Wow! It's hard to believe I only have 2 weeks left in this beautiful country. For the most part time seems to have flown by. I found myself this last week intentionally soaking it all in wanting to remember every sight, sound, and smell. As I was sitting at the ocean as the waves came crashing in I remembered how blessed I truly am. The freedom to go to another country and not have to hide why I am here. My housemate and I had dinner this week with some friends from Malaysia, they have been translators in PNG for many years and they talked of how they are unable to visit certain countries. How strange and incredible to know I have been given so much freedom and sad to know there are so many opportunities I have let slip away. I have learned that I can not allow those missed opportunities to hold me back, but to take every chance given to share this freedom I know.
I had the opportunity to rest this past week. I thought I might feel guilty about it, but when the time came I embraced this blessing. I enjoyed 2nd hand shopping and also shopping for those back home. I ate in restaurants with ocean views. The greatest time was snorkeling. Even though I have snorkeled before,I am still intriqued that there is a whole other world lying just beneath the waves. Of course I found Nemo. Also discovered lots of coral, sea cucumbers, blue starfish, lion fish, and many others. My favorite fish was black and white striped. I don't know it's name so I call it the zebra fish.
The last few days of the trip we headed to POC (Pacific Orientation Course). It's on top of the mountain and the view,well there are no words to describe how amazing. People come to POC to learn to speak tok pisin and also how to live in villages. We were there towards the end of the course. I was able to help some with their infirmities.
Cooking outdoors in housecooks, bucket showers, outhouses (liklik houses in pisin),
I must admit I admire these people. I enjoy camping and the outdoors, but I am still questioning whether this type of living could ever be for me. I slept under a mosquito net while I was there and of course took my malaria medicine religiously. I am sure I could adjust to that kinda life, but not sure if that's the life God has for me. I don't have to decide that now, but I'm not closing the door, I'm open.
Our trip home from Madang was quite eventful. As the girls have said it was an epic road trip. First of all there are 6 of us (5 girls and Papa G). Things were looking good as we headed back on our "5 hour" road trip. Many potholes awaited us, that was painful. Our first stop was about hour into the trip when we popped a tire (40 minutes). Our next stop about 3 hours into the trip because of a way to big truck trying to get up the mountain and was stuck in the mud holding up about 11 cars (40 mins). Then our nice pit stop in the sugar cane (5 mins) and a few minutes after that a petrol stop where Donna, as she was standing next to her door had a man reach in and grab her wallet. She ran after him and 20 people ran after him and caught the guy and wallet was returned successfully. (30 mins) So our 5 hour trip quickly turned into 8 hours, but it made for a good story at least. Needless to say arriving through the gates of Ukarumpa was a welcomed sight.
I started back at the clinic today. I now have a door to my therapy room. So exciting. It's good to be back in my temporary home. Looking forward to sharing some of my stories with you when I return to the states. Hope all of you are doing well.
Until then...
Monday, March 30, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
explanations of pics
Ok guys so thought I would post some pics of the last month here. It has been really busy.
So the little guy you see with the mixer and by the cake is Daniel Parker. Dan is a 5 year old and he and his family are here from Australia. They were one of the first folks I met here. Well Dan loves the cake book and we had a great opportunity at the end of February to make Lilah, my housemate, a birthday cake so we proceeded with making her a giraffe cake with tree and grass. I am not that great with decorating so Lilah had to pitch in and help us finish it. It was lots of fun. Dan was so tired afterward, but we had a great time.
The picture with girl dancing in middle is Lilah and this was her karaoke birthday party. We had some folks over and were jammin all night. It was lots of fun and I got to perform one of Tiffany's greatest hits! haha!! gotta love the eighties!!!
So yes ladies and gentlemen I play soccer, I don't play well, but I play. Last Saturday we had a mini women's soccer tournament. We invited 2 villages Asuranka and Ukarumpa Village. Our ladies won both games, we were a mixture of expats(missionaries from outside PNG) and national women who are PNG missionaries. It was lots of fun. I was terribly sore the next couple of days and terribly sunburned, apparently one is supposed to reapply sunblock after a couple of hours or when one sweats it off who knew haha!!
The other pic I took is Martin (dental assistant) sitting in the break room. He is also one of my patients. Sitting next to him reading the paper is the dentist, Nellis, who is another patient. There are 2 breaks plus lunch throughout the day at 10am and 2pm. We also have our morning devotions in this room as well. It's a nice place to just go and relax and enjoy my Papua New Guinean friends.
