Monday Monday

Fixing the UPS.

Around here UPSes (uninteruptable power supply) are very important. The power goes out frequently and having a battery backup/surge protection for your computers extends their life. Last week I spent setting up a new monitoring system so that we could see when servers went down.

We noticed Friday afternoon that a switch went down repeatedly during the power failures which was indicative of a UPS failing. So we found a replacement UPS after closing time.

Monday morning, we arrived at the door with a new UPS and this particular department was doing typesetting. Typesetting is one of the final stages of a Bible translation in which they perfect the look and feel of the text before publishing. (from my current understanding anyway).

They said, "wow, we hadn't even called yet!, how did you know?"

Typically the first time we know about a problem is when someone complains, but this new (free) software we put in place allowed us to see the problem, and come up with a solution before the problem was reported by the people in the office.

I gladly swapped out the UPS and they were rather impressed that they saw little to no interruption of their work.

THIS is how things are supposed to work. To know that our efforts of the past three weeks led to a very direct solution for the translation process is extremely rewarding. It means that our vision (our =CTS) of helping Bible translation is working and will work. The alternative was that they could have been unable to do their work for half a day if not more while we scrambled to get replacement parts.

As a comedic side note, I spent some time repairing the (now spare) UPS, and while one "customer" was watching, proceeded to discover a short in the UPS.... the hard way.

Sparks flew, flames flew, smoke billowed.
We apparently have a bad UPS.

I've never.... ever... ever done that on a UPS. I've never seen that happen on a UPS. And I had to do it right in front of someone who by now has told several people I'm sure.

It was in this moment that I realized the pride I felt from doing the quick replacement for the typesetters was equally relational to the amount of humility I felt from blowing up a UPS in front of a non-computer technician. The following moment I paused and gave the glory to GOD that anything I touch works at all in the first place, and to thank Him for the nice free new software that enables the vision to become reality.

I LOVE how God doesn't let me get full of myself.
I also like He made it so that hair grows back. (-;

working here

Do we really like solutions?

Working in I.T. my job is to find solutions to problems. Some days you feel great, solving one problem after the other, other days you feel darn near stupid for not being able to solve the simplest of issues.

When you are well matched with another I.T. employee, the days when you feel stupid you can turn to them and say "help!" and they understand and try to lend a bit of their brain to you and work out the solution together.

Often times here we're too busy to put two brains on the same problem, and some days, like today, you both have enough problems of your own and are both unable to solve them.

Those aren't the best days.

The days when you feel challenged by a problem and can't solve it, and realize no one else around you can solve it and it's up to you to solve alone... and you feel as if you can't.

Those are the frustrating days.

This morning, I walked into the door with a plan, which 2 minutes after arriving from group devotions, was shattered.

Email issues happening left and right. Radio issues. All our major forms of communication were under assault. People were getting upset at other people for not responding to emails they never got, etc.

And in the middle of it, sat two I.T. guys feeling by noon as if they had no clear path to solve the issues.

We took a break, walked home for lunch.
At lunch I calmed down and realized "solutions can only come AFTER problems."

So I decided to let the problem have it's time, because inevitably a solution would come, and I shouldn't let my attitude get defeated as well as email.

Armed with a fresh new perspective and a quick prayer for creativity, I walked in through the same door after lunch and low and behold a few minutes ago, not 1 but 3 problems were solved and things seem back on track.

At times wrestling with an email issue here can feel like going 15 rounds in a boxing ring. There is polite pressure and sometimes not always polite to restore this integral service. How did it get broken in the first place? People over your shoulders, and the realization that confusion is enhanced by panic.

So you can imagine my elation when I was finally able to resolve the issue, and I was ecstatic, and I jumped up out of my chair...
YES! IT WORKS!! FINALLY! This issue ate up some of my weekend and most all of my monday but it works now!!!

which is when my co-worker walked in from the radio site and said
"well at least one of us is fixing things."

He will solve it. I know he will. But still, one of the many wonderful differences in being a member of the Kingdom of God is that I can quietly say a pray for him to solve it.

And, one of the great things about working with other believers here is that I can pray with him, and not have to find a secluded office somewhere where people won't be offended by our prayers and write an angry email to a manager.

I'm finding there is a great many cultural differences between working in Silicon Valley and working here. Not the least of which is being able to blast praise music in an "office" without offending people.

A Painting, Providence

Should I write blog in haiku? Would we call that "blogku" ? Or perhaps "haikog"?

That isn't my area of expertise... I'm more of a run on sentence kind of guy.

3 years ago in October 2004 I came to PNG for 3 weeks.
for 3 of those days I spent time in a language area (apparently I shouldn't say village? This is news to me but it was a village.)

We visited 3 villages, Goglmo was one of the ones where we showed the Jesus Film and I played with the kids.

3 years later exactly... the same month... my wife says "I'd like to check out this National Art show." So she went, and I stayed and did work around the house.

She says "I liked one let's go back."

So we went back, and we liked the same one so I was able to talk to the artist. Found out he was a national translator with the same guy who's village I visited and is FROM the village I visited 3 years ago.

I don't know the odds of that, but we bought the painting because it's a little piece of our history (and here they are very cheap).

Now we have more of a story than "we liked it so we bought it". It is in fact, 3 years to the month after my original trip here, meeting a man from the village that was instrumental in teaching me about the true PNG, and who had painted this beautiful scene of a lake in Goroka (the town I flew into 3 years ago and haven't been to since).

I do not believe in coincidence, I can't afford to.
I am not normally an "art" purchaser but this one happened to be the right price (about $40.00 US) and had a good story to it, and has a lot of personal memories tied to it as well.

Cultural Moment

Before coming here we either gave away stuff, sold stuff at a yard sale, scrapped it, put it in storage or brought it with.

So the other day I was looking for something I owned, and I stopped and thought...

"wait, do I still have this? and if I do... where is it?"

It's an odd place to be in mentally... knowing that you formerly owned something.
AND THEN, if you can convince yourself that you still have it, and get up the energy to begin... you can search through the many boxes you haven't opened yet that it might possibly be in.

And ironically, we inventoried everything we brought so that this wouldn't happen.
It's more a funny moment than anything.

Like that moment when you're walking and suddenly you forget where you were going and what you were about to do? Some folks call those "senior moments" but even at the tender young age of 33 I have them regularly when busy.


So here is an interesting moment in our culture that unless you've spent time here you really wouldn't appreciate or fully understand. You really never throw anything away here. So when you're done with something you can give it (or sell as some do) away. But, because we all live so closely, you also put your name on the equipment that often gets brought together and lost. Umbrellas, basketballs, stuff like that, often you'll see a name on it in sharpie pen, or several names with prior names scribbled out.

You know an item has been around a long time by how many names it has on it. Each name a previous owner.

Well we live in the house formerly occupied by [Last Name Hidden for security reasons].

So last night, as my wife and I were talking in the living room, we heard three kids dart for a snack in the kitchen and my daughter yells out

"Okay, but I get the cup that has Joy [Last Name] written on it!"

We laughed. It was such an odd thing to hear and something you might not here anywhere else.

It was a "I'm a missionary on a missionary-center" cultural moment.
Those happen almost daily.

For example, the other day I was looking at a video of my nephew whom I haven't seen for 6 months taking his first steps and something felt very ODD about it.

Finally I realized it was because the floor had carpet on it. Something you don't see a lot of here because of the climate.

Another moment is when you're watching a movie and feel like the driver is on the wrong side of the car... and road, then you realize... oh yeah this movie was made in America.

Fun Fact

A friend sent me a picture of this letter above from one of her 6 year old supporters.

It's a cute question, and very valid so I thought I'd spend a minute on it.
The reason it is so valid is that it is two names combined. Papua comes from the Melanesian term meaning "frizzy hair".

Papua New Guinea the "Last Unknown" to the rest of the world was "discovered" in 1526 by Portuguese sea captain Jorge de Meneses. Or did he really ‘Discover’ Papua New Guinea?

-credit

The country's dual name results from its complex administrative history prior to Independence. The word papua is derived from a Malay word describing the frizzy Melanesian hair, and "New Guinea" (Nueva Guinea) was the name coined by the Spanish explorer Yñigo Ortiz de Retez

-credit

Interesting Day

Today is Sunday

Today I woke up to hearing the sounds of my children playing a game in our back yard. The best I can tell it was a sort of a "hide the treat" and guess who has it type of game. The part that was interesting is no english was spoken and I understood everything that was going on and it took me a second to realize it wasn't English ( I was still sleepy). I keep a tape in my video camera for these moments and started taping. Unfortunately most of it involved being quiet and closing eyes. But I was able to give you a small glimpse of what my children's days are like outside of school and chores.





I had been thinking for a while that the kids needed a swing, and so today as a family we went outside, after church, and the kids picked the tree. We smacked some weatherproofing on a scrap piece of wood, and tied some rope in place. I weight tested it and viola... tree swing. It really is nice that they have plenty of room to run around outside and play and that they have made and continue to make many national friends as well as ex-patriot friends.

God has blessed us continually through watching our children here. Never once do they stop to think about how incredible it is they are playing games with children from a different birth place, speaking a different language, eating foreign "biscuits" in a backyard once owned by Bible Translators. But we do.

