Blog # Threepla

Yesterday I finally saw Joyce (my village language helper and friend)! We ran across the yard to each other. It was a moment. She called me “Indian Lady”. I didn’t really get that right away, but it was because I have long dark hair now and the last time she saw me I had short blond hair. She told me that she missed me so much, and that her son (Baby Rich) remembers me! Or at least he remembers the cake that I made for him. Typical! He wasn’t with her this time, but hopefully I’ll get to talk to him soon because he is fluent in Pidgin now. We haven’t been able to go up to the village for the last couple of days because of the State of Origin game. State of Origin is an Australian Rugby match (consisting of 3 games over a couple of months), and everyone in PNG really gets into the games (the Queensland Maroons vs. the New South Wales Blues). It’s a BIG deal. Kind of like our Super Bowl. In the villages around here, some of the guys get very drunk the day of the match and are therefore quite hungover the next day, so we stay out of the village for a little bit. On Friday we were finally able to go, and it was my first chance to visit. I was SO excited to see my peeps! There are a lot of new faces in the village because a Bena house-line across the valley were squatting on another house-line’s land and got booted out. They have been kind of crashing among our Bena people for the last couple of months. I finally found my friend Esta! She was very happy to see me – she hugged me, petted me, held my hand and cuddled right up to me when we sat in a circle talking with the kids and ladies. She kept calling me “longlong meri” (crazy lady) and “bikhed meri” (arrogant or stubborn lady). She was smiling and teasing me, so I was like “What’s the deal Esta?! Why are you calling me mean names?” And she said it was because I left her and went back to America. Aw! Last night we had another Campfire and the theme this time was “Got Any Rivers”. We talked through Joshua 3-4, when the Israelites are finally entering the Promised Land but first have to cross the Jordan River. The thing that really struck me is that God told them that He would dry up the river and they’d be able to cross, but first they had to start walking. They had to go forward, get their feet wet, and THEN the water stopped and the riverbed dried up. That’s such a great lesson in stepping forward in Faith. In other news, this morning in the kitchen I learned to crack an egg with one hand. Nate, one of the chefs, taught me how. Then he showed me that he could do one in each hand – show off! Having a Wonderful time!!! “[Jesus] is strong...but He's also approachable. He is able to carry our load...but He'll never make us feel embarrassed or defeated for asking.” ~ Joni Eareckson Tada