I'm ENGAGED!!!

 YEP....I'm engaged to Alan Halbrooks! I'm getting married!!!!

Now that's I've got your attention I'll share my story with you.

At this very minute Alan is also blogging about our engagement. So if you would like to hear his side of the story, visit his blog at: http:.//ahalbrooks.wordpress.com

It's true, I'm engaged and to the most wonderful and perfectly suited godly man. (don't get me wrong, he's not perfect) Alan and I have officially been dating five months and it will likely be four months of engagement. You may think it's fast but when you know, you know.

We anticipated that this past week was going to be busy. I knew that Alan would be preaching this Sunday as well as giving his testimony. In attempts to be a "good girlfriend" I gave him space and time to make sure he was prepared. With this in mind, I had no expectation that Alan would propose on Sunday between the two speaking events. He knows I've been wondering so was quite clever in the choosing.

Since I returned from my trip to the states we have been having picnics on Sundays in tree houses on centre. It has become one of our favorite times together. Of all the tree houses on center there is one that trumps them all. The Swiss family Robinson would be proud! This tree house extends between two trees and is connected by a hanging bridge. How cool is that!

Knowing that it was going to be a crazy week, I asked Alan if we could picnic there this Sunday. He asked the family but little did I know that he had planned to propose to me in that tree house.

On Sunday we packed our picnic of grilled cheese, carrots, some strange lime juice, and apples and headed to our next tree house adventure. As we were walking I noticed that the tree house had two green table clothes draping over two sides of the tree house. I told Alan that maybe the family had put them up to give us a bit of privacy (which is something they would do. But no, Alan had put them up.) He agreed that they would do something like that. What a stinker!

We climbed up (tree houses are not designed for adult hips) and ate our lunch. After a while Alan pointed out a basket. I hadn't seen it earlier. He went over to investigate. After inspecting it he told me to come look. As I came nearer I saw that it was a very pretty basket but I still suspected it was one of the kids toys. I think I even told him that there was probably nothing in it. He had tied the basket up to a pulley system, and when it was at my eye level I saw this: a shepherd puppet I had made before we started dating (he always talks about wanting to be a shepherd), a bunch of lovely roses, a sign that read Will you Marry Me? and a ring box with a ring drawn on a band aid (I had a dream that he gave me a band aid-ring and asked if I would be okay with that, since he couldn't get the ring here any sooner). Each item brought a different emotion. The shepherd made me laugh, the flowers made me smile, the question was a shock and also a great excitement, and the ring...well I was not sure WHAT to think about that! haha!

I then turned around to find my boyfriend down on one knee, holding up the most beautiful ring I have ever seen. To be honest this part is all a bit fuzzy. I remember grabbing the ring and wrapping my arms around him screaming, "YES!" I think he was only able to get out the words, "Will you..." before I agreed! Shesh, I'd better be careful. He could have said anything, "Will you hold on it this ring? Will you wash my dishes tonight?" This question was a no-brainer to me. Of course I would marry him!


We left the tree house and started to walk to the Hansen's house. I wasn't quite sure who to tell next or how to tell them. Most of our family back in the states were sleeping already. We agreed to go to the Hansen's. I pushed open the door and there they were, all my friends! My sister Kelly and her family were there along with Brandy (my new roommate), Mandy (my last roommate) and her husband Steve, my friends Donna and Leah and of course the Hansen family. I was shocked and also very excited! They were the first ones I shared my story with. The rest of the day we shared with whomever would listen.

That night at youth group, Alan shared his testimony. He talked about all the different stages of his life. At the end he said something to the affect of, "And now I will begin a new stage, that of marriage because I am now officially engaged to Amanda Wulff." All the teens and adults started to cheer. I lifted up my hand in agreement but I kept my eyes on my future husband. I am proud to be his fiance and soon...his wife.

Flamingoed

One night when my eighth grade community group was over we discovered that my lawn had been claimed by four plastic flamingos. The girls began to giggle as I joyfully interrogated them to see if they had "flocked" me. They claimed it wasn't them. I looked at my new "friends" and came inside. They had been placed between my house and my neighbors so I was not quite sure if it was intended for me. Opening my computer I found this message:

Dear Amanda and Alan, 

I'm not sure whose house is currently flocked, so I'm sending this to both of you. You’ve been flocked by the Ukarumpa Youth Ministry Flamingos! This is a fundraiser for the Middle School Retreat. You can pay K10 (around $5) to have them moved immediately (or as soon as is convenient for our “flock movers”) to a yard of your choosing, or wait and by this time tomorrow, they will migrate to another location. Once they are gone, you can pay K10 for “flock insurance” to keep them from returning (insurance is valid for this week’s “flocking”).

Please take care of our flock by bringing them in at night and putting them back out tomorrow. They do not require food or water.

Thanks for helping out Youth Ministries!

