HoveyServinGod

God gets the glory ALL the time—even in our trials. The delta variant of covid continues wreaking havoc around us and in the lives and hearts of the PNG people.  There are hundreds that are being reported dying each week and an unknown number that are not reported as there are not death certificates here.  Everyday as we travel to town the signs of grief are in every direction.  People paint their body’s and vehicles with mud to show their sorrow and loss of a loved one.  This week there is a planned mass burial in the capital for hundreds as space to keep remains overflows.  The hardship is real and the pain is felt, yet God continues to remain faithful! I have a dear friend and mentor here in PNG whose husband came down with the covid virus and then pneumonia.  To God be the glory, there was a qualified nurse working here that was able to tend to his needs and assist.  Only by God's grace did he make it through.    As my friend was caring for her husband, there were dark days.   

This last week had a lot of unexpected twists and turns for us here in Papua New Guinea.  While Covid has been going on for some time and there have been numerous changes to regulations, not much has really changed on the day to day level for the people in our area.  In a lot of ways it seems that switch flipped this last week.  Covid has begun to leave its ugly mark.  The main hospital in Goroka has been literally overrun and that’s hard to say because it had already been struggling to function.  Now coffin boxes line the hallways and 20 foot refrigeration containers have been brought in to hold the body bags.  Even though our area has been locked down, unfortunately the spread continues.  There are many added factors like less than 2% of the population is vaccinated.  There is also much underlying sickness such as TB, Typhoid, Malaria, HIV, and many other common diseases here contributing to compromised immune systems and making many vulnerable to this "new" sickness.   It

In Children’s Sunday School awhile back, I (Phyllis) taught on the story found in Genesis 11….the Tower of Babel.  It’s a fascinating account of how the world came to be divided into different language groups.  Oh, how many questions it raised in my mind!  In my early mission days (over 10 years ago…), I was impressed by a quote that Margaret Mead spoke.  It said, “Never doubt that a group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world…indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”   As I taught the Bible story of building the tower of Babel, it stirred this quote in my mind.  Imagine a WORLD where people would collaborate, understand, and use EVERYone’s skills!  What a powerful thing!!!  The  Bible  records that God, Himself had thoughts about this situation…they are recorded in verse 6.  It says, “And the LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do.  And nothing that they propose to do will now be i