Praying for Rain

The day after I got back from America I ran into one of the station “watchmen,” Moses.  Moses works in the station workshop with four other national men, named Elijah, John, Paul and Yandu, alongside our missionary matience men.  They have the secondary job of being our security.  I just love their names!  I don’t know what Yandu means in Tok Ples, but the missionaries here enjoy saying that our watchmen are two prophets and two apostles.  Not bad names for people that watch over you.  Our watchmen have the job of sitting in the station vehicles and keeping security over them and all our "stuff" when we go to town, as well as watching out for us.  99% or more of the time, this is a very uneventful job for them and often involves helping a few missionary women load a month or more of groceries into the back of a Land Cruiser.  To me it seems a very boring job but these men seem to have mastered the task of doing all work with a cheerful heart and have smiles to prove it.  I have enjoyed talking with our watchmen and having them help me with my Tok Pisin. 

I’m still struggling with actually talking in Tok Pisin although I understand about 70-90% of most conversations, depending on who is talking and how fast!  I’ve got the obstetric words down, and can have small conversations on the OB ward, but those words are not used too much in everyday communication (believe it or not).  I only teach in English, so my opportunities are often limited.  The last time I went to town, Moses was our watchman and we talked about gardening in PNG during our journey about town and on the bumpy, hour long ride home.  He also told me his wife enjoys working in the garden and he thought she would be willing to help me in mine.  So when I ran into him on that Friday morning I asked if he though his wife would still like to come help me. 

My neighbor has recently moved away and I had let her use most of my garden area because I didn’t have the time to really work in it.  But now I have a lot of garden space, but still not a ton of time, and thought some help might be useful.  Moses said he thought she would want to come help and he would talk with her and let me know on Monday. 

 I actually asked him all this is in Tok Pisin, so I was pleasantly surprised last Monday after my class was over at noon that I met Moses and Rita on the road to my house.  She was all ready to work!   Rita speaks very little English, but understands a bit.  I speak very little Tok Pisin that is useful for describing garden work but can understand what she says.  Moses did a bit of translation to help us figure out where to begin the work.  We also came to an understanding.  Rita will only let me speak to her in Tok Pisin, so I’m forced to work on words other than medical ones.  It’s great!  I’ve tried this with my neighbor girls but they usually will not correct me when I am wrong, and this has proven to not be very helpful.  So I’m getting a garden helper and a Tok Pisin tutor for the price of one.      

So Rita helped me every day of what was Holy Week here in PNG.  By Wednesday four plots were cleared out and ready for planting.  We decided to plant on Thursday because Rita would have work to do at her church on Good Friday.   The weird thing was it did not rain here that whole week.  Rita informed me it was “dry season” and I guess it finally is.  I planned to figure out how to water all of that garden if it didn’t rain.  I was able to borrow a garden hose from my friends on Friday night, and when it didn’t rain again that night, I watered everything on Saturday morning.  It rained a bit on Saturday night and into Sunday morning, stopping just before the Easter Sunrise.  Then on Easter Monday, as it’s called here, (basically another day off of work!) it rained on and off all day.  It rained so much that the laundry I did that morning never got a chance to dry in between the frequent light showers and I brought it in damp and draped it all over my spare room.  Then it rained heavily most of the night.  I never did have to use the garden hose again. 

I taught my Communications class this morning from 8:00-10:00 and then came home for a bit to see that Rita was here and working on my flower gardens.   She said she had to see how the vegetable garden was looking after being away for four days for the Easter Holiday (or at least I think that’s what she said because it was all in Tok Pisin).  She also told me she had prayed for a big rain to come when on Good Friday it had not rained and she was worried about all the broccoli, carrots, corn, squash, lettuce and spinach she had planted.  I was amazed.  I had not prayed for rain at all. 

My plan was to go out there with the borrowed hose and water it myself.  This Easter weekend I actually didn’t feel well, just wasn’t myself.  I wasn’t even feeling able to water it more than the one time even if it really had needed it.  I didn’t get to go to the sunrise service like I had planned and I didn’t make it to the regular service on station.  I did enjoy my bible reading at home and had time to contemplate all that the day means.  I had prayed for several things throughout the weekend that I am struggling with and praised God for all that this weekend means to me.   I thanked Him that I was back to feeling like my normal self on Monday and I got a lot of school work done on an off day.  But never in my many conversations with Him this weekend did I think about the garden.  But Rita had.

