Vaka Hop’e

Usually, introducing yourself as a missionary in Papua New Guinea gives you good standing with the people. The history of missionaries introducing the gospel to the people of PNG is recent and powerful. They also brought the modern world through services such as schools, medical clinics and infrastructure, good things that benefited the people. Also, […]

I am tired of writing about thiefs in Papua New Guinea, because this is such a beautiful country with such beautiful people. But this robbery was the worst one yet. Not only did they steal from us but I was also attacked by one of the thiefs with a deadly weapon. I wasn’t hurt but […]

YWAM Madang has been pioneered by YWAM Ships Kona as a base for Bible translation and as a base for YWAM Liberty. They have been able to lease a wharf from the Lutheran church in the middle of town, and it comes with a warehouse that they are currently converting and using as living space. […]

I initially thought that the rumors of pirates along the north coast of Papua New Guinea was overexaggerated and didn’t think it would be a problem. But once we arrived in PNG, the locals kept telling us that the threat was real, and in our second village we were visited by Police or pirates? who […]

Going to a PNG village is something truly special. An experience that you will remember for the rest of your life. You’ll come out of it both exuberated and exhausted. But going to a PNG village in a boat is a bit different than over land. Now you are not only visiting their home, but […]

Coming to PNG has been such a contrast from Indonesia and Philippines. There we were left alone most of the time, but in PNG everyone wants to know who you are. They are full of kindness and joy to see you, and it is quite an honor to be received like that from complete strangers, […]

We have finally arrived in PNG and it feels like a monumental milestone. One last country to traverse before we arrive in the Solomon Islands. We checked in to Vanimo and the process was surprisingly smooth. The officials came to visit us on the boat, and even though they are not used to sailboats coming […]

The island of New Guinea has huge rivers going into the sea. The largest in all of Oceania. I have been warned that there are many big logs in the sea in this stretch of coast and we have seen a few gigantic logs in West Papua that we would not want to crash into. […]

We have been motoring nearly every day for the last three weeks, all the way from Raja Ampat to Papua New Guinea, crossing the width of West Papua along the north coast. We have had nearly no wind, for most of the time. Maybe a slight breeze from behind, causing no air moving across the […]

Have you ever been river rafting? I did one time long ago. We started in our rubber rafts in a wide and placid part of the river, but as we slowly drifted down, the river became narrower, the rocks on our sides taller and the rapid stronger. We were in a gully with no way […]