Chad Wells Family Blog

Jerry left yesterday morning to go back to his village to get his mom’s clinic book since they couldn’t find anyone willing to go get it.  He got back today.  We received some information from a doctor in the States and it really went hand-in-hand with what the clinic book said.  It does not appear to be cancer, but will still probably need medical attention that she, most likely, won’t receive.  Kirsten gave her the information that she had and we’ll just hope that there’s at least some improvement.

We worked just a half a day today.  The men tidied up and finished a few loose ends.  The house is not completed, but it is dried in and dad will be able to continue working on it when he gets back.

We had a small party for the workmen today.  We all sat around the “haus man” (the men’s gathering place), ate our chicken, rice and greens, and told stories.  It was an excellent time of fellowship and we were able to get a good witness in to some of the workers who have not yet accepted Jesus as their Savior.

We’ll be leaving tomorrow morning to go to Hagen.  We’ll then catch the plane back to the States Monday morning.  Tomorrow will certainly be a sad day and a close to this chapter in our life.  We are looking forward to what God has in store for us in the future and are excited to see His continual direction and guidance as we strive to serve Him.

We had our last ROYAL club tonight.  We’ve really already stepped out and have let Pastor Sam work on leading it.  Kirsten went through with Vero tonight and showed her how to tally points and sign people in.  It looks like she has the hang of it now.  It’s all very new to them so it can seem a bit overwhelming at times.  I think they are comfortable with it now, though.  If they have any questions they can ask Bro. Brogden, too.

After I preached our last service here, in Pangia, the church had a gift presentation time.  People came forward and brought us gifts and gave us many hugs.  It was a wonderful outpouring of love!  Afterwards everyone stuck around, crying, and hugging us.  I think that our departure Saturday morning is going to be a very emotional event.  It sounds like the whole church is planning on being there to send us off.

The mumu preparations started early this morning.  Women started “sharpening” (peeling) kau kau and bananas.  Others prepared the kumu (greens).  The kids all got involved.  Amber helped with peeling the kau kau.  She went back and forth between that and baby holding. She seems to have adopted every baby in the church!  Derrick played with all the kids, running around and having a great time.  Trevor moved from group to group, talking and mingling. Connor was right in the middle of the butchering, watching every step and wanting to be involved.  Everyone had a great time!

I was given the honor of killing the pigs.  Pastor Sam gave us his pig for this mumu.  Steven and Junie gave us their pig, too.  Raising a pig is a very personal thing.  The people get very attached to their pigs and they become almost like family to them.  After I killed Junie’s pig Kirsten went over to her to express her gratitude for this tremendous gift.  Junie sobbed on Kirsten’s shoulder.  It was as if we had killed her child.  It would be a great shame for them if we declined their gift.  So, as much as we wanted to say “no”, we accepted the honor. For the pig killing the people dressed me up in some ancestral ceremonial dress.

Today we worked inside as it has been raining on and off. We were able to get about 1/2 of the ceiling joists in and the fire blocking in the walls.

Many of the church members have begun the preparations for the mumu tomorrow.  The church is throwing us a going away party.

Kirsten had her last Grade School Religious Instruction class today.  She finished up her lesson on Jonah and said her goodbyes to all the kids.

Jerry, one of the Bible School boys, brought his mom by to see Kirsten today.  She’s been very sick, for a long time, and wanted desperately to come see Kirsten to see if she could help her.  She walked all the way from their village so that she could be here before we left.  Apparently she had been to the Hagen hospital before and they did a blood test.  They told her it was cancer.  This might, or might not, be the case.  They will often just give a name that everyone knows – malaria, typhoid, cancer, etc.  It might not be that, but it would be too much work to explain what it really is.  His mom had left her clinic book (medical records) back in their home village so they are working on finding someone to go back to their village to get it.  Kirsten tried to explain that if it was cancer there’s nothing she can do.  With the symptoms she gave Kirsten doesn’t feel like it is cancer, but doesn’t know if there’s anything she could do even if it’s not.  She’s feeling very helpless, though, since this woman is expecting a miracle of her.  We’ll know what the problem really is when someone returns with the book (possibly tomorrow).  The saddest part is that she was told she should have a blood sample sent to Australia to be tested.  Her husband decided that he had already spent too much money on her.  He’s unwilling to spend any more and says “If she dies, so be it”.

The rain continued so we weren’t able to finish the roof.  We were able to work on the veranda and steps.  Steve has finished putting all of his posts in and now has the beams installed as well.  It’s all ready for the floor joists.  Sam will begin cutting wood for Steve’s house next week.

Today is our last Sunday in Pangia. I preached all the services.  We had a wonderful day!  Topika’s wife, Lara, received Christ as her Savior. Lara is the one whose hand was severely infected and Kirsten worked to get the infection out.  She’s been coming to church, faithfully, ever since and we are so excited that she finally came to God.

Steve came in to the high school class this morning and I introduced him to the class.  He then said a few words.  He’ll be taking over this class when we leave.

Today was not very productive because it rained off and on all day.  We were able to get a few more pieces of sheet metal on the roof and then I laid out and cut the stringers for the steps on dad’s house.  Steve got a few more posts in the ground but it was a real struggle with all the rain.  Hopefully we’ll be able to get these projects finished next week.

Steve, Trevor, Derrick, Connor and I all went to the sawmill this morning.  After checking all the vitals of the sawmill and making some minor alignment adjustments it started right up and we were able to cut the 37″ diameter Karape log.  Karape is a hardwood species closely related to the Rosewood tree.  We’ll use these 4×4 posts to complete the foundation for Steve’s house and also to complete the veranda on dad’s house.

Sam and some of the workers went to the sawmill today to cut 4×4 Karape posts.  They came back around 7pm this evening to say that the sawmill was broken and they weren’t able to cut any posts.  Steve was able to dig all the holes for the remaining posts and I was able to pour the front walk pad for dad’s house.  I guess I’ll have to go the sawmill tomorrow and see how bad the damage is.

We heard shots late last night and found out today what it was all about. Peter O’Neal, our Parliament member for the Pangia area, gave 100,000k to a village for voting for him in the last elections.  This money is to be divvied up among the people in the village.  These “donations” are quite well known.  The individual who cashed the check to bring the money back to the village was followed by 4 men from Hagen.  They drove into the village toting guns, demanding to be given the money.  It ended up that the man who was supposed to cash the check only picked it up.  He didn’t actually cash it.  Of course, nobody in the village knew this, so when this individual came home all the people began surrounding the house, wanting to know how much they would receive.  When the bandits came out of the house they were surrounded by an angry mob of villagers.  In a panic they fired their weapons into the crowd.  They injured  7 people.  Thankfully, none fatally.  They fired a total of 10 shots and had no more ammunition.  So the village attacked them, tied them up, and beat and cut them.  Two of the bandits died on the scene.  The other 2 are waiting for the police to escort them back to Hagen for trial.  One of them is now missing a hand.

Today we poured the cement pad for the water tank and Steve drove into Hagen to get more bags of cement, some ridge cap and a little bit more v-crimp. Because of the road conditions we are only able to bring so much back at a time.  That’s what made this trip necessary.  It’s not a lack of planning or foresight.  It’s a lack of capacity.

ROYAL club went well.  Neither Kirsten nor I went.  We let Pastor Sam and Vero head it up since they will be taking it over after next week when we leave.  They were able to quickly see where they needed additional instruction so we’ll get them tuned up on that this week.  The church was packed and had a good spirit.  It’s neat to see so many young people enjoying God’s Word.