Yesterday I spent the day (saturday) helping a friend dig some really big holes to put up his antenna. T.V. antenna you ask? No, his amateur radio antenna. With it he can very rarely communicate with portions of the midwest United States. He is hoping to converse with his dad more frequently with the improved antenna. Radio is a big form of communication around here, and I am trying to learn more about it since I seem to be in the perfect place to learn.

The work of a support missionary here is very diverse. Almost everyone has multiple jobs, all of which are key. Beside that though, my wife and I have a commitment to helping others as often as we can and having the needs of others take priority over some things that may seem important to us, and yet in the long run are not. Part of our heart towards support is lending help wherever we can. Yesterday for me that meant digging 33 inch square holes all day instead of repairing things around our house. Why? Because I heard someone who was going to do it and thought, it be better for their daily job if they weren't sore and exhausted on Monday by doing it alone.

I tell you, I heard a sermon from a man in Alotau, a pastor there, born in Papua New Guinea, and he preached on being a cheerful giver. I can honestly say that having a cheerful heart of giving has come from God through many of you. Being supported by you has touched us in a profound way and has taught me the meaning of cheerful giving. Through your example, I was able to dig holes without once complaining inside my own head about how hard the work was, or how I'd rather be doing other things.

For me, that is a lot of personal growth (-; I'm seeing that I'm not the man I used to be in many ways. I've really stopped grumbling to myself about things. WOW, did I have life easy before, why was I complaining? And now, I see all around me that I could have it a LOT tougher... so why complain now?

God has blessed us too often in so many ways for us to not be thankful no matter what comes our way.

Right now, we are settling back in. I've been back from Alotau for 3 work days, and a weekend, and now it's time to really get some major projects at work begun. We have a lot of improvements that we are able to do, and judging from the new missionaries coming in through POC the computer services department is going to have more work to do.

Five years ago, email wasn't used as often here, one of ten missionaries brought a laptop to POC with them. Last month at the orientation training, not one single member was without a laptop. Everyone knew what high speed internet was. The next generation of computer users have arrived with their MacOSX and their Vista and their high speed expectations, and so we at CTS will have our work cut out for us.

Meanwhile Kendal has begun teaching English as a second language, and this next week will begin sessions with the kids one on one! She's pretty excited.

So things are moving along and we're beginning to feel a lot less like students still learning the ropes and more like helpers starting to pull our weight.

Alotau Too

I am back from Alotau which is in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea. I finally understand all the jokes about air travel in a third-world country! Flights cancelled after 4 hours waiting in a terminal, getting stuck in an area for days because of a cancelled flight. Missing connections etc.

For a moment picture the oldest plane in the States that you've ever flown in commercially. Now imagine that would be the shining jewel in the Air Nuigini fleet. For the most part you're grateful there IS an airline, but the rest of the time you're frustrated that you can't seem to get on a plane the first time you try. Pushing and shoving has been known to happen, flights sitting on the tarmack for hours because the stewards forgot to come to work.

Anything can happen.

And it did. But that's not the point of the story.

My department sent me to the southern bay area of the country to help solve computer and network issues.

The setting:
In order to get translation work done, translators spend time in their assigned village. For many reasons from time to time they need to exit the village (supplies, laundry, sanity, deliver mail, send their current translation work to headquarters, a simple break, refridgeration) and when they do they can not make the trip back up to the Ukarumpa headquarters as it is a costly trip. So we have strategically placed regional centers.

Each of these regional centers need a few bodies to manage them. Usually these centers provide jobs for local Papua New Guineans. When translators are not at the centers, the flats/apartments are available for other travelers both private and commercial.

The Alotau center has two new acting managers who have come to PNG to help kickoff the new maritime (boat) ministry. If you know how useful planes are out in the jungle, then you can imagine how nice it will be to have reliable boats in a location that is very coastal and has many nearby islands.

The new manager also happens to be a personal friend as we attended Training Camp together.

VITAL a translation course in which there is training as well as actual translation that goes on, is kicking off the day I arrive.

The mission:
In order to help relieve some of the pressure on the new manager who has been in country under 2 months, has 4 kids and is really here to do the boat ministry, I was chosen to fly to Alotau. My mission was to remove any computer obstacles to their work getting done as well as assisting VITAL with their network setup for the class.

The work:
I showed up, assessed the situation, and began to work on the computers, volunteering also to when available work on anyone's personal computers. There were several personal computing issues that stood in the way and jsut gnaw at people and frustrate their work, slowing their progress. I began alleviating as many as I could find or was told about.

The blessing:
Really I consider myself being blessed what mainly happened on the trip. Yes people were VERY excited to be able to get a long standing issue solved in a place where little support is offered. Very grateful indeed! Some of the most appreciated work was stuff I did on the side that I saw as a simple favor. We reached out to the community to meet a few people and happened upon a guy with a few computer issues and I was able to repair them in under ten minutes... that ten minutes went a LONG way to help further good relations in the community with the current managers.

But for the most part, I got to work side by side with people doing translation! I got to see it happening! I also gained a new appreciation for the diversity of this country as this coastal area was unlike anything I'd seen before. Honestly each day was like a scenic frame from a tropical paradise movie! One night I was worshiping God thanking Him for putting me in this fantastic adventure. I've seen many adventure films but I never thought I'd be in one!

I gained an appreciation for what life at a regional centre is like and how my friends' lives down here are different than my own. I met people who I'd later be supporting with computer work, and gained faces to the voices. Overall, a productive week!

There is burden, and there is sacrifice when serving God, but in so many ways God reaches out and blesses, and His yolk is light! I have found joy in serving Him even though the things I've done are so far outside my comfort zone, I've been amazed by God repeatedly in the way He choses to work.

One example, I was scheduled to fly down and the flight was late, forcing me to miss my connection and scramble to rebook a flight and a place to stay the night in one town. The flight was cancelled without me knowing it, and had I not been late, I would have never booked the place I did (most affordable), sat in the airport forever, and had a miserable time. Instead, I went straight to my place to stay and had a deep conversation with a Papua New Guinean woman about law and morality and God and all kinds of subjects. A conversation which helped me gain a greater appreciation for Papua New Guinea's struggles.

Play time:
One day the boat manager needed to take the boat out and do some safety equipment training. So while he did that, I was able to go look at the new boat. The Kwadima II. It has replaced the old boat which was less effective at moving people around. This boat was designed as a fiber-glass hull but in the old wooden hull appearance so that culturally it wouldn't stand out like a soar thumb in the docks of PNG. A wise move I think. The boat didn't have a lot of luxuries, but it was very functional and got the job done effeciently. While we went out, I was able to drop a fishing line in... caught something big too but it snapped the line. Then we anchored for a bit, and jumped into the water for a quick swim. I saw a squid, a lobster, a kingfish, a jellyfish, a few huge oysters, and told there was a moray eel nearby. That was all in the span of about 1 hour. We got back on the boat and headed in. It was a nice break in the hectic pace. It's odd that in such a laid back society as this coastal area was, that life could be so busy for us at the center, but it was. Very busy.

Overall, the trip held a lot of benefits. Although I did find that being away from Kendal and the kids for ten days in PNG was a LOT harder than being away for 10 days in the States. I think it was being on the ocean, without a main highway between us, and an unreliable airport, made me feel a bit isolated from them, add to that super slow dial up internet speeds, and unreliable phone lines and I was feeling rather homesick by the fourth night.

Still, it was a very good trip and I know God was filling me up with experiences He'll tap into at a later date.

Picture time:
FOR LARGER PICS CLICK HERE:


A WWII anti-aircraft gun pointed right at me as I got off the airplane in Alotau. War relics litter the beaches.

the plane


the village we visited of an employee


a glimpse of town - this place has EVERYTHING (-;

VITAL in action (admittedly not the most active picture, but the course is longer than I was there for and I didn't get many action pics)


Alotau from the ocean.


Boat training

using safety location equipment


the old boat

Alotau

I went to bed last night around 2am because I was working in the office to repair failed hard drives. I'm trying to work in the office AFTER hours so I have from 4-6(dinner) then from 10(dinner chat) till I go to bed. Gladly though, battling the slow internet connection, I finally downloaded somewhat timely virus definitions.

Today Tim needed to go on the boat and train many people on the emergency location device and test the new antenna. So we all went with him. We sent the "old" boat the MARK out with a beacon and tried to locate it. It took us about an hour. On the way I thought "why not drop a line in?" So I did, send the tension on the line, and let it sit, about an hour later the line started unspooling like mad, so I ran to the back of the boat, grabbed the pole and before I could get a good yank in to set the hook, I felt slack. The line snapped... I hadn't yelled "fish on" and the tension was too much for it. Oh well, some excitement, but it would have been nice to have some fresh fish for the first time in 6 months.

This is really a different world down here. For going such a short distance, it's completely different. Ukarumpa is a highlands (mountain) culture, this is a coastal culture. The houses are different, people are more used to being on the water or shore than in the hills, there are no gardens visible from the ocean up in the hills, which tells me most of the people are down on the coast. They don't speak Tok Pisin, they speak mostly MOTU, and if you speak Tok Pisin and they don't, they might be insulted. Things seem more safe here, but in many aspects it is such a different way of life. Tim and the family are like fish, we swam today in the ocean, taking about an hour break for fun after training was done.
He dives down, stays down... it's amazing.