Things here are going well. The plan is to head to Madang on Friday and we found out Tuesday morning our flight was cancelled. So our choices now are riding with some folks headed that way (5 hour trip) or maybe if we are lucky catch the helicoptor. I will be there for a week. Mainly resting, this work here is exhausting, much more than back in the states. I am looking forward to seeing a new place and it is on the coast. We will be doing some snorkeling and relaxing. On the last few days we will head to POC ( Pacific Orientation Course) where folks go before head out to individual villages. They learn all about village living as well as the language, tok pisin. I hope to be doing some therapy for these folks. They all have been told I am coming and so I am sure I will be busy and I am looking foward to it.
When I get back from Madang, Conference will have started. Conference is something have once every 2 years to discuss policies and elect new directors. People from all over PNG come in for it. I will be working some those weeks.
I have less than 4 weeks left here. Time has flown by. I have continued to learn new things daily. God has blessed me so much to allow me to have this experience.
Well I will post more after my trip and let you know how the snorkeling went.
Tomorrow I am heading out to do clinic in a village to see how that works, will write more on that later as well.
Until then...
So the little guy you see with the mixer and by the cake is Daniel Parker. Dan is a 5 year old and he and his family are here from Australia. They were one of the first folks I met here. Well Dan loves the cake book and we had a great opportunity at the end of February to make Lilah, my housemate, a birthday cake so we proceeded with making her a giraffe cake with tree and grass. I am not that great with decorating so Lilah had to pitch in and help us finish it. It was lots of fun. Dan was so tired afterward, but we had a great time.
The picture with girl dancing in middle is Lilah and this was her karaoke birthday party. We had some folks over and were jammin all night. It was lots of fun and I got to perform one of Tiffany's greatest hits! haha!! gotta love the eighties!!!
So yes ladies and gentlemen I play soccer, I don't play well, but I play. Last Saturday we had a mini women's soccer tournament. We invited 2 villages Asuranka and Ukarumpa Village. Our ladies won both games, we were a mixture of expats(missionaries from outside PNG) and national women who are PNG missionaries. It was lots of fun. I was terribly sore the next couple of days and terribly sunburned, apparently one is supposed to reapply sunblock after a couple of hours or when one sweats it off who knew haha!!
The other pic I took is Martin (dental assistant) sitting in the break room. He is also one of my patients. Sitting next to him reading the paper is the dentist, Nellis, who is another patient. There are 2 breaks plus lunch throughout the day at 10am and 2pm. We also have our morning devotions in this room as well. It's a nice place to just go and relax and enjoy my Papua New Guinean friends.
Things here are going well. The plan is to head to Madang on Friday and we found out Tuesday morning our flight was cancelled. So our choices now are riding with some folks headed that way (5 hour trip) or maybe if we are lucky catch the helicoptor. I will be there for a week. Mainly resting, this work here is exhausting, much more than back in the states. I am looking forward to seeing a new place and it is on the coast. We will be doing some snorkeling and relaxing. On the last few days we will head to POC ( Pacific Orientation Course) where folks go before head out to individual villages. They learn all about village living as well as the language, tok pisin. I hope to be doing some therapy for these folks. They all have been told I am coming and so I am sure I will be busy and I am looking foward to it.
When I get back from Madang, Conference will have started. Conference is something have once every 2 years to discuss policies and elect new directors. People from all over PNG come in for it. I will be working some those weeks.
I have less than 4 weeks left here. Time has flown by. I have continued to learn new things daily. God has blessed me so much to allow me to have this experience.
Well I will post more after my trip and let you know how the snorkeling went.
Tomorrow I am heading out to do clinic in a village to see how that works, will write more on that later as well.
Until then...
Monday, March 9, 2009
Beautiful Feet
How beautiful are the feet of those who spread good news Romans 10:15
I was talking with someone today who said the irony of this verse is that most missionaries feet really are not beautiful. Our feet here most of the time are terribly muddy or dusty depending on the day. It has rained here everyday for the last week and half. It never fails to really pour down around 4:30pm about the same time I walk home everyday. One of the days I started walking and someone picked me up and took me the rest of the way. There isn't the same danger of getting in cars with strangers here as there is in America. Thank goodness. Today I got dropped off only to slip in the grass walking to the door. Would have been a nice move if I were playing baseball, but not so pretty in a skirt. Flip flops and sandals are the shoe of choice here, but I haven't really figured out why. I am much safer in my tennis shoes.
Even though their feet may not be pretty, many of these people here truly are beautifl. So many families have given up everything they have known to further translation of the Bible. Many leave there college children and come back here. Some are very young and just starting families and some are retired and this is what God has led them to do in their retirement. How amazing are these people. It is quite a sacrifice to learn a new language and a new location. The beauty of Ukarumpa is that not only are we interacting with Papua New Guineans but we have privilege to interact with people from all over the world from many different denominations.
