ThatTheyMayKnow - News From The Field

Emergency & Urgency

Rachel Schellenberger & John Allen — Fri, 11 May 2012 04:26:55 UT

The following story is a chronological account co-written by Rachel Schellenberger and John Allen. The TTMK team on the ground in Kotidanga that day saw the reality of “Emergency and Urgency.” Life is fragile and short; how often it takes an emergency to reveal the urgency to share the Gospel. Some of what follows are communiqués sent as the events transpired. This is how Rachel and John saw it.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012 started out just like any other day. Then came the news that one of our airstrip workers, a well-known man in our area, had collapsed during morning devotions at the airstrip.

John:

Men carrying Waitave on a stretcher to the clinic

Andrew Schellenberger and I headed up the mountain with a stretcher, unsure of how serious it was. When we arrived, we found Waitave in severe distress, complaining of chest pain. He could not sit up, so we put him on the stretcher and the airstrip workers carried him down the mountain to the clinic. I ran ahead and informed Lena and Rachel that he was coming, with apparent signs of a heart attack. In four years of her clinic ministry in PNG, Lena has never had a heart attack patient.

Rachel:

I was headed out to clinic when I was informed that two patients were on their way. The first was a worker from the airstrip. I was told only that he had passed out. The other patient was a lady who delivered a baby and retained the afterbirth. This was going to be an interesting day: I opened the clinic and started praying. I was getting items out that we might need for the lady, thinking she would be the more serious. After a few minutes I saw the airstrip workers bringing the man down on a stretcher…it was Waitave! From the way they were walking, I knew it was very serious. Waitave could only moan that his chest hurt. His blood pressure was way down and his heart rate was up; but I barely found a pulse in his hands and legs. We put an IV in him, started pushing fluids, and gave him pain medicine and meds to open his blood vessels. He started shaking and vomiting. I wanted to wretch and cry. I choked tears away and told myself it wasn’t the right time.

John:

Following are the updates as I sent them to our home church and team leadership.

1 PM Wednesday, PNG Time

Thank you, everyone.

Waitave is resting at 1 PM PNG time (I think 11PM Tuesday your time). Vitals have improved but he is still critical. There is nothing more that can be done. I wish everyone in the States could have seen the team working together. Lena and Rachel calmly (but tearfully) working quickly; Sarah Glover administering breathing treatments to make it easier for him to breathe (no oxygen out here); Jason Ottosen came to ask what he could do, and soon he was pushing the IV fluids; Andrew was taking care of the crowd outside and sending reports to Matt; Ricky Beyaba, the airstrip boss, was praying with the whole clinic porch and our Bible school students; and Ben and Nathaniel, two of our students, were at Waitave’s side trying to get through to him about his soul.

I finally left Waitave sleeping on the clinic floor, still in the stretcher in which we brought him. It is so different than the Western world, but so much more real. Mud tracked into the clinic by the airstrip men who hurriedly carried him down. Mud splashed up to the knees of the men surrounding him, including his male family members. Me sitting cross-legged in my muddy Keen sandals. A hospital absorbent pad, plastic side up, covering where Waitave vomited on the floor, and we didn’t have time to clean it up. The believers praying, eyeing each other, knowing how critical this is on different levels: the life of a man, the destiny of a soul, the spiritual response of a large group of men, and the complete dependence we believers are putting in God to work this out and to guide us in our response.

I think my adrenaline has run out. My tears have not, and may they never. Matt and I have communicated this week about the urgency of the task. It is much more real today.

Pray for Lena and Rachel as they also had a mother who arrived by stretcher a few minutes after Waitave. She had delivered a 3 1/2 pound baby overnight but the after-birth was still inside. God blessed and after a lot of difficulty, the placenta was removed. I think Rachel and Lena are going to have a good cry after this day; part in relief, part in glory to God, and part in thanks for what did not happen.

