When we arrived in Ok Ao to live among the Ningerum people it was little more than an airstrip in the middle of the jungle. (Zoom in on left balloon on the map, that strip of dirt is our 636 meter airstrip. It only appears cooked because the grass did not grow back evenly.) We were willing to just about anything God pointed out us but we were a bit confused when He made it clear that our first task we to build a home. Although He helped us build a great dwelling, we soon saw that the real purpose of the project was to build relationships. It was during that time that we began to learn both the language and culture as well as form lasting relationships. Only afterwards did we learn that relationships are the fabric of the Melanesian society and that they were necessary for the ministry to succeed.

After working with the people it became clear that their greatest need was teaching. So, immediately after completion of the house, another missionary and I taught a one-week course on salvation. Not only did I find out that I absolutely love to teach, the people also recognized that their greatest need was for teaching. When we returned from our first home assignment they asked us to open a Bible School and I was only to happy to oblige! The rest of our time there was spent teaching the people that they must follow God exclusively.

We have now returned to Papua New Guinea moved to Christian Leaders' Training College, perhaps the foremost institution of Evangelical learning in the country! it has a long tradition of quality training and consistently turns out good church leaders and teachers. The teaching provided is increasingly important as false teaching spreads across the country. CLTC is one of the means God uses to keep His gospel of grace grounded in the hearts of the people. Kent will work with several national teachers, as well as a few westerners, to provide this valuable resource. CLTC offers three training programs including a three-year women's certificate, a four-year deploma (three years of teaching and one year of practical ministry experience) and a five-year Bachelor of Theology (B.Th) degree (four years of classroom instruction and one year of practical experience). Kent will be teaching a wide range of subjects including theology and both the Old and New Testaments.