Friday, May 15 - Eastern Highlands, PNG

We are in Ukarumpa. It is beautiful! I am in awe of this place.

I'll post pictures later but the trip was breathtaking.

Rhett, Todd and I are at the SIL Guesthouse. I have my own room with a bath. Mi amamas tru!

Irame, my house lady when we lived here before, was at the guest house when I arrived. It was so good to see her!

I'll look forward to spending some time with her in the next couple of days.

We leave for the Teen Center and hamburger night in a few minutes.

More later.....

At 11:00 pm - last night - I woke up and felt like I was suffocating. I’d been asleep for about an hour, the house was quiet. Our room in Lae doesn’t have a fan, no wind was moving through the open, slated windows. I laid in bed with my nose close to the windows, praying, begging God for a little breeze.

That’s when the dogs started yelping right outside my window. Two dogs, stuck together in the act of fornication. I doubt they were married.
Still no breeze. There were other nights like that one. But usually some kind of breeze moved through the house. I began to panic. I began to sweat.
I needed air. So I grabbed my foam mattress and took it to the living room where Jordan and Stephen lay under the fan. Relief. Sleep.

I awoke at 6:13 pm and got in the shower before everyone else. I am still wondering why I even bothered showing in Lae because 5 minutes after the shower I am sweating.
I began making our special birthday breakfast – French toast – Jordan turns 22 today. We bought birthday candles at the store. One special one with the ability to sing out a tune – Happy Birthday. Jordan was surprised – the girls had made a card and we all secretly signed it the night before.

We had all our suitcases packed by 8:30 am for devotions. By 9 am we were walking to the chapel for the seminary students. One last chapel and then good bye.

The Maipai Transport van showed up about 10 am. Confusion about who was going and what was happening but soon we were on our way with two seminarians from the highlands, Peter and John. Their presence would be useful later on in the day.
We stopped at the bank in Lae for the students to get money out. Once again Rhett was denied access to the trips funds. Hopefully he has enough till we get to Goroka next week.

On the road we welcomed the wind, albeit hot wind, as we headed towards the highlands.
Although I know I it was a road I had traveled before nothing about this journey was familiar: Except for the beautiful scenery as we passed further and further was the city and into the bush. Past the Ramu Valley with Brahma cattle grazing in the kuni.

Foolishly I had failed to think about what to do for lunch. We should have packed a lunch. Here is where John and Peter helped so much. We discussed our need for food and drink. Peter suggested a place several miles up the road.

This place was just a market where we could get cold drinks and Wopa Biscuits and fruit. It was a great experience. Peter, John, Jordan and I headed into the market leaving the others in the van. We returned with plenty of food for the rest of the journey. I only wish I had gotten a picture of the whole think. Maybe one of the students did.

With great expectancy we head for the hills – highland hills. Cooler weather awaited us around every bend. Breathtaking vistas new around every turn. When we reached the summit of the Kassam Pass, Peter exclaimed “Now you are in the Highlands.” Immediately we knew there was a difference.

The humidity was gone, and although the sun was out it was not as hot as Lae. Everyone felt the relief.

We dropped Peter and John off in Kainantu. Did I mention it was fortnight? Pay day. Everyone is out on the town. Rhett gave each many 100 kina and they planned to get a PMV back to Lae that afternoon. They were along the ride to make sure we made it to Kainantu.

Rhett was worried the most about this part of the trip. Fortnight isn’t always the best time to travel. Our group made it all that more stressful. I can’t help but think about Wade as our first day in the country was a fortnight as well. He had to travel by PMV (Public Motor Vehicle) from Goroka to Ukarumpa….alone, on a fortnight.
The scenery began to look familiar. And then we crossed the Ukarumpa bridge. It has a gate on it now. The entire area was crowded with people waiting. We drove right to the guest house and were warmly welcomed by Esther. As I looked into the kitchen I saw a familiar face: IRAME!! I cried a little as I hugged her. She looked really good! She looked healthy and happy.

Soon the host families were arriving to pick up the team. Everyone seemed a little sad to leave the group. After all, we’d pretty much been together 24/7 since we left 11 days ago.

I walked down to the store to buy bread, peanut butter and honey, for sandwiches, in case we need them to feed the students later in the week.

