Papua New Guinea - Week 2

Hey Everyone!

As you read in Week 1, we had quite the adventure just getting to the place where we were meant to do ministry.  In Week 2, we actually had the privilege of starting to do what we had prepared to do.

On Monday, January 3, we did our first program in a marketplace in Baimuru (by mah rew) Station.  It was a blistering hot day and we chose to stand in the sun during our program.  The topic God laid on our hearts was relationships - and I was the designated speaker.  Might as well come out of the gate sprinting.  We shared our program, including skits, teaching, and testimonies.  One of the testimonies shared was focused on a relationship where there was physical abuse and that person's road to forgiveness.  At the end, one of our guys initiated just walking into the market where the people were sitting and offering prayer.  Before we knew it, all of us were going that way, stepping out of the comfort zone and just sparking conversation with these people. The first woman I walked up to was named Rosie, and her three kids Philip, Debbie, and Sarah.  All the kids were under 5 years old, and she spoke English well and was very open to talk.  I ended up praying for her and hoping very much that I'd see her again.  As soon as we finished praying for the people in the marketplace, we started to head back to the house.  We were quickly interrupted and were shown just how incredibly relevant the message we brought that day was.

(Speaking in front of the Baimuru Station marketplace)

We were told about a woman named Abby.  She was in the "hospital" right next to the marketplace and needed prayer.  We were told her drug-dealer husband had beaten her and had severely injured her.  He took her to the hospital, but when the nurses took too long by his standards to service her, he tried to take her from the hospital.  Upon this action, the men of the village started beating him and chasing him away, to which he laughed and ran into the bush.  Apparently, Abby's husband had a track record of beating her, and everyone knew about it, but no one could do much.  The authorities in PNG are far too corrupt to take action, so it's up to the village men to try to protect Abby, and their only method is physical force due the the tribal tendencies that still remain strong.  We talked with Abby's mother, and she said this was Abby's third clear opportunity to get away from the relationship with her husband.  We could see how burdened her mother was, and she was constantly trying to convince her daughter to leave the relationship.  Upon entering Abby's hospital room, we prayed fervently for her, hoping that God would intercede and bring light to everything going on.  I left the room incredibly burdened, with a sadness that returns to me now as I remember it.  We learned later in the week that Abby returned to her husband.  That whole experience was a strong dose of reality for all of us, and we soon found out Abby's story is not uncommon in PNG.

That evening, we had a program to do in a Christ's Revival Church (CRC).  Rosie, the woman from the marketplace, came specifically to see me and brought two of her children.  After we did our program, she explained that she wanted to share her heart with me, and told me her story.  In her, I saw yet another aspect of the life of the women in PNG that I found to be consistent in so many lives.  She was asked to marry her now husband by her grandfather on his deathbed because of the tribal connections that it held.  Now, her husband has fallen away from the Lord because of the tragic death of his brother, and he works in Port Moresby in order to make money to support the family and one day send the children to school.  Rosie, however, is very faithful to God and it was very evident all her hope was found in her Heavenly Father.  She said how hard it is for the family and we spent time praying for everything.  Her faith was beautiful, and at the end of the night, my face hurt from smiling.

(Rosie, Philip, Debbie, Sarah, and I in the CRC)

(the boys, Jacob, Paula, and Markus in the CRC)

That day, yet another answer to prayer came.  As you read, one of our worries was that we wouldn't have enough money for fuel to get back on the dingy.  Out of nowhere, the governor the the Gulf Province came to see us.  He chatted with us, told some jokes, and then gave us the "small gift" of 1,000 Kina (PNG money)!  How cool is that?  That's like Aarnold Schwarzenegger personally delivering a missionary team $10,000 for serving in California. (Disclaimer: that number is not researched or accurate - but given their economy, it's a significant amount of money...you get the idea.) 

(The governor (left), the team (center), and Pastor Thomson and his wife (right))

On Wednesday, we took a day trip to the village of Karurua (kuh REW rew uh).  We arrived, ran around with the awesome kids, did the program God told us to do, and spent a lot of time discipling specifically the men of the village.  That day, we learned a lot.  We saw first hand how afraid the men were to step out and how the women had such a struggle to speak at all.  I remember very distinctly asking a women to pray out with me, and she said she didn't know how.  Those things came up again and again with so many of the men and women we met - a fear of stepping up and a fear of speaking out.  

(In Karurua)

(During the program - one of the skits)

The next day, we took a day trip to Ipiko (ih PEE koe).  This was one of the smaller villages we went to, but we saw more sickness here than anywhere else.  I spent most of my time there interceding.  At the end of our short trip there to basically do a program, pray, and leave, I felt like there was a fight for the place that needed to happen.  We saw people turning back the the Lord and hearts being healed, and God used us to implant some formally forgotten hope back into their lives, but the work felt very incomplete.  The place was void of joy. It is one of villages I look back at and wish we would have or could have done so much more in, and I find myself having to give it back to God often.  

(some of the crowd from Ipiko)

(one of the skits during the program - notice the chair sinking into the ground)

(the boys playing "What Time Is It Mr. Wolf?" with the kids)

The last village that week was Bekoro (beh KOAR oh).  This was the home village of our translator, Dairo.  Of this week, we definitely had the most fun in this village.  They gave us our first official PNG welcome.  The greeted us with songs, a game, and leis.  They also showed us different things about their lives - like how to make sago (see the "Back to the Western World" blog entry) and even had us get in a huge canoe and try to function.  They gave us a feast of fruit and coconut to eat too.  We felt like celebrities, and the people were just so excited.  We gave our program then prayed for every person in the village.  It was such a great day, and such a contrast from the day before. 

(trying to row the canoe)

(look - we survived!)

On Saturday, it was time to travel again.  The whole week we had been staying in Baimuru Station, so we had built relationships with both adults and kids.  It was so difficult to let go from just a week of getting to know these culture-rich God-filled people.  They gave us a beautiful farewell feast, and surrounded us and prayed for us at the end - talk about raising the roof with voices!  In this village, we heard for the first time the singing, prayer, and laughter of these people - three sounds I won't soon forget.  It was a full-on week, but it only got more and more intense as the weeks went on.  I hope you'll join me for Week 3!

Still amazed,

Nikki

P.S.  If you want to see more pictures, check out Facebook!  You'll have to "be my friend" first, and I haven't personally posted any albums, but there are lots of pictures from other people on my team.  Enjoy!