March Madness! :)

Hello all! Well March has turned out to be quite a busy month and I'm not exactly sure with what! :) Sometimes it just seems like time flies by without you realizing it eh?

The month started off with me getting a house ready for some new missionaries arriving. I had to make sure the house was clean, dishes and linens ready, make sure the appliances work (order a gas bottle), and just pretty much make sure the house is liveable! :) This is called being a mission mate for the newbies, we had mission mates prep our house before we got here and it's a service that all missionaries living here perform at some time.

Mid-march brought about conference time. We had a guest speaker (Bill Meerstra) from Canada. The topic was "Entitlement" and boy were we ever convicted. You don't really realize how often your sense of entitlement comes into play on a daily basis. Not to point fingers, but I see this attitude of entitlement very clearly in my 5 years old! I know, it's crazy, somehow she must have been exposed to this while outside of our home...cause that would never happen in my house! :) Yeah right, I'm pretty sure I've taught her much about feeling entitled. Often we feel that God somehow "owes" us stuff because we've become His followers. For example, we feel that He needs to answer our prayers affirmatively, or we feel that because we've given up so much for Him or sacrificed so much for Him then we are "entitled" to have Him work on our behalf. The big question of the weekend was "If God does nothing else for me my entire life (besides saving me by having Jesus die for me) is it still enough?" Read that question again, cause it's a doozy. It's definitely not easy to answer, cause automatically we would say "of course!, salvation is all I need!". Is it? Is it? :) We often don't live like it is, do we. In my heart I often find myself bartering with God, I've done this for you, I've left family, friends all to serve you...I deserve this from you, you owe me (what?) Who am I talking to, eh? What a sense of entitlement I have and that's not all the examples I could think of.

One tribal update we received recently was the Biem people group here in PNG. One of the problems facing our missionaries there was illiteracy in the Biem people. How were these people going to read the scriptures that were translated into their language if they couldn't read? So the missionaries started having literacy classes and the first class has now graduated and the whole tribe is very excited about these literacy classes. More and more people are coming to learn to read and the ones who can now read are thrilled that they can write their own names, teach their children, and read the scriptures that have been translated.

Here’s a loose English version of Genesis 1:1 in Biem: “So so far before, in the time that God made the land and sky, He was there and he spoke and land and sky they just became. He didn’t make them with anything. With just words he made them.”

Pretty neat to see how the translation comes out in the end eh? It has to be culturally specific and significant to each individual tribe which I just find amazing. The work being done out here around us is so encouraging to us and so huge! I'm amazed at what God is doing in the hearts of the tribal people out here in PNG. This is what we're here for! :)

Thanks so much for all of your support and prayers. We truly feel blessed to have so many friends and family back home thinking of us and encouraging us and praying for us. You guys are awesome!

Love, Clinton & Rolanda

Hello Friends! Mipela laikim yupela! (we love you!) - I think I said that right :)

Well it seems like time goes by so fast sometimes and we always have good intentions of updating our blog more regularly, but alas, I regret to inform you all that we're not perfect! :) For all of you who didn't already know that already. :) I'll do my best to catch you up on the going-ons of the Friesen clan out here in PNG

The work in Papua New Guinea continues to draw believers to the Lord. In one village the Phase 1 teaching, which culminates in Jesus rising from the dead recently came to a conclusion. We have often seen the NTM video of an entire village celebrating the conclusion of this teaching and coming to the Lord as one body, but that was not the case in this village. The people said that this teaching was “strong”, but few made commitments to the Lord. And yet, we praise God for a few that did understand and gave a clear testimony of their faith and acceptance of Jesus' atoning sacrifice.

Clinton recently was talking with our missionary in another village and he spoke of how they were seeing a need to go back into a previous phase of the teaching because they were seeing that their young believers were not truly understanding some basic fundamentals of the Gospel. The people would say that they were saved by faith alone. However, these same people would define faith as the good works they do. This is a culture that has a very hard time understanding the idea of a free gift. The people may give a “free gift”, but they will always come to get a “free gift” from you at a later time. So, work goes on to try to help the people understand that the gift that was given could never be paid back, no matter how hard they tried!

