From the Field

  This past week we had a NHM Station Crusade here at the Field Office.  This year, our staff have all had an opportunity to attend a retreat at a nearby Camp.  Those weekends were a huge encouragement to our staff with many rededicating their lives to Christ or becoming Christians for the first time.  This week we had a chance to worship together.  Each station group was given a chance to do a special item.  The Project guys who have been building some of our houses, were really honored for the chance to be a part of the crusade and to do a special item.  They prepared 3 songs, not wanting to miss the chance they had to be up front.  It was encouraging to see their love for the Lord shine forth.  Throughout the Crusade we had nightly services, a baptism for those who had never been baptized or for folks who had come to Christ through the year, and then we ended with a Sunday morning service and Communion.  The week was a good time of community and fellowship and worshiping and serving God together.   The evening services were pretty late for many kids, many still came and just slept throughout, but the Sunday morning service was a perfect time for the kids.  Miles and Simeon were entertaining themselves with their cars, but these 2 PNG boys kept watching them all service long.  The boys finally got the courage to walk over and check out what…
Source: Station Crusade from Erin Meier – Asia Pacific

Tonight we had our annual harvest party.  We had quite the characters, a whole line of dominos, an Avenger family, Calvin and Hobbes, and Egyptian Princess, Spiderman, Ironman, the Hulk and more. The rain stopped just before our party, which was great timing for us.
Source: Harvest Party from Erin Meier – Asia Pacific

One of my challenges in caring for the patients here in PNG is to try and understand a little of where they are coming from, what challenges they have, what their cultural beliefs are, etc in order to better care for them.  Through the years, I have learned that where a person comes from can have a big impact on their ability to followup regularly.  Cost of transportation, road blocks, fights along the way can all be barriers to those traveling long distances, so trying to get them to seek care closer to home is sometimes necessary.  Knowing that most people get their water from the river, which is also used by some as a toilet, leads me to talk to patients about boiling water before drinking it, especially if they are having repeated bouts of diarrhea.  I know that one of the ways that people get out of fights or when they are feeling stressed, is to faint and pretend to be unconscious.  When they come to the ER, there is something more important that being given a clean bill of health and sent home, there is a reason they needed to come to the hospital, a reason they needed to escape whatever what going on at home or at school and so sleeping in the hospital for a night, having a chaplain come and talk and pray with them is sometimes the best medicine.   I have learned many things about life in PNG and about the challenges to…
Source: Abandonment from Erin Meier – Asia Pacific