It touched me so much that this woman who I had met just a week ago, cared enough about me and my four garden plots to pray for rain to take care of them.  Her gardens are all planted and growing well and can survive without rain for a week, but she knew mine needed it.   And her prayers were answered in a mighty way; my damp towel in the spare room and my adequately watered garden proves it.  Rita challenged me today to not forget to pray for the things right in front of me, the obvious needs and all the promise that they hold and the faith that they require.  I might not be able to say all of that in Tok Pisin just yet, but I think she understood from my smile today that I learned something from her prayers for rain.   And I think Moses is right; his wife does like to work in the garden. 

Liklik tok save (little information- update)

I haven't posted since Christmas! Sorry all, I've got three blogs in the works, but then my computer died a week and a half ago with them all saved to the desktop. So, here are some pictures and a little up date for the moment, typed on the iPad.
My ankle is doing well, and I've started some physical therapy thanks to a visiting PT.
Classes are going great for the most part. It been a huge blessing to teach the same classes as I did last year. I'm getting to tweak and add to lesson plans and its going better, especially with my OB class.
Graduation went well and it's great to now see some of those graduates working in the hospital. It's fun to call them "Sister" when they have been use to calling me that for the past two years. I've had three get-togethers with my small group that has grown considerably this year! I've got 10 students this time, (long story), mostly first years, and we are having fun getting to know each other at this point.
Wednesday Night Fellowships have been going well and I'm working with my second year class on a "new" song to sing next week.
I'm preparing to come home for a short trip to be in my friend Colleen's wedding. While this requires basically no packing, (I have basically two outfits here that are appropriate for Illinois weather at this time) I've got lots of grading and prep for classes to be done before I go.
So, here are some pictures of our class on Friday, hands on lesson on learning styles. (And basically, I was just ready to have a little fun with them after some boring lectures on APA writing style! I can only make learning rules on when and how to cite sources so interesting,)

The rules here- build as tall a tower as you can with what you are given. (And then I added other rules each time, like no talking but one, only one builder, but all could talk, etc.) Also, the five building sets where not all on the same playing field. (For one, we don't have five games of Jenga on station, and it wouldn't be as challenging that way either!) They got dominos, Jenga extreme, UNO Stacko, Bandu, and regular Jenga. Bandu has odd shapes like eggs, pyramids, and slanted cylinders so its quite a challenge. I think they all had some fun to end a long week, I at least had fun watching them! The last photo is what happens outside my classroom when it downpours for twenty solid minutes, after raining quite a bit this week.

“I’m dreaming of a green Christmas….”

“I’m dreaming of a green Christmas….” 

“Baby, it’s HOT outside…(like 90 degrees)”

“Silent Day, Holy Day.  All is calm, all is VERY Bright.”  (It wasn’t silent at night, but the day truly was!)

How many other familiar Christmas songs can I change?!  Just like the songs, this Christmas was a different experience for me, many things were similar to Christmases past, but a few elements were different. 

I started celebrating Christmas with the students the week before American Thanksgiving—big no, no before this year.

The Christmas tree I made was from bamboo, and I have a few others made from magazines, and yarn and twine.  Big change from those who know I usually decorate 8 imitation evergreens of various sizes! 

A wood burnt PNG nativity set replaced of my Willow Tree one. 

Skyping with my family and Facebook videos replaced having four family Christmas get-togethers.   

Floral print and sailor outfits were the attire for our Missionary Christmas party with its Dinner Cruise theme. 

Santa is called Father Christmas, and once he was Melanesian.  I received some goodies from fellow missionaries here, and an electric toothbrush from my dental hygienist sister to help clean them all away. 

Zuppa Toscana soup; the soup my mom usually makes for us, was made with pumpkin tops instead of Kale, and I made the sausage, and it was just about as good! 

