During November we’re focusing on trusting God for provision. Please see the Monthly Prayer Focus page to read our strategic prayer request for this month.
By Brian Paris
Our group is experiencing a surge of growth. Last year we added two new teams. This year we’ve added another four. These new teams include families, so the number of children in the branch has risen from three to fourteen in a single year. We are stretched as far as we can go in our housing and office space. That is the reason for our prayer this month. What many people don’t realize is that it will take a miracle to answer our prayer.
Last year our branch briefly investigated a property that was up for sale. From the outside it looked pretty good. It was on the main road near a lot of stores that have 24 hour security (directly across the street from the place with the best French Fries in town). The property boasted four 3-bedroom apartments and two 2-bedroom apartments. It really looked like an answer to our prayers. The listed price was close to US$1,000,000, wow. We were able to visit the property and inspect the apartments and we realized that every unit would need significant work to make them livable. We had decided we simply couldn’t afford it when we got word that the property was purchased at the asking price by someone else.
The reality of real estate in PNG right now is that it’s too expensive. There’s a large demand from mining and business interests who can afford to pay almost anything for housing, so properties are being priced accordingly. Port Moresby, the capital of PNG, was just listed in the top 25 most expensive places to live, and Madang isn’t far behind.
We are not a business or backed by a large mine so we can’t afford to compete in the market. But we have faith in our strategy because we have faith in God. We don’t know how He is going to provide for our needs but we know He will. Please join us in beseeching God for the physical resources we need to complete the Bible translation task in PNG!
Brian serves as the Branch Director.