Most of us enjoy a good cup of coffee…but have we thought about the work that goes into getting it?  We really didn’t until we moved here to Papua New Guinea, where coffee is one of the main cash crops.  We had a chance to go coffee picking last week with one of our Bena friends. We saw how coffee is grown, picked, washed, the shell taken off, and dried.
 Coffee is grown on trees. Living in these mountains, we are surrounded by coffee plants.  When the seed is ready, turns a red color. It’s pretty easy to pick the coffee off the tree but it takes alot of tedious work to get a full bag!  Once we had a full bag, we went to our friends house where he washed it and put it into his coffee machine. This special hand cranked machine takes the outer shell off the coffee bean. As it goes thru the machine the outer shell falls behind and the bean drops into the bag. Once there is enough coffee in the bag, it’s washed again and then laid out to dry. It usually takes about 2 days to dry the beans. A large 50 kilo coffee bag will sell for roughly $60 USD. The coffee prices fluctuate alot but for the most part the citizens here can make a good living off of coffee! 
  Our Bena neighbors have trucks coming in and out taking coffee to Goroka to sell. Goroka has about 5 coffee factories. They sent the coffee around the world. Sometimes they flavor the coffee too. We like to drink the medium roasted Organic coffee. So next time you drink a cup of coffee at Starbucks…you maybe drinking coffee picked from the Highlands of Papua New Guinea! And who knows…we may have picked it!

Here at Interface we are “tracking” with the missionaries that live & work among the Akolets. This month they have begun to teach the Bible for the first time!!! Here is a short writeup of how the first couple days have gone. Will you be a part by praying for the salvation of the Akolets, and the missionaries who are teaching the lessons each day??

Continue reading →

Thank you for praying with us these past weeks as the Bena have been hearing God’s “talk”.  We are very happy to share with you an update from our co-workers, Rich & Dawn Foster. 

We are thrilled to make known to you the newest Bena believers – Heva & Junais (young married couple); Jonson (our landowner; Heva’s father); Siyo & Sefe (an older married couple from a different Bena village who have been living in our area).  We are so thankful to God that He has drawn these people to Himself, and He has ‘opened their thinking’ (given them understanding – The unfolding of Your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple Ps 119:130) to the Gospel message.  He continually amazes me with His awesome grace – none of us deserve salvation and freedom from sin (this group of 5 included), but there He is, extending Himself to sinful man so that we can be brought into a right relationship with a holy God – completely amazing! Continue reading →

Interface is very close to the Bena village, where Rich & Dawn Foster, work as missionaries.  Rich has been teaching the Chronological Bible lessons and this week they began to hear about Christ’s death, burial & resurrection.  Here is a short write up on what’s been happening:

This week is the beginning of the end of the Phase I teaching that has been going on at Heva’s place.  In the teaching this morning, Jesus died.  Tomorrow will be the teaching on the burial, resurrection and ascension and Friday and Monday they will re-explain from different perspectives the importance of Christ’s death and resurrection, our needed response of belief, and the distinction between those who believe and those who do not.  There continues to be the same faithful group of about 10 and some others as well.  Please be praying with us for the following people as well as whoever else the Lord brings to the teaching this week:  Johnson and his wife Julie; Heva (hey-vuh) and his wife Junais (june-ice); Unepa (oo-nay-puh); Tako (taco) and his wife; and an older couple from neighboring village.  Continue reading →