Spiritual storm

Our recent spiritual storm in my husband, Mark's words.
Here is the full story:

Today was the most challenging day yet for us Helzerman's in Kaintiba. A large group of people came against us like a wave of the sea. The topic was in relation to some Catholics that I unknowingly offended 40 days ago.

A man named Allen James was the spokesman. There was no head man for the Catholic Church present. There was no police or court deputy/secretary to take the complaints. The 2 main complaints were as follows:

1. They said I said Mary was an harlot. I never said this. One time at the market I read the story how the Pharisees THOUGHT Mary was this kind of person (I read John8:41). The Pherisees implied Jesus Christ was "born of fornication" in this verse.
--When I read this verse, 3 men at the market in Kaintiba heard me read it and THOUGHT I said it. No! I said the Pharisees said this. Then I continued to say how wonderful Mary was and how she was sexually PURE when Jesus was conceived. Mary was a VIRGIN at this time in her life.

These 3 men did not hear all I said, but went to this man Allen James (who is not a community leader) and they told him I said Mary was a harlot....which I never said.

2. The second allegation was they said the verse I wrote on a white board said Mary was a false God. This verse I wrote did not say "Mary" nor did it say Catholic. The verse I wrote was in Jeremiah7:18....it does not say one thing about the Catholic Church nor about MARY!

Now, before I had one chance to say anything, Allen James said these two things I did (on 4 September) made him angry, so he sent word to 17 places that Catholic churches were, and spread rumors that I did these things. He never came to me with these 3 men to find out if these things were true. Now today is 14 October, 40 days after the day they were offended. So today is the first day I know who was offended......after much inquiry.

After many rumors came to me that there were men who were angry with me, I set forth to find out. I talked with Annet, Head Mistress at Bema High School .....she did not know. I talked with leaders in Kaintiba....they did not know. I talked with Florins and Clement, Catholic leaders in Kaintiba....they said they did not know. I called Marsin, a Police man in Bema.....he did not know. It was hard to find out until today, when Allen James brought these 3 men with 100+peoples to confront me.

Without giving me any chance to refute what they falsely accused me of, this man Allen James said I had to pay K17,000 (K1,000 per 17 Catholic place in the Kaintiba area). Beside this, they say I must give 17 pigs for the same. This was to compensate the Catholics for the hurt they received from the rumors they heard about me. (This is about $11,000 total...including the pigs).

So, these men (one in particular) said if I do not "say" sorry in this Melanesian manner within 2 weeks, they will come and burn the Baptist church building and DEPORT the Helzerman family. They also said (by rumors) they will not except any Baptist patients at the health center in Bema and next year no Baptist student will be able to attend the Bema High School and other schools in Bema. As we well know, this talk is UNCONSTITIONAL in accordance to the laws of Papua New Guinea.

It would be best if all this would have been done in the proper way: if any 1 man had a complaint toward me, he should come to me SOON after the alleged offense. This has come 40 days after the rumors traveled far and wide....lies concerning me. Now many are angry with me without proof of the accusations. And there are many witnesses in Kaintiba that can show that I am telling the truth. These accusations toward me have no weight compared to the TRUTH of the matter.

One baptist pastor (a Papua New Guinea man) was wondering: who will compensate me for the wrong these 100+ have spoken against me?  There are many uneducated men and woman that hate me because they have heard these lies. Who will send the truth to them the next 40 days to tell them I did not any wrong to any man or religion?

This man Allen James even said I was NOT to preach in the Kaintiba market again, nor could I hold the BIBLE in any public place. He thinks the HOLY Bible is only allowed in a church building. But how many Catholics have a Bible in their house?

So now we wait to see what GOD will do when men talk against Him and His Word. Since this man Allen does not have any authority here, there should not be any DEPORTATION. But burning the church building could become a reality. Please pray for peace in the hearts of this poor, uneducated peoples who know not the Truth....YET!
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Thursday (the day after): After doing more research and talking with other "catholic" friends here in Kaintiba, the leadership of the Catholics in Kaintiba are not in agreement with the way Allen James attacked me. Florins (a woman leader at the Kaintiba Catholic church) was ashamed. Especially after receiving a bag of rice from me the day before to help her feed a Catholic "Sister" who was flying/flew to Kerema on Wednesday. They both were not happy with what happened to me.
(We have been trying to win Florins to Christ for 3 years).
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Friday:  Later in the afternoon, Florins came to our house. She said she had been at this Allen James' house. She talked with him about his problem and told him (again) he was wrong. She said to me that Allen James did admit he was wrong and said he would try to fix the damage. He is too ashamed to come to me personally yet.
He was not the only one that spoke against me, though. We are not sure if these others are as remorseful, yet.  Please continue to pray.
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Sunday: we found out 3rd hand that the Catholic Father in Kerema (that is the capitol town for the Gulf Province) found out what these Catholic men did. He was not happy about it and said they should apologize to me and all those who heard them slander me. This is another sign God is doing a work I cannot do.