My roommate, Brandy, and I decided we really wanted a "flock" of flamingos in our yard! As a person who is quite bitter toward lawn ornaments and tacky decor, I surprised myself by this desire. I called Alan to tell him what happened and he said that he had flocked me! He had been flocked earlier that afternoon and decided to allow me to share in the joy. The next morning he came over and helped me position them cleverly on the lawn. What fun!

My Girls

Have I mentioned that I lead a community group for eighth grade girls? I do and I love it. They have split the girls up into two groups so I only have six of them. They have been with me since July. Last year one of the senior girls had the group. My girls remind me so much of myself when I was their age. I have even said to two of them that if they were put together they would be me. They laughed, but I wasn’t kidding. Although, I admit, they are sweeter than I was. I remember always getting away with devious plans that some middle school boy with an underdeveloped brain would willingly carry out. Thankfully, they are nothing like that.

Each Wednesday the girls come over to my house and we discuss what they have been learning, we pray together and share with one another. I have really enjoyed these moments with them. They constantly challenge me in my faith. They also remind me to enjoy the little things in life.

Working with middle school, as some of you may know, is also quite tricky. The time frame for deep and meaningful conversation is limited. Some weeks I come off strong, determined to get them to think deeply about a specific topic and they are all giggles. Whereas other weeks they walk in and groan when the time flies. An hour a week is just not enough time.

Lately, I have been trying to find more time to spend with them outside our set community group. In January, I was privileged to be a sponsor at the middle school (7^th and 8^th grade) spiritual retreat. Oh yes, I said privileged. Alan was also one of the sponsors. As we walked to the retreat a few people asked where we were going and I told them. This was met with, “good luck” and “hope you get some sleep.” I walked away thinking, “I am glad I can do this. I enjoy these kids and want to get to know them more especially on a deeper level. If I say yes to something I want to enjoy it and put effort into it.” I guess what I’m trying to say is, we’re all different. Instead of saying “good luck” why not say “thanks for doing that” or “I’m glad you are enthusiastic and willing to invest in our teens.”  Okay, you get my point.

The retreat was great!  It was entitled Extreme Faith. The speaker was easy to relate to and funny, always a plus. Each day we sponsors would lead a small group discussion. The speaker would later gather all the leaders and gage how the teens are responding to his message. It was nice to have a chance to interact with the kids, the adult sponsors and watch as my particular girls grow in their faith.

Alan and I had a lot of fun with the kids as well. We took them to the river and found a ledge to jump from. Attending a spiritual retreat you never know what is going to impact you. Every day I found something that touched my life personally. I found that the more vulnerable and open I was with my girls the more they would be with me, or at least would feel more comfortable to ask the more awkward of questions.

  

Two weekends ago two of my girls were baptized at the river. For some reason, baptisms here always seem to land on rainy days. They had both asked if I would pray for them after they came out of the river. Honored, I agreed. I watched with pride as both of them gave their testimony in front of our umbrella clad community. I teared up as their fathers confirmed their daughters’ devotion to God and lowered them in baptism. Then it was my turn. Zipping my jacket to my chin, I hugged them and began to pray, thanking God for their desires to follow him every day of their lives. Each girl was asked to choose three people to pray for them after they were baptized. All the girls asked their parents and their community leaders to pray with them. This is pretty neat. I hope that God can continue to use me as I minister in their lives.

Flowers from New Zealand

The last few days I have been staying with my friend Lynn in Waxahachie, Texas. I decided to go visit some friends. Upon my return, Lynn convinced me to go into my room and make sure the dog hadn't done anything. Though I thought that was a bit strange, I walked in and to my surprise I found these...

...flowers from Alan. What a sweetie! The note read:

I wish I could give you some straight from New Zealand but this will have to do.

Much Love,
Alan T.

He's a keeper!

Talking to Scott

1 Peter 3: 15-16a

Always be prepared to give an answer 

to everyone who asks you to give the reason 

for the hope that you have.

This verse came to mind today when I thought back on my travels.

About a month ago some of my friends and I were talking about flying. One of us asked the question, “Do you talk to the person sitting next to you or do you try your best to ignore them?” I said I tried to talk to them, if they were interested. Some of my other friends said they don’t like talking because then you are stuck next to that person and they will expect to have a conversation with you the whole flight. I thought this was interesting but let it slide as we moved into another topic of discussion.

Well, the last few days have been days of travel. Mandy, my last roommate, is getting married a few days before Christmas, so I decided to attend the wedding and then spend Christmas with the fam. So on December 7^th, I flew from Ukarumpa to the capital, Port Moresby on the Kodiak owned by our mission. That same day, I took a Virgin Australia flight from Port Moresby to Brisbane, where Mandy and I  stayed overnight with some friends.

The following day I flew Qantas to Sydney, followed by my LONG flight from Sydney to LA (12 hours). This was not the end though. My last flight went from LA to Dallas, TX where I am currently. After 2 (or technically 3) days of flying…I’m exhausted!

Now that I have had some time to recuperate, my discussion with my friends came to mind again. Did I talk to someone on the plane(s)? Why?

