long term prognosis is not good. His parents are reluctant to take him home as it will most certainly mean shortening his life span. We’ll hang onto him here till they are able to come to terms with the inevitable, short of God’s healing touch.
We then saw several more little ones with some combination of heart and/or lung disease. On bed 4 is a twin baby girl by the name of Florence. Her twin sister’s name is Floro! Florence also has heart disease and is currently reliant on supplemental oxygen. She has been started on several heart medications and hopefully soon she can go home. She will need an echocardiogram to confirm the specifics of her heart disease. She will not have that opportunity till June when a doctor from Pt. Moresby will come to Hagen to evaluate kids
who have heart conditions from our area.
We only rounded on one side of the ward today as we have a visiting resident doctor who is covering the other half of the ward.
In outpatient, I normally see both adults and children even though my area of training is in Pediatrics. One man we saw has chronic liver disease from Hepatitis B. His belly looked like he aught to be pregnant and way past due. He has ascitis. Ascites is an accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity. On his previous 4 visits here he had a paracentesis done (this is where you put a needle though the abdominal wall and remove the fluid) each time with 2 ½ to 5 liters of fluid removed. Hilda and I headed to the emergency room where they prepared the items needed for the paracentesis. Today we removed almost 5 ½ liters of fluid! This is not the best way to manage ascites! It would be best if he consistently took his medications to remove the fluid. The problem is that he lives way out in the bush and when his meds run out it isn’t easy to get here so he ends up waiting till his belly is very distended with fluid again and then comes in. We rely on our ultrasound machine very heavily here. None of us docs have formal training in ultrasonography but have learned enough to give us valuable information in diagnosing disease and common problems we see here. Very rarely does a day go by without each of us doing several ultrasounds! Mostly for gynecological issues or liver disease. Hilda and I did see a patient Wed. morning on which we did an ultrasound on.
We also saw several little ones that we ended up admitting to the ward. The morning went by pretty quickly and before we knew it we were headed back to the house for lunch!
I enjoyed it very much. The PNG people are very friendly.
Thursday evening at the end of prayer meeting they sang happy birthday to me. All five versions. What a nice surprise! Just as we were leaving the electric went off through out the Compound. We came home and had cake and ice cream with our headlamps on as we celebrated Ethan and my birthday.
We are busy packing but took time out today to attend the dedication of the Radio House and have dinner at the Chapman’s.
The Radio House dedication took place on a sunny afternoon at the Bible College where it is located. The dedication went well…they had an excellent program and the response of the people was good. Rev. Daniel Eka welcomed the people. The DS of Hagen Central District, Rev. Peter Degene brought a short devotion….followed with remarks by Jeffrey Myers ( Melanesia Field Communication Coordinator) and Rev. Daniel Ekka. Dr. Jim Redcliffe prayed the dedication prayer and Rev Marvin Thrasher (Director of MNBC Projects) cut the ribbon. At the end of any
function they generally have a MUMU and today was no exception. Great things are happening in radio. The house isn’t finished but Rev. Daniel has moved in. Radio Ministries would welcome a Work & Witness team to complete the house. We felt honored that they moved the dedication from Saturday to today so John and I could attend.
While at the Bible College we had the privilege of meeting Norbert…Money was raised for this young man by the Salem Zone, on the East Ohio District, so he could continue his studies. He graduated from Bible College and is going for a
teacher’s degree. He has started three churches on the Indonesia side and two on the PNG side. With a teacher’s degree the government will pay his salary. It will enable him to teach and preach.
We enjoyed the fellowship and dinner with Mike and Diane Chapman. The dinner was delicious!
Diane is the teacher for the mission children and Mike is working with the new hospital building.
We thank the Lord for such dedicated Volunteer laymen.
Our stay in PNG has come to a close. We are going home to rest. We will leave on Saturday the 2nd for Ohio. It has been a busy, interesting and exciting trip! Three project have been completed…the mud room, attic, and putting the roof on the car port! It’s been a joy renewing old acquaintances and getting to know more about our missionaries through the Beauty Salon. The strawberries (all 6 gal. bags that were waiting for us when we arrived) have been made into freezer jam. Other items requested that have been made…Candies, pies, bread, chocolate popcorn, bake beans, scallop potatoes and more…many kitchen duties which I was glad to do…helping the children with dishes. John has spent this week fixing little things that need attention. It’s been an exciting adventure! God is good!
We will arrive home late Sunday evening and leave again on Tuesday to care for our other grandchildren while Gay and Tim attend Pastors and Wives Retreat. It will probably be another week before we get unpacked and settled back in.
