Truck/Two Men/Rain/Post Office

Saturday, I headed out to the village of Kudukudu for my visits. It is just about a one hour drive on a pretty rough road. I am currently doing some discipleship with Joel and Rose on Saturday mornings. You can read about there conversion here:

Joel and Rose

They are doing good and growing in the Lord. I also needed to visit a family in the village of Balai, which is on the other side of Kudukudu. However, as I arrived in the village Saturday, one of my front wheels started making a horrible noise. I knew it was the bearing. (Driving on these rough roads for the past three years, I have had to replace many parts, including several bearings.) Daniel, my son, was with me, and we decided to just turn around and head back.

About half way home, the bearing went completely out, making it impossible to drive. I was only about 2km from where the bush mechanic lives. I eased the truck to his house, and from there Daniel and I started the walk back. It was about 9:00am now and well over 100 degrees. We had just over 10 miles to walk. The Lord blessed and about one hour into the walk, a bush truck came by and took us back to Namatanai where our house is.

Not only did I have the problem of being without a vehicle, but the day before we ran out of water. I was planning on going to the river in the afternoon with several buckets to collect water for our house. When we are without water we also do all the washing of clothes and bathing at the river. It is about 2 miles from the house. I knew I needed to find a truck. We needed water for the house and the next day was Sunday. This is the first time in our three years here I have needed to find another vehicle. There are no car lots here; there are no rental car places. Very, very few people have vehicles here. I decided to ask one of the trade store owners if I could rent his vehicle.

Upon going into the trade store, it became clear why the Lord had allowed this day’s events to take place. I went to the back of store to talk with George, the store’s owner, but before I could bring up the need for the truck, he started asking me Biblical questions. This is not typical of George. George had been thinking about his future and talking with one of his workers about it. Both of the men were fearful. They were primarily asking questions about the Lord’s return. This opened the door for the gospel. This is not the first time I have witnessed to both of these men. About one year ago, I shared the gospel with George and about 18 months ago with the other man, Michael. We talked for awhile about the Lord. Neither man made a profession of faith, but the Spirit was working in their hearts. George and Michael both asked me to come back and talk with them again. The Lord knew I needed to be in the store at that time, and He made sure I was. Had I not needed a truck, I would have never went there that day! Oh yes, George did lend me a truck for the rest of the day and for Sunday.

Pray for George and Michael that they would put their trust in the Lord. Also, do pray for rain. We have been without water since Friday. It is no fun having to go to the river for your water. When my generator is broke down or our phone is out, it is still pretty manageable, but it is very difficult without water. We had a major volcanic eruption almost two weeks ago on the island just south of us. The people here are saying it is affecting our weather. The eruption occurred 36 miles from our house. Here is a link to a picture of it, from the PNG newspaper:

Volcano

Pray for my truck as well. A plane is due in the morning and it is supposed to have parts for my truck on it. Another thing to pray for is our post office. The government here has closed it down, again. This is the second time now. The last time it was closed for four months. When this happens we have to have our mail sent to a post office on the north tip of island and that is a five hour drive away.

Pray for:
George and Michael
Rain
Truck
Post office