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You are here: Home -> Inspirational Stories -> A Handful of Grain

A Handful of Grain

by Margaret Carver
Missionary wife, Papua New Guinea

Psalm 72:17 "There shall be a handful of grain (corn) in the earth upon the top of the mountains: the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon"

"Upon the top of the mountains"... we lived on the other side of the mountain range in the distance, directly behind the noticable white spot (landslide) centre-right. We had to drive through the Chimbu Gorge on the left (where the rain is falling); drive 15 miles over a terrible mud track to our house, which took about 4 hours.

God compares His work with very small and insignificant things. He then displays His might in the glory of the results. To men His work seems small yet God knows that the little things of His kingdom will pull down strongholds of sin and at the same time build His church. God is not afraid to trust Himself with small weapons or to use insignificant things to represent His power. A handful of grain... how insignificant! It does look small.

Our arrival in Papua New Guinea was at the small town of Kundiawa in the Chimbu Province. We flew on a propeller plane; a Twin Otter, and were joined by a woman holding a baby pig, hens in a cage and the exhaust system for a car placed down the aisle. Leaving the airport we drove along the unpaved 'Highlands Highway' and then suddenly found ourselves off the main road and onto a small dirt track. I could not believe we were headed in the right direction. Our driver informed us this was the road that would take us to the other side of the magnificent mountain range into the Kwi valley. The Chimbu River raced along on our left, sourcing from the highest mountains in the Bismark Ranges. This valley lies in the shadow of Mt Wilhelm the highest mountain at 15,400 feet.(4,509 metres) I can remember thinking all those years ago 'Why would any one have a beginning in such a remote place?' This was confirmed to me the further we went along the uneven track. The road wound through crags and cliffs until we reached the corner of the huge mountain range that cut the valley and is aptly named Chimbu Gorge. At this corner we did a three point turn to continue on the road. The only other option was over the steep mountain side and hundreds of feet down to a raging river. Our car now faced towards the steep and long valley. The narrow road was cut into the mountain side. This had been literally turned on its side from a once flat position. The road was then interspersed with a number of wooden planked bridges, spanning rivers and streams, many with the timbers missing.

Holding our six week old daughter tightly, I continued to meditate on the fact so prominent in my mind; what are we doing in such a remote area when our purpose in coming to this country is to see a church begin? Not only was this a remote area but from the truck I had viewed very primitive people, some carrying bows and arrows, some with pig tusks through the nose, others with beautiful plumage of the bird of paradise as head dresses contrasted with little or no clothing except a few leaves.

Our house in the village, circa 1974

These were some of my first impressions on the very first day we arrived in Papua New Guinea in April of 1973. As the weeks and months went by we built a house and lived in a small village on the slopes of the magnificent mountain range. The language was learnt and a small woven reed church built. Many experiences coloured these years, often heart and soul changing experiences. Village children died, one being burnt to death in her grass hut. A village man put an axe through his foot; a woman gave premature birth to twins and I was called upon to assist. In that dark and smoky hut I did what I could but we buried those babies soon after. Although these events taught much about life in the mountains of Papua New Guinea, I could never reconcile the fact that was this the right place to begin a church? Surely we would need to be in a town or city with a building and some public attention? Surely we would need to work among a more advanced people to see a church proclaiming the name of Jesus?

However, God with His guiding Hand knows all things and there were some facts I was not aware of at the time. In the 1970's the Chimbu District had the greatest population density of any of the 18 districts in the country. Within Chimbu lived almost 190,000 in an area of only 20 square miles. This mountainous land has very little flat land. The people build their villages on massive, sharp-keeled ridges and make their garden slopes so precipitous as to defy belief. The biggest language group is found here and they are fiercely proud of being Chimbu. Physically they are an impressive people. From their discovery in the early 1930's until the present day the Chimbus are numerous and have spread throughout the nation. As a people they are entrepreneurs; business people, not afraid to go far from home and take opportunities as they arrive. This they did with the Gospel!

Sunday School in the village, circa 1975

The handful of grain was indeed just that - a handful; and it took many years to sprout and produce. We laboured in the villages in that deep and long valley, finding a receptive one or two. Sunday School attracted the children and they came faithfully and heard the Word of God. Many were punished at their local school for attending. They were told to carry large rocks on their heads around the playground all day instead of doing their lessons. But they kept coming each Sunday. One young girl who had attended faithfully, stopped coming and I decided to walk to her village and enquire what had become of her. It was a strongly Lutheran village and they were opposed to our presence in the valley. Her parents stood outside their village hut that warm sunny morning and as I began to enquire after her, I found large tears rolling down my face and a deep cry from within. The parents looked shocked and immediately they agreed Maria could come back to Sunday School. I did not have to say a word! Many years later I once again enquired about this young lady and found she had continued in church and lived for God. In her early twenties she died from malaria.

Looking back some 36 years later at the purposes of God in this pioneering effort, we can know that the Lord rules and overrules in our lives, directing and working all things for His purpose. When our lives our committed to Him then we can be assured that He alone knows the end from the beginning. The fruit has shaken 'like Lebanon' (Psalm 72:17). As Matthew Henry says in his commentary, "Sow but a handful of corn on the top of the mountains, whence one would expect but little, and yet the fruit of it shall shake like Lebanon; it shall come up like a wood, so thick, and tall, and strong, like the cedars of Lebanon."

It is interesting to think about what Barnes says on the same verse: "... as if a mere handful of grain were sown on the top of a mountain on a place little likely to produce anything; a place usually barren and unproductive; which would grow into an abundant harvest, so that it would wave everywhere like the cedar trees of Lebanon." 2

Some of the original Sunday School students, still church members, at our National Conference

Today as we travel throughout the church, we are constantly meeting church members who come not just from Chimbu district but a great number from that one small village 'on top of the mountains'. In many cases it is the children and grandchildren of the original village church members, who now fill the shoes of their parents. They remain not only in the local area, but throughout the islands of Papua New Guinea they have been instrumental in starting churches, building churches, evangelists, pastors, teaching in youth and Sunday School, National Board members, ministers and their wives.

Truly "...like the cedar trees of Lebanon. The harvest will wave as those tall and stately trees do. This is an image designed to show that the growth would be strong and abundant, far beyond what could have been anticipated from the small quantity of the seed sown, and the barrenness of the soil. The word rendered 'shake' means more than is implied in our word 'shake' or 'wave'. It conveys also the idea of a rushing sound, such as that which whistles among cedar or pine trees. "The origin of the Hebrew verb," says Gesenius, "and its primary idea lies in the 'noise' and 'crashing' which is made by concussion." Hence, it is used to denote the 'rustling' motion of grain waving in the wind, and the sound of the wind whistling through trees when they are agitated by it." 3

Far beyond our anticipation is how this pioneering effort can be described! This small insignificant village on a mountain top in a remote part of the world, coupled with a young man and his wife and new baby, planted the handful of grain. The Lord shook those trees upon the mountains and today a great and growing church gives glory to His great Name.

2,3 from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database Copyright 1997, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.

- Margaret Carver