When I woke Jessica up for church she said “are we going to have an organized breakfast or everyone for themselves”. I told her we were having an organized breakfast. I hadn’t heard that expression before and it made me smile. We attended Emmanuel Church that is just outside the compound. Much to our delight, Harmon Schmelzenbach brought the morning message. He spoke from I Samuel 17...of the great battle between David and Goliath. What do we do when tragedy strikes…when the situation is out of control? David does not see what every one else sees. The battle is the Lord’s. There are many well meaning people willing to give us advice that does not know the word of the Lord…BEWARE! If you have to kill giants take advice from one who has killed giants. If you are 100 % alone in doing the right thing…are you prepared to be different? In Phil 4:8 Bible is clear what we should fill our minds with. When we have the least ability that is where God steps in…the battle is the Lord’s.
When we take our eyes from God …we are finished. He finished with II Cor. 12:9...My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. We have the privilege in taking part of what God is doing.
In the middle of preparing our dinner the electricity went off just as we were ready to mash the potatoes. Since the kids don’t have a hand potato masher John used the bottom of a glass then we went to a wooden spoon. Worked pretty well! The electric went off around twelve noon and didn’t come back on till evening.
This morning (Monday) the electric went on and off several times. I’m glad we have a gas oven so I could finish the bread and strawberry pie that was in progress. The men took a short recess from their project when the lights were off but they hope to finish it today.
Tuesday we finished making up the strawberry jam and did another batch of chocolate popcorn. Jeff wanted to see how it was made so he can make it when we are gone. Finished the day with a delicious dinner at the Radcliffe’s. We spent a very enjoyable evening visiting and singing around the piano.
Wednesday I spent the morning at the hospital with Susan. The babies were so cute but it was heart breaking as so many had heart problems. I have asked Susan to describe several patients that was seen that morning.
First, we headed to the Pediatric ward. The first patient I see most every morning is Samson. Samson is 18 months old and has been at our hospital since he was 3 months old. Samson was born with a heart defect known as Transposition of the Great Vessels. It is where the pulmonary artery (the large artery that leaves the right side of the heart and goes to the lungs to pick up oxygen)and the aorta (the large artery that leaves the left side of the heart and goes to the rest of the body) are switched around. He also has a large hole between the right and left ventricles, chambers within the heart, which is why this child is alive today. We have tried to find help for Samson, but largely because there has been damage to Samson’s 
lungs secondary to his heart condition, he is not considered a good surgical candidate. His long term prognosis is not good. His parents are reluctant to take him home as it will most certainly mean shortening his life span. We’ll hang onto him here till they are able to come to terms with the inevitable, short of God’s healing touch.We then saw several more little ones with some combination of heart and/or lung disease. On bed 4 is a twin baby girl by the name of Florence. Her twin sister’s name is Floro! Florence also has heart disease and is currently reliant on supplemental oxygen. She has been started on several heart medications and hopefully soon she can go home. She will need an echocardiogram to confirm the specifics of her heart disease. She will not have that opportunity till June when a doctor from Pt. Moresby will come to Hagen to evaluate kids
who have heart conditions from our area.We only rounded on one side of the ward today as we have a visiting resident doctor who is covering the other half of the ward.
In outpatient, I normally see both adults and children even though my area of training is in Pediatrics. One man we saw has chronic liver disease from Hepatitis B. His belly looked like he aught to be pregnant and way past due. He has ascitis. Ascites is an accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity. On his previous 4 visits here he had a paracentesis done (this is where you put a needle though the abdominal wall and remove the fluid) each time with 2 ½ to 5 liters of fluid removed. Hilda and I headed to the emergency room where they prepared the items needed for the paracentesis. Today we removed almost 5 ½ liters of fluid! This is not the best way to manage ascites! It would be best if he consistently took his medications to remove the fluid. The problem is that he lives way out in the bush and when his meds run out it isn’t easy to get here so he ends up waiting till his belly is very distended with fluid again and then comes in. We rely on our ultrasound machine very heavily here. None of us docs have formal training in ultrasonography but have learned enough to give us valuable information in diagnosing disease and common problems we see here. Very rarely does a day go by without each of us doing several ultrasounds! Mostly for gynecological issues or liver disease. Hilda and I did see a patient Wed. morning on which we did an ultrasound on.
We also saw several little ones that we ended up admitting to the ward. The morning went by pretty quickly and before we knew it we were headed back to the house for lunch!
I enjoyed it very much. The PNG people are very friendly.
