A few more pictures - Oh how I love these faces!

Reflecting

I am still reflecting on all that God's taught me over OE.  I love it when I have the opportunity to get away from my normal routine and focus on something else. In this case it was serving others.  I keep feeling over and over again how truly blessed I am.  He hasn't just sprinkled my head with a few random blessings. No, I have been bathed in blessings. I have so much. My life is so good.  I should be walking around with joy just oozing out of me.  The God who created all the waterfalls I was splashing in, who made all those giant trees that were providing me with shade, who formed all these beautiful people with such amazing eyes, who gave me the ability to hike and sing and serve-that same God of the Universe is living inside of me. He cares about me. My cup overflows.  God really challenged me with my attitude, with not complaining, with seeing the blessing in the trials. I remember a quote I heard when I was in High School - "God did not put me on Earth to see how happy I could make myself." My life is not all about me. It's about HIM. What am I doing today to reflect Him?

The first village we hiked to was very different than the second. We had coloring papers for them with crayons and markers. The kids ran off and stole all of the crayons. We had a game with a ball. They ran off with the ball.  There were a couple little trouble makers just trying to be difficult.  But our second village was so welcoming. They built a bathroom hut for the girls and one for the boys. They shared vegetables from their garden. They sang songs to God from the bottom of their toes on up. They loved Jesus. And we could see it. We could feel it.  I want to be like that.  I want it to be obvious, and pour out of everything I do.

Every day I am reflecting something - What is it today?

Back!

We are home!!  Yahoo!  We all arrived throughout the day on Friday, tired, hungry and very dirty.  I had flies on me I was so dirty!  All of our walking was through muddy, swampy piles of dirt and pig poop. No wonder the flies liked me. I was talking to a lady the other day and she looks at me and says, "You have mud in your ear."  Haha. I had it everywhere.

What a fantastic time we had though. It was a beautiful time of showing God's love to the villagers around us.  I miss it.  The kids were my favorite part. I LOVED holding the babies and singing them songs, teaching them games, and talking to their Mommies.  Our group actually did two hikes. One the first week for two nights into Uldam and one the second week for one night into Hombuka.  Every group set up water tanks in the villages and brought them water bottles.  Good clean water is something they all need and now they have a chance to get it. 

We taught them about how HIV/AIDS are spread, we did lots of games and crafts with the kids, had a carnival, worked on fixing up the airstrip, dug trenches, painted, repaired buildings, sat with the people around the fires cooking vegetables, swam in the river and so much more. 

The last full day many of the people from the villages we hiked to came to the post in Kosarek to bring us gifts and to celebrate together. They brought us handmade nokins, (bags), and vegetables, and chickens, (live to take home). They cooked up a pig and some taro (veggie) for us to eat together. We cooked up some rice and we all feasted together outside. It was so special. They were thankful, so thankful for what we had done.  The next day many of them hiked back again to say good-bye to us and to thank us again.

I will write more about this whole experience later, but for now I wanted to send you my greetings along with some pictures. Thank you so much for the prayers. The time was so very precious and I consider it an honor that I was able to go.

Thanks for praying.

My friend, Lemina. 

This is how my feet looked most of the time.

Some of the honais in our village.

This is the village of Uldam.  That's the church in the background.
Can you see the church bell hanging?

Faith trying to learn about life in the village. 

One of the kiddos I got to play with.

Hula hoop contest.  Emma's winning.

Crossing the river with my girls.

Carrying in the water tank.

Installing the water tank on the corner of the church.
This will be the only source of clean water for this village.

Aldofa holding up a cross she just made during our kids club program.

My friend Silva invited us into her home and cooked us some
veggies over her fire.

This is a bathroom hut that the villagers built for the
girls.  Notice the banana leaf door.

To show their gratitude, the village of Hombuka gave us a chicken.

Spending time with some of the ladies in Kosarek.

Our last full day we had a carnival and a feast.

This little boy enjoyed a special treat - a pig foot.

Silva came from her village to say good-bye.

These puppies took a pounding.

Last view of the people of Kosarek.

