Episode 39 - Home for Christmas

This Christmas certainly hasn't been quite what I expected! There's plenty that I could write, but to be honest, I don't have the energy. I expected to be spending my first Christmas away from my family - 10,000 miles away to be precise - and yet somehow, quite amazingly, I spent Christmas with my family. Equally surprisingly, I spent it in a hospital ward (don't worry, it doesn't seem to be anything too serious).

Ever since moving to PNG life seems to become more and more unpredictable, and the more I accept this, the more unpredictable life seems to become! It's certainly not boring, but God has taught me to enjoy the highs and not to worry about the lows This time of year seems to be a good time to remember why my hope rests secure: because of He who was fully God, yet became fully man, who was born to die so that I might truly live, and live this life to the full.

Episode 38 - Half Way Around the World

Nomes here. Joey set me the task of writing this blog from a different perspective: What’s it like having a missionary brother half way around the world?

Now, I could tell you that life is more fun with Joey around and that games nights aren’t the same without him, but you probably already know that.  I could tell you that I miss him like crazy, but the truth is that now I have a smart phone I’m actually in more frequent contact with him in PNG than when he was at All Nations College this time last year.

Weirdly, the one thing that’s really different is this very blog. Joey’s not a writer, so it’s odd reading whole paragraphs by him at all. It’s even odder getting my information about him at the same time as any other person with access to the internet. But if I’m totally honest, the weirdest thing is that sibling rivalry wells up in me.

You see, since Joey left my life has been pretty awful. Less than a week after waving him off at the airport I fell off a cliff and was airlifted to hospital with a fractured skull and dislocated collarbone. Seven months later and I still don’t know if I’ll need an operation. Three months after the accident I was too physically and emotionally weak to return to helping disabled children or those with learning difficulties in mainstream schools, but I was also stone broke, so I got a minimum wage job in a shop.

Now before we go on, I’m not looking for sympathy here. There have also been some truly amazing things in my life. I have a medically trained fiancé who saved my life when I fell, and my job has been excellent physio for my shoulder. But reading blogs about how wonderful it is for Joey to be exactly where God wants him and doing such remarkable things to make the world a better place has often made me selfishly feel like a loser. God called Joey, not me. It seems like God doesn’t really mind what I do. Maybe doesn’t care.

I asked a vicar friend about this and he rather unhelpfully explained that God does call some people, like Joey to be a missionary, and him to be a vicar; and other people like me don’t have such a direct calling. They are to use the wisdom God gives them to make their own choices and so long as they don't sin, he doesn’t mind what they do. He and I aren’t really friends any more.

So I asked my much wiser best friend about it and she sat me down and opened her Bible at the concordance at the back and we trawled for about an hour until we decided that God does not show favouritism and that if he calls some people he must call us all, just to different things. Maybe he will give us a choice and allow us to use our wisdom like my vicar friend said, but that doesn’t mean he is indifferent.

One day, unrelated to the above, Mum mentioned that we’re all part of Joey’s ministry because we support him. Maybe, I thought, that’s my calling. So I looked up Philippians 2 and a dude called Epaphroditus. The Philippian church sent him to Paul to look after him and Paul said of him, “He risked his life to make up for the help you could not give me.” In a way I sent Joey to PNG to make up for the help I can’t give them. Supporting missionaries is a calling in itself.

Then one day my fiancé said to me, “I’m so proud of you for getting up at 5am to do a job that doesn’t fulfil you instead of just giving up.” And it all fell into place.

Paul didn’t say to the Philippians, “Well done, you sent Epaphroditus! Your work is done now and God doesn’t really mind if you work in a shop or with disabled children.” He said, “Look not only to your own interests but to the interests of others… Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose… Shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.”

In Athens he put it very poetically. “From one man God made every nation to inhabit the whole earth, and he decided the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not very far from each one of us.”

So if like me sometimes you read Joey’s blog and feel lacking, please be encouraged. Yes, God is doing amazing work through Joey. But Joey’s work isn’t more precious to God than yours, whether that’s working in a shop on minimum wage, caring for disabled children, knitting jumpers for Romanian orphans, looking after the grandkids, or like I was for a month or two after my accident, sat at home unable to hold a conversation but just about able to pray with emotions rather than words.

So what is it like having a missionary brother half way around the world? Challenging, but not in the way I expected. But God has used it not only to help the people of PNG know how much he loves them, but also to tell little old me that same thing. God wants me to obey him no matter how menial the calling seems to me.

This Christmas may we all shine like stars as we hold out the word of life in whichever place God chose us to be in.

Episode 37 - Love

As I've been thinking about the love that God has shown to me in so many ways, I thought that this week I would share a poem with you that I wrote sometime ago. Sorry if you've heard it before or if poetry isn't really your thing...

