Mambu Haus -- Bible Stories and Banana Bread

Every eye followed her in rapt attention waiting to hear what she would say next. She turned from the flannel-graph where she had just put up a new part of the story and asked in Tok Pisin (the trade language of Papua New Guinea), "What do you think happened next?" Hands shot up all over the room, and children wriggled eagerly hoping to be called on. Meanwhile, the quieter teens in the back of the room watched with twinkling eyes to see the little scene unfold. You see, these children were hearing the story of Noah and the Flood from Genesis Chapter 5 through 9 in the Bible.

This is only part of one of the ministries I'm praying about joining with on a regular basis called The Mambu Haus ministry (this is Tok Pisin for “Bamboo House“). It is a ministry to the teens and children of the villages close to the Ukarumpa translation center where I live. The Mambu Haus ministry gives teens and kids a safe place to spend some time on a Saturday where they can do things they'd otherwise have limited access to, such as doing puzzles and crafts, playing music, coloring and drawing and similar activities. However, more than that, this ministry gives teens and kids a place where they can hear Bible stories and the best story of all —the story of Jesus coming to rescue us and set us free. A local Papua New Guinean pastor worked with some previous missionaries to start up this ministry, and some friends of mine have continued to partner with this pastor to continue the ministry. I've been able to go and help for an afternoon, and I enjoyed getting a chance to spend time with the local pikinini (young children) and mangi/yangpela (teenagers) . I was able to build puzzles with them, but more than that, I was able to start building relationships with them.

As the afternoon wound down and the teacher wrapped up the story, the kids giggled and poured over the pictures of the story, some even asking questions. It was so neat to be able to spend time with the kids and to see the potential that this ministry has to share the Gospel in word and deed. I'll continue to pray about this opportunity as I seek God's will for what He has for me outside the clinic at Ukarumpa and in Papua New Guinea.