All O.E. Updates

Hi.  We've got our first update from the O.E. crew.  I'll send these as we get them and try to fill in info (in parentheses) that you might need.

Thanks for praying.

Parents of the HIS high school students,

 We thank God for all the prayers for the flights in on Monday. Everyone got in and it went extremely smoothly. I am writing you in Kosarek while it is raining and filling up our water tanks. We have brought in 12 water tanks for the villages around Kosarek and have begun installing them on churches. On the side of the water tanks we have attached spanduks with our theme verse for the year,
    Jesus replied, "People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life."
 Of course Mike Martin (Mike Martin is a missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators.  He and his family have been ministering in Kosarek for years and he knows the language.  He is hosting O.E. this year) has translated it into the Kosarek language.

 Tomorrow morning we are sending 4 groups on a hike to two surrounding villages: Tammy Wisley, Ben Ferderer, Paul Juneau and Rachel Erickson (Paul and Rachel's groups will be on a four hour hike.  As I write this, it is 8:15am on Wednesday and they are probably starting out right now.  Please be praying for them.  They are going to an unreached village.  In other words, no Westerners have ever been there) will be hiking in groups of two in order to set up water tanks, present information on AIDS, show Jesus film and hang out with the local people. Please pray for safety as they are on the trails (Some of the hikes, such as Rachel's, don't even have trails.). We look forward to hearing their stories. The other four groups will remain in Kosarek and continue to work on the airstrip, medical clinics, doing kids clubs and setting up the water tanks. In the medical clinics we have begun giving vaccines to the children for Measles. We hope that this can help the people in this area. So far here in Kosarek we have not come in contact with any Measles cases. It may be in the outlying villages and so we are planning on bringing these vaccines as we hike.

 Dan (Dan Wisley is the Bible teacher here at HIS who goes on O.E. and presents twice a day devotionals) has really been challenging us with the book of Ephesians. So far during the first two night meetings he has gone over Ephesians 1 and 2. Such powerful passages and like always we have been challenged to find our identity in Christ. Tonight Dan challenged us to Boast in nothing but the gospel. Made us think about what we do boast in.

 Well it is bed time. Things are going well. No one in sickbay. God is good. Thanks for praying. Amazing being in the mountains and seeing Gods creation. We love your kids.

 Darren Berg (Darren is the high school principal here at HIS and organizes O.E. each year) from Kosarek. Good night.

Hey folks.  Here's update #2.  I think I told you last time who Darren was.  Joan is a teacher here at HIS.  She and her husband, Wally have been here in Papua for probably 30 years.  Wally was MAF director over all of Indonesia until he recently handed that off so he could focus on Sekolah Papua Harapan (School Papua Hope).  He founded it and his heart is all in.  Go here to see more about SPH.

I believe this email was written on Wednesday morning.

 Notes from Joan/Darren:

 Everything is going great!  God is putting His plans in place and we are watching it all unfold.  Yesterday Tammy Wisley's group and Ben Ferderer's groups hiked out in great weather.  Today Rachel Erickson's group and Paul Juneau's group hike out.  Their destination is not the same as they originally planned, but today a shift was made to accommodate the original village plus a village that is in closer proximity.

 Here in Kosarek we continue to work on airstrip, kids club, library and medical. Wendy Roberts and her daughter Cherise are running the clinic getting our students involved in handing out worm medicine, vitamin A as well as measles vaccinations. Our students are giving the measles injections to children under 10 (good luck figuring out the ages). We praise the Lord that prayers are being answered as none of our students are sick or injured.

 Dan continues on in Ephesians challenging us to have both head and heart knowledge of the gospel and to GRASP the power of the Holy Spirit. One quote that struck me was, "The power of the Spirit is defined by Spiritual inner sensitivity to gospel truth."

 Once again Joan and I are amazed watching your children work and be a blessing to those around them. Megan Orrin said this morning how impressed she was with the students work ethic. Yesterday we helped set up a water tank in a village about 45 minute hike from Kosarek and while leaving were given bananas and nokins as a thankyou for giving them the tank. Amy Martin says this was a significant gesture of thanks.