Love

The friendship of a friend shared with his brother

The years of service to a child from her mother

With each different meaning, the Greeks give a new name

Yet the most verbose English always use the same

But what in reality does this word really mean

Are all of these things really all that they seem

We’ve all heard it said that it’s the air that we breathe

And the Beatles said that it’s all that we need

But then they also said that there were eight days in a week

So can we really believe anything they speak?

We seem to be filled with a great romantic notion

With songs and poetry all spun into motion

With warm fuzzy feelings and laughter and cheer

Sadness and sorrow don’t have a place here

But this in fact is only part of the tale

Without a strong wind our ship will not sail

We’re eating the icing without the rest of the cake

And making ourselves sick we say for loves sake

We have become gluttons who eat just to get fat

But true love is much more than just all of that

For love is more than just falling in love

More than just feeling like a hand in a glove

It’s about standing a lasting and building others up

It’s about pouring out your riches to fill anothers cup

It’s a choice made in the knowledge that all won’t be good

But still being willing to fight together against the flood

About helping someone through when life becomes tough

And caring first about them and not all that other stuff

And love on this earth has one shining example

A small taste of which I wish you to sample

The God of the heavens that made all that we know

Wanted on us His love to bestow

Such was His desire for us to know him

He sent his true son to pay for our sin

This son was made man to live on the earth

To give up all that His heavenly riches were worth

To die on a cross for the love of us all

That we might not pay the price of our fall

That we might know what true love is

That He is ours and we are His

Episode 36 - My Year In Photos

So we're coming towards the end of the year and it's that time when we all start looking back on what has happened in the last year. Having just written a piece on my last six months here in PNG, I thought I'd do this one a little different; through pictures! After all a picture does say a thousand words! (and takes seemingly infinitely more bandwidth to upload - it seemed like a good idea at the time...). When I very selectively went through my photos of the last year I very carefully only selected the bare minimum - and still ended up with over 50! So here are the very heavily edited highlights!

Celebrated good times with great friends - and formed queues...

Said Goodbyes and Made Plans for the Future

Finally got My VISA from This place

Found some Amazing Colleagues who Became Amazing Friends

Went on Some Incredible Flights

Met So Many Amazing People

Went into the heart of the Jungle

Learnt to Shop Here

Ate Some Amazing Food

Landed on Some Scary Airstrips (Took Off From Them Again Too...)

Did Some Incredible Work With Some Incredible People

A year Doesn't sound like that long but it's credible just how much God has done in this time, this is just eleven photo's, but a thousand stories, let alone a thousand words could never do justice to all God has done for, and that just in this one year alone. As I continually look forward into the unknown may I never forget to look back to all that I now know you have done with what was once the unknown too.

Episode 35 - The Six Month Review

Six months doesn’t seem like a long time, but although it might not seem like it at first glance, a lot happens in six months. Since I’ve been in Papua New Guinea; Great Britain has voted to leave EU, the PNG government voted to keep their prime minister, just as the Australian people did with theirs in what was a remarkably close election, whilst in a similarly close election America voted for a new President and the UK got a new Prime Minister although the people didn’t vote at all. Time does not just effect the global political world though, it changes the intimate personal world of each one of us too. Now I might feel very much like Joey Redhead, and indeed I am, I am not the Joey Redhead who inhabited the world 6 months ago. The change is subtle sure, but look hard enough and you’ll find it, and I’m certain the same is true of you. I still over use the words “now” and “sure” in my blogs, I still tell bad jokes, I still can’t play volleyball very well and I still like to point out my flaws, but I’m not exactly the same, not deep inside. A lot happens in six months, both good and bad, and each one of those things leaves its mark on who we are. Many of the things that happen to us we cannot control, but we do, at least in part have some say in who we let those things make us become. Trouble is we don’t always realise it’s happening, or at least I don’t. So as I look back at the amazing things I have been blessed enough to have experienced in the last six months, I realise that it’s a great opportunity to see how I’ve changed, and decide what to keep and what to try to revert back.

 

The New Me... Still Easily Confused

Having to manage a team of staff has made me want to look out more for what people need and how I can help them, not just my team but everyone around me. Being around a group of people who have so openly invited me into their lives has made more accepting of people I don’t know yet. Being with people who put so much effort into just spending time together and keep relationships working has made me more aware of what keeps good relationships going, and made me want to put the effort in. Being in a new culture which thinks very differently to my own has made me appreciate other ways of thinking, accept that in many ways of life there are many ways to do things without any being better than others, and even challenged some of the viewpoints I have inherited without thinking. Seeing the open love that dwells in the hearts of so many people has stirred up the love in my own heart and challenged me to find ways to let it out for people to see. Training other people has shown me that just because I can do something well doesn’t mean that I should necessarily be the one to do it even if I want to. Missing out on exciting plans because of circumstances has taught me to hold my plans lightly and to trust and follow God in all the things I do. I could go on, (and there are some changes I need to reset) but most of all, all that I have experienced and all the people I have met have made be appreciate all that God does for me every day so much more.

