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Mission Support Network Newsletter, May 10, 2007 Written by Jack Sample I'm back in the States after a great trip to PNG. As usual in the "land of the unexpected" virtually nothing went as planned but many times I have found that to be the best part about working in the field. God often has unexpected directions that He guides you on and the adventure of seeing what He has in mind is what makes the journey of life interesting. The news that we considered bad was that the paperwork of adding the new type aircraft to the air operator's certificate with National Air Service took much longer than anyone expected and finally the owner of the aircraft we were leasing could not handle any more loss of revenue and requested that the plane be brought back to Australia. We really felt for Simon (aircraft owner) as it is very expensive to own and pay for an airplane and 3 months without revenue really stretches the budget. He tried so hard to allow us to keep it up there but finally had no choice but to get it down where he had paying work for it. Of course, this was very disheartening for Trevor and caused some serious reflections on which direction God wanted us to take at this time. He is actively looking for other aircraft options and we will keep you informed. My time over there was well spent in getting acquainted with our future co-laborers. Last time I sent an newsletter I was still in Wewak. I was fortunate enough to be able to connect to the Internet for a short period while there. Once I took the ship on to Vanimo I was no longer able to get on the Internet for the duration of my visit. For some reason Vanimo has poor enough phone cables that the best one can connect at is about 16kbs and when I tried I couldn't even get one email sent. It was good for me to take a 7 week break from the Internet which is such a central part of my business life. Thankfully I have a great team that kept everything in order while I was out of communication other than a weekly and very expensive phone call. It costs over $1.50 per minute to call home from PNG and at least half that to call the other way.
I spent 7 weeks in Vanimo before coming home April 20. During that time I had the privilege of getting well acquainted with a man that I had only had a few contacts with during our previous time in PNG. God has richly blessed me with this friendship and Silas and I have become real brothers. Please let me introduce my brother Silas Morgan... My first contact with Silas came in 1994 when our family came to Vanimo in preparation for a visit to the other side of the Indonesian border to visit Bob and Jan Roberts. We stayed in the Vanimo Beach Hotel while we were working out details for an Indonesian visa. Silas was the hotel manager at that time and treated us very well. At that time in Silas' life he had just returned to the church after 17 years of wandering. Silas spends hours each day studying the Word and learning new hymns. I had the privilege of hearing him preach at least 10 times while there and find him to be as well versed in scripture as any pastor I know and much more than many. Church work and God's Word are certainly the focus of his life. God has also richly blessed Silas with a multitude of
talents and gifts. He is a very accomplished manager and
was given the full responsibility of operating the hotel while
he was manager to the point that the Australian owner referred
all issues and questions to him saying, "Even though I am the
owner, I don't have anything to do with the operation of my
hotel. Silas handles all of it." He is also a trained
refrigeration / air-conditioning mechanic and an accomplished
welder. His expertise in those areas is actually well
known both in PNG and in Australia. Silas is willing and able
to tackle any type of practical work from engine repair to
replacing a section of gutter as seen in this
picture. Silas is also a well-traveled individual. He is currently on his 7th passport. From my observations of this Godly man, I see the fruits of a life dedicated to God and committed to total honesty in his business dealings. He is a man full of confidence and looking for ways to bless others. Another aspect of my brother Silas that I grew to appreciate very much while in Vanimo was his extensive knowledge of natural cures using the plants growing in his environment. Silas had me drinking a daily dose of Noni juice squeezed right from the ripe fresh fruit that grows all over in the Vanimo area. Any time we walked somewhere he would point out various leaves and what they were used for in curing various ailments. It is really interesting to see how God has provided all of the remedies for so many of our ailments and placed them all around us where they are so easy to gather.
Silas has agreed to work with Trevor and I in establishing Mission Support Aviation. He already has registered his own corporations in PNG and has established Asian contacts for business that he is willing to dedicate towards raising the funds for our much needed aircraft. At this time it looks like God is opening the doors for providing our needed funds right from the area we plan to serve. What an unexpected turn of events that is! Oh, and did I mention that Silas is the chief of his clan from Pak Island in the Manus province. He is a man that is used to having authority and leading others. There are many other things that I could tell but I will sum it all up with the statement that I consider myself extremely blessed for being able to count Silas as one of my closest friends and brother. Silas has opened his heart to me and adopted me as a true brother in his Pahus clan and that is one of the highest honors I could hope to receive. Our favorite thing to do when spending time together is discuss favorite Bible stories and Bible characters and how we can learn practical things to apply to our lives today from these characters and stories. Trevor and I are honored and very happy to add Silas to our team as we try every door to see how God will lead in the establishment of this much needed service in the Northwest corner of Papua New Guinea. My current plans which are somewhat dependent on Silas' business, are to return to PNG with Elana in August and settle in the Vanimo area. I was able to assist Silas in purchasing the ground we need at the airport while on this last trip so we are now waiting for some business ventures that Silas is working on to come to fruition so we can get things started in earnest. He is wanting to get us back there by early August since the church is putting on a series of meetings and they would like us to help out with the music. Please mention our names in your prayers as we continue to press forward in this endeavor for God. Sincerely, Jack Sample, Trevor Robinson and Silas Morgan
Glossary of terms and abbreviations: AAS - Adventist Aviation Services |
Silas also loves to cook and every Friday you
will see him preparing the food for Sabbath in his wok
over a kerosene cook stove in his outdoor kitchen.
Good thing he won't see this email since he would probably
get after me for including a picture of him without his
shirt on. :)