“Though I often hesitated and doubted much before I went, I never doubted after my going of its being His will; and though men, who judge of things only by the success they seem to have, have taken occasion for my disgraces and sufferings, to judge of my calling and to run it down as error, illusion and imagination; it is that very persecution, and a multitude of strange crosses it has drawn upon me, which have confirmed me in the certainty of its truth and validity.” – Mme Guyon

Life here in Papua New Guinea is amazing. So very different from the Sahara and is a different kind of M.O.N.! I never thought that I would ever find a place that FELT like home (whatever "home" means)...but I have. Especially after returning to Chad and not feeling quite "at home", I had pretty much given up on the notion that the place existed. But the peace that is in my heart, in being here, is indescribable and I can only say that it is the Father's grace. Through joys and excitements, as well as trials, new friends, culture stress, learning to drive on the wrong side of the road, language learning (my third!), break-ins, and everything else that happens...my heart still tells me that I am home.

What took me so long to realize this?! I can think of no other reason but that I have learned to be content in my Heavenly Father and seek Him in all things. I rest in each moment knowing that He will not let me go. (That, and the highlands’ mountains around Ukarumpa look like they could be in a National Geographic article…oh wait, they are!) A part of my heart remains in Africa, and always will; it is my "heart-home". But the rest of me seems to have gathered itself from the far corners of the globe where I've been searching, and settled itself in a little valley, on a tiny group of islands, just north of Australia.

“In Christ Alone” by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, is a song that has been my theme for this year, as the Lord keeps bringing it across my path. The last verse in particular, is what I want to leave you with, this is my peace:
No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

The view from my kitchen window, of the horse paddock and surrounding fields.

Hello everyone! Greetings from Papua New Guinea! Written May 27, 2008 - posted by Mom in Florida

I am currently at my organization’s Pacific Orientation Course (hereafter referred to as POC), located near the coastal town of Madang. We are actually in a “neighborhood” (or group of villages) called Nobnob, about 15 km from Madang and 1200 meters up! It takes 6.5 km for us to drive up the mountain where POC is located. From three sides of the training center we can see the ocean. We eat fresh pineapple, papaya, and bananas every day.

A typical day for me consists of getting up at 6:30am, to be ready for breakfast at 7am in the dining hall. We usually have granola, yogurt, fruit, and toast, plus whatever “cooked special” is on for the day (baked oatmeal, cinnamon rolls, pancakes, eggs, etc). I usually have a cup of coffee and bowl of granola with yogurt and fruit.

Class begins around 8am. We learn and sing worship songs in Tok Pisin (or pidgin, the national trade language), one of our national teachers reads a scripture portion, and then prays in Tok Pisin. Then we have a session in grammar with some written exercises. About 8:30am our group separates into two smaller groups and my group goes outside for some intensive time with “tisa Matt” (a local national, “teacher Matt”). We do various activities in our groups, such as listen to him tell stories, we memorize and practice saying scripted dialogues, or just talk about PNG culture (all in Tok Pisin of course).

At 9:30am is morning tea. We go inside and join everyone else for a “cuppa” (cup of any hot drink) and snack. This offers a more informal time for conversation with our teacher. At 10am we have group devotions and then a lecture on either anthropology, health, or whatever else we need to be taught.

At noon we break for lunch. This is the main meal of the day here in PNG, so it varies, but is always a hot dish. We’ve had everything from kaokao (sweet potatoes, pronounced “cow-cow”) to lasagna. Everything is made from scratch! At this meal we are introduced to new foods and dishes (like yummy pumpkin vine cooked in coconut milk!).

About 1pm I take a nap. This is the best part of my day. ;) “Class” starts back at 2pm. Once or twice a week we go on a two-hour hike. Once a week, we have a swim session, where we have to swim in the ocean for two hours (we go to an inlet so we don’t have to battle the waves). Other days we stay around the center and have training sessions. These sessions vary from medical information, to how to cook on an open fire, to how to make things out of natural materials. Last weekend we built “haus kuks” (pronounced “house cooks”) that is basically a gazebo made of bamboo, where we will cook and eat our food. We are usually finished with our afternoon obligations around 4:30pm and this is when I take a shower. (I’m usually hot and sweaty after hiking, or feeling yucky from saltwater swimming.)

We eat dinner at 5:45pm. This meal is usually soup, leftovers, or BBQ on Friday nights!

I keep saying, “usually” because the schedule tends to change without notice and often does!

The evenings are free time, spent doing emails (like this one to you!), watching a movie, reading, and yes, even homework! I try to go to bed by 10 or 10:30pm.

There are 11 students in our training group. Here’s the breakdown:
Two Australian families (plus six kids), three American families (plus three kids), two American singles (myself and another Wycliffe guy), and one Australian single guy (a mechanic with Mission Aviation Fellowship). One of the “Aussie” families, the wife is from the Solomon Islands. One of the staff members is from Finland, the director and his wife are from Australia, and the manager and his wife are from the USA. So it all makes for an interesting mix. Especially among the students, we are always laughing at the differences in our various English dialects!

Tok Pisin language learning is coming along just fine. I’ve been put in the “advanced” group, since I’ve already had previous experience with language learning. Once I quit expecting myself to speak it fluently within the first week, I’m making much better progress. My teacher said, “You don’t have to talk yet. In three weeks, then you can open your mouth!” But the key to learning a language is to listen well, accept correction, and use what you know!

My only injuries thus far have been slipping and falling in a stream that bruised my elbow and ego, strained my wrist while using the bush knife (machete) building the haus kuk, and one blister. Everyone else is getting colds and infections. I praise the Lord for His protection. Please continue to pray for me, as the tropics are not nice on the immune system.

I love you and think of you often. Thankfully homesickness has not yet hit. I do miss my cell phone, the Connection church, care group, and Dr Frank (my chiropractor), but otherwise I feel so much “at home” here, I really can’t explain the feeling any other way. I truly am at peace living here, a peace I haven’t felt for a long time. I don’t even really feel culture stress, since it is so very similar to West Africa. Language learning is stressful as is not having familiar things around me, but God’s blessings are evident.

Life isn’t always easy, but it’s do-able. There are new foods, some I don’t like, but most are really great. The humidity is outrageous (90%?), but the temps don’t even reach 90F on a hot day. The language is frustrating at times, but most people understand English if you get stuck.

Keep your prayers coming. They make a difference!