Nicky's Adventures Out In The World

Another New Start

2009-10-07T10:44:00.000-07:00

After 6 wonderful weeks back home in Wisconsin I have set off to start all over again in Sanford, FL. It was harder than I expected to leave, and I miss my family, my church and my good friends back in Sconi all a-fresh.The drive down was beautiful and blessedly uneventful…other than 1 incident where I locked my keys and my purse in my car and had to call a locksmith to let me back in. IDIOT!
We had lots of help loading & unloading the moving truck – another huge blessing. And – WOW – my apartment in the NTM building is Beautiful!!!First Impressions of the Sunshine State:
*It is HOT here. Yikes. I was expecting it to be a bit cooler, but apparently it doesn’t ever get that cold here. Despite the fact that it was 89 degrees this morning with 100% humidity, Floridians seem to be either unaware or unaffected by the heat. I was wearing shorts & a tank top, wishing it was appropriate to wear less when I walked passed a lady wearing jeans & a sweater…. Ummm… Just because it’s October does not mean the temperature drops around here!
* It seems like Christians “down South” are more open and bold about their beliefs. Everywhere I go I see people wearing what I call “Jesus shirts”. And on Saturday I was exploring Sanford (my new town)and as I was walking through a park I found a group having a little worship service. I sat down in the shade to listen to the Baptist preacher share the Gospel. They also provide a bus on Sundays to pick anybody up and bring them to church… specifically the homeless in the area. I was pretty excited to see such a practical outreach to the community.
I’m working on meeting people, finding a church and getting plugged in. I’m going to a Bible Study tonight, so I’m pretty excited to get to know some fellow NTMers. I start working with Doug & Kara on Monday. I’m looking forward to being a part of their team, and this ministry! More importantly, I'm stoked to be serving my King.

"What are we here for - to have a good time with the Christians or to save sinners?" ~ Malla Moe

Reflections

2009-08-26T12:22:00.001-07:00

Now that I’m back in America, I thought it appropriate to take a step back… take a moment to reflect on the 13 months & 5 days I spent living in Papua New Guinea. But how do I sum up an entire year? I could talk about the people I met, the food I tasted, the indescribable colors of the country, the wildlife, the landscape, the smells… but what does any of that matter in the big scheme? The only part that is significant and valuable is what I learned – about myself and God – and what that means for eternity.

Here is what I learned about myself:

1) Physically, I don’t NEED much and can certainly live with a lot less STUFF. And God wants me to be generous with what I do have.

2) Emotionally, I was too dependent on my relationships – friendships especially. And God wants me stop allowing the importance of those relationships to over-shadow Him, and let Him to be my portion.

3) Spiritually, I have a lot to learn about trusting God with absolutely every area of my life and being obedient. A lot to learn about who God is – His Character, His Promises, His Will, His Word. About striving to be the woman He intends me to be. I learned that God has given me an ability to impact others lives… which is a wonderful gift from Him, but also a tremendous responsibility. I need to learn to be careful with HOW I’m impacting the people He puts in my path… how am I impacting this world for Eternity.

I’ve been hearing a lot that I’ve changed. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing, but I’m hoping most people feel that it’s for the better. Hopefully I’ve grown. It would be a shame to spend a year serving the Lord with my whole life in a Third World Country and come home unchanged.

At the end of my presentation in church last Sunday, my friend Seth asked “How has your view of God changed?” What a great question. I wish I had been prepared for it. I’ve been thinking about it for the last few days, trying to remember what my view of God was before I left last summer. I think He appeared much smaller in my life back then. I think He was someone I called upon more in times of need, but didn’t depend on Him for every decision, every circumstance. How often did I turn to Him only as a last resort, after trying to do it my way first? I think that I didn’t see or understand His heart for the rest of the world until I really immersed myself in another culture… until I heard their hearts and saw their need for Him. I don’t think I understood that He could use me for much, and wanted to use me in brand new ways. I didn’t see my worth, or who I really was clearly. How has my view of God changed? He is bigger than He ever was to me, and I am more in love with Him than I ever was before.

"'Not called!' did you say? 'Not heard the call,' I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world." ~ William Booth

Just a Wednesday

2009-06-10T05:18:00.000-07:00

I decided to do another Day In The Life of Nicky during an ITF program. I’ve realized that some people are very interested in the details of a typical day for me, so if you are one of those people… This Is For YOU! J I didn’t teach any classes today, or lead village exposure… but here is what today looked like. *Warning: May contain intense action sequences.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009: My alarm went off at 6:45am, but yesterday was Goroka Day (leading the students around town all day), and I’m exhausted so I hit the snooze till 7:15. Chat with mom on Skype for a bit. Stupid Skype does not work! Throw in a load of laundry and head up to the dining hall for breakfast at 7:45am.

At around 8:30 I hang up my laundry and check my emails. Rachel calls and asks I can tell the workmeris that she will be gone this morning and they need to clock out with me. Also, I need to check in with them and make sure they are doing ok. I walk down to the ablution block and tell the ladies in my broken Pigin that they should sing-out for me when they are finished for the day, and that I’ll be up in the office. Throw in a second load of laundry and hike up to the office. Rachel also needs me to print out more time cards for her. I have absolutely no idea what those look like or where to find them. I search the network, find something that looks feasible, print out a dozen forms and email her that they are in her mailbox.

The morning is a blur. I get a call from one of the security guys to have Danny give him a call (that conversation is entirely in Pigin, by the way). Danny calls me later and gives me new instructions for the security scheduling for the next Interface program. 1 guy has been suspended for 2 weeks for sleeping while on Night Security, 2 guys have to rearrange what nights they work because they are helping Rich Foster (missionary to the Bena) with Translation on certain mornings. This means I have to redo the entire schedule – an insane puzzle that will literally take me HOURS. First I make a new Security worksheet and Security Instructions document to put into the Security folder on the network so that Julie (my replacement in August) knows what to do next time. I’ll get to work on the schedule after lunch!

In the meantime, Rich Foster calls to find out what the Class Schedule looks like for ITF3. I make a copy of the schedule and email it to him.

Yesterday the official ITF3 student list (and their applications) arrived – Hooray! Now I have to start putting together a spread sheet of student profiles for the staff to look over. I need to show Julie how to do this, so for now I just put together an excel worksheet of the names of each student.

12:30pm – Lunch. Quick run home and hang up the 2^nd load of laundry. Hope it dries on time… it looks like rain. Nate arrives (new NTM Associate who was here last summer as well. He is taking over for Beth in the kitchen while she is on furlough). His luggage did not make it, but he made it safely! Hopefully it will show up on the flight tomorrow. Ah PNG!

1:15pm – run up to the office to open it up for students so they can use computers to email during their free time. 1:30-2:30pm – Staff Meeting in the dining hall (take notes and meeting minutes).