Rachel:

Emergency during an emergency

About 15 minutes after Waitave came, the lady came—also on a stretcher. We got her on a table in another room and told her to wait. Selina and I went back and forth between the rooms. Sometimes we were with separate patients and sometimes together. I kept praying, “God, will You fight for us today!”. The spiritual and physical conflicts were great…two lost people who could die. Then, Waitave started to improve, his blood pressure came up and his heart rate become normal! Soon we also removed the afterbirth from the lady and were able to stop the bleeding. Everything began to slow down. Waitave was improving and resting, and the lady was walking home with a baby in her hands. It was then that I had a chance to reflect and look around. So many were involved in helping; and yet everyone, saved and unsaved, knew that it was only the work of God that saved these two lives.

Rachel:

4 PM Wednesday, PNG Time

We were headed out to church, and Waitave was trying to get up so he could go outside and lay in the sun. Such an improvement, it was amazing! Andrew and I stayed with him during the church service because he was having issues about walking…we told him his heart wasn’t ready, but he wanted to go. He tried walking and started vomiting, and then the chest pain started to come back. We gave him some pain medicine, and after church got him into a house close by for the night. Time for a good cry and a little sleep. I’ll be seeing Waitave at 5 a.m.

John:

7 PM Wednesday, PNG Time

Waitave recovered from the painkiller this afternoon. He got up (against orders) and walked off the clinic porch, barfing as he went. Rachel and Andrew intervened. They stayed back from church this afternoon to watch him with his son, Matthew.

Waitave is now sleeping in Pastor James’ old cookhouse with Matthew for the night. All thought it better to have him near a fire tonight to stay warm. Lena has given him more meds to make him sleep and not get up. She’ll be going every three hours to knock him out again.

Two men from our church, Gideon and Augustine, were in the cookhouse when I left. May the Lord give them liberty to witness to Matthew and to Waitave, should he be coherent enough to listen.

Side note: At the end of the service tonight we had a third emergency patient arrive. She had hiked all the way from Wake (wah-kay) village, a hard eight hours’ hike to our west. Her pig had bitten her and took a chunk out of the inside of her forearm near the elbow. Too large a chunk was missing to sew it, so Rachel cleaned it really well, packed it, and covered it. The lady will stay nearby with friends for a few days, coming for daily dressing changes.

There are five hours left in this day. No telling what else will happen.

Keep praying for Waitave and the airstrip guys. The Lord dealt with my heart yesterday, before all this happened, that I should go and preach to the airstrip work crew on Friday morning during devotions, and to press on them the claims of Christ. Pray for me that God will work in their hearts. The word is sown daily by Brother Ricky as he leads in devotions, and the events of today should have them thinking of eternity and of the power of God.

2 AM Thursday, PNG Time

Tonight, I witnessed something Matt and I had discussed just this week: A willingness to sacrifice for the cause of Christ and His kingdom. It is 2:15 AM. Lena is out in the pouring rain, taking shots and medicine to Waitave who is staying next door.

Lena’s cerebral malaria is not finished yet. Her temp was 101 just before she went out, and she has labored under a pounding headache all through the events of this day and tonight. She has been sick with malaria since last Sunday. But she wouldn’t have it any other way; she counts it her privilege to serve.

Rachel has the “morning shift”, going at 5 AM and 8 AM. Lena had 10 PM and 2 AM.

These two nurses are doing this out of compassion for people, with a burden to help them live long enough that they can have another chance to respond to the Gospel. They certainly demonstrate “a willingness to sacrifice for the cause of Christ and His kingdom.”

Rachel:

8 AM Thursday, PNG Time

Waitave resting in the sun

Waitave is doing much better. Pain is less in his chest and his fever has gone down. He is talking well and says he wants to sit out in the sun a little later. Andrew told him he could go out as long as he asked for help.

John:

6 PM Friday, PNG Time

We just got back from visiting Waitave at the cookhouse. If you didn’t know what happened Wednesday, you’d never guess. He’s awake, alert, and sitting up. Still has chest pain when he stands up. He’s no longer taking shots as he can swallow the medicine. Several people have witnessed him to since Wednesday.

