Photo Update

So many things happen that I don't find the time to blog about, so here are a bunch of photos from various events of the last 2 months.

This young man in the photo with Ian began studying at the Reformed Churches Bible College in Port Moresby last month. His name is Greg and he's bright and inquisitive and says he's enjoying life and studies at the RCBC very much.

Although you can barely see them in the photo, Bruce and Dina 't Hart

from Albany, Australia really did visit Lae!

We enjoyed a rainforest hike with them.

At Easter, there was a youth conference at our church

and here are most of the participants.

They had a great time studying God's Word and having fun together.

For the past 6 weeks, our kids have enjoyed visiting these puppies at our friend's place.

"Can I keep him, Mom? Pleeaaase?"

(Except our landlords won't allow pet dogs in the compound:().

Our serious little man.

This past week we had Henry and Rita Versteeg visiting from Port Moresby.

It was their first visit to Lae and we shared our life and work with them,

and also took them to the Rainforest Habitat at the University.

Ian and Caleb enjoying the Rainforest Walk.

"Look at that, Jono!"

(A Crowned Pigeon)

The Whole Fam

Rita is quite the bird expert and got some great shots of different species:

The Southern Cassowary

The Blue Bird of Paradise

Also this past week, we went on a Bush Walk and Nature Scavenger Hunt with Jonathan's class.

It took place at the Lae City Mission property 11 miles outside of Lae.

This mission reaches out to young men who are caught in a life of crime

and tries to help them find employment.

Six of these young men were our guides for the hike

and as we walked they pointed out bright green lizards, huge spiders and other critters for the class to see. It was great fun.

God's creation is always amazing.

That's all for now!

Hard to Understand

It was about a year ago that I first met this little sweetheart named Charlotte. She is the niece of a young woman who attends our church and is the fifth daughter born to her parents. As you can see, she is absolutely adorable and precious. Shortly after this photo was taken, I heard that she was sent to go live with some relatives in Port Moresby who wanted a baby. She would've only been about 5 months old--still very much needing her mother. This is just so hard for me to understand, especially since this family is not that poor and it doesn't seem like it would've been that hard for them to care for Charlotte as well. And what about the mother? What is it like to give a little one whom has grown inside of you, is so much a part of you, to someone else? I saw the mom shortly after Charlotte was given away and the tears sprang to her eyes quickly when I asked about the situation. It must've been so hard for her.

And yet it is a fairly common practice here for children to be given to relatives for various reasons. It's not a formal arrangement through the courts or anything like that. I'm not sure if any money or goods are exchanged but I have a feeling there is probably a transaction of some sort. Often children are given away to a husband and wife who can't have children of their own; usually by a family who has a lot of children and can't afford to care for them all. Or sometimes it's not the choice of the family at all. We knew of a family with three daughters and one son, and an uncle asked to have the son, and out of respect for him, the parents could not refuse him. So they were living here in Lae and their son 5 hours away in the village with his uncle. I wonder how this impacted that little boy. And I know it was hard on the parents. Often when twins are born, one of them is given away--sometimes this is because of superstition, but many times it's because they cannot care for them both. There are actually identical twins in the nearby settlement who are being raised in different families, but have not been told the truth about each other, even though they play together all the time! Unbelievable, isn't it? I don't understand why for the emotional well-being of the children these things are not openly talked about. As they get older, aren't they going to figure it out? Many times it seems parents choose to keep the secret and I remember from my studies in social work, these types of secrets are never a healthy thing for families and have a way of being revealed, even when the parents think the secret is being kept.

I really struggle to understand these situations and I know that I have to be careful not to judge.

There is so much we still don't know about this culture and so we can't possibly fully understand what all goes on when a child is given to another family. It is best for us not to get too involved in these kinds of situations.

Yet, I couldn't keep my mouth shut a few weeks ago after Bible Study. We were almost pulling out of the church when one of the women said, "Oh, can you just wait a bit? We have to wait for a baby." Ok, no problem, I said and figured that someone's neice or nephew or grandchild was coming to stay with them for a while. That's quite normal around here too. But then, a woman I didn't know arrived at the church with a toddler and an infant. And a few minutes later, the infant was in the car with us, and the mom and toddler were staying behind. I asked what was going on. Well, the baby was being given to a family in Biwat Settlement. I looked at the mother who had just given her baby away and I'm not sure what I was expecting, but her face was pretty expressionless. Underneath that expressionless face, what emotions were happening inside? Was her heart being ripped apart at giving her baby away? Was she angry at her situation? Frustrated? Ambivalent? Was she feeling some sort of resignation that this is the way things are and that's that? I will never know.

