God works when people pray
Shortly
after sharing with our church family in Moscow of our plans to spend 10 months teaching
at the Nazarene hospital station at Kudjip in Papua New Guinea, our long-time
friend, Oveta Franklin invited us over for lunch and to share a story.
Art Franklin 1944 |
Art in Papua New Guinea (photos courtesy of Oveta Franklin/John Miller) |
Volleyball game played by soldiers and Papua New Guinea nationals |
Papua New Guinea children pose with American soldiers |
The first
Nazarene missionaries Sydney and Wanda Knox, arrived in 1956 and started a
church and school. In 1957, the
Australian provincial government gave Nazarene World Missions, property in the
highlands at Kudjip that was situated between 2 warring tribes. After Sydney
died in 1958, Wanda eventually returned with her two children to teach in the
mission primary school and later at the Bible College. In 1967 the hospital was
completed. As time passed, more doctors and
nurses came, nationals were trained, and the hospital expanded. In 2012 to
2014, the hydro project was built consisting of a dam, canal, and powerhouse.
Along with backup generators, the hydro project allows Kudjip station to
generate power for the hospital and over 100 staff houses on the station.
Today, there
is a flurry of construction projects on station thanks to a grant from
Australian Aid. The original buildings are being torn down and replaced with
new facilities directed by project managers Earl and Jordan. Their construction
crews of approximately 80 nationals were hired from the nearby villages.
The 135 bed
hospital serves 7,000 patients a year and 55,000 outpatients. The following
link provides informative statistics for 2018.
The hospital
is staffed by doctors from the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New
Guinea. The rest of the hospital staff including administrative and
maintenance, is made up of nationals that live on the station or in the nearby
villages. Rural health clinics have been established throughout Papua New
Guinea.
The hospital
station utilizes connections with various resources. A shipping container with supplies is sent to
the station every 3 – 4 months from Medford Oregon. Recently two nationals from
the local area - a 7 year old girl and a 17 year old boy - made a trip to the
Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for open heart surgery sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse
– World Medical Mission.
True to the
core value of Nazarene missions, sharing the good news of the gospel of Jesus
Christ is paramount to the mission of the hospital. Five national chaplains -
two women and three men - minister to the spiritual, emotional, and mental
needs of patients and visitors. Last year, chaplains helped start four new
churches in villages of patients who visited the hospital where there are no
churches. From the church that the Knox’s started at Kudjip, there are now 14
Nazarene districts with 700 organized churches and preaching points throughout
PNG.
The Nazarene
College of Nursing is located on station which offers a three year degree
program. Enrollment at the college is 150 students with 50 students graduating
each year. Students also graduate with a lay minister’s license. They are involved
in visitation to local women’s and men’s prisons. Upon graduating, many of
these students take jobs in some of the most remote areas of PNG.
Fifteen
minutes down the road is the Melanesia Nazarene Bible College and Teacher
College. The long range goal is to merge the three colleges into one
university. All three colleges are administered by nationals.
In 2017 on
the 50th anniversary of the hospital, the PNG government officially
recognized Kudjip Nazarene hospital as the provincial hospital for Jiwaka
Province. The geography of Jiwaka Province consists of valleys separated by rugged
mountain ranges. Patients will sometimes travel for days to get to Kudjip
hospital. Each patient brings a watchman or watchmeri to provide food for them,
do laundry, and assist them with other daily affairs.
Thanks to
the fervent prayers of people like Art and Oveta Franklin and many others; as
well as those who have come to serve here; the Nazarene Hospital station at
Kudjip continues to be a beacon of hope for the people living in the highlands
of Papua New Guinea.
“You are the light of
the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.”
- Jesus
The new pharmacy. |
Workmen pour concrete. |
Work and witness teams come from the states to build houses for hospital staff. |
The two story admin. building takes shape. |
The 1.5 Km canal carries water from the dam to the powerhouse. |
Under the direction of Earl Hartwig, the dam was built by 175+ local workers from 2012 - 2014. |
The core value of the Kudjip Nazarene hospital. |
All concrete used in projects on station is mixed in these 1 bag mixers. 33,000 bags were mixed for the hydro project. |
The new maternity ward. |
The Jiwaka Provincial hospital. |
As a young boy, our friend John Opa was in Wanda Knox's 1st grade class. She would give him food and pencils, and he in return would collect firewood sticks for her. |
Our five hospital chaplains prepare to embark on a trip to Kenya for a chaplains' conference. |
Hospital staff housing for nationals was built in picturesque Jordan Valley. |