Monday the Lord dealt with my heart about speaking to the airstrip workers. Wednesday He confirmed it with the Waitave incident. This morning Ricky let me have the devotional time to preach the Gospel. I took the Serpent in the Wilderness as my text, and used A Beka flash cards to illustrate. When I took them to the Cross and Jesus taking our place, some began wiping their eyes. All eyes were on the story and their hearts were contemplating. I gave an invitation; the air was thick with expectation. I even told them that if one would respond, others were waiting for someone else to go first. They saw how close death came on Wednesday; I urged them to not delay.

No one responded outwardly, but we left the door open. Pray for these guys—I only know some of their names: Jesse, Kipu, Andrew, Rimas, Pakeni, Ham, Waita, Matyu. There are fourteen total, fifteen when we include Waitave. None has made any move before to respond to the Gospel that I know of, but they hear God’s word daily through Ricky’s devotions each morning.

I believe there will be lasting fruit from this week. I have a confidence from the Lord that we have done what we should, and we shall continue to press forward with the Gospel. These men saw God defeat the forces of darkness on the airstrip mountain; may God gain more ground in their hearts, and may they come to see Jesus for Who He is…the lover of their souls.

9 AM Saturday, PNG Time

I have no idea how many people have witnessed to these two men in the last three days, but there have been many. When Lena decided to let him go home this morning, I went over and dealt with just the two of them (thankfully the usual crowd was gone—a gift from the Lord). Waitave listened intently, indicating that he understood what I was saying (and his son Matthew was translating into Kamea what he didn’t get). Outwardly, he was acknowledging, but not committing.

Lena, John, Waitave & Matyu, Waitave’s son

Matthew is another story. He has been witnessed to many, many times over the years, by Matt, Pastor James, me, and other believers. He says that he has trusted Christ, but that he has strayed from God’s path. I showed him from Hebrews 12 that God always deals with his children. We kept bringing every question back to the Cross. He did not make a decision for Christ today, but he is thinking. Many here, like in America, are bound with culture and religion. They are afraid of their religious leaders, and not afraid of God.

Pray for Matthew, Waitave, and those who have been impacted by the events of this week. God is working!

Rachel:

Monday, April 8 PNG Time

Andrew & Waitave…with Waitave’s gift of bananas for Andrew & Rachel

The rest of the story….

A week later Waitave decided to go to a village that is an 8-hour hike away. It was too much for him and he had a second heart attack. He passed out while he was preparing a fire in his house. He awoke because he felt the heat of the flames on his face, barely escaping as his house went up in flames. A few days later some people found him and brought him down on a stretcher. I checked him over in the clinic. He could sit up and talk a little. The worst of it was over, but he was really sick. He had a high fever and stomach pains, as well as the chest pain. We sent him to his brother’s house nearby; and daily Andrew, Sarah and I walked down to check on him. By Friday, Waitave was doing much better. Andrew was able to witness to him again. He told Waitave that God protected him twice now from dying and that God has a purpose for him. Andrew asked him if he was prepared to see God and if God would let him into Heaven. Waitave said he didn’t know. Waitave didn’t make any decision, but he said he would think about what we said. Continue to pray for him and his salvation. Pastor James will be going by to see him soon.

Summary:

Pastor James did go witness to him, as many of us did. He will admit his need for Christ but has not yet trusted Christ. His reason? He remains confused by a local belief that if he trusts Christ, God will give him a second cross to carry to heaven. (This belief system says that when you join a denomination, you get your first cross to carry to heaven.) Then, when he dies, God will send him to hell because he has two crosses. He first wants to talk to the leader of the church he used to attend before he does anything. Blinded to the free gift of God by a syncretized religious belief, our friend Waitave fails to see the urgency of his situation. Will you join us in prayer for his salvation? Will you pray with us that the word of the Lord may have free course, and that it will break the strongholds of Satan among our dear Kamea people?