Christmas Eve we had a campfire and roasted marshmallows and made s’mores while sharing favorite Christmas memories.  It kind of felt like Christmas in July, but was a nice addition to the Christmas celebration here. 

The Meyers family had a Christmas Eve Eve party and I saw more snowmen than I will ever see in PNG any other way! 

I had a wonderful Christmas dinner with the Goossens and the Thompsons families and enjoyed the break from my otherwise wonderfully silent day at home. 

I received so much joy from giving this year—whether it was a Swedish tea ring to many friends, sugar cookies to the maintenance men, security guards, neighbor children and the asparagus man, or a remote control Drone ,purchased on Amazon, to my nephew; it was truly fun to give what I could this year. 

One thing remains the same, wherever you are.  Jesus is the reason for this season.  He comes to us wherever we are, and in whatever condition.  He is the ultimate gift and receiving him is better than any other gift we can get. 

I hope you enjoyed your Christmas season as much as I enjoyed it here, where our ‘Evergreens’ are all trees, poinsettias grow year round, and tinsel is the main decoration in stores and the churches.

Merry Christmas and God Bless your New Year! 

 

By the Grace of God...

I feel the need to catch some of you up on my last month.  November 2014 will be one that is hard for me to forget, not because of so much what I have done or what the students are doing as in past months, but because of the lack of what I have done.

 I severely sprained my ankle on October 28^th, the day before my birthday.  And, it wasn’t doing anything fun, or exciting, it was just taking the shortcut through my backyard and garden back to the hospital after a quick lunch!  Yes, falling down in your backyard and having seven or more of your neighbors witness it does make for a good story, but I really don’t feel like laughing too much yet, because I am STILL dealing with the result of that little trip.  This ankle of mine has been sprained a few (well, seven) other times from soccer injuries, Army obstacle courses and a few mishaps while hiking and I probably should have done better rehab after those prior evens.  Lesson learned the hard way, again. 

So I took it easy for a few days, and did what I was supposed to do.  I rested, Iced, wore an ace bandage, I elevated, I took ibuprofen.  I talked to the doc, did my best to follow the advice, hoping to be back on the ward with the students in just a day or two.  I graded papers, mine and other teachers.  I read, I crocheted, I prayed, I watched a few movies.  I got tired of all of the above, yes, even praying. 

I had a few meals that others brought over, and then I ran out of my frozen leftovers and was sick of them anyway.  I spent some time standing baking in the kitchen and made a few new casseroles, and then suffered the consequences of swelling in my leg and continued pain.  But at least I had some food, and I used up a few hours of my day not doing the things above.  (Other than the praying, I really didn’t give that up for long.)  I took it easy for another few days, wishing for the ease of take-out meals and frozen US dinners (heathy or not!)  By that next Monday, I was doing somewhat better it seemed and I was ready to try going back to the hospital and supervising the students on the ward.  By 11:00 am, after being on my feet since 7:00, I knew I needed some more rest and elevation, and my new almost constant companion, the ice pack.  I did that all afternoon and again felt a little better in the evening and tried it again the next day.  This pattern continued throughout the week.  By Thursday though, the swelling would no longer go down in the evening, and I was once again out of leftovers.  The evening cooking session of only 45 minutes had me in bed with my ice pack buddy again by 6:00 pm and I knew Friday on the ward with the students wasn’t going to happen. 

I called for help again at this point and was taken down to get x-rays Friday morning.  During my prayer time that morning before the x-rays, I prayed it would be broke, even though I knew when it happened I had done the exact same thing the other times it was sprained.

 Being broke would explain the continued almost constant pain and swelling and the long recovery time.   

Being broke would “justify” asking for help more often from friends who are all leading equally busy lives, and most of whom have lots more than one mouth to feed and care for. 

Being broke would warrant staying home from work that I am called to do, want to be doing, and hate missing, and that others are supporting me with monetary donations in order to be able to do. 

Being broke would make the daily struggle to decide if I was capable of working a whole lot easier, physically and emotionally.  In a sense, being broke, would “fix” my situation.  

