by Linda Throop
Linda and her husband Craig spent many years in Papua New Guinea serving in Bible translation with another agency. In 2004, the Throops joined Baptist Mid-Missions and are now continuing their work on the island nation through Bibles International, BMM’s Bible society. In addition to translation work, the Throops are helping to establish several churches in southwest New Britain province.
The Translation Checking Workshop was over. Representatives from all three Kaulong language dialects (Papua New Guinea) had gathered for the first time as a body of believers to check and finalize the Gospel of Mark for publication during the summer. It was a heady and exciting time for the Kaulong men as they saw their dream of having God’s Word in their own language one large step closer to reality.
Crowded into our old four-wheel drive Pajero SUV, the men looked forward to helping with an evangelistic Bible study in a distant bush hamlet before being driven home. As they neared the hamlet, suddenly my husband Craig nearly doubled over from pain on his right side. Immediately the men prayed for him. The pain was too intense to go through with the Bible study but subsided enough to allow Craig to drive the men home. Jack Pieng, one of the Kaulong men, stayed with Craig in case the severe pain returned. Pieng’s presence in our small men’s dormitory was part of the Lord’s omniscient plan for the unexpected events of the next two weeks.
A loving, omniscient God prioritized our schedule from there on out! The next morning, Craig’s pain had subsided enough that we made the steep mile drive to the airstrip for our FINAL translation checking session over our satellite phone. Rain kept us from the rest of our usual busy Saturday schedule, forcing us to rest.
On Sunday, Craig was able to lead the worship services and even spend some time with our children during our regular Sunday evening family time. However, at 2:30 Monday morning, Craig suddenly awoke in acute pain. As the pain increased, he began vomiting repeatedly.
At first light, I walked to the town medical clinic to get help. The Health Education Officer gave Craig an injection for the pain, but he had no equipment for diagnosing the problem. Craig was becoming increasingly dehydrated, and his bowels were not moving.
Thank the Lord and His people for the new satellite phone that enabled us to call our Mission doctor in the USA in the wee hours of Tuesday morning! Although Dr. Anglea is often away on medical mission trips, she was at Mission headquarters when the call went through! After listening to Craig’s symptoms and treatments, she began putting a medical evacuation into place.
Because of our special-needs son, Daniel, and the need to finalize furlough details and packing, I sent our 15-year-old daughter, Amy, in my place to care for Craig and to handle business. A New Tribes Mission plane flew them to Kimbe General Hospital on the north side of our island.
In intense pain, Craig found a spot near a wall in the emergency room and sat on the floor. Finally a nurse offered him a chair, then eventually a sheetless bed in an open area. A morphine shot and an IV followed shortly. Exhausted, Amy slept sitting on the floor beside his bed and with her head on one of the two small suitcases.
This was where a group of New Tribes missionaries found them; one of the group was a nurse with valuable advice and encouragement. The missionaries continued into town, only to return shortly with soap, towels, food for Amy, and other necessities. What a blessing to lay a towel under Craig as a sheet and fold the other as a pillow for Amy!
Eventually, Craig and Amy were moved to a double room. Administering another shot of morphine and checking his IV, the doctor explained that they did not have the equipment needed to diagnose Craig’s problem. Unable to sleep, Craig passed the time watching rats scurrying across the small room near Amy’s sleeping mat and listening to death wails down the hall. He prayed fervently for the ones wailing and clearly going into an eternity without Christ. What a reminder and confirmation to Craig, through his pain, of the reason why the Lord had called us to Papua New Guinea! How Craig longed to continue to give the gospel to others in Papua New Guinea so that they would not come to a hopeless end.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, I tried unsuccessfully to call Kimbe General Hospital or New Tribes headquarters on our satellite phone. I was never able to get through, because the phones in Kimbe were down. The Lord’s resources go far beyond a faulty telephone system, however!
