Tsunami!

By Paul Mason

The word tsunami strikes terror in the hearts of all who have ever faced its onslaught. Twelve miles north of Papua New Guinea, at the bottom of the sea, an earthquake-measuring 7 on the Richter scale-erupted at 8:49 a.m. on July 17, 1998. Within minutes a 23-foot-high tsunami crashed into three unsuspecting communities on the north shore of Papua New Guinea, home to about 8,000 residents. Eighteen miles of coastline was rearranged; more than 2,000 bodies were recovered. Six thousand people were initially listed as missing, and are now believed to be dead. The tsunami struck an area with no access roads at a time of extreme medicine shortages throughout the island nation.

Goroka Baptist College, 300 miles inland from the tidal wave's destructive force, is experiencing severe water shortages once again. Conversely, inflation is running at a near-record high. If student fees were properly adjusted, they would double, making it impossible for many GBBC students to continue studying.

The missionaries' furlough schedules make it necessary to secure an additional English-speaking Bible teacher for GBBC from May 1999 through July 2001. My heart is telling me, "Go! Go! Go!. But my doctors do not express the same determination. Can someone out there please help?

Paul & Eris Mason served in Papua New Guinea for two short terms from 1988-1994. They now represent ABWE in local churches.

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