“Okay guys, I want you to clear some paths through the grass so I can survey the grade,” I instructed the four young men on my survey crew. They eagerly went to work with their machetes. Within a few hours they had cut multiple trails through the 10-foot-tall stalks of elephant grass, and I set up my level on its tripod and prepared to take some readings. Umina held the long pole with numbers on it. Danny and Busisi held the two ends of the 100-meter tape measure. Though this work was new to them, after the second or third shot these men were like pros. I barely needed to give them any more instructions, which freed me to concentrate on recording the correct angles and distances in my notebook.

The day had started out sunny and warm but was beginning to cool off as dark clouds covered the sky. A breeze tossed the elephant grass and brought the smell of rain. It was time to move inside or we would get drenched. We quickly packed up our gear and headed for the house which, fortunately for us, wasn’t far. Large drops of rain started to pelt us as we approached the shelter of our breezeway.

Standing there with the guys waiting for the rain to stop, I thought about the land we were surveying, which belonged to Umina’s family. “The missionaries are going to be using this land, so don’t build your houses or plant your gardens here,” he had told the villagers.

For quite some time we have felt the need to develop a facility where we can hold trainings and camp meetings. After a recent visit from our field directors, our thoughts started to gel, and things began to happen. Right now, when we have a camp meeting or a joint service with our four congregations, we are limited by housing. We have a large tarp we can set up, but it has its limitations. It has holes, and it doesn’t provide much protection from the wind and blowing rain, or from the malarial mosquitoes or the deadly venomous Papuan Black snakes. We have a vision of providing living quarters and a pavilion for large gatherings, classrooms, a library and another mission house on the land next to our mission property. We didn’t officially have use of the land yet, but we felt we weren’t risking too much by surveying it, especially since Umina had been talking to his father about our ideas, and he didn’t seem opposed to them.

Several weeks later, 10 of Umina’s relatives, including his father, showed up without warning one Friday morning to officially hand the land over to us. They even brought the local evangelical pastor, who also happens to be a friend of ours, to witness the transaction. None of these men are members of our church, but they wanted to give us the land to develop for whatever purpose we deemed necessary. They even told us we could have more land if we needed it. They pointed across the lagoon to two empty buildings. “We own that land as well. A mining company built those buildings five years ago—a clinic and a nurses’ house. But the hospital that was supposed to staff the clinic never sent anyone. Would you be able to open a clinic there? We don’t want our women to have to deliver babies outdoors anymore.”

We had already dialoged with the director of nursing at Pacific Adventist University about sending us a nurse or two to staff a clinic. But there are still some finishing touches to be done on the house and clinic building before they can be occupied, such as a water tank, gutters, solar panels, lights and a small fridge. We didn’t make any promises to the men that day, but said we would see what we could do. It is important to involve the local villagers as much as possible in this endeavor for several reasons. First, it distributes the responsibility and lightens our load so we don’t spread ourselves too thin. Second, it helps the villagers take ownership of the clinic. To have a lasting impact, the clinic must be sustained by the community.

The training center, on the other hand, would be a church initiative. The villagers are welcome to participate in the seminars, but the church will have full responsibility for operating it. We would like to provide training in things like Bible, health, literacy and Pathfinder club leadership.

The doors of opportunity are now open for us to make an even bigger impact in the lives of the Gogodala people. But right now there are only two of us to share the joy of this endeavor. If we just had a few builders come for a month or two! If we just had a married couple with the experience and passion to train Pathfinder leaders over a one or two-year period! If we just had someone to help open a clinic! Maybe God has blessed you with some talents you could use to benefit to the Gogodala of Papua New Guinea.
Contact John Baxter at AFM today if you would like to help.

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