April 19, 2026 Greetings again from P.N.G. It has been a turbulent five weeks – literally – since the last report. What made it turbulent? Keep reading! I pray that you are well and not struggling too much despite all of the current insanity in the world. You remain in my thoughts and prayers. Here is a brief recap of the past few weeks.
The Melanesian Bible College At the time of the last newsletter, we were on the eve of starting classes for this year’s 19-week session at the Melanesian Bible College (M.B.C.). We are now one week away from the end of the first ‘block’ (term). It has been a busy few weeks and, as always, is flying by. We now have our second class of students under the new setup (2-year programs in Tok Pisin and English, running simultaneously), and we have an entirely new student body. There are 4 students in each of the Tok Pisin classes and 7 in English. Another 5 in literacy brings the total for this year to 20 students.
Our students and the programs they are in are as follows:
- Keni & Olmi from Wesalam, Morobe Province, in Tok Pisin and literacy.
- Tona & Rebeka from Dinima, Chimbu Province, both in Tok Pisin.
- Gotfrey & Tilio from Zumangurun, Morobe Province, both in Tok Pisin.
- Maureen from Bulolo, in Tok Pisin.
- Paul & Verginia from Tent City, Morobe Province, in English and Tok Pisin.
- Armstrong & Akwila from Afawia, East Sepik Province, in English and Tok Pisin.
- Isi from Pare, N.C.D., in English.
- Peter from Kage, Chimbu Province, in English.
- Stephen from Wagan, Morobe Province, in English.
- Silas & Neti from Alotau, Milne Bay Province, in English.
- Rose S., Rose T., Wanza, and Jefalin, all in the Literacy program, and all from the M.B.C. congregation.
MBC 2026
Literacy class started on March 17th and ran as a combined class until April 7th when I divided the students into basic and advanced classes. Olmi, Wanza and Jefalin attend class from 7:40 to 10:00am with a 20-minute break for chapel, and then “the 2 Roses” come in from 10:00am-12:00pm. In the first class, only one of the students started school, doing only the 1 st grade. In the second class, one has done literacy before (but didn’t complete the program) and the other attended school up to 5 th grade before a school fight forced all of the students out. She is hoping to get back into another school next year.
L-R: Rose S., Olmi, Rose T., Wanja, & Jefalin
Teaching the Tok Pisin women’s class, this year, has come with challenges. Of the 4 women, 3 are visitors to the church and the other is a very young Christian! In the 13 years I have taught with M.B.C., there hasn’t been another year like this one. Another challenge has been the presence of two VERY vocal and active toddlers in the classroom, along with a newborn baby and older children that go and come non-stop some days. Coupled with rowdy behaviour in the settlement behind us, at times the constant disruption has been a test of patience. Please pray that each of the students will learn and understand what the teachers are presenting despite the disruptions. There is also a student in the English class who is a visitor.
2026 Meri Woksop
Each year several conferences are held on national or provincial levels throughout the P.N.G. This year, the Meri Woksop (ladies’ workshop/conference) was held at Afawia village in East Sepik Province from April 2-5. Three sisters from the M.B.C. congregation – Miring, Dogo and Aki – joined many others in the journey to Wewak. More that 200 traveled to the camp from other provinces and joined around 400 from local villages in East Sepik. 15 were baptized and 36 repented. The camp went very well and the rain held off until after the women had travelled back to Wewak to prepare to head back to their home provinces. And then Cyclone Maila happened!
At the start of this report I mentioned it being a turbulent month. Yup! It has been an intensely windy few weeks. In Lae, we get flooding and earthquakes but are never hit directly by tsunamis or cyclones. Cyclone Maila formed in the Solomon Sea, between East New Britian and the Solomon Islands, and then sat there as a slow-moving category 3, 4 and 5 storm for nearly 2 weeks, eventually heading towards Milne Bay Province – the easternmost part of the New Guinea mainland) before being downgraded to a tropical low. The death toll currently stands at 25 from Bougainville, East New Britain and Milne Bay Provinces. The rest of P.N.G. got really high winds. In Lae, rain stopped completely for more than a week and it felt like we were being blown dry. Finally, in the middle of this past week, the wind stopped, the temperature dropped by about 20◦F, and it has been cool and rainy ever since. The ladies traveling by plane made it back to Lae and other areas, mostly on schedule, but a group of 30+ women ended up spending an extra week in Wewak – camping in the church building – waiting for the ship back to Madang. They arrived back in Lae this past Thursday after much prayer.
(map courtesy of https://www.teacherstarter.com/au/teaching-resource/map-of-papua-new-guinea)
Prayer Requests
1. The ongoing situation in the Middle East and Miring’s great-nephew, Boaz, working in Abu Dhabi.
2. In the last report, I asked for prayers for Naomi, the daughter of Bafi & Yasum Donao. Naomi died of cancer on April 7th, leaving a premature newborn baby and older children. Please pray for her family and for the church in Indagen in this difficult time.
3. New Christians (and M.B.C. students): Gotfrey (mentioned in the last report), and Tona (baptized on April 5th). Both are in the Tok Pisin program at M.B.C. Tona’s father, Bare, was the preacher for the Dinima congregation for many years and a dear friend. He passed away last year. Tona’s birth in Christ has been a great encouragement to each of us.
4. M.B.C. classes and students, especially for our visitors that the word may touch their hearts and bring them to Christ, and for the teachers as we deal with challenges in the classrooms.
5. M.B.C. teacher William Kewo and his family and community at Mumeng, Morobe Province. A massive land dispute is threatening to displace six communities from their traditional lands.
6. M.B.C. teacher, Joe Dobadoba, preparing to retire this year.
7. Brother Chris Moore and family, and the Fenwick congregation (in Ontario) – cancer.
8. The Dennis family and the Vandeleur (Markdale) congregation (in Ontario) mourning the passing of brother Gordon Dennis on April 11th. Gordon, and the other Vandeleur Christians, have been dear friends and a great encouragement to me over the years. Despite all of the members being in their 90s, they have continued to support the work here financially and in prayer. They have a continued interested, having sponsored Joe & RosaBelle Cannon from the early days of the work in P.N.G. Gord will be greatly missed.
I have become truly horrific at replying to emails! Please forgive my lack of response. I truly value your replies and prayers. They are a source of encouragement and are appreciated. Once we are into the 3rd block (term) of classes, I will have more time.
God bless,
Ruth
Sponsor information:
- Fenwick church of Christ, P.O. Box 416, Fenwick, ON L0S 1C0 Canada (cofcfenwick@gmail.com)
- Malaga church of Christ, P.O. Box 105. Ballajura, WA 6019 Australia (malaga@perthchurch.net)
- Contact: Ruth Zimmerman P.O. Box 1112, Lae, Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea (ruthzimm@gmail.com)