A little over a week ago, at 3am in the morning, we got up and started the final preparations for our trip to Pano. (If you didn't read our last post explaining the details of this trip, click here to read it.)
After loading the last of our personal cargo, 260 liters of fuel, and almost 200kg of food for the meal we would have with the Pano people, we drove into town, met up with Skipper Paul who would be taking us to Pano in his boat. We loaded all of the supplies into his dinghy, and by 5AM, we set out on the 5+ hour ride to Pano.
The first leg of our trip takes us across a large bay that is part of the Bismark Sea. This is the riskiest part of the boat trip because we are typically 12-15 miles from shore. We had traveled for almost an hour when the boat engine started to make strange “jerky” noises, and then after sputtering for a couple minutes, it stopped. For ten minutes or so the skipper tried to restart it, but it quickly became clear that the engine wasn’t going to start.
We’re very disappointed that we didn’t make it into Pano, and we’re working hard to figure out a second round of plans for making the trip there.
Although we had our own boat all cleaned and prepped to sell, we’re open to putting it back in the water and taking it to Pano, although right now, it’s been quite hard to line up an option for getting a trailer to move it to the water. Also, we have to make arrangements with a local charter club to moor our boat, and it typically takes time to line that up and get paperwork and details sorted. Josh is working to get it all ready though so that we can use it if we can the arrangements for getting it in the water lined up.
Although this experience was scary, we saw God’s protection in many areas. Even the story of how our emergency contact got the number of the skipper who agreed to search for us was really cool. A tribal man named Giye, from the Ndo people group (who just heard the gospel last year) had come down to our base for a translation workshop. When that man heard that Josh and I were stranded, he started working to find the cell numbers for any influential men he knew along the coastal area. One of those men, who wasn’t even in our area of PNG, agreed to use his influence to help us, and he was able to call and work with our emergency coordinator for a boat to be sent out search for us.
Another very cool part of the story that we found out afterward was why the boat that found us was coming from the opposite direction we expected and how they ended up headed straight at us. They didn’t actually see us. Instead, they had been searching for us for a couple of hours, and they kept going farther and farther out to sea, since our emergency coordinator had told them that we were drifting out. However, they weren’t finding us, and as the second storm blew in, they decided that they needed to turn and head straight for the shore. Their plan as to get close enough to land to call our emergency contact again and see if he could give them any updates or further hints on where to search for us or how far out we had drifted. Then they would wait until the storm passed and head back out looking. That would have taken many more hours though, and we know that it wasn’t chance that they “happened” to turn and head straight for the shore at that moment and on that path, with “happened” to bring them directly to our boat.
One last praise: as the title of this update implies, shortly after becoming stranded, Josh discovered that our boat had a crack and was taking on water, but the storms and waves were never strong enough that we couldn’t keep up with baling the water out of the boat.
We often end our updates by saying “thank you” for praying for us; this time, we feel EXTRA thankful for all of you who pray for us faithfully, and extra aware of our need for protection, encouragement, and the Lord's strength in order to persevere. Thank you for being part of our team!
The first leg of our trip takes us across a large bay that is part of the Bismark Sea. This is the riskiest part of the boat trip because we are typically 12-15 miles from shore. We had traveled for almost an hour when the boat engine started to make strange “jerky” noises, and then after sputtering for a couple minutes, it stopped. For ten minutes or so the skipper tried to restart it, but it quickly became clear that the engine wasn’t going to start.
We were stuck at sea.
We do our best to put emergency contingency plans in place for times just like this, but those plans are never quite as straight forward or definite in a place like PNG as they would be in places like the USA.
First, when you are 15+ miles out to sea, you don’t have cell service to contact anyone. Thus, we carry a GPS device that allows us to send texts and our location coordinates via satellite. Josh began working to notify our emergency contact back in Madang that we were stranded and needed a boat to be sent out to search for us. That probably sounds somewhat straight forward. Let me assure, it isn’t!
Here are just some of the complications.