I recently visited with a couple from Ireland. John and Wendy Bailey are here with their 3 kids. It's quite neat how encouraging one couple can be in such a short amount of time. They took time to pray with me and for me. I was encouraged that evening and anticipate spending more time with them. I ask that you pray for them as they are making lots of decisions. Illnesses in the family and one daughter is graduating this year and the other possibly next year. If you wouldn't mind please lift them up in prayer for direction God would have them take.
This last week and half has been quite crazy for me. Other than being a little homesick, we have had some tragic events in last few days. These events have made people here a little stressed and combine that with continuous rainy days. God is in the midst of doing some amazing things and I would venture to say Satan doesn't like it. One of our members this past Saturday had a child run out in front of the car out of town and the child was killed. This is a difficult situation for here in PNG, the rule eye for and eye still applies. We are praying for justice in the court systems and protection for this family.
This past weekend I was able to go with the Parkers to Goroka, a town a couple of hours from Ukarumpa. The drive was amazing! The kids were so excited and using their binoculars to as they say "get a glimpse". We were able to do some 2nd hand shopping and eat in a restaurant. It was very therapeutic for me and I really enjoyed spending time with my Australian friends.
I have about 5 weeks left here and I pray that I will continue to accomplish the things God desires for me here in Ukarumpa. I am glad to report I have slept well 3 nights in a row. As I have said before I have been having difficulty sleeping, and it was really starting to effect me and my work so I am thankful for prayers that have allowed me to sleep better.
I am continuing to learn so much about God's Word and His Will for us as His children. I am learning more of God's Power through the Holy Spirit. More than ever I know God has so much planned for me more than I could ever ask, think, or imagine.
Until next time...
I was talking with someone today who said the irony of this verse is that most missionaries feet really are not beautiful. Our feet here most of the time are terribly muddy or dusty depending on the day. It has rained here everyday for the last week and half. It never fails to really pour down around 4:30pm about the same time I walk home everyday. One of the days I started walking and someone picked me up and took me the rest of the way. There isn't the same danger of getting in cars with strangers here as there is in America. Thank goodness. Today I got dropped off only to slip in the grass walking to the door. Would have been a nice move if I were playing baseball, but not so pretty in a skirt. Flip flops and sandals are the shoe of choice here, but I haven't really figured out why. I am much safer in my tennis shoes.
Even though their feet may not be pretty, many of these people here truly are beautifl. So many families have given up everything they have known to further translation of the Bible. Many leave there college children and come back here. Some are very young and just starting families and some are retired and this is what God has led them to do in their retirement. How amazing are these people. It is quite a sacrifice to learn a new language and a new location. The beauty of Ukarumpa is that not only are we interacting with Papua New Guineans but we have privilege to interact with people from all over the world from many different denominations.
I recently visited with a couple from Ireland. John and Wendy Bailey are here with their 3 kids. It's quite neat how encouraging one couple can be in such a short amount of time. They took time to pray with me and for me. I was encouraged that evening and anticipate spending more time with them. I ask that you pray for them as they are making lots of decisions. Illnesses in the family and one daughter is graduating this year and the other possibly next year. If you wouldn't mind please lift them up in prayer for direction God would have them take.
This last week and half has been quite crazy for me. Other than being a little homesick, we have had some tragic events in last few days. These events have made people here a little stressed and combine that with continuous rainy days. God is in the midst of doing some amazing things and I would venture to say Satan doesn't like it. One of our members this past Saturday had a child run out in front of the car out of town and the child was killed. This is a difficult situation for here in PNG, the rule eye for and eye still applies. We are praying for justice in the court systems and protection for this family.
This past weekend I was able to go with the Parkers to Goroka, a town a couple of hours from Ukarumpa. The drive was amazing! The kids were so excited and using their binoculars to as they say "get a glimpse". We were able to do some 2nd hand shopping and eat in a restaurant. It was very therapeutic for me and I really enjoyed spending time with my Australian friends.
I have about 5 weeks left here and I pray that I will continue to accomplish the things God desires for me here in Ukarumpa. I am glad to report I have slept well 3 nights in a row. As I have said before I have been having difficulty sleeping, and it was really starting to effect me and my work so I am thankful for prayers that have allowed me to sleep better.
I am continuing to learn so much about God's Word and His Will for us as His children. I am learning more of God's Power through the Holy Spirit. More than ever I know God has so much planned for me more than I could ever ask, think, or imagine.
Until next time...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)