2:35pm back up to the office. A bunch of students are up there on the computers and asking me questions. Start working on Security Schedule. Make an Open House calendar for the students that will be around in between programs, and email it to the staff to sign up for. Show Julie how to make Student Profiles and then start working on them. It’s now 5:00 and I have about 17 things started and nothing finished… but most of these projects will take some time and don’t need to be done immediately, so I’m not stressed. I’ll work on them tomorrow! Time to turn off the computers and lock up the office!

5:05 – go back to my hut and take down all my laundry. It’s mostly dry. Decide that my house needs bit of a touch up before the students come over tonight so sweep the floors & clean the bathroom.

5:30 –Give announcements in the dining hall… “Skit/Talent night is on Saturday so start thinking about how you want to entertain us!” Supper time. Come home to bake some cookies.

7:00 – Campfire. Worship time and testimonies. Yay – I love campfires!

8:00-10:00pm – I have “Quiet House” tonight. Make tea & coffee for the 6 students who come over to read, write letters or do homework. I also use the time to read. I’m at the end of “Mere Christianity”. I really love this book! My cookies turned out awesome by the way. There are zero left. I was planning to shower before bed, but now I’m way too tired. Nigh Night!

Here is one of my favorite quotes from Mere Christianity:
"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of — throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."

For an Audience of One

2009-05-31T17:12:00.000-07:00

Once again, the Interface campus has come alive and it’s as if every one here is bursting with the expectation of what God is going to do in the lives of these young people. We are already 10 days into the IF2 program. As usual, I am running myself ragged. I want to do everything with the students, plus keep up with all of my official Admin duties. I have a hard time just chilling out at home and enjoying any quality down-time. I think the rest of the staff is going to force me to take a nap soon.

But so far things are going well! It’s our first attempt at running a program without Emerson as director, plus Peter (the new bossman) and I had to prep without Janie, while battling sickness, but it all fell into place (Thank the Lord!) I’ve already taught 4 classes, and teach another 1 tomorrow morning. I had major technical difficulties (aka – my powerpoint was possessed) for my first classes, but I remained calm and rolled with it. I didn’t think it was possible, but I’m starting to feel a lot more comfortable speaking/teaching. It probably helps that my friends sit in the back of class and make signs like “You Rock” or stand up & cheer for me. HA! I definitely think the coolest thing about being a teacher is how much you learn while preparing the classes. Not to mention the discussions I’m then able to have with the students during meals or open houses.

It’s also been a huge encouragement to have my friends Curt, Don & Kristina here. They were on my ITF team when I was a student and have returned to PNG to serve in Hospitality (the kitchen) for the whole summer. It’s so much fun having “old friends” around again. Plus, one of the students is a girl that I will be working with in FL. She’s here to experience Interface so that when we are back in the states we can work together to mobilize more harvesters to the field!

I’m leading “Village Exposure” time with this group, and have been in the village with them twice already. On our first trip I made a new friend – Karufe. She speaks English very well, but mostly spoke Pigin because she wants me learn so that I’m able to speak to her people better. She also informed me that she was going to pray that Papa God brings me a “Gutpela Husband” and “Planti Pikininis” (Good husband & lots of kids). Oh boy, sounds like she’s been talking to my mom. During our second trip together, the students were surprised (and by that I mean several of them screamed and almost took off running) by pigs charging across our trail in the bush. I forgot to warn them that the people in the village often let their pigs run around during the day. Ah Culture Shock! Thankfully I teach my Culture Stress (Part 2 in a 2 part series) class tomorrow…

Too often we say, "I have no talent to teach a Sunday school class." "My home is not nice enough to have a Bible study here." "I don't cook well enough to help with Meals on Wheels." "I'm a businessman, not a carpenter. I wouldn't know the first thing about building a house for Habitat for Humanity." When we step out in faith and offer all we have, God will use it in powerful ways. How much is enough? Just what we have when God is with us!

*Photos in this entry were provided by my good friend Curt Sharp

Esra's Village

2009-05-13T17:14:00.000-07:00

I spent last weekend visiting my friend Heather at Lapilo. We had LOTS of fun plans. On Friday we were invited to the Numonohi Senior Class mumu. Ah, the joys of hanging with Teens again!The next day Heather's workmeri Esra invited us to her village to have a mumu with her family. What an awesome, once-in-a-lifetime experience!!! We had to hike about an hour into the bush. That in itself was an experience. We had to cross this crazy bridge over the river...
Back on the trail it was seriously muddy, so I OF COURSE wiped out (still working on that least-graceful-woman-on-the-planet trophy). One minute I was upright and looking at the village ahead of me, the next second I was on my bum with a stunned expression on my face. While no one caught the actual fall on camera - here is a pic from a little while later of me walking through some banana trees while touring Esra's garden. You can see some evidence of the incidet, but I'd already gotten a little cleaned up. I was initially pretty covered in mud! At Esra's house we helped peel kaukau, carrots, and stuffed bamboo with chicken & kumu.
Her family took care of actually cooking the mumu for us.We spent the whole morning just hanging out with them in their village. It was such a fantastic opportunity to just BE with the people. We were the only white-skins there, so it wasn't a big show... it was just a normal day. Esra was very real with us, and even talked about the hardships of being a first wife, and sharing her husband with a second wife - something that happens often in PNG. I have met many ladies here who are 1 among several wives. Anyway - enough commentary on the culture.
Here Heather & I are with Esras family. They were so awesome to us! Also, I'm crouched down a little bit for this picture so that I wouldn't look like such an amazon woman. Heather is only 5'3" and she's taller than most of them... you can imagine how gigantic I look.On the hike home, we decided to take a short cut across the river. Esra insisted on carrying my camera because, and I quote "You'll probably fall again". Excellent - I am literally known around the world for my clumsiness. :) I don't even want to think about what is in this water...More Pics of PNG. Oh how I love it here!!!
"I'll be your hands, I'll be your feet. I'll go where you send me, go where you send me
And I'll try, yeah I'll try, to touch the world like you touched my life
And I'll find my way To be your hands

I'll abandon every selfish thought, I surrender everything I've got
You can have everything I am And perfect everything I'm not

I am willing, I'm not afraid
you give me strength when I say ...
I'll be your hands, I'll be your feet. " ~ Audio Adrenaline

A Very Special Day

2009-03-31T23:58:00.000-07:00

Wow, I just got back from a very special 4 days on the coast. This may be my last chance to get out of the Highlands and see a little bit more of the country, so I jumped at it. We had an opportunity to go to Madang for a long weekend. Our goal was to get out every day and be with the locals whenever possible, but not in the town. We wanted to be out in the villages on the islands. Time to step out of our comfort zones a bit, use our Pigin to communicate with the people, and experience some real cultural differences. One of the Islands is so small it only had 10 people living on it!

