Shiv is recovering well…
We wanted to say thank you, so much, to everyone, all over the world, who has been praying for my (Shiv’s) recovery.
And thank you for all the kind messages, love and support.
Before the attack happened, Ryan picked me and my friend up after a weekend away. We had to make 2 stops before heading home to Telefomin, it was during the 2nd stop when we were mugged.
At “The Wing”, MAF’s guesthouse in Mt Hagen. Ryan tucked me in to bed, along with our Country Director’s PNG flag blanket to keep me warm.
My friends Menik, Vero & Joyce, who have prayed for me and helped me so much.
On Tuesday 27th January 2026, I (Shiv) was walking along the beach on the north coast of PNG with a friend, when we were involved in a mugging where I sustained 2 knife wounds. I was medevac’d (flown), along with Ryan, to Kompiam Missions Hospital where I had surgery and tests which determined minimal injuries. The next day MAF flew us to the MAF HQ in Mt Hagen. We spent 2 nights in Hagen whilst an MAF doctor did follow-up tests to confirm I was healing well, and we received critical incident debriefs, along with a lot of love and support from our MAF family.
The surgical team at Kompiam Hospital who stitched me up. Left to right: Nathaniel - Nurse, Tom - Medical student, Roselyn - CHW/Nurse, Diana - Doctor.
After 2 nights in Mt Hagen, the doctor was happy with my progress and we were cleared to fly home to Telefomin. I spent about a week lying down due to pain in my neck & head, caused by a whiplash-type injury during the struggle with the mugger. Sitting or standing gave me intense headaches making doing anything much nearly impossible. Thankfully Ryan wasn’t flying, so he was able to care for me. Eventually the headaches eased and I was able to walk around and do things for myself again. After 2.5 weeks, we are seeing daily improvements, but I’m still struggling with mild headaches, soreness in my back and I tire easily. I need more rest but I will be completely ok with time.
Mama Yemsi (holding my hand) brought some friends to pray for my healing.
Through this ordeal we have seen God’s blessings, provisions and miracles:
Ryan was flying that day, he was not scheduled to fly but our neighbour pilot called in sick.
A 2nd MAF plane landed shortly after we did on the north coast, and was able to fly us to hospital as Ryan was not in a state to fly.
After the mugging, locals came to our aid, bandaged my wound and called the police.
The muggers were arrested very quickly and we got all of our property back.
A neighbouring mission, Samaritan Aviation, had a trauma nurse nearby who was able to treat my wounds within 30 mins of the attack.
A MAF doctor was at the Kompiam Missions Hospital that day and she is a friend!
Dr Diana ran tests which showed I had no internal injuries. Given the size of the blade, that is an absolute miracle!
Since being home in Tele we have received visits from local friends who have prayed for us, and helped us practically!
We are so grateful to God that He protected me, so this situation was not much worse! Thank you all for your prayers and kind messages.
