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This book is provided free of charge. However, if you would like to make a gift to the ongoing work of the author and his work with Wycliffe Bible Translators and help cover the cost of producing this book and others like it, please go to: Supporting Charles and Barbara Micheals' Work With Wycliffe Bible Translators
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Norman Victor Appleton1
Winter Park, Florida
1
Australian Information Service. (1951). [Portrait of Norman Victor Appleton]. http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an22721216
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© 2015 Charles J. Micheals
Published by the Aiyura Valley Historical Society
Winter Park, Florida
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher.
ISBN: Pending
First Printing 2015 (Not for Sale)
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.
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To the men and women who have served the Christian missionary workers of Papua New Guinea so faithfully.
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Missionary work is tiring! People are all around and crowds can quickly gather when a missionary comes to a village to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, teach a class, show a Christian video or to give aid. In these situations crowds can come early and stay late and when spiritual or physical needs are pressing, there can almost be no stop to one’s labors.
Jesus experienced this when traveling around the area of his hometown of Nazareth. A full day of teaching, healing the sick, casting our demons and feeding the five thousand brought Him to a place of needing a solitary place where he and his apostles could come apart and rest.
Mark 6: 30- 31, “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” A place of rest when traveling in many countries can be found at almost every highway intersection. Restaurants line the streets with an endless variety of cuisine from almost everywhere in the world. Yet, to the traveling pioneer missionary, places to rest are far and few between and many times the missionary will have to lay his head on the barest of pillows, a rucksack or the hard ground. Food can be what is available from a garden or a shared pot of stew of whatever type of animal may be around. In these cases,
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any chance for the missionary to find that place of respite, that place with familiar food and a friendly host and hostesses is like finding a diamond in the rough.
The missionary staff at Ukarumpa had experienced such hardships for the sake of the Gospel as they ventured into New Guinea in those early years. In the 1950s, the Eastern Highlands where the Ukarumpa missionary training center is located was still in some ways hostile territory with people who knew little of the laws of the land and who were living in the most primitive like conditions. Thus, the mission staff knew firsthand the importance of quickly building a Guest House to not only provide a place of restful transit and quiet spiritual reflection for missionary staff coming and going from village locations, but also for newly arriving or departing workers.
The Ukarumpa Guest House has remained as committed today as it was when it was first built to providing clean, safe accommodations with healthy and delicious meals to missionary staff. As space allowed, the Guest House has been opened up for visiting families, businessmen passing through and government officials, including Prime Ministers of the country.
The number of staff who have served as host and hostess is large and the local men and women who have helped shoulder the work and cared for the upkeep of the facility and the cooking and cleaning of meals is even larger. Each one has added to the overall success of the home and the growth of Bible translation work in the country. Everyone who has stayed in the Guest House, including the author many times, have appreciated their sacrifice so guests could have that much needed touch of home as well as a place to rest.
The short story that follows is mainly about the building of the Guest House. As time allows, more information may be added to the book. However, the book while describing the sacrifice of the builders and hosts, it is really the story of what God is doing to bring His Word to the people of Papua New Guinea. Therefore, the book is written to give Glory to God for the great things He has done!
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My thanks go to the following people who helped make this book possible:
Debbie Gittins, daughter of Eric Robert Barham who forwarded the stories and photos to the author and the great niece of Norman V. Appleton (Norman was the brother of Debbie’s grandmother). Eric Robert Barham, builder of the Guest House who shared his story of building the Guest House and provided most of the photos in the book. Ivan Schindler, son of Aubrey and Ancie Schindler, Director of the Highlands Agricultural Experiment Station when the SIL center at Ukarumpa located in Aiyura Valley was founded in 1956. Ivan has graciously allowed his families photos to be used in this book. David Carne, son of Ron and Joan Carne who took over the Highlands Agricultural Experiment Station when the Schindler family left in the mid-1970s. David has graciously allowed his families photos to be used in this book. Alex and Lois Vincent, Bible translators for the Tairora people, located near Ukarumpa. They provided historical information about Ukarumpa and a map of the area.