Sunday was our most special time. We borrowed some kayaks and paddled out to an island. There was a small beach there and we arrived just in time to help some people unload a boat full of bamboo!

We continued along the coast of that island and heard some singing. We found a little church service going on so we stayed in our kayaks (not wanting to intrude or distract) but listened to the preaching from the water. From there we headed to another Island. There were some ladies fishing along the way, so we stopped to talk to them and ask if it was ok to go hang out on their island.

It turns out the name of this beautiful place is Leper Island. HA! It’s because during WW2 they quarantined anyone with Leprosy on that Island. Charming. We enjoyed the beach and some snorkeling, and then the boys learned how to harpoon fish from some local guys! They all came back to the beach to show me their catches. (It would not have been culturally appropriate for me to go out there with them). There was a little girl with them named Linda, and I sat with her while she cleaned all the fish the men had caught. Then we played & splashed each other in the water while the guys built a fire and cooked the fish for us. It was so cool to just be with the people.

Oh yes... we ate Dori.

This last picture is sweet Linda, fishing again... just throwing out a line with a hook and some bait on the end. What an awesome day!!!

"Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting...Don't only give your care, but give your heart as well." ~ Mother Teresa

"The soul, itself invisible, is seen by what it does through the body." ~ Johann Albrecht Bengel

Highlands Conference

2009-03-24T23:46:00.001-07:00

We just finished up the big annual Highlands Conference on Monday. ITF hosts the missionaries from all over the Highlands for a time of teaching, fellowship, relaxing, playing, worshiping, getting muddy (we've had a lot of rain), and encouraging each other with what God is doing in the highlands of PNG! It was just awesome. I was blessed to be able to attend a lot of the sessions… hearing lots of testimonies & tribal reports. I love hearing what happens in the villages as the Gospel is presented and they understand Grace for the first time. The joy and then the sadness & urgency these new believers have to tell others. It is an example to all of us.

It was great fun for me to meet & get to know other missionaries. There was a couple here – the Palmers – who have been serving in a tribe in PNG for 55 years! What characters! They were a hoot. From that extreme to the opposite – a young couple who’s only been in their tribe for 6 months and just starting their language study. The conference felt like a big family reunion! We had a skit night, lots of singing, a banquet, games, ice cream (oooh, what a treat!)… lots of lingering over meals with coffee and good conversation.

There was an older couple with some specific needs that needed less primitive accommodations, so I gave them my house and stayed in a cabin with my friend Heather. It was a little bit like camping and we had a great time. I also got to experience the famous ITF tradition – Bucket Showers!

During the last couple of weeks I’ve been battling a stomach virus from Hades. Ugh! I was only able to eat small portions, and mostly just rice and bananas and toast. Thankfully, that seems to finally be over. *Thank you all for your prayers about that!* Last night my PNG Family (Beth, the Germans & I) went to town for dinner at a new restaurant as a special treat, and I ate a whole steak! It was my first steak in 9 months… and while it was a PNG steak (definitely not the same quality as back home) I was grinning the whole time. I’m SO happy to be able to eat real food again, and to have a real steak! Now if I could only have some cheese…

In other news, things are starting to come together for me back home. I was able to find the cheapest plane ticket anybody has seen in 10 years, and God provided the funds for me to book it immediately! I also found out that I have a 1 Bedroom apartment reserved for me in Sanford, so I don’t have to do any house hunting. I am in awe of how all of these details have been worked out, through no effort of mine. It was some much needed affirmation that this is what God wants for me. I’ve been struggling with the idea of leaving PNG. But if I could be obedient enough to come here and leave everything behind, then I can certainly be obedient enough to head back to the States. Who knows where this next step will lead?!

“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

A Sigh of Relief

2009-02-25T21:57:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-09T21:31:00.000-08:00

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 Exposure Peeling 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

News in the World, and in my little world

2009-01-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

I've had many people write to me and ask me about my thoughts on this article... http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/08/png.witchcraft/index.html

When I read it my first reaction was that I was surprised that it had made it to the headlines in the states. Sadly, this is nothing new in PNG. This particular incident happened pretty far away from where I'm at in the Highlands, but I've heard of it happening even before I arrived here. There was a show on the Travel Channel called "Living with the Mek" - about 2 guys who went to live in the Mek tribe in highlands of PNG. There was an episode where the chief of the tribe became ill, and they blamed a young girl for witchcraft. Thankfully, she ran away before there were any "consequences". When the westerners did tests on the chief, it turned out he had malaria. But it doesn't matter to the tribal people... if someone is sick (regardless of age or health/hygiene issues) the only explanation is sorcery. Often a young girl is accused of witchcraft. And the people live in constant fear of the spirits.

This is a land in darkness... spiritually and in many other ways as well. When Americans tell me that they think it's offensive that Missionaries go to PNG and push their beliefs on tribal people who are happy and content to live in the old ways, I just shake my head. That could not be further from the truth. They are begging us to come! Who would be happy living in constant fear of death or fear of being cursed or attacked by spirits?! I think I've mentioned before that every where you go there are ripped up cards on the side of th road. That's because if they lose in a card game it's due to evil spirits in the cards themselves... so they rip up that deck and buy another one. This is all true, I'm not making this up!

There has been a tremendous testimony recently in my neighboring village. Tumun, a believer, became very sick. Her abdomen was swollen so much she looked like she was 9 months pregnant. We took her to the doctor and found out that her insides were full of cancer. The other people in the village called for witchdoctors to come and work magic, but she would not allow them in her house. She said "My family members keep trying to bring village "doctors" to heal me. It wouldn't be good now that God has brought me into His fence if I brought the things of Satan into God's place -- I don't want God's house messed up." As Tumun's illness became worse, her Faith was an encouragement to everyone! She was upset that she was missing some of the Bible classes because she didn't want to get behind, but then she said she was at peace about it because God told her that very soon her understanding of Him would beat everyone elses! An older lady in the next village just died with apparently the same sickness, and the word that was spread was of the agony that she suffered while she was ill as well as the torturous death she experienced. Joyce (Tumun's sister and my friend) heard that story, and then saw Tumun resting quietly and not being in any pain, and she saw God looking out for His child. She saw the quiet, uncomplaining spirit of Tumun, and she saw God in Tumun, giving her strength. Tumun passed away last week, just as quietly and totally at peace. It was all over the village. They'd never seen anything like it. Tumun's husband said "Tumun went so quietly. Many times, people who are dying cry out and come and go back and give those of us watching such heaviness to watch them leave. But Tumun went so quietly." When asked if he knew why Tumun went so quietly and he responded, "She knew
God." What a testimony she has left for her family and friends. During her funeral, her family announced that they believed that her death was not because of sorcery, but because of sickness. This is UNHEARD of in PNG!!! And we rejoice for her because Tumun is free and she is the first of her tribe in Heaven.