But, Dr. Andy said it wasn’t broke, and I knew it even before he told me after seeing the x-ray first. 

Where to go from here?  It had been two weeks; it was a “simple” sprained ankle.  People get those and are better in a few days.  But the repeated stress and repeated injuries over time just kept adding up to more pain and swelling, and I probably had just as much emotional pain too.  I tried to listen to the advice and went home to rest again, and to my ice pack buddy.   

By Monday, I really was no better, I could handle about 30 minutes on my feet and that was it.  (I also by now have mastered the task of cooking meals in 10-15 minute spurts!)  I went down to see Dr. Andy again and was ready to try anything else.  I found Dr. Bill instead, as Andy was not there for the day.  Bill was aware of my situation, but we talked things through a little more and after a little emotion break in my façade I got news from him that was very freeing—Doctor’s orders to stay home and rest for the majority of the week for full recovery.  Daily check-ups on my progress were very nice, and I was making some progress, longer periods without pain, and decreased swelling.  I tried a half day on Thursday, and made it two hours, and haven’t had another setback, but really no more progress. 

So, the last two weeks of November, I mainly stayed home, with a few short trips to the ward to check on the students.  The college has given me the freedom to just stay home till I’m healed up and I am getting closer.  A walking cast has helped some these past few days, better than the ankle immobilizer I was wearing.  The students stop by and bring me procedure books to sign, and I ask about their progress on the wards.  I’m working on my lesson plans for next year.  I’m finishing up craft projects I started this summer when my plans changed and I knew I wasn’t coming home for Christmas.   I’m praying for the students on the wards, who I can’t be with fully but wish I could.  I’m spending extended time in the word. 

But, I’m also going a little stir crazy. 

Never before have I been in my house for so long.  Never have I had to listen to dogs barking, children screaming, crying, or playing loudly, and pigs squealing, day in and day out for numerous days in a row, with very few breaks away from my house.  I love being here, but I’m ready to be fully mobile again!  Our ladies bible study started three weeks ago and God knew I needed some time with these ladies, and some new perspectives from his word.  Thanksgiving (in the US) has now come and gone, and I was very thankful for the little bit I got here, and the reminders throughout this looooong month to be thankful for all that I do have here, even in the midst of this struggle. 

I’m able to share this today because God convicted me of being real, being transparent before Him, and before others.  During this month, only a few have known how difficult this situation has been for me.  It can be so easy to just say, “I’m fine, I’m managing alright” when it is not true.  This struggle has brought up many things that I’ve had to deal with: my self-reliance, my work ethic, my pride, my singleness, my perception of how others will view me, my lack of patience, the list could go on. 

I started an advent devotional today, in addition to what I have already been doing.  The new devotional was on waiting, waiting by grace.  I wanted to laugh when I flipped to it and said, “Really God, this is what you have for me today?” but it was right on.  It finishes by saying- “Lord, help me to see your grace in my life today.  Thank you that you have given me all I need to flourish right where I am.”  -Rachel York

My other devotional was from Ozzie, when he says, “There is no condition in life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.  We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed.” And I would go on to say, in whatever physical condition we are in.  I’m trusting God to fully heal this ankle of mine is his time, and I will abide in Him throughout that time, and beyond.  I still would love your prayers though, for physical healing and continued strength to face things one day at a time with His power. 

My Utmost for His Highest—“By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain...” 1 Corinthians 15:10

PNG Pumpkins-- From making puree to cutting burlap

I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 34:26, 27 NIV).

I've read that passage and ones surrounding it recently and I've been pondering seasons, change, and challenges I see around me. The students have been taking their finals, and are starting back to clinical rotations in the hospitals. I also see posts on their Facebook pages that they are ready to go home for holiday. Our sermon at church yesterday was from Ecclesiastes and on are we making the right changes in our lives, living abnormally or the normal function Christ created us for. And then, there is the fact that we are getting back to rainy season in PNG, but my calendar says its fall! Changes and new normals all around!

So, this September and October have been a little different than last year. Finishing up the Second half of the Obstetric Complication class has gone well.  I only have a little grading to finish up.  I've had a few free evenings and weekends to experiment with baking, and I have some baking afternoons with the neighbor girls. It been great to share some baking tips with the girls again and even help them fill up their own little cookbooks.

