5 Oct 2006
Elizabeth and I arrived in Port Moresby after flying from Brisbane where we had spend two nights with our daughter and son in law. When we arrived in Port Moresby we were met by a group of people from the Rhema Family Church led by Pastor Mwaosa Tutumla and his wife Marian and Brother Fred. We did a conference for Pastor Mwaosa Tutumla on STRONG FAITH and everyone was blessed. The church put us in the Holiday Inn which was a blessing. After the weekend in Port Moresby we went on to the island of New Britain to the town of Rabaul where the Bible School was being held. This time the plane flight was over 2 hours. We were met at the airport in Rabaul by Val Pearson [Mama Val] who seemed delighted to see us. She was accompanied by Ailine ‘Ofa-Ki-Tonga Leggett who became known to us as Irene she was the owner and General Manager of the Kulau Lodge Beach Resort where we were to stay. Rabaul had been devastated by a volcano eruption in 1994 and the whole area has never really recovered. What was a thriving tourist area is now very desolate. As we drove to the Lodge over the usual pot holes in the road we were told we were driving over three villages covered up in the eruption 12 years before. Everywhere is covered in ash and grey dust. We had a great time, but tiring. Elizabeth said it must be like the Garden of Eden. The fruit trees and the bay just outside our accommodation. We were blessed abundantly by the love and care of the people who did everything to make us comfortable. They shared their food with us and gave Elizabeth a Merri Blouse. This is the traditional dress of the PNG women. They wear it over a lap-lap. The day school had about 25 students and the night class has 71 students. Almost every night the power went out so we taught in the darkness. All in all it was a wonderful time and we really enjoyed the fellowship. Mama Val Pearson the school ‘mother’ was a blessing to us both and steered everything along on course. Pray for the people of PNG and the peace in their land. The Bible School which is run by Pastor Nigel Darch from The Life Centre in Broadbeach Queensland Australia. Nigel had a vision to set up a training school for the nationals in their own country so they could be trained in The Word of Faith to share with their own people. In the 6 years the school has been running there have been over 500 graduates from the program; now out preaching and teaching the Word of God to the people. The school is located in different area each year and runs for 13 weeks with a graduation service at the end. I did the graduation last year [2005]and we had a great time. This year I taught four subjects: Effective Prayer Christian Development Ministry Gifts Character of God The sessions were 50 minutes long and some days I taught 5 sessions to get everything done in the two weeks. The power was cut off almost every night so most night classes were in the darkness for part of the evening, [praise God they now have a generator since I left]. The people are so hungry for the truth of God’s Word, many come from denominational backgrounds as well as other Pentecostal groups, but they all are eager to receive the good Word that works in their lives on a daily basis. We saw many great things happen one girl was healed from malaria at school and a number of the students received healing and were baptized in the Holy Spirit when we were there. On the only Sunday we were in Rabaul we went to Kocopo to speak at Pastor Henry’s church called Engedi. We were picked up at 7.00am. The journey about an hour and a quarter over rough potholed roads and tracks. And as we neared Engedi the track got narrower and narrower till the bushes were brushing along both sides of the van. Then we came into a clearing and heard beautiful praise. We had arrived. We were the honoured guests, leis were put around our necks and we got the only plastic chairs to sit on, everyone else set on wooden benches or the ground. A woven mat was placed on the ground for Elizabeth and Val to put down their bags so they did not get soiled. I shared the Word and both Elizabeth and Mama Val testified. We prayed for a lot of people and many confirmed healing that day. The children; about 15 of them all sat on the ground behind our chairs and they sang so sweetly, the harmony and their praise was wonderful. The church building was not much more than a roof held up by some bamboos over a flat patch of dusty ground. Many of those beautiful people had walked for hours just to get to church. The ladies made a beautiful lunch and we all had more than enough nobody was hungry after that. Elizabeth and Val had to use the ‘bush’ toilet but you will have to speak to them about how that all worked. They gave me a love offering which I had joy in returning to Pastor Henry for church funds, so it became a twice sown seed. Kulau Lodge Beach Resort The Kulau Lodge Beach Resort where we stayed was a wonderful location right on the beach [unfortunately the beach was grey ash]. The Lodge run by Irene and her daughter Lei Lani proved adequate accommodation. I had one mishap when I drank water from the water tank outside and got a bad dose of upset stomach for 24 hours, it was very unpleasant. Irene did her very best to make us comfortable. Sometimes the power went off there also and we had no lights or air conditioning. We ate in the Lodge restaurant sometimes and Irene proved to be a great cook. We had lots of fruit to eat and Elizabeth said she had the best time ever . She did not have any problems with her health at all; God was good all the time. We can recommend anyone wanting to visit PNG to do so but plan your trip ahead of time and do so with the help of some local Christians. God bless Papua New Guinea. SPONSERSHIPS We were able to sponsor a number of students thanks to all of you who contributed to the project. The students were very grateful to you for your generosity. They will all graduated in November 06 and be out in the field teaching and pastoring and evangelizing. Praise God. Your generous giving helped these students pay their fees for school and so they are able to graduate and get out to preach the gospel. You will have rewards in heaven for the work they achieve in the islands in the Pacific. The week after Elizabeth and I left the Bible School in Rabaul the Volcano erupted again. Last time it went up was 1994 and several villages were buried. We could see the volcano from our lodge and we saw small amounts of smoke coming up while we were there. But then after we left it erupted again throwing up massive clouds of ash and smoke. The area was covered with dust again and when people went outside they had to wear a hat or use an umbrella to keep the dust off their hair which would set firm like concrete with dust The whole trip to PNG was a very successful one. We were welcomed in usual PNG style and cared for and treated with dignity and love. The people were wonderful to us and shared what little they had enthusiastically with us. Elizabeth was loved and looked after by those ladies and the men did everything they could to help me be as comfortable as possible. Plans are already in place to visit several times again next year [2007]. We have some conferences to attend and ordain a number of men into ministry positions. Your support has been invaluable in all this outreach and we ask you to pray and see what The Lord would have you do to help in the next outreach. Elizabeth says she will never be the same again since being there and fellowshipping with the Papuan New Guinea people. You might consider making a trip with us some time, it could change your life. Your support really helps us get to these places. Bukoya and his wife Susan. Fred became our driver and we developed a friendship with this precious couple. Papua New Guinea is a group of islands to the North of Australia and just 1 hour and a few minutes by airplane from Cairns in North Queensland. The trip from Brisbane however takes almost 3 hours. The land mass of PNG is almost 462840 sq km. The language is English, Pidgin English and about 800 local languages. The population is just over 5 million. The life expectancy of men is 55 and women 57. The literacy rate is low men having 65% and women just 38%. The local currency is Kina and is worth about 50 cents Australian. This was Elizabeth’s first trip top PNG and she was not sure what to expect. However once we arrived in Port Moresby the local people took her into their hearts and she immediately felt at home and loved. Dr. Norman Campbell teaches the Word of God through live seminars, teaching manuals, and online pages. Reproduction of all or part of this site without permission is prohibited. Copyright © 2007 Dr. Norman Campbell. Last updated: 15th December 2006. Mailing address: Dr. Norman Campbell, P.O. Box 1228,Bundoora VIC 3083, Australia
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