"I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. My sickness, or perplexity, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end, which is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain." ~ John Henry Newman

December: Part Tupela

2008-12-30T16:34:00.000-08:00

So of course it's difficult on all missionaries to be away from family on Christmas. To compensate for the sad times we might otherwise feel, we apparently plan LOTS of activities. The last few weeks have been FULL of festivities. At Lapilo there was a Christmas bazaar, choir concerts, and of course a Christmas Eve service complete with Pageant! Oh yes, it was the cutest thing ever.
Here at ITF we had a staff party, where we all got together to eat, drink hot cider, eat some more, play a couple of games, and watch the kids receive their stockings. Oh, and we had a story time too.My friend Heather came out to spend the week of Christmas (and her Birthday!) with us. We attended a "Carol Sing" at the ITF director's house. We all sat around the piano and sang carols, and ate more food and drank more cider. (do you see a theme here?!)
The next day, we (with Beth, Fred, and the Germans) made & decorated cookies, and then delivered them to all of the staff families - and did some caroling while we were at it.
On Christmas morning we had breakfast together and then opened gifts - from each other, plus we 'd saved all the gifts we'd gotten from home in care packages and opened those together.

Boys sporting some of their new gear

Sunglasses & bracelet from mom. Buried in all the wrapping paper :)

In the evening we (single people) had a feast over at the Mixter's house - salad, rolls, ham, chicken, potatoes & green bean casserole. Plus birthday cake & cherry pie. After dinner we watched "A Muppet Christmas Carol" and just hung out together. Again, I was thankful that God provides not only a Savior, but also friends & family to encourage us when we need it. I am often overwhelmed that the God of the Universe who has already given us so much, cares about the little details of our lives. I pray that you all had a blessed Christmas!

And as for the last week - we have been very very very busy preparing for our first Interface program of the year! Woo hooo! I absolutely cannot wait for the students to get here and to watch God work!

Oh, and just a cute side note. Today I had a bunch of the kids from the village come to my door and ask if they can color. I've been bringing crayons and coloring books to the village when I go up and coloring with any kids that are around. I must have gotten a reputation! After they colored a couple of pictures they called out for me to come see their work. I now have some beautiful art decorating my fridge!

~ Nicky

"If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He could live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart. What about the Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem; not to mention that Friday at Calvary."

December: Part Wanpela

2008-12-28T00:50:00.000-08:00

December has brought some exciting adventures for your favorite Missionicky! I had the opportunity to spend the beginning of the month on the east coast, in Madang. Beth, the Germans & I were able to fly with NTM- Aviation... in a tiny 5 seater Cessna. That was a little nerve-wracking, but I've always enjoyed a good adrenaline rush.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

Thanksgiving -PNG Style

2008-11-29T02:43:00.000-08:00

I have several stories for you guys.
First ~ Last Sunday a few of us had a chance to go into town and go out to lunch at a restaurant! I know, it probably sounds funny to you all, but this is a big deal for us. We went to a hotel/restaurant called pacific gardens. Here are some pics of us having fun in the garden:

The food was very good. One very typical PNG incident... I went up to the "salad bar" and when I got to the end to put some dressing on my salad there were 5 bottles of dressing all labeled different thing - Ranch, French, Thousand Island, Honey Mustard & Italian - but they mysteriously all looked like they were containing the same liquid inside. Sure enough, it was ALL Italian dressing, just put in re-used bottles. HA!

Second ~ this week started in such a sweet way. On Monday morning I heard a soft "Nikio!?" coming from my porch. I went outside to greet my visitor - my special friend Joyce from the village. She brought me a bag of veggies - cucumbers, green beans, & cherry tomatoes (my favorite) - from her garden! This is a very cultural thing to do. It is a sign of friendship to show up unexpectedly a bring a little gift. It also requires some kind of reciprocation on my part. I'm not sure what I will do yet, but plan to bake something sweet for her and Baby Rich (her little boy). I am very happy to be growing this friendship with a national lady.

Third~ We celebrated Thanksgiving in a special way. First, our little group (Beth, the Germans & I) had our own celebration. Turkey is outrageously expensive, so our choices were pukpuk (crocodile) or chicken... we decided on the more exotic route. Hey, it's PNG... When in Rome! So we had grilled croc & zucchini and mashed potatoes. Yummm, it was FANTASTIC. We all agreed it was our favorite meal we've had here!
Today we had a staff shindig, and celebrated with a more traditional Thanksgiving. We all pitched in to get a small turkey and some chicken. We all ate up at the dining hall and pulled some tables together so we could have 1 long table. Here are a few pics:
Tammy & Danny Tobi & Jonny

Me & Adonai

The whole gang
While we were all eating together I was overwhelmed with how thankful I was to be here, and that I wasn't as homesick as I'd feared I would be. I was amazed at how much it felt like home! Everyone was talking loud and laughing and eating too much, just like my family back home... and it occurred to me that God has truly given me a family here. I got a little teary-eyed, but hid it well. After dinner we set up a projector and a sheet up on the wall and watched a football game! One of the guys here (Danny) is a huge Steelers fan and his family sends him the games on DVD. Even though it wasn't a Packers game, it was still GREAT to watch some football on Thanksgiving!

And finally, we decorated for Christmas. It feels very odd to all of us to be putting up a Christmas tree and lights when the weather is exactly the same as it was in July when I arrived. Still 80 degrees! But we decided to have fun with it and try to get ourselves in the Holiday mood. We had a great time! It really helped prepare our hearts for the season to be decorating and singing together.

I love that last picture because we are all genuinely laughing in it.
My heart is so full of joy and thankfulness. I can't express how grateful I am, once again, just to be a part of this ministry, and that God has surrounded me with family. No matter where I am, I have family in Him. I am happy. ~ Nicky

"If we could only see the heart of the Father, we would be drawn into praise and thanksgiving more often. It is easy for us to think that God is so majestic and so highly exalted that our adoration makes no difference to him. Our God is not made of stone. His heart is the most sensitive and tender of all. No act goes unnoticed, no matter how insignificant or small. A cup of cold water is enough to put tears in the eyes of God. God celebrates our feeble expressions of gratitude. " ~Richard J. Foster

Spritual Emphasis Weekend

2008-11-19T16:04:00.000-08:00

Hey all!
We just wrapped up S.E.W. - a big youth conference for all the New Tribes MKs. We had 11 people from Hume Lake, CA leading the weekend for the kids. I think it was an eye-opening and growing experience for absolutely everyone! For my part, I was the "Point Person" for this conference... a big step for me. This meant that whenever anybody needed anything, they came to me. It was mostly taking care of little things, like finding tacks so they could hang up posters/banners, getting the guys to bring them a ladder or change the batteries in a fire alarm, and answering lots of questions. I also did the Welcome presentation again, gave a campus tour, and did occasional announcements at meals. Good stuff! It's funny to think that I used to HATE speaking in front of people, and now I'm doing it regularly. You gotta love how God just keeps stretching you when you trust Him with your plans.

