The Chapman’s in PNG

Saturday, we had a softball game on the rugby field by the Nazarene School off of station. It had been raining most of the morning but the game was played - mud and puddles. It reminded me of baseball in Juneau. We divided into two teams - young and old. Mike played first and I was in outfield. Our team decided to bat from old to youngest, so who got to go first? I did, then Mike. I did get in a couple of good hits. Everyone hit. Ethan and Lydia, our two youngest players made good hits and got onto base. By the time we finished everyone was covered with mud (Dr. Megan going in the mud at first base), some more than others. The doctors are very competitive, but they gave us all a chance to play. It was a great time getting out, enjoying the beautiful weather, and playing softball.

At six o’clock we meet in the park on station and eat s"mores round the campfire. We arrived home at 8:30 p.m. It was a good day for visiting with station family and getting caught up. It is amazing at how involved you get with the job and don’t know what is happening with others around you.

This week there was 21 TONS of food that arrived on the Goroka side of the mountain broke for the displaced families. Here in the Western Highlands we received diesel fuel from the Southern Highlands. All the station families went to the grocery store in Mt. Hagen and stocked up for the duration of this road closure. It is amazing at the snowball effect that happens.

Mt. Hagen does have a tension among the people that feel when in town. But, here at the station we are safe. We have security 24/7. The local tribes are not causing any problems for the hospital and station. We continue to pray for peace and safety for the Western Highlands.

One of the teacher’s (Janet) from the Evangelical Brother Church told of her crossing this week as she came back to Tamil Wagii. As long as she stayed on where the road use to be people would leave her along. But, once she stepped on their land they wanted compensation paid immediately. Of course the best place to walk is off of the road. There was lots of strong talk and she paid a national to walk in front of her and that helped prepare the way for easier passage. It took her 30 minutes to walk from one side to the other.

The PNG government has sent more troops to the area to help discourage violence and to allow people to walk across the slide.

Last night we heard that there is big equipment at both sides of the road closure working so something has started!. Keep praying!

A week later the Highland Highway is still closed! The prices of fuel, groceries, and supplies are doubling and tripling. The Western Highlands supplies are less and less. Mike and I went to town on Saturday, stocking up on groceries for the next 4 months. We are thankful for the garden and vegetable market! We will buy chicken from people in the village when it is needed. We could find no diesel in Mt. Hagan on Saturday to fuel up before coming back to Kudjip.

Since diesel is in short supply, the PMV fares have increased. I was told that a fare from Kudjip to Banz that was 80 toea now costs 2 Kena. People can’t afford the PMV fares. This has caused a decrease in patients coming to the hospital for treatment which in turn causes the nursing staff hours to be cut. As you know this will have a huge impact on the economy of the Western Highlands.

Air New Guinea, the airline, is carrying all of its fuel from Port Morseby, so that they can land and take off from Mt. Hagan. They have had to cut down on cargo and passengers for the extra fuel weight. This is having an impact on businesses in Mt. Hagan and the WHP.

Mike is looking over the hospital project and support housing projects very carefully to see where he stands with materials. There is no cement to be found in Mt. Hagan for the foundations that need poured for the support housing projects. The hospital has materials at this time but not all the materials are in place.

There are no relief organizations that are coming in to help at this time. On the Goroka side there have been food supplies brought to the Simbu area for some relief for the people who are misplaced from their homes.

The Highlands Highway is the only pipeline for all supplies that come into the Western Highlands from the coastal areas of Lae and Madang. Last Monday the mountain above the Highlands Highway in the Simbu area broke. The mountains in the area are made of limestone. There were two extremely large pieces of limestone that sheared off the side of the mountain dropping and sinking into the ground. This drop of limestone hitting the ground caused the entire side of the mountain overburden (dirt, bushes, trees) to slide down the mountain taking everything with it - road, houses, villages, churches, graves, trees, poles, etc. As the ground slid, people were able to ride the top of the overburden as it moved down the mountain. The report is that no people were killed.

Mike and Will left the station on Wednesday to check on the mountain broke. The Simbu area is east of the station about 40 miles past Kundiawa but before Goroka. Mike and Will walked the entire slide width getting pictures of what damage was done. It took them 20 minutes to walk across the slid area. Mike is standing where the road should be when taking the pictures. As you look at the pictures you can see the white area on the mountain where the limestone broke of off. Trees, houses, and graves are laying everywhere. Mike said that it is the biggest slide that he has every seen and it is at least a mile wide. It will be days, probably months before the road will to opened.