A special word of thanks goes to my wife Barb for her patience with me during the time it took to collect material and to write this book. She encouraged me to keep working on this project and gave advice on many practical things. She also helped with editing and proofreading. Without her help, this work would not have been completed. Many others, too numerous to name also helped with bits and pieces used in the book for which I am grateful.
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orman Victor Appleton (b. January 26, 1897 – d. March 1, 1958) was first and foremost a Christian man with a love for Christ and His church. He also loved frontier missions and the work of Bible translation. In his life he became best known as the inventor and manufacturer of NACO products. He was especially known for his invention of louvered windows. However, his company, N. Appleton Company, produced and sold other products (e.g. clothes hoists, steel frames for sheds and factories, washing machines and single electric clothes dryers.). The company he founded is still in existence today, although the products sold by NACO is now somewhat different.
Norman and Nell Appleton (Photo Courtesy of Eric Barham)
Norman’s passions for mission was matched by his wife Nell, whom he married in May 1923. Their first gift towards the work of Bible transition in New Guinea went toward the building of the Meeting House at the headquarters of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) in Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea. The gift of money from Norman and Nell came at the right time as God had provided the right man to build the Meeting House.
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1958 - Meeting House at Ukarumpa (Photo Courtesy of Gail May)
1965 - Meeting House at Ukarumpa (Photo Courtesy of Gail May)
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1961 - Walt and Vonnie Steinkraus in New Guinea (Photo Courtesy of the Evangelical Free Church Memorial, Sheboygan, Wisconsin)
Walt and Vonnie Steinkraus arrived in Ukarumpa in May of 1957. They were newlyweds who had recently finished their Bible translation training and while awaiting a place to begin their Bible translation work in the country Walt put his construction skills to use in helping build the Meeting House. Walt was a farm boy who had honed his carpentry skills while working part time while working on the family farm in Gladwin, Michigan. Walt poured cement in ten-foot squares for the floor, doing it all by hand with a wheel barrow with a wooden wheel that he built. With the help of a few other men at Ukarumpa, Walt help construct the Meeting House. When electricity reached the center a few years after Walt and Vonnie arrived, Walt used his electrical skills he learned at the Coyne Electrical Institute while attending Wheaton College to wire the Meeting House and other Ukarumpa buildings.
Walt and Vonnie went on in 1961 to do Bible translation work with the Tifalmin people in the Star Mountain region of the Sepik Province. They were tragically buried alive with their two children and seven villagers in a very unusual landslide in their village in 1971.2
2
Called By My Name by Charles Micheals - http://issuu.com/cbmicheals/docs/calledbymyname
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he Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) in Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea is located in Aiyura Valley in the Eastern Highlands near the foreboding Bismarck Mountain Range. The valley had been the location of the Peacock Plantation, a failed commercial coffee venture, but before that the plot of land was disputed ground and was fought over by surrounding language communities (and traditional enemies), the Gadsup and the Tairora. Because the Australian government, governing the Territory of New Guinea in 1956 wanted to separate the two warring sides SIL saw it as an ideal place for their work.
Ukarumpa in 1956 – Dr. Jim Dean explores Aiyura Valley (Photo Courtesy of SIL PNG Branch Archives)
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A 99-year lease for the 600 acres at Ukarumpa was discussed and eventually was approved by the government. The lease was signed by Dr. Richard Pittman from SIL and witnessed by the first SIL Papua and New Guinea Branch Director, Dr. Jim Dean on 4 October, 1956.
While unknown at the time was the incredibly large number of languages located on half of the island known as Papua New Guinea. Estimating there were a few hundred languages in the territory when they started their work, SIL soon discovered over 800 distinct languages with virtually no Bible translation work started in any of them. A large center for operations was needed and amongst the facilities needed was a guest house to handle the many visitors and the translation and support workers arriving.
Norman and his wife Nell visited Ukarumpa sometime in either late 1957 or very early 1958 to see the Meeting House and the work. Soon afterward in 1958 Norman passed away. His wife Nell heard of the need for a Guest House and donated the funds for its construction. The Guest House was named in Norman’s honor.
