Each stall at the open-air city market was lined with bilums (hand-knitted purses), headdresses, woven items and many other colorful wares. Keren Lawrence and I approached many of the sellers and admired the quality of the handicrafts. All of a sudden, Keren stopped at one stall and told the ladies there in Tok Pisin, “Me Sepik Meri!” A joyful commotion broke out among them. Keren had recognized the tribal patterns woven into their bilums as belonging to tribes in the Sepik region where she lives. So she told the ladies that she was a woman (Meri) from that region, too. They were so excited to have a foreigner recognize their tribal crafts and also identify with them as a sister from their home territory.
In July, we enjoyed visiting with our teams in PNG and seeing how the Lord is working in and through them. What stood out to us during this visit with the Lawrences was how they have overcome and grown through challenges, immersed themselves in the culture and endeared themselves to the locals. It was wonderful to see their interactions with people. In our conversations with the church leadership, a school principal, workers and villagers, everyone beamed when talking about Orion and Keren. We praise the Lord for how He alone could orchestrate such a bonding of our missionaries with the tribes along the May River.
Please keep the teams in PNG in your prayers as they work that remote area for the Lord.