This year I've been more aware also that I'm not at home doing the autumn, my favorite time of year. I guess last year I was still getting in the hang of things here, and also last year I knew I'd be home just in time for Thanksgiving.  Well, that's not going to happen this year, so I've felt the need to create a little Autumn over here in PNG. 
First it was autumn baking, pumpkin bars, apple pie, pumpkin bread, and most recently pumpkin cheesecake!  And after I about ran out of my imported Libby's pumpkin, I realized PNG pumpkin (or what Americans would call squash) will actually work quite well for all those recipes, and its sooo much cheaper!!  I also am sharing all of my baking attempts, I can't handle all the calories myself but just need at least one piece of each!

Then I had to do some decorating, This required a little more planning, some trips to the second hand clothing spot at the market, and waiting until my monthly trip to town to get a few things I had seen I thought I could adapt to make my creations!  (I also budgeted for a little data to use up on Pinterest, a weakness of mine and something I can't use quite like I would in the states, which is probably a good thing!)  I also got a little inspiration from Danielle, a fellow missionary crafter here who is also missing fall in the USA.  We even got together one day and worked on some pumpkin projects!  She graciously shared some Chai and we had a great morning of piecing together some of our pumpkins.  She also shared some PNG crafting secrets--- Black poster board works well for a one time use chalkboard, (paint is very expensive!) and burlap is available here in the form of PNG coffee sacks!!  Oh the projects you can do once you have these two extremely cheap materials!!

What follows are my creations over the last 6 weeks or so, and I've started on some Christmas items as well, but you will just have to wait for those.  I'm enjoying my Autumn, even if I had to make it myself. 

Pumpkins made from old shirts I actually wore, and wore out.
They are also stuffed with old shirt scraps, and plastic bags.
The basket is another project, T-shirts form second hand,
cut up into yarn and crocheted.  This is my second basket,
the first is various grays. 

 

My favorite pumpkin!  The stem is material from my favorite capris from last year.
They also got worn out and torn from some wire on a hike
but work great here! 

My bed with a burlap pumpkin pillow. 

And my living room also got some T-shirt pumpkins.  I also recently got this rug and a third blue chair from the warehouse. They fit well into the room and the rug adds a nice autumn touch that will last all year round!

Then here is my "chalkboard" creation, placed over a picture of PNG and can easily be removed and changed again, or changed back.  I loved the previous picture but a little change for the dinning room wall for a month or so is nice. 

I will give thanks with a grateful heart for all that God has done for me this year, for all he has allowed me to do, enabled me to do, and continues to challenge me to do. These little additions to my place here are daily reminders of those things. Nothing here is as "easy" or "instant" as it can be in the US, from making pumpkin purée instead of popping open a can, making your own yarn from shirts you searched through piles and piles to find, and then the adjusting to challenges on the labor ward and constantly working on forming and building relationships. But I'm looking forward to these blessings and I am thankful for them and ever grateful to be growing closer to my God.
 

Gardening Steps in PNG…. (At least how it works for me)

Step 1- Wait at least 6 weeks from when you weeded/attempted to plant something.  This allows plenty of time for weeds to grow and possibly some of the plants you wanted to, and a few you had no idea would come up. 

Step 2- Put your gardening tools out on your front porch.  Then go back inside and get your water bottle, sunglasses and possibly a hat.  This allows plenty of time for the neighbor girls to see that you intent to work in your garden today and for them to come out and start to work.  A great time to do this is 7:30 on a Saturday morning.  They are all up, and it’s not too hot for the white meri.   You never have to ask for help, and you really don’t expect it get it, but you will every time anyway. 

Step 3- Let go of whatever plans you possibly had for your garden.  This allows your neighbors to do what they were going to do anyway and you feel good about it.  If you thought it would be great to have a row of something at the front of your garden, be alright with those flowers to end up in the middle and just smile when they come up right in the middle of something else.  Giving a little direction in planting is fine, but be prepared for anyone at any time to run home, grab/cut some flower and come back and plant it where they believe it needs to go. 

