The last few weeks have been crazy and hectic. We’re just
now starting to slow down and catch our breaths as we settle back into life on
the NTM base in Madang. We spent two weeks at the main headquarters base near
Goroka in the mountains, and we had an awesome time getting to know a lot of
the people who live there and do the behind-the-scenes jobs that keep us on the
field. We get to have a little taste of what they do every day as we help out
on the Madang base for the next few months. Here are just a few of those jobs:
- The
Business Office: They take care of all kinds of business/administrative
tasks on the field.
- The ICT
department: They take care of all kinds of technology for NTM missionaries
in PNG (computers, internet, phones, etc).
- The
Finance Office: They look after all our finances. NTM is virtually
cash-less, so they handle any transfers of funds that need to be made on the
field. AND they do our PNG taxes!
- The
Medical Clinic: There are several doctors and nurses that staff the clinic
full time. They have a lot of modern technology, including an x-ray and an
ultrasound machine! They even have their own pharmacy, so we can order
medicines and supplies straight from them.
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| Practicing our shot giving abilities |
- Tribal
Supply: The people in this department fill supply orders from missionaries
in the tribes. They buy all their groceries and supplies in town and send out
to the jungle locations.
- The
Tribal Resource Center: They print, laminate, and bind all kinds of literacy
materials, books, and Bibles for missionaries in tribal locations. They can
print in English, the trade language Pidgin, or in a tribal language.
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| Getting a tour of the Tribal Resource Center |
- New
Tribes Mission Aviation (NTMA): NTM has several pilots who work hard to fly
our missionaries around PNG by plane and helicopter. They also do medical
evacuations when necessary. Because it’s so rugged here, many towns and
villages are not accessible by road, so NTMA is a vital part of our mission.
There are also guys who run the business side of NTMA and organize all the
flights into a schedule.
-
Schooling
for Missionary Kids (MKs): There is a school for MKs (it’s only a boarding
school for high school students), and they have several hundred students. There
are lots of people needed to teach, be dorm parents, and help run the school.
There is also a department that works with missionary families that homeschool
in tribal locations. They provide resources for homeschoolers and answer all
kinds of questions. They are also in charge of required annual testing for
homeschooling families.
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| Clint got to enjoy a few games of basketball with fellow missionaries in the school's gym |
There are so many little details that our mission has
thought of. They take such good care of us! These people who
do support roles are not the ones that get their names in print. Their work is often hidden from the sight of those back in North America. They don’t get
all the “glamour” and “glory” so to speak. But their roles are so vital for us
to thrive in our tribal ministry, and we’re grateful for their faithful work!