 We are so thankful for our hosts Mike and Amy Martin. Mike has been translating, arranging carriers and helping out in any way he can. We are so thankful for his amazing grasp on the local language. Amy has been helping our students learn how to bake bread and set up a library in which our students work at memory verses with the local kids.

 "I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strenth through his Holy Spirit" (Eph 3:16 NLT).

Darren/Joan from Kosarek loving the group we have!!

Here's update three.  It's great to be getting so much communication from them.

 Day 5 from Kosarek and things are going well. Last night was cool/cold and rainy but now the sun is out and drying things. Currently we have Paul Juneau and Rachel Erickson's groups in the small village, Tammy Wisley and Ben Ferderer's groups hiking back to Kosarek, Lisa Kimball and Kolbe Gray's groups getting ready to hike tomorrow and Mike Lott and Megan Orrin's group digging on the airstrip. Today we also have Mike Martin, Dan Kimball and Wendy Roberts are hiking to a village to give measles vaccines to  the children of that village.

 Everyone is staying healthy and working hard. We are feeling a little tired and sore from swinging pick axes and shoveling but the spirits are still high and the attitudes are GREAT! We had a treat yesterday of fresh bread baked in the wood stove (Amy Martin teaching) and it smells like today we will have some cake. We are eating extremely well. One student said today that he is eating better here than he does at home:-) I am sure this is not completely true but we are eating well.

 This morning we were challenged to have more confidence that the good king has a good plan. I have also been challenged by things that the upper classpeople have written in their devotionals. Each year the juniors and seniors write devotionals which go into our OE book. So each morning during devotional time I read two of the students devotionals. They have depth and are challenging! If you have a junior or senior you should ask them to read their devotionals when they get home.

 Lisa Kimball's Group has this to say:
 Dear Mummy and Daddy and "siblings", I'm having so much fun we are hiking, playing card games in our free time, and playing soccer with the children. Trying to stay warm but still having fun. It's amazing - we are living in the clouds. Mom and Dad am glad you are enjoying an empty nest and eating salmon. Please pray for us as we hike out tomorrow.

 "And this is his plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ - everything in heaven and on earth." Eph 1:10

 Darren Berg from Kosarek

From all these positive updates, it seems like your prayers are working.  Thank you.  Keep it up.  It's Monday morning here and they return on Friday morning.  I'm sorry I don't have any pictures of the groups.  That would really help you visually.  Maybe we'll have some when they get back.  Just to let you know...Wyatt is in Mike's group and Emma is in Ben's group.  And Rachel, of course, is in Rachel's group. ;)

Oh, and by the way, how many of us have to hike 30 minutes to take a shower?  You'll see...

Good morning from Kosarek,

Hiking Update:
Kolbe and Lisa's group just left on their hike. We are praying for safety, good health and good decisions as they trek most of the day today. Paul and Rachel's group should return from their village experience today, most likely this afternoon. Tammy and Ben's groups arrived from their village experience yesterday afternoon and from all reports it was an extremely positive time. Last night we heard some of their stories and we are thankful for answered prayer as they all returned safely. Monday morning the remaining two groups (Mike and Megan) will depart on their hike.

Wendy Roberts hiked to the village that Paul and Rachel are at yesterday to give measles vaccines. She returned in the rain last night with Dan Kimball and Mike Martin.

One last hiking update is that the shower area is about 30 min hike from where we are staying. Yesterday after showering, quite a few people slipped and feel right in the mud on the slick trails. Everyone who is slipping has great attitudes even when it is disheartening to shower and then get muddy :-)

Kosarek Update:
Here in Kosarek we are working with the children in the library, working on digging a ditch for the airstrip, putting oily kotor on some of the buildings and of course putting up the water tanks. We are so thankful that people are staying healthy. People are dealing with some cuts and minor bruises but for the most part everyone is healthy and can continue to work and play. The nights have been cool and we are all snuggled up. In my little area I am sleeping the mist just comes in, so we are literally sleeping in the clouds. The clouds have been clearing off around 9:30 each morning.

