Airstrip progress and some portraits of locals

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Pergamum

Ordinary Guy (TM)
TandTfamily: Airstrip progress - March 2012

Here are updated blog pics. The airstrip is almost done.

Above you can see just how hard it is to carve an airstrip out of thick jungle by hand.

This set of photographs does not even show the initial clearing, the cutting down the tree, the dividing the tree into pieces, the carrying off and/or burning of the large chunks.

This set of photographs starts with one lone tree stump and how it is cut down, the roots hacked, the stump literally ripped up with sheer human grit, carried to the edge of the airstrip and either heaved or rolled to the side.

...Repeat with the next tree stump.

You can see in the background the 700 meters of already-cleared strip. ALMOST THERE!

An amazing feat of work. The D-- tribe must be the HARDEST-WORKING group of people I have EVER met! And the local people are helping, too.

Unfortunately, some of these airstrip workers are also evangelists who are ministering and teaching at the posts scattered throughout the wider region. Due to tunnel-vision (seeing the end in sight and wanting to finish this airstrip this year) they have all gathered in D-- Village, leaving many preaching posts empty, and are devoting almost all of their efforts towards moving dead dirt instead of educating and teaching live souls. So, this set of pictures is both a source of pride and amazement at their hard work, as well as a bitter reminder of how "the good is the enemy of the best" and how we must keep the main thing the main thing in the ministry.


Here are some tribal pics as well:

TandTfamily: Tribal portraits 3 - lunch-time at the airstrip


And, there are other pics (including fam pics) at: TandTfamily


If anyone knows how to post a few of these pics on here, that would be appreciated.
 
Brother, there is an icon to the left of the "quote" bubble that will say "insert image" when you mouse over it. This will enable you to upload photos from your computer (or an online source) to the PB.
 
I have mixed feelings. "Ministry progress" is being reported, but it is all physical progress, not spiritual progress. The churches here, all too often, mistake the two. Just last month the "churched" areas in the highlands erupted in tribal war, so it is obvious the roots of Christianity are not very deep here. Next month I head to several major highland church areas to actually report that progress is NOT happening spiritually, and to try to help these indigenous guys keep the main thing the main thing and prioritize daily teaching instead of merely the moving of dirt. Some personnel specifically assigned to work on the airstrip were brought in, but the evangelists felt pressured also to help and so most preaching posts are without a continual evangelist presence. Jimmy and Perin were also pressured to help, but they have stood fast and continue ministering to souls and teaching daily, and the spiritual fruit I am seeing is primarily due to their teaching.
 
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