Jason and Toni Stuart Working in Papua New Guinea Dear Friends,
Have you ever felt like you were in a TV show? We had that experience
recently in the Philippines. The TV show was "Amazing Race". We were on
our way to visit the village Toni used to work in and where she left her
heart 4 and a half years ago. Since our mission doesn’t have an airplane
stationed in the area anymore, we were going to fly on another mission’s
airplane into the village. We were supposed to be at the airport at 6:45 in
the morning. Being us, we started out on the 90 minute drive at 5:45 in the
morning:-) Toni was driving because I left my driver’s license in Papua New
Guinea. A few minutes into the drive we came to a police roadblock. No
problem! The car’s paperwork was in order, but Toni was driving with her
Australian driver’s license and they wanted proof that we were tourists and
didn’t actually live in the Philippines. Of course, we had none. They were
going to take away her license and return it to her after she had taken a
class for bad drivers! Toni chattered away in beautiful Tagalog and after
awhile got off with a warning, but now we were very late. Toni is usually
timid behind a steering wheel, but you would have all been proud of how she
wove the car in and out of bicycles, motorbikes, cars, buses, and water
buffalo all along the way. As we neared the airport, we realized we didn’t
know which road to onto to get there. We asked directions, which was
useless, since we were unfamiliar with the area. Finally, Toni pulled and
asked a guy beside the road, "Can you get in and take us to the airport?"
He was happy enough to do that and we soon were there. Unfortunately, he
took us to the wrong side of the airport, where commercial airplanes land.
There was only a lone security guard there at that time of morning and we
asked him how to get to the other side of the runway, where the mission
plane is. He said we could drive across the runway and go thru the gate on
the other side to the mission compound. So, we drove out onto the runway
and began searching for the elusive gate. We drove up and down the
airport’s paved runway and couldn’t find it. We were just waiting for
lights and sirens and arrests but finally found our way into the right area.
It was an adventure, but we made it in time for our flight.
All in all our trip was very good, but also very tiring. I spent two weeks
in Florida at a training seminar for translation consultants. Toni and the
kids spent those two weeks in the Philippines where Toni reconnected with
many Filipino friends while handling both kids on her own, which generally
meant travelling with them a couple hours a day in taxis:-( We were also
able to spend time with fellow missionaries with whom Toni was in training
in Australia. After I returned from the States, we spent one more week
traveling in the Philippines before returning to Papua New Guinea. We are
home in Inaru now and feeling like things have somewhat returned to normal.
Thanks for praying for us while we were travelling.
Normal life in Inaru for the next month will consist of finishing the
translation of II Corinthians, checking translation for another missionary,
meeting weekly with the church leaders, and also starting a post-literacy
reading group. We have felt the need (especially with the recent changes in
our alphabet here) to help those who are already literate to improve their
reading skills. So, one night a week they will come to our house to
practice reading–the ladies with Toni and the men with myself. We
appreciate your prayers for all the activities we have going on with the
Inaru believers. Especially pray that they will continue to place God first
and accept His Word as ultimate authority. A wonderful Christian woman
named Priscilla (Nabuwa) died while we were gone and it made it all the more
clear how many of the believers here are still fearing witchcraft and not
believing what the Bible says on the subject.
Thank you all for your prayers and support and encouragement while we are
over here. We are grateful for all of it.
In Christ,
Jason and Toni Stuart and Jedidiah and Ella Jo
