It is Sunday, October 2nd,  and we are in Sydney,  Australia.  We took a speedboat from Finschhafen to Lae on Thursday,  October 30th,  and then flew from Lae to Port Moresby on Friday, October 31.  The speedboat ride was MUCH better coming back than it was on the way out.   Sunny skies,  light winds and a relatively calm sea added up to a much easier trip.  Our last night in PNG was spent at the Lutheran guest house in Port Moresby.   It was located on a very busy and noisy street and had a pack of guard dogs whose frequent barking certainly would have discouraged robbers and most assuredly discouraged sleep.   All-in-all,  it fell well short of being the lap of luxury.  However,  the Pastors of the Papua district were meeting at the guest house for a retreat, and so we were able to spend the evening visiting with them.  They concluded the evening with a prayer service and we joined them.  There could not have been a better or more fitting way to spend our last night in PNG than in worship with that spirit - filled group of Pastors.   It continued a theme that we found running throughout our time in PNG.   The travel and accommodations left a lot to be desired, but the people were absolutely delightful and a joy to be with.  We arrived in Sydney late Saturday afternoon Sydney time and took the train into the city.   We are staying in a hostel near the Sydney harbor bridge and the Opera House and managed to get tickets to a concert by the Sydney Chamber Orchestra in the Opera House this afternoon.   It was a real treat,  but left us feeling like we were on a different planet than the one where we had just spent the last two weeks.   I have already received emails both from Walter and from President Rabisang thanking us for coming,  inquiring about our well-being,  and wishing us a safe trip home.   We grew very close to them during our time together in Finschhafen.   We will take two more days in Sydney,  and then begin the final leg of our trip home on Wednesday.   All of us are looking forward to sharing the stories,  pictures and lessons learned with congregations, groups and individuals back in Kansas and Missouri.   The first two pictures are from the boat trip out of Finschhafen.   The third picture is from the roof of the hostel in Sydney where we are staying.   This blog posted by Gary Teske.

Dedication Of A new Beginning

A dedication service was conducted by Ps. Mainao Lemasa and the Kotte District President Rev. Kelly Rabisang on the 21^st September 2014 here in the ELC-Kotte District headquarters in Heldsbach Finschaffen, Morobe province of Papua New Guinea.

A kin to church mission history of the ELC-PNG, Heldsbach was one of the first permanent mission establishments of the Lutheran Church of PNG in 1903.  Several years later the first formal evangelist school was built in 1914 with 14 intakes of students from the Wareo, Wemo, Heldsbach and Qembung “Ufung” (Congregation).

The dedication service held with a crowd of 50 people was the main event in the church education centennial celebration of the Heldsbach establishment in 1914.

Rev. Lemasa conducted the order for the service while the president Rabisang preached and officially dedicated the monument land site. The president preached the text in Genesis 28.16-18 on the subject of Jacob’s dream of the angel’s stairways that connected heaven and earth. Through this experience, Jacob declared his headrest the opening into  heaven

The president proclaimed that God is truly present amongst the church through Christ. Through Christ God reaches the believers and lives amongst them.

The president proclaimed that God is truly present amongst the church through Christ. Through Christ God reaches the believers and lives amongst them. Therefore, the land dedicated for the monument contains the historical significance of God’s establishment in PNG through the Church education. The monument should continually remind us and the future generations of how God came amongst us.

After the service, Rev. Fuatone Messere leading the ceremony allowed for speeches to be given. Speeches were made by Mr. Soe Zure representing the relatives of the pioneer evangelist student intake of 1914. The former district secretary Mr. Makoc  Batikiec  also spoke of his observations in the past and some important missing passed resolutions within the current management of the district.

On the other hand, Mr. Abeng Zuhukepe representing the community highlighted also the sacredness of the monument site. Primarily the locals believed that their descendants originated from here and the traditional name for the site known in local dialect is “Angoango”. Ironically, the founding father of the Heldsbach mission station, senior Johannes Flierl chose this location to build his first hut.

He commented that, their forefathers peacefully dedicated their land for the service of the gospel to the church. But the locals will always live and work together with the church without dissent to land issues. However, it is also imperative that there must be development and service to be delivered by the church. As such, a long term plan should be directed by the construction of a proper building over the monument.

