Outpost Lapilo

A Trip to Madang -- on the Coast

2010-01-21T05:13:00.017+10:00

Here are a few photos of our trip to Madang for a few days of rest and relaxation. We hung out at the guest house, went swimming and a bit of snorkeling, read lots of books between the 6 of us, enjoyed lunch, shopping at the fresh market and taking in yet again, new scenery. I apologize for the pictures being random rather than in order. Can't figure out how to do that yet. There's certainly a great big world out there that's way beyond our boundaries!

Just another day at the office! The sea was a bit rough as this woman was bringing home the bacon - in this case bananas. Women are the gardeners in PNG. The backdrop of this picture is the open ocean. The largest in the pigeon family, the Royal Crown, is the most beautiful as well as the dumbest, so we're told. Madang Resort grounds.

Isn't this a great picture of Donna?

Sporting a huge smile and Frangipani in her hair, she's cutting the strings off my meri blaus.

Loma, Donna and Glenda entering the Madang Resort lagoon. The gardens here are, well...they're tropical!

A black sand beach at Mololo - about a 20 minute drive from the NTM center. The water is warm, a gentle breeze, great fellowship in the midst of God's creation - who could ask for anything more?

We were unable to get the pictures to load in the order we wanted them, so these are mixed up a bit - again - Here's a full picture of the King Air airplane that we flew in.

The "high-tech" world of sorting green coffee beans. Coffee is big business here and there are numerous coffee producers in the Highlands of PNG (this is back home in Goroka). This is just one operation. Their premium beans are purchased by Starbucks.

Self explanatory :-)

Being 6 years old and having your own boat is commonplace on the coast.

Fruit bat anyone? With a 2' - 3' wing span, these guys are out and about during the day and "perch" in the tree tops.

The Madang Fresh Market - You want it? We've got it! Fresh fruits and veggies of all varities are available here over the space of about an acre. The sounds and colors and smells certainly stimulate the imagination!

The Madang Resort has a small "lagoon" for guests to swim in. It's protected from the open ocean by the rock wall. Lots of fish and clear blue-green water!

Although not a commercial airline, NTMA will fly Citizens to various desitnations. Here, this gal is coming back to Madang after visiting her family in Goroka. They moved down to Madang as her husband secured a job at a resort. Her 3 month old baby is a doll! The other option is a very rough six hour drive from Goroka. It's the rainy season now and we hear that portions of the road were closed due to slides - driving in PNG is uncertain at best.

We flew into Madang in a King Air airplane. It can carry 9 or 10 depending on the weight + cargo. The cost of travel with NTM Aviation is by kilo weight. Each type of plane or helicopter has it's weight limits. Tom and the pilot, who lives on center here in Lapilo with his family, are unlaoding some cargo in Madang. On our way back we took a gas stove back for someone, along with mail and other things.

We stayed at the New Tribes Center in Madang. This is a picture of their Guest House where the 6 of us stayed for a week. The coast is quite humid and a lot warmer than in the Highlands.

Just some thoughts...

2010-01-19T04:00:00.009+10:00

ANIMISM: the belief in impersonal spiritual forces (can be animate or inanimate objects - rivers, wind, rocks, trees, pixie dust) that can be manipulated through ritual, taboos, spells -- can be used for beneficial or non-beneficial purposes;

and the belief in personal spiritual beings that need to be appeased for various reasons, often called ancestor worship.

Sanguma, sorcery, witchcraft, magic, witchdoctors, shamans, ritual, taboos, spirits, superstition are some of the terms within animism.

Secular does not exist...all is spiritual.

This is an extremely simplistic (and poor) definition of animism, I'm afraid.

Animism is usually attributed to "low societies" and "primitive" peoples.

It is deep and complicated, and I don't fancy myself as having much of an understanding at all, but it is thoroughly embedded in the societies of PNG and it exists all around us...

which has given me much food for thought.

One of the most disturbing discoveries for me has been the awareness of just how prevalent animism is in my own culture in the so called 'civilized' world of America, and in my own thinking. 'Can't see the forest for the trees' would be an applicable figure of speech.

We bandy about the word 'luck' with familiarity and ease as if it is some random spiritual force that may or may not fall out of the sky and land on a 'special' person of its choosing - we can manipulate the luck to choose us if we say a special prayer and send that email off within 7 minutes...to 12 people!...

or will win the slot machine jackpot if I rub the tummy of the jade monkey on the screen...

if I just do "this" or just say "that" then bad [or good] things won't [or will] happen...