Tags: emergency, gospel, healthcare, medical, preaching

STOP KONY

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 18:20:19 UT

A video went viral this morning. Kony 2012 is on YouTube, having taken in over 7 million hits in less than 2 days. And that number is growing exponentially by the hour right now. And, thankfully, Twitter is ablaze about Kony.

I’m in an airport terminal, awaiting a connecting flight, and tonight I’ll be preaching in a church in South Dakota. I had never heard of Kony before this morning, and I just watched the 29 minute video while eating breakfast. Within the first few minutes, tears welled up in my eyes, and at one point, I almost puked. (Maybe it was the Chinese food in the airport that caused that…?)

A few things jumped out at me, and I want to share them with you.

Joseph Kony claims to be leading a “Christian Army.” He is neither Christian, nor leading. Remember that the Gospel has never been advanced by the sword; much less by forcing children away from their homes and families and into murderous mobs. Joseph Kony is not a Christian—and we, as Christians, should not hide that fact from the public. Just as vocal as the good man Jason Russell (the director of the film Kony2012) is about Stopping Kony, we need to be vocal that Kony is not a Christian.
Just as vocal as the good man Jason Russell (the director of the film Kony2012) is about Stopping Kony, we need to be vocal that Kony is not a Christian.

The plea at the end of the Kony2012 video is to essentially graffiti the world on the night of April 20. I like the idea—but it still isn’t right. I’m afraid that young people, in their passionate desire to embrace a cause and become a part of something that is bigger than themselves, will throw caution to the wind and break the law in a way that could be consequential to themselves and the properties they inflict this “awareness” upon.
I will be joining the cry to Stop Kony. But not at the detriment of the cause that Christ gave us—Going into all the world. Because, ultimately, true Christians don’t enslave and disfigure others.

Moms and Dads, pastors, missionary friends—don’t turn a blind eye to this. It won’t be going away anytime soon. I can already see Kony2012 slogans going up with Obama 2012 and Romney 2012 (or whoever else wants to run for election this year.) Don’t bury your head in the sand—talk to your young people, and channel it in the right direction

2012 Pastor's Conference Day 3 plus Attendees Going Home

John Allen — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 09:19:20 UT

Tags: Pastors' conference, preaching, special meetings

2012 Pastors' Conference Finished!

John Allen — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:25:59 UT

How do you describe it?

People hiking in from up to five days away. Some arrive two days early; some arrive in the dark and in the rain.

A young local church in the mountains of Gulf Province has successfully hosted its first ever Pastors’ Conference.

A young local church in the mountains of Gulf Province has successfully hosted its first ever Pastors’ Conference. Most of its members are less than three years old in the faith. Many have never seen a conference themselves. But with one heart and one mind they have planned, prepared, worked, and prayed for three years. They grew their own food to feed the attendees. They built strong shelters to house the many visitors from Gulf and Morobe Provinces. They assembled a huge meeting house out of local materials and tarps that they bought themselves.

A full house on Day 2 of the conference

The weather did not cooperate. During the week of the meeting we received over 15 inches of rain. On the final day of the meeting, the wind threatened to tear the roof off the meeting house. Strengthened by God’s Spirit and their desire to do something for God, they pulled together and made it work. No complaining was heard about the weather. Difficulties were simply faced and fixed.

Hundreds of pounds of sweet potatoes were grown, harvested, washed, peeled and cooked. The cooks worked in 24-hour shifts, preparing the food on a mud floor in a bamboo and leaf-covered kitchen. They cooked rice and instant noodles, adding greens and sweet potatoes. For two of the meals, they bought and butchered a cow for a real feast. They cooked in pits with hot stones and on long fires on top of the ground. They served the food in the dishes that the attendees brought, or in ones borrowed from church members.