Here a couple of pics that the Hume Lake people took of the weekend and I stole from them. They are beautiful shots of some things I get to see every day.

The road to ITF - No joke, I get car sick on this road every time. Meh.The Classroom - where we have church, classes during programs, and to the left there is where we have our campfire cookouts on Friday nights.S.E.W. Group Picture!!!
Recreation time

And so ends our crazy conference season. *Sigh* Now we all have a little break... and time to prepare for the first Interface team that arrives in January! I CAN'T WAIT! I've already started working on the class schedule. I'm so excited to see how God is going to work in the hearts of the new students. I hope they are instilled with the same fresh passion for God that my team was!

We can carry the world on our shoulders, or we can say, "I give up, Lord; here's my life. I give you my world, the whole world." ~ Bruce Larson

Conference Season!

2008-10-29T22:20:00.000-07:00

Hey all, just wanted to give you a quick update...

* The IEW conference went really well! It was a lot of work, but very rewarding for all of us. The missionaries attending told us that they were able to get so much done while here. One guy told us they finished translating the book of Mark! He came up to our group to thank us for all we did behind the scenes to enable them to get that done. Wow. I got a little choked up by that... to be part of his ministry for a couple of weeks so that he could translate part of the Bible into a previously unknown language. In the midst of working in a hot kitchen, making a zillion photo copies, and running around making phone calls it's easy to forget why I'm here. It was very cool to have that reminder.

* We have another conference this weekend - a "Cultural Awareness Retreat" for new missionaries who arrived on the field in the last few months. This is very cool for me because I know almost everyone coming. In fact, 6 of them were in FL with me for Pre-Field Orientation back in June. REUNION! Plus, I'm going to be doing the Welcome Speech presentation thingy. Funny how I used to be terrified to get in front of a group to speak. I think speaking in front of the church so often this past year has helped to cure me of that.

* And speaking of God stretching me... He continues to push me out of my comfort zone on a regular basis here. I've been given some leadership-type responsibilities (aka "opportunities"). It's not that I'm a terrible leader, I'm just more of a people-pleaser so I don't like to tell my peeps what to do. Turns out that I'm not too bad at delegating. Meh, who knew? We work together on most things, but when the boys joked about being my slaves I assured them that we are all slaves together for Jesus! :o)

* I don't have any new pics to attach this time, but I'll give you this fun one from a few weeks ago. This is my PNG family - Beth, The Germans (Jonny, Tobi & Andy) and Adi (Danny & Tammy's little girl). We were all supposed to be making funny faces, but not everyone cooperated.
* This quick update is getting long, but just wanted to share this story with you. Today I was busy running around - as usual - preparing for the conference. Adi came out and yelled "Hi Miss Nicky, wanna play?" I feel bad because she asks me this all the time and I'm always busy. I noticed that she had squirt gun. She mentioned that she had another one. Hm. I needed to run up to the workshop to talk to the guys about some mattresses that had to be moved around. So I suggested we fill up those water guns, go to the workshop together, and wage war on the boys. We walked casually into the workshop with our pistols behind our backs, then I counted "1-2-3" and we attacked. The boys went running and grabbed a hose. Uh oh, didn't see that coming. The battle only lasted about 5 minutes, but it was good fun to be kids again for even a short time in the middle of accomplishing our "to do" lists.

Be free,... simple, a child. But be a sturdy child, who fears nothing, who speaks out frankly, who lets himself be led, who is carried in the arms; in a word, one who knows nothing, can do nothing, can anticipate and change nothing, but who has a freedom and a strength forbidden to the great. This childhood baffles the wise, and God Himself speaks by the mouth of such children.
~ Francois Fenelon

Kitchen duty

2008-10-19T22:54:00.000-07:00

This week has been insane. I honestly couldn’t even give you a break down of 1 of my days because I have been so crazy busy and running all over campus! We are hosting a conference right now… IEW (Intro to Epistles Workshop). Missionaries from all over the country are here with their National translation helpers. I am doing my normal job (whatever that is!) and also helping out in the kitchen.

Working in the kitchen is not so bad! I expected to be doing dishes and chopping onions the whole time, but instead I’ve been actually cooking things. It makes me feel extremely productive to be able to make something from scratch.
Here I am mixing dough that I made for 300 tortillas!

Here I am making a huge thing of Kool-aid.

And here’s the sausage that I made this morning (enough for 100 people – crazy).

*Note – I think if my nose gets sunburned one more time it may actually fall off. Seriously, ever time I go outside my nose gets sunburned… still not used to the intense sun here! :o)

It’s really exciting to be able to meet all of these tribal missionaries, but also to be able to be a small part of their ministry as they work on translating the epistles into new languages. I’m really enjoying just talking to them at meals, and serving with some of them in various ways around ITF. The more missionaries I meet, the more I realize that they do NOT fit into the typical mold that I expected. They are all cool, down-to-earth, very REAL folks. They struggle just like the rest of us, most of them have a great sense of humor. I think it’s a requirement.

Last night I was SO excited to talk to my whole church over Skype. How COOL to live in a time where technology enables us to keep in touch that way. It was such a blessing and an encouragement to talk to them… I’ve been smiling all day. I just love how God provides exactly what I need at the moment I need it most. It’s been so hectic here, and easy to get lost in the busy work. Thankfully God knows me well enough to give me a jolt of relational time – with my church family and also with a group of single girls (visiting and helping out with the conference for the weekend) who randomly showed up at my cabin and plopped themselves down in my tiny room. We sat and talked, sang some songs, and giggled a lot. It may be silly, but it’s just what I needed, and I love my God who knows my heart well enough to provide me with the silliness necessary to refuel my batteries.

Aloneness can lead to loneliness. God's preventative for loneliness is intimacy - meaningful, open, sharing relationships with one another. In Christ we have the capacity for the fulfilling sense of belonging which comes from intimate fellowship with God and with other believers. ~ Neil T. Anderson

A New Name

2008-10-08T00:07:00.000-07:00

It's funny how a small act can change how you look at a day, or even at your life. How for a moment, you see yourself in someone else's eyes, and realize that you have an effect on people when you thought you were relatively insignificant.