The dedication service ended with words of appreciation from the president Rabisang to the efforts by the district Education Centennial Celebrations Committees and the resources and support that came from the relatives of the pioneer evangelist.

He reminded those who attended that the church is the people and we need to take ownership of the church in order to develop. Indeed, so be it, we have been given the task to manage wisely that entire God has given abundantly and for God’s own glory. This is a seed of a new beginning.

Peace.

Partnership 2014

Today,  (Sunday) we left Heldsbach at 5:30 am for a three hour drive west into the mountains.   The road was pretty rough, but there was about a 5 miles stretch that was REALLY bad.  The big old Toyota Land cruiser lumbered up and down muddy mountainsides while we hung on for dear life.  We finally arrived at an incredibly beautiful village named Yiunzine (sp?), home to the Agololo Parish.  They gave us an amazing welcome with traditional and blended music and dancing.   It was really a 30 minute entrance rite.   Dan stayed back in Heldsbach with diarrhea.   I preached on 1 Thessalonians 2: 1-8.  It is always a bit frustrating to preach with the built in limitations of pidgin.   We blessed a bunch of 8th graders who would begin taking their exams on Monday.   It is hard to express how much they seemed to appreciate our coming out to be with them.  It was really humbling and overwhelming to have so many people put out so much effort to welcome us.  What incredible hospitality.   After worship,  they provided a nice lunch with some really good Taro.  There were a number of leaders speaking publicly on a variety of community concerns to a crowd gathered in front of the church.   Before we left,  I spoke about the reason for the current trip.  We made 3 stops on our way back to Heldsbach.   One of them was just to stretch.   The other two were to meet with groups of people at Sesibona and Sattleberg.   I spoke about our partnership with the Kote District,  and the reason for our current visit at both places.   We got back to Heldsbach about 5 pm, and were relieved to find Dan feeling better. We quickly got on the Internet and checked for emails containing news about the world series  from my wife.  We were disappointed to learn that the Royals lost.  It was an early morning and it is time for bed.  More later.  

When the Central States Synod visitation team of Gary Teske,  Gary Kallansrud,  Daniel Lilienkamp and AL Lang arrived in Finschhafen earlier this week,  they discovered there was no hot water and just a little more than a dribble of cold water coming out of the faucets.   Not so bad.   Lots of people have survived cold showers.  A couple of days later,  they discovered that the cold water had also stopped flowing.   Our PNG hosts had just the solution.   A big bucket.   Today the group returned from a visit to Senior Flierl seminary to discover that there was no electricity.   They were beginning to wonder what was next.   Fortunately,  the power outage was temporary,  and the lights came on shortly after dark.  A station worker even showed up late in the afternoon and managed to get a faucet in the bathroom dribbling again,  so, we don't have to go outside to fill the big bucket.   We are optimistic that things are on their way up.

As I said,  the group visited Ann Klavano at Senior Flierl Seminary at Logaweng.  They arrived in time to catch the end of one of her English classes,  the teacher's coffee break,  and another English class.   Ann had the group tell a bit about themselves in English so the students could hear English being spoken by native speakers.  Gary Kallansrud was a big hit when he pulled out pictures of his family and his hometown of St. Louis.  The students gathered around with great interest (see picture).  Ann did her seminary internship at Prairie Faith Parish in western Kansas.   She also has support congregations in the Central States Synod.   After a tour of the campus, we had lunch with Ann at her home.   It was good to see Ann, and especially to see her in her classroom with the students.

We picked up Alex on our way to the seminary after he spent the night in the village of Supong with a PNG youth and his family.   They took him on a raft trip on the Mapay river among other things.   He learned some Kote language phases and had a great time.   However,  a problem arose with heavy rains over night.   There is a bridge under construction between Heldsbach where we were at, and the village where Alex spent the night requiring vehicles to drive through a shallow part of the river.   After a heavy rain,  the water is often too high for cars to get through.   We thought we would be unable to get Alex back to Heldsbach, or make the trip to see Ann due to the high water.  Our plan was for one jeep to drive us from Heldsbach to the bridge which is under construction,  walk across the partially finished bridge,  join Alex and a different jeep on the other side, and go on from there.   However,  the driver from Heldsbach was either brave or reckless or maybe both,  and he plunged right into and through the three feet of water flowing in the river.
I would not have thought that even a four wheel drive vehicle such as the one we were in could have made that crossing.