Episode 34: Badly Drawn Boy

I am a geek. There are many ways in which I am a geek, but today I would like to focus my attention on one particular reason; I love flags. I don’t really know why, I just always have. I have shared with many people the story behind Papua New Guinea's flag, a story which I love, but there are many more flags in Papua New Guinea. There are 21 provinces in Papua New Guinea and each province has its own flag. I live in Goroka in the East Highlands Province and I have often looked at our flag. It has a green and red background and in the foreground it has a large yellow six pointed star surrounded by eight smaller ones. The number of points represents the districts and the number of smaller stars represent the local government councils. But one thing has always puzzled me when I’ve looked at the flag. In the centre of the star in the centre of the every East Highlands Province flag that I have ever seen is the same funny looking man.

The East Highland Province Flag

Or at least that’s what I had always thought he was. Now what was funny about him was that he was always missing one arm and one leg, like the artist only got half way through and ran out of time. But I recently found out that this was no accident, for this was no man, this was Nokondi. Nokondi is to all intents and purposes a man, but everything that a normal man would have two of; legs, arms, eyes, ears, and so on, Nokondi only has one. Every village in the East Highlands would speak of the Nokondi who lived nearby, most likely in a cave. He is a trouble-maker or at least a mischief maker and if something happened with no immediately obvious culprit, he would often get the blame. In just two generations before now he would have been thought of as being very real, but now he is considered by most to be a myth who is part of ancient tradition. Even so, you will no doubt be able to hear his name being spoken if you spend enough time in the village. No one would ever dare go into his cave and he was respected (maybe feared), but thought too, as a good presence for all the trouble that he caused, as though in some way he protected the village. As I listened to this explanation I couldn’t help wondering how I might behave differently if I knew I had someone looking after me, and how I might treat that person. Then I remembered that I do.

Episode 33 - Games Night

As you may well know, I love to play games. It doesn’t matter what the game, or even if I win or lose, I just love playing games. As you may also know, I’m not the sort to put on an event or host a party. Now that’s not to say that I don’t bring the party with me, even if I am the quiet and reserved type – but that’s just it, I bring it with me rather than invite people to it. To do it any other way would involve way too much effort, and forward planning and being organised, and well, having a tidy house. Furthermore, apart from being ill-equipped for such an endeavour, I had never seen the reason or felt the desire to become a host. Previously there had always been plenty of people who were far better at it and enjoyed hosting far more than me to organise such things, and there had always been plenty of alternatives for ways in which to spend time with groups of your friends.

Games Night + Giant Whiteboard = Pictionary!

Now here in PNG my friends and I spend lots of time together. Apart from the eight hours a day we spend together at work (which is a great way to come close to each other and learn to trust one another) there are plenty of opportunities in the evenings to attend prayer meeting and bible studies, (which is such an honour to grow together in that way), but getting together just for the sake of coming together and having fun does not come about so easily, especially when during the evening there is much available for us to do outside of the corrugated iron confines of our compounds. Now please don’t get me wrong. We do spend a lot of time together just enjoying each other’s company, an incredible amount of time actually. I’ve never lived my life with a group of people who put so much effort in ensuring that we all spend time together just for the sake of being together, because we want to be.

Turns out the boy can cook!

Work is always there and all the other meetings that fill our time are essential to our purpose of being here, so we know that we must make them happen, but it would be easy to neglect our time together as being too hard and as being merely an indulgence as opposed to a necessity. But no-one here does. My friends are committed to being friends and staying close and enjoying each other’s company even though it would be easier not too. It’s very special to be loved in that way, and it’s contagious. And so on Saturday night I held my first ever games night. I didn’t even care about the effort. In fact I enjoyed it, it somehow made it more special. I even made food (mainly just to prove to my friends that I could…). We managed to fit twelve people into my little house and we all had a great time. But this blog isn’t about the games night. It’s about the people who made me want to host it. I have incredible and inspiring friends here, and I am so well blessed to have them in my life and to be able to call them that.

Episode 32: The Art of Relationship

Right from the very beginning of being here, it has been very clear to me that the sense of community and friendship here in Papua New Guinea is very different to that back in England. I have often watched in awe as two Papua New Guineans relate to each other in ways that two Brits never would, or as someone cares for someone else in a way that would never naturally occur to me. It can be very heart-warming to watch, but when it happens to me, it can be as confusing as it is touching – which it is greatly on both counts, even when it’s just little things. This week two Papua New Guinean friends of mine who don’t know each other and both of whom I hadn’t seen me for a while, sent me a text message completely independently of each other. The resultant text conversation was almost exactly the same. It began by them saying “gutnait lo yu brata” (literally translates to; “goodnight to you brother”). So I replied goodnight in return and asked how they were. They told me that they were fine and asked me how I was, and so I replied that I was well. Now to my British brain, this was the polite conversation that served as the platform on which to present the purpose of the conversation, after all, I do come from a country where “how are you?” is a greeting not a question, and where no-one says what they actually mean.