As they crossed the slide area, people were carrying all kinds of items. The big white bags are coffee beans. This is the season for the coffee bean harvest. The coffee plantations are losing money because of the mountain broke and road closure. The trucks were backing up to the one side and people were carrying the bags to the other side to load in a waiting truck that would continue to the coast. Each person is being paid to carry items.

The people of Papua New Guinea travel in PMV (People Mover Vehicles - 15 passenger vans). The PMV unloads their passengers on one side of the slide and the people walk across to the other side of the slide area. When they arrive to the other side then they load up into another PMV and go to their destination. Some people are wanting to be paid compensation for passing through and asking for Kena.

Police and Defense Force troops are guarding the area 24/7 and trying to prevent violence from happening in the area.

Saturday morning found us headed to Banz for a look about. Dr. Erin, Cassie, Kristen, and Pam were also in on the adventure. We drove north out of Kudjip for 10 miles. The drive was beautiful with trees and flowers lining the highway. We drove by the Carpenters Coffee and Tea Plantation. This plantation is the largest plantation in Papua New Guinea. Kristen informed us that she, Jeff, and Susan do one of their 5 mile runs up this road in the mornings.

When we arrived in Banz we stopped at the Bible Book Store. The store had tappa wood signs and cards. I purchased some cards and couple of signs. Mike was looking for Work and Witness materials but decided to wait until a later date to purchase. From the Bible Book Store we went to the market. We were looking for Mary blouses and skirts. Kristen and Erin found some they liked and purchased them. Now when they attend church or social events they will fit into the culture. We then walked up the street through the market. You can find some very interesting items in the market. Everyone is selling something and trying to make money. After leaving the market we stopped at the grocery store to buy ice cream cones and drinks.

We then headed for Minj to see the other Bible Book Store. We drove back to Kudjip and turned east from the station driving another 15 miles. At the Bible Book Store in Minj I found a coconut house. It is made out of a half of a coconut. It is sitting on the mantle in the house right now. The store also had tappa signs and cards. The two Bible Book Stores are operated by the Swiss EBC Mission.

From Minj we went to Timil Waghi to visit the Strasslers. Joas and Remo are in my classroom at school. Erin, Kristen, and Pam hadn’t been there before. Joas and Remo had fun showing the tree monkey, kaskas, and rabbits to everyone. Ruth has a beautiful garden and flowers. Ruth sent lettuce for everyone on the station with us. She also gave me lemon grass to plant here at home. We arrived back on station at 12:30 p.m.

The lemon grass is planted and the lettuce was enjoyed. I need lemon grass drink - lemon grass, sugar, lemon juice, and water. It is a concentrated drink that you add to water. It is very tasty.

Goroka was an interesting trip. Going down on Friday took about 4 hours. Slow going in places. The road is not in the best condition to just drive. There are lots of potholes and mud slips that have to be watched. An hour out of Kudip we were stopped for 30 minutes because a truck was stuck in the dip. Another truck backed up and pulled him out so we were able to go on our way. Coming home we were delayed one day because of the rain washing out the road in one area. Also, another truck was stuck in the dip causing the traffic to really get backup for one and half hours. They got the truck over to the side of the road then through stones in the road around it so that the cars could pass. We made it home Monday afternoon. We traveled with Jeff, Dr. Susan, and Ethan Myers.

While in Goroka we eat at a Chinese Restaurant, shopped for groceries, clothes, and tools for Work and Witness teams coming this summer. Ethan swam everyday at the Bird of Paradise Hotel while the adults sat and visited. Most of the time Mike and Jeff were out shopping. The Bird of Paradise is a nice hotel run by Australians. We were able to park our vehicle in the parking lot and not have to deal with break ins.

We stayed at the Christian Radio Broadcast Missions guest flat. Our flat had 4 bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, dining room, and bathroom. It was very comfortable and the price was reasonable. We fixed breakfast each morning and two supper meals. We enjoyed playing games in the evenings. Goroka is more spread out than Mt. Hagan. It seemed that the people were not all bunched together all the time. There is a big airport that you can fly out of to surrounding towns. They also have a huge market.

We are back in the swing of school. Starting lots of new projects for the science and math carnival at the end of May. Cassie is going to take care of the carnival. The children enjoyed their spring break but are ready for fourth quarter.

A truck load of materials arrived today for the project. Mike is happy. They have been short on supplies the past couple of weeks so this will help. Today, Mike went to Mt. Hagen to get supplies for the doctors guest flat that is going to be built the first of June. He will be pouring the foundation in the next couple of weeks. When John Brothwell’s team gets here the first of June they will be able to complete the entire guest flat. Everyone is excited.

Prayer requests for the project:

more materials to arrive safely

funding for the sewer project (1.4 million dollars)

Work and Witness Teams for building the 15 hospital support buildings