A Sigh of Relief

It was so great to see Nationals around ITF today. I walked out of my hut and was greeted with "Moning Nikio!" and "Etahiabe Nicky!" Ahhh, sigh. It is so good to be back. I've missed my home.

For those of you who don't know, we had to move out to Lapilo for 2 weeks and ended up hosting our latest conference there as well. While living at Lapilo I was able to take advantage of all of the health-care facilities. I somehow managed to get a major bladder infection, 2 cavities, and a wicked stomach virus that I affectionately call "The Plague"- all within 10 days. Leave it to me to spend a month hanging out in the villages almost every day, without incident, but visit a little city and I'm knocked out flat! It was a rough couple of weeks. But now I'm home, and finally able to walk around and eat normally. I really like food, and everything tastes especially delicious at the moment.

The last couple of months have brought a lot of changes in my life, some of them very painful, but once again I've seen God providing what I truly need in extraordinary ways. Have I written already about how I love the smell of jasmine? I found out a year ago when I was at this organic fragrance store in San Francisco that jasmine is like my special scent. I don't think I'd ever smelled it before. And then I came to PNG and it blooms all over the campus here. Today I was out in the cabin circle... I had the very boring job of opening up all of the cabins and counting how many bunks are in each, so that we could make the cabin assignments for our next conference. It's not a hard job, just tedious, so I was having a hard time maintaining my "servant's heart". After I finished locking up the 24th cabin at the bottom of the circle, I stopped to take in the view across the valley below. It was still early and the sun was coming out full force - the morning fog pulling back over the mountains. A breeze came up and ruffled my hair, bringing with it the sweet aroma of jasmine. I stood there for a long moment... this moment that was clearly meant just for me. I suddenly knew how David felt when he said "I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this" - because I was crying and laughing and felt like dancing, but I just spun around a couple of times and said "Hi God!"

"If you want a wonderful experience, take your New Testament and use a concordance to look up the two little words, but God. See how many times human resources have been brought to an utter end; despair has gripped the heart and pessimism and gloom has settled upon a people; and there is nothing that can be done. Then see how the Spirit of God writes in luminous letters, but God, and the whole situation changes into victory." ~ Ray C. Stedman

IF1 09

Our first Interface program of the year was an absolutely incredible time for everyone involved. We had 14 students – mostly from America & Germany, and with all different backgrounds. It was such a cool dynamic! For me, it was exciting to see the program from the staff point of view. I was again thankful that I was able to go through the program as a student in July/August, because I could appreciate everything the students were going through & learning for the 4 weeks they were here. It was really evident to everyone that the ITF program is the heart & soul of this campus. The conferences are great, but it’s very clear that we (all of the staff)have a heart for the students and are all about pouring our lives into theirs. It’s our purpose for being here – and to show them the reality of tribal missions. That yes, it is difficult, but it can be done! It was so cool to just sit and talk with them, answer questions, and watch them grow.

My job was very different during program. I still ran around fulfilling my assistant-to-the-director duties, supervising the workmeris, and being the audio/visual geek… but I had several new roles as well. I had students in my home almost every night, ate every meal with them, lead many of their “village exposure” trips (awesome time getting to know more villagers, and working on my pidgin), hiked with them, sat in on some of their classes… and TAUGHT a few classes too! Whoa. That was a huge step outside of my comfort zone. When I was asked to teach I immediately said “yes”. A millisecond later I thought “what on earth possessed me to say that?!” I was ridiculously nervous, but also excited. I’ve given talks at Bible studies and churches (for the record, even that makes me nervous), but I never had the responsibility of imparting knowledge into willing minds before. My first class was “Health & Hygiene” – a nice easy one to start off with. I mostly talked about the physical ramifications of living with new foods and in a tropical climate – like wound care and diarrhea. Oh joy. This had the unfortunate side effect of daily confessions from students about their intestinal activity. But they were all very gracious about my nervousness and were excited to see God stretching me into this new area. They kept asking when my next class was and were so encouraging! I was pretty calm for my second class – Serving As Senders – where I was actually able to teach and spread my wings a little bit. I LOVED IT!!!

Here are a couple pictures of me that the students took:More pics of our time : Village ExposurePeeling kaukau for the mumu
Before our big hike to the river. By the time we came back we were covered in mud (and by that I mean mud combined with manure!), a little blood from the nail grass, and got soaked in a downpour. It was the most fun I've ever had hiking:The best thing... the reason that we are here... is that some of the students truly had life changing experiences. After all they saw & heard, they are convinced that they want to take God's Word to those without it. Several are headed off to Bible School or Missionary Training. Please pray with us for them - that they would keep striving hard, trusting and pursuing God's call for their lives. I've watched Him do amazing things in their hearts and it's been a tremendous privilege to be a part of it, to invest in them, and serve in this particular ministry.

"Whatever you do, wherever you live, if you belong to Jesus Christ, the call from heaven has come to you - to the highest honour a human being can experience. The Son of God is spreading His love, His lifestyle, and His life-saving message across this planet - and you know what? He has summoned you to join Him in His glorious Administration. Don't settle for anything less. " ~Ron Hutchcraft