March 1, 2012 Prayer Meeting in PNG

Mar 01 2012

Scholarship Recipients for 2012 School Year

Returning Students

 

New Students for 2012

 

Orphan Assistance

 

The OIPNG Scholarship program was designed to assist deserving students with school fees to enable them to complete their desired programs.  The scholarship program is offered to students who have completed grade 8 and have a desire to continue, but do not have the resources.  This program is limited to those students who have achieved high academic marks, who have received acceptance into a school or course of study, who have been baptized, confirmed, or will agree to attend a discipleship course.  These students must have no history of violence or substance abuse.  Applicants are screened carefully and only about 1 in 5 is selected.  Our long-term goal with this program is to bring qualified professionals back to the local area to carry on the work of the church, school, clinic, and community development.  Those accepted agree to come back to their local area and serve their communities for the length of time for which we supported them.  After which they are under no obligation to stay.  Our second graduate of the scholarship program has returned to the village and is now serving as nurse at our clinic!  (Of course they still receive their pay, and are under no obligation to refund the scholarship money.)

Shopping PNG Style

 

A day of shopping in PNG can be quite an ordeal.  There are no Wal-mart’s here, no Cosco’s, or K-mart and definitely no express lanes.  Last month we went to Wewak (one of 10 largest cities in PNG) just to do some shopping for the next 3 months, (yes I know how that sounds). To start our day of shopping we get up early.   Since we don’t have a car in Wewak we have to hitch rides with friends or catch the PMV (Public Motor Vehicles).   But I will give you an idea of gas prices if we had a car there.  We sell by the liter here but the cost per gallon is roughly K26 or $13.  That is the town price, in the village it goes for K30-K35 a gallon $15-$17.50.  After getting gas you may need to stop at the “chemist” pharmacy for toothpaste (K7.50 $3.75), soap (K2.20 $1.10) and shampoo (K15 $7.50).  After that you would head to the grocery for some essentials: 1 dozen eggs (K12.00 $6.00), 1 liter of milk (K6.50 $3.25 or about $12 something a gallon),  a box of cereal (K27 $13.50), a small block of cheese (K13.00 $6.50), a bag of PNG coffee (K13 $6.50), a pound of natural PNG sugar (K3.30 $1.15), 5 pound flour (K8.00 $4.00), a small whole chicken (K22 $11.00), and 2 pounds of ground beef (K26 $13).  When you are through there, you have to find a ride home since you don’t want everything to melt and since you can’t leave anything in a car even a locked one. If you need some clothes for yourself or your kiddies, the best place to go is the second-hand shops.  The poor quality of the goods distributed here in PNG make second-hand ware from the US and Australia a much better bargain.  You can get a pair of name-brand jeans for men and women for K14 $7 or women’s shirts from K1 or ..50c.  Kids clothing is in great demand, so you must be a diligent shopper if you have kids.  I usually spend about 2 hours there every trip to town just to find the things we need.  Now I haven’t been home in quite a while so I don’t really know how these prices compare with US prices right now but I thought you die-hard shoppers might be curious.   Oh, and don’t forget, during this shopping trip, you are clutching your purse to your chest for fear of theft and watching for kids who work together in groups of 2-3 to distract and then grab your stuff.  The street venders are always up in your face and you are dodging the red buai spit all over everything.  Our car has been broken into 3 times in 3 years and once the window was smashed in a theft attempt.  So if you are out shopping enjoy your weekend at the mall and I look forward to being there with you in May!

Prayer Meeting

 

I think many of you received a detailed outline of our January Prayer Meeting.  I wanted to give you the points for February so that you could join with us in Prayer at our next Meeting on Thursday, March 1st.

Milling and Construction

Education

Church

Translation

Transportation

Medical

 

Pryor’s and home staff

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