The temperature difference in Madang took some getting used to! It was not only extremely hot but I suspect the humidity is around 1,000%. I spent lots of time either in the water, or in the shade. It was incredible to experience another part of the country, and I very much enjoyed playing in the ocean, trying new foods, meeting new people, and reuniting with some friends I'd made a my orientation in FL who are serving in Madang. Plus, the culture is quite a bit different on the coast than in the mountains.Some boys playing by a "boat". Notice one of them is wearin' nothin' but swimming goggles and a smile!
This is fried seksek wrapped in a banana leaf that I bought in the market. SekSek is from the inside of a sego palm, and a traditional food of the region. It was fairly disgusting.
One of the coolest things for me was being able to go scuba diving again! I was PADI certified many years ago while spending a semester abroad in Australia. Madang boasts some of the best diving in the world, some say even better than the Great Barrier Reef because it isn't very touristy here. However, on the dive boat that day we had 7 people and 4 different languages. Thankfully for this dumb American, they all spoke a little bit of English.Check out how spectacularly clear the water is!
How can I even begin to describe the wonders I saw under that blue?! There were brilliant colored fish, big barracuda, electric blue starfish... I held a puffer fish, stuck my head inside a B-52 bomber, and even swam close to a shark (a little guy). From the boat, I saw a couple of dolphins jumping only 40 yards away. Oh, and I can't forget about the entire SCHOOL of fish I saw JUMPING out of the water. Repeatedly. They arced out about 5 times. It looked like a cartoon.It was a huge blessing to all of us to be able to go on this break. We'd all been working very hard for the conferences the last few months, and rarely able to leave the campus. I didn't even realize how stressed I was until we had the chance to relax a little bit. And it was a fantastically intimate time for me & God. By the time we got "Home" I was encouraged, refreshed and ready to dive back into work. And there was a LOT waiting for me. Our first ITF team of students arrives shortly so I have been extremely busy preparing for them to spend a month with us.
To Be Continued...
"I want passionate feelings to characterize my relationship with the Lord Jesus. Of course, I want to be perfectly obedient to the Lord, but I want the obedience to spring out of a passionate love for him. I want to obey Jesus not simply out of discipline of duty, or because of some reward or fear of punishment. I want to serve Him simply for the joy of being able to please the one I love so much. If discipline is what ultimately drives us in our pursuit of Jesus, eventually we will give up that pursuit. But a man in love, or a woman in love will never quit.... I want my life to be characterized by an unrestrained affection for the Son of God" ~ Jack Deere
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