The preaching was convicting. Cultural issues and ancient ideas were challenged by national pastors using the word of God. People were challenged to leave the satanic practices that long have bound them in darkness and to embrace the Cross of Jesus Christ. God was glorified, Jesus Christ was exalted, and God’s people saw Him move in their own hearts as well as the hearts of others.

Believers line the road to say “good-bye” to those walking home after the conference.

When it was finished, 59 people had put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation. To God be the Glory!

650 Attendees

from 48 Villages

with 39 Church leaders

in 15 inches of rain

heard 7 Break-out session teachers

and 3 Plenary speakers

from 2 Provinces

preach about 1 Awesome God!

Tags: Pastors' conference, preaching, special meetings

2012 Pastors' Conference Day 2

John Allen — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 07:35:42 UT

Scenes of the evening service on Day 1 and the morning services on Day 2.

Tags: Pastors' conference, preaching, special meetings

Notes from My Journal 01-27-2012

Matt Allen — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:10:50 UT

Instant gratification has an equal and opposite reaction—instant boredom.

We live in the most entertained generation of history—yet the most bored generation. How does that work? The rest of the world dreams of these opportunities and our generation squanders these same opportunities in boredom. Instant gratification has an equal and opposite reaction—instant boredom.

The hearts of men and women yearn to fantasize about the epic—romantic movies and fictional books; epic war movies, D-Day invasions that have been dressed up to feature the survivors; and yet, these same men and women eat Doritos™, while sitting on a plush leather couch and surfing both the internet and cable TV at the same time (and possibly DVR-ing another show, because they don’t want to miss something).

Well, there is an epic battle raging—it has been for millennia. It’s the battle for the souls of men. Why not jump in and join this battle? The King of kings has commissioned you, Christian friend, for this fight. Depending on your performance, He may choose to allow you to lead in the fight.

Quit fantasizing about the epic—join in the fight and live out the epic!

2012 Pastors' Conference Day 1

John Allen — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:28:37 UT

The morning sessions went well on Friday, January 27. Several people trusted Christ in the morning service. Here are some photos of the opening day.

Tags: Pastors' conference, preaching, special meeting

Prelude to 2012 Pastors' Conference

John Allen — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:55:18 UT

Papua Niugini: Our flag and our country

With the Pastors’ Conference just two days away, plenty of activity is happening at Kotidanga Baptist Church—including starting the meeting early!

Tags: Pastors' conference, preaching, special meetings

A New Hope in Christ

Lena Allen — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 06:27:46 UT

It often happens that a family member will come to our clinic and ask for pain medicine for someone else, and our policy is to review each request case by case. But with Benjamin I always sent a package of Advil with his brother, child or mother. You see, Benjamin is paralyzed and lives downriver two hour’s hike from here in a bush hut across the river at the top of a hill. He had TB of the spine as a young father of three, and it left him with no use of his legs, making it impossible for him to come to clinic.

Benjamin & his mother with visitors from PCC

A couple of years ago a message came from the family that Benjamin was having more problems and needed transport to the Catholic hospital in Kanabea. His brother carried him on his back down the hill, across the river and placed him in the back of the mission’s Kawasaki Mule. This was the first time we met Benjamin in person, finding he had been to school and spoke some English. He and his mother, who accompanied him, were very polite and appreciative.

He stayed at Kanabea’s hospital for months and then was flown down to Kerema General Hospital for further treatment. Months later he returned to Kanabea and stayed at the hospital while receiving further TB medicines. It was during these times that we became friends. When bringing other patients over the mountain to Kanabea, we would check up on him, sometimes even bringing small things like a package of biscuits. He always was eager to chat with us, and his soul was always on our minds (he later told us that our visits were the only ones he received, and that his mother would weep each time after we left, rejoicing that someone cared for Benjamin).

One day he asked for Pastor James to come pray with him. When Pastor James returned from his visit, he told us about our new brother in Christ, Benjamin Luke!

