By Mark Ellis, Special to ASSIST News Service
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (ANS - August 20, 2015)
-- Matt and Christine Hamb are missionaries with New Tribes Mission in
the Madang region of Papua New Guinea, ministering to the Manam people
group.
On July 31st, they were
settling into their normal routines in what seemed like any other day in
the village. Then they heard an eerie sound.
“It
is common to hear rumbling noises coming from the mountain but this
time it was accompanied by the desperate frightened wails of children
and frenzied yelling of women,” Matt noted on their blog.
Suddenly the volcano erupted
with great force, spewing molten rocks, debris, and ash 65,000 feet into
the air. “Immediately panic began to strike as we realized what needed
to happen,” he recounted.
Matt realized an urgent
response was necessary: solar panels to cover, gutters to remove and
water tanks to secure. They also needed to head to a safer area.
Their boat was in town at a
repair shop but a local boat captain was in their village with his boat
and they arranged for a ride.
Within 20 minutes of the
eruption, rocks and debris began to rain down all around them. “It began
with large stone-like objects most of them being the size of lemons but
ranging in size to grapefruit, then it transitioned to smaller gravel
sized stones and finally ended up being just ash which was the
consistency of grains of sand mixed with a fine powder. This ash was
thick enough to block the sun and midday began to look like twilight.”
“We had to use flashlights to
move around our house,” he recalled. In the midst of that physical
darkness he said they were reminded that Christ is “The Light of the
World”, who came to dispel spiritual darkness.
Photo caption: Hamb family.
About the writer: Mark Ellis is senior correspondent for the ASSIST News Service and also the founder of www.Godreports.com
, a website that shares stories, testimonies and videos from the church
around the world to build interest and involvement in world missions.
** You may republish this and any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net)
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