Elaine Schulte, a self-proclaimed “non-techy” with Bibles International in Michigan, was so troubled by what little she knew of Craig’s situation that she began to type her questions and concerns on her newly established “blog.” To her amazement, she received an answer from an unknown missionary named Tim who had visited Craig in the hospital in Kimbe! Elaine passed the information on to Baptist Mid-Missions. When I called the Mission, they were able to assure me that Craig and Amy were being cared for!
The following day, after what must have been an angel-protected ride on a late, speeding ambulance on a rutted, busy two-lane highway, Craig and Amy were on their way to Cairns, Australia. Their small medical jet was equipped with medical equipment and a Papua New Guinea doctor.
The flight to Cairns was the second of four medical air evacuations! In the Cairns hospital, medical personnel discovered that Craig had a large kidney stone that was causing the kidney to swell. That and dehydration were the probable causes of his bowel obstruction. As they rehydrated Craig, his bowel blockage began to clear. At this point, Amy was taken in by church friends while Craig was again evacuated by Australia’s Flying Doctor ambulance to a larger facility in Brisbane.
In Brisbane, the doctor put a stint into Craig’s kidney, draining it and alleviating much of his pain. However, the doctor could not blast the kidney stone because his schedule was overbooked for several months. Craig was released from the hospital to await a final evacuation to Hong Kong but was still weak and disoriented. He had been in bed since Kimbe. Craig felt overwhelmed by the big, busy city. The Lord sent a Christian nurse who observed his plight. She not only helped him find an inexpensive hotel to rest in while awaiting his flight but insisted on paying for it herself! After flying to Cairns to pick up Amy, Craig walked onto the plane headed for Hong Kong, where his stone could be blasted and made small enough to pass.
Meanwhile, the remaining two children and I were being led by an all-wise Heavenly Father as well. In the Lord’s providence, a work team from Melbourne had put two extra doors in the downstairs work area less than two weeks before. These doors enabled me to lock the men’s dormitory off from the classroom area that was connected to our living quarters. This made it possible for Pieng and chief translation helper Maio to stay downstairs in the dormitory as guards and helpers while I was alone with the children upstairs. What a wonderful piece of timing from the Lord! These men watched over us, encouraged us, and prayed for us. They also helped me work through translation, church, and practical issues for the time our family would be away.
The Lord’s care was evident in many details, small and large! I had been searching for weeks for some vital school reports that needed to be packed. One day, I placed my hands on a shelf of school materials that had been moved out of place for the building team that had come a fortnight before and prayed, “Lord, you know I must have these records. Please show me where they are.” I opened my eyes and right under my hands were the very materials for which I had been searching!
Fellow missionaries rallied around our family, bringing meals and helping pack the house. Missionary kids helped with the laundry and with packing, and they played with Daniel to keep him calm and happy.
Knowing how much better my husband does in illness with his family around him, I worked to get an earlier flight out of Kandrian to join him in Hong Kong. The Lord worked it out that the cost of the earlier flight to Hoskins, near Kimbe, was not as high as our planned flight! I was a little confused at first when I was not able to get an earlier international flight as well. However, when the children and I became ill, I was awed that the Lord had timed our visit to this comfortable, air-conditioned missionary apartment with a medical clinic nearby at just the time we needed it most! Once again, missionaries rallied around us and helped in many ways. How blessed we were by the love of the body of Christ!
It wasn’t just missionaries that the Lord used, however. A major need was finding a way to get money to Kandrian to pay for security guards for our home while we were away. The last time we had left the village, our house had been broken into repeatedly, and all the mattresses, many of the tools, and many other items were stolen. I prayed earnestly for guidance as every avenue that I pursued failed. Suddenly I felt led to speak to a Christian business acquaintance in Kimbe. Not only was he happy to help, but when he checked our account, he found that we had a large credit figure! Our wonderful Lord so often does above and beyond what we ask or think!
The day finally came for our family’s flight to Hong Kong. What a joyful reunion! We praised the Lord for caring for each member of our family and meeting every need until we could be reunited again. Who but an omniscient, omnipotent God could handle all these details? Only our wonderful, loving, all-wise, caring Lord. Praise His name!