"It's just not in the cards for me..."

"Knock on wood!"

We sneak a peek at our horoscope (and hope no one sees) in hopes that there just might be something there to give us some guidance because we're afraid of the future...surely there's some spiritual force within the alignment of the stars...and the various newspapers and magazines all say something different on the same day, but that fact does not seem to register...

I could go on but for the sake of brevity I think you get the idea.

Deception deceives.

For Christians, we say that we believe in the one triune God the Father, His son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit...

We say we trust His work in our lives...

and in His work and guidance on our behalf...

His great love for us and His desire for relationship with us...

We say we're safe, secure, all is well...

We say we believe the Bible to be the inerrant and inspired Word of Truth, given by God to the human race as a necessity because we've lost our way...

yet we're fearful, we're anxious, we're angry, we have fractured and broken relationships, we're in bondage to our emotions...

we're driven by Madison Avenue and Hollywood.

Yet we live in many of the things God says He has freed us from.

Now I can't speak for anyone but myself. I have to admit that much of my Christian life has been lived more like a functioning atheist than a believer in the one True God, who says His heart is for me, not against me.

But praise be to His Name! He is in the business of opening the blind eyes, softening the hard heart, unstopping the deaf ears and delivering from deception.

In one of my conversations with a tribal missionary, it was brought out that you can tell whether or not the Word of God has taken hold, not by what the tribal folks say, but what they do when a crisis hits.

Will they revert to the deeply embedded old ways of solving their problems? Will they resort to sorcery? Will they 'manipulate' the spiritual forces through ritual, taboo, etc? Or will they "tie their thoughts to the Word of God?"

Am I any different? I think not.

So often our thoughts are on a long tether and we're blown about and we struggle and we question and we're miserable and wonder where the answers are. We need to learn to think about what we're thinking about and if our thinkings are not tied tightly to the Truth of the Word, then, by an act of free will and intention, choose to think the Words of God and stand on them...

feelings aside.

Either God has given us the complete provision to be free from the control of our struggles ...

or He did not.

It is that simple.

It is refreshing and liberating to get back to the basics of Christianity...

repent of my unbelief of what God says;

forgive those who have hurt me;

forgive myself for not measuring up to that in which I believe I've failed;

make restitution to those whom I have hurt;

repent of my idolatry (believing that I can control things and people around me through whatever means);

refuse to take offense;

and quit blaming God for my problems.

If I am experiencing a chronic emotional (thinking) problem, I need to "purpose and choose" to let go of it because God already did His part...

and then live in the freedom He gave me.

I get it now.

Satan was kicked out of heaven because of his pride. He is the god of this present world. Mankind chose to go along with him and thus we have what we have today. We all make choices in keeping with Satan's nature or with God's nature. The wars and klling and hatred in this world are not God's fault.

God wasn't willing to settle for that so He became one of us to show us the way to safety...to buy us back for Himself because of His great love. He made a way out.

I can choose the way out - it's not a mystery.

Or, I can stay locked into the bondage that Satan freely provided.

It's my choice.

...for what it's worth.

2010-01-03T20:24:00.008+10:00

Holidays in the Tropics

2009-12-27T15:32:00.004+10:00

THANKSGIVING at the Guest House.

from left to right: Wayne and Loma Morris, myself and Tom, our special guest Justin Swift, (who has a surprise from us for a special someone back in the States -- it sure is a small world!) and Donna and Carl Sheetz. We have lots to be thankful for, of course. We had a great time with everyone.

When we were planning our trip, did we consider Christmas? Not in the least! But, the Guest House had an extra little tree, lights and decorations that fit just right in the corner. A neighbor lent us the little round table on which it is perched. Another neighbor lent us a very large wreath for the wall, so we weren't devoid of some of the trappings of Christmas!

Christmas dinner was phenominal! Donna went all out with creamy drinks, 'congealed' salads, and a host of other things. Loma and I, of course, contributed to the meal with desserts and other things. It was a fairly typical Christmas dinner with ham, potatoes and the works. Our local store was able to get in some special things from the States just for Christmas, things that we take for granted but are very hard to get over here.

Well, it was time to go home, finally about 9:30 p.m. and we couldn't resist taking this picture! After being 92 at mid day, here we are at 70 degrees with bananas from the banana tree in the back yard! We've been following the weather back home...many of you have had quite the snow, blizzards and cold. On one hand, we haven't missed the winter weather, but on the other hand, Christmas under a banana tree is also kinda strange! It's given us the opportunity to exercise our hearts towards the real reason behind the season, tho. Did you all have a pleasant holiday season where you are? We pray so, and that you were filled (and will be filled this coming year) with the knowledge of the fullness of the Lord!