Also, Florins said, as she was passing by this afternoon, she wanted to come up and talk with Christi and I later today (Sunday afternoon). May God use this situation to make Florins realize her need of Christ for her salvation....and others like her, the same.
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Monday: We found out It was all threats with no official documentation, and many false witnesses present. The man who was to preside over the meeting (John Alala) flew to Kerema the same day, and told them all to wait until he came back. They did not want to wait, so Allen James took the charge and added the K17,000/17 pigs to the mix.

There are many Catholic leaders in Kaintiba and Kerema that are not happy with what these men did and now Allen James is ashamed and sorry. He told his wife and another Catholic lady (Florins) that he did wrong and would try to cool down all the people he stirred up.

I met with Florins, Marsin (the primary Policeman in Bema), and another spokes man for the area. They came to me and wanted to tell me to "be at peace". "There is nothing to worry about."  That was a double consolation, to know we have a God Who can still (calm) the enemy and the avenger.  Most everyone in Kaintiba knows Allen James was wrong and that the allegations are false. It will take time to get it all resolved in an official and customary manner, though. In all reality, they committed a great offense in the eyes the local leaders here in Kaintiba. Here is an email I sent to the Head Mistress at the Bema High School (Catholic) Tuesday:

"Annette,

After reviewing the video again of the false accusations against me, what should we do?  I am aware Allen James said he was sorry for what he did, but there are many other Catholic people that are still angry with me. Why are they angry with me?? They heard rumors that were not true about me.  Who will tell these uneducated people that my words were twisted to make it sound like I said Mary was an harlot. SHE WAS NOT!

The main accusation was that I criticized the Catholic church. I NEVER used the word Catholic on the 4th of September when I preached. I NEVER wrote the word Catholic nor the name MARY on the white board.

I am NOT sorry to preach the WORD of GOD at the market. I am NOT ashamed that I wrote SCRIPTURE at the Baptist Church property. But now, many people have the anticipation they will be getting money and pigs from me. When they find out they will not be getting money and pigs from me, they will be angry about this.

I pray they will turn their hearts toward Christ, Who can give them peace. Those that lied to these uneducated people should go and tell them they told lies about me to stir them up to get free money and pigs. I pray these uneducated people will find it in their hearts to forgive these men who lied to them, as I have forgiven them." 

Musings From a Missionary Mom--Grief Counselor

Missionaries wear many hats.  There are many opportunities to minister in many different facets.  Almost five weeks ago it was the opportunity to be a grief counselor. Two families in our church here in Kaintiba, Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea, lost their babies to death because of illness.  What can I do to comfort them, I, who have never lost a baby?   I, who still have my 6 month old baby.  I felt helpless, yet to do nothing was not an option. I grieved with them. My husband built coffins for the two bodies. We gave food.  We continue to check up on them.  They have questions that are hard to answer.   Why does God allow it to happen?  

Our national pastor, Jorim, and his wife, Tabtitha, were one of the sets of parents.  It was their first born child, Esline. She was such a chubby, happy baby and the delight of her parents.  Her mom told me how happy Esline made her.  She was smiling and interacting with them.  Tabitha asked who would now make her smile.  

The other couple, Steve and Jenny, lost their third child.  His name was Emil.  He was 9 months old.  This family has only been saved a few months.  They have questioned why it seemed many hardships have come into their lives since they became Christians.  Mark shared with them from the book of Job.  

              

We pray the Lord takes our feeble attempts and blesses it to bring comfort to these lives. 

  Jorim and Tabitha with Baby Esline already deceased.

Esline's "haus krai" (pronounced "house cry")

Esline in her coffin

Emil in his coffin

Emil grave picture.  They don't bury the bodies straight down.  They dig another hole and place the body in an earthen vault.  We theorize they don't want to throw dirt on the top of the body but we haven't actually asked why they do it that way.

Pictures of Glory

(written by Jamie Parfitt)

Christi asked me to put a few pictures of Glory on her blog, as it is difficult to keep a connection out in the bush, long enough to upload pictures.