When the day came for us to move him back to his bush hut, John loaded him back into the Kawasaki Mule again. This time they stopped at our home and we gave him a Tok Pisin Bible because he could read. Between the Mule and his brother, he safely arrived back at his bush hut with a new life and a new Bible.

Soon after this, the family started requesting “band-aides” and medicine for sores. Upon inquiring, I learned Benjamin had some sores that started under the skin and had broken open. So, I sent the bandages and more Advil.

About the same time, we began a new church in Aminawa, the next village past Benjamin’s place. Each Sunday we would pass near Benjamin’s hut, so we began stopping by on our three-hour trip home after services. That gave us the opportunity to help him grow by re-preaching the messages from the services at Aminawa.

It was also at this time that Andrew Schellenberger and Rachel Muldoon started their one-year internship (which has turned into full-time missionary work for both of them, as well as a new life as a married couple). Andrew and my husband John worked together at the new church at Aminawa, and so Andrew too became a close friend of Benjamin. Nurse Rachel worked in the clinic, and both she and our other coworker Sarah Glover would make “hut calls” to check on him. Any visitors who came with us to Aminawa also got the benefit of visiting Benjamin. When John and I went on furlough for most of 2011, Andrew and Rachel continued visiting and caring for Benjamin (as well as the many other roles they covered for us).

The very first visit we made to Benjamin in the fall of 2010, however, was terrible. He was clearly had sepsis, with fever and infection throughout all his body. Along with the terrible smell, we saw his wounds; he had huge bed sores from laying on his hips and back. They were the largest and by far the worst I have ever seen. I asked the family to come to the clinic the next day, as I needed to consult US doctors by email as well as my textbooks on the correct treatment. I wept, as I was sure he was dying. Short of a miracle, I could see nothing that could really help.

As the weeks went by, Benjamin began to improve! Thanks to the instructions of US doctors and a wound care nurse, we taught his family how to do special daily dressing changes. We gave him medicines, and we even helped him by bringing high protein food to add to his diet. There was a lot of work involved, but God had something special planned for Benjamin.

Benjamin & his family with his “talking Bible”

As he recovered, his desire for the Word grew. He eagerly awaited the preaching, singing and prayer on Sundays. Realizing he always had people with him in his hut, we gave him a solar-powered audio device (a Proclaimer) that plays the Tok Pisin New Testament. Giving him the spoken Word was just what he and his family needed. Daily they would gather and listen. On one Sunday afternoon, right after arriving, his father met us at the hut. Benjamin’s father told us they had just listened to the Bible and proceeded to give us an outline of the book of First Corinthians. Truly, faith comes by hearing! They love to tell stories, and this audio device was doing just that. Pray that Benjamin’s mother and father will come to know the Savior soon.

When Andrew came to the US to get married to Rachel in October 2011, he brought two videos he made with Benjamin. The first video was Benjamin giving a testimony telling of how he came to know Christ, and how that he is almost well now (Rachel told us his wounds are almost totally healed) from the care given to him. He is thanking us, thanking and praising the Lord, smiling and rejoicing over what God has done for him. The second video was of him playing the guitar and singing songs of praise. And I did not even know he played guitar!

Recently I was looking at some pictures a visitor posted on Facebook of his visit to Papua New Guinea this past summer. One of them was of Benjamin, sitting upright and smiling. American visitors surrounded him, and his mom was sitting right beside him. He had gained weight, and pain looks to be something of the past…physical pain and spiritual pain. He looks to have gained weight spiritually too.

Thanks for praying for us and for the medical ministry. It does open door for the Gospel as this letter shows. What a joy to be a part of a new hope in Christ!

Tags: Bible recordings, medical, TB, Tok Pisin

Whose Child Is This?

Lena Allen — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 04:23:55 UT

Culture and customs vary among the different peoples of the world. As Americans, we fall in love and marry. We have children and hope to live happily ever after. But among the Kamea in Papua New Guinea, even the very definition of “family” can be different.

Adorned with a flower petal, one of our beautiful Kamea children!