One of my Bratas and I

And so I waited with baited breath to see what would come next, but to my surprise, nothing came. After this happened with the first friend I was a little worried that I might have said something to upset him or forgotten something that I was supposed to do, but after the second conversation I started to realise there was something more to what was happening. So the next day I asked my friend in work; “what’s going on? Did I do something wrong?” He gently laughed and reassured me that all was well and that this was quite a normal interaction. I needed a little more convincing, so he explained to me that it was; “tok halo tasol”; just saying hello. To my mind, at first, this seemed crazy! To say hello, just to say hello! It seemed to have no reason, to have no purpose. But it seems that many Papua New Guineans naturally understand about relationships things that I don’t seem to easily get. You see saying hello was the purpose. In my culture it is very easy to be task driven to always be busy doing things, trying to get something done. But here it seems that it should be obvious that people are what really matter, and furthermore there seems to be a much greater understanding of how to relate to each other well than I have ever experienced before. It was just simply understood by my friends that just saying hello is a key part to maintaining a good friendship. It didn’t matter what was said, what mattered was that I knew that they were thinking of me, and in turn, that I was thinking of them. That is how a friendship is kept from dying and it’s a beautiful thing to have someone do that for you.

Episode 31 - Best Laid Plans

So I am sending this blog post out on Tuesday morning as promised, but the reason it’s a day later than normal is not quite what I imagined. You see I had planned to spend this weekend in Mariama, a small remote village in the East Sepik. The boys from my class were all going together. One of our teachers used to work in Mariama. He and his family moved in to Mariama along with another family from New Tribes Mission and began learning the tribal language – without any translators to help. Having learnt the language, they then translated the bible and taught those who wanted to understand what it said. After about fifteen years in the village, they had helped those who wanted to know more grow in their faith and establish a Church. It was time for them to leave, to allow the people of Mariama to take ownership of the church without those who helped form it. Mark still goes back from time to time to encourage and teach when necessary. This weekend was one such time. But it wasn’t just any visit. Several of the churches from neighbouring villages were coming for a gathering and we (the boys from the class) we’re going to stay for the weekend. To listen to the teaching, to share in the food and to sleep in the village. It would be a great experience and a great chance to practice our Tok Pisin. But for me it wasn’t to be. That was my plan, right until I got ill the week before (and I still tried to hold onto that plan for a while before reluctantly realising I had to let go).

The last time the boys were together...

Now don’t worry, I’m not dying, but I was really looking forward to going, so there is no way I would have missed out unless I really couldn’t. And so I spent the vast majority of the weekend (and a couple of days either side) tucked up in bed asleep rather than out in the wilds of PNG. I should have been gutted. Really really disappointed. But I wasn’t. Apart from the fact that in all of those moments that I was flat out in bed, there was no-where I would rather have been in my present state than safely ensconced in my snuggly duvet (doona to any Australian readers). But even upon reflection I’m not actually disappointed. Sure I would have loved to have been there, but it just couldn’t be. And that’s okay. And it’s okay because in life (and particularly it seems in PNG), the unexpected will happen, but it seems that for every cool exciting planned thing that the unexpected takes away, it provides two amazing unplannable experiences. And the very nature of this life is that it’s unpredictable and that’s part of its joy not its pain. I will remember who it is that orchestrates the uncontrollable and hold on to His promise that; “God works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His promise”. And so for these reasons I am not sad or disappointed, I just look forward to the next plot twist that life brings. Also, a lovely CRMF family brought me guava juice when I wasn’t feeling well and it’s impossible to feel sad when you have guava juice!

Episode 30 - The Complete Package

As I’ve mentioned, last weekend a photographer/journalist from MAF came with David and I to watch us during a radio installation. One of the benefits of this, (along with coming away with awesome photos of me looking like I’m doing something clever and exciting) is that it provided a good opportunity to reflect on what brought me here and all that the short time here has brought to me, as I was questioned about my reasons for coming to PNG and what exactly it is that I do. As you may well know, I didn’t come to PNG because of a deep desire in my heart for a particular people, nor for a particular work to be done, but rather, because of a list. A list of what I felt God wanted me to be doing with my life. A list that was as broad as it was diverse. A list that perfectly matched the job description of the role that I now have. But it is one thing to read a job description, it is another to tell others about it, and it is yet another totally different thing to live it. This week marked five months of me being here in PNG and boy has it gone quickly. It some ways it feels like it was only yesterday that I arrived, but in other ways it feels like it’s been a lifetime with how settled I feel. Even so, with as much time as I have spent learning about the different jobs and roles that I will be fulfilling, it is only in the last two weeks after completing my language training that I have really started to take up the job description.

LuAnne can make even me gormlessly waiting around look cool!..