Gate Market...

2009-12-27T15:20:00.004+10:00

One of the most facinating things here is our local "farmer's market". Because there is a 12 month growing season every fresh thing you can think of is available. Apples, peaches, nectarines, ... and things that need freezing weather, like garlic, plums, etc., tho, don't do well, but everything else you can imagine is outside our security gate every Monday and Thursday from 4-5:30 pm.

This picture was from our first visit to market. The total cost was about $4.50, and I didn't even have the pineapple in view! The green onions were probably 2' long; the 'heap' of kaukau (sweet potato) cost about $.50; the avocados were $.40 each...the variety of things is amazing, too.

Also at market is a craft section where you can get bilums, meri blauses, baskets, jewelry, some pottery now and then. It's great fun and saves us all from having to go into town to the fresh market there. This is much safer, too.

The security shack in in the foreground...you can see the meri blauses hanging on the fence and people are begining to gather. Whole extended families come together so there are more Citizens that patrons. The men do the crafts (artifacts) and the women are typically the gardeners. If you look closely, you can see the men gathered at the left end and all the women are to the right. Roles here are very distinct and men and women do not sit together.

We're into the rainy season so you can see the water in the little ditch. But still, it never gets cold here but when it rains, it POURS! No wind like Ketchikan, tho. I can handle that! Do you notice the bags almost everyone carries? They are "bilum" (long e sound). They are now made with yarn that is cut into pieces, re-rolled and combined with other colors or fibers. They used to be made from natural plant fibers and you can still find them that way, too, but they are getting more and more colorful with many complicated patterns. They aren't crocheted or knitted - it's another method that is facinating to watch. Bilums are amazing! They don't look particularly big, but they stretch enough to carry a pig, a child, your household belongings, whatever you want to carry.

Everyone carries a bilum...men, women and children. The typical way is to hang it from your head, thus the wide strap. This allows one's hand to be free to carry other things. I agree...this is really quite comfortable and well balanced. They had the idea of backpacks long before we in the West did! The other thing that everyone carries as a matter of course, is a machetti. It's their main tool and is used for a plethora of functions.

Baptism

2009-12-27T14:57:00.001+10:00

On a Sunday after church a few weeks ago, many of us drove to the river for the baptism of about 7 or 8 kids of missionaries there on Center. Their fathers were privileged to baptise thier own children - what an honor!

I used the zoom feature on the camera to get a picture of local folks across the river taking in what we were doing. We sang some songs and of course had some prayer. All of the people in this area have had quite a bit of exposure to the outside world and are familiar with these kinds of things. There is a huge Seventh Day Adventist presence here, as well as Catholic and some others.

One of the doctors on Center calls this the Typhoid River -- I've heard that our "pickle ponds" -- the settling ponds for our septic/sewer system, has tested better than the river. hmmmmm...maybe that's why Doc calls it that!

No we're on our way back home to Lapilo - just a very short jaunt down to and across the "highway".

2009-12-13T23:59:00.002+10:00

Up until now, we have posted things that we have done, places we have gone and people we have met. There are a plethora of very interesting pictures and events...they'll get posted eventually.

We all want you to know that we haven't forgotten the real reason we are here and future posts will reflect that side of things. Tom and I are amazed, daily, at the magnitude of what goes on in this little "outpost" of the Lord's. There is so much more to tribal missions that we could ever have guessed.

Just very briefly, Tom has been doing some little, and some not so little construction/maintenance/finishing jobs and is currently installing laminate flooring in the headquarters offices. Pictures will follow another day.

I have been able to be of help in the office in the capacity of Candidate Secretary. I am learning just what it takes in the way of paperwork, documents, "proofs", time, communication, prayer, emails, government regulations...not in that order...so that missionaries can get over to Papua New Guinea to fulfill God's call on their lives.

So, until I get pictures and more details of that, enjoy these pictures and remember...we need your continued prayers! Again, may our Lord and yours, keep you close to His heart and bless you with the knowledge of His intimate love for each one of you.

A day trip into Goroka

2009-12-13T23:40:00.000+10:00

These are some pictures of the 8 miles or so into town. Goats are a common sight.

Some things are landscaped....

...most are not.

These folks are just the beginning of the throngs of people that are in town, especially on payday.