So I had a lot of firsts.
At tim's challenge, I dove off the top of the boat (about 13+my height) up from the water, jumped into the water. Then in the water saw an old WWII wreckage that had 2 huge oysters on it (about the size of basketballs). Getting back onto the boat was a trick. It's a new boat and they haven't worked out the ladder yet, so I climbed up the side, and in the process cut my foot and dropped my mask into the water . I hesitated but jumped in after it, and it was too late. So I had to climb my way up onto the boat again. On the way back I saw some dolphins off the bow and ran to get my camera, and came back they were drifting in front of the bow of the boat right under me! It was pretty neat. I'm not sure if the pictures came out.
A lot of firsts.

It sounds like a nice day, and it was. The boat is a fibreglass hull crafted to look like an old wooden boat. The style of the boat doesn't reflect all of the latest technologies but it tries to incorporate as many as it can (satellite,gps, radio, etc) in a culturally sensitive way so the boat doesn't stand out too much at the dock. And it doesn't. It actually blends in nicely, except that's it is very clean and white still.

I came over here because the current "acting" manager of this location is supposed to also be the maritime manager. The maritime ministry is a new ministry trying to get off the ground, with the intention of getting translators to and from their allocation safely. Until this boat came along, travel was at best, risky. So this family came and in the process have also taken on the site management job. I've spent 5 days with them now, and they are very simply put.... overworked. They do not complain, but he is doing the job of 4 men right now.

Add to that cultural learning, as they've been here not even 2 months yet, and then finally throw in a slew of computer problems, and life is pretty tough down here. So my department sent me down to help ease the load as much as I could. Almost like a missions trip inside of being a full time missionary.

Today we took a break from working 8am-2am every day, and worked out on the ocean. It is a completely different life from my own but I really enjoyed seeing Tim and his family in their element, seeing where they excel. It made me realize God really chose the right family to come here.

I've had some interesting cultural situations that I've been involved in since being here. It's been a very rich experience. Sparing you the details, the overall point of the encounters seems to be that you need to reach out with care to the surrounding cultures and show them you are here to love them and integrate. Failure to do that would be a huge mistake but an easy one to make since we don't know all the cultural rules yet. Being active in the community, being seen, kids playing together, adults talking together, this is relationship building and no work will be effective until that is established. It takes time and wisdom.

I've gotten to taste a little of what life is like for translators AWAY from Ukarumpa which is our "headquarters", I've seen the village, and now I've seen a regional center which is like a mini-headquarters. I've been able to see the boat they spend nights on travelling, and I've been able to solve computer problems for translators who come through and need to get work done.

I've felt very directly involved here and realize that this experience is very unique to those who live in Ukarumpa and it can only profit everyone that I've had it. I should be able to better support them knowing what it's like down here, but mostly understanding what life is like will help me best support them both spiritually, physically and technologically.

Alotau

Many people here in Ukarumpa have not been to Alotau. This is the place of the new BOAT ministry that some friends of ours are managing.

I was asked if I could go a few days after returning from P.O.C. POC is a 4 hour drive from Ukarumpa or a 20 minute flight. Alotau is a two plane trip. One plane from here to Port Moresby then another to Alotau. Since I am going on a WORK related trip, our department is covering the cost of the flight.

The manager of the boat ministry is also acting as the regional center manager so he's overbooked. When you're overbooked and your computers aren't working, life seems that much more complicated. So as a support ministry, we (cts) are sending a representative (me) down to solve their computer problems.

It feels like a business trip like back in the States. I'll be leaving Kendal and the kids home for 10 days because while the work may only day 3-5 (after all I've brought up an entire hosting facility in 5) the flight schedules mandate I stay for 10.

So I'll be able to do more work than jsut the top priorities, which is a real blessing to me because I'll be able to work with people one on one AND assist with the VITAL program. (a translator training course)

It is really special whenever I can get more direct exposure to the translation process and apparently this experience is one that not many get to have. So I'm thankful to God for it, even though it means travelling again so soon after having jsut gotten home.

My plane leaves in 40 minutes.

Life in Ukarumpa.
I was all packed, and ready to go when my wife said "the phone isn't working".
I looked at the phone and realized it was off the hook in the other room. We hung it up and it instantly rang.

I have 1 hour to go before the flight and I have had 2 favors requested.
-since you're going to Alotau can you bring some things for them?
OF COURSE I CAN!

In fact, we also signed up as a support family for one of the couples in Alotau, which means that since they are more remote and we have more resources, that we arrange to send them things when they need them. (more batteries, radio parts, computer parts, whatever). So for ten days I have 3 "outfits" and the rest of my luggage is stuff for them and the kids as a help and encouragement. So fitting in another small thing isn't huge.. I ....can...JAM...it...in.

-we have friends leaving on the same flight as you, and their connection won't leave until tomorrow and they'll need cash to eat/sleep etc. Since finance can only let us draw X amount per day, can you draw X amount and I draw X amount and then I'll pay you back later?

OF COURSE WE CAN! WHY? BECAUSE my wife is so brilliant that she planned ahead for our personal cash needs and got our needed cash two days ago!

It's year end stock take, so in addition to the standard office closure of Saturday and Sunday, we also have monday/tues/weds closures....

WOW... in the course of 1 hour we were able to help 2 people out. I LOVE being in the position where we can be helpful.

For so long we've been learning, training, working, and basically learning the ropes, asking questions of others, and feeling generally like... mooches. Relying on the kindness and help of others.

But now, we've been here half a year, we're established, know more of the language, and have been able to help people quite a bit!

We take our roles as support much further than the work we do. It pours into our attitude, we want people to feel welcomed, supported, encouraged, and generally like we're the kind of family they can always come to when they need help or rest.

So today is a GREAT day because not only do we get to help people at Ukarumpa, but I get to go to Alotau and give some goodies to this family's 4 kids, give some encouragement and love, and practical technical help.

This is the kind of day we were made for!

God is so good to us, giving us this kind of opportunity time after time.
At POC we were able to be helpful to people as well because of where God had put us months previous. We were able to encourage people and comfort people, fix their computers, etc.

Please pray for Kendal and the kids alone for 10 days. We've been apart for ten days before but this time it's in a different country, and Kendal is the one staying. Pray for safety and health and sanity. (-;

Thank you all for reading and supporting us!

Village Living.... the EPIC SAGA

I wrote my “blog” down by hand since I did not have a computer with me during village living. I also only wrote snippets as I had time, so what you’re about to read will be a very long blog entry as I’ve put all the 6 days together in one post. Also, since it is more like a quilted fabric of thoughts and recollections of the day, the grammar is not always clear. Take it for what it is, and I hope you enjoy reading it. It’ll be a bit of a read. Also, soon I will post from Kendal’s journal, so you get her perspective as well.

PLEASE ENJOY THE PICTURES
(the way I enjoy is I goto the first picture, click on the down arrow, choose "view slideshow" then up at the top click on 640x480 change the time from 15 seconds to 3 seconds, and click "show more info"... then I can sit back and enjoy the photos)


POC

Village Living

Day 1

We took 2 hiluxes and 4 families into the bush “kamba”. After unloading the others we took a 2.5 km trail in the 4x4 to the village named “Betelgut”. There we met our was mama and her daughter and granddaughter (1yr old) and her dad. We were told that our waspapa was in Lae for the week so I figured I was destined to not have one. He may show up later.

The house was up a short path, our temporary waspapa is a carpenter so the house was very nice. Strong. After we saw the newly finished liklik haus (outhouse) we storied a bit (talked) then put up the beds and mosquito nets and got water going through the filter. I was told “you fat” and that Sydney spoke better tok pisin than me or Calvin or Kendal. These types of comments are not rude in their culture, they simply are observations. This hurt Calvin’s feelings until I told him that he spoke better tok pisin than me. We seemed to click quickly with the family so that was good. The roof of our room is at 10’ but the door is at 6’ and I’ve hit my head 4 times thus far.

We’re isolated but it is really nice. I am finding I can communicate somewhat well although I’m not sure if that’s a tribute to my tok pisin or their ability to understand bad tok pisin. I still have much to learn. After a brief nap 10-15 boys came and played soccer. Watching the boys w/ Calvin was amazing. They would run all around him but stop near him and let him take his time kicking the ball because he was so much slower than them. Then in a feat of cross cultural communication, I taught them kickball! They loved it. 2 dads umpired and one dad was your typical little league dad, shouting and directing them in their tok ples (native language).

Stand in was-brother showed me a new house being built, it was 2 stories. Sydney is amazing! Everyone loved her from the 1^st minute. She’s fluent in tok pisin, plays with their pet snake, and right now is learning to shred coconut. It is simply awe inspiring to see her flourish. Calvin is right now trying to catch a chicken with his bare hands. He thinks a rope would help him, so he might get a vine. From time to time you see him chasing after it. For Dinner we’re having taro, kowkow, chicken, kumu and rice. Syd played hopscotch but her hair wasn’t curly enough to hold the piece of coconut shell on her head. Calvin played marbles and I learned to chop/split wood the PNG way. An old man came into the room and started talking. It was an awkward conversation because he was partially deaf. He had 4 sons, 1 daughter and 2 sons of his died to sickness. They tell us we will be seeing many funerals in the coming years as AIDS is quickly becoming a major health problem here (to rival Africa).

