On February 15th Paul packed up and, with 6 other guys from the school, made the 30-hour trip to Papua New Guinea for some on-the-field training. He had a great time and learned so much! Right now he is 6 days a week in dental training, while working on a update letter/e-mails, studying...etc....etc......etc..... Although he could do a much better job at relaying the happenings of the trip, I will do my best to get our 11 faithful blog readers up to speed! :)
(sorry for the last two posts.....I'm not sure why the first post didn't take.)
An aerial view of the jungles of New Guinea
Above Paul's group is packing canoes for the trip to Chambri island. On a good day it will only take two and a half hours to reach Chambri Island (the canoe part of the trip anyways).
Chambri Island: straight ahead. 
Paul was the designated camera man for the trip.
The picture above is the spring where Paul was able to bathe.
Paul preaching as David Sitton translates. The language they speak is called Melanesian Pigeon. The whole language consists of about 5,000 words and is a mixture of English and, I think, German. Paul said that by the end of the month-long trip he was able to understand a lot of what they were saying.
Paul had a lot of fun with the kids that he met. One afternoon he was coming back from a teaching session and saw a group of boys playing by the water. He ran and jumped in the middle of them into the water and they thought it was funny. He then took a running start and did a flip into the water and they all laughed even harder. After he got out of the water, he picked up one of the boys and threw him into the water. The rest of the boys ran away.
Above is a picture of an Albino from the village of Chambri
Many of the villages had a mumu when the group came to visit (see video clip above). This mumu, not to be confused with the moo moos your grandmother may wear, is a feast where the villagers cook a pig and vegetables in an oven made of sticks and banana leaves covered in dirt. Paul said that the pork was some of the best he's ever tasted. These feasts are a big deal to people who don't have much. Here's more info. on a mumu, if anyone is interested.
This is the hut of Machete Bob, where Paul stayed while in the villiage of Chambri. Long story made short, this is the man who went after David Sitton with a machete years ago, but by the grace of God, has been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.
Above is a woman named Prisca and her husband, John, and their son. Prisca was one of the first believers of Chambri. After believing she suffered persecution many years both by her husband and other men of the village before their eyes were opened to the Truth. Paul said her face shines with the joy of the Lord despite what she has been through.
Here is a video clip of what Paul was greeted with while at a village
Paul with the mud man from Asaro
Which one is which??
A church building in the villiage of Nupeha
Alex and Paul showered with gifts from the people of Nupeha
This picture was taken in honor of the teens at Faith Baptist. We love you guys!!!
Here Paul is standing with Fred and Reg, two men from New Zealand who met joined Paul's group when they landed in New Guinea. Paul really enjoyed getting to know these great men and hopes to keep in contact with them. Here they are lifting Paul up so that he would be in the same picture with them (they are both over 6 feet tall) ;)
This shirt is based from a song that the people of Goroka sang together, "God is good all the time; all the time God is good" Not that these people don't have their spiritual struggles, but what a challenge it is to me that people with horrific backgrounds who have been brought out of the darkness and into the marvelous Light can say that about their God! We have that same God and no matter what He allows into our lives, good or bad, He is working it together for good to those who love Him...ALL the time! Please remind me of that!
Paul had a great trip and, again, I apologize for the sketchy job explaining his trip. If you have any questions for Paul concerning more of the details of the trip, or if you are interested in getting updates from us, don't hesitate to e-mail us at pkpoppe@gmail.com.