Around 1965 - SIL Ukarumpa Center in Aiyura Valley (Photo Courtesy of Wycliffe Bible Translators, USA Archives)
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ric Robert Barham built the Guest house in three stages over a three year period of time. Eric, a single 20 year old Australian man at the time, along with Doyt Price from Fremont, Ohio in the United States who was married to Irene, worked during the months of April to August in 1964 on the first stage of the Guest House. They were joined by five willing, but untrained local New Guinea men. The five men learned carpentry on the job, which was remarkable because Eric first came to Ukarumpa not knowing the trade language, Melanesian Tok Pisin. Somehow, Eric was able to communicate with Doyt’s help and the project was started.
The day Eric arrived at Ukarumpa he was given a quick tour of the Ukarumpa mission center, given a quick tour of the sawmill, shown the store, introduced to the five men and was then left to do the work! As a tribute to the skill of Eric and his new friends, the first stage was completed by the time Eric returned to Brisbane, Australia in August 1964.
Upon his return to Australia Eric help build his local church and after finishing that building project at 2:00 am on October 10, 1964, Eric found time that same day to marry his sweetheart, Jane Steadman Young (Jane was known as Jean). After spending another six months in Brisbane he returned to Ukarumpa with Jean in April 1965 to begin work on the second stage of the Guest House.
Eric and Jean took along with them their nephew Ken Smith who later on would design and make the wrought iron railings on the Guest House. Ken was familiar with New Guinea as his parents and Eric’s sister and brother-in-law were missionaries with New Tribes Mission with the Gimi people in the Highlands of New Guinea. Doyt and the local men also rejoined the project and the work progressed on the second stage. They worked from April until September.
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In January 1966 Eric and Jean had a baby girl Debbie and so Jean stayed back in Australia while Eric travelled back to Ukarumpa to work on the third stage. (Eventually Eric and Jean had two more children, Kelvin in 1967 and Allan in 1968.)
1971 - Eric and Jean Barham (Children L – R) Allan, Kelvin and Debbie with the family Poodle Misskiss at their home in Brisbane, Australia (Photo Courtesy of Debbie Gettins)
In May 1966, Willis Bowman, a Wycliffe pilot had to bring the Aztec airplane used in New Guinea to Sydney, Australia for servicing. To break up the flight to Sydney, he overnighted in Brisbane, Australia and stayed with Jean and Debbie. Just before leaving Brisbane the next morning Willis casually mentioned to Jean, “You can travel with me to New Guinea if you can get your papers organized before I return to Brisbane."
Well, an opportunity like that was not to be missed. So, when the plane was serviced and ready to head back to New Guinea Willis, Jean and Debbie (barely 4 months old) returned to Ukarumpa. What a wonderful surprise when Jean and Debbie arrived at Ukarumpa!
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1972 – The Piper Aztec Aircraft VH-SIL at Ukarumpa (Photo Courtesy Glennis Hunt)
Note – In 1972 Eric returned to Ukarumpa to build an extension on Ukarumpa Chief pilot, Doug Hunt’s home. The extension included a large bay window to overlook the airstrip and take in the surrounding weather conditions. Doug took time off to help work on the extension. He felt he had added extra pressure to the other pilots in his absence while constructing the extension. So, he volunteered to pilot the Aztec on a fateful flight on April 7, 1972 even though technically still on his break. The airplane caught on fire after leaving the coastal town of Lae and crashed. All seven people onboard the plane died.
Eric remained in New Guinea after the crash with Jean and the children, but they all moved for a time to the Sepik Province where SIL had a center of operations at Wayembunge. Doyt and Irene Price had recently moved there to establish the SIL Wayembunge Center just outside of Maprik to support the growing Bible translation work in that region. Eric was able to help them finish their house there as well as help with other building projects.
In 1976 Eric, Jean and the three children, Debbie (10), Kelvin (9) and Allan (8) went to Sydney, Australia to go to the SIL Linguistic school there. Upon completing the course, they travelled back to New Guinea to Nobonob, in Madang Province to attend SIL’s “Jungle Camp". After finishing that cultural training course they had a brief stay in Ukarumpa before heading back to serve at the SIL Wayembunge Center. They eventually returned to Australia in November 1981.