Today I went down to "the circle" (the fenced in circle of cabins). I had the task of taking down a bunch of tattered curtains so that they could be replaced with new ones before our big conference next week. As I walked into the circle, concentrating on what I needed to do and where to start, I heard some of the workmeris say "NIKIO!" My head snapped up immediately and my whole face lit up with a smile. For the Bena people, adding an "o" to the end of your name is a sign of love and affection. I'd heard them do this to other people, but never have they used it for me. I waved, called back "Moning!" and practically skipped off to work on my curtain project. At lunch, I told Beth about the ladies calling me Nikio and she smiled and said "Oh yeah, Soni told me the other day that they all like you because you talk a lot to them". (Soni works in the kitchen with Beth) Now, while this does sound like me and my big mouth, I'm not sure it applies in this case. My pigin is borderline pathetic, so I really don't say much at all... maybe a few words and a big smile. I'm so happy they can tell that I care about them and I'm TRYING to communicate. See, THIS is my ministry. Yes I'm definitely here to serve and use whatever skills I have to do real work at ITF. But what moves my heart is people - the staff here, their kids, the Bena - they are my ministry. My desire for coming here was to be obedient and please the Lord, but also to be a blessing and an encouragement to the people here.
So life is good. I'm very busy this week preparing for a conference that arrives on Tuesday and lasts for 2 weeks. Our new Germans - Tobi & Jonny - seem nice and are pretty decent volleyball players, which makes our Saturday games even MORE fun! It's rainy season now, so it rains almost ever afternoon. Sometimes we even get some cool thunder and lightning. (Yay for storms!) Last week we had a downpour and I had run home in it... I giggled the entire way because I was completely drenched and muddy, but it was warm out so it just felt like I was playing out in the rain. It's interesting when it rains because we live on the side of a mountain. There are ditches dug all over campus, and now I understand why... the water positively RUNS downhill after just a little bit of rain. It's not like there's pavement here... it's all dirt roads and grassy hills... so running to my house in the rain was quite the adventure! I'm surprised I didn't fall and hurt myself. You all know how graceful I am! (*Note - That was the epitome of sarcasm.)
On Sunday we all went to the village together. It's still my favorite thing! Haha - I love the crazy faces and silliness of this first one...
This seems so odd to me - a lock on a hut. But it is sadly necessary.Just a beautiful view from the village."When was the last time you laughed for the sheer joy of your salvation? People are not attracted to somber doctrines. There is no persuasive power in a gloomy and morbid religion. Let the world see your joy and you won't be able to keep them away. To be filled with God is to be filled with joy."

Youth Weekend

2008-09-27T22:36:00.000-07:00

I have to say, that the SIL Encounter weekend was a wonderful experience. First of all, it was so GREAT to have a bunch of people on campus. (Could I BE any more of a "people-person"?!) I was so excited to be around youth again, but I'd forgotten how long it takes for kids to accept and trust you. I'm so used to my TLC kids back at Open Door coming up to talk to me, that I was a little disappointed at how hard it was to get these kids to open up. It made me miss my TLCers a TON! (I ♥ you guys!)
Anyway, on Sunday morning, one of the boys from the retreat decided that he wanted to get baptized. He went to the leaders to ask about it, and they started to tell him when the next "corporate" baptism was at church and he said "No no, I don't want to wait for that... I want to do it here, now!" The first thing I thought of was that when I got baptized, it was so important to me to have my family and friends all there... but that's not how it was done in the Bible. This situation reminded me of the eunuch in Acts, and it was so inspiring! He was just burning for Jesus! We don't have the facilities at ITF for baptizing, and the closest river is about a 35 minute drive. So we put a tarp in the back of a truck, filled it with water, and Izzy was baptized right there! WOW, it was so cool!On Monday evening, at about 9:30pm, I got a call "Nicky, we have another guy who wants to get baptized... can we use Emma's kiddie pool?" By the time they were all ready to go, a few more had decided they wanted to take the plunge as well. A dad who'd come along on the trip to help with security baptized both of his sons. In the end, 16 kids got baptized that night, for a total of 17 during their retreat! What a beautiful and exciting thing to see God at work in the lives of these teens!

In other, much less exciting news, things here have returned to normal. It is officially rainy season, so it rains every day - but not all day long - usually just in the afternoons. This is a very good thing for the villagers, who are thankful to have their gardens watered after an exceptionally long dry season. Everything has already become even more green... more lush and wild and beautiful.
Our ITF family continues to grow, and then shrink, and then change. We have 2 more Germans arriving on Tuesday - Tobi & Jonathan - who will be here for the next year.
Life continues to be an adventure. It's amazing how different my daily activities are here... how much my "routines" have changed. It still feels like a dream. I know that I will be changed forever because of this experience.

"Some wish to live within the sound of a chapel bell, I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of Hell."
- C.T. Studd

A day in the life...

2008-09-18T04:12:00.000-07:00

Many of you have been asking me what my “typical day” looks like. HA! I’ve been at ITF for nearly 6 weeks now and have yet to experience a typical day. Honestly, my job title of Administrative Assistant is not really accurate. We are thinking of new title options for me. But it doesn’t matter, my job is to be a servant – so I do whatever needs to be done. For the last couple of days that includes such glamorous tasks as sweeping, dusting, moving bedding, organizing a workmeri calendar, getting a package ready to mail, making a sign for a garbage can, packing up curriculum, and yesterday I was conscripted to the Poop Patrol. We have 15 German Shepherd security dogs on campus, and we have a youth retreat descending upon us this weekend, so needed to clean up poo. Yuck! But it had to be done, and a group of us worked together on it.

Here’s what today looked like (remember – not a “typical” day, but probably typical of what a day before a conference might look like):

6:15 am– rise & shine! Throw on my “dog clothes”, start a pot of coffee, take care of the 2 dogs in my charge, have some breakfast, devotion time, respond to a couple of emails

8:00 am(ish) – head down to “the circle” (of cabins). Heath & I are in charge of logistical mattress moving and getting the beds ready for the conference. Here I am moving a mattress:

Here I am trying to communicate with and instruct the workmeris about what needs to be done… in all pigin. GAH! This was good for me because it forced me to use the language in every day life. They loved it! They told me that now I am a real Pisin Meri.

After mattress moving, I headed to the classroom to clean the Media Room. It was SO GROSS in there! Everything was covered in dust, dead bugs and gecko poop. So I dusted, tidied up, and vacuumed. As you can see, the vacuum did not work extremely well... It’s only morning, and I’m already covered in dirt and sweat!

Here is Andy cleaning out the cobwebs in the classroom (I'm glad that I didn't have that job!)

12:00 pm – Lunch *sigh of relief*. Usually Beth, Andy & I have lunch together on Beth’s porch, but because of our schedule we are having supper together instead. I have an hour to eat and relax a little bit… I used most of it to chat on line with friends back home! :o)

1:00pm – It’s thundering and started raining. Good thing we got those mattresses all moved this morning! Made new phone directories to post all over campus. Worked on Generator, school run, on-call & phone schedule for next week. (it stopped raining by the time I had to distribute the new phone lists). Emailed the dentist at Lapilo (my friends the Tiedjes – who I met at PFO) to make an appointment for Andy who has a terrible toothache.

