The Hidden Missionaries

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.

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.

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. 

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!