Dear Friends,

Villagers in PNG desire a higher level of education for their children. Unfortunately, the school fees increase significantly as students advance and go on to distant high schools. With few employment opportunities for men, they try cash cropping, either coffee, cocoa, vanilla, or oil palm. However, the high cost of transportation in certain areas or wide price for their commodities limit the profits from their work.

親愛的朋友們：

在新幾內亞，村民們期望兒女們能達成高一些的教育程度。不幸的是，上了高年級，孩子們離家上高中的費用高得嚇人。男人就業的機會不多，他們就嘗試種植經濟作物，像是咖啡、可可、香草或油棕等等。然而，許多(偏遠)地區運費高昂，以及產品價格的巨幅震盪，導致農民獲益有限。 

5In many families it’s the wife who literally carries the burden of making up the shortfall for school fees. They labor in gardens or catch fish to have something to sell and raise funds.  Many women carry string bags on their backs loaded with sago, sweet potatoes, taro, garden produce, or fish to the market six days a week. It’s challenging for mothers as they also must pay attention to other household tasks and ensure that their family has sufficient food.

在多數家庭，孩子學費的重擔實際上要由婦女負擔。她們販賣園中作物及捕撈的漁獲來積攢所需的費用。一個星期有六天，她們把西谷粉團、番薯、芋頭、菜園裡的菜、捕到的魚等等…裝進編織的網袋中，把重擔頂在身後，揹到市場。對於當媽媽的人，著實不易，因為她們還得操持家務，並要料理一家大小的餐食。 

One of the reasons many want to attend sewing classes run by Sandy Heidema is because they want to make and sell clothes. That could happen but the goal of the sewing classes is for the trained women to start a Dorcas Fellowship in the churches they attend.  In these church groups they would lead Bible story devotions for other women and then also mentor others in sewing.  Sandy’s classes begin with basics then increase in difficulty at each level. Progressing to the next level for those with rusty math or poor reading skills tests the perseverance of students. When students complete their projects, it brings them so much joy.

很多人想要來上Sandy的縫紉課，其中一個原因是想要做衣服來賣。這也不是不可以。但是，縫紉課程的主要目的是要訓練婦女在她們自己的教會設立多加團契。在教會的多加團契，她們要透過聖經故事說書，帶領其他婦女查經靈修；並且教她們縫紉。Sandy的課程由基礎開始，一級一級循序漸進。對這些數學不通又閱讀困難的婦女來說，要晉升到下一個級數，需要極大的毅力。當她們完成作品時，總是欣喜萬分。 

Sandy desires to improve her class’s ability to sew by utilizing better equipment. The low quality of the imported hand cranked sewing machines presently used causes a lot of lost time due to repair issues.  Sandy has tried an industrial sewing machine and wants to upgrade to that model for her students. Hopefully six machines will be available for the class. Possibly later after women are trained, they could rent the machines for their personal projects and generate some income for their family’s needs.

Sandy希望能夠有更好的設備來增進課堂學員的縫紉技術。目前所使用的進口手槳式縫紉機品質低劣，修理機器佔據大多課堂時間。Sandy自己買來一部工業用縫紉機，經一段時間使用之後，決定要將課堂學生使用的機器汰換成同一款工業用縫紉機。如果可以，我們希望能買六部作為課堂使用。在非課堂時間，婦女們可以來租用縫紉機做她們自己想做來賣的作品，讓她們能夠幫補家計。 

PIM desires to bring the “good news of Christ” to people in rural regions of Papua New Guinea by ministering to spiritual, education, and physical needs. This word and deed approach has the mission involved in multiple endeavors including literature distribution and publishing of educational materials used for religious instruction, Sunday schools or by pastors, holding annual training seminars for Pastors and church workers, Christian elementary schools, aid posts for medical care in villages, construction of classrooms, rainwater catchments, aid posts and other community projects such as developing airstrips for remote villages.
PIM的事工是屬靈、教育及身體需求三者合一的，將「基督的福音」帶給新幾內亞偏遠地區的居民。言及履行的宣教策略包括繁多的事工項目，有學校宗教教育及主日學及牧師們使用的教材出版及書籍發送、為眾教會舉辦的年度教牧同工研習會、興辦基督教小學、設立部落裡的醫療站、興建教室、建造雨水收集系統，以及其它社區發展的項目，例如偏遠部落的飛機跑道。

We appreciate your support through the years which has helped thousands in Papua New Guinea.

Yours in Christ,  Douglas Heidema

我們感激您多年來的支持，新幾內亞成千上萬的人受益其中

主內

道格拉斯‧海德瑪