Noah to the rescue
Tiuli, a teenaged Siawi girl in Papua New Guinea, was flown to the hospital Monday after being mauled by a wild pig.
The flight was delayed by the fall of darkness and further hampered by an all-night rain and a flooded river that had to be crossed to get Tiuli to the airstrip.
Tiuli was gathering food in the jungle on Sunday with her younger sister when their dog began yipping at the base of a tree. Suspecting he had spotted a bandicoot, Tiuli went closer to see if she could catch it. She was horrified when a wild pig came out of hiding and burst violently upon her.
The pig savagely ripped her with its tusks, taking out chunks of flesh and leaving gaping wounds.
"No part of her body was spared," wrote missionary Linda Krieg, "with many of the slashes going to the bone."
The girl was saved from death when her brother, Noah, came to her rescue. Noah had planned to go hunting in the swamp but decided suddenly to go check on something in the area where the two girls were. He heard the dog barking and the girls’ cries, and raced to where they were. When spearing the pig failed to drive it off, he physically attacked it, beating at it to drive it away.
The first people to the scene said that Tiuli had been bleeding badly, but they prayed and the bleeding stopped -- though the wounds did bleed again during the night.
Tiuli was accompanied on the flight by her brother, Noah. In Papua New Guinea hospitals each patient has to have a care-giver with them. Noah was adamant that he was going to be the care-giver, though his family questioned his motives for wanting to go. They believe that he was looking for a free trip to the big city to see all the sights.
Linda Krieg is counting on others to pray that Noah’s heart will be tender toward his sister and that he will stay with her and meet her needs.
"This looks to be a long haul," Linda wrote, "because she is going to need surgery, including plastic surgery (if it is available). … She is going to need Noah’s constant loving care.
"The Lord can use this whole experience to bring both of these young people to himself. Please be praying that that will be the case. Pray that the needed doctors will be available, and for wisdom for them, that they will be able to repair the damage."
Pray too for the Siawi believers in this situation. Tiuli was in an arranged marriage and her husband refused to accept her as his wife. The cultural response to Tiuli’s mauling would be to blame the young man or his family for working sorcery.
Tiuli’s father, Okweb, who is a professing believer, says he is in constant prayer, trying to wrap his mind around why God allowed this to happen. He is concerned about the spiritual state of both Tiuli and Noah. Pray that Okweb and his family will leave this entirely in the Lord’s hands, and not revert to the usual cultural response.
The flight was delayed by the fall of darkness and further hampered by an all-night rain and a flooded river that had to be crossed to get Tiuli to the airstrip.
Tiuli was gathering food in the jungle on Sunday with her younger sister when their dog began yipping at the base of a tree. Suspecting he had spotted a bandicoot, Tiuli went closer to see if she could catch it. She was horrified when a wild pig came out of hiding and burst violently upon her.
The pig savagely ripped her with its tusks, taking out chunks of flesh and leaving gaping wounds.
"No part of her body was spared," wrote missionary Linda Krieg, "with many of the slashes going to the bone."
The girl was saved from death when her brother, Noah, came to her rescue. Noah had planned to go hunting in the swamp but decided suddenly to go check on something in the area where the two girls were. He heard the dog barking and the girls’ cries, and raced to where they were. When spearing the pig failed to drive it off, he physically attacked it, beating at it to drive it away.
The first people to the scene said that Tiuli had been bleeding badly, but they prayed and the bleeding stopped -- though the wounds did bleed again during the night.
Tiuli was accompanied on the flight by her brother, Noah. In Papua New Guinea hospitals each patient has to have a care-giver with them. Noah was adamant that he was going to be the care-giver, though his family questioned his motives for wanting to go. They believe that he was looking for a free trip to the big city to see all the sights.
Linda Krieg is counting on others to pray that Noah’s heart will be tender toward his sister and that he will stay with her and meet her needs.
"This looks to be a long haul," Linda wrote, "because she is going to need surgery, including plastic surgery (if it is available). … She is going to need Noah’s constant loving care.
"The Lord can use this whole experience to bring both of these young people to himself. Please be praying that that will be the case. Pray that the needed doctors will be available, and for wisdom for them, that they will be able to repair the damage."
Pray too for the Siawi believers in this situation. Tiuli was in an arranged marriage and her husband refused to accept her as his wife. The cultural response to Tiuli’s mauling would be to blame the young man or his family for working sorcery.
Tiuli’s father, Okweb, who is a professing believer, says he is in constant prayer, trying to wrap his mind around why God allowed this to happen. He is concerned about the spiritual state of both Tiuli and Noah. Pray that Okweb and his family will leave this entirely in the Lord’s hands, and not revert to the usual cultural response.