Still another missionary reported that they were having troubles in their church with believers stopping joining in fellowship when previously they were very active. When they question deeper into what has gone on they find a similar problem with the understanding of salvation by faith. These believers have come up with their own idea of how many good works it would take to pay for God's gift of salvation, and after doing the math, they find they have paid God back and no longer need to be a part of the church. So, prayer is needed for all the many works going on by all affiliations in all the world that are bringing the true gospel.

In our family life we doing well, and continue to thank the Lord for the peace we have at being in PNG. Clinton is enjoying being a part of the work with our aviation program, and I am very thankful to get into the clinic and offer my skills as a nurse one day each week. I got to say, being out here has definitely been strengthening my skills and also helping me develop new ones. I love it!

I have also been doing photography again, every saturday for the past 8 weeks I've been donating approximately 1 hr of my time to doing senior portraits for the graduating kids out here. It's been a lot of fun for me to get back into photography and the seniors are such fun to photograph.

Tayah is doing really well in school and is reading really well. That is a really big blessing, since we were nervous about home-schooling her. She really is thriving with the individual attention she gets this way, but she is looking forward to joining kids her age for grade 1.

Just before Christmas we were moved from our house right near the gate into Lapilo to a place on the top of the hill in Lapilo. It has been a real blessing to move as our children are not constantly having to play on the road. Just the other day a family here gave us their swing and slide to keep at our place, which the kids are loving. The house also has an extra bedroom and the extra space is quite helpful. Not to mention that this house has a bathtub, which was really exciting for Clinton and the kids (though Tayah prefers showers just like her mama)!

We are beginning to gear up for a visit from Clinton's mom, Ann Friesen, sometime in July or August! Hopefully those plans can come together, and in the cheapest way possible. It will be really nice to show a family member what we have been up to, and for the kids to see grandma again!

The other day my national friend, Jojina, stopped by for a visit and while we were talking she was telling me how her husband, Aute, had loved the banana bread I had sent home with them awhile ago. Jojina was telling me that Aute was bragging to all his family in their village about how good it was, and yet when they came to visit him to try some of it he refused to share! He said it was far too good to share. :) I just laughed, Aute is known as quite a funny man in his village and he's always a joy to talk with. Jojina is a believer but Aute is not. He has been told the gospel but is still not ready to accept Christ. Please remember to pray for him.

While I was visiting with Jojina she told me she had to be somewhere by 3 o'clock sharp. So I was supposed to tell her when it was time. So our visit continued and I looked at my watch and realized it was a few minutes after 3, so I told her the time expecting her to pack up and head out. Instead she said ok and continued making her bilum (crochet bag), I was a little confused but was like ok, maybe this is a cultural thing. About 5 minutes later I started thinking maybe I said the time wrong...sure enough when I asked her what time I had told her it was she said "you said 5 minutes to 3 o'clock", after I finally got out the correct time, we had a good laugh over my poor pidgin and she was on her way. :) I've got lots of learning to do yet! Makes me wonder what else I've said to people around here! :)

One prayer request we have is for our passport renewals. We need to renew by April even though our passports don't expire until october, but PNG rules are that we will not be allowed to travel to any other country (including Australia in case of medevac) if our passports are less than 6 months to expiration. Therefore we have started the whole procedure and the only glitch so far is that I forgot Clinton's birth certificate at home (I think), and so we had to order a new one. Please just pray that all will go smoothly.

Another prayer request is for our finances, we're doing good! :) Bet you don't hear that very often eh? ;) All kidding aside, we are fairing well, though occasionally we have had to use some of our "saving for tickets home" fund. The issue is that the currency out here (the Kina) is rising in value compared to the Canadian dollar and so our money doesn't stretch as far as when we were first here. Costs are also continually increasing, for example electricity costs just increased 15% this past month alone. We are trying to be good stewards of all our finances and God has been very faithful in taking care of us out here.

Again, we thank all of you that have supported us in prayer and finances, making it possible for us to be here! We ask that as you think of us you would continue to pray for the work being done in PNG, and for your part in that specifically, and we would also be thankful if you felt led to support us financially.

