Wednesday, March 01, 2023

Current Hopkinson Happenings February 2023

 


A Growing Team

The last few years have been years of goodbyes as teammates have left the field. We were so excited to just this week welcome a new family to join our team! The Wenks are now settling into Wamena and we are really looking forward to serving alongside them. Soon, a second family, the Lehmans, will also arrive. Please be praying for these families as they adjust to life in Wamena begin serving with Helimission.


Wamena Catch-Up

We returned to Wamena at the end of November, and as is pretty typical, spent the next six weeks battling through various sicknesses. We were so thankful to finally all be healthy around the beginning of January! Despite the long illnesses, there have been some definite highlights.

On the family front, the kids have loved being home again and reconnecting with friends and beloved animals. We’ve gotten back into a good home schooling routine, and continue regularly doing trash pickup along our road and neighbourhood. I (Anisha) have also been sharing the story of salvation and reminding our neighbour children of how precious they are to God using bracelets gifted to us on furlough. The kids love the bracelets and hearing/retelling the story.

At the hanger, Ben had several very special flights. Taking the Clarks, 40+ year missionaries to the Yali people, back into the village of Lolat for a final farewell. Taking both Isaiah and Cara on medical evacuation flights. And a return flight for Paul Snider, a missionary to the Korawai people, after 2+ years in the US due to severe health problems.


Riots in Sinakma, Wamena

Sadly, the day after we left Wamena riots broke out. Many shops and houses were burned and 9 people lost their lives. The riots occurred right around two of our teammates’ houses. Praise God, our teammates have many miraculous stories of their homes being preserved and of being kept safe in a very dangerous situation.

Wamena remains tense at this time. Please be praying for peace and justice in Wamena, also for our team (both locals and expats) as they are still in the city navigating this crisis. We have been sharing more details of the crisis in our private Signal Prayer Group. If you would like to join, you can do so here:

Signal Prayer Group

Life in Pictures

Monday, October 03, 2022

Hello from Wamena, Video updates, National pilot, Furlough dates, Home schooling and Backyard Ministry, and Financial Support

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Hello from Wamena, Video updates, National pilot, Furlough dates, Home schooling and Backyard Ministry, and Financial Support
 
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Wamena, Papua, Indonesia

Hello from Wamena!

August 2022

Dear friends, 

It's hard to believe we've been back in Papua for 12 months already. We've been busy and the time has flown by, both at the hanger and home. If you're on Facebook, hopefully you've seen some of our video updates. If not, we've included some highlights here we think you'll enjoy. We continue to fly missionaries serving in villages where the only access is via helicopter, assisting the local church in their efforts to support the church body in remote locations.  And also responding to medevacs where there is no healthcare bringing patients to the nearest hospital.  Thanks so much for your support. Your partnership with us in prayer and finances makes this all possible!
We fly to Yasip with Todd Adams as he brings in church leaders from the Ibele church to introduce them to some local evangelists working in the southern low lands. On the way back we pick up a patient and drop them at the hospital. The second day we pickup Todd and the church leaders and hear some encouraging news.
This flight I fly with Kevin from MAF and two church leaders from the GIDI church. We go to 3 airstrips Bisek, Aniek and Wenapung . Kevin inspected the strips to check suitability for MAF aircraft to be able to serve them. I was able to bring the drone and get some aerial shots.

National Pilot

Some exciting news is our first national pilot has just gone solo in July.  He is the first national pilot in the 50 years of Helimission operations. Dyro started with us in 2019 and has been building experience in the challenging flight environment we have here in Papua.  Please pray for him as he continues to gain experience and that he would continue to make good decisions regarding weather.
 

Furlough Dates

We are soon headed for furlough and would love the opportunity to share with groups, churches and individuals about the work happening in Papua, Indonesia.  Please reach out if you'd like to meet with us and hear more.

Homeschooling and Backyard Ministry

At home we continue on with home education. Isaiah and Cara also join the expat school children on Fridays for "specials" like tree planting, first aid, and sports. This year, thanks to Isaiah's efforts, we've also been very involved with our neighbor children. As a result, we've had many fun adventures as well deep conversations surrounding culture, poverty, and abusive behaviours.

All the hours spent building friendships has led to Isaiah, and recently Cara as well, really taking off with the Indonesian language. Rebecca also loves to have our neighbors over, especially her little friend James.
Boys on their way to buy noodles for lunch
Girls making mud pie
Cara wrote a newspaper and sold it along with paper butterflies, raising about $150 for charity
Front porch crafts

Financial Support

A big thanks to all who have faithfully supported us over the last 8 years.  It's crazy to think it has already been that long. 

This year we have seen a reduction in monthly support.  This leaves us at about 30% of the recommended Helimission support level. We quite literally couldn't be doing this without the team of people who financially support us. 

Would you consider joining the team and be a part of this mission?

For information on how to give, click here:

 
SUPPORT

PRAYER REQUESTS


- Additional committed monthly financial supporters. 

- Additional long term personnel. We are understaffed at the moment with only us running the base.

- A good time as we reconnect with friends and family on furlough.

- In just a week we begin our journey traveling to Switzerland for the 50th Helimission anniversary celebration and retreat on the 20th August. The base will be closed for three weeks while we are away before our co-workers return in September.
We really appreciate your encouragement, prayers, and financial support over the years! We are thankful to be in Papua, and thankful for your partnership with us.

Lots of love from our family to yours,

Ben, Anisha, Isaiah, Cara, and Rebecca

For the latest news:

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