Our emergency contact started working to call other skippers and boat owners who we had put on our emergency plan as possible rescue option. However, just contacting someone via cell phone in PNG is often difficult. Do they have a way to charge their phone? Is their phone turned on (many people don’t leave their phones on since the battery runs out faster, and they don’t have reliable ways to recharge them.) Is their boat already being used for another trip and unable to be re-routed?
After several hours, lots of attempts had been made to contact various skippers. Many had their phones off, several had already sent their boats out for the day, and none of them seemed to be working out as rescue option.
We knew that our emergency contact in town would keep working to find someone as long as it took. In the meantime, we waited.
As the sun came up and started getting higher in the sky, sitting on the water without moving starts getting a lot hotter. Also, when you are sitting in a small boat, you get tossed around A LOT! Both Josh and I had motion sickness set in pretty quickly, which, while not life-threatening, does make it harder to focus on clear communication, thinking through scenarios, and just remaining calm.
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For me especially, that storm was a test of faith and mental focus, to keep working not to let my mind run through all of the “what-if” scenarios we might be facing. My kind husband knew that I was already being stretched and working hard not to panic, and he didn’t tell me until much later that a good part of the hair in my pony tail was sticking straight out and then straight up as the storm got close to us, a sign that a lightening strike is likely imminent.
However, God protected us, and we didn’t experience any lightening strikes in our immediate vicinity as the storm came through. Although the water got much more choppy, we never dealt with any huge swells, which was also a big praise as we sat in our broken down 24 ft. boat. Lastly, while the storm was scary, the rain helped to cool us down a bit and provided a break from the intensity of the heat!
Eventually, the coordinator in town sent notice that he’d found a skipper who lived about two hours from Madang who was willing to head out and begin searching for us. We were so thankful to know that at least someone was searching for us, and were praying that God would help him to find us.
As the hours passed and we waited and prayed, we could see our location on the GPS device and knew we were drifting further out to sea. At this point, we were about 22 miles from shore, and a second storm was on the horizon heading our direction.
After a little over six hours on the water, we saw a boat head straight at us from the opposite direction we had been expecting a rescue boat to arrive. There were a couple of tense moments as we watched them speed toward us and waited to see if it was friendly boat, or possibly pirates. Thankfully, the boat that was searching for us had found us. We were relieved, grateful, and very tired as we climbed into their boat and headed for town. 2.5 hours later, we were on dry land back in Madang.
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| You don't make much progress paddling against the wind 15+ miles out to sea. |
First, when you are 15+ miles out to sea, you don’t have cell service to contact anyone. Thus, we carry a GPS device that allows us to send texts and our location coordinates via satellite. Josh began working to notify our emergency contact back in Madang that we were stranded and needed a boat to be sent out to search for us. That probably sounds somewhat straight forward. Let me assure, it isn’t!
Here are just some of the complications.
- Can our contact in town find a boat and skipper who are willing and able to search?
- How do they figure out where to search for us when there are many miles of open ocean where we could be? (PNG skippers don’t have GPS units to track our coordinates)
- If a boat does go out to look for us, in light of very little cell service once they are on the water, how do they check in with people in town to let them know if they found us, or if they didn’t but have to stop looking, or just to give updates on the search?
After several hours, lots of attempts had been made to contact various skippers. Many had their phones off, several had already sent their boats out for the day, and none of them seemed to be working out as rescue option.
We knew that our emergency contact in town would keep working to find someone as long as it took. In the meantime, we waited.
As the sun came up and started getting higher in the sky, sitting on the water without moving starts getting a lot hotter. Also, when you are sitting in a small boat, you get tossed around A LOT! Both Josh and I had motion sickness set in pretty quickly, which, while not life-threatening, does make it harder to focus on clear communication, thinking through scenarios, and just remaining calm.
As we waited, we could see a large storm in the distance that was headed toward us. Storms in PNG are often quite impressive as they roll in across the water toward the coastline. Lots of lightening and thunder is the norm, and often very heavy rain, so it’s quite a show. We’ve often enjoyed watching them from our base in Madang which is right on the coast. Let me assure you that we did NOT feel the same way watching it move in our direction as we sat on the water in a small boat.