The liklik haus is a 4x4 room with a 12” hole in the ground. I put a toilet on top of it under advisement from staff at POC. I met wasmama’s husband. He’s a very talkative and hospitable guy. A carpenter, I really like him. He has many friends and built his house to host visitors. We had a good dinner and talked a lot. He gave me permission to do magic tricks tomorrow, I was concerned about this because of the country’s history with mysticism, but he was assured when I taught him the secret to the trick and realized it was all play. His prayer at mealtime was quiet and on one knee and well spoken. So far I’m really enjoying village living as is the rest of the family. They call SYD a PNG Meri. I think they want to keep her. Sydney carried firewood on her head today, and Calvin has been a little quiet, but he’s warming up.

Day 2

My air bed leaks. So I decided to hike the 2.5km to the PMV stop. We saw some other POCers there. The hike wasn’t too hard, very sweaty and hot. Calvin and I rode the pmv into town, THAT was an adventure. Then we bought 2 foam mattresses with all the cash I had on hand. I bought Calvin an ice-cream with the remaining coins because he was so good today! The new rode another pmv to Kamba and hiked back into our village. I never planned to ride a pmv or hike while in the village. I made up for the hike I missed when I was sick! On the way up one man asked my advice on how to be successful, and in tok pisin I replied to him that true success was knowing Christ. If he wanted true success he needed to read his Bible. I had only a little time to witness to him, but instead of answering his question of how to sell more effectively to whiteskins, I gave him that. Who knew I’d be witnessing on a the back of a flatbed truck in the middle of a jungle? God. It was a great adventure today, one I would have never attempted without the training of the previous 5 weeks at POC.

Papa talked about an adopted son in Australia learning the computer business from a friend of his who likes snakes and insects, I’ll have to ask more about this later.

Day 3

Slept from 8p-4a was tired. The family is large, 7 kids. 2 boys away w/work 1 daughter w/baby. Our wasparents are no who they were meant to be but it’s fine. Mama runs most of the show. Today waspapa stand-in wants to climb coconut trees and drink kulau (young coconut milk, very tasty. This is a good drink sort of like jungle Gatorade, it puts back in minerals and electrolytes You find a green coconut, then cut open the top 1/3 of it and drink the contents). He took me on a tour of betelgut, it’s large w/30 houses or so, very pretty because there is water all around. Yesterday I asked Sydney “what are you eating?” “kowkow and a lolli”. PNG MERI. Calvin has been practicing cutting bark w/a bush knife. Sydney has befriended Alma, I’ve done a few magic tricks. Sydney drank some bad creek water but didn’t get sick from it. She was called “blackskin” and we’re told she will soon know yet another language (tok ples) if she stays much longer. I hiked up with calvin to the kulau and it was very tasty. Grandpa stopped in twice today. The first time he wanted medicine and the 2^nd he wanted a bread. I spent some time with him documenting his family history (homework assignment). The kids have really taken to me and papa said it was good for a man to play with his children because too many order their kids around to do work and then their children never come until dinner when called. Today the boys really were interested in touching me. They compared hand sizes and foot sizes, tried to feel my toe inside the boot, wrapped their fingers around my calf… they were fascinated with my size and color. It takes a measure of patience to be pawed at, but I didn’t mind it too much. I read today from the Bible in tok pisin and they gathered around. We spent a lot of time laughing and talking with everyone. The kids enjoy coin tricks much more than any other kind. There was a mouse in our room last night, but we didn’t even bother getting out of bed. The dogs chased some stranger snooping around the village off. We played games with papa tonight, talked a while, did shadow puppets which he found very amusing and participated in. Tomorrow he will go on a BOMBOM (fishing). I wanted to go catch kundaum(shrimp) but mama decided it would be too dangerous for me. I insisted but she declined. I have been warned that these families will really watch out for us and make sure we’re safe but I had yet to be denied anything. I respected her wishes and didn’t go. But I asked her to teach me how they are caught and prepared and was wary of how they are preserved since we weren’t to eat them for 2 days.

I was shown how they dry them. Whiteskins refrigerate, they dry. The shrimp were cooked over a fire for 2 days… They use a spine from an old umbrella and attach it to a bamboo stick and spear the shrimp around 2am. I am anxious to give this family our parting gifts as they’ve been such gracious hosts. I told them so as well.

Day 4

It would have made a good story to go on the bombom but at least the story doesn’t end with me making a trip to the hospital as mama didn’t allow me to go. But what did transpire was a bit of a pickle for me. Papa asked mama to ask Kendal to ask me if they could borrow our coleman kerosene lantern. Now this lantern was lent to me by the POC director and I was told not to bother coming back without it. So I had to decide if I was going to give the impression that “stuff” was more important than a relationship because in PNG culture, you share everything. However, knowing that, I also know that should I share this coleman with him, he would see sharing it with his brother or friend as the same permission. This is exactly a text book case of cultural values being different. We studied this in ICC. I knew therefore, that if I lent this, it could end up in ANYONE’s hands. And it did. In fact it ended up in two of his close friends’ hands. And since mama didn’t let me go, I couldn’t watch it. Let’s face it, I was more likely to fall and break it than they were anyway. Well, that night Kendal and I prayed that the lantern would come back, and if it didn’t, it was worth the relationship building to buy a new one. I could not shame him in this way. I did notice however that he didn’t ask me directly, it went through the wives. It rained all night and into the morning, so I was somewhat relieved to have been banned from the trip. The coleman came back fine and they caught more than kundaum they caught maleo (eel) and fish. They told me it was snake but when I looked up “maleo” the dictionary said “eel”.

Papa and I talked again for a while. It seems to be the nightly tradition, we eat, and then we sit back and talk about anything. He talked more of his son in Australia. He talked about how his son failed a computer course and wanted to know how I might be able to help. He talked about opting to not finish his house and use the money to help his son graduate his course. Which he did, and has yet to send any money back. I sensed an air of sacrifice for his son and yet disturbance that his son doesn’t write or contribute money to the family. This made me think of the idea of compensation in their culture. Even a father who invests in his son (whom he pointed out repeatedly was adopted, and the only bearing I can think that has on the issue was that it was his oldest. He made a distinction between his FIRST BORN and his FIRST SON, the reason this is significant is because by adopting a son before having a son, his adopted son gets all the land rights, instead of his first BORN son. So perhaps the slight bitterness was that this boy who was in line to inherit all his land, was not contributing to the land, and yet the first born son was living here, working the land, working hard, giving back to the family. I’m unsure) There is a lot about the people and the place and the family that you can’t glean from 6 days. I get the feeling that if I were to stay months I might scratch the surface of all the elements that go into the social interaction.

Papa seems to have many friends all over the world, which shows me where his heart lies. I was walking today and saw a sketch in the dirt of a tall man with boots and shorts and I had to assume it was me. Someone in the village was drawing me… that brought on a chuckle. Papa doesn’t talk to his dad (grandpa) nor listen to him, so again there is that something underlying that as a guest, I’m not privy to.

Day 5

Last night I was shutdown. I could barely speak English. I don’t know why but I was hoping my brain was switching to tok pisin thinking. I didn’t do much but I had little energy. The bagman in the village (community leader) came to visit with me. Sydney taught the kids the “chicken dance”. I read some more of the Bible and gave a little magic lesson (God has the true power kids). We ate eel for dinner with rice and kuaka. Sydney ate the eel down to the bone. Calvin liked it too. They asked me to read/preach in church this morning as their pastor was at a conference. They asked about 5 minutes before church was to start. It went well, the church is about 3 feet taller than I am. Papa was proud to tell me he painted the lettering on the door and in fact he was a leader in the church. He led the service. He later showed me his son’s soccer trophies.

Tonight was a big night, we had a Bangka (big feast) and many people came. Waspapa made a traditional meal of “banana cake” which was really enjoyable to watch the process of. It isn’t a cake like we’d think of it, it wasn’t sweet. Watching the ceremony of the day and the preparation of the food with coconut leaves as rice baskets, really the description of it doesn’t fit the participation so I’ll save some typing and skip that. It was an enjoyable celebration where we were the unspoken guests of honor. The bigman later took me aside and asked what my intentions for being in their village was.

I answered in tok pisin and then in English to be sure he understood me

“I’m here to learn Tok Pisin and to learn what your life is like, what you are like. My job in this country is to fix computers to help with Bible translation, but it is a meaningless effort if I am not doing it with a love in my heart for the people of Papua New Guinea. So I am here to foster that love, and to gain the skills to make friends in this country.”

He was very pleased with my answer and then told me that he had several experienced with white men who come, learn the language, take pictures then sell the pictures for a profit and exploit his people. I had heard reports of this as well, and I’m not sure what is going on but others seem to complain about it. Every person there has a different impression when they see a whiteskin that is tainted by their previous experience. I feel though that we made good friends and I know we made a close connection in this time.

Day 6

Today we leave. We packed up and the kids gave our kids gifts, we gave gifts and received gifts. I entertained the kids with finger tricks, eye tricks, whatever I could think of. We had a great time with the old “spin your head on the baseball bat then run in a straight line” game. The kids and adults laughed as the dizzy kids would fall all over the place. Papa and mama both asked us to have Sydney write them and send pictures as she grew. Mama was tearful at saying goodbye to Sydney. Again I’m convinced we are here so our children can minister. (-;

Earlier papa took me to their matmat (cemetery) and I asked him about his family line. Apparently his grandfather was a peacemaker (like a policeman) and came to settle a large tribal fight. In so doing he was rewarded with land, and his family relocated to Betelgut. So their children, the ones I played with, were the first children FROM betelgut from his bloodline, until the kids were born they were more or less outsiders. He explained how the community functions, how they have committees for everything and how they are communicated to through the GARAMUT (like a gong) and what the different gongs mean.

