Challenging times here in PNG: With the change of Governors and the new CEO for the newly created Provincial Health Authority, there is a lot of confusion especially at the community level.

In some ways we are victims of our own success with a number of NGOs and other groups trying to copy the CHE approach without the wholistic understanding .

We were encouraged to hear reports of some of the amazing changes happening at the community level by the faithful trainers that have hung in there amidst all this confusion. (see previous two entries).

This will be our last week-- we will try and pull the major hewlth promotions players together and see if we can present a cooperative approach to the new CEO of the PHA. Seems we are always trying to re-educate the system...

Meanwhile the daily connections with people we have known and loved for years, and new ones we meet, enriches our lives with an appreciation of this unpretentious and beautiful country.

Single Mom Christina, who we have known since babyhood, is finally able to go and further her education now that Billie is in school. They visited on Saturday, when Sharon and Billie completed a puzzle during an afternoon rainstorm.

Ruth, who Sharon worked with on Health service education in 1984-5, now suffers the after affects of TB in her hip. She is housebound with her 86 year old mom caring for her! Our visit and bag of fruit encouraged her, and she encouraged us with her strong trust in the Lord's goodness!

Lero was the morning speaker at church yesterday-- as a young teacher in 1980, he came faithfully to Bible studies in our home with the medical students. Now he teaches English in a Chinese college for the past 10 years.