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However, God protected us, and we didn’t experience any lightening strikes in our immediate vicinity as the storm came through. Although the water got much more choppy, we never dealt with any huge swells, which was also a big praise as we sat in our broken down 24 ft. boat. Lastly, while the storm was scary, the rain helped to cool us down a bit and provided a break from the intensity of the heat!
Eventually, the coordinator in town sent notice that he’d found a skipper who lived about two hours from Madang who was willing to head out and begin searching for us. We were so thankful to know that at least someone was searching for us, and were praying that God would help him to find us.
As the hours passed and we waited and prayed, we could see our location on the GPS device and knew we were drifting further out to sea. At this point, we were about 22 miles from shore, and a second storm was on the horizon heading our direction.
After a little over six hours on the water, we saw a boat head straight at us from the opposite direction we had been expecting a rescue boat to arrive. There were a couple of tense moments as we watched them speed toward us and waited to see if it was friendly boat, or possibly pirates. Thankfully, the boat that was searching for us had found us. We were relieved, grateful, and very tired as we climbed into their boat and headed for town. 2.5 hours later, we were on dry land back in Madang.
 |
Here’s Josh with the guys who found us and towed us
back to Madang. I was already asleep by the time he took this. |
Although we had our own boat all cleaned and prepped to sell, we’re open to putting it back in the water and taking it to Pano, although right now, it’s been quite hard to line up an option for getting a trailer to move it to the water. Also, we have to make arrangements with a local charter club to moor our boat, and it typically takes time to line that up and get paperwork and details sorted. Josh is working to get it all ready though so that we can use it if we can the arrangements for getting it in the water lined up.
We are also open to possibly taking a helicopter in, although that option is significantly more expensive, and won’t give us the flexibly to visit as many places in Pano, since we wouldn’t have a boat with us to travel around. Pray with us for patience, and for God’s guidance as we work on the details and timing for these new plans.
Although this experience was scary, we saw God’s protection in many areas. Even the story of how our emergency contact got the number of the skipper who agreed to search for us was really cool. A tribal man named Giye, from the Ndo people group (who just heard the gospel last year) had come down to our base for a translation workshop. When that man heard that Josh and I were stranded, he started working to find the cell numbers for any influential men he knew along the coastal area. One of those men, who wasn’t even in our area of PNG, agreed to use his influence to help us, and he was able to call and work with our emergency coordinator for a boat to be sent out search for us.
 |
| Josh and I with Giye, the man who
helped our emergency coordinator find a boat and skipper who were willing to go search for us, and who ultimately found us |
Another very cool part of the story that we found out afterward was why the boat that found us was coming from the opposite direction we expected and how they ended up headed straight at us. They didn’t actually see us. Instead, they had been searching for us for a couple of hours, and they kept going farther and farther out to sea, since our emergency coordinator had told them that we were drifting out. However, they weren’t finding us, and as the second storm blew in, they decided that they needed to turn and head straight for the shore. Their plan as to get close enough to land to call our emergency contact again and see if he could give them any updates or further hints on where to search for us or how far out we had drifted. Then they would wait until the storm passed and head back out looking. That would have taken many more hours though, and we know that it wasn’t chance that they “happened” to turn and head straight for the shore at that moment and on that path, with “happened” to bring them directly to our boat.
One last praise: as the title of this update implies, shortly after becoming stranded, Josh discovered that our boat had a crack and was taking on water, but the storms and waves were never strong enough that we couldn’t keep up with baling the water out of the boat.
We often end our updates by saying “thank you” for praying for us; this time, we feel EXTRA thankful for all of you who pray for us faithfully, and extra aware of our need for protection, encouragement, and the Lord's strength in order to persevere. Thank you for being part of our team!
Click HERE to download a pdf bulletin insert of this update.
Click HERE to find out more about who we are and our ministry.
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