When we returned from Logaweng,  we found the computer students were gathered in the classroom,  working with their computers.   The Internet service seemed incredibly slow,  but they all were able to complete their assignment of sending an email with attachments to me.  No rain during the day,  Hallelujah.   We hope it stays dry for a few more days.

Alex left for his 24 hour stay in a village at 7 this morning.   The rest of us, Daniel Lilienkamp,  Gary Kallansrud and I launched into an all day session with our computer students.  The day was frustrating,  maddening and at the same time,  invigorating.   The Internet provider moved with a speed that could only be described as  "glacial".  And our Papua New Guinea CoSyns had about as steep a learning curve as anyone on the planet.   But they were excited and determined hung in there into the late afternoon, learning and problem-solving until every one of them was sending and receiving emails,  with attachments, and looking up subjects on the world-wide web.   We all ended the day drained,  but with a deep sense of accomplishment.   We begin and end each day with prayer,  and even now we hear the singing of the local Christians having their evening worship.   Tomorrow we get a break.   We will travel to Senior Flierl seminary to see missionary Ann Klavano and visit at least one of her classes.   We hope to get in a swim and perhaps a little snorkeling as well.  However,  our computer class is expecting us to get back in time to have a late afternoon session with the computers.   Well, almost bed time.   More later.   (By Gary Teske)

This blog post is evidence that we have arrived in Finschhafen,  and with the help of the expertise present in our team,  we are also able to access the Internet.   We were delayed an entire day in Lae by bad weather so we were a day late in getting to Finschhafen.   The trip became a bit of an ordeal with some rough seas and rain along the way.   However,  4.5 hours after leaving Lae city,  we arrived in Finschhafen.   The hospitality has been overwhelming and has certainly made the trip worthwhile.   We had our first training session yesterday morning with the circuit computer operators and the consensus is that it went very well and exceeded expectations.   See the picture below.  Alex left this morning (Thursday morning here,  Wednesday afternoon your time) to spend a day in a village with a youth and his family.   He was really excited to go and has a great attitude.   We'll have a report on that after he gets back tomorrow.   We will have another training session this morning and attempt to contact Dan Glamman and those in attendance at the Bishop's Convocation by Google video call in about an hour.   The Internet is here,  but is really slow and we are not very optimistic that it will handle a video call.  However,  we will try.  Keep checking in on this blog.   More to come later today.  Posted by Gary Teske.

It's Tuesday morning here in Lae,  PNG.   we were supposed to have gone to Finschhafen yesterday,  but heavy rains in Finschhafen kept the speedboat from coming to pick us up.   Today looks better and we got word that the speedboat is on its way.   Daniel discovered that the International phone plan he had arranged for with his phone company explicitly for Australia and PNG doesn't work here.  So, he purchased a local phone and we were pleasantly surprised to find that he was able to create a hot spot with that phone through which we are able to get on the Internet.   I am using that hot spot to update the blog this morning.   As you can see from the pictures,  Alex tried to get a second date with a stewardess at Cairns,  airport,  but discovered that she was very two-dimensional,  and just a "painted up city woman" (she is a cardboard cutout if you hadn't noticed).  Since we couldn't go to Finschhafen yesterday,  we also visited the memorial to Amelia Earhardt since this was the last place she was seen alive as she took off from the Lae airport and then disappeared over the Pacific.   The other picture is of the 4 of us from the Central States Synod,  and our two main hosts, Pastor Walter Tuenzac and Pastor Mesere standing in front of the guest house where we have been staying.   We will have more to report after this afternoon's boat ride and arrival at Finschhafen.