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1972 - Eric, Jean and the three children, Debbie (6), Kelvin (5) and Allan (4) leaving Ukarumpa on their way to the SIL Wayembunge Center (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
Over the years Eric had the privilege of building 18 houses between 1976 and 1981 for the translators who lived in villages in the Sepik area. He also salvaged a bulldozer and constructed a "one of a kind" vehicle for Literacy worker Carl Brown and created a helicopter pad on rails that rotated so that Bob Weimer, the SIL helicopter pilot could park the helicopter in the hangar on his own. Most of the components for these projects he obtained from Wewak Refuse Dump. Jean helped out by operating the radio schedule, shopping for the translation teams, coordinating flights for translators and with the myriad of work associated with raising a family and keeping a house. Eric is still living (2015) and Jean passed away in 2009.
Note - Doyt Price and Irene were married in 1945 and joined Wycliffe in 1960. They were assigned as support workers at Ukarumpa in 1961. Doyt managed the sawmill and together they helped with numerous projects at the Ukarumpa center such as at the Guest House and in various village areas. They also served as house parents for Bible translators’ children. In 1966, they went to India and again served as house parents. They came back to New Guinea in 1971 where he served in construction work and they assisted local people with projects. They moved for a time in 1972 to the East Sepik Province where SIL 16 | P a g e
had a center of operations at Wayembunge. In 1981 Doyt and Irene moved to Dallas, Texas to work with SIL in the Member Services department. They eventually returned to Papua New Guinea (now an independent country) for a short period of time in 1985, but returned to Dallas and eventually retired in April 1997. Doyt passed away in 2004 and Irene in 2013.
Doyt and Irene Price the SIL Wayembunge Center (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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emarkably, most of the second stage of the Ukarumpa Guest House was built from a single tree from a forest on the outskirts of the valley. Getting to the forest wasn’t a problem, but cutting a large tree down and transporting it to the Ukarumpa Center was no small effort. However, knowing that God had begun this work of giving God’s Word into the language of every language community in New Guinea was a work Eric and Doyt knew could only be done with the enabling of the Lord. Relying on the Lord to give them strength, Eric and Doyt set off to look for the timber needed to build the Guest House.
1950s – Aiyura Valley (Photo Courtesy of Ivan Schindler)
Aiyura Valley where the Guest House was to be situated at is a delightful place. It has warm days and cool nights and plenty of open space to build on. However, in 1956 when Wycliffe started its work at Ukarumpa
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1952 - View of Aiyura Valley from the top house at the Aiyura Agricultural Research Station (Photo Courtesy of the David Carne)
all of the valley was covered with kunai grass and a swamp reed known as Pit Pit. Trees were nowhere to be found in the valley. For any house building at Ukarumpa, trees had to be hauled in from the nearby forests. Not only did a sufficient number of suitable trees for house building need to be found for the Guest House, but any large tree needed to be near a river which would provide the transportation to get the timber to Ukarumpa. God supplied both.
On the edge of the valley was an agricultural station that had been established in the late 1930s. Aubrey and Ancie Schindler were the station directors and their support to SIL provided much assistance in establishing the valley.3 There were some trees near the Agricultural station, but the trees there were not big enough for the timber needed for the Guest House, so timber had to be secured in a forested area a little to the northwest of Aiyura Valley.
3
The Foundation of Aiyura Valley by Charles Micheals - http://issuu.com/cbmicheals/docs/the_foundation_of_aiyura_valley
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(Note: The Pine Forest that the timber was harvested from was immediately above and slightly left of the SIL writing in the top left corner. The logs and slabs were then floated "up" (on the page) towards the bridge on the Aiyura-Kainantu Road, then trucked to Ukarumpa.)
1950s Patrol Officer map of Aiyura Valley area (Map Courtesy of Alex and Lois Vincent)
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One of the pine trees in that virgin forest area was the perfect tree for the Guest House. It was large enough to build the whole second stage. However, cutting it took a significant amount of work. Using a large tree cutting saw that Eric had shipped from Australia, the tree eventually was toppled and work commenced in cutting the tree down so it could be pulled by hand in small sections to a nearby river.