And I feel so blessed, because you never really know what I job description will look like in real life, but this once has lived up to all its promises. I sat in my office this week and thought about how great it was that I got to create and put in place a plan which will ensure our staff get the skills that they need. A plan which will hopefully long out live my time here, one that will continue to keep on giving. But along with this long term working towards the future, I get to work in the immediate too, as I knew that afternoon I would be going to the local hospital to help fix a steriliser. Work that would help people today, right here, right now, and work that let me “play” with electronics too. A job that was fulfilling and rewarding and also plain fun. I get to work alongside great colleagues, to help teach them, and to build great friendships. I’m in a job where people come to me with personal problems, and I can say; “lets pray about that”. I have a job where I get to start every day praising God, praying to Him and reading the bible with my colleagues. I have a job that connects me with people so that I can spend my spare time showing the Jesus film who don’t know the story of His life, and so that I can share God’s word and encourage groups of Christians. This Job not only promised all I could want, it also gave me all I could want. Or should I say God not only promised to give me everything I could want, but He gave it to me too. And He always does, because He has given us Himself. All we have to do is follow Him.

P.S. I'm going away next weekend, so next weeks blog will be published on Tuesday instead of Monday...

Episode 29 - Remote (out of) Control

Friday morning I was due to do my first installation of a radio in a remote location. All week we had been preparing ourselves for it. We packed all of the equipment that we would install. Then we unpacked it all just so that we could pack it again to make sure we really did have everything. We went through all of my tools to make sure I had everything I could possibly need, whilst making sure I wasn’t carrying anything that I didn’t. This process was actually much harder than it sounds. As I mentioned, this was my first install, so I didn’t know what I would need and what I wouldn’t. Fortunately I had an expert to help me pack. Unfortunately it seemed that he had a different name for every tool that has ever existed.  This became abundantly clear after a very confused conversation about walking spanners. It turns out that adjustable spanners are known locally as walkabout spanners. This was promptly followed by me training to explain what a mole wrench was. Half way through my explanation I realized that I was talking to someone who had no idea what a mole was. It turned out that imparting this piece of information helped in no way whatsoever in achieving my goal, but just served to confuse the matter even further.

 

Packing

Thursday afternoon came and we were all prepared, although I have to admit that I was still nervous. I wasn’t on my own though.  David who has six years’ experience was coming with me. Not just David, but LuAnne an MAF photographer was coming along too, which perhaps wasn’t so comforting, knowing that every mistake I made might be caught on camera and that my very confused face might make an appearance in an MAF magazine sometime soon. Despite this potential danger, LuAnne and David did make excellent company. So all looked good to go and we were set to leave to our homes to get a goodnights rest before leaving in the morning, when we got a phone call from the hangar. The little tiny plane which was scheduled to take us in the morning had taken some damage landing on a remote airstrip and would be unable to take us, so we would have to take a flight out the next day or maybe the afternoon if we were really lucky. That wouldn’t give us enough time to install the radio before our flight back. Although now I come to think of it, they weren’t certain that that flight would run either. In fact, they were uncertain about any of their flights. This uncertainty continued right up to us getting aboard our flight at about mid-day, which probably gave us just enough time to complete the installation before our flight back, a flight which was still far less than certain to occur.

What ever you do, there's always someone watching...

Twenty short stunning scenery filled minutes later and we arrived at Guwasa. We got off the plane, waved good bye to our bags as they were taken to wherever it was that we would be spending the night, we ate a couple of crackers for lunch and we started work installing the radio at the local school. The work was fun and incredibly fulfilling. We had lots of help from the locals and much batter ensued. And yet despite all this, the work still makes a pretty boring read, so I’ll skip over the details. We worked hard and before the sun had set and the rain fell, we had managed to fix the solar panel and the regulator and wire them up. We even manage to fit the roof mounting for the radio mast putting us in a really strong position for the next day. Satisfied with our work, we headed down to the teachers housing and shared a delicious and very filling meal before setting up to show the Jesus film in the school playground. About three hundred locals came to watch and it seemed to make a real impact. After chatting with the locals and packing everything away, we crashed at the headmasters house and grabbed a little sleep before getting up with the light, clearing our stuff out and setting back to work.

It's surprisingly hard to take a good picture of putting up a mast...

With just a break for coffee and crackers we had managed put up the mast, hoist the antenna and install the radio by one. Just an hour later we had tested the radio and taught the teachers how to use it. With everything done we celebrated with a Papaya generously given to us by the teachers. Victory never tasted so sweet. I had barely swallowed my last morsel before to our great surprise we heard our plane coming in. We grabbed all of our things and ran to the airstrip. We said our goodbyes and took off just before the rain came in. Everything might not have gone exactly to our plans, but it went even better than we had hoped and our frequent prayers helped remind us whose plan it was that would prevail.