Step 4- Decide on one thing you want to accomplish and do that.  This allows neighbor girls to do whatever else they think needs to be done and you still feel like you possibly accomplished one task and didn’t have them do ALL the work.  (Today, my task was to fill up with soil two large planters I received two months ago from the Deuel’s and plant something in them.  I did have a little idea of what I wanted to plant in them, but I was prepared to apply step 3 here as well.)

Step 5- Offer some refreshment at some point in the process.  This allows your volunteer staff to stop working for a moment so you don’t feel so bad that you need a break after only an hour of work.  Cold water is always appreciated, but if you have crackers or cookies, this works well too to allow you a few minutes to stand up straight and give your back a break. 

Step 6- Have fun, chat with the girls while you all pull weeds, shovel piles of dirt and pull out small rocks.  This allows you to work on your Tok Pisin, make the girls laugh and see plenty of smiles. 

I accomplished my task today, got the whole front of the house weeded and also got a unexpected new rose garden in place of my crazy patch of Zinnias (or possibly it will turn out that the roses are just in the middle of the patch.)  I also got all the girls names right for the first time! 

All steps applied and worked out great.  These steps were learned over a year and a half process.  Not applying all steps will just get you dirty, sweaty and worn out (and possibly a little frustrated.)  ;-) 

Isaiah 55:8-13

8“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  ¹⁰ As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, ¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.  ¹² You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.  ¹³ Instead of the thorn bush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.  This will be for the Lord’s renown,  for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”

 

 

Skin Deep

On my recent trip to Southern Highlands I was struck by a lot of things.  The beauty of God’s creation, the fun I can have with the students outside of the classroom, love for the people of PNG, how God is working all over the place, and then the ever present phrase, “Wait Meri.”  Yes, that last one is a bit different than the others on my list.  We were in quite a remote place, and not many of the people see white women on a frequent basis and some of the kids had never seen white people before.  So driving (or while we walked for a bit) you go by groups of people on the road side, and I hear that phrase, “Wait Meri, Wait Meri.”  Often it is said excitedly, with waves and lots of children jumping around.  Sometimes you see tears, or looks of confusion.  You never know what reaction you will get, but the first one is easier to take!  The kids in church are great too, for mixed reactions come all the time.  Luckily, I only made one little guy cry just by looking.  Lots more smiles from the rest of the kids. 

While we were driving back, I got to thinking about these reactions, as I waved for the twenty-fifth or fiftieth time to a group of small kids.  For some reason Martin Luther King Jr. came to mind and his statement about his children, that he wanted them to, “not be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”  (Forgive me everyone for taking this slightly out of context, I in no way desire to downplay his “I have a dream” speech.)  I wish the world was color blind like this, that skin color didn’t cause a reaction but that character did.

 I thought about three of the young boys in the church, probably between 9-12 years old, who sat up front and couldn’t seem to take their eyes off of the three college boys who were leading worship.   I thought of the teenage girl, Ruth, who seemed to become fast friends with Robina, one of the 2^nd year college students.  We had sat next to her while waiting for the first service to start and she had that same look of admiration that the boys did.  Robina talked with her the whole way down to the baptism service, a half hour walk.  I remembered being a little kid and looking up to the college age singing groups or camp counselors that would come to church or be at summer camp.   The college of nursing students got to be those ones that were being looked up to.  The numerous kids and many adults were able to see their hearts for Christ, and hearts that worship!  I was excited for them, and for those kids that were able to spend even a little bit of time with some wonderful Christian examples.  The students showed what Christ is doing in their lives, and what hard work and studying can lead to.  Education is not a given here, and it was especially evident in this area.

I pray that those children would be impacted by that short trip and that they would have other role models of Christ and what He can do in our lives. 

I pray that I can make an impact here that isn’t based on my skin color, but on the character of the one who lives in me, Jesus Christ.     

I pray that we can all get eyes like the Lord, that go deeper than skin deep, that we can learn the lesson Samuel did in 1 Samuel 16:7 when God said, “The Lord does not look at the things people look at, people look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”