MAF couple follow life-long call

By Val McNatty
Just over 2 years ago Pirimai Baptist released two of its leaders to serve with Mission Aviation in Papua New Guinea.
David and Jenny Wilkinson worked with South Seas Evangelical Mission during 1977-79 in the Solomon Islands, where David was a Physics and Maths teacher and Jenny was the school nurse.Later, David was principal of a small secondary school at Brugam, PNG, for three years, and Jenny supervised correspondence lessons for their own children.
During 1993-94 they worked with MAF in Mt Hagen, PNG, and are happy to be back there again. Mt Hagen is situated in the Highlands at an altitude of 5,800 feet.
David’s job as building projects and maintenance manager is similar to the work he previously did for schools on the East Coast of the North Island. He plans and manages improvements to all MAF staff housing and other buildings, as well as overseeing large building projects and keeping the fleet of ageing vehicles safe and road worthy. Jenny is involved with hospitality and the ‘orientation’ of new people. She is sometimes called on for nursing advice or to accompany a colleague to visit the doctor or hospital.
At Pirimai Baptist David and Jenny facilitated the annual Alpha Marriage course for six years. In 2009 the first group of ten from Mt Hagen enjoyed the seven week course, held on Sunday afternoons because security concerns preclude ‘after dark’ gatherings. The plan is to offer the course twice each year as a way of strengthening marriages within MAF and reaching out into the community.