May God bless you, keep you, and may His face shine upon you and give you peace,

Lukim yupela (see you all, common farewell greeting),

Clinton and Rolanda Friesen

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I know I'm a little late on the greetings, but I always figured better late then never right? :) Our Christmas was a quieter affair than usual (no duh), but it turned out way better than we were expecting! We spent the day with just us and the kiddos, and then had some neighbors over for supper and games in the evening. It turned out wonderful. The kids were excited about their presents and really got the hang of ripping wrapping paper off! We had received the packages from Clinton's family before Christmas so there were gifts from back home for the kids as well. We're still waiting on the package from my family to make it here (and praying it does eventually).

For New Year's Eve the kids went to bed as usual and Clinton & I watched a movie and went to bed early (party poopers I know!) :) It was nice though!

Clinton's ministry at the hangar has been going so well, he's made friends with the guys there and definitely feels a part of the aviation team. He is able to tease and joke with the guys at the hangar so that has been a big help in making him feel comfortable there. They in turn make fun of his food that he brings for lunches (ie. chicken balls, new years cookies, etc.). It's interesting different people's backgrounds are, even in a missionary community! :) It's good!

I have loved being in the clinic and being able to serve in this way. My pidgin is slowly improving as I converse with Bonita (the national worker in the clinic) and with the national patients who come into the clinic. This past week we had an emergency helicopter medevac from a remote tribal location to our soccer field here at Lapilo. The missionary who came to us ended up having viral meningitis and was quite ill, though he is doing much better now. It was a thrill for me to run down to the soccer field to meet the helicopter and my patient (definitely a new experience). Unfortunately for the missionary, helicopter landings on the soccer field are not a common occurrence so he was a bit of a celebrity when he arrived. :)

Tayah has been doing so well with homeschooling. Today I spelled out the letters j-u-m-p and she was so proud of herself when she got it! I admit I was quite proud of her myself! She makes me look like a good homeschooling parent, but in all honesty it's not my gift. She's just a very smart girl! :) I look forward to her joining the school here at Lapilo next year.

Aowyn broke her arm on boxing day. She was wearing Tayah's shoes and walking on the retaining wall outside our house and she fell off. It's only a 2 foot fall but she must have landed on her wrist. In any case, she now has a red cast for the next week and hopefully it should heal well. She has been great with the cast (though it is quite dirty by now) and she gets mad at me when I won't let her in the tub with Rorik. She only gets sponge baths for now! :) When she wants my attention she just bangs her cast on the table (silly girl).

Rorik is getting so big...he is now 4 inches taller than Aowyn and quite a bit heavier. They are looking less and less like twins, though Rorik's vocabulary is still very limited. (or perhaps I just can't understand him!) :) In any case, he's getting to be a very big boy. He loves all trucks, trains, helicopters, etc. We bought him a knock-off Buzz Lightyear toy out here for Christmas and he loves it! (even though it has now lost both legs and his head a few times, though the head still clicks back on). It's a leg-less Buzz, but he still loves it. :) Rorik also has started growling at everyone, I don't what he thinks it is, but it's not human. :) Mostly he's just cute, but occasionally he gets into trouble as his listening skills are not the greatest at times. (he's 2 right?)

Overall we're doing really well out here, it's still tough with missing family, but we're adjusting well. We were able to skype with family over Christmas and it was great! We saw some siblings and nieces and nephews that we hadn't seen since we got here so that was a huge blessing.

As we usher in this new year, we are looking forward to the many ways God is going to use us out here in PNG and also the many things He's going to teach us and bless us with. We are so thankful for our many friends and family members and our church family members who are praying for us and encouraging us.

Love you all!

This was our day guard, and friend, Enoch. He is a short man, but this guy is a tank. I asked how he got such big muscles and he said, "uh, I do some push-ups and run." He was much more interested in talking about the work the gospel of Jesus had done in his life.

Rolanda, Rorik, and Tayah swimming in the little pool we were able to enjoy while in Lae.

In our last couple days in Lae we finally made it to the Yacht Club for lunch. Sounds pricey, but it was actually the cheapest place we've been to. It had a nice outdoor eating area and a play structure for the kiddos. Here Tayah is climbing the wall.