It is almost 9 am Friday morning here in Cairns,  Australia.   The 28 hours of travel and lack of sleep caught up with everyone last night by 8 (for Alex,  it was more like 6), and we all hit the sack early and slept hard.   However,  by 4 am local time (1 pm in KC & St. Louis) everyone was stirring (well,  maybe not Alex).  I suspect teenagers are more talented at sleeping than some of us older geezers.   Anyway, everyone was up in plenty of time to grab a bite of breakfast (see the picture below), and make it to the boat for a day trip to the great Barrier reef which lies off the coast of Cairns (see the picture of Alex, Dan and Gary K boarding the ship).  Gary Teske,  having done the excursion to the reef before decided to stay in Cairns, update the blog,  explore Cairns,  and get ready for tomorrow's trip on into Papua New Guinea.   Everyone seemed fairly well rested after the night's sleep and ready for the day. I will volunteer a good word for the city of Cairns.   It is beautiful and extremely hospitable and visitor friendly.   I am writing this from a little cafe near the ocean where the city has provided free WiFi for a mile or more up and down the coast,  plus beautiful walking,  jogging,  biking paths, exercise equipment, playgrounds, and other amenities.  
It is fun having Alex,  a high school senior with us.  Please note the picture below which shows that Alex "had a date" within 24 hours of getting to Australia (groan).  After everyone is back from the reef trip this evening,  we will do our final planning,  make the final adjustments to the computers,  and get to bed early as our flight to Port Moresby, PNG leaves at 6:30 in the morning.   Alex and Gary T are celebrating the Royals moving on to the world series while Dan and Gary K are praying fervently for the Cardinals.  

The St. Louis and KC contingents did meet up in the LA airport as can be seen by this picture.   Left to right, Gary Teske,  Alex Lang, Dan Lilienkamp and Gary Kallansrud.   The layover in LA was perfectly timed so Gary T and Alex could watch their royals win game 3 of the ALCS.  Dan & Gary K were not so happy as St. Louis lost to the Giants.   The 15 hour flight from LA to Sydney will leave at 9:50 West coast time, so the team is moving as much as possible before the long flight.   Next stop - Sydney, Australia.

Gary and Alex survived the most grueling part of the trip, namely getting past the ticket kiosk and NBA screening at the KC airport.   They will fly out of Kansas City at 3:15 and spend the next 28 hours either on a plane or in a transit lounge.   We are almost off...and flying.

Alex Lang of Atonement Lutheran Church in Overland Park, KS, the first youth to participate in a Companion Synod Visitation, Dan Lillienkamp, Gary Kallundsrud both of St. Louis, and Gary Teske, the chair of the Companion Synod Team will leave for a Companion Synod visit to the Kote District of the Evngelical Lutheran Church in Papua New Guinea on Tuesday afternoon, October 14. As they travel from Kansas City and St. Louis to LA and then on to Australia and finally on to Papua New Guinea, they will be making regular posts to this blog. So, between October 14 and November 5, check in regularly to the blog, "http://companionsynod-kotepng.blogspot.com.

Pastor Walter recently sent the following prayer concerns. Please remember to include the two prayer concerns in your personal and congregational prayers. Posted by Gary Teske. "For the prayer requests, we would like to request your prayers in these two important areas that were discussed by the 29th Synod a week ago. 1. Good governance and accountability within the ELC-PNG. Many issues of administration and Christian leadership continues to challenge this young church who has the God given resources to contribute to the work of the Gospel within this country (PNG) and throughout the World. Until the response to God’s gracious deeds is right, we will continue to limit our potentials. 2. Undersea Mining. It was one of the important issues discussed during the synod. During the exchanges of ideas and information, we have begun to see how crucial it is to protect our marine life and the environment. We have learnt also that, there are no such things as undersea mining in other parts of the World. If PNG and its leaders agree to this type of mining, it would become the first in the World and has serious consequences for our sea communities. Coincidently one of the preferred sites would just off the coast of Finschhafen. The 29th National ELC-PNG Synod has resolved NO to his method of mining. Pray for the wisdom and guidance of God upon our leaders and Christian communities as it is the question of social status, money, survival and greed."

29th NATIONAL ELC-PNG SYNOD, 2014.

The way forward was the message by the head bishop Rev.Giegere Wenge. ELC-PNG is one church that has received bad publicity in the past couple of years. This has basically to do with finances and property of the ELC-PNG. This synod was very significant form the resolutions that were made on regard to the several issues. In For the proposed liquidation of the Lutheran shipping of the ELC-PNG by its present BOD failed when the synod decided to appoint a committee to assess the current company status and report to the national church council soon this year. The Prime Minister of PNG aided the company as rescue package by funding a K10 million money to assist the church. The issue of the tderms of the church bishop, the assistant bishops, they general secretary will go to elections in the 2016 synod in Heldsbach, Kotte district Finschhafen Morobe Province PNG.