Doyt Price (Left) and Eric Barham (Right) cut down a single tree was used to construct the second stage (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
Once the tree was cut down, it was cut into sections and then milled on site using the same chain saw which was made into a portable saw mill using an attachment that Eric had also shipped from Australia. After the flitches were cut and milled the sections were pulled to the river using chains with the help of the local men from the valley. Once the logs were in the shallow water, great effort was made in maneuvering the large logs over stone and river debris as the logs. Eventually the logs made their way by river to the nearby town of Kainantu and then were brought to Ukarumpa by truck where they were taken to the SIL sawmill to be cut into boards.
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Doyt Price (Left), Ken Smith (Center) and Eric Barham (Right) by cut down tree (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
Doyt Price (Left) and Jim Parlier (right) with local men using the portable sawmill (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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Doyt Price (Left) and Jim Parlier (Right) with local men using the portable sawmill (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
Doyt Price (Right) with local men using portable sawmill (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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The flitches were floated and pulled down the river (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
Doyt Price (Left) and Eric Barham (Right) floating with flitches down the river (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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Eric Barham (Left), Doyt Price (Center) and Ken Smith (Right) floating with flitches down the river with the help of local men (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
Posts loaded for milling (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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Construction sawmill operator Sali (from the Kamano language community) at the Ukarumpa Construction department sawmill (Photo Courtesy of the SIL PNG Branch Archives)
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efore any ground work was begun on the Guest House, proper equipment had to be secured. As there were no heavy equipment companies anywhere near Ukarumpa and with little funds to buy a new one, a red front end loader/scooper and tractor were borrowed from a nearby large commercial garden venture that Lex Collier managed. A bulldozer was also donated for the work. A few years later these pieces of equipment were used in construction of the Store4 and Printshop built at Ukarumpa.
The loader/scooper, tractor and bulldozer proved to be invaluable pieces of equipment. However, while some work was saved with these earth moving pieces of equipment, all the concrete still had to be mixed with just a small mixer. The gravel used in the cement work came from the nearby Bae River. As the Ukarumpa center grew over the years, eventually a gravel wash area was built.
Eric Barham excavating the site for the Guest House (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham) 4
God’s Grocers by Charles Micheals - http://issuu.com/cbmicheals/docs/godsgrocers_chapters5-8
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Eric Barham and Doyt Price preparing the site for the Guest House (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
Doyt Price and local men mixing cement for the Guest House foundation (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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A QUICK GUEST HOUSE BUILDING OVERVIEW
The first stage of the Guest House went up quickly during the first year of work. Walls were woven from the Pit Pit from the nearby swamp areas. Work on the second stage required more workers as the Guest House would become a two story building that needed to be excavated first. A call went out for more people to help.
Ken Smith, using his handyman skills, answered the call to help. He and the local men, now trained in basic carpentry skills by Doyt, helped out and the work picked up steam. Eric and Doyt trained the local Aiyura Valley men to assemble the wall studs and trusses at the Ukarumpa sawmill. They were then transported to the building site.
Once the walls and roof of the second stage were up, it was necessary to begin work on the inside. Doyt Price made good use of his cabinet making skills not only in building of the cabinets in the kitchen area, but also when finishing the inside ceiling in the main living room lounge and dining room by using some very clever and unique techniques to give the beams and plywood ceiling a very smooth join and finish. Doyt also built the original coffee table and chairs used in the living room lounge area.
The third stage contained the majority of the Guest House rooms for the guests. As the Guest House Managers flat was already livable and the main dining and kitchen facilities complete, work eventually commenced on the third stage.
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Pit Pit being flattened for the temporary walls (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
Pit Pit being woven for the temporary walls (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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ow that the ground work had been completed, it was time to commence building. Armed with nothing more than a vision, a few hand tools, a small group of builders and a desire to work hard, the three year effort to build the Guest House began.
With little infrastructure such as roads, telecommunications and supply stores in the Eastern Highlands to keep the work moving ahead, the small band of workers had to rely on their ingenuity to accomplish the task. The task was limited not only by time saving devices like power tools, but the daylight in which to work was short due to the location of Ukarumpa. Located just a few degrees from the Equator meant daylight broke at 6:00 am and the sun set at 6:00 pm.