Just a pretty picture from the balcony at the Yacht Club.

A rare couple picture:)

Rorik wouldn't sleep on the way to Lae, so Rolanda put him in a choke hold. Worked like a charm...obviously just kidding, but he did fall asleep on mommy's lap with her arm keeping him from bouncing.

On the road to Lae.

Just thought I'd throw a picture of our church service in. You can't see the left side (picture right) side of our "congregation".

Once again, our blog has let too much time lapse since being updated, so I will put a few things in point form:

- (October) I (Clinton) started working full-time at NTMA with the goal of getting to 4 days a week so that Rolanda can work one day a week in the clinic.

- (October 22) Tayah's Birthday was a lot of fun for Tayah and for us all as a family. It stood in stark contrast to the Twins who had their birthday quietly with only our family in attendance as we had just arrived and didn't know anybody. Tayah had about 10 friends over and they all had a great time. Our family also went to a restaurant for the first time since arriving and enjoyed the pool. Other than having to pick a broken glass that Rorik dropped to the bottom of the pool, and cutting my finger on it, we really had a great time. It was strange having Tayah's birthday in summer weather!

- (November 2) My birthday. It was a simple day, but Rolanda and I watched a movie and ate lot's of junkfood, which was a treat we allowed for a special occasion:).

-(Late November) Rolanda works her first shifts in the clinic! Rolanda was very excited to get back into the clinic and be a professional again. She got her first IV on the first try and is very happy to be using her skills again. In the future she will be in the clinic every Monday for 8 hours. I will take over the home front on those days, including Tayah's homeschooling.

- (Tayah) Tayah is really starting to get the hang of her letters and will be reading any day. I think she is ready now, but we will follow the cirriculum, it has worked so far. She has started telling us what the first letter of all the words she is saying and is quite proud of herself. We are proud too!

_ (Aowyn) Aowyn is a short girl, but her diminuative personality makes up for her lacking in stature. She repeats everything she hears and we have started having to be much more careful about what we say. She has picked up the word "stupid" and likes to say it at the most inopportune times...hey, we never claimed to be perfect and we would hate for you to think we are...:)

- (Rorik) Rorik is catching up in height to Tayah and it looks less and less like we have twins. He is as rough and tumble as a little boy should be. Him and Tayah love to play fight and Aowyn just watches and smiles. Often his brute nature gets him in trouble but we look forward to seeing it harnessed for God's glory.

- (the past few weeks...) We just got home from Lae today where we spent the last couple of weeks. There was a real short notice need for somebody to look after our NTM guesthouse in Lae as we are in the process of selling but couldn't get it completed before our missionaries there went on home assignment. So, we cleared it with our ministries in Lapilo and volunteered to help. It was a good opportunity to help out while seeing more PNG and getting a break. The guesthouse had a little above ground pool that really helped in cooling off from the high humidity in Lae. There is also a little bit more shopping in Lae and we were able to get some good buys for the kids. The drive up is pretty, but the bumpy winding, up and down switchbacking through the mountains is very nauseating and Aowyn and Tayah lost their breakfests. The rest of us felt sick but made it through. The way home was much better, but our NTM contingency expert who was driving us was sick, so I got to drive for a couple hours in the mountains.

-(Why are we here again?) It is not very interesting to tell you about my job, "I answered some emails, balanced our accounts...", so it often doesn't get mentioned. However, we are a piece of a puzzle that comes together to bring the news that there is One God, who in his love sent his son to pay the price of sin for all who will simply believe. Many have not heard this message, but many are hearing and believing. So, while we often write of the extra things we are doing (and we are very thankful for those things), it is worth noting that work is being done, and we are a part of that work. You who have supported us with encouragement in various forms, and especially with prayer are a part of that work too, and we can't thank God enough for you. May you know the saviour personally, and be drawn closer in his presence daily. God bless!

October already?!

