Volcano!!  WHAT?!?!

Got your attention huh?  ;-)

Yup, a volcano (Mt. Tavurvur) erupted on the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea (PNG) last week on Friday (August 29).  We’ve had a few people express concern for our safety, so wanted to let you know that we’re perfectly all right.  New Britain is a long ways away from where we are in Ukarumpa (our support center).  In case you’re wondering how far (it’s almost 450 miles away), here’s a map (with Ukarumpa labeled “Uka”):

And yes, it did actually spew lava and lots and lots of smoke and ash:

Looks prehistoric, huh?

From the last reports we heard, it continues to rumble some and spew more ash, but the actual erupting has settled down:

We are grateful for reports that the winds are blowing most of the ash away from the nearby towns (Rabaul and Kokopo, which were evacuated).  Please be in prayer for the people in the area.  Pray that the wind keeps blowing ash away from the major cities.  Pray that people aren’t harmed by ash inhalation (it can be deadly).

We praise God that this wasn’t a repeat of the eruption 20 years ago, which buried the town of Rabaul in ash.  Here’s a picture from when I (James) visited Rabaul in 2007.  The stuff that looks like black sand is actually ash, and a few feet of it at that:

And just to prove that I WAS there (when it was not erupting):

The Kokopo/Rabaul area is quite beautiful when the volcano is dormant (click on the image for a larger view):

Thank you for your concerns and prayers.  We are grateful that this is volcano is not affecting us.

P.S. If you’re wondering about the bridge situation, construction of the new bridge has gone exceptionally well!  THANK YOU for your prayers.  We’ll send an update on that in the next week or so.