Market Experience

Sagawa Market

I got there twice after a long hike and pmv ride with Calvin. 30 men on a flatbed truck, with a ton of cargo and bilums. People were shy about touching me but I told them “if we hit a bump, don’t fall off, grab my leg” they chuckled but at the next bump three men grabbed my leg to hold on. My calves are thicker than their necks. I am repeatedly surprised by the pictures that show our size difference.

Garden day

We (calvin me and waspapa) hiked to the coconut line about a mile away and rested in the shade and drank kulau. I asked if Calvin could learn to climb a tree and they taught him. They wrapped a loop of bark around his feet and showed him how to hop and pull and hang on. He made it about 5 feet up and then stopped as he says “I didn’t want to exhaust myself, but I could have gone all the way up.” Then we cut the kulau and brought it home by tying the husks and throwing the coconuts over our shoulders. The kids (mangis) threw some coconuts on big Limbu leaves (about the size of a wagon) and dragged them home. I cut my finger a bit on the coconut shell, when drinking but it was good and Kendal enjoyed sharing some back at the village as well.

Garden Visit –Kendal’s Journal

Sydney and I went to the garden with some of the women and children. The garden we visited was “longwe liklik” (not too far) and thankfully not too steep of a climb. The family has another garden that is on top of a big mountain, so to get there you must go way down and then way up again. I was thankful they didn’t take us to this garden. We walked to the garden and then worked together to weed a large part of it. I’m sure wasmama thought I was very slow, but I felt like I did a good job of contributing to the work. Sydney is definitely the star of our family. Wasmama kept saying over and over how she is a good PNG meri.

Learn A skill/teach a skill – Kendal

Today I taught some of the ladies how to make bread in a drum oven. The women said they wanted to learn this and I think they enjoyed learning. They seemed eager to help mix and make the bread. I decided now was the time to tell them that I would leave the drum oven that Chad made, when we go. It would be silly to teach this skill and then take away the tool needed to repeat the skill.

Mama taught me how to make (or at least start) a bilum. I enjoy this kind of work a lot, it was nice to learn this skill. At first I think Mama didn’t really want to teach me, but she did and I think we both enjoyed it very much.

Attending Church - Kendal

We attended the local church in the village. Just before going Chad was asked to read and share about a passage of Scripture. The service was rather short due to the fact that the pastor is gone at a conference. The service was a mixture of formal like the church near poc and informal because they had someone playing a guitar and leading some praise song. Since the pastor was gone our papa led the service. One thing that really stood out to me was the very serious and respectful way Papua New Guineans behave when it comes to speaking about and worshiping God.

update

We're back from POC training, and we'll be heading up to Ukarumpa tomorrow morning. We are saying our "see-ya-laters" to friends who will be here for another 8 weeks doing more in depth translation training.

For 1 week now we've been in a village, learning the behavior and culture of papua new guinea, and the language, and how to live in a village setting, and how life is for a translator.

I have many pages of blog to write, and I've handwritten every bit of it, as I didn't have a computer in the village.

It'll be several days until I can get it all online, however until then, know that we're safe, we're healthy and very pleased with the experience!

Sleepover

(we're all healthy again...)

The sleepover

What happened:
We were assigned to pack up and walk to the village for one night sleep over. We left at 5:30pm to arrive and setup our beds and mosquito nets in daylight and to locate the bathroom. The liklik haus or toilet, is a shack with a hole in the ground... no seat. I was anticipating this to be my biggest challenge but it wasn't.

We arrived at 5:45 or so, (a short walk) with our backpacks, and we waited to be invited inside. We weren't invited inside. We asked to come inside and they let us in. Then we asked where we would sleep, and they showed us, but told us that we would eat dinner there first which meant we couldn't set up our beds. There was a long period of no communication in which we didn't know what to do so we decided to try and talk. The family wasn't too talkative and there were no men there. After a bit, my wife informed me that they changed their mind about where we would eat and we could go ahead and set up our beds.

We setup 4 beds and 4 mosquito nets. It was a lot of string tying and finding creative places to tie to in this house. It wouldn't be fair to call the house a hut, it was a house, jsut not by any Western standards. The floor was wood, the walls were woven dry grass, and the roof was tin.

We ate a dinner of rice and conversation wasn't that active, but later I taught all the kids a game called "hands up" and they loved that. Dinner was over, and tea was served. The tea had a lot of milk in it, so I sipped it politely but then passed on my leftovers to my son which was culturally appropriate. We chatted for a bit and we turned in I think around 9pm, It was hard to be sure as there were no watches. Sleeping was easy for Calvin, he slept all night as soon as his head hit the pillow. Sydney had a rough night, and thusly so did the rest of us. The rest of the village didn't seem to go to sleep until around midnight... by my guess. I was glad I brought earplugs.

Thoughts on what happened:
While you're laying in bed not sleeping you have a lot of time to think. My devotions for the morning was from 2Cor where Paul discusses having been in prison, shipwrecked, stoned, and all his torments. I was laying in this house thinking "How can I even consider grumbling about anything! It's raining outside and I'm not wet!" The liklik haus I visited was covered in large and small spiders. I have no illogical fear of spiders, but that doesn't mean I like them nor do I like sticking my head in a web. So I took a palm branch and swept out the toilet room of all spiders, because they seem to like hanging out at right about my forehead level.

God gave me a great attitude about this experience and here is why. As I'm trying to fall asleep amongst screaming babies, roosters crowing, dogs barking, dishes clanging, people talking... I suddenly think to myself "why are my kids having so much fun in everything they are doing?" and I remembered when I was a kid I didn't want to miss anything, so I wouldn't try to fall asleep I'd try to stay up and hear everything I could. So that's what I did, I laid there trying to hear all the noises and soak in the sounds and before I knew it, I had fallen asleep.

How many people get to experience what we have? How many people can say they have done this? Can say they have used one of the famous "village outhouses"? How many people can say they slipped on the muddy trail to the bathroom and fell hard? How many can say they woke up, had coconut kinas and tea for breakfast, and were given a tour of a garden?

I'm astonished by the lifestyle of the people here. It is hard work. This woman who hosted us, she had cut all the trees in her garden down herself. It was bikpela wok tru.

I learned a new phrase "sutim cad". It means to shuffle cards. One game the adults and kids alike love is UNO so I was asking all kinds of questions, "what do you call it when I do this?" "dispela wok, em i sutim cad".
I asked them how they shuffle... mixim cad. I ask them a lot. They weren't incredibly talkative but the experience was rich none the less and I'm looking forward to next week when I can contrast one family to another.

We're here to learn the PNG lifestyle, to learn the translator's life, and one small sample isn't enough, during POC we'll get several samples, and so I'm looking forward to our first overnight with a different family as well.

All in all, God is so faithful. While we were going into yet another experience that would push us out of our comfort zone, God supplied us with the ability and the attitude required to not only survive it, but to make it a pleasant one. I can not fully explain how much I LOVE the way God works in our lives. I am not the man I am because of Him. I am not a grumbler because of His supply. I am enjoying an experience meant to push you hard and I'm finding that I am gaining confidence more and more that God has called our family here. I was fully sure of that from day 1, but God continually says to us "look, you are excelling in My work for you, My burden is easy."

My heart is overwhelmed during these times when God arrives and gives me something not from myself.

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Our allocation.
Well, in 2 days we go into village living. This is 5 days alone (no other whiteskins around) in a village, cooking for ourselves, living in a village house, speaking only Tok Pisin. It is a final exam so to speak. We've been preparing to hike down to the bathing hole, hike down to the drinking water supply, cook, sleep, all without electricity, refrigeration, or transportation. We've seen pictures of where we are to stay, and what the bathroom we'll be using looks like. And we're ready. Today in our haus kuk, we cooked spaghetti, and macaroni n cheese, and bread, and rolls, and it was a good day, using a drum oven, a fire, a primus and lantern. Soon we'll be incommunicado, learning more about the culture and the language.

We've learned a lot and there are many small things to remember that makes each action you make something you think about. Don't step over food, don't ask to see bedrooms, don't ask why, keep your cooking pots VERY clean or they'll think you're a weak woman, don't slip in the mud, drink lots of water, cook using very little firewood, etc, etc.

As support staff, we're not only gaining an appreciation for the culture and the lifestyle of the people, but we're also gaining appreciation for translators who can live over half a year in the village at a time. 5 weeks have flown by, and as is the case with most challenges in life, the anticipation of the event is often more intimidating than the completion of the event. Which is why, as we go forward, we know already, that we can do it, and do it well.

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We leave for the village in 30 hours or so. We're packing up now, between classes, we'll be hauling in kerosene lantern and primus, a few buckets of food, mosquito nets, and sunscreen. A few more items too. Our challenges will be purifying water, speaking in tok pisin, washing in a river (body and clothes) and more. We feel prepared and are excited to get there. Please pray for a good experience, that we're able to communicate and that we get a good flavor for the culture.

POC DAY 28

Today is the day I thought I'd never make it to. Today I have finished the hikes (minus the one i missed when I had Giardia)

Today was the hardest of all the hikes and I was warned months ago about this hike. I shored myself up with 3 liters of water, a headband, a hat, sunscreen, bug repellent, bandages in case someone got hurt, two pairs of socks, my hunting boots, and scripture verses.