While there are definite seasons at Ukarumpa, they can be described really only in two ways. The ‘wet season’ and the ‘wetter season’. Most of the year it is the ‘wetter season’ and yearly rainfall averages 120 inches a year (compared to Orlando, Florida, USA which averages less than 60 inches per year). Only a few months a year are somewhat dry, but on most days the evening rains pound the mountain region. While working at Ukarumpa normally means sunny mornings, downpours are often experience mid-morning and sudden downpours crop up on most afternoon. Work had to stop and tools and timber needed to be cared for properly in order to ensure their continued use on the project. During the wettest season torrential rain falls from 9 :00 pm until 6:00 am the next morning producing a noise so loud on the tinned roofs of Ukarumpa that it is difficult to carry on a conversation! Thus it was time to only work and try and sleep!
Despite these difficulties, the dedicated construction team kept a steady pace. Training the local men in carpentry skills took time and having to figure out how to overcome some building difficulties meant slight delays. However, at the end of each of the three phases the work was always completed on time.
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Building trusses in the sawmill for the second stage (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
Eric Barham transporting trusses from the sawmill for the second stage (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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Adding on to the first stage with woven Pit Pit walls which were woven by local people (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
Commencing the basement of the second stage (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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Commencing the basement and flooring of the second stage (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
Front side of second stage – Living room/lounge area – Rooms to the far right of the porch area were the Guest House Manager’s flat (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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Backside of the second stage – Kitchen area (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
Backside of the second stage with local carpenters – Kitchen area (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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Backside of the second stage – Kitchen area is almost complete, front porch area in construction stage (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
Ceiling of the Living room/lounge area (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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Ken Smith welding the balustrade of the stairs (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
Wrought iron work with the initials N.V.A (Norman Victor Appleton) in the uprights. Stairs built by Ken Smith (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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Original Guest House kitchen area (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
Original living room inside the Guest House (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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1965 - Second Stage complete (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
1966 - Third Stage begins (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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1966 - Building the flooring of the third stage (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
1966 - Third Stage nears completion (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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1966 - Third Stage almost complete (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
1966 - Third Stage almost complete (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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1966 - Third Stage almost complete (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
1966 - Third Stage almost complete (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
The Guest House was formally dedicated on June 18, 1967. An Open House was held in conjunction with the completion of the JAARS radio building. The first Host and Hostess were George and Em Cummings.
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1967 – Guest House at Ukarumpa is complete (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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ther than an occasional coat of paint over the original walls and a now well established and expansive set of flower gardens, the Guest House has remained virtually unchanged since it was built. The distinctive white and blue colors still welcome visitors as it has for decades. The fact that so little has changed is a real tribute to the forethought of the builders. Not only has it met the need of countless thousands of visitors over the years, but is has kept pace with the need as the work has expanded significantly from the early days of less than 30 translation to today with over 250 translation projects started.
Sketched map of language communities with Bible translation work started by the mid-1960s. The Steinkrauses started working with the Tifalmin people in 1961. This map was used for making the Steinkraus Memorial at the Evangelical Free Church in Sheboygan, WI. (Photo Courtesy of memorial designer Edwin Vinson)
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The basement of the Guest House for many years served not only as a storage area for the Guest House, but has been the office of the Housing Department which has had oversight of all units that are rented out on the Ukarumpa Center. Over the years dozens of friends have also gathered beneath the Norman V. Appleton sign as they said goodbyes and shed tears as missionary staff left for furlough or were going ‘finish’. There were also shouts of joy beneath the sign when the bus from Aviation dropped off a returning family from furlough. While newly arriving members may have felt apprehensive when first arriving at the Guest House, a step inside has always provided them with a warm and welcoming environment.
A number of early leaders of Wycliffe’s work in New Guinea stayed at the Guest House, including Dr. Richard Pittman and his wife Catherine (Kay). Dr. Pittman was the leader who officially signed the contract in 1956 with the Australian government for the 99 year government lease of the land on which Ukarumpa sits.