I know that these needed to be cropped, but since it took me so long to find time to upload them, I thought I had better just get the job finished so you could all see sweet Glory.

PLEASE BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN AND READ MARK'S POST ABOUT HIS RECENT BUSH HIKE. :-)

~ Jamie

Mark's trip to Tengama (written by Mark)

Subject: Helzerman Update

Dear Friends,

(This is about my walk to Tengama, Morobe Province, this past week end.)

Thank you all for praying for me as I finished this "missionary journey." The phrase "hazarded their lives" from the Bible (Acts 15:26) kept on coming to my mind while walking this mountain trail. It was really nothing to compare to what the Apostle Paul and others faced, but it was a taste for sure. If it wasn't for the sustaining Hand of Father I would have slipped to great injury or death. I did injure my rib cage when I slipped once, so it was hurting pretty badly by the time we arrived back home. It may need to be X-rayed when I go into POM the first week of June. Hopefully it is only a bruised rib. 

It took 12 hours of hard climbing up steep places, through crags and crevices. Most of the walk was on a ledge with a steep place to the left or right. It was all jungle, so if I had slipped down, a tree or other brush would have slowed me down (with injury, no doubt). Some large rocks with holes in the trail were the worst of the danger. If I would have stepped in the wrong place, my whole body would have gone down inside (who knows how far) into a crevice. The last 5 hours of this first part was with the addition of rain, making the path almost unbearable. I was almost in constant prayer for Father to sustain me to the end as I forced one foot in front of the other. We (Yonias and I) had to walk the last hour to Tengama in the dark, but made it safe by the Grace of God. 

Because of lack of good cell phone service in Tengama, we were not able to contact Brother (Pastor) David about when we would be coming. We had mentioned it to him about 2 months ago, but of recent, could not call him. Our arrival was a pleasant surprise to him and his wife. They gave us a warm fire and cooked some "bush" food and rice that we had brought. I was not able to eat much, and by 8:30 p.m. I went to sleep in dry clothes, a soft "bed," and a warm blanket!  

Saturday we were sore, to say the least, but we were put to the work right away. Pastor David asked me to preach at the market place, which we did around 11:00 a.m. I was not the first "white man" to come to Tengama, but it had been a few years since the last one had come. The young children were really afraid of me, but the older children and youths were not. I was a gazing stock to most everybody, though. Most of these bashful, backward jungle people don't get out to any large town, and I was the "entertainment" for their weekend. 

The afternoon of Saturday was a time of rest, and they fed us well. I only eat small portions at a time, and they would serve 3 times the amount I could eat. Saturday evening Pastor David invited some of his extended family for a "devotional" from me. It was a sweet time of fellowship, and they were like hungry children for the Bread of Life. Pastor David is "feeding" first generation Christians, so everything from the Bible is new and refreshing. 

Sunday I preached 2 times and there were many in attendance. I estimate over 200, possibly 300. The reward of this trip was that 4 woman were saved. The woman here are much more receptive, but the men are much more skeptical. Many times the testimonies of the saved women win the hearts of their lost men. The church had recently had gone through some spiritual/physical challenges, causing many to be discouraged. Pastor David said this unexpected visit was a great encouragement to him, his family, and the church as a whole. For this, the trip was worth the many hours of difficult walking, climbing, and sometimes crawling on all fours. Even if this pain in my rib never goes away, it will be "a mark in my body" to remind me Father cares for His own and that the people of Tengama were strengthened.

Sunday evening, Pastor David invited his extended family again for some Bible time. They asked questions and many stories were given to encourage them in their Christian walk. This again was a sweet time of fellowship that went until 9:00 p.m. It was hard to break free from their longing eyes to hear more. They, too, were beginning to be weary in body but wanting to soak up every minute of our visit. 

Monday, Father gave us such good weather.  There were 6 others that joined us for the walk back and showed us a "short-cut" that helped avoid an hour of some of the dangers at hand. It was still difficult with this already-tired body. We actually were able to rest a few times along the road home. So in totality, it was a 23-hour walk in rocks and rills (without the frills). But I know I will see some faces of these bashful mountain people giving glory to God in the Heavenlies!  Some of Revelation 7:9,10 will be fulfilled from this 4 day trip. Praise the Lord! 

For His Glory,

Mark Helzermans

Glory Ruth Helzerman's Saga

Every person has a story.  I'd like to share Glory's with you.

To start off,  her conception was not planned on our part.  We believe God had her planned, though, from the foundations of the world.  Though we thought we were finished with our family, we are glad that we have her added to us.

