Tyler and Emily in PNG

As I was sitting in church this morning and listening to around parable of Jesus I began to think. Yes, I have heard this parable many times. Yes, I have read it many times in all three Gospels. But today, it is in a different language. As I listened to the parable of Jesus calling his first disciples (Luke 5:1-11) I began to listen as it was my first time.

We all know the story of Jesus telling Simon Peter to let his net down even though he spent all night fishing and didn’t catch a thing. Peter gave in to Jesus and said I will let my nets down for you. As I was listening to the speaker in Tok Pisin I found myself listening attentively and following along the best I could. I followed the scripture reading with my Tok Pisin Nupela Testamen. At the conclusion of the message the speaker asked a question in the form of a statement: Jisas mas istap insait long bot bilong yu. Jesus must be in your boat.

A few other questions came to mind, is my net full or empty? Who am I listening to? Is Jesus leading my life or guiding my boat? If I try to solve the daily problems of life myself, I will indeed find my net empty. However if I follow God then my nets will be breaking with blessings.

Odd picture of the week: The building next to the PBT office has been torn down stick by stick and this week I caught last remaining item – stairs. I found it a bit odd and funny seeing the stairs leading to…well hot air.

Another picture is the preferred mode of water transportation from island to island to town. These ‘banana boats’ are water taxis with 40 hp outboard motors. Of course the man riding ‘shotgun’ has his feet dangling over the bow of the boat.

Praises:
Good Health

Prayer Requests:
New tentative role – Tech Services
2012 Budget preparation
Spiritual Warfare maintenance
Wisdom and discerning for God’s plan next year

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As promised your video of my everyday drive along the beautiful South Pacific Ocean. I was riding in the back of a pickup and the road was a bit bumpy so I hope you don’t get motion sickness. On the left you will notice a golf course (Madang Country Club). Enjoy the music – “Don’t Worry Be Happy”.

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First, I must apologize for no post last week. I am sure all of my faithful blog followers were disappointed. This week I will include a special ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’ video of my everyday drive along the beautiful S. Pacific Ocean. I hope you enjoy it and don’t hail rocks my way or get car sick from the bumpy ride.

Last weekend, Emily, and I along with three others from POC (Pacific Orientation Course) in Madang went to Ukarumpa in the Eastern Highlands. A nice mountain drive that is about 5 hours. If you remember I made this trip solo back in July. We were wanting another getaway from Madang and seek cooler temperatures. Before we left on Friday morning, I prayed for safety and protection on the road. God was good and we arrived 30 minutes before the expected time. However, within a 1/4 mile of entering the SIL centre I noticed a thump, thump, thump…I asked Emily do we have a flat tire. Sure enough, a flat after traveling 250 km and 4.5 hours but we were safely at our destination.

Missy and I tag teamed to change the tire while Emily supervised our pit crew style work. Missy noted it only took us 12 minutes to change the tire…not to shabby for some missionary amateurs. I still praised God for a safe and speedy drive to Ukarumpa.

The weekend was very nice as I enjoyed a holiday away from work and much needed cooler weather. It was 59 degrees the morning I left and it was 90 degrees once we got back to Madang at 1 pm.

Also this week I finally got the care package my mother sent 4 weeks ago. For some reason the package spent two weeks vacationing in Australia before making its way north to Papua New Guinea. I got the package on Wednesday and was thrilled to open it and see what goodies were inside. I got some popcorn, M&M’s, magazines, and Combo’s along with other extras. I am already starting to enjoy the goodies and fast to read the news events even if the magazines are back in August.

Praises:
Good trip to Ukarumpa
Nice care package from home
Health

Prayer Requests:
New tentative role – Tech Services
2012 Budget preparation
Spiritual Warfare maintenance
Wisdom and discerning for God’s plan next year

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Being in a foreign country there are just some things that are well, different. The obvious being language and culture. Being in the Asia-Pacific part of the world there is a big influence from Australia and SE Asia (Indonesia, China, India, Korea). It gets real fun when you go to the local store to purchase food.

What the Chinese and Asian companies try to accomplish is take an American product and spin it into an Asian product. Most of the time, I can’t be fooled by a spin of Pringles, sunflower seeds, or plain Saltines. Today I went to the store and found ‘Ding Dong’. Normally these are the chocolate Hostess cakes with cream filling inside. This ‘Ding Dong’ is made in the Philippines with mixed nuts. Hum…who would have thought of a Ding Dong with mixed nuts.

What else would you want to drink in the morning to wash down those pills than Pure Azz juice? Don’t worry they come in all varieties.

Oh the Hello Panda, those are just small bite size crackers filled with sweet cherry filling. Not a bad treat, just another random product from another random Asian country.

Nonetheless, going to the store is quite an adventure in more than just a few ways. Make sure you look good because you don’t want to miss a chance to wash down Ding Dong with Pure Azz.

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If there is one thing that does not belong in Madang, it would be covers or blankets. Madang is located on the ocean just 6 degrees south of the Equator. Temperatures rarely go below the mid-70s, ever. I might use a light sheet to cover up with overnight but never have a need for a blanket or heavy cover.

This past weekend I attend the PBTPNG branch spiritual retreat at Madang Lodge. I opted to stay at the hotel and enjoy the comforts of using air conditioning as I wish. Being in a third world country, you experience and witness a lack of development and amenities everyday. Once I stepped in that hotel room, I had visions of stepping back into America. Nice clean tile floors, big beds with real mattresses, curtains, balcony, white towels, a small sink, refrigerator, and microwave. I felt like I was staying at Hilton. Then I looked out the window and saw I was still in Papua New Guinea. I quickly turned around to step back into America.

That night as I ran the air conditioning to the lowest setting of 18 degrees Celsius or about 65 degrees Fahrenheit, I joyfully slipped under my covers. As I got up during the night and then came back to bed I had a very weird feeling that I have not felt in over 9 months. My bed was warm. The temperature from my body was warming me under the covers. Wow…what a sensation and awkward feeling. On a normal night, I lay there without a bed sheet and I am still warm as I lay under a fan.

Even though the spiritual retreat was a great blessing to the branch, I enjoyed the small comforts of a hotel room. From the covers of a bed to the glass doors of a shower. Has it really been that long since I have experienced common amenities of home? Even having hot water on demand is another small token that one can appreciate. It may also be that factor that I can use such amenities and not have a guilty conscience as I would at my own flat. No water to worry about running out or electricity that I have to monitor and pay for every unit.

PS – Sorry I did not get this posted yesterday on the normal blog post update. The retreat spilled over onto Monday as the branch had extended meetings which were very profitable.

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