The store is VERY different. It has a fence all around it. And there is a Kai Kai bar in the front that serves everything from meat pies to ice cream. Todd had met me at the store and he bought me an ice cream cone.

I plan to go back there for meat pies later this week.

We met everyone down at the Teen Center. It was packed and smokey inside. The Jone’s family, Marsha and Larry – who’s son Jared used to live in our house on Meridian in Newberg, is hosting Jordan and Stephen. They sat with us. They are both teachers here on a one year assignment. I plan to have tea with Marsha on Monday at 10 am.

We all walked up to the guest house for our debriefing. Some people are having trouble leaving the wonderful relationships that were made at Lae. Since our time here is rather uncertain, for those who need to have things spelled out, it is hard for them to wrap their heads around what is in store.

I’ll keep you all posted. But for now, since I have wireless, I’ll post this and maybe a picture.

Thursday, May 14

The performance at the Lae Technical College was amazing. The team was treated as if they are celebrities. It was the Christian clubs weekly meeting and the large auditorium was packed.

The performances were great, and the response of the crowd was perfect. Lots of laughter and applause. The team performed Hello, Midas – the Greek story, The Weave and the Apostles Creed. Everyone loves it when Cyndi comes out and speaks Tok Pisin during the Apostles Creed.

Stephen also stole the show when the team introduced themselves and he sang out “Nem bilong mi Stephen.” The team called him “Brownpela Nose.”

Jacob Luke was able to attend. I hope he was proud of the response we received.
After the service the team was surrounded by men and women and wanting to exchange addresses and have a conversations in English.

I am happy to sit aside, watch the girls bags and marvel at how easily our team embraces the conversations with the people of Papua New Guinea.

At the debriefing Cyndi commented that several women thanked as her presence stage gave their voices strength. Knowing that women in PNG are not treated with equality it is a privilege to perhaps be a conduit for improved relations. Perhaps our team is paving new roads for the women of PNG to walk.

Today at 4 pm is the big performance between the seminary students and our team. As many have been advertising this event I am certain that the event will be huge.
Tomorrow we leave for the cool of the highlands. I do feel that I have been acclimating to this heat. It’s not quite as oppressive as it has been in the past.
I am very excited to see Ukarumpa, travel the Markham Pass and watch as the team begins the next phase of our journey.

Wednesday, May 13

It was another cooler night. No sheet, but also no sweat. I woke up refreshed and ready for the day.

The sky is clear and you know that it is going to be a scorcher. It’s 89 at 11 am but it doesn’t feel like the humidity is to high.

Whitney, Emily and I attended the pigin service at the chapel. I could catch most of what the sermon was about: Believers in Jesus do not need to be afraid of death.
The team is off at another class and I am left to do a load of laundry and prepare the noon meal. I love this quiet time. The beauty of the surroundings is amazing. The sounds, the sights and smells – I love this country!

I repacked my suitcase with the hostess gifts, putting the items in five different bags. I hope that is enough. Not knowing how many homes the team will be staying in makes it hard to plan. But I DO have a plan B.

I am so excited to leave MLS and go to Ukarumpa. Some of the students are nervous about being separated into the different homes. Also, Todd and Rhett refer to Ukarumpa as “Little America” the team has developed a bias against it. The time here, at MLS, exchanging ideas and developing relationships with them makes them want to stay here longer. God help them adjust and be just as caring and giving in Ukarumpa as they are here at MLS.

It reached 100 degrees this afternoon. I must be acclimatizing as I am not horribly hot.
After a lunch of toasted tuna and cheese sandwiches and fruit (papaya, banana and orange) salad, Todd and I went to town for our last trip to Food Mart.

We are way under budget for food costs in Lae, but it’s hard to spend 14 kina for a gift of English Breakfast tea for Jordan’s birthday on Friday.

Todd and I then stopped at the Lutheran Church headquarters to post a sign about the performance tomorrow (Thursday) from the MLS classes and the team. I think it’s going to be a HUGE event.

At the headquarters office Todd ran into two of his former students: Gary and a lady I never did catch the name of.

We had a nice chat with Gary. He is head of ministerial training for the Lutheran Church in PNG. He has 5 grown children. He’s probably close to my age.

I am now preparing a special dinner of spaghetti as Jacob Luke has been invited to join us at 5:30 pm for kai kai bilong belo.