The airstrip

Episode 28 - Loosing Focus

When I first moved to Papua New Guinea, my world changed in a day. Everything was new, everything was different and there was a lot to learn and cope with. It could have been easy at that time to decide that it was too hard, to give up and to take my eyes off God. But I didn’t. In fact everything that I had to face came easily to me. Why? Because I always kept my eyes on God. Because every new big thing reminded me that I couldn’t do this, that I was out of my depth, so I looked to Him for strength and peace, and He provided faithfully. I have said before that it is in times like these that I need God most of all, and no doubt I will say it again. It is very easy to say, but I wish I wouldn’t, because it’s not true. There isn’t a time in my life that I don’t completely need God. So the idea of needing God more sometimes than others is redundant. That would be implying that there are times that I don’t need him, or that I need less of Him.

I couldn't think of a picture relevant to the topic, so I thought I would

 show you what happens when my head gets full of thoughts...

After a bit of time being in PNG life settled down and there weren’t so many big things. Just life. Lots to do, there’s always lots to. Nothing big, nothing special to being in PNG or doing the work that I’m doing just busy life. And as life became normal, in the busyness I started to take my eyes off God. It’s not that I stopped loving Him or that I loved Him any less. It’s not that I thought that I didn’t need him anymore. And in His faithfulness He never stopped guiding me. But slowly, over time I spent less and less time reading my bible and talking to Him and worshipping Him. And when I did do these things I got distracted more easily. And it changed me. It was slow, subtle, and I didn’t notice. I slowly became duller and more distracted, less patient and more easily frustrated, but more than that, I became less me. And I didn’t notice. Over time, I started to feel restless, like something was missing, and subconsciously like I was searching for something, but I didn’t know what it was that I needed. I thought that maybe I needed to rest more, or be more sociable, or drink less caffeine or even if I needed to be thinking about doing something else with my life for God. The Irony! The one thing that God clearly told me to do, I was thinking that maybe I should do something else and in my mind, to do it for Him!

What happens when you look at your feet

Eventually (this whole thing probably only lasted a couple of weeks) the patently obvious slapped me in the face and I realised how distant I had let myself become from God. I sat down and told God all about it (not that He didn’t already know), I said sorry and that I didn’t want to be distant from Him. And I changed. I became brighter, lighter, and happier (not that I had realised that I wasn’t) I became full of life again, and once more, I became me. When I learnt to snowboard, I was imparted with some great wisdom; look where you want to go. Keep your head up with your eyes forward and you will go forward. Look at the ground that you are standing on and you’ll end up in a big heap on the floor. I only want to go closer to God, so I will keep my eyes on Him.

Episode 27 - Stuff

Four months ago I arrived in Papua New Guinea with just my rucksack on my back. Since then I have living here with just what I could fit in my bag and a bunch of household items (such as plates and bedding) lent to me from CRMF. I have had everything that I needed. In fact, for the most part, I barely even noticed that most of my belongings were bobbing up and down somewhere in the middle of some ocean, rather than nestling in my house. That’s not to say that there weren’t times when I wanted to use something, only to remember that I didn’t have it, or that there weren’t times when I had to beg and borrow things rather than use my own. But over all, there is one startling realisation to be made; I don’t actually need all of my stuff. I can actually survive without it. In fact, I can even live a happy and fulfilled life without it!

Stuff

And then after four months of roaming the seas my stuff arrived, something which I’m not going to pretend to be sad about, although the sight of my small house literally filled up with boxes was slightly overwhelming. Over time my boxes started to be unpacked and my house looked increasingly like a container lorry had crashed into it. Basic tasks such as cooking and using the bathroom became more like challenges from the crystal maze. But as my belongings began to reveal themselves something surprising began to occur. Despite the fact that I had been perfectly happy in my house, and despite the fact this relative chaos which now surrounded me had swallowed up the peace and tranquillity of my formally tidy house (anyone who has even been to a house in which I have resided will know that I’m speaking in hyperbole), as one by one my things were released from their prisons, my house started to feel more like home.

I probably should have tidied before taking these pictures...

I had never once thought that my house didn’t feel like home. Nor did I ever feel uncomfortable or out of place. And yet somehow, I now began to feel more at home, cocooned by my own things. There’s something strange about being around your own belongings, using your own things, being surrounded by the stories and memories, they don’t make you miss what is gone, but bring you more into the present, reminding you who you are, standing on all that you have been. Of course, it’s also brilliant being able to use my things and to be able to do stuff I couldn’t do before, after all, everything I brought does have a purpose, otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered to ship it 10000 miles around the world!

Yeah, that's right, I have bunting...

It turns out I don’t need all of my stuff. I don’t even need to do all of the things my stuff enables me to do. But this doesn’t make my stuff bad. It enables me to do things I couldn’t otherwise, and it can help me to be more myself. My stuff is a huge blessing. But, having been without it for four months also makes me see that it can be a huge distraction, or even an obsession if I let it. My stuff is a huge blessing, but it is always my job to ensure I don’t turn it into a curse.