We had just arrived back to America for furlough when she was conceived.  It was a pleasant surprise to find out that after 5 years we would again be having another baby.  I must insert that our other children were praying for a sibling. :)  

We were very busy on furlough, traveling from place to place.  I was able to have a few prenatal check ups and 2 ultrasounds.  The 2nd ultrasound revealed that we would be having a girl.  Most of  the family was voting for boy but a few were holding out for a girl.  We were all satisfied though that the girl is what God wanted for us.

After we left the ultrasound place, we began discussing girl names.  The kids made an observation that we had two "T" names (Tabitha, Titus), two "S" names (Samuel, Serenity) and two "H" names (Hadassah, Hope), but we only had one "G" name (Grace).  So we started throwing out girl names that began with "G".  Daddy brought up Glory and everyone liked that name.  Jokingly he originally said, "Glory Hallelujah".   Then later we discussed using his Grandmother on his father's side's name, Ruth, as the middle name.  Everyone in the family liked that. Though other names were tossed around this is what we decided on.

Where would we have the baby?  That was the next question to be answered.  We were already in the states on furlough.  We had round trip tickets back to Australia in January.  We were looking at a due date around March 30.  (According to my second ultrasound.  My original date that I gave myself was March 25 which just so happened to be the day she was born.)  We prayed about it and decided to have her in PNG.

This would entail coming into the city and having her.  We made arrangements with MAPANG, the mission house we stay in, for the rooms needed for that time.  We made these early on as MAPANG is a great place to stay and is often booked out in advance.

We did all our checkups and prepared to leave the states with a paper from my midwife saying I was fit to travel.  All went well with the flights.  We left a very cold, snowy New York to land in a hot tropical Cairns, Australia.  We were able to enjoy three days there to get back on the same time zone.  It was restful after the long flight.  After a quick 5 days in Port Moresby for supplies we were finally home.

I was able to have the clinic worker, Lillian, in Kaintiba check the baby and her position.  All was well.  Head was down.

Jamie Parfitt and her 4 youngest children came to help out with the birth and events surrounding it.  They arrived into Kaintiba on Feb. 27.  The story of excitement on that day will have to be written in a future blog post!

As time drew closer for our departure to the city for her birth, the weather turned very rainy due to some cyclones in the ocean between PNG and Australia.  Matt Allen was supposed to fly us in some supplies on March 2, and then pick up Jamie, her two youngest girls, Naomi and Karen, and me on March 9 to fly to Port Moresby (POM).  Because of the rainy weather he was not able to make either of those flights so he suggested we find another route.  We contacted SIL to pick us up.  They also were delayed in getting us as we were scheduled to leave March 9.   We finally were able to leave Wednesday, March 11.

On Sunday, March 15, we were supposed to pick up my midwife, Amy Reynolds, and our "nanny," Angel Rowe.  They missed their flight in LA which brought them in on Monday, March 16.  From there, Angel flew to Kaintiba on Wednesday, March 18, and Mark flew into POM on that return flight.

We had only to wait till Saturday night to start having contractions.  I was 1 1/2 cm dilated to start.  We had some good contractions Saturday night and into Sunday.  It made me dilate to 3 cm.  The contractions were sporadic then until Tuesday.  I noticed that in the afternoon on Tuesday the contractions seem to be coming back but I had decided I would ignore them until I could ignore them no more.  So in the evening the contractions intensified.  Amy checked me and I was 4cm dilated with  contractions coming about 2 min. apart.  We decided we would go to the hospital (clinic as it is called but it is a hospital).  We got there at 10:45 and got checked in. The PNG midwife checked me and decided I could stay.  I think they thought I didn't look like I was in that much pain.  :) We walked around the hallway a little bit then we just walked in the room we were in.  My friend Jamie, who was there to help, suggested I try walking through the contractions.  I found it helped more than I thought it would.  My legs started to feel shaky as I was walking through contractions and I had hit transition.  Mark had to go get the midwife to come as they were checking me only every hour.  She came and broke my water.  Then I felt I needed to have a bowel movement but as Jamie was helping me to the toilet, I realized it was the baby coming.  We quickly got to the bed and I started pushing and had her shortly after that at 1:04 a.m.  She weighed 6 lbs. 8 oz. and was 19" long.

So this completes the story of her birth.  I shall try to keep up on blogging better as I haven't posted anything in over a year.

P.S. From Jamie: For anyone wondering, the young girls went to stay with a local family Tuesday evening, once we thought it was likely we would be going to the hospital that night. :-)