August 8, 2026
Greetings from Lae. I pray that this rather overdue report finds you well. We are alright and moving on after the conclusion of this year’s school session at the Melanesian Bible College. Final classes were held on July 20th, followed by wrap-up activities during that week. By the 28th all of the students had left for their homes. Much has happened since the last report (April 8th), so I will give you a brief overview of each month. Your interest and prayers are greatly appreciated, as is the ongoing financial support received towards God’s work here.
April
We were overjoyed to celebrate the baptism of new sisters Rebeka and Tilio on the 26th. Both have just completed their first year of studies in the Tok Pisin program. Their husbands, Tona and Gotfrey, were mentioned as new brothers in Christ in the last report. Please pray for each of them, as well as student Neti, who is in the English program. Please pray that she will also make the decision to follow Christ.
New Sisters: Rebeka & Tilio.
May
M.B.C. classes continued during May, including the two literacy classes formed in April. Not much happened apart from school! We tend to develop tunnel vision while in session . A young member of the M.B.C. congregation – Piruwe (pronounced ‘Pee-roo-way’) – had an accident on the 24th and spent several days in hospital. He sustained burns to his face, neck and upper body. He is alright now. We were really sad to lose a family member on the 30th when 2-year-old Jango died. Vet care here is difficult at the best of times. We’ve been having an especially bad year for ticks and the diseases they carry.
June
June was a heavy month for loss, but also for new birth. In 2002, I worked for several months with sister Bogel to start a nursery school in her village in Chimbu Province. The Dinima congregation had been recently started by brother Bare (‘Ba-ray’) and a few others. While there, I made lots of friends in the community, many of whom I still count as friends today. On the 2nd and 3rd, two of them – Martin and Max – passed away very suddenly. Bogel, and M.B.C. student Tona (Bare’s son), headed to the village for the funerals, and were able to witness three baptisms while there. I’ve been very grateful and quite amazed over the past year. Bare passed away in March, 2025, and since then the seeds that he and others planted over the past twenty-five years have started to grow. He would be so thankful to see his heart’s desire bearing fruit.
On the 11th, long-time evangelist Kaks Galupa passed away. I’ve known Kaks and his wife Sandy since I first came to Lae. His funeral was held on the 24th. Please pray for the Tent City congregation as they continue to mourn his loss.
On the 25th, as Kak’s body was being transported to Chimbu Province for burial, we learned of the passing of brother Francis Dau. Please pray for wife Marie and their children. Francis’ desire was to start a congregation in his home village (Wutung) in Sandaun Province and was hoping to send someone to study at M.B.C. in 2028.
Please pray that, like what is now happening in Dinima, the same can happen in Sandaun where there are currently no congregations. Francis’ funeral was held on July 7th, and Jab & Becky Mesa were able to escort the body back to the village and spend time with the family and community there. (photos courtesy of funeral programs)
July:
On the 1st of July brother Rick Niland passed away in Toowoomba, Queensland. Rick worked as a ‘kiap’ (patrol officer) in Papua & New Guinea, prior to Independence in 1975. He worked with Joe & RosaBelle Cannon from the time they arrived in P.N.G. in 1971 and helped establish the Lae Bible School in 1975. It later became The School of Life (1979), and eventually The Melanesian Bible College (1988). If you knew Rick and didn’t get a chance to see his memorial service, it is available on YouTube: Rick Niland Memorial Service (24th July 2026), posted by Gipps St Church of Christ. Incidentally, Rick’s wife, Ruth, is
also originally from Niagara!
The Nilands-late ‘70s/early 80s.
Ruth & Rick, 2023 also originally from Niagara!
On the 3rd, we started a Literacy Teacher’s Training Session with ten M.B.C. students and one teacher in attendance. It continued on the 10th and 17th, with six students completing the course. Illiteracy in P.N.G. remains a major problem. Please pray that some of these students decide to use what they learned to help their home congregations and reach out into their communities.
Our heartbreak over Jango continued with the loss of his little brother – Max – on the 3rd (hit by a car) and his mother – L.B. – on the 17th (stolen). In total, we lost five dogs in a three-week period (Jango’s sister and one of her puppies also died of tick-related illness).
On the 21st, the 2026 literacy classes celebrated the end of their studies with a class party. Since graduation now happens ever second year, they will have to wait to receive their certificates until next year. Four of the students are from the M.B.C. congregation and the fifth – Olmi – will be in the Tok Pisin program next year. Also on the 21st, we held a short service to thank Joe & Kamau Dobadoba for their time with M.B.C. as teachers. They have retired after 20 years of service to M.B.C. We celebrated Joe & Kamau’s retirement, and welcomed new teachers, Daniel & Donnah Bruce, with an M.B.C. teachers’ fellowship meal on the 25th.
L-R: literacy party; Joe & Kamau with Jab Mesa; Becky Mesa with new teachers Daniel & Donnah.
And now it is August and I have the library sorted out (stock take, literacy materials taken down, the photocopying expenses dealt with, the library books inventoried and reshelved, and everything dusted and vacuumed) and am slowly getting caught up with everything that got pushed aside while classes were on (ie. NEWSLETTER!!). My apologies for being such a poor ‘email-er’ over the past few months. This year has seemed more intense than past years.
Prayer Requests
1. New Christians: Gotfrey & Tilio from Zumangurun, Morobe Province, and Tona & Rebeka from Dinima, Chimbu Province. Also for Andy Garbori, baptized at M.B.C. in June.
2. M.B.C. teachers Joe & Kamau, now retired, and new teachers Daniel & Donnah.
3. Many families and congregations mourning the loss of loved ones in recent weeks (see above).
4. Brother Chris Moore and family, and the Fenwick congregation (in Ontario) – cancer.
5. Papua New Guinea is experiencing an El Nino weather pattern. They are predicting that this one will be worse than the one that occurred in 1997, which was intense. Already parts of the country have experienced frost and hail and at least two bush fires. Drought has set in and is expected to last into next year. In this mostly subsistence-based nation, hunger is very real when the gardens fail. Being in Lae right now is like being in a separate country. We have had continuous wet, cool weather since April, even down into the 60s F some nights. However, as the Yonki dam dries up, we are getting more power outages, and as the market prices go up, we are forced to accept what is happening everywhere else in the country.
6. Likewise, please pray for Canada. Where bush fires have been raging in northern Ontario, parts of southern Ontario has been experiencing flooding.
7. In October, the 2nd Morobe Provincial Ladies’ Camp will be held – ironically – at Orouba village, Oro Province. Please pray for those preparing for the camp, and for those planning to attend. As we no longer have air service (apart for massively overpriced charters), those attending will have to do part of the journey by truck or dinghy and then walk for a minimum of two days to get to Orouba. There is a small chance that we will be able to get some passengers in by a chartered flight out of Wau. Please pray for open roads and wisdom for everyone attending.
8. Visitors expected in October: former missionaries Don & Sherri Nelson and another couple. Please pray for safe travels for them.
9. The mission team from Canada, planned for May, 2027.
With love in HIM,
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)