Sights...Sounds...Smells...

2009-12-13T23:33:00.001+10:00

Local sinage

2009-12-13T23:30:00.000+10:00

This store is the equivalent to an Ace Hardware...sort of.

Sticker Shock!!! That price is in kina not dollars, but still, divide that by 3.5 or so and you'll get the idea.

Samwell, THIS one is just for you! "Liklik (long e) redpela meri kakaruk!" Send me an email with the translation :-) and I'll bring you a prize!

I guess we all know what this really means, but it's funny nonetheless. Jay Leno might want to use it on his show!

Going to a Local Graduation in a Village

2009-12-13T23:05:00.000+10:00

We were honored to be invited to a local Christian school in a neighboring village...across the river. I was unable to get the pictures loaded in proper order, but here we are, trekking up a hill after crossing the river.

All the citizens along the way were helpful and happy to see that we were coming.

These fellas greeted us upon arrival and also ran about during the graduation, which was held outside, as you'll see later.

Here's Donna leading the way across the bridge. What a woman...She is such a trooper, I tell ya!

Graduation

2009-12-13T23:00:00.000+10:00

This is a private school and is only about 5 years old. They have up to 5th grade now, and try to add another grade each year. But, they're short on teachers and money, but they're doing well in spite of that. There is a big realization that education is really important and the staff is doing all they can to keep things going. This speaker drove 5 or 6 hours just to speak. He is the director the the Christian Integrated Schools in PNG. It was an honor to have him come from so far away. He stressed the importance, not only of staying in school, but learning English in order to compete in the new world that is invading PNG.

They look like they're scowling, but I don't really think they are. The sun, which is 'high noon' all day, was hot and in their eyes.

We, Donna, Loma and myself, were sitting behind these youngest students and I couldn't help but take their picture. They sat attentively for 2 hours with very little squiriming. We were all impressed. If you look closely, you can see the graduates received a silver garland necklace by some underclassmen during a ceremony to honor them as a class.

A great deal of effort went into decorating for the graduation. There are tropical flowers galore, arms of bananas amongst the glittering tassles.

Honors all round...

2009-12-13T22:55:00.000+10:00

It's an honor for the White Skins to be invited to attend the graduation. Typically in PNG societies, men are seperate from the women, and here, all "our" men were brought up front and also received garland necklaces, then sat in front with the rest of the dignitaries. There was a local judge, a pastor, the director of the Christian schools in PNG, among others. Wayne and several others from Lapilo were asked to speak. The entire graduation was in Pidgin but we could get the jist of what was being said.

Tom was one of the men asked to hand out prizes to the students for their various achievements. They got an array of things for attendance, personal hygiene, grades, attitudes, etc....things like large knives for working, umbrellas to protect them from the sun.

I believe this was the local pastor...or the judge. I am not sure. This graduation is truly a proud moment in the village. There are some public schools, but even those cost to attend and the infastructure in PNG isn't the best. There are very high hopes for this little school!

Here is our high school principal also handing out prizes to the students.

...watching the next generation better themselves

2009-12-13T22:45:00.001+10:00

Proud grandmothers.

Look at the intensity and concentration on that little face! Whatever she was stringing, she got them all before the graduation was over. :-)

Jill's daughter was one of the graduates. Jill is a "work meri" at the guest house in Lapilo, along with another citizen, Esther. They are very hard workers and are a great help to Donna and Carl...and the other couple who runs the guest house but are on furlogh right now.

Faces in the crowd...

2009-12-13T22:42:00.003+10:00

Here are a few pictures of some of the little ones who attended. It won't be long until they are attending the school.

Interface Campus (ITF)

2009-12-04T01:20:00.001+10:00

Further orientation took us to the Interface Campus, otherwise known as ITF. It's about a 40 minute drive south of where we are and into the bush down what remotely resembles a road. Here we met a truckload of men headed to their daily work.

"Interface is a 4 to 6 week college level missions course. Here, you can experience what tribal church planting is all about. You learn from missionaries on the field, you interact with tribal people and put yourself to the test by daily interaction with neighboring villages. It is for college students, married couples, pastors, or anyone who is interested in learning more about tribal missions. The minimum age is 17. " Taken from the NTM website www.ntm.org/missiontrips/interface.php

These ae a few pictures of the campus. The terrain is massive and not what I would have thought tropical jungle would have looked like. But then, we haven't been in the Big Bush, either. We are still quite close to civilization...no monkeys here, though!