3:00pm – time for more manual labor… met Andy & Heath in the classroom to set up and clean 120 chairs for the conference. Then went back to the office to send out some more emails (follow up emails to the ITF alumni), and try to arrange the dentist appointment again. Sent out final schedule for approval

5:15 pm – took a nice hot shower and got all cleaned up! Had some quiet time and did some reading.

6:30 pm – dinner at Beth’s. We had pork stir fry and fresh mango for dessert. This is the first time I’ve had the mango here, and it is DELISH! Could the fruit here be any more tasty?!

7:30 pm – headed to the Mixter’s house to play games with them. They have us (Beth, Andy & I) over to play games about once a week or so. They’re a fun couple that are the same age as I am, with a little girl named Adonai. Earlier this evening, Adi came knocking on my door to show me a huge moth she caught. Very cute!

I have such a lovely PNG family.

And now I’m back in my hut and about to get ready for bed. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?! I know it will be something totally different (as far as job duties anyway). I’m pretty excited for the retreat this weekend. It will be nice to have so many people on campus, and to work with Youth again.

"In the Kingdom of God service is not a stepping-stone to nobility: it is nobility, the only kind of nobility that is recognized."

Change

2008-09-10T22:27:00.000-07:00

I haven't written in a little while because frankly, I was just going through a rough time. I felt guilty about it, because everyone is being so encouraging and supporting me here, but the reality is that sometimes it's HARD! I could list all of the things that I was struggling with, but it's not that important in the big scheme. Thankfully, my sister Robin & our friend Clifton helped me get of my funk by having me think about things that make me happy. They asked me to make a list of things I love here, rather than the things that I don't like, or the things I miss back home (or the people!) I thought you might like to see that list. It's not entirely complete, but here is what I have so far...

Things I love about PNG

The night sky (probably my favorite thing here)
The wispy fog on the mountains in the morning
fresh papaya, bananas & pineapple
the bougainvillea, pansies, & banana trees (the landscape in general!)
the way little girls run up and hold my hand or give me flowers
the way the nationals all wave & smile at me when we drive by or walk by. I'm like a celebrity!
time is so fluid. I rarely know what day it is, and am shocked to realize it's September.
relationships are the most important thing in this culture – which is perfect for me!
the kids chasing muna & giggling at twilight
finding creative ways to have fun during my free time (pie nights, pranks, eating bugs... whatever it takes to be silly and just have FUN)
volleyball on Saturdays
national ladies scooting close to me while we are sitting on the ground working our bilums. They are very touchy-feely, and it’s nice.
wearing skirts can be quite comfortable, especially since I wear them t-shirts and flip flops.
not really worrying about my hair or makeup or what I'll wear that day.
The simple life style all around!
The cool mornings & evenings, and the hot afternoons
watching the sunset over the mountains from my porch swing
hammock naps on the weekends
how generous the staff here is with each other. It’s really true – that sometimes the people who have the least are the most giving
the earthquakes - since they haven't cause any damage, they're just kind of amusing.
the silence. Usually the only thing you hear out here is the generator, birds, and people talking or laughing. No airplanes (occasionally we hear one, but it’s rare), sirens, traffic, church bells…etc.
the wind. There’s usually a really nice breeze. Seriously, the weather is PERFECT here.
the coffee!!!! And I get to enjoy this daily.
owning a machete. It’s practical, and just cool
eating kaukau fresh out of a mumu
being in an environment where everyone is passionate about serving God with their lives.
buying fresh fruit & veggies at the village market
seeing a baby in a bilum
have I mentioned being with the Nationals??? Their smiles and their warmth make everything better.
the smells – which may sound funny since the aroma around here is quite pungent. It smells like sweat, pigs, brush fires, smoke and even more unpleasant things. But PNG (the villages) has it’s own unique smell, and when I’m away from it too long, I actually miss it.
knowing that I am exactly where God wants me... serving Him, and serving others .

Muna Season

2008-08-30T23:19:00.000-07:00

Things are getting a little bit busier around here for me. But I'm sure none of you want to hear about me working in the kitchen or scanning documents. Time for a fun post!

First of all, we had a nice big earthquake here yesterday. It was a 6.3 on the Richter scale. I was in my house making dinner and at first I thought the boys were pranking me and rattling the house... until the whole place started shaking so much that things were falling off of shelves! I wasn't scared though. Nothing was damaged, so it was kind of fun!

Second - it is Muna season - that special time of year that marks the beginning of the wet season. Muna come out and fly all over the place in the evenings.
This is muna... they look kinda like june bugs back home.
The nationals eat muna. It's supposedly a tasty little snack. Many of the staff here eat them every year. So I, of course, needed to experience this delightful tradition as well.
This is me holding the muna. I was not pretending to eat it... I was screaming because the legs were clinging to me and I couldn't get it off.

This is Andy and I pulling off the heads & legs of the live muna...Here is the bowl of carnage - heads & legs, and a few wings too.
I had made pork steaks in gravy, so we used the leftover gravy to fry up the muna.
Here is the proof that we actually did eat them. It was not delicious, but the gravy helped a lot.While I'm glad that I tried it, because I really do want to experience all I can while here in PNG, I don't plan on eating them again. Or any other bugs. But we'll see! :)

Settling in

2008-08-17T18:06:00.000-07:00

Ok, it's been a full week, and I can safely say that my heart is doing much better. Thank you all for your prayers! Life is certainly different than it was a few weeks ago - less busy, a lot less people around - but I'm learning how to live life around here, and pretty soon we'll be busy planning for the next conference.

I've been able to get out to the surrounding villages a little bit. It felt great to be out with the people again. We just sat around and "storied", and we even had the opportunity to eat some kaukau from a mumu they were preparing!
This is a little girl who sat with us ladies while we talked, and guys carrying a pig in for the mumu.

Here's a pic of our little group walking home from the village, eating our mumu fresh out of the fire. (Beth & I are wearing our bilums on our heads - like good PNG meris). I stopped to take that picture because I wanted to remember the moment. We're on this dirt road, with the banana trees to our right, huts to our left, mountains and blue sky ahead of us... eating our kaukau...a breeze is blowing... it's like God is walking right there with us... and I'm like "THIS IS MY LIFE NOW!?! It's amazing to me that God has brought me here. It strikes me every day that I'm so unworthy, and so thankful and I want to appreciate it like this every single day.

On our way home we saw this lady carrying firewood... very typical in PNG. But she still stops to say hi and shakes hands with us... balancing it all! The women here are just amazing!

The only part I don't like about life here are the constant goodbyes. People are constantly coming & going - on furlough, or they were just here for a short-term. It's brutal for me.

But other than that, I'm getting into the swing of things. I really enjoy going to the market and actually shopping there - not just being a ridiculous tourist. Here are a couple pics of us at the market on Saturday...