Well friends, it's already October...where has the time gone? We've been out here just about 3 months now and in some ways it feels like we've been here longer and in other ways it feels like we just got here! When we look at the count down (which we try not to) we've been here for 1/8th of our time out here. :)




This week is our last of language study. We'll do classes on tuesday and thursday afternoon with village visits after class, then on saturday we're doing a traditional mumu (can't remember the exact name) but we're doing a kind of bbq where all our food is roasted over a fire in a bamboo shoot. Our language helpers, Aute and his wife Georgina, will take us to town to buy all our veggies and food that we need for the mumu and then help us cook it all up for lunch. I'm looking forward to it! Either tuesday or thursday I'll be going into Helisaro (our language helpers village across the river), to learn some of the women's work (ie. cutting grasses for houses, gardening). The last time I went to the village I learned how the women wash their clothes in the river and how they make their traditional "purses" called bilums. I can say that I did catch on quick to the clothes washing in the river, but making those bilums takes a special touch! :) My language helper was very patient with me and kept saying "try again", it was nice to just sit by the river and "story" with her. She was very patient with my attempts at speaking pidgin and she would repeat things so I could catch what she was saying. For the most part, the nationals speak very fast and it's quite hard to catch all that they are saying. Clinton and I can now atleast understand most of what they are saying, though speaking pidgin back to them is still difficult. But they are very understanding and forgiving as long as you try! :)




As for the potty training sega, Aowyn is now diaper free for naps (though she still wears one for night), and Rorik still wears a diaper for naps and nighttime. He's a little tougher to train than Aowyn as he doesn't seem to mind the feel of wet shorts and he seems to really enjoy making puddles on the living room floor! Lucky for me we have hard-wood floors! No carpet in this house! I wonder if NTM put us in this house on purpose? :)




Tayah's been really enjoying kindergarten (I'm homeschooling her), but I know she'll be glad to join all the other kids next year in school. She's still such a social kid and is loving getting to know new people out here. She was quite emotional yesterday and told me that she wanted to go home to Canada where she doesn't have to speak pidgin to her friends! :) It was quite funny to hear as she doesn't speak pidgin out here and only has one little national friend so far on the center. But culture shock is affecting our little almost-five year old. We remind ourselves to be patient with her as she struggles to find her place here at Lapilo, as we as adults have also struggled with culture shock out here.




It is slowly starting to feel like "home" out here, although I'm sure we'll always call Steinbach "home" no matter how long we're out here. We've just passed thanksgiving out here and greatly missed our family gatherings back home as well as our church supper. We did have a large feast (potluck) out here with all the other Canadian families (including the Banmans and Doerksens) so that was wonderful! Atleast we did get to pig out and eat some pumpkin pie. :) Before we left Canada, we felt that we were trying to not take our friends and families for granted, but being out here you realize that it's hard not to take something for granted that's right in front of you all the time. In the spirit of thanksgiving, we are extremely thankful for our friends and families, our supporters and our home church, and also for the incredible opportunity that we have to serve out here in PNG. It's been an incredible experience so far and we look forward to what God has in store for the rest of the 7/8ths of our time here! :)




Love, Clinton & Rolanda (Tayah, Aowyn & Rorik)

Tayah had a frog painted on her cheek
during the PNG Independance Day festivities.

Shooting a blow gun our language helper made

from bamboo in his village.

Rolanda's first homemade apple pie!

Rorik potty training. He still has his share of accidents

but is doing good. Can't shake that pink soother, though!

Aowyn is almost completely potty trained.

Hello again, how are you all doing?

We are doing good over here in PNG. We just had PNG Independance Day on September 16 and it was a fun day here at Lapilo. There was a small parade put on by the high school and there was even some candy thrown!

In the past few weeks we have continued to have language training and culture classes every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. We are making progress, but still have a long way to go. I can here our language helper telling people every we got that we know a "liklik tasol", a little only:)Rolanda's birthday is next week and some friends of hers threw her a party here on Friday. She really enjoyed it. She said later her throat was hurting because she had laughed so much.

I am feeling more and more settled at the finace office in Lapilo and at NTMA. There seems to be more talk that I will be at NTMA full-time in the future. We'll see what happens. There is need everywhere.