Dr. Richard and Catherine (Kay) Pittman at the Guest House (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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Dr. Richard and Catherine (Kay) Pittman with Guest House hosts George and Em Cummings (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
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1973 – SIL Ukarumpa Center The large building to the left is the SIL Members’ Store5 (Photo Courtesy of the SIL PNG Branch Archives)
Inside the Guest House the rooms are nicely decorated with items featuring Papua New Guinea art, paintings and interesting bug and butterfly collections. A small shop of locally made carvings, baskets and bilums has always provided the family leaving last minute gifts to take home. Delicious and healthy meals are served on two large round tables with fresh fruit and vegetables and cereal, sandwiches or warm meals as appropriate. Visitors around the table soon have made good friends in such a welcoming atmosphere.
5
God’s Grocers by Charles Micheals - http://issuu.com/cbmicheals/docs/godsgrocers_chapters1-4, http://issuu.com/cbmicheals/docs/godsgrocers_chapters5-8
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2015 – Interior of the Guest House (Photo Courtesy of Todd Lindley)
2015 – Interior of the Guest House (Photo Courtesy of Todd Lindley)
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Rooms are furnished with basic necessities and a clean, soft comfortable bed await each guest as it has from the beginning. Books and magazines are available for guests to use and a small play area is available for young children.
2015 – Interior of the Guest House (Photo Courtesy of Todd Lindley)
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1989 – Guest House (Photo Courtesy of Eric Robert Barham)
2015 – Guest House (Photo Courtesy of Courtney Davis)
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2009 – Wycliffe Bible Translator’s GET Global short term team – (Left to right) Paula McFarland (PNG Branch Member), Kate Fisher, Haleigh Tighe, (David and Linda Huffman - PNG Branch Member in background), Allyson Presswood, Susan Wilson (PNG Branch Member) , David Mora, Barb Micheals (GET Global Team Leader) (Photo Courtesy of Charles Micheals)
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The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), Monday 16 August 1948, page 46
6
Advertising. (1948, August 16). The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), p. 4. Retrieved March 20, 2015, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49937275
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Guest House Art Deco Poster (Poster courtesy of Neil R. Coulter; CC by-nc-sa 2.0)
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1970s map of Bible translation teams working in New Guinea (Photo Courtesy of SIL PNG Archives)
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harles Micheals is a native of Michigan and lived the first thirty years of his life there, eventually working in the grocery industry. In 1985 his wife Barbara and their four small children joined Wycliffe Bible Translators and moved to the country of Papua New Guinea (PNG) where they worked with the internationally known non-profit linguistic organization, SIL International (formerly the Summer Institute of Linguistics). Charles served in a variety of administrative roles in PNG, including several years as the Chairman of the SIL PNG Job Evaluation and Wage Review Committee and on the SIL PNG Executive Committee.
During their 15 years of service in PNG, Bible translation work was completed in 67 languages and over 100 additional Bible translation projects were started. Today, almost 180 language communities, representing 1.8 million people in PNG have access to the Scriptures in their own languages.
In 2000, Charles and Barbara moved back to the USA and Charles served for several years as the Regional Director for Recruitment for Wycliffe, living in the Chicago, Illinois area. In 2004 they moved to Orlando, Florida where Charles served for six and one half years as the Vice President for Recruitment Ministries for Wycliffe. He currently heads up Wycliffe’s Management Recruitment Department and speaks at various mission conferences and colleges each year. Barbara coordinates several Wycliffe short term mission trips each year.
Charles holds a BS degree in Food Distribution from Western Michigan University and a MA degree in Organization Management from Dallas Baptist University. He served on the Board of Directors for The Finishers Project, a non-profit mission dedicated to helping people in the second half of life find places to 55 | P a g e
serve in missions. He has also been involved in helping create and develop Mission Teach, a ministry dedicated to helping place teachers in MK (Missionary Kid) mission schools around the world and Military Believer, a growing ministry dedicated to helping military personnel who are leaving the military, find opportunities for service in global missions.
Charles has also authored a number of articles about the work of SIL in PNG and other historical articles about life in the Aiyura Valley in PNG. (http://issuu.com/cbmicheals/docs)
Both Charles and Barbara are members of Saint Andrew’s church in Sanford, FL and are involved in a variety of church activities there. Charles serves as an elder at the church.
However, they are still
members of Second Christian Reformed Church, in Kalamazoo, Michigan which is the church that commissioned them for their work with Wycliffe.
All four of their children are actively supporting
missions and church ministry work. Two of their four children are serving with Wycliffe around the world.
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