Final Report

 As I write this final post to the blog, this is an update to the previous post that an earthquake struck a short distance south of Wewak.  We received the following report from Mike Butler at FIA in Wewak:

You know when you are tying a load to the car or building something, and it’s all done you give it that little shake and say to yourself “Yup, that’ll holder”? Well, we took all the team to the airport this morning, and at 6:20am we had a 7.0 earthquake, quite long and rolling. (Kristin even felt it in the highlands.) The people all went running outside, the building swayed, lights on hanging chains swinging then, town-wide blackout! Meanwhile… back at FIA, Wewak, lights were on, solar was producing power, and aside for some drawers slid open and a parts shelf tipped over in the warehouse, it was like the Lord shook the place.  All panels and PowerPac secure, the roof, supporting 3500lbs more weight in panels... and felt like He was saying before the team left, “That’ll holder boys.  You can go now"!!  Our prayers go out to the homes and families that did not fare so well, and to the missions in country that will begin to reach out, to help, to rebuild, and to Love like Jesus loves.

Our Team has arrived safely home.  Please continue to pray for them to rest and recover well.  To be able to travel to the other side of the earth is truly amazing, but it takes a toll.  Our Team will need time to adjust to a new time zone and merge back into their everyday activities.  At the same time, they are all processing many memories and experiences.  Some loved ones and friends will want to hear all the details.  Others may politely ask but want the short version.  Pray for our Team as they process, physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Thank you to the faithful followers of the blog, for praying with us during this project.  Heaven will account the true worth of your prayers in the measure of the success of this project as well as God's great plans for FIA Wewak and the future of their mission in Papua New Guinea.

Team At Port Moresby PNG

Our Team arrived safely to the airport in Port Moresby.  Looks like we may have a new volunteer.

Continued prayers for stamina and at least a little rest for the long journey ahead!

Sunday, March 24, 2024 Departing Wewak, Papua New Guinea

 Some thoughts and pictures from Tom as our Team begins the long journey home.

With one phone call to Outback tech support, the final bug was eliminated, and the system is operating as designed. Praise God!!  (Even their dog is resting quietly.)

On our final day we were able to bless our hard-working support team, Ruth and Linda.  Pizza for lunch and dinner in town tonight.  These women have served our team from early morning until evening. A big thanks from all of us!!

We decided after that first day on the project, when everyone was totally exhausted from the heat and humidity, that staying awake after that evening meal was going to be a real challenge for our team.  

Stan graciously changed the schedule to lunch time, and we have all been blessed.  His daily sharing was from Mathew on the Kingdom of Heaven.  Very good, with great discussions that followed.

This was our final day on the project, and it wasn't until this afternoon that the final commissioning was complete.  We had the joy of seeing the system operate as designed and it will now provide power to the Friends In Action mission station here in Papua New Guinea.

Mike and Ruth Butler truly are servants as they provide many services to missionaries throughout PNG, building air strips, repairing vehicles and boats, building houses and the list goes on and on.  We were blessed beyond measure to be a small part of this mission outreach.  

As with every PowerPac, many additional volunteers giving hours and hours of labor building the unit deserve so much credit.  Thanks to the Wenatchee WA team led by Mike Babst, and for the technical support team of Matt Aungst and Gary Smedley.  It takes a team, and this is a great example. 

Blog family, friends and prayer partners, at this time, our Team is likely on their flight from Wewak to Port Moresby, where they will spend the night before flying home through Australia and Los Angeles.  

As they were flying south to Port Moresby, The East Sepik region of Papua New Guinea suffered an earthquake approximately 150 miles southwest of the FIA base where they have been serving.  

At this time, we do not expect this to affect our Team's outbound flight from Port Moresby to Australia tomorrow.  But pray for the people there in south Sepik region and our dear missionary friends the Team is leaving behind!  Pray for our Team as they have begun the long and tiresome journey towards home.  We just received word that our Team is safely on the ground in Port Moresby.

