Radio Time...

Here’s a fun fact for you:  cell phones are VERY new here in PNG.  Most people who went through the POC course a couple of years ago did not have the option of having a cell phone.  It is so strange to be in a country that went from having no cell phones to practically everyone having one overnight.  Ok…that’s a stretch.  A lot of people here do not have cell phones.  Those that do probably bought theirs for about 40 kina (less than $15 US dollars).  They probably keep about 2 kina worth of time on their phones at all time….and use it mainly for texting.  In fact, all my high school girls are “PNG tru”.  They took one look at my 20 kina  balance and said, “You are SO rich”.  (20 kina = about 7 US dollars).  They use their phones only for texting and keep a really small balance.

 

All that to say that the place where Caleb is hiking….well, it doesn’t have any Digicel signal yet.  Maybe one day….but not this day.  So, Ben and I were able to talk with Caleb this afternoon using the radio!  It was SO much fun….definitely a first for Ben and I!

 

We didn’t talk with Caleb long…only long enough to tell him just how big a boy Ben has been!  He hasn’t had a single “potty” accident this whole time.  He has been quite pleasant and helpful.  He has trouble falling asleep, but that has been the extent of it so far.

 

Talking with Caleb, we learned that the hikers are in good spirits!  On Friday, though, they had to hike from 3000 ft to 6000 ft.  The elevation makes this so difficult because even if you are “in shape”, the breathing is so hard.  They said that they would hike for about 30 minutes, stop and pant heavily, then hike for a little longer.  They said the good thing was that they were always surrounded by a crowd of people who were offering to carry all their things (out in the “bush”, you get NO privacy!!) =0)  But, this lack of privacy proved to be helpful THIS time!  There is just something about “not letting a poor, weak, fat white person” get hurt on your watch!

 

It sounds like they spent this entire morning praying.  They walked to the helipad, the house our friends live in, the “watch” family’s house and all through the village praying.  Please keep the prayers coming.  Our God is the one paving the way for these guys and protecting them and keeping their spirits up!  Please continue to pray for the people in the village and pray against any misunderstandings.

 

Hope you enjoy the pictures!  The first two are of Caleb on Wednesday morning.  The last two are from our recent radio sked.  One day, maybe we will be a family for a village team.  This would mean that we get to talk on the radio with the village team once a week.  We would also be their connection between resources and the village.  It would be so nice to be able to support a Bible translation team in this way…