Purpose Asia

Lone Tree -- a hill that's popular for hiking that's behind my house in Papua New Guinea Most Americans are aware of the Tomb for the Unknown Soldier that can be found in our nation’s capital city. This silent monument to those who have died in anonymity in the defense of our country is a poignant and powerful reminder of the cost of our freedom and safety. However, recently I was struck by the reality of another group of people who live and die in obscurity to save not only physical lives, but also the eternity of those around them. In my new home in Papua New Guinea (PNG) there is a hill where missionaries have been buried over the years. Several weeks ago I ranged over the hill reading headstones and taking in the solemnity of those who’ve given their lives to bring God’s word and the gospel to my new country. Suddenly I happened upon the outline of a grave but this one was different. It had no headstone to announce who was laid to rest in this place. The grass po

Rice baskets ready to boil for dinner I glanced out our kitchen window as I placed the clean and dripping dishes on the table to dry. Our host Papa walked up with his woven basket tucked under his arm and a procession of young men carrying giant coconut fronds and a gaggle of other family and friends from the village trailing behind him. “ Mi kam long lainim yu olsem wanem yu wokim mat (I’ve come to teach you how to make a mat),”  he called up as he waved directions to the young men to lay down the coconut fronds. “ Mipela bai kam (we’ll come),” I replied as I hastily dried my hands on a towel and poked my head into the next room of our house. April was working on an assignment as I let her know that Papa had arrived to teach us to weave mats. We joined Papa below, and he set to teaching us how to weave a young coconut frond with an older branch to get a woven mat of two colors. Was Papa  and me with the finished mat! He patiently helped us work the unr