Jason Olver is the Field Manager for New Tribes Mission here in Sentani and he and his wife are very good friends of ours. We all met when we went through New Tribes Bible School back in the mid-nineties. They are also the ones who invited us out here last spring. Anyw
ay, Jason asked me if I wanted to go on a short overnight trip interior. He said that a couple NTM families are wanting to move into a tribe and the husbands wanted to check this particular tribe out to see if it would be beneficial to move their families into. The tribe is called the Benguins (yes, it rhymes with penguin) and they are located just south of Lake Sentani. Jason said it would be a 3 or 4 hour motorcycle trip in, we would hang out, spend the night, and come back the next day. That sounded like fun.Since I have a street motorcycle Jason suggested that I borrow one of our dorm kids dirt bikes. Kolbe let me use his and we were set to meet at Jason’s at 7:30 am on Monday morning. Jason and I met there and headed over to Jareb’s house to pick up him and Scott (these are the two husbands of the families thinking about moving into the tribe). After much packing (in the rain) we were on our
way by 8:45 am. We were headed for Waena which is a small town just this side of Abe. At Waena we gassed up and headed south, skirting the very twisty shore of Lake Sentani. The road is very narrow but paved and climbs and descends as it winds around the lake. We drove for quite a while until we turned on a dirt road. We were on the dirt road for a while and
then came upon some people planting a garden. They were very nice and liked it when we stopped and talked to them. A little farther down the road we saw a couple of guys on the side of the road cleaning their guns. We stopped and talked to them and found out that one of them (Niko) had helped some missionaries who had previously surveyed this tribe. He invited us to his house. So we went and sat on his porch for about an hour and talked and just hung out. During this time he ended up inviting himself along on our little excursion. So we rearranged the baggage on Jareb’s motorcycle and headed off with one extra passenger.
From Niko’s house the road started getting bad. It is a logging road and it shows. The rain from that day and the previous week didn’t make the going any easier. A few kilometers down the road, Scott was having major trouble because he was the only one riding a street bike. The street tires provided no grip in all th
e mud. After some thought we decided that his bike wasn’t going to make the rest of the trip. We unloaded Scott’s bag and put it on my bike. We unloaded Jason’s bag and put it on my bike so Scott could ride on the back of Jason’s bike. It was at this point that it looked like we were maybe biting off more than we could chew, but onward we went. Jareb had an extra passenger and Jason had an extra passenger and we were going through some huge, unfriendly mud puddles. If that wasn’t bad enough the mud that stuck to our tires was making it VERY slippery on the rocks that made up the rest of the road. It was kind of like riding on ice, but it wasn’t smooth.The first time I wiped out was soon after Scott decided it would be better for him to walk rather than ride on the ba
ck of Jason’s bike. The ruts in the road didn’t like me. I was okay…the bike was okay, but I needed Jason to help me upright it because of all the gear I had on it. The second time I wiped out the bike landed on my leg. Once again, I was okay…the bike was o
kay. Have you heard the saying, “The third time’s the charm”? Well…the third time I wiped out was the last. The reason the roads are so bad is because the lumber trucks don’t use it anymore, therefore they don’t maintain the many bridges. I use the term bridges very loosely. Most of these bridges are just planks of wood crossing a gap. That’s where the third wipe out took place. The bridge that I was crossing was actually very sturdy and wide. It was the ramp up the other side that was narrow, wobbly and full of gaps that got me. As I approached it I thought I should probably just get up some speed to make it up and over this makeshift ramp. But when the front tire of the bike hit the plank, it threw me to the side and off of the ramp to the right.
I landed on my side, under the bike on a small embankment. If the embankment hadn’t been there I would have fallen a good 12-15 feet into the river below. Once again (say it with me) I was okay…the bike was okay. But it w
as at this milestone that Jason and I decided to leave the bikes there and hoof it the rest of the way. The only problem was we had a lot of the gear. It was going to be heavy. Since it was taking so long for us to catch up with the others, Jareb decided to ride back to see if we needed help. Good thing. We packed the extra gear on his bike and let him take it since he was doing so good on the trails. But when we got to the next bridge (remember, loose term) it was time to park his bike too. We walked the next five miles through the jungle to the village finally getting there around 4:00pm and dog tired.
Anton met us and was very glad that we were there. We all sat in the men’s hut which is an elevated, wide-open, roofed meeting area for the men only. Anton and his family have lived in this village for 9 years. He said that most of the people have left because the roads are so bad, making it difficult to get in. He told us that he would stay. He liked it there even though it looked like a ghost town. There were at least 30 structures but only 3 or 4 families still living there. Anton invited us to stay in one of the houses and also told us that we could get a “shower” there. A shower meant standing
on the back porch dipping water out of a 55 gallon drum and pouring it over your head. Just don’t open your mouth. I’m not sure why, but these people don’t believe in furniture. All the rooms are bare and you just sit on the floor talking or just not talking. It’s okay to not talk. Just being together is just fine. They are really very nice people. After it got dark we were able to see a little because Scott had brought a candle. But by 9:00 we were tucked in our mosquito nets ready to sleep. Sleep never came. Several factors played into this. First; the floor is HARD!!!! I know that I’m a beefy kind of guy, but my body doesn’t provide enough cushion to sleep comfortably on a wooden floor. Second; the mosquitoes are relentless. When it gets dark they come out. They aren’t very 
big, but they are many. I’m not sure where mosquitoes get their training (ummmmmm, could it be Hades?) but they just love to go for your ears. Try sleeping on a hard floor with tons of mosquitoes buzzing in your ears. Third; the frogs in the jungle are LOUD!!!! They almost sounded like barking dogs…and they talk to each other. It was almost comical. Fourth; it rained. Rain on a tin roof is loud. And rain on the trail made me worry about the return trip. Would the trail be even muddier? And lastly; I’m not sure why but the roosters decided to start crowing around 3:00am. It wasn’t light…didn’t even look like it was gonna be light soon. I guess they just wanted to talk. In the morning, Jason came out of his mosquito net and about thirty mosquitoes came with him. They probably came up through the cracks in the floor. His arms and legs are looking pretty bad today.Jareb and Scott decided that they would like to stay an extra night so Jason and I said good-bye to them and our hosts and hit the trail at 8:30am.
Thirty minutes from home!
The return trip was much less eventful (although not exactly easy) and we made it home to Sentani by 1:30. It was quite the adventure. Would I do it again? Probably not. But, sitting here now in our air conditioned apartment at the hostel (alive) I’m glad I did it. Not many people get the experience to do that. It was National Geographic LIVE! And as I lay in that house in the middle of the jungle trying to sleep, I was comforted by the fact that, even though I wasn’t sure where I was…God knew exactly where I was. He hadn’t lost track of me. He hadn’t forgotten me. Psalm 139 says it best:
1Lord, you have examined me and know all about me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts before I think them.
3 You know where I go and where I lie down. You know everything I do.
4 Lord, even before I say a word, you already know it.
5 You are all around me—in front and in back— and have put your hand on me.
6 Your knowledge is amazing to me; it is more than I can understand.
He also knows that I need to go to bed now (I’m pooped). We love you. Good night.
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