Day Twelve of the Project

Saturday in Wewak, Papua New Guinea

We are still trying to find a little glitch that with no apparent reason, is causing the system to drop offline.

Because of the many oceans, roads, and extreme heat fluctuations that the components of this system have been subject to, it's easy for delicate connections to become loose.

So, while one or two work on redoing connections, the rest of us pray and try to encourage them.

It was a long day!  And tomorrow, Sunday, is our last day in Wewak.

We were able to visit the Christian Book store Saturday to do a solar survey. 

They use $500.00 each week on diesel fuel, if it happens to be available.

The official language in PNG is English but as we know, only a small portion of the population are able to read English.

Stan, Miguel, and Trey were amazing as they gathered an incredible amount of information that will enable us to prepare a design and cost estimate.

This ministry is providing good Christian books and literature to people throughout Papua New Guinea, who are able to read English. 

Day Eleven of the Project

Today, Wednesday, another missionary stopped by to discuss the option of solar for their small, three building mission base.

 

Reggie has been in PNG for many years with Christian Missions in Many Lands.

Home | CMML

july_2019_missions_web.pdf (cmml.us)

It's the same story worldwide, national power from the Utility is rarely on. IF diesel fuel is available for generators, it is extremely expensive.  

The need at this location is perfectly suited for one of our new MicoPowerPacs, currently in design. 

Two of the men who work with Mike Butler, went out of their way to say "goodbye" this afternoon.

These are hardworking men and a pleasure to work with.

  They don't work on Fridays, so it was their way of saying "thank you" to our team.  

Don had the pleasure of mounting the I-TEC PowerPac sign, signifying the seventh unit now deployed.

I know you have seen some of these pictures before, but at this time in the project, it's all about verify, verify, document, document.

Not nearly as exciting, but extremely important. 

 

We are still having an inverter glitch, so please continue to pray. 

God created our physical realm and allowed us the knowledge and the wherewithal to assemble a complex, technical system that harnesses sunlight and then generates electricity. Astounding!

Pray that He will continue to give our Team wisdom and understanding as they fine-tune and troubleshoot. 

In the quagmire of details, as the adrenalin of the building stage is passed, and the time of departure is coming, pray for God's continued strength and Presence with our Team, still flowing through their thoughts, their hands, the words they say and the encouragement they will leave in Wewak, Papua New Guinea.

Day Ten of the Project

Pictures and notes from Wednesday in Wewak, Papua New Guinea 

It doesn't take long for the word to get out that there is a solar team in town!  In addition to a survey our Team completed for Samaritan Aviation (https://samaritanaviation.org/) on Wednesday, we gave Carol Luttah from Christian Books Melanesia, a tour of the PowerPac today and are planning to do a site survey tomorrow, Thursday, March 21.

Check out their website to see the great work they are doing in Melanesia, Papua New Guinea.

 https://www.cbmpng.org/

The pictures are getting fewer and, unless you are an electrician, not quite as exciting.  

Matt, Don, and Trey spent many hours trying to match the old and new systems within this electrical box.

We were all very thankful when the entire campus was being powered by the PowerPac.  

There are a few bugs we need to work out yet in the system, but tomorrow is another day. 

Please continue to pray for wisdom as we begin our last three days. 

We are Not finished yet 🙂

Weekend Activities

Notes & Pictures from Tom

Sunday before our church service on the beach, we stopped at the Wom War Memorial, where the Japanese surrendered the sword on August 14, 1945, marking the final campaign in New Guinea during World War 2.

The conditions were horrendous as 14,000 Japanese died in the jungle and 9,000 died in combat. 

For several days last week, while working in the Tropical heat and humidity, the team was promised a Sunday afternoon of beach time.

We started with a message and communion lead by Trey.

It was such a perfect setting as you could picture Jesus teaching his disciples in the same way.

We walked the beach, swam, snorkeled, some for the very first time ever. 

Overall, it was a well-deserved, perfect day!