The "rap rap rap" on our door awakened us at 5:30 AM. Typically there is only one reason for someone to come at that time of day - a medical evacuation. Sure enough, Benny Undai was waiting with news that a young man was suffering from a severe case of food poisoning and needed to be taken to the regional hospital in Bogia, about 1 1/2 hours down the coast. We loaded him on the boat and shoved off for Bogia. Two weeks later he arrived back in the village feeling great. The doctors had told him that had he not gotten to the hospital he surely would have died.

Medical evacuations are a small but very satisfying part of our work. It is gratifying to see people recover from illnesses that otherwise would have killed them had they not been able to get to the hospital.

Besides the evacuations, we also serve the communities in which we serve in a variety of other ways including community development, health, and communications.

Community Development: This basically includes anything that improves the life of the people in the villages. For example, access to clean drinking water can be a real problem in many places. With a small investment we can help provide well water for a village. Community development also takes the form of sewing and cooking classes for the ladies and assistance to the men in learning how to process and market their vanilla. In fact, the possibilities for community development seem to be almost endless.

Medical Work: We are blessed to have a good clinic in Tambapmining so the amount of medical work we do there is limited. We assist in transporting the supplies to the village every few months and also do a bit of medical work when the clinic worker is out of the village.

Communications: It may seem like a little thing, but we use our radio to pass messages from the villagers to relatives in town or to businesses. This is often the only means of communication that is available to the people living in the bush.

Shopping: When we go to town for supplies, the people usually ask us to pick up a few things for them as well. Rice, salt, clothes, pots and pans, kerosene, and other staples make up the bulk of what they request. So we collect the money and purchase what they need and bring it back on our boat. It is not unusual to have more for the villagers on board than we have for ourselves. This is a small service but one that the folks really appreciate.

Jesus said that ministry often takes the form of just helping provide for basic human needs. We enjoy the opportunity to do just that and hopefully through these and other means show the love of Jesus to the community.