We drove on towards home and I asked which family in Biwat the baby was going to. I could not believe it when I was told that the baby was going to the family that had just given away little Charlotte last year! That's when I got a bit angry because I realized this baby was the one thing little Charlotte was not...a BOY. And after four daughters, that's what Charlotte's parents were hoping for, but the Lord chose to bless them with another daughter. And instead of cherishing that blessing they gave her away, and thought they knew better what their family should look like. It wasn't about not being able to afford a fifth child; it was about wanting a son, not...another...daughter. How can they have peace with that, I ask? I know that I may sound like I'm being terribly judgmental and hard on them. I admit I don't know everything about their situation, but I did ask the women driving in the car with me that day, "How about just letting God be God and letting Him decide what our families will be?" No one answered. And so we drove on in silence, bringing this baby boy to his new family, and all the while I was wondering, how is little Charlotte doing?

Super Seven!

Jonathan celebrated his 7th birthday last week.

Some friends came over for a party.

Hours of fun was had on this thing!

(Thanks for leaving it behind, VanderHeide's!)

Karlyn and her friend figured they were safer

in their own little dinghy...away from the boys.

A couple months ago some 'rascals' as the criminals are called here, opened a part of the steel fence surrounding our compound and stole Jonathan's bike. Judging by the size of the footprints these 'criminals' weren't more than 10 years old. We aren't sure why the 7 security guards who are supposed to be patrolling the compound didn't notice this happening, but in the end we're glad they didn't because the punishments don't tend to fit the crimes around here. Too many are severely beaten or even killed--for stealing. Our bike wasn't worth that much. Still, Jono did shed some tears the morning he woke up and it was gone. It was a special one he was given while we were in Canada and he rode on it a lot. But in the end, it was just a bike and he managed without it. But he was still very excited to get this new one for his birthday.

Zooming up and down the compound again!

We praise God for keeping Jonathan safe and healthy this past year!

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!

Her Story Continues

We've written about her before--a woman from our church who has been abused by her husband for years now. He became hard of hearing from a work-related accident, and since then he has regularly flown into a rage and taken it out on his wife. Once Ian and Andrew intervened just in time as he was coming at her with a machete and threatening to kill her. That was not the first time either.

About 2 months ago, she decided that she had had enough and left him. Since then, she's been sleeping with various friends in nearby settlements and only going back to the house to see their daughter when she knows he isn't there or already asleep. She will no longer endure the abuse and has met with a leader in the community to begin divorce proceedings. The leader wrote out her story as she told it to him and was her witness--living not far from her, it was not news to him. She then brought the papers to the courthouse only to be told that the judge who deals with divorces will not return until May. So the game of hide and seek has continued until one day last week he found her. Actually, they happened to meet on the road. He got angry with her and began to hit her and try to rip her clothes off. It was then that the police intervened! We couldn't believe it when she told us, but they actually stopped him from beating her. This is almost unheard of here--but they did and told him that he couldn't beat his wife 'in public'. The police then proceeded to beat him up quite badly. She said he saw "plenty stars" that day. They took him to the police station and later sent him home with a letter, which he was afraid to read himself. It told him that if he beat her again, he would be put in jail. We praise God for making this happen! He protected her and sent the police who were actually ready to do their jobs that day.

Still, she carries a heavy burden. She continues to live in hiding, which is physically and emotionally draining. She has faced criticism from some in her community for wanting a divorce. She says, let them talk. There are rumours she has been unfaithful to him (and therefore 'deserving' of the abuse); she insists she hasn't been and we have no reason not to believe her. We have encouraged her several times to spend some time in her village where she would be safe and with her extended family. At the same time, we have also cautioned her to think very carefully before getting a divorce. We have encouraged her to pray and wait on the Lord. When Ian and another elder from church met with her a few days ago, the elder pointed out to her that the police intervening the way they did was no accident. The Lord caused it to happen for a reason. Maybe He will use it to convict her husband of his sin and need for a Saviour.

That remains the prayer!