HoveyServinGod

To Read our current update letter (Sept-Oct) please click  HERE . The last few weeks have been filled with many ups and downs as work is slowly moving forward here at GBBC.  We have several large projects going on with most of them taking place out doors.  At the beginning of these projects things got off to a good start then the rain started.....everyday.  It is a little early for rainy season to start here, but just like everywhere, the weather is unpredictable. I had the road grader go down one of our mountain roads leading down to the river and some married students houses.  The road was in very rough shape and the grader was able to get down to the bottom, but then the rain started......and the mud was the new normal. We tried each day for nearly two weeks to get the grader moved with no avail.  We even had a backhoe work for a full day and just about buried that as well.  With each day that passed the stress level was increasing as th...

This week was marked by lots of ground work.  Brian got to use the excavator that was gifted to GBBC to get the ground ready for some various upcoming projects.  Praise the Lord that the rain held off so they got a good start on things!  Here are some pics to try and capture some of the ground transformation. There is to be a new classroom building put up here, adjoining in the front to the current chapel.  The footings are set for this project so that the two buildings will be level with one another, but the ground needed to be built up. Here is the ground after the first few dumps...a long ways to go but progress! And here it is approximately 100 dump truck loads later! There also was a point when the dump truck got stuck.  All machinery on deck to the rescue! There was an attempt to pull the dump truck out, but two machines weren’t enough...so the excavator joined the scene! Gunner getting in on the ride to park the machine after a long day's work! Moriah ha...

We were blessed this last week with reinforcements.  A team of Australians came to help the team here with some projects!  What a blessing!   In some ways, pictures speak louder than words.....so here are a few....although they are far from capturing the impact these soldiers of the Lord made! Here is Brian on the tractor towing a 20 foot container that was cut up to become our security guard house at the main entrance to the campus.  The guys who came and worked cut out the windows, door, and welded the security bars before it was ready to move.   In this picture, the guard house is in place and the roof trusses are being out in place and secured. This is the other side of the guard house looking from the road side of the college.   As you can see from this picture, there were lots of hands and hearts working together to serve the Lord.  It took a small army to get everything up and in place and we give God the glory for all that was accomplished! Her...

We have several projects going at any given time and often it’s hard to see tangible progress in the day to day activities.....especially when they are large projects.  One of these large projects that has been taking place at Goroka Baptist Bible College is the construction of fish ponds.  There is a fishery department that has been created within the PNG government that has seen the great need to boost nutrition and economic solutions for the many struggling people of our area.  With the help and guidance of this fishery department we able to get this project moving.  The goal for us as a Bible College is to create a good food source for our students and if the Lord allows we can sell fish to generate some much needed income for the school. Some land was set aside at the campus for the placement of the ponds.  I was originally told that the ponds were going to be dug by hand by the students.....while it was a good thought that would take a very long time......

It's not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena...who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of great achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.   —Theodore Roosevelt I picked up  If You Want to Walk on Water You Have to Get Out of the Boat   by John Ortberg yesterday.  It was a book that I read as I was praying about missions that a gal in my small group had given me at that time.  The pages are littered with comments, underlines, and dates.  How fun to relive that time, in part!  That’s where this quote comes from, in fact. I chose to start with this quote by Theodore Roosevelt because it resonates with the American Dream.  It speaks of independence, courage, risk and success.  However, I also wanted to challenge you, reader.  Do you agree ...

Some times when you are a missionary, people get an unrealistic idea of who you are because of your 'title.'  It happens in many other occupations too, but I wanted to share about it as a missionary.  As a missionary, I am not some super Christian.  I am not a walking encyclopedia of the Bible.  I don’t know how to deal with every situation or crisis that occurs.....I am still sinful and flawed.  I am just one sinner saved by God’s Grace.  As we began this journey to serving the Lord in missions we were often reminded that "God does not always call the equipped, but He equips the called."  This means we have to come face to face with our own ineptness to complete the work God has given us to do. I have made my fair share of mess ups this week....with my husband, with my kiddos, with others, with time management, and the list could keep going.  However, that's not where I want to dwell.....even though it is so easy to stay there.  I was readin...

Some great movies and numerous stories are told surrounding “the treasure”.  It is something our kids have latched on to without really teaching them about it....we often find them digging in the dirt or in search of treasures.  When I think of treasure one thing that comes to mind is pirates.....men and women who would do anything and go anywhere in search of the treasure their heart desires.  While each of us don’t sail the seas looking for ships to rob, plunder and seek the hidden treasure, we do have more in common than you might think.  Each of us has a “treasure” or a vision of the treasure we are seeking in our hearts.  It gets us out of bed each day for something, maybe it’s providing for the family, caring for children, an expensive car, a dream house, a wonderful retirement......what is the treasure you’re seeking? As I (Brian) was thinking of this question I must admit the treasure that I have sought after were often from selfish desires.  Things...