April in Bloom

Dear Friends and Family,

Hello Everyone! I am back in Hawaii from a whirlwind tour home to Georgia, Papua New Guinea and New
Zealand. Thank you all for your prayersI made it safely to the jungle with ALL of the supplies needed and
nothing was lost stolen or broken! My time in Kikori, Papua New Guinea was very full and I will attempt to
share with you some highlights. Transportationwhen traveling in the land known as the land of the
unexpected this can only be summed up with the word adventure! After arriving in Port Moresby and
clearing customs (for which I had 50min) I boarded a chartered small aircraft to fly to the jungle. We flew
through a storm and using the river as a guide landed on a gravel, muddy, grassy runway at the remote
airstrip. I was to be greeted by someone to drive me to the hospital, but they were not there. The pilots of
the plane and those I flew with after finding out where I needed to go told me I needed to get onto the
helicopter. At this moment, I didnt know where I was, nor did I know anyone I was traveling with. But, I
knew I was to get on the helicopter even though I did not know where they were taking me. So I did. About
an hour later we landed at a camp for the oil company. There I met someone named Joe, who actually had
heard of me! He provided me a bed and food and helped arrange transport for the following morning to
Kikori. The next morning I boarded a boat and we off zipping down the river and an hour later viola! I am
home! Was this according to plan? No, did it work? Yes! There was a major breakdown in communication,
and with the storms the roads, for the most part been had been rendered not passable, hence no one
meeting me at the air strip as planned. Being flexible to go by whatever means available and sensitive
enough to hear the prompting of the Holy Spirit to get on the helicopterpriceless! After arriving I began to
train 10+ community health care workers basic laboratory skills. The classes were in detection of malaria,
proper techniques of Gram staining and TB staining, and how to identify different types of bacteria. At the
end of our time together, I tested some and 5 were given a certificate of completion. Those working there at
the hospital took ownership of the project by cleaning and organizing the lab by themselves. They also took
initiatives to design experiments and create log books to keep good records. One of the students came
from another village, Kapuna, and when I left he departed with a gift package of supplies to set up a work
station in his village. One amazing discovery that came out of our time together was the ability to positively
diagnosis TB in lymph nodes. While I was there we modified a method to test for the presence of TB and it
worked! This new way to look for this disease will help so much in determining the presence or absence of
TB when it is not in the lungs. Praise God! After my time in Kikori, I went to New Zealand to teach and share
with the staff. I was also there to help further some plans for the Pacific Hope. It is planned to be deployed
this summer and hopefully it will have a basic lab on board!
Next Steps
I am planning a follow-up trip to Kikori in July-Aug afterwards I hope to go to Fiji. Why Fiji? Well, that is
where I plan to board the Pacific Hope! I have been invited to help with some relief efforts after cyclone
Pam devastated the island nation of Vanuatu. The Pacific Hope will be departing Fiji for Vanuatu mid August
and serving the nation with some relief efforts. Over 90% of the buildings were destroyed including the main
hospital. I have been asked to help train and encourage the healthcare workers in some basic lab skills and
we are hoping to bring some microscopes to donate. After Vanuatu, there is a conference in Townsville,
Australia that I would like to attend. With my work in the area, this will give me a good opportunity to share
with others how things are going in Papua New Guinea, see how things are developing for the ship out of
Australia and share about Vanuatu and the Pacific Hope.
Prayer Requests
Traveling isnt cheap! I am attempting to group things together and asking for assistance for housing when
possible to cut down costs. At the moment, I will need to see $3,500 raised to be able to purchase all the
tickets and cover my ground fees. This will also cover some lab supplies I will be packing in my luggage
for the region. Please pray with me to see these funds come it! Thank you!!
Love,
April J
Donations should be sent to YWAM Tyler, PO Box 3000, Garden Valley, TX 75771
My name can not appear anywhere on the check. Please attach a separate note with my full name on it.

Bank draft donations are now possible! Please contact me for further information J

Welcome to Papua New Guinea!

Inside the small plane J

One of my heroesDr. Beth!

My team on the ward collecting samples

Lab before pictureempty and dirty

Lab after picturesclean, organized, and staining stations set up!

What a talented group!