As I gasped for breath, I heard Kent say, “Only 300 more steps to the top.” Minutes later (though it seemed like an hour), our path leveled out into a clearing that revealed a breathtaking panorama of green mountains and gorges roaring with waterfalls. The vista was made all the more impressive by the strenuous effort it had taken us to get there. The AFM Palawano Project is known for its grueling, mostly vertical, several-hour hike up to Kamantian village high in the mountains above Brooke’s Point.
No, this is not Papua New Guinea where I normally work, but in many ways it felt pleasantly familiar. While waiting for our PNG visas to arrive, I had occasion to visit the Palawano Project to help Kent and Leonda George with a master plan for camp meeting grounds. As an architect, I have always enjoyed facilities planning, and this was an exciting opportunity to put my experience into practice.
The grounds will offer not only a place to hold camp meetings, they will also be a lowland base of operations for the AFM Palawano Project providing, among other things, a place to train leaders, house student missionaries and mission personnel who are passing through, stage supplies for the highlands and grow a cash crop of rice.
I am thankful that I can be a helping hand to a fellow missionary. I look forward to the day when hundreds of people will come streaming down from the mountains to new camp meeting grounds. Thank you for your prayers as we return to the Gogodala people of Papua New Guinea.

• Twitter