Dear Family and Friends,
It has been a busier than usual time here since our last newsletter.
The first item to report on is our last medical outreach to Pastor Willie’s village called Gar. We were planning to sail there by our “banana boat” - that is what the people here call our 23 foot fiberglass boat equipped with a 40 h.p. outboard motor – but before our departure we had a check about going by boat and so we drove there instead. The drive took us two and one half hours down the south coast here in East New Britain and we had to ford three rivers. One river was particularly deep at about four feet, but we made it through without incident. As we drove down the coast, the weather took a turn and there were heavy winds with lots of rain. The seas were as about as high as we have see them here with huge swells and big waves, and so God’s protection became evident once again.
All in all, we saw 425 patients during the three day medical outreach (see pictures). The weather wasn't that great and it kept many people from coming. The area is a hard-to-get-to remote area and vehicles hardly ever pass through the region. Nevertheless, there were some divine appointments in store for us. In addition to doing HIV/AIDS and malaria awareness teaching, we took the opportunity to evaluate twelve inpatients at the local aid post. The aid post was severely understaffed and there was not much to offer patients in terms of healthcare, so I (Victor) did “haus-sik” (hospital) rounds on each patient and made several suggestions for treatment. There was one youth “meri” (girl) who had an issue with bleeding and she was in shock and quite unstable with advance anemia so we aggressively treated her. Even though we started two intravenous lines, pushed fluids, and gave her several medications it was evident that she was not improving. So, I asked her if another pastor and I could pray for her and she agreed. We then we laid hands on her in front of her family and prayed that God would heal her and then provide some kind of transport for her to the Kokopo Town hospital. Almost immediately, her vital signs stabilized and “out of the blue” we found a vehicle already on the way to Town who would transport her. I found out later that she continued to improve at the Town hospital. Thanks so much for your prayers. God truly is a miracle-working God.
We also had the privilege of leading a water baptismal service both at Pastor Willie’s village in Gar last month and in Rabaul Town this month. The Rabaul Town church baptism was especially remarkable. After coming back up from being immersed in water 22 of the 26 people being baptized sensed God’s power and presence like never before. All of them need help getting back to shore at which point most of them spontaneously praised God in song and in prayer in heart-felt worship. It is kind of hard to explain what I am talking about because we are talking about God’s powerful presence and His awesome power, but suffice it to say that that service is something we will always remember (see pictures).
We also had a three day leadership training for pastors and leaders on “giving” (see picture). We had leaders on all levels – national, regional, and provincial – speak at the retreat. I had the privilege to teach on the biblical principles that guide our giving and it touched many who were in attendance. One of the things I shared in my teaching was how I learned to be content and trust God with the money that came our way. Before becoming a Christian, money controlled me so much that I used to hide money all the time. It was a secret life that I had and my little treasures (stores of money) could be found just about anywhere – under the mattress, in the glove box in the car, in the closet, etc. So, if you wanted to know where my heart was, all you had to do was look under the mattress or in the glove box or in the closet to find my treasure. Then, I shared how God showed me through his word (Heb. 13:5, especially) how to be content and trust Him in all money matters. After the teaching, the provincial supervisor told me that he thought that only people in Papua New Guinea hid money. As he spoke, you could tell that he had been especially touched by God through the teaching. He was now content with what he had and he now had had a trust in God with money that he didn't have before.
In addition to working as a nurse here, Lori has continued to be very active in ministry. On Tuesdays, she teaches two ladies how to read and write basic Tok Pisin. She was recently invited to speak at the year-end United Foursquare Women’s (UFW) provincial meeting. She spoke on discipleship. Alexander is doing well in home-school. Last month, we had to mail his 2009 school portfolio to the U.S. and even though the parcel had the wrong address on it, it made it to his advisor.
Family and friends, we are also writing you to let you know that we will be returning to the U.S. on 29 October 2010. About six months ago, we sensed that God was preparing us for some kind of change, but we did not know what that was at first. So, we began to pray and it became clear early on that the work that God had for us here would be completed soon. So, for some time now, we have been in the process of wrapping up things here and are doing our best to “finish well.”
We have already begun to transition the medical ministry to the leaders here. Ps. John Puia, our Provincial Supervisor, wants to continue the medical ministry that we have set up and so we have been working with all involved to bring about a smooth transition. We have been meeting weekly with our main nurse, Jennifer Matkale, and she will continue to staff the medical outreaches and update the medicines and supplies after we are gone. Jennifer now has an e-mail account so she will be able to contact us if she has questions after we leave. We have set up all the necessary relationships and networks – church, government, community, and medical - that are needed to continue the medical ministry. We also have an especially close relationship with the East New Britain Provincial Community Development office and the Governor's office.
The boat which Northwest Church and other donors so generously funded will soon have a canopy frame and canvas and it will stay with the medical ministry here in East New Britain. Now the ministry staff, worship, and medical teams will have some cover from the elements during future outreaches.
There is one last request. We would like for you to kindly pray about and consider supporting us financially and with prayer through the beginning of February 2011. The missions council at Northwest Church has suggested that we make this request and you can refer to them for guidelines if you would like. We will need some time to adjust and re-enter before we start a job and we are still praying about what God would have us do when we get back to the U.S.
Our prayer requests:
- Pray for our next medical outreach in October and for our time with the visiting Northwest Church team.
- Pray for our Provincial supervisor, Ps. John Puia, and for our head nurse, Jennifer Metkale, as they assume full responsibility for the medical and evangelism ministry.
- Pray for us as we begin to debrief and as we begin the re-entry process.
- Pray for wisdom about our next assignment and job.
- Pray for provision for the next few months especially.
Blessings and love to you all,
Victor and Lori and Alexander Obregon
Expect Great things from God
Attempt Great Things for God
William Carey
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