That's me with my regular bilum, and another bilum for shopping... I have some fresh popo, bananas, tomatoes, beans & an avocado on my counter right now. Love it! Now if I could just find some steak & Wisconsin cheddar...

Home Sweet Home

2008-08-11T03:45:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am... all settled into my new hut. But first, let me catch you all up on my life.

We spent another day in Goroka, shopping and what not. I found that this time I was way less nervous, and felt less on display. And, now this is funny, I found it weird to see other white people (not from our group). It's a little shocking how much they (we) stick out.

On Saturday the rest of my team left to go home. It was miserable, I was so sad! I realized that I had gone straight from leaving my friends & family, to gaining a whole new family in my team. When they left I felt really alone for the first time. I was finally able to move out to ITF and into my house, but after the excitement of unpacking & settling in, I felt tremendously gloomy. During one of our last nights we had a campfire, and one of my friends was talking about the transfiguration... and how it was such an incredible, life-changing experience that Peter wanted to set up camp and live up on that mountain forever. But we aren't meant to live on the mountain top... we have to come down, because we have a job to do. It's a difficult transition, but I know that I'm right where I'm supposed to be.

As requested, here are a few pics of my new digs:
When you walk in the front door, to the right is my kitchen.

To the left is my living room.

Then my bedroom is behind that.

This is my little desk and closet.

And then straight out the door is my bathroom

Here is my porch.

A walk around the outside.

The flaps to the right and left are my bedroom & bathroom windows.

The bigger picture.

And of course... the view is spectacular.

Side Trip

2008-08-06T00:10:00.000-07:00

On Friday I left for my side-trip… a 5 hour journey through windy, sometimes treacherous, mountain roads to “the Dom”. Both the drive and the destination were incredibly beautiful. My side-trip team and I stayed with the missionary family that has spent more than 20 years in the tribe, learning the language, building relationships, and attempting to translate the Bible into their language. I feel like being with them for 4 days was a bit of a jolt of reality to what tribal missions would be like. It was rough! They had a house with a shower and a working bathroom, so that was pretty nice. But every day we had to keep a fire going to heat water, turn a generator on and off for electricity and to keep the water pump going, and they were SO isolated! I can’t imagine how lonely it can get out there with no partners to work with. Yet they keep persevering, through difficult circumstances, to finally finish the Dom Bible translation.

We had lots of fun with the tribal people too. Their Pidgin was harder to understand because their language is more tonal… so their Pidgin sounded more sing-songy than we were used to. They were very happy to see us! On Saturday we hiked down the mountain to a hidden cove with a HUGE waterfall. Almost the entire village hiked down with us. Seriously – even the guy who was recently elected the councilman came along. All the white people jumped in the water, swam around, played in the waterfall, splashed each other, and took pictures. We had an audience of about 40-50 Nationals just watching us and laughing. The water was way too cold for them and they pretty much thought we were crazy! Then we found out that they didn’t think we’d be able to make it back up the mountain. They think we (whites) are really weak – which we ARE compared to them. They are nothing but sinew & muscle – especially the women. They are always teasing us about how weak we are… but they think we are all So Smart, and they respect that greatly, almost reverently. (You can see how this would create a barrier for building relationships).

On Sunday we were able to worship with the believers in their church. They sang for us, we sang for them, they sang some more. Then I got up and gave my testimony (translated by the missionary there), as did another guy in our group. Then we all sang some more and just spent time together. I whipped out my bilum that I’m attempting to create and that caused some laughter among the women. They showed me some new techniques. Then one lady asked us to come to her house. She showed us her garden (they are very proud of their gardens) and introduced us to her family. She told us about her 3 little children, one of which had died. She’s 25 years old and she has lost a child, and was so open about it with us. (this was all in Pidgin by the way, so I’m getting better at understanding it but I’m still awful at speaking it). When we left on Monday morning the whole village turned up to say goodbye to us again. They were very sad to see us go, but hopefully we will all see each other again in Heaven.

Talking with the other students (that went on other side-trips) it was amazing to see how God has been working. One trip went to a tribe that doesn’t have a missionary anymore… they have an established church there that is growing and going out to spread the Gospel to OTHER tribes. They have no concept of NOT evangelizing. To them, having God’s talk in their language is a treasure. They continually said how thankful they are that their village was chosen to receive the good news, and were just praising Him over and over again. These are not new believers who are just a little fired up right now… they have been believers for 20 years or more and are just Passionate in their love for God. They also repeatedly said “you have white skin and we have brown skin, but we are the same in the inside. We are brothers and sisters!”

In the third tribe, they’d lost a 9 year old boy die of pneumonia the day before the students arrived. We didn’t know how they would react to having a bunch of missionary students around during this time. They are brand new believers there. But the little boys mom and dad said “I know that he is a believer and knew God’s talk, so we don’t have to mourn like we usually do because we know he is in heaven now. He is the first Bagwido man in Heaven!” WOW!

One thing that really struck me about both of these tribes is that they really wanted the students to come back and see them, but felt that it was even MORE important for them to come back to PNG and go out to DIFFERENT tribes so that THEY would have a chance to receive the Gospel. That is how strongly they feel about missions. They were sad to see them go, but said "it's ok, we'll see each other in heaven. Go and give this truth to the people who don't have it yet". How amazing is that?!

I think Bobka (a man in the Dom) summed it up really well for us during our church service. “We were all once in Satan’s hands. But then God sent his workers here to us, to give us the truth. We understand it and we believe it. Now we are in God’s hands, and we are all on the same road to Heaven”.

How Great is our God?!

MUMU

2008-07-30T23:06:00.000-07:00

As promised, above is a picture from my porch during our morning prayer time. Believe me, this does not do it justice.

On Tuesday we all went into the village to attend a mumu. That's where you dig a pit, start a fire, heat up a bunch of rocks, put tons of veggies (mostly potatoes) and meat in, cover it all up with banana leaves and then cover that up with dirt. It's like 400 degrees in there (literally, they measured it once). So we get there and the boys and girls are separated. The boys sit around and do nothing, while us girls peel a bazillion potatoes and cooking bananas (which look like a banana, but smells like a cucumber, has the color of cantaloupe on the inside, and tastes like a potato). Sadly, I missed most of the festivities because of a stomach pestilence that has been plaguing our group for the past week, and it was apparently my turn to get it. I at least had the opportunity to taste a little bit of lamb that had been cooked inside of bamboo with a bunch of greens (kumu) - and that was very delicious. Here a couple of pics:

This is part of the pile of kaukau that we peeled, along with the meat from the bamboo on a banana leaf. And the next one is a picture of the actual mumu I will be out of touch for the next several days, as I will be on my "side-trip". I leave tomorrow morning to spend 4 days living in a remote tribe with a missionary family. I'm so looking forward to the opportunity to go tribal, and worship with believers there! We've learned several worship songs in Pidgin so that we can sing with them. Can't Wait!