Wednesday, April 13, 2011

To the Hills

Last week we travelled to a town called Goroka, which is about 4 hours from Lae up into the Highlands of PNG. We visited some friends who used to live in Lae, but are now working at a missionary school and health clinic in Goroka at the 'New Tribes Mission' Compound. The weather was wonderfully cool there.

Jonathan and Karlyn enjoyed breakfast on the veranda
with Philemon and Joel.

Here is our multi-cultural boy:
Playing hockey like a good Canadian,
wearing an Australian cap,
and standing in front of the PNG Bird of Paradise!
(We picked up the hockey stick at the 'mission barrel'--
which was full of free stuff left over from other missionary families
who have moved back to their home countries.)

A tire swing is always lots of fun--and double the fun when it fits two!
We also had the opportunity to visit a village that was located 6 miles outside of Goroka town. It was the village of a woman (Julian) who has been part of our church for about 5 years. Our church leadership has been in contact with her family about possibly starting a church in their area. Another leader and his wife visited in January and since we were going to Goroka anyway, we also took the opportunity to visit there. The scenery was breathtaking as we left the main road and walked into the hills.

Here's Julian, her son Jojo and some other children
who led us into the village.
Although I am of average height, I always feel like a giant around most PNGeans!!

Could this be Narnia?!

Here is Ian chatting with two of Julian's brothers.

Here are Julian's parents.
Ian shared the Word from 1 Thessalonians 5 with them
and their children and grandchildren and others from the village.
We left them with some sermons and some "Tok I Tru" books (literally, true talk), the Heidelberg Catechism in pidgin. We also encouraged the group to send some leaders down to Lae to learn more about our church. No definite plans were made for the road forward and we wait on the Lord's direction and leading. As we sat and ate chicken, rice and greens, the rain started and by the time we were done eating it was raining hard and night had descended--we weren't prepared for either. With borrowed umbrellas and flashlight, bags full of garden produce they had gifted to us, and Julian's son and some others as our guides, we began the trek back to the main road--about a 1.5 km hike down a narrow winding path. The rain kept coming and coming....and the path got muddier and more slippery. I gave up trying to wear my flip-flops when they kept getting stuck in the mud and walked barefoot, letting the mud ooze through my toes. We were sopping wet by the time we got to the car, but our hearts were full after experiencing fellowship and wonderful hospitality in a little village in the hills of PNG.

The next morning we drove to another spot in the Highlands--the Wycliffe Bible Translators Centre called Ukarumpa, which we've written about before. Again, we visited with friends and enjoyed the cooler temperatures and time away from regular life in Lae.

There, a young American woman gave
Karlyn's hair a much-needed trim.
It was her first hair cut so she was quite proud!

Caleb also got his hair cut--this is the 'before' shot!
Till next time!

1 comment:

Elissa W said...

Thanks for sharing... looks like you had a wonderful time of fellowship, we pray that the Lord will continue to strengthen your relationship here! Thanks also for the adorable photos... we especially love the one of Caleb! What a cutie!