The hike was straight down hill, the equivalent of 8 or so stories down. Then hike along the river and come back up the 8 stories straight up along ridges and cliffs and slippery ground.

At one point I looked down and saw water pouring from my body, two drips per second. I was amazed at how fast I was losing water. My headband rung out was several ounces. I was glad I had prepared with many times the amount of water I had taken before.

My attitude, the only thing I could control was good. During the moments when I thought my knees might give out, I would recite scripture in my head. I was thinking about how corny this was.... but some of the best things in life are corny, and now, having seen the true power in it, I no longer feel it a corny christian thing to do.

Today, and in POC I've seen practical evidence of God in me. When the scripture says, "greater is He that is in you" ... He is. When it says "in our weakness, HIS strength is made perfect" well.... it is.

I allowed myself in my weakness to go before God and seek His strength. I finished the hike because of His strength. If you think what I'm saying is a metaphor, or pretty language, it isn't. In a very real way God was with me on the hike and in a very real way, I was pulling from a well of ability that was not from myself.

I have been very nervous about the hikes since well before I arrived in country, POC was a thing for me to be afraid of.... but now, I have completed the hikes, the things which struck me as impossible. There is so much now that I have done that I never thought possible before. Language learning, sitting down with a man from a completely different world, sharing a meal and communicating... what a wonderful experience.

God has blessed me so much since the moment I said "God I can't be a missionary in PNG without you showing up in a huge way... it jsut isn't in the stuff I'm made of" and God has not let me down... Praise GOD...

Please pray, I've got a cold... which means I've been sick for over 3 weeks straight now, but Kendal has also been sick and has for one reason or another had to miss the hikes. Today she missed because Calvin was sick. For her, that's the biggest challenge. She came ready to tackle this camp, do everything. And I think the biggest challenge for her is the disappointment that she has missed 3 hikes now.

Pray for her encouragement. This time is challenging in different ways to different people. I felt an extreme sense of accomplishment today and I want that for my wife and children too.

Day 27 POC

We were informed on Friday that this Sunday we would have a "individual family worship" we could go to town for church, walk to a village church, stay on center and have church... whatever we chose.

So we came up with the idea to let our two kids run church. I thought "it'll be interesting, and it won't be too long." We had no idea when we presented them with the idea how much they would enjoy it!

That friday they began meeting together in secret and planning it. Then on Saturday they spent the day rehearsing it. Come Sunday morning we're awoken at 7am by my son in a button down collared shirt with his hair wetted and combed.

"is it time for church?"

We cooked breakfast first then headed over.

The kids ushered us into their location of choosing which was a grass hut (haus win) built over the side of the hill, a very nice location. They rang a bell of sorts, and there was a stump for the "preacher" to sit on.

My word of advice days before was "make this the kind of church you'll enjoy, so we know what you guys think church should be like."

Behind the stump was 4 books, and on the wall was an orange "program" written in kid handwriting.

The service lasted nearly one and a half hours as we sat on the floor of this hut.

Here is the Program:
1. singsing : sydney
First Pray
2. Story Buk Bibel : calvin
3. Bible : sydney
4. Hero tales : sydney
bathroom break
5. Pray: calvin
6. Bible: sydney
7. Buk Baibel: calvin
8. Pray : calvin

they had borrowed tok pisin worship books (four of them) from the school to hand out, and collect when the songs were over.
The first prayer was in tok pisin, my son led that. I was amazed.
then he read Genesis day 1-7 in tok pisin and my daughter read it in english afterwards

Then Sydney read a biography of Mary Slesser and told a few stories about this female missionary's life. She read about 10 large pages. (I asked later, so the perfect church for you is long... she replied ' i like long INTERESTING stuff like this'.)

Then we had a bathroom break as we'd been doing this for about 40 minutes now.
It was nice of them to consider that need.
Then my son prayed in English a prayer of thanks... a good one too!
And then they read for us Chronicles (the story of God giving Nathan the vision that David would be king).

During one moment I saw the beauty of the organization of this service in my daughter. She even planned at the end what my son in tok pisin should say
'Lotu i pinis, yupela go wokabout long haus bilong yu"
(church is over... go home)
I was amazed by it, by them, by their teamwork.

Another moment I almost was worked up to tears as I saw my son on the stump reading in Tok Pisin, the Baibel. If the only thing I ever do in life, is see my kids glorify God, that's more than I deserve. It's my aim as a parent and today we saw it, unfettered by our demands on them, or any other such bondage, they put together what I consider the best time of worship we've had in a few weeks, together as a family, taught by children. And until today I'd never heard of Mary Slesser so I can honestly say my children TAUGHT me today as well as led me into worship.

We never anticipated that God would bless us in this way, it was an off the cuff thought that I didn't think they'd run with, but they definitely ran with it, were excited about it, and spent 2 days on it. And they did a great job! I gotta figure God popped that idea into our heads so that He could bless us and bring the family together, which is an answer to a prayer we regularly have.

Day 21

Tonight we spent dinner at the house of some nationals we call our "wasfemili"

These visits are intended to help us with our conversational tok pisin as well as get used to forming relationships with nationals. Many people were nervous about the meeting because of all the cultural things you need to remember. Don't step over food, don't ask to see their entire house, don't ask "why". And so on.

We were apprehensive about tonight because our first experience was disappointing. So we had people pray, and tonight was actually enjoyable.

We had memorized some tok pisin dialogues about work and how to make a house which I employed because I could see they were nervous that I might fall through their floor or break their stairs. So I complimented them on the strongpela haus and asked them about how they made it.

Sydney and Calvin are amazing. As we were walking down the road to the house, people were shouting to them "hello sydney!" "oh hi tisa moha!" they'd reply. The kids carried the entire conversation on the road while I hefted the pots of food. I was amazed and thankful because with them around, there is no awkward silence.

The kids played and talked, Sydney read Bible stories, I spoke to the papa about his job. He is a community helper for the police. Basically he's a peacemaker, he helps resolve disputes. He was very friendly. As topics of conversation began to dwindle I noticed a Blues rugby poster on their wall. Suddenly we spent the next thirty minutes discussing rugby and it was a very pleasant evening.

Thanks to God for answered prayer. I was dreading this evening because of our previous experience, but I think being at their home, they were not as nervous and were more hospitable.

The way the meal breaks down is:
-we bring food, as a thank you to them for hosting.
-we serve ourselves, they serve themselves, we bring our own plates and forks
-they have a dish or two to put together with the meal
-we all eat, and then, as quick as the meal is done, they serve the tea we brought.
-we leave all leftovers with them as a thank you.

In return, we've learned more about them, their homes, how they live and how to speak in tok pisin a little bit better. I learned quite a bit and thanks to answered prayer, enjoyed the evening I was dreading.

It is a remarkable thing to see your kids outshine you and even more remarkable that they do so to God's glory. I couldn't be more proud of them than I was tonight.

POC Day 21

blog aug 29

POC day 21

Yesterday we built drum ovens. One of the ways that translators can bake over an open fire is by cooking inside an old 5 gallon tin drum. Using sheet metal, a kerosene drum, a hammer and rivets you can make a nice little oven that'll cook 2 loafs of bread over an open fire. Making this is fairly inexpensive and it makes a good gift to leave with our wasfemili (the family taking care of us in the village) when we leave.

It was an interesting exercise, having flammable materials, sharp metal, long wire, hammers, cutters and all manner of tools in the workshop with about 20 people all working at the same time. In America this situation would be a tough one from an insurance perspective since most people were in sandals and had no protective gloves or goggles or anything. I was amazed no one got hurt as many of the people had never used a drill before in their lives.

There are a significant portion of single women in this group. We have about 24 students, all different nationalities, all different skill sets, here to accomplish their part in Bible Translation. The POC training process is to help familiarize us with the country's culture and language. Yesterday we were taught how this is really a male centered society and how life for women here is very tough. So these single women are learning that they have a very tough life ahead of them here and yet they are excited and energetic about the task ahead of them.

It turns out my stomach bug was Giardia (sp?) So I've begun taking pills to resolve that and I believe I'm starting to feel better. I caught Kendal's head cold so at the moment, we have a son recovering from a 2 day stomach flu, a wife with a head cold, a husband with Giardia and a head cold, and a daughter as happy as the day she was born. If you can pray for our health we would appreciate it. We are giving ourselves the freedom to not feel too guilty when we miss out on some activities because we need to rest. For the most part though, we're pushing through.

It is hard to explain this experience. God is working in our lives, preparing everyone here. We are growing close to each other, which is a vital part of forming the teamwork skills required in a multi-cultural environment. Trying to understand a different culture and a different person is sometimes an intimidating task. The challenge is to not let our misunderstandings frustrate us as we try to work towards Bible translation, and so far, we're getting along quite well.

There have been two significant advances in that department. A game night in which we all relaxed and enjoyed each other, and today, our half day of prayer. We prayed for many things, folks and partners back home (you), each other, the leadership here, the work, the people. We grew together as we prayed.

One of the things that came out of it was that we were informed that one of the translators who had gone through training with another one of the students here, died last night. He was a 31 year old from Costa Rica who had his airplane tickets in hand for August 31 to go to Malaysia to be a Bible translator. I have not met him but a student here knew him from a previous class he had taken. Someone from this very course, one year ago, has now gone on to the Lord. His training completed, his tickets in hand, and yet the work was never begun. God apparently saw his work as complete and took him home. And so today there were many tears for a man we had never met but shared a common goal with.