Thursday evening at the end of prayer meeting they sang happy birthday to me. All five versions. What a nice surprise! Just as we were leaving the electric went off through out the Compound. We came home and had cake and ice cream with our headlamps on as we celebrated Ethan and my birthday.
We are busy packing but took time out today to attend the dedication of the Radio House and have dinner at the Chapman’s.
The Radio House dedication took place on a sunny afternoon at the Bible College where it is located. The dedication went well…they had an excellent program and the response of the people was good. Rev. Daniel Eka welcomed the people. The DS of Hagen Central District, Rev. Peter Degene brought a short devotion….followed with remarks by Jeffrey Myers ( Melanesia Field Communication Coordinator) and Rev. Daniel Ekka. Dr. Jim Redcliffe prayed the dedication prayer and Rev Marvin Thrasher (Director of MNBC Projects) cut the ribbon. At the end of any
function they generally have a MUMU and today was no exception. Great things are happening in radio. The house isn’t finished but Rev. Daniel has moved in. Radio Ministries would welcome a Work & Witness team to complete the house. We felt honored that they moved the dedication from Saturday to today so John and I could attend.While at the Bible College we had the privilege of meeting Norbert…Money was raised for this young man by the Salem Zone, on the East Ohio District, so he could continue his studies. He graduated from Bible College and is going for a
teacher’s degree. He has started three churches on the Indonesia side and two on the PNG side. With a teacher’s degree the government will pay his salary. It will enable him to teach and preach.We enjoyed the fellowship and dinner with Mike and Diane Chapman. The dinner was delicious!
Diane is the teacher for the mission children and Mike is working with the new hospital building.
We thank the Lord for such dedicated Volunteer laymen.
Our stay in PNG has come to a close. We are going home to rest. We will leave on Saturday the 2nd for Ohio. It has been a busy, interesting and exciting trip! Three project have been completed…the mud room, attic, and putting the roof on the car port! It’s been a joy renewing old acquaintances and getting to know more about our missionaries through the Beauty Salon. The strawberries (all 6 gal. bags that were waiting for us when we arrived) have been made into freezer jam. Other items requested that have been made…Candies, pies, bread, chocolate popcorn, bake beans, scallop potatoes and more…many kitchen duties which I was glad to do…helping the children with dishes. John has spent this week fixing little things that need attention. It’s been an exciting adventure! God is good!We will arrive home late Sunday evening and leave again on Tuesday to care for our other grandchildren while Gay and Tim attend Pastors and Wives Retreat. It will probably be another week before we get unpacked and settled back in.
Hello, 
It was great having Mom & Dad here for these 2 months. It is a blessing enjoying the parents that God has blessed me with! Dad with his fantastic building skills and being able to work with him. Mom who out did herself in the kitchen, so that I would be able to spend more time with Dad on our projects and to give me a break from my everyday responsiblities there and all the other ways that she was a help. She really was able to polish up those bread baking skills, you should have seen some of those monsters swelling right out of the pan. I believe she made bread just about every day, fine job! They did indeed make it out of PNG although we did need to request our Mission Family pray because the flight out was messed up because the airlines had cancelled a flight from the day before. So instead of one flight on Saturday they now had 2 and Mom & Dad's flight was moved to a later time that would have had them missing thier Japan flight. But God worked it out and they made the first flight and the conecting flight in Port Moresby to Japan and they are now indeed home safely in the US. Thanks for sharing Mom & Dad's adventures here in PNG, it is an adventure serving our Lord!!
It was great having Mom & Dad here for these 2 months. It is a blessing enjoying the parents that God has blessed me with! Dad with his fantastic building skills and being able to work with him. Mom who out did herself in the kitchen, so that I would be able to spend more time with Dad on our projects and to give me a break from my everyday responsiblities there and all the other ways that she was a help. She really was able to polish up those bread baking skills, you should have seen some of those monsters swelling right out of the pan. I believe she made bread just about every day, fine job! They did indeed make it out of PNG although we did need to request our Mission Family pray because the flight out was messed up because the airlines had cancelled a flight from the day before. So instead of one flight on Saturday they now had 2 and Mom & Dad's flight was moved to a later time that would have had them missing thier Japan flight. But God worked it out and they made the first flight and the conecting flight in Port Moresby to Japan and they are now indeed home safely in the US. Thanks for sharing Mom & Dad's adventures here in PNG, it is an adventure serving our Lord!!
Jeff
Thank you for traveling with us on our journey
God’s blessing’s on you indeed!
John & Hilda
Jhmyers@cannet.com
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