Meetings Update:
Last night Dan talked about the need for spiritual companions (Eph 2:11-22). If you do not have spiritual companions you absolutely need to make them. We cannot do this life on our own.

Kolbe Gray's Update:
Today we get to go on a hike. Please pray for hike, a good translator, health, good attitude. We praise that there has been no sickness and the attitudes of the teams have been nothing but positive. We love all the parents and we cannot wait to see you again.

God is good and we are continuing to enjoy nature.
Darren Berg from Kosarek

Hiking Update:
6 of the 8 groups are hanging out today in Kosarek. Lisa and Kolbe's groups hiked out yesterday and we just got word from them via note from a carrier. Yesterday we could not send all the barang with them and so some carriers came from their village today to get more of their stuff. From the note it seems like things are going well and that the hike took them 6.5 hours. This has been by far the longest of the hikes. I was SO thankful to get a note from them today saying that they made it and all was okay. They will hike back on Tuesday. Tomorrow Mike Lott and Megan Orrin's groups hike to a village. When they return on Wednesday then all groups will have been out in a smaller village.

This morning the 6 groups who were here hiked to three of the churches in the nearby area. Tonight we will attempt to put on an AIDS presentation and show the Jesus film here in Kosarek. Other than that today has been more of a day of rest.

Sick Bay:
Last night we had a student throwing  up and a couple of other children feeling under the weather. As of right now things seem to be looking up and everyone is up and about. God has continued to answer prayers in this regard. Please pray for Joan Wiley who slipped yesterday and has a shoulder that is not feeling well. Ben and Wendy are keeping an eye on her. Some other injuries from slipping have been arms/shoulders feeling sore. It is muddy and slick in the mountains so we are slipping around :-)

Thanks for praying,

Darren Berg from Kosarek

Only two more days and they will be home.  Thanks for holding them up in prayer.

Good Tuesday Morning,

Hiking Update:
Today we have 6 of 8 groups out in villages and hiking. Today Kolbe and Lisa's groups are hiking back to Kosarek after 3 nights in the village. We expect them back around 3 this afternoon. Also hiking today are Paul and Rachel's groups to install a water tank in one of the neighboring villages. They will stay there for one night and then return tomorrow morning. With that water tank all tanks are out and hopefully set up. Megan and Mike Lott's groups had a 3 hour hike yesterday to their village where they will stay for two nights returning tomorrow. The village that they hiked to is at a higher elevation than Kosarek so they hiked down and then had a climb. Some of our students actually helped them carry their stuff and then returned the same day. Reports are that the groups made it safely and were happy to be there after the climb. Ferderer and Tammy Wilsey's groups are here in Kosarek working in the library, helping put gutters on houses and making meals.

We are thankful for the prayers for our hikers. Hiking in the mountains is difficult and we are so thankful for all the positive attitudes.

By tomorrow afternoon all 8 groups will be back in Kosarek. We look forward to hearing the amazing stories and experiences that the groups have to share.

Medical Update:
Today we have some people who are feeling weak from a stomach thing that seems to be going around. So one person is not hiking with their group. Other than that people seem to be staying healthy and up for the tasks of the day. Please continue to pray for Joan Wiley as her shoulder is still bothering her. So thankful that there is not much to report medically.

Night Meeting Update:
Last night Dan Wisley shared on Ephesians 5:5-21. Powerful challenge to understand what sin is so that we can realize how much Jesus did for us on the cross. Eph 5:5-14 Live in obedience. Eph 5:15-17 Know wisdom. Eph 5:18-21 Walking in Joy. "Joy of the Lord is my strength."

We are working on an exit strategy and will try to get information to you soon.

Darren Berg from Kosarek!

Get Away Day!

Aaaaand...they're off!

The first group to take off this morning for the village of Kosarek left the dorm at 5:15am.  Wyatt was one of those early birds.  He asked me last night to make sure he was awake no later than 4:30am.  Whew!  That's an early call.  At 4:10am it didn't sound too promising outside as a tropical downpour pounded our tin roof.  Usually, I love to hear the rain on the roof, but this morning I was praying for some clear skies to get our kids into the village.