Episode 26 - On Trial

This week I was fortunate enough to attend a local court case held in a nearby village with my classmates. We walked just a short way down the path to the village and found ourselves in the small clearing in the trees marked by large bamboo shoots towering overhead. This clearing serves as a general meeting place for the local villages, and on this particular day, as a court room. A small crowd milled about on the edges by the two entrances to the clearing. At the back centre of this clearing stood four garden chairs. On these four chairs sat four men. These men were not set apart by their appearance, nor their dress. But by the respect and distance given to these men by the rest of the crowd, it was clear that they were special. These men were in fact the magistrates or Jus Men as they are known (yeah, I know – Four Just Men…). There are actually six Jus Men for this court – one representative from each area that the court serves, however two were unable to attend. Conspicuously, to the left of them was a large wooden desk. Behind it sat the clerk. Either side of him stood two men whom I told served as crowd control. I couldn’t decide if this was reassuring or unnerving.

The court room

I try to make as few assumptions as possible when I find myself in new situations such as this one as, here in Papua New Guinea more than anywhere else in the world, more of them seem to be wrong than right. I had however failed in this case and had subconsciously decided that this was an “unofficial” court with no legal backing, formed by the villages amongst themselves as a way of living peacefully in community. True to form however, my assumption was quickly seen to be in error, as the clerk produced governmental documents from his desk with the details of the case. The defendant and the accuser were called before the Jus Men. They took their places in front of the Jus Men, with the crowd control stationed between the two sides. The crowd then assembled around them. The Clerk then read the accusations from letter held in his hand. After he had finished, both sides then took it in turns to tell their side of the story. With this complete, the Jus men then one by one asked the defendant and the accuser any questions they had. The defendant had been accused of gossiping in the community about the secret parentage of a child, and hence bringing shame upon him. Shaming someone is taken very seriously here in PNG, creating a very respectful culture. After the Jus Men had satisfied their curiosity, the crowd and the two parties were dismissed to the far side of the clearing whilst the Jus Men discussed the case amongst themselves. Once they had reached a conclusion, the crowd reassembled once more as before. The defendant was found guilty and charged with a 300 Kina fine (about £75). It wasn’t all over yet though, the crowd disbanded one more time. The two parties went off to discuss with their piers whether or not they wanted to accept the verdict. The crowd reassembled one last time, to hear that both sides were happy, and that was that, and everyone went home.

Episode 25 - Showtime!

This weekend the Goroka show came to town. Groups from all over the country come to Goroka and show off their traditional dances and music, not to mention most noticeably, their traditional dress. A real party atmosphere has fallen over the whole town, with the streets full of people along with their excited chatter, music playing from every street corner and the sounds of children playing filling up any space left empty. I had the privilege to attend the show itself and to stand on the showground itself as the groups entered each in turn, singing and dancing to their spot on the field. It was incredible to watch and see all the different cultures, all just from this island. Some had similarities to other near neighbours, but each was clearly unique and individual. It was a true testament to the diversity of this island, and of the creativity of human kind. The dress was spectacular and each spoke of its own place. The dancing possessed such energy, seemingly making their owners costumes come to life and tell their own story. Lastly the music was so varied and beautiful, much the likes of which I had never quite heard before, whether unaccompanied singing, war cries, or instruments of many types from bamboo flutes to PVC pipes played with flip-flops. It was amazing just to be able to listen to the tok ples (village language) of so many different people, languages which were truly unfamiliar to an ear which has only ever really heard Latin or Oriental based languages. Most of the languages were made up of sounds I didn’t even know the human mouth could make, some of them more closely resembling bird song than speech, I didn’t know the spoken word could sound so beautiful. It was a privilege just to stand amongst people from so many different cultural backgrounds yet who stood united together and to be part of it all. It's hard to say too much about it all to describe it (although I seem to have gone on quite a bit already) so I will just leave you with some pictures as they say more than I ever could. Sorry about the quality leaving much to be desired… For better pictures check out my Facebook page where I have shared pictures taken by my friends who are much better photographers than me!

Episode 24 - Cultured

I’m now half way through my language training and I’m really enjoying it. I’m slowly becoming able to string sentences together and it’s great now being able to have little conversations with the locals that I meet. The language learning is a huge benefit to me, but it is only part of all that I am learning on the course. I am also learning about Papua New Guinean culture. Once or twice a week we go out with one of our teachers who is a local to see what everyday life looks like to most Papua New Guineans, to meet and chat with the locals, and to learn about their culture. In the last two weeks we have learnt how to make a fire without matches in the traditional Papua New Guinean way, and how to make traditional bamboo instruments. It has been a wonderful experience from a point of interest and fascination, but it’s also been helpful as these things are more than just a history lesson, forming an important part of Papua New Guinean culture which Papua New Guineans are rightly proud of.

Making fire!