Then we all travel down the road to a school for a ‘copi shop’ performance for the students. I am not clear about everything that is going on so you’ll hear more about during tomorrow mornings writings.

Tuesday, May 12

The Sounds of Lae

Mr. Rooster (s) start up at about 4:30 am. The chorus of kakaruk’s get’s louder as each moment goes by. Then, as if summoned by the orchestra conductor, more birds join the rooster choir creating a symphony of sorts. This continues on for hours. About the time we get up (starting around 7 am) the roosters stop but the rest of the chorus keeps going.

While we hear the birds they remain hidden in the lush trees and bushes. One species of birds sounds just like a slide whistle. I think I bought one for Jesse at Easter.

Dog wails are another part of the concert. Dogs are not treated well here in PNG. For the most part they are mangy, scraggly and thin. Most have a limp of some kind, no doubt from a kick from someone which creates the wail that we so often hear at night.

It’s pretty noisy all night long, and yet, we somehow manage to sleep through it all.

We survived the storm. The rain that we ran around in last night never left until 4 am or so. It rained so hard we had to shut the slated windows. We even turned the fan off because the wind was so ‘cold.’ We lost power right before midnight. Making one of my many bathroom trips I noticed Jordan and a few of the girls sitting at the kitchen table with a candle in the center of them. It looked like they were involved in a séance, but turns out we lost electricity and they were finishing up their game of cards.

Jordan figured out that it rained 10 hours last night. Surely we don’t have to worry about the water for a while. What must it have been like for those in the this area living in a hut.

I must have slept well because for the first time since leaving I dreamt. Wade was sequestered at Hazelden for treatment. He had an encounter with one of the other patients. Weird.

This morning breakfast everyone was on their own which has given me a chance to write this morning.

At 10 am we are all going to the seminary to listen to Don Michael tell stories from his asples, Enga Province. I am looking forward to this opportunity.
Although I was not sure what to expect, I was looking forward to getting a chance to interact with the seminary students. Todd made a lot of this opportunity to exchange stories but from what I could tell we were not sharing our stories, but only listening to Don. What stories would we tell if we were to share? I don’t think I have any stories that are worth telling.

Once the seminary students arrived Todd got the class under way. Don was called up to the front of the class where he stood with his head hanging down while he leaned on the desk. It seemed awkward. I wasn’t sure what to think.

Don asked that he have a translator as he wanted to tell his story in Tok Pisin.
Todd asked John, another seminarian, was asked to come up and translate for Don. That exchange was also awkward, as John mumbled something about being from a different province than Don. He finally went up to the front and did a fine job of improving upon the story as John used words that we would understand but were quite different from the Pigin word.

The first story was about a lake in the Enga province called Lake Lau. (John laughed when I told him that my bosses name was Brad Lau.)

The story goes like this: Two children, a boy and a girl, were orphaned when their parents died. They took care of themselves, raising pigs and making a garden. They lived very well and were happy. Then one day an evil spirit took on the image of the boy, went to the girl and tried to seduce her. She fought off the spirit but thought it was her brother. When the real brother returned all she did was cry and run away from him. She was so hurt. She didn’t know it was really an evil spirit and he didn’t know about the evil spirit.

The brother tried to make his sister stop crying. He made a mumu for her but she just kept crying. No matter what he did, she kept crying.

So finally the brother went to the mountain and dug a big hole and fell on his spear. When the sister realized that the brother was dead she cried so much that the hole filled up with water. She finally threw herself into the lake but the lake rejected her and spit her back up on the land. She left the lake and was never seen again.

Don explained that this story was about how bad it is to let misunderstandings come between families.

The second story was very interesting. It was about the last cannibal.
The story starts with a family with 6 sons and one daughter. One by one each son goes into the forest and never returns. Finally the last son goes much to the mother and father’s dismay. He too never returns. What the family doesn’t know is that each son has been captured and eaten by an old man deep in the forest.
At some point the family figures out who is behind their son’s disappearance.
One day the daughter goes to the river and is bitten by at mosquito.

After a period of time her belly begins to swell. The family is upset because she is unmarried. She denies having sex with anyone and soon she delivers a son.
When the son grows up and ends up going into the forest and killing the cannibal.
End of story. Don says that this is the story to depict the end of cannibalism in the Enga province.