We experienced a little PNG culture just a couple days ago as a truck carrying a load of coffee hit the ditch across the road from the centre. A large fight and many small fights broke out as it appeared that some people attempted to protect the truck from theft and others tried to take the coffee. We are told that it is common practice to raid vehicles that are damaged on the road. Probably the only reason anybody protected it is because they knew the owner. There was a lot of alcohol involved it appeared and at one point a man with a machete attempted to re-join the fray, but a friend turned him back. We have been told that if we hit a pedestrian as we drive we are not to stop but to go strait to Lapilo, or strait to the police station as the people will react in anger and there is a good chance you would be killed with machete's.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read! Please continue to pray that we would be a blessing ot the missionaries on centre, the missionaries in villages preaching the good news of the grace of Jesus, and to the our neibouring PNG nationals.

God Bless!

(Just some ordinary PNG scenery. I was way overdue, so I snapped this as we drove.)
The family headed to church in Lapilo. This pic is right in front of our house and Aowyn is lagging behind as usual.
This is the river we crossed to get into one village. I saw a lady heading out of the village with a big basket of banana's on her head to sell at market and a bag of supplies in her hand. I asked how she would get through the river and was told with a blank expression "she'll cross the river". Bare in mind the river is chest deep with a strong current, even though you can't see it in the pics.
Just some really tall bamboo trees.

Bena Bridge Church singing in their tribal language.

We feel truly blessed that you would take the time to read about the happenings of our little family in Papua New Guinea. I look at my family, and all the special people we are surrounded by out here and I thank God. We begin at times to feel lonely for the familiar, but we feel joy in knowing that our friends and family back home are praying for us, and that God has no limitations in time or space and that he remains for us.
This past week provided several good opportunities for me (Clinton) to get inside a few of the local villages. The area of Papua New Guinea we are in would not be considered remote in PNG standards, and yet we are surrounded by village after village. Most of these villages you would not know exists, until you follow a small trail into the seemingly jungle/forest, and realize that many communities are all around. I can't remember the names of the villages, but I was in one last Thursday, another this Tuesday, and another this Thursday. It is part of the language training to get into the local villages to experience some of the culture and hear the language spoken. I also went to a village church for their service this morning. Our understanding and capability to speak in Tok Pidgin (Pidgin English) is quite limited, but is expanding. Each tribe also has a Tok Place (sort of a tribal language), but the people we have met all speak Tok Pidgin fluently. Unfortuantely, Rolanda has not been able to get into any of these villages. Women are more limited in their ability to travel at times, so she has been stuck with the kids. Don't worry, we will make sure she get's a chance to experience all these villages as well!
Probably the neatest village for me to go to had to do with the "road" into the village. It is only about a 10 minute walk down a side road (at home we would call this road a bush trail, to give you a sense of what we are talking about). Then the road dead-ends at the river. The river is about chest high, about 60 feet wide, and has a strong current at this time of the year (one guy crossing with me actually was pushed about 30 feet past the opening on the far side and we pulled him in further down the river. It sounds more dramatic than it was, he was fine:). On the way back we started about 100 yards up stream from the opening we wanted to hit, walked straigt, and the current still almost moved us too far. I got my phone and camera wen on the first trip across, so I didn't get any pics of the village. Fortunately, with some air-drying and some prayer we got the camera working again.
This morning was pretty neat as well as I enjoyed a church service with some believers in the Bena Bridge Church. I understood little that was said, but enjoyed singing with the believers. I posted a little video of some of the singing. The video I posted was in their tribal language, and most of the songs were sung a little different (for those that were in Guinea, West Africa, I found it to be similar). They sing with throats a lot more than North America, but the people are unafraid to sing and the Tok Pidgin songs were actually very catchy! I still can't get one song out of my head. After the service all the people gathered around us white guys on the floor and they wanted to sing with us, so we sang for another half hour. I am so small to think that God would be limited to one side of the globe, but to see the believers face-to-face praising God was really cool.
So, what to pray for:
Continue to pray that we adjust to life here and have an impact on the ministry and the local people as much as we can.
Pray that we would continue to establish meaningful relationships.
Pray for the tribal missionaries who are presenting the Gospel, and for the persecution they and the believers in those tribes face.
Pray that we would draw nearer to God personally, and as a family.
God Bless!
Clinton and Rolanda Friesen