Newsletter April

News From Lae

I sit under the fan, on a cooler-than-average Sunday, having come back from church and having most of the afternoon still ahead of me. Isaac has his nose buried in a book, looking up only to ask what a certain combination of letters, in a certain order, has as its result. Cheree sits and reads, intermittently interrupted by chatting with her sister, here to visit. Physically, this day of rest is particularly restful, where others haven’t always been.

The last two months have flown by, with work being incessantly busy, and with visitors coming from far and away. We had the pleasure of hosting my brother, Adrian, and his wife, Roslin, for two weeks, after which there was a short gap before Tash came and surprised Cheree. Rumour has it, Cheree was the only one who was surprised, as everyone else already knew.

While Adrian and Roslin were here, we managed to get away for a few days, making a trip to Ukarumpa, where we could enjoy a deliciously cool break from the heat of Lae, reset our workfamily priorities, tour the SIL (Summer Institute of Linguistics; mainly involved in Bible translation) facilities, and stop thinking about work for just a short time. I have come to understand that allowing work to take over too much of my time, or my thoughts, aside from having a negative impact on my family and my role as head, also has a negative impact on my mental, spiritual, and physical states – much the same as back in Australia, but harder to balance out when I live at my place of work, and when so much more work can be piled on and justified as “working in/for a ministry”. So, I come to understand a little more that, while The Doctor (Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones) correctly stated that too many men spend far too much time listening to themselves, and not enough time telling themselves, it is also true that we must learn to listen to our bodies, and recognise when it is time to step back for a while, to find a quiet place, and recharge. And then we need to realise that the world keeps on spinning whether we are on it or not, and nothing will fall apart if we take a take a short break. This place ran before I got here, and will keep running after we’re gone, so it should run just fine in a short absence.

It goes without saying, then, that the break in routine can be a very big blessing, and we’ve  enjoyed having visitors, even if there is always the nagging question in the back of our minds, “Do they get it? Do they understand why we left home for this? Do they like it? Or do they think we’re crazy?” Questions which, in the scheme of things do not matter so much (we didn’t come here to impress people), but the answers to which can impact the relationship with the visitors, for all of the foreseeable future.

And that is something which applies to all of our former friendships. This place is slowly becoming our home, although I must admit there are days when I could easily just walk away, and the challenges we’ve faced are moulding us, softening some parts of our character while tempering other parts. The people who left Australia are gone; and we sometimes wonder, “will we ever relate to anyone back in Australia in the same ways we did before? Aside from people who have served in a foreign country, who will understand the the cry of the heart seeking to be fed at Church, yet understanding so little of the preaching?” Ah, you say, but what about audio sermons? Why not stream or download, or have them sent through? And we’re already ahead of you there – these sermons in our own tongue are cherished and have helped us immensely, yet (and this is the same reason as I would advise people who have the opportunity to go to church, to go, instead of to stream the live broadcast or sit in the cry room) there is a great deal of difference between simply hearing the preaching, and sitting under the preaching. It is a far greater blessing to participate, than to observe. To be able to go to a worship service in a language which I not only understand, but which is the language of my heart, is not something I can see myself treating lightly again.

My thoughts also run here, to a trend I noticed in some circles, of some saying that they would not invite people to our churches because our churches have so many problems that need to be fixed first. The question then, is, where would you have them go? Where would you send them to receive the full preaching of the truth of the Gospel? And if somewhere else is doing a better job, why are you not there? Having seen a broad array of terrible preaching (I thought prosperity preaching was a joke before I left Australia, only to come here and encounter it many times), and having seen our brothers and sisters here invite people to come to “this church, because it is where the truth is preached”, I must wonder why we can get it so wrong in Australia. Are we so comfortable with the truth, that we don’t see the need to spread it?

But I digress somewhat.

As mentioned already, work is busy. That rarely changes, and if it does change, it is due to materials being delayed, rather than a relaxing of the demands placed upon us. As our projects progress, we have finished one of the major three on which I have been working, and the new dorm is slowly being filled as the bunk beds are constructed and made available. A new design for the beds had us go through several prototypes before we finally settled on one which we found to be satisfactory.
Our fencing project progresses in intermittent bursts, hampered by weather making terrain slippery and dangerous, as well as equipment failure (or lack of availability). Meanwhile the Children’s Centre, arguably the centrepiece of the projects team, is aiming for a mid-year completion. Much work waits to be completed, and some weeks are a poignant reminder that “unless the Lord builds the house” we’re wasting our time.

Yet the Lord does seem to be building the house. Our donor boards are happy with our work; so happy, in fact, that they were talking about getting us to complete an unfinished project at one of the other charities they sponsor, and while I had been told to think about what I would like to do in “life after projects”, we have been given more grants for more projects, for some years to come.
Meanwhile, the Lord builds my house also, with the boys getting back into school after a short break, with my wife flourishing as a teacher/homemaker/nurse/mother. Taking on a haus meri has lightened her load considerably, and the difference it is making on her progress with the language is tangible. Overall, we are enjoying a patch of good health, but that can change overnight. A few of us have had a “tummy bug” come to visit, while Haus Clare and Buablong (two City Mission properties in town) have had typhoid outbreaks, which requires extra attention in care and quarantine. We are fortunate enough to be vaccinated against this, but the potential impact of an outbreak on the staff, and the young men, here on plantation would be devastating.

There is much more I could write, boring you with the details of trying to modernise our office somewhat, of trying to recall lessons in database management from over a decade ago when I wasn’t really paying attention (and subsequently reflecting on all those reports where the teachers said, “David would do better if he applied himself”, and thinking, “I wish I had applied myself!”), of learning humility through making mistakes in management, of feeling like a child when I try to hold a conversation in Tok Pisin (and coming to realise that I need to change my thinking away from it being a simple derivative of English, and therefore inferior, and towards recognising it as a language in its own right), and of many other mundane things, but I’ll spare you having to sift through all that. Besides, I need to keep something up my sleeve, just in case nothing happens in between this and my next newsletter…

Prayer points

• Language – it is still a barrier, especially in worship services, and especially as I can easily go through weeks without even trying to speak Tok Pisin, as all of the business houses require their staff to speak English.
• Patience – as sometimes the biggest challenge is that you need to wait for things to happen, when you are used to them happening instantly.
• Grace – with the people for whom you are waiting.
• More grace – we growl loudest at those closest to us, and our spouses and children often bear burdens that are undeserved.
• More grace – to help out those closest to us, by shouldering the burdens with them.
• Health – our lives, as scriptures tell us, are like vapour