It is interesting that we do not have a story to tell from our culture. We can steal stories from other cultures but we do not have stories of our own. I find this sad. I wonder why?

Today was another day of laundry and then cooking lunch and dinner.

Beans on toast and leftovers for lunch.

Lamb neck stew and rice for dinner.

There is a sweet kind of rhythm here. When the team heads over to the seminary classes, I am alone. I read and write. I have contemplated watching a movie but so far haven’t had the time.

Right after the students left tonight the cicadas were so loud I could barely hear myself think! Then all of a sudden, about 45 minutes later, the noise stops! Silence.

It’s been a quiet day. Tomorrow brings new experiences to enjoy.

Monday, May 11

I realized this morning that I am not dreaming at night.

We all got to sleep in a little this morning. I fixed sweet rice cereal for breakfast, toast for some and coffee.

At 9 am the students were invited to the seminarians devotion time. At 10 am they would be working in the speech and drama classes.

Sara Kelm is suffering from an upset stomach. She has stayed behind. I washed some community towels and the shower mat that was completely gross.

Finally, I was able to connect with Wade on his cell phone. I lost the satellite feed the first time but connected after several tries and was able to say and hear I love you’s! I miss him, and it felt good to hear is voice. It will be great when he meets me at the airport.

We will be going to the market today. Everyone is excited to finally get into the city and walk around.

Lunch will be leftovers and peanut butter sandwiches.

After lunch the team debriefed from the mornings classes. I was cleaning up from lunch so didn’t hear a lot of the details, but I was able to catch that things went pretty well.

Rhett wisely suggested that the team spend an hour cleaning up while he and I settled finances. It was good to get the house clean, and find out that we are under budget for our food in Lae. It has felt so strange spending 600 kina on food, at one time! And then to watch it disappear so fast!

We then headed in our new Mapai Escort Vehicle to the Lae Market. While I was able to get the fruits and vegetables I desired, the overall feeling was that there really wasn’t much there people wanted to buy. A few of the ladies bought meri skirts and personal food items.

We then went to the Food Mart by way of a tour of the town courtesy of Todd. I purchased the bulk of what we would need for meals the rest of the week but the best buy of all was a huge wheel of fresh rolls. It would be perfect for dinner.

Once home, I began making One Pot Chicken, with kau kau, kumu, bok choy, onions, chicken and curry. It was very good. Everyone enjoyed it. It’s funny, and we commented about this, what if I didn’t know how to cook? The way we are all working together is evidence of God’s provision in putting this trip together.

After dinner the rain came…HARD! So far it has only rained in the wee hours of the night. So Whitney and Cyndi headed outside. Soon most of the team was outside. It was awesome. I was actually chilled a couple of times. It was fun to see how much the kids enjoyed this little activity.

Those who joined in the fun eventually came in the house, piled their wet clothes in the hamper (I volunteered to wash them in the morning) and we all settled down for a time of journaling, reading and NOT sweating. Sara is actually sitting next to me cuddled under a blanket.

So we have been on this journey for one week now. Overall, it’s been a huge success. The students are amazing. They have been stellar in every way.
With the cool breeze and the rains here I hope we will sleep well tonight.
The weather has been really pretty great, except that it is hot and humid. But it has only rained at night, and so we are relived to get some water into the cistern but still be able to be outside during the day. It’s the kind of weather I remember during our time in PNG. The rain and heat create this tropical paradise, flowers and plants galore!

Sunday, May 10

I woke up this morning without sweat dripping from my body. In fact, I remained sweatless until halfway through breakfast.

Breakfast was a sweet potato frittata. It was really delicious.

We attended church in Lae at the Resurrection Lutheran Church – the English service.
A quick shopping trip across the street at Food Mart before heading home.
I had planned to make tuna fish sandwiches. As I opened the can I realized something was amiss. Upon closer examination I realized that I had tuna in tomato sauce. I drained the sauce, added a can of mackerel (777) and added the mayonnaise I had bought at the store earlier.

After lunch I volunteered to do laundry while the team rehearsed for first time presentation of “American Midas.” Todd tried to show me how to use the twin tub but I assured him that I was an expert at the twin tub.

It took me all afternoon to complete this chore. I was drenched. I hung up the laundry as each small load was spun dry. I would have each of the students retrieve their own laundry from the line.