In fact, I did talk to a guy on my first flight. His name was Scott and he works in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Australia. He was quite friendly and actually initiated the conversation. There was a little baby that cried for at least an hour and a half and she must have woken him up.

He asked, “What do you do?”

I said, “I am a teacher in PNG. I have lived there for nearly two years now.”

This spurred on many more questions. Why would I work in PNG? Why would I allow others to support me? Why wouldn’t I start up a company of my own to help the Papua new Guineans?

Then he found out I was dating and he asked more questions: Do you live together? What does he do? Why don’t you both start up a company and help the economy? You’d really save on plane tickets if you earning your own salary.

I answered the best that I could. I am always surprised when people ask me these kind of questions, mostly because I feel so strongly about the way I live my life and the way I interact with Alan. Although I am on the mission field, I am often working with other believers and with children. Explaining support raising to a believer is one thing…but explaining it to someone who lives there life to increase their income, retired early, and buy more toys, is quite a challenge.

But I tried. I explained how I raise support, how I live in PNG by faith - that God will continue to provide. I explained that I trust in God’s constant protection over my life and those around me. I explained that God put a desire in my heart to teach overseas and he enabled me to come to PNG.

You should have seen his eyes…

Somehow the conversation changed. He said, “I can see that you believe in God, you’re a Christian and I am too. I put my kids in a Christian school...well it's a Catholic school, but it's the same thing. So what do you think about Muslims?” I was confused how we got to this topic but I continued to listen. He went on about his frustrations, his confusion, and other things he was feeling. He shared a bit about his family and his job. He asked quite there was so much evil in the world. The whole time I was thinking, “Shouldn’t I be saying something?” and yet I continued to listen. Finally…he came to the heart issue, he believed there was something bigger out there, something that controlled the universe but didn’t really know what it was. He said he liked evidence, science, and to know how things work together. He needed facts not feelings. Something he could touch, he said. Then he stopped and I knew it was my turn. What do I say? He asked so many questions.

“Why do you believe there is something bigger out there?” I asked, feeling so inadequate.

The more he talked the more I realized he had a lot of questions. I assured him, when he asked what Christians believe about such-and-such, that I can only speak about what the Bible says and what I believe. I explained that the Bible gives hope, encourages love and relationship, believing the Bible and believing in God is a choice…it’s not forced upon anyone, it’s a gift.We talked about how God brings judgement when we die, he is the ultimate judge. But that means that everyone will be judged some day.

He went back to his topic of interest and I sat there a bit discouraged. Frustrated at myself for not having anything better to say. Then I thought about Alan. He would likely have encouraged Scott to go to the Fixed Point website http://www.fixed-point.org/ . So that’s what I did.That's really all the time we had.

After circling Brisbane, we finally landed. I said farewell and went through the terminal. There was so much I could have said and yet what is done is done. I am thankful for the opportunity to talk to Scott and I pray he will go to the website. Maybe something I said will stay on his mind and encourage him to search for himself.

We are not perfect people. We are tired, busy, selfish and lazy at times. I didn’t talk to everyone I sat next to on my last three flights. I tried with one lady but she wasn’t interested, I was tired and lazy for the long flight, and my final flight I couldn’t even keep my eyes open. I think God wants us to engage. Connect with the world around us, even if we stutter when we speak. Remember the reason for the hope that we have.

Giaman Market Trip

On Wednesday, Mandy and I wanted to go to market to take pictures. We didn’t have much desire to buy anything, seeing as we were leaving the country in two days, so we decided to recruit Alan. I called him and said, “Hey, want to go to market with us?”   He agreed, and we met him at his house.

When we saw him I said, “Hey, Alan, I have a new tok pisin word for you…giaman.” He looked at me funny and I explained that it meant to lie, to trick, something that is fake, or to be a conman.

We told him that we had no intention to buy anything at market but maybe he could give us his money and we could buy what he needed, while he took pictures of us. He was game, of course. Mandy started our venture. She proceeded to buy a pineapple while I was given the task of purchasing two bundles of rhubarb (Alan's favorite). 

Afterwards, we all bought donuts. Mandy said we should get some donuts before we left. We often get donuts on market days but this time we decided to buy them from two different ladies, to see which ones we like best. Alan got in on it and said he would buy from two other ladies, and then we could compare all four vendors. This of course got us thinking about doing a donut challenge.

We brought the donuts home and put them on four different plates. While I grabbed my camera Alan and Mandy proceeded to discuss where each set of donuts came from.

Then we taste tested them. We sorted and graded them by: density, do they have a smoky flavor, how much frosting do they have, and how much sugar each had.

The results are in, the lady at the first table on the left...wins!

You’ve got to enjoy the little things in life.

Recipe for Avocado Smoothie

Since you asked, here is the o-so-delicious smoothie!

2 bananas
1/2 large avocado (or 1 small avocado)
1/2 cup of milk
2-ish T. cocoa powder (adjust based on desired chocolatey-ness!)
sugar to taste

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!