A great tree for climbing... as you can see from the size of this Acacia tree with the kids standing, lying down and sitting on its massive branches, as well as the adults standing at its base. We are amazed!

Interface II

2009-12-04T00:38:00.003+10:00

At our weekend at ITF, we went for a walk through the village of a neighboring tribe. We were led by missionaries who are fluent in Pidgin - the trade language of PNG - In the area where we are it is not uncommon for these "uneducated" people to be able to speak 5 - 10 languages.

Here is "Mama" selling peanuts.

The people in the Highlands are first and foremost, relationship oriented. This makes them especially friendly and easy to talk to!

Visiting with the folks by the side of the road.

A Walk About in the neighborhood...

2009-12-01T10:08:00.011+10:00

As part of our orientation, our guide took us on a walk about the neighborhood in order to give us an idea of village life for the average "Citizen" in the area. This is a portion of John's familiy's home. You can see Mama is working with the bananas, which grow all over the place!
Here is Marcus, the Orientation Director, standing with John, the pig farmer. He has quite the operation going...has about 30 pigs. The entire Center gives him all our wet garbage for his pigs. We met his brother, who makes artifacts, mainly out of bamboo, that John brings to Lapilo to sell.
John is very proud of his operation -- it's a lot of work. Some villagers let their pigs run loose, but if they get into someone else's garden, then they're held liable, and it's a complicated things between the families to make it "even."
Can you believe the size of this bamboo? Some varieties grow 3' a day! It's actually considered a grass. Who would have guessed? In front of us is a pile of firwood, which is pruned branches of coffee bushes. Coffee must be pruned quite regularly in order to produce well. With a 12 month growing season, it has to be done a lot. We have 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night...every day all year.

Our humble abode...

2009-11-28T23:52:00.078+10:00

Here is Tom sitting on our porch over looking the "pickle pond" while he's pondering the intricacies of the English vs Metric system of measurement. I'm impressed with his ability to figure all that out.

The folks on the center spent a great deal of time remodeling this apartment for our use. It was gutted and completely redone! It's quite comfortable and inviting. Even the local "wildlife" agree...if you get my drift. The tropics do have different critters who aren't aware that it's not polite to just barge in where they're not wanted! I've moved rather quickly a time or two, propelled only by the adrenaline that the squeals (shrieks?) produced!

Everything is brand new and common things are quite different ...like the electrical, the toilets ...that kind of thing. Oh, they work great, just differently. I've found that that which I know isn't the only way. It is so easy to believe, unknowingly, of course, that our way is what is real. We've all seen pictures on the news, in movies, and certainly National Geographic, about things and conditions "over there". We acquiecse and go about our business. But we don't really believe it, because it's not, well, it's not real... to us anyway...ah, but I digress :-)

We love our home away from home and are deeply grateful for all who spent so much time preparing for our arrival. Bless you all!

For those of you who might not know ~

2009-11-17T21:14:00.002+10:00

As responses have come in from our emails about our travels, we have found not everyone knows what on earth is going on! A little update:

It has long been a dream of ours to be involved in foreign missions and because, for various reasons we did not go, we participated on the sending, praying and giving end. It just so happened that through a variety of avenues and circumstances, it was clear that the Lord would have us come to Papua New Guinea to volunteer with New Tribes Mission (NTM) for 3 months this winter...and volunteering we are!

October 8: Left home. On the road, visited a church, friends and family; every one, a loved one!

November 2: Flight #'s 1 and 2. San Francisco to Cairns, AU via Auckland, NZ. -22 hours;

November 4: Tree Tops Lodge, Cairns, for 26 hours of rest. (Int'l dateline in there somewhere!

November 5: Flight #3. Boarded a plane for PNG's capital city, met by NTM government reps who walked us through customs, visas and changing planes. The airport and boarding area little resembles what we know!

Flight #4. Successfully changed planes...whew...our luggage is with us this far!

2:00 pm: Arrived at our desitnation, sans luggage! Throngs of Citizens behind a locked gate waiting for all of us, the plane's luggage stacked on a crude large table behind security (a chain link fence with gate), luggage checked by security and folks let out a few at a time.

There they are! Wayne and Loma Morris and Carl and Donna Sheetz! We can't wait to give them a big hug as we're swept away in their Land Rover!

It's been a whirlwind and we are so happy to finally be here. The sights, sounds and smells are truly a world apart. We have lots to learn and are ready for what the Lord has for us, how He'll use us, and find new ways to glorify His name and purposes. Thank you all for your continued prayers!