Sign of Life

Dear Readers,

I am sending you a "sign of life" message! I'm still over here in PNG even though at times it may seem as though I have fallen off the face of the earth...Papua New Guinea may seem like that to some of you! SOOOOOOO much has happened in the last 12 weeks that I can't HARDLY explain it all right now, but eventually I hope to share pictures and stories.

At this moment I am spending some time at the training center (POC) in Madang as my partner recovers from malaria (she is almost recovered) then we head back to our village for a few more days. We have spent four and a half weeks in this village, part of our practical training, and will say our farewells on Thursday.

We have grown so close to this family and have enjoyed learning, living, and building a relationship with them. The parents of this family are called "wasmama and waspapa" basically meaning "watchmom and watchdad". They are responsible for looking after us during our five weeks in the village. They have four wonderful children who I will miss dearly. Two of them remind me of my nieces and nephews. One of their daughters is 4 years old. As she dances, jumps, makes up songs, and transitions from sweet little angel to demanding little girl...I am reminded of my five nieces! Their one year old reminds me of Will and Boone as he talks constant gibberish, begs for freedom but then comes back for snuggles, and does what he can annoy and do everything his sisters do!

I will never forget my time in the village. The life lessons, relationships, mistakes, jokes, and triumphs will forever be imbedded in my heart and mind. I truly think everyone should experience living in a village where you are completely put out of your element. Where else will you realize that people who live on the complete opposite side of the world, speak a different language, and have a different culture are children of God just like you? Where else will you come to the realization that maybe your way is not the "best" way and that maybe there are other ways of life that work just as well? How else will you see the desires and heart of people you are serving unless you step into their life for a bit and make yourself available?

Well before I go I have two stories for you. Hopefully you will be able to visualize it even with out a picture attached.

One night my partner and I had to use the bathroom before bed. We left our house and walked to the out house "liklik haus". While my partner was in the "liklik haus" I heard a rustling then she darted out. "There's a HUGE spider in there! You have to kill it." Master at killing all kinds of spiders I walked in with confidence to see a spider seriously as big as my two hands put together! I considered taking off my flipflop but then realized I would have to walk on the dirt/questionable ground in order to do this. I walked out again and said, "That's a CRAZY huge spider!" Thinking for a bit I called out to my waspapa to come kill the spider. I said "Mi no inap pispis taim spaida i lukim mi!" which basically means "I can't go to the bathroom with a spider looking at me". My waspapa, without moving, called out, "Yu yet taitim bun, na kilim spaida." which basically means "You get a backbone and kill the spider!" hahah. We both started laughing but didn't move. Wasmama later came over and killed the spider. What would we do without her?

In Papua New Guinea it is customary to make an exchange when you visit someone or when someone visits you. It is a sign of relationship and respect. Well one day our family explained that we were going to see one of their relatives that lived at the top of the mountain. When we were at the training camp, which is on the top of a mountain, we had been training to walk up many tall mountains, so we agreed and followed their lead. The mountain was pretty steep, slippery and long. I had to stop a few times to catch my breath and drink some water. When we got there we exchanged some food with them and visited. When it was time for us to leave they made the traditional exchange. But since we are whiteskins and foreigners their exchange was very large. We ended up leaving with two bags full of papaya, coconuts, greens, and two huge stocks of sugarcane. Though we were grateful for their generosity we were not sure how we would do on the descent with the bag of food hanging from our foreheads. Let me correct that, I was not sure I would make it. I could hardly move my head! Walking out of the village with smiles I waited until we were out of their sight and told my family, "Mi no inap karim dispela kaikai. Mi bai pundaun." Which means, I can't carry this food. I'll fall down. So wasmama took it...along with carrying her one year old son, and her bag of food on her head! A little ways down the road my village partner stopped and said, "How about we just eat the papaya and coconuts here to lighten the load?" Papa laughed and told us to dig in! She pulled out her big knife and was about to cut it open when mama said she'd carry it too. We continued to walk down the hill. How fun would it have been to eat all the food before we got back to the village...all in order to lighten the load. It still amazes me how much these ladies in Papua New Guinea are able to carry on their heads!!!

Well that is all for now. More to come I assure you. I hope you are all well and have a blessed Easter!