After a supper of spaghetti, peas and really good French Bread (with garlic infused butter) we attended the evening service. Tonight the team would perform for the first time “American Midas.” A little bit of tension, apprehension, nerves. How would the performance be received?

During rehearsal earlier in the day they had quite an audience watching. These people showed up for the evening performance and brought their friends. The place was packed. Later we learned that this evening service as much larger than usual.
The performance was wonderful. I had not yet seen it performed beginning to end. And in fact, a change was made to the ending during the rehearsal on Saturday.
At the conclusion of the service, a few men stood to tokautim to the group. It was a great experience to see and hear as this was tradition amongst the Papua New Guineans.

As soon as the service was dismissed a swarm of people gathered around the students. These were the people who had connected with the students the day before. From small children to teenagers, our team was embraced by the families of the community.
One little girl who captured everyone’s heart was a girl named Jeri. Yep! Her mother brought Whitney a bag of food – banana, oranges, peanuts and sugar cane. Jeri’s dad was a second year seminary student.

The teenagers wanted to get addresses from the girls. Emily was especially popular with two girls whom we met at church in Lae that morning. They too lived on the seminary property.

After about an hour we started for home. Everyone promised to see each other tomorrow.

I am especially impressed with the ease in which Stephen and Jordan connect with the boys. Already Jordan has held hands with another young man.
I might as well say right now that these students are amazing. I am so proud of them. Also, I really think that the kids at Ukarumpa are going to get a lot from these guys.

May 9 – Saturday

About 3 am I awoke to the lights of the hall beaming into my eyes. There would be breakfast in the morning.

Today was the dreaded “workshop” day. I say dreaded because neither Todd nor Rhett knew what to expect. The students would be working with two groups of seminary students: the speech class and the drama class. Each class would be divided up to and one or two of our team would work out a story with either a group from the drama or speech class.

As I mentioned, it was uncertain as to whether this would work or not. The team seemed a little apprehensive.

We all began to rouse about 6:30 am. Everyone had eaten breakfast by devotions at 8:15 am. The team headed off to the workshop at 8:40 am. I remained behind to clean up the kitchen and take a nice cold, but quick shower. I had the whole morning to myself which was really nice. I organized my luggage and did a small load of laundry.

At 11 am I made a water run to the team. It was a good thing too as to temperature had already reached 90 degrees and I am sure the humidity was equally as high. We have all been pretty wet….all day….all the time.

As I walked across the grass I remembered that early in the day I had thought about asking one of the ladies in the community if I could purchase some bananas and papaya, kau kau and kumu. I overpaid for what I purchased but I felt pretty good about the conversation with the lady, all in Tok Pisin.

Anyway, I digress. After the workshop, which went very well, the students came back to lunch that I had prepared. It was actually a snack. Later in the day we would be attending a baby naming ceremony. In Papua New Guinea where there is a ceremony, there is the promise of food.

We were to head over to the cafeteria at the seminary when we heard the sound of the bell.

We waited quite a while for that bell to ring. When it seemed that someone had forgotten to ring us over to the party, the bell rang.

What awaited us was something quite exciting. Tables of food and one large roasted pig as the center piece.

Our hosts asked us to sit in small groups at different tables so that more of the community would have a chance to interact with us. I sat with Whitney.
The hour long ceremony was brief. Several pastors spoke, both of the grandfathers spoke and we were introduced to the baby: Mosepundajudy. A few prayers later we were invited to go through the food line first. Two types of rice, kau kau, taro, kumu, carrots, cabbage slaw, fruit, BBQ’d lamb ribs, chicken of various types…just to name a few.

We stayed for an hour more before it seemed appropriate to go. However, on the way out the worship band was playing and the students had another impromptu practice time.
Soon the singing spilled out onto the grass and I watched as the team played with all the little children of the community. This experience would prove to be one of the most impactful experiences for several students. (I’ll revisit this later.)
I had come back to boil the sweet potatoes that I had planned to put into the frittata. I had a nice time alone doing my nails and drinking a cup of Milo.
I called home this afternoon on the satellite phone but only reached Kalie for a brief moment. Several students called home as well. Many of them hadn’t communicated with family since we left. I am sure family members will sleep good tonight.