Gifts that keep on giving

 Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea
Jan 28, 2001

 “Robert and Verna, could you come up here. We want to pray for you before you leave for Papua New Guinea. Jason and Jeremy, you come too.” It was our last Sunday (May 1986) at our church in Texas after spending nine months in SIL linguistic training and the pastor was calling us forward for prayer.

We made our way to the front of the church and several people joined Pastor Robert to pray for us. When the prayer was finished we started to make our way back to our seats.

“Wait. We have something for you.”

I turned back and watched in amazement as the pastor’s wife brought out a large box. It was about four feet long, 15 inches wide and 6 inches high. “Usually we give our missionaries money when they leave us to go to the field, but this time the Lord told us to give you this”, JoAn said as she handed the box to eleven-year-old Jason.

Jason could hardly believe his eyes as he pulled a Yamaha keyboard out of the box. “Thank you. Thank you. I’ve been dreaming about having a keyboard for a long time”, he stuttered in astonishment.

We took that keyboard with us to Papua New Guinea. I gave both our sons beginning piano lessons on this keyboard. Jason played in church services in our language area for a time. Unfortunately, neither of them pursued piano as long as I would have liked; they both switched over to percussion instruments when they reached their teenage years.

When we left Papua New Guinea in 1995, we passed the keyboard on to a Japanese missionary. I tracked her down today and discovered that she still has this keyboard and she’s still using it. Fifteen years later this Yamaha keyboard is still making music for the Lord! Thank you MCCC for a gift that keeps on giving.

PS The workshop was a overwhelming success. Thank you for praying. We celebrated on Friday noon with a Korean meal – catered in by a Korean missionary family who is raising money for a horn for their daughter to use in the High School band.

PSS I leave Ukarumpa on Wednesday; spend one night in Port Moresby; one night in Brisbane and then I arrive in Dallas on Friday at 10pm. Please pray for traveling mercies.