BUSH CHURCH

Last week we had a cool experience.  We tagged along with two of the hospital doctors and their families to a nearby bush church, Marangle Church of the Nazarene.  Dr. Ben Radcliffe and his four oldest children, Dr. Jake Morris, his wife, Genea and their six children (including the almost one year old twins in a carrier on their parents’ backs), and Bob walked just over 5 kilometers to the village of Marangle.  Gayle rode with Katherine, and her two-year-old over what amounts to a two track with a scary log bridge and joined the rest of the group at church.

We passed the Kudjip Church of the Nazarene, a Lutheran Church, and a Seventh Day Adventist Church on our way to Marangle.  The trip went through some beautiful landscape with lots of interesting architecture to see.  We have been asked if we were staying in grass huts.  We are not, but we saw several on our walk.  Those huts make up a large percentage of the housing for PNG nationals.  It is amazing to see how much time and skill are required to weave the bamboo panels that make up the walls of these huts.  Very intricate detail!

We could hear singing from the church as we approached. Then as we got closer, we could see letters the spelled, “Welcome to Marangle,” fashioned on the grass with yellow flower petals, and leading up to the church door.  There seemed to be just enough room for our large group to squeeze in and join the congregation. The music is mainly lead by guitar and the songs are sung loud and joyful.  We didn’t understand many of the words but could recognize most of the melodies from the hymns they sang.

One of our favorite parts of the service was the ladies singing and walking up the center isle of the church carrying their offerings of fresh produce to lay on the altar. They continued to sing at the front of the church, while the rest of us could then bring our offerings and place them in baskets near the ladies’ offerings.  Dr. Ben preached that morning, his Tok Pisin appears to be very fluent.  I think he has lived in Kudjip from four years old until he went to college and has been here again for the last several years.

After service it was fun to greet and visit with new friends. The nationals love to meet new people and are extremely happy to have you join them in their worship.  The nationals then give the fruit and vegetable offerings to Dr. Ben for speaking at their church.  He and Katherine, in turn, shared it with all of us and the remainder went to the hospital kitchen.  Nothing is wasted!  Katherine drove the moms and kids home in the Land Rover while the men and one of the Radcliffe boys took a shortcut through “farm” fields and across the river back to the hospital complex.  We even crossed a dam for the water that powers our hydro system for the complex.  Quite the experience!

It never ceases to amaze us when we meet new people who live so differently than we do yet have the same love for Jesus in their hearts.  They too are working for the Kingdom, doing what God has called them to do for their part of the Great Commission. To whom much is given, much is expected (Luke 12:48) is a verse that makes me feel the need to do more after seeing these Christian brothers and sisters.