Episode 1 - Pilot

#pngretold - retelling the events of exactly two weeks ago

Not me! Obviously not me. I'm not the pilot. No. It's just what you call the first episode isn't it? The setting of the scene. Much like this week I am about to spend in PNG, a prelude to what the rest of my time out there will be like. And although I am currently sat on a plane something-thousand feet above somewhere, I am definitely not the pilot. Yes, given my lack of locational awareness, I'm glad about that too. And as I think about this whole crazy adventure, not just this week, but the whole of my time that I will spend in PNG, and hey, while we're at it, why not throw the rest of my life in there too, I can't help thinking how similar it is to my current situation. I'm not in the captains seat steering this sky boat, I'm in the comfy seats looking out of the window watching the candy-floss clouds pass by. Most of the time I have no idea where I am,how I got here, or how I'm going to get to my final destination! Sure I know some of what to expect; at some point I'll be offered fish or chicken for dinner. And regardless of my choice, I'll get a meal that looks just the same, sealed by an impenetrable layer of film which I have no valid means to remove. I will then spend the next fifteen minutes subtly trying to get into it; first by using the sharpest object that I can find (usually a coin), then by biting it, and finally by giving it blood curdling withering looks. When all of this fails, I will eventually look over to my neighbour and remember that there's a little tab in the corner that I always forget about! 

 

I can't even be trusted to pilot this bad boy!

I can even prepare for the journey and bring a book to read, it is after all up to me to make the most of my journey, but there is so much of it that is out of my hands, beyond my experience, skill, and authority. As I look back to how I got here, I can hardly believe that I find myself where I am, and that everything has fallen perfectly into place just as it has. I could never have planned my life so perfectly. And as I look forward to all that I cannot yet see, I realise that I can only begin to imagine what lies ahead of me. But when I start to fear that I am out of my depth and wonder what exactly I have got myself into, I will draw comfort from the aeroplane analogy. For if it was just up to me and Bernoulli to keep this tin can up in the air, then I wouldn't fancy my chances. But the reason that I feel so comfortable travelling 10053ft above the Caspian sea (I found a screen that tells me) is because I trust in the skills and training of the pilot. As I look ahead to the adventure before me, it's still hard to really comprehend. Sure, I've done every bit of research on PNG you could possibly imagine, and on paper totally clued up as to what things will be like, but it's still just a theory, a thought in my mind. It still doesn't quite feel real, like a dream or even a distant memory. But I can look forward to it all with courage and excitement, because I know, that whilst I might not always be the best passenger, God is the best pilot there is!