I received a message early thanksgiving morning that my dear friend and "Son in the Lord" passed away. As I sat in my office and just finished my time of prayer, one of those prayers being for a healing miracle for Baru. I just turned on the internet and soon afterward a message came in from Mr. Wallace White Kintak, the director of the Nazarene College of Nursing.
Baru lost the battle to Multiple Myeloma but he is in the arms of Jesus. my prayers are for his wife Christina, the children he has left, and his many relatives and friends. His administrative skills will certainly be missed in the NHM (Nazarene Health Ministry) and especially around the Kudjip Hospital.
I was so thankful that my son Gary recently was able to visit Papua New Guinea on a Work and Witness trip and was able to sit down with Baru and talk with him. I have lots of photos and slides of my work with Baru, but they are not digitalized.
My mind goes back to the first time I met Baru. As a brand new missionary, I just finished orientation and began the work of overseeing the hospital laboratory/x-ray department, Baru came into my office for an interview. He submitted application for student enrollment in our MLA [Medical Laboratory Assistant] school to begin in January 1990. I questioned him about his spiritual life to which he honestly admitted he was not serving the Lord. I had received the required spiritual reference letter from his brother/pastor and Baru answered my questions truthfully. Since he told me the truth I considered his application and after a few days praying I felt definite peace about accepting him. It was during the opening revival that he surrendered his life to the Lord. As a student he was dependable and honest.
After graduation Baru served in the Nazarene Hospital lab where I was supervisor. He married Christina who graduated from our College of Nursing and was working at the Nazarene Hospital. Later Baru went to POM to the National Referral Hospital to receive more advanced training in the medical laboratory work. When I left after a decade of service to the Kudjip Nazarene Hospital, Baru was back home and our laboratory was able to perform better because we had someone who understood how the country's medical laboratory functioned, but more importantly he knew people and had friends (former teachers and staff) who he could contact and he was able to access services that I didn't know were available.
After my transfer to the Solomon Islands our contact and mutual friendship did not cease. Within our first year in the Solomon's we returned for 6 months when evacuated from the Solomon's due to civil unrest. I arrived in time to assist in the setting up of the new x-ray machine and blood cell counter.
Shortly after this Baru and Christina built a home near Banz and started a house church which was quite successful.
Then the Solomon Island district invited him to be our evangelist and here is a photo of Baru preaching in the Honiara Zion church.
This photo was taken at the Lunga River near Honiara following a baptism we held in conjunction with the assembly.
Baru led a large number of PNG delegates to the General Assembly in Orlando Florida, having never personally visited the USA. He contacted me for information since I'd led two previous groups. I'm not sure how much help I was but he did a great job, and it was certainly exciting seeing him there. Baru was willing to step out of his comfort zone to attempt new things for the Kingdom.
I accepted an invitation of Baru and Christina in 2010, if my memory is correct, to visit him and celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary and also the organization of their house church. I searched for photos of that visit but did not find them. At that time there were 200 people attending their house church.
Later they built this church building and at a single baptism they baptized 75 new believers, making that the largest baptism held by the Church of the Nazarene in Papua New Guinea.
Baru will definitely be missed but his influence will live on in the lives of those he has touched. He was about investing in the Kingdom.
Please remember to pray for his wife Christina and his other family members as they rebuild their life. Baru was one who was always there and a stronghold. His life was shortened, but it was only a miracle of God's grace that he was still alive and active until now, as Baru, had a rugby injury that broke his neck soon after his marriage and he should have been a quadriplegic or dead at that time. That is another story, but I knew when I saw his x-ray and he had no paralyses or pain that God's hand was upon him. God had definitely given Baru a second life and he lived it to the full, except he stopped playing contact sports. I thank God for the memories I have of this man. Baru is one of my spiritual sons who I had the privilege of walking with, investing time in, and serving together on this earth, and looking forward to being together forever around the Throne of God.
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