In my regular rounds of going to market and attending to people’s health needs, I have become close to several ladies and their children. Luci and her youngest children, Atama and Pepita, are good examples. Atama is about 7 years old, outgoing, always ready to shake my hand. But Pepita, who is maybe 5 years old, is shy, wanting to be picked up and hugged while hiding her face in my shoulder. She will smile from a distance and walk quietly over to me, climb into my lap and cuddle against me. In my mind I can see them grown and married, caring for their own children.

While on furlough I heard the sad news that their father, Sovi, had been killed. He had been beaten and they buried him very quickly due his body’s condition. I could only imagine what would happen to his family now. Here among the Kamea and in much of Papua New Guinea, the children belong to their father. When the father dies, the children remain with the father’s family. This can become even more complicated if the father had not paid the “bride price” for the children’s mother. But for Atama and Pepita, they not only lost their father, but this month they lost their mother too. They were taken from their mother and now live with their father’s family. It was something that Luci was expecting, as this is their custom.

Their new family is in the next village, and I can see the girls often. Their father’s sister now cares for them. Sarah (Sovi’s sister) had two boys with her husband. But when he decided to move to town to find work, Sarah had an inappropriate relationship with her husband’s brother and word got back to her husband. He came and took the children to town with him. So her own two children don’t live with her, and the two that she has are not her own.

A broken arm healed well!

At Baptist Bible Translator’s Institute in Texas we were taught to consider the relationships and terms given to each member of the family. With our Kamea children, all of the mother’s sisters are called ‘mother.” All of the father’s brothers are called “fathers.” Conversely, mother’s brothers are “uncle” and father’s sisters are “auntie.” This should give a clue to the fact that if something happens to the child’s “real” father, he usually has another one that he calls “father” that will care for him.

How sorry I used to feel here for children or teens that told me they were “orphans”. Often visitors from America would ask about opening an orphanage. Over time, I learned that an orphan here is one whose father has died, like Atama and Pepita. However, in truth there are no real orphans here; there are usually family members who will take in a child. While considering this subject, it occurred to me that I know of few families nearby that have just the father, mother, and natural born children ONLY. Every family seems to be a “blended family,” taking care of extended family members along with their own children.

Happy face!

Consider the family of our national pastor, James Naudi. He has a son from his first wife (who died a few months after their son was born). He remarried, but they have had no children of their own; last year they adopted a baby girl. They just wanted a baby and a family gave them one. They also have his wife Kelisa’s young brother living with them as well as James’ brother’s daughter. Thus, they comprise a family of six.

I thought about the family of Margaret, our clinic worker. Her husband lives in town after taking another wife. Margaret has three boys plus another adopted boy. This boy’s parents both are alive, but they just gave him to Elijah and Margaret. Now Margaret looks after all four boys without her husband. Last year she decided it would be nice to have a little girl to train to help in the house, so she adopted one. Both of this little girl’s parents are still living, too.

Sometimes a mother dies in childbearing. Breaking with the old custom of deserting that child to die, now those babies have hope; our baby formula program has changed the outlook of the people. The infant can now be given to the grandmother or a sister of the husband. This new “mother” can come and get formula for the baby. This program has saved the lives of many babies.

Though we might find the Kamea different than Americans in their definition of family, we must continually return our thinking to what the Biblical standard says. What does the Bible say is right? Is the American way right, or the Kamea way? There are some absolutes such as one husband and one wife, but what about who raises those children? As Bible-believing Christians, we take our responsibility seriously and believe that each child is a gift from God. But what if you had 10 children already and could not raise enough food in your garden to feed them all? What if five of your children had already died? For me, I am finding it is enough to say that we are different.

Pray for us that we will have wisdom as we work to teach Biblical truths about the family while discerning what is simply different but not wrong. The most important thing for any of our Kamea children is that they come to know Christ at a young age. Pray that we can keep this most important task high in our priorities and prayer life.

Tags: Children, death, family, father, medical, mother