Through these lessons and by talking with people, I am starting to see more than just a culture which is worn on the outside, but am also starting to see glimpses of the world view that resides on the inside too. This is so vital to me, as speaking the same language is really just part of communicating properly, of making yourself truly understood and of understanding those who are talking to you and what they are saying. I recently had a conversation with a colleague of mine who was telling me about where he was from, somewhere in the Madang province. Later in the conversation he told me he had lived in Goroka (which is in East Highlands Province) all of his life. This confused me greatly and when I asked him about this apparent conflict, he insisted that both were absolutely true. After much confusion, I realised that to a Papua New Guinean, where you are from is much more than just where you have lived, but is about your heritage and where you are descended from, and that this is an important part of one’s identity. I thought that I completely understood it, but then I recently had a great conversation with a guy who not only knew this friend of mine but who, he told me, came from the same place as him. He then told me all about his culture from the Chimbu Province. “But my friend told me he came from Madang!” I said, both confused yet certain of myself. “well sort of” came the reply. You see, I had correctly identified that this village resided inside the Madang provincial administration area. However, where someone is from is more than just lines on a map. Yes this village was located in Madang, but the culture, heritage, history and even facial features of people from this village, was shared with those from Chimbu province, and so for him, he was from Chimbu. Because to a Papua New Guinean, where he is from is much more than just where he has lived or lines drawn on a map, it’s part of who they are.

Episode 23 - Celebration!

This Saturday marked a big occasion in CRMF's history – 70 years since it was formed and 60 years since CRMF set up operations in Papua New Guinea. So there was only one thing to do to celebrate – have a massive party! All good parties involve lots of preparation. By two o’clock on Friday almost all of the CRMF staff and their families were busily working away, each with their own tasks to be done. I began by helping to put up the marquee. I’ve put up marquees before, so I was pretty confident that I would know what to do. But when I got there, there was no metal frame that clipped together, nor a canvas cover shaped for the frame or metal pegs to hold it down. Rather, there were four tarpaulins, several reels of metal wire, and a whole load of bamboo. I watched on in amazement as the guys got to work. Using bush knives they chopped the bamboo to length and crafted neat joints, and then tied them together using the metal wire. They threw the tarpaulins over the frame and created a wire web to hold it to the frame. Everyone just seemed to know what needed to be done, whilst I felt like I must have been off the day they taught it in school. It was great to watch my friends and colleagues work together in unison in effortless teamwork. In relatively no time at all (a few hours) they had created a simple but elegant tent for the celebrations.

Fit for a King

No great celebration is complete without great food, so my next task was to help out with the preparation of the Mumu – food wrapped in banana leaves and cooked on hot stones. Everyone gathered together to help, it was a great atmosphere. Every culture has different items which are considered precious, whether it be rare heir-looms, valuable gems, or in the case of Papua New Guinea and particularly the highlands, pigs. Pigs are highly prized here, and no important event, whether it’s compensation for wrong doing, arranging a marriage, or just a good old celebration, is considered complete without killing, and most importantly eating a pig. Our pig had not turned up yet (I mean it hadn’t been delivered yet, we weren’t expecting it just to walk up to the front gate and knock), so I went up to the group of ladies who were surrounded by piles of kaukau (sweet potato) and other vegetables and offered to help prepare them. I was promptly told that that was work for women and I was not allowed. I suspect that they just didn’t trust me not to mess up their hard work. With no pig and no work that I was allowed to so, I set about “helping” with the “work” I enjoy most – playing with the children. We answered many of life’s deepest mysteries, including; “how many children can Joey pick up at one time” – four being the answer in case you were wondering.

Well if you insist I don't help, I guess I'll just play...

Eventually the pig arrived and the boys started working. After killing the pig, its skin had to be removed. This involves a significant amount of team work. The pig must be held over a fire and the skin scrapped of with wooden sticks. After this the pig must be “operated on” as the Papua New Guineans put it – chopping up the meat into cuts small enough to cook. Yes, this was as messy as it sounds – now I know why the ladies were so precious over their vegetables! Again, throughout the whole food preparation process I was amazed and really impressed with how everyone just seemed to know what needed to be done and got on with, working remarkably well together as one. It was a joy to be part of it, even if I very much didn’t just know what to do. Everyone was very good at explaining and graciously got me right in the midst of it all. Once each of the separate parts of the meal were prepare, Mumu baskets were prepared. Chicken-wire baskets were made and lined with banana leaves. They were then filled with kaukau, cooking bananas and other vegetables, topped with edible leaves (kumu) and then cuts of pig placed on top of the leaves before covering with banana leaves and being sealed. These baskets would then later be cooked. The food preparation was finished at about two o’clock in the morning, although I snuck off to bed about midnight. The Mumu pits (the fires for cooking on) were lit at 4 o’clock on Saturday morning.

Preparing the Mumu pit

The celebration started with a great Church service, full of stories, songs, challenges and most of all praises to God for all that He has done over the last 70 years. We then gathered together in the marquee and chatted together. Food was eaten, more stories were shared over the PA system, letters read out, and I even had to judge the children’s colouring competition! It was a really special time for so many reasons, but most of all for the opportunity to be one with my new family and to remember and honour God for all that He has done for us.

Om nom nom!