Village Home Urgently Needed

Long time Christian missionary, Tingkui Joel, lost her life’s partner in August 2024.  In Papua New Guinea in place of social security and 403b accounts, our PNG brothers and sisters spend years building a “village house” for retirement. As Orim and Tingkui received compensation at irregular intervals, they never had the money to build a village home. Her sons are working hard to provide for their mother and have expressed gratitude to all who have helped make it possible for Tingkui to get proper medical care. She will be having surgery to repair her large hernia in Port Moresby at the beginning of 2025 as there is a waiting list.

In the meantime, as those who have lived in Papua New Guinea know, there are times when one can build and times when the weather makes it incredibly difficult.  At this point, to set an initial goal of $6,000 USD for her house and transportation seems very reasonable. No money will be collected beyond what is needed but we do not want to be caught short, so remembering the faithfulness and hard work of Orim and Tingkui Joel to share the scriptures in the lives of villagers across Papua New Guinea, may we join in helping provide a simple village home for her in retirement. 

Current Update:

June 2025 - Tingkui continues to do well in the village. Her son, Essau, remains in close contact with her, which has been a great source of encouragement. The hernia straps provided by GapFill donors last year have significantly improved her daily life, making movement much easier and more comfortable.

Currently, Tingkui is focusing on completing work on her house before scheduling her follow-up checkup for surgery. Her local family has been incredibly supportive, working together to build a makeshift house to store her cargo. Her sisters in the village are always nearby to help with cooking and cleaning, ensuring she’s well cared for.

We are all so thankful for this community of support around her. Please continue to keep Tingkui’s health and housing in your prayers. Please also kindly pray that Essau’s bosses approve his leave at the end of June—it’s still pending and has been under review for several weeks.

As always, thank you for your ongoing care and prayers for Tingkui.

May 2025 - Tingkui is doing well. She preached at the local church during Easter. Her little makeshift house is becoming a hangout area for all the women in the village, mainly widows. So, they named her house "the house of widows" 😊. Her son Essau is putting in his annual leave for the end of June to travel to the village to get her home completed. While Essau is there he plans to take her for a checkup at the hospital in town (Kokopo).

Thank you for continuing to keep Tingkui in your prayers.

March 2025 – Tingkui’s cargo safely arrived at Rabaul. A temporary structure is being set up to store her belongings until she is settled in. She was able to go to town and purchase some roofing materials and a gas cylinder for her little stove. Thanks for continuing to pray for the building process.

Once she is comfortable, she will go to the hospital for a checkup.

January 2025 – Tingkui’s cargo in Madang has been packed up and shipped to Rabaul.  Tingkui will be flying to Rabaul next to pick up her crates.   Essau and Seth have a rough estimate and list of what is needed to start building her small home.  GapFill Donor Funds have been sent to get them started on her home while Tingkui waits for her hernia surgery date.

Thank you for helping this dedicated Christian missionary get the simple village home she needs.