It is now 9:00am and all but one group have left without any weather glitches.  Praise the Lord!  Rachel's plane was scheduled to leave at 8:00am.  She wanted me to share some of these pictures with you.  Please be praying.  I know that she has already filled you in on the measles outbreak and some of the other concerns.  We covet the prayers of our friends all over the world.  Thanks.

Garth

Rachel and I volunteered to make a run to the market for

food supplies.  Here's our haul.

Arnold and Yohan helped Mr. Berg take luggage down 

to the airport early.

Cale saying good-bye to Mom as she checks in at MAF.

Emma's first O.E.  She's gonna do great!

Rachel with her group.  Their name: Illumin8.

L to R: Caleb, Ransom, Caleb, Faith, Rachel, Grace, Jaalah, Evan.

Please pray

OK. (Deep breath. Long sigh) I have a meeting in a few minutes but I really NEED to tell you what has been going on. You know that we are all getting ready to go on OE. There will be a total of 75 of us leaving on Monday to fly in to a remote village called Kosarek.  Well, we just got word yesterday that there is a measles epidemic going through that village right now and so far 60 kids have died.  Not sure the number of adults.  So, now the doctor here has said that if any of the high schoolers have not been vaccinated for measles they will not be allowed to go on OE.  The risk is too high that they may get it and spread it to the other villages that we are hiking to.

I am not sure how many kids here will have to stay behind. Right now it looks like there may be three in our Hostel that can’t go.

Please pray. We are heading into an area that is going through such a time of mourning.  We need to be so respectful and full of care and concern.  These people need hope and we can bring hope. 

I will keep you updated and I learn more.

Rachel

Come with me! - 2015 O.E. Promo Video - Kosarek

My days right now are pretty filled up with getting ready for OE. Why don't you come with me?  Not so sure if you want to?  Watch this!

Ok. So now you are pumped to go, right? Well, let me tell you a bit about Kosarek. It is straight across from Wamena. (Have you heard of Wamena? It is the largest landlocked city in the world. The only access to it is either by air or by foot.)

The elevation is 4500 ft. so it is warm during the days but cooler at night. Wow! Cooler...that will be nice.  We will be gone from Feb. 9th -20th.  We will be doing a lot of digging and hiking, so bring work clothes and gloves. Bathing and washing our clothes will be done in the freezing cold river so bring a laundry bar and soap. The sleeping arrangements will be the floor on a sleeping bag under a mosquito net with about 30 other women, if you are a man you will sleep with about 45 other men.  We will set up a kitchen area and cook all of our own food on the fire and gas stoves. We also need our Bible and toiletries, flashlight, bug spray, sun protection, water bottle, band-aids and medicine, rain coat, pillow, camera... oh, but remember that we are only allowed 11 kilos for our luggage, that is just over 24 pounds.  Oh, and you need a bag for carrying your stuff on the hikes, and gifts to leave with the villagers, and your own toilet paper (don't worry. we will dig holes for our "bathroom area".)  Are you ready?

Let's go!!!!!!!

I am so very excited!  We split the high school up into groups yesterday.  I have a great group of 7 kids.  We gave our group a name- Nailed it!  That is what Christ did for us on the cross and what we are going to do this OE-nailed it.

We will run two kids clubs so each group has to have a two hour Bible lesson and activity ready. We will be doing several AIDS/HIV presentations. We will be having a few carnivals for the kids as well.  We will be making bracelets with them and using these awesome inflatable joy balloons that a lady from our church designed.  Every group will do at least one hike into a village carrying a water/rain collection tank. We are flying 12 of them in to teach the villagers about the importance of fresh water. Many of them have no way of obtaining fresh, clean water. We will connect it to the verses in the Bible of how Jesus Christ is our Living Water.  With Him, we will never thirst again.

Please start now to pray for good health, for safety, for God to open the hearts of those we will be serving, and for all of us to have great attitudes. These people need to hear about Jesus.  This is going to be SOOOO cool!  I can't wait!

Check out this picture of the airstrip we will be landing on.