And so I'm thankful to be here. We're so thankful to be in our place of assignment and have already put a few months into the work. Giving thanks in all things is really a discipline. There are a lot of people who left their home only 3 weeks ago and are suffering homesickness. One friend was told today her grandmother will pass away soon and she realizes she will not see her again in this life. And yet, today, a day with such discouraging news, was turned into a day full of praise and thanksgiving to God. I think there are two secrets to a successful life as a missionary as I'm looking around at these fabulous people God has allowed me to share this experience with.

1 - Attitude. I am learning to discipline my attitude to the mind of Christ and it truly is a daily miracle.

2 - Turning hardship into worship. No one denies there is hardship, but none of these people have let it defeat them.

If you would pray for us, in whatever way you feel led having read this, we would be appreciative.

Overall our attitudes are very healthy here, we are enjoying this experience and we can see it's value. I will have a very wide smile when I can say I have completed this course because I will know that I did so only on God's strength and not my own.

Day.... whatever this is (-;

calvin ate "pit pit" yesterday.
The kids here have a chart of new foods, for every new food they try 6 times they get a sticker. The stickers all work up to a piece of chocolate so there is a rewards plan for the kids to try new food.

So last night Calvin says
"Can I please have 1 piece of chicken and 1piece of pitpit"
so I served him. He slowly ate his pit pit (a png vegetable, and if you know my son and vegetables, then you know what a trial this was for him)
then after the pit pit he ate the chicken. All very slowly.

So approximately fifteen minutes after originally asking for the chicken he says to me very seriously, "I ate the chicken so that the pitpit wouldn't bounce back up."

I had to laugh. He wanted his chocolate so badly that he had put in place a plan at mealtime to counteract his own body's reaction to vegetables.

I looked over today and my daughter had gone around the playground and gathered up 6 national girls, and got them all, one by one, to sit on a tire swing together, until she was the last one and then she pushed it... 7 girls riding on a big tire swing in a circle.... all organized by my daughter, with a language barrier. It was a GREAT moment to observe... I can see her skills starting to blossom at this age.

Wherever we go, there is a group of PNG kids waving and saying "hi Sydney" she is making a lot of friends.

Today at lunch my daughter and I had our first full length conversation in Tok Pisin. She thinks it's fun to talk in tok pisin because she doesn't think I know what she's saying, but today, she found out I did. And when she jokingly told me to Pasim Maus, (close your mouth) we had a serious moment of explaining how it isn't okay to be disrespectful in any language.

Still, I walked away realizing that that was a momentous occasion because we both fully understood our lunch conversation and there was no English spoken. It was a completely spontaneous thing and it showed me how much they've been learning in school.

The teacher dropped by and said our kids were doing very well now. I think the first two weeks was a period of adjustment.

Time is crawling by here.

Tonight we have our first major transition at POC. It is when we first meet our Wasfamily and have a meal with them. The night will be mostly conversation in tok pisin and it'll be our first chance to exercise our conversational abilities without a translator. We'll see how it goes. A lot of people are nervous about it, but we really aren't because we've already made several png friends and we know they are great people.

One comment about the culture. This culture does not harbor resentment, racism, or many of our American prejudices. For example, during WWII the Japanese came and did unspeakable acts to the people here, and yet, Japanese are loved today by PNG. In PNG, you're white, or fat, or ugly, or short, or tall, it's all the same, they have no judgment on that, they do not think poorly of you because of these things. They truly are a very hospitable people.

We can learn a lot from this part of their behavior. They of course have another side, not to paint it all roses, but I did think it amazing how they do not harbor resentment or racism.

Day20 POC

Today a lot of things happened.
First, we were being given fire demonstrations on how to cook outdoors and how the nationals manage their fire and their wood consumption,
and my wife asked to borrow the bush knife (machete)

I offered her the gloves but didn't insist, and before I knew it, she had cut her right index finger above the knuckle. The cut wasn't deep, and while we thought it might need stitches it in fact doesn't.

She was very brave and we spent some time praying and laughing in the nurse's station about it.

Then it was time for our hike, she was told not to go, so she didn't.
I was told not to go because I still have a stomach virus and for the 5th day now, I haven't eaten much and my body was weak.

But I insisted I go. It was the hardest hike yet, as they each get harder than the last, but I wanted to go to prove the Scripture, when I am weak, God will be strong, and so I went.

As a joke I attached a role of toilet paper to my staff so that others would have a laugh. Turns out, many people confessed to me about being sick too and showed me the T.P. in their own pockets. I wasn't alone, and many people didn't feel well on the hike.

I've never pushed my body that hard in my life. Which isn't saying much, but it even surpassed that time my uncle took me hiking at Yosemite and I thought I would die the entire way and didn't mind saying so.

The entire hike I kept putting one foot in front of the other, and while it took me an hour longer than expected, I finished it because God supplied my weakened body with His strength and a good attitude.

The kids loved the hike which was good.

oh we overheard Calvin saying:
"Sydney, go to the dining hall, where there is a fish tank, near the fish tank, there you will find my water bottle. Please bring it to me."

What kid talks like that? We had a good laugh.
The kids are picking up pidgin so well.. Sydney joked today with me at dinner (which was 5 minutes after we got back from the hike)

"yu i stink tumas, yu kisim sowa"

(a pinglish way of saying, you smell bad, take a shower)

Looking up that hill I still can't believe I walked all that way, it was a very long distance, but we were hiking some steep terrain on roots and slippery ground most of the way, which is what took most of the work.

Well I don't have long online.
Please pray for Kendal's finger to heal, the kid's are doing much better than a few days ago, and pray that this stomach bug would go away. I am not eating much or well, and it takes more work to do anything. It's been on 5 days now and I'm hoping it to be gone by tomorrow.

Still, we're loving POC when we thought we'd hate it and that's because God is supplying us with great attitudes. (okay my wife knew she'd love it!)

Things I expected to hate, I love. I am fully embracing the discipline of my body and mind as I struggle to bring everything in line with Christ. I am being very humbled by the experience but at the same time, I'm loving every minute of it.

Day 14 POC

The daily schedule:

POC
pacific orientation course

at 7am we have breakfast in the dining hall. Each day is typically the same,
home-made granola, home-made yogurt, bananas, milk, toast

at 8am the kids go to school, at school they learn their normal subjects plus tok-pisin and they have occasional hikes to meet the locals

at 8am we go to school.
from 8-10 is usually tok pisin lecture or learning with a national teacher
from 10-10:30 is tea time when we talk in tok pisin with our teacher
from 10:30-12:00 is more lecture time usually, anthropology of the country, or some other such culture related information, this time can be a very information rich time.

they mix up the day with a lot of out of the class stuff as well.
For example, we built a Haus Kuk (like a little hut for eating in) and we go on hikes and swimming and other such items to help us gain appreciation for how the nationals live as well as for how the Translators live.

12:00-2:00 is lunchtime and quiet time, the kids rejoin us during these hours. It's the hottest time of the day and it is when we stay inside and nap or read after doing our chores in the dining hall from eating lunch.

2:00-4:00 is usually exercise time, we go on a hike, or swim, or do some outdoor activity. It depends on the day and the task at hand. The hikes are tough hikes but beautiful. The swims, are long swims, with my personal goal being reached at a half a mile, I am trying to extend that to perhaps a full mile but I'm unsure if I'll reach that goal.

4:00-5:45 - free time, usually a game of soccer or volleyball strikes up, which I've been engaging in, simply to be doing something. It isn't as if our rooms are a nice place to hang out, there is no furniture and it's hot, so being outside and social is preferable.

5:45 - dinner
depending on your night, dinner can go as late at 7pm if you're on cleanup

6:30-10pm is internet time, during this time a lot of people have questions for me, so I try to make myself available by playing games in the dining hall where people can reach me. I'm not on staff but I can help, so I do.

I typically hit the hay around 9pm, wake up at 6am.

And that is my typical day.

Now... that you have the schedule... this is PNG and nothing goes according to schedule, and everything is flexible, and.... while they gave us a schedule I haven't looked at it because I like the surprise and variety that each day brings.
I rarely know what is going to happen in the morning when I wake up, and I like it that way.

My wife however, knows the schedule and she prepares for it. She is studying very well, and I'm very proud of her. She is doing so well at this course. I knew I'd be the weak link, but honestly, I think we're doing swimmingly.

Syd and Calvin are doing well. Sydney is making a lot of friends, national friends. The other day they were on a walk and some national boys ran up to Kendal and gave her a bag of fruit and said "a gift to Sydney".

Calvin hasn't been very grumpy as of late, so I think he's adjusting better now. He was very helpful in building the Haus Kuk and kept eyeing the machete waiting for his turn. Of course he never got one. We did have a discussion on knife safety, but it is obvious by the way he swings sticks that he isn't yet ready for the responsibility of anything sharp.

Tuesday

POC is camping. There are two Finnish families here and they are a delight to be around, they have good attitudes, they make funny jokes and they are all around good people. One thing though, is they are not used to the humidity nor are they used to the bugs.

They do not camp for recreation in their country so this is their first camping experience. Imagine if your first camping experience, someone told you "the frogs are poisonous, there are scorpions and snakes... enjoy your stay"

You'd be on the first train home.

Today we hiked. Mondays we hike, Tuesdays we swim. The meals are such that you get energy in the morning to learn, energy in the afternoon to exercise, and sustenance in the evening to prepare you for the next day.

There are many things here that can challenge and exhaust every different type of person. The program in my opinion is designed to challenge and even intimidate everyone in some aspect.
There is language learning, teamwork building, meal preparing, chores and duties, the living environment, the weather, the physical requirements, the slow internet, being away from home (a lot of these people, this is their first exposure to this country and they are battling home sickness at the same time. I firmly believe God was lightening our burden by allowing us to come earlier)

So... what is the hardest part for me?
I am excelling in my understanding of the language and my ability to speak it is coming along. Mostly because this is academic. I'm loving the historical, geographical and political information in the reading and the teaching.

For me the biggest challenge, and before coming the part I knew I would fail at, is the hikes.

It is hard for me to fail. I do not like to fail. So before arriving I was very nervous that I might be unable to complete the hikes in good health. The swimming I wasn't worried about. I have an advantage in water because I weigh less.

Today I completed my second hike.

In the last week I've played a ton of volleyball, and I mean ALL OUT diving into the ground volleyball. I've surprised myself with my aptitude for it. I've played a lot of soccer. And although I've sustained minor cuts and scrapes, I've enjoyed it.

In the hot sun, in strong humidity. Sweating is a 24x7 thing here so we drink a lot of water.

Part of it is that I don't like to sit around and do nothing because the furniture in the rooms is so uncomfortable that I think, I'd rather be uncomfortable breathing hard and sweating playing a sport than sitting around reading.

But at the same time, I know that if I push myself, being ignorant of personal upkeep, that I could harm myself, so I don't push it too hard. I take my time and go at my own pace.

Here's the part where God and I have been growing closer.
I went to God when I got here and said "God, I believe your Word, and I do not want to complain that I am here, but I have to be here. God I believe that if I turn my eyes onto you, you will be sufficient for me."

So I began to simply concentrate on making God my provision. And something amazing is happening. God and I are communing. I read my Bible in the morning. 2 Cor 4. He talks about our bodies being temporary. About sleeplessness and worry. He talks in Chapter 12 about how He is made strong in our weakness.

So if I truly believe His Word, then I will apply it now during this time of my life where I do not feel I can complete the tasks before me.

And I have completed my hikes, and God has given me energy like I've never known before in my life. He has given be ability like I have never had. My mind is clear, my body is being disciplined. It is hard work and while I'm working hard I'm praising God because my attitude is good, and His burden is not heavy.

I can not explain it very well, but somehow, God has transformed this task I felt impossible and was grumbling about before I came, into an experience I am joyful of. In place of pain I feel energy, in place of anger I feel joy, in place of self-pity I rejoice in God's provision for me and my family.

I can summarize it to say that I'm learning to rely less on myself and my abilities and recognize God's ability in my life and His strength.

Update Day 7

well we've been here a full week now
the first hike was very doable.

I'm surprised at myself at how much volleyball and soccer I have played during the social activity times. One PNG man can jump as high as I can reach when I jump even though he's almost two feet shorter than me.

Tok Pisin is coming along quite well,
and Calvin has had 2 good days in a row.

That night we were struggling with his behavior, we prayed together as a couple and sought God's wisdom and tried the discipline of listening.

So we listened, and sure enough I had the thought "just pray" so we prayed for Calvin and that the enemy would leave him alone and that he would be joyful and carefree.

The next morning it was like he was a different kid.

Please continue to pray for our family and for the people here in training.

Our primary goals for POC ARE:
-to learn tok pisin
-to fall in love with the PNG people

we already love the country, we love the place we live, but we need to have a deep understanding of their culture so that we can truly love them in a way that Christ would. We need to gain an appreciation of their way of living.

We're hopeful that some time in their village will afford us that knowledge.

Day 3

Today we had class, and we had class. Today we had our first Tok Pisin class and it is evident that our group will learn quickly because a few of us have had more experience in it.

That wasn't the challenge.

After class there was some soccer. POC is at the top of a hill, and so when the ball goes over the hill, it goes and goes and goes.

I thought it would be fun to play soccer with my son, so we joined up. At one point, the ball went through a small hole in the hedge keeping the ball from going over the hill, it began to go.

It had rained all day... so the grass and mud were very slippery.

For some reason, in my head, I said "if I go down the hill faster than the ball, I can catch it" So... with everyone watching, I ran after the ball, and slipped through the same hole it went through in the hedge, over the hill and down.... down....down....down... slipping barefoot down the hill through the mud.

It was a blast!

reminded me of being a kid.

The ball however went down much faster than myself and I decided quickly to stop myself by reaching out and grabbing a tree. This particular tree's bark is mostly thorns. My left hand got about ten thorn pricks into it, but it wasn't bad and they came out quickly.

After I got up the hill, I looked at the hole. It was roughly the size of a basketball.

Everyone was chattering about how they saw me going after the ball then slipping through a tiny hole... and where DID I GO? They all wondered if I meant to do what I did.. which I did and thought it cool.

Yeah.. cool. I'm cool. Me... hahahahaha.

Anyway.. then, someone said "next goal wins the game" and the ball happened to be near me after a while near the goal (two coconuts) and I did a sliding kick, half on purpose half involuntarily and scored the winning goal.

My son was rather excited about that. He was telling me that he knew if I got the ball I'd score the winning goal. His confidence in my athletic ability far surpasses my own.

I really stink at most things athletic and yet I was glad to do something like that with and in front of my son because growing up, seeing my dad's athleticism was always impressive and always lent evidence to my belief he was king of the world.

So, if a dad can seem bigger in his own son's eyes for a brief moment, then so be it. It's worth thorns in the hand and a sore knee in the morning (-;

But today's challenge was different. A challenge that we're unsure whether or not is from the enemy or not.

Please pray. Our son isn't handling this transition to POC too well. He's taken a pause from the general lovable easy going Calvin and become a whiner, and a complainer, and a fit thrower. He's argumentative and the other boy his friend here doesn't speak English.

His attitude is draining us as parents and distracting us from the learning we need to do. I missed half of class today trying to get him to nap. He simply isn't happy.

He hasn't been the happy Calvin for a while now. As parents we're tired out by it. Anything will set him off, he'll scream over pineapple at lunch. It makes us tired and sad.

Please pray that we will have wisdom to give him what he needs to become the old Calvin again. The patience and the energy. Our family is our priority, I didn't mean to sound like it was not. It is that his constant.... crankiness is wearing us down a bit.

Please pray for him and for us. There are a lot of challenges here and we don't really have time to stop and allow the enemy a single foothold.

thank you.

Swimming

Today we began our Tok Pisin classes as well as our swimming challenge.
One of the challenges is that whatever your level of swimming is, that you do better by the end of the course. Part of this course is to physically condition our bodies for the walking and altitude at Ukarumpa.

Only we've already been there and gotten used to the altitude and the roads.
The oxymoron is that is isn't a weight loss camp because the kitchen puts out some pretty good meals.

Anyway, the put a rope out in the warm tropical waters of Madang after giving us an hour lecture on how to not get stung by something poisonous and general medical information. In general, don't bug it, and it shouldn't bug you and you most likely won't see a whole lot of waterlife while you're splashing about in the water.

So the rope is up on buoys, 8 laps is a mile, the water is 25 feet deep. The kids are over with their class playing safely in the water, and I am convinced by looking at this rope that I can't do a single lap. I'll be able to get half way before tiring out.

My wife says to me "how can I encourage you to do well?" because the fear of knowing that we can physically survive here is gone, we know we can. So the motivation to physically push ourselves has to come from somewhere inside.

My personal goal, isn't to do the mile, because as I said, I was certain I would not be able to even finish a lap. My wife, did 5 laps in an hour, and I did 3. At the end of three I thought I would "sprint" you know... run the race and sprint at the end. I did swim as fast as I could push my body and when it was over, had a very tough time catching my breath.

But I had completed 3 laps. I was very surprised. Before coming to Ukarumpa I would not have had the lung capacity to swim 1/8 of a mile, much less 3/8 of a mile the first time out.

After six weeks time I expect I should be able to swim a half a mile or more. I expect my wife to be able to swim a whole mile.

The challenge isn't so much I didn't have the energy. It was that I didn't have the time. They gave us an hour, and I stopped swimming on their suggestion to get water and jumped back in.

I am amazed that I have the energy I have right now. I was expecting to be exhausted. To go swimming you take a 30 minute jungle road ride on the back of a big truck. For the kids that was draining in and of itself, but they'll do anything for the chance to go swimming.

Overall, today has been the best day of POC thus far. I surprised myself with the distance I swam, I was impressed with my wife's distance, and overall we feel uplifted and encouraged.

We've made friends with two finish families as well as some American families.

The challenges of POC are as I see them:
-physical - swimming and hiking - the most ominous

-social - living closely with people of different cultures with no chance for privacy, socially we both adapt well, although I do tend to like a few hours of privacy each day.

-language - learning Tok Pisin, we are already ahead of the game here

Calvin's mosquito bites have healed nicely, and the kids are running around adventuring and having fun each day. They end the night being tired and don't go to bed well yet as they share a room. Knowing them, they usually go to bed so well.

Your prayers are appreciated.
Was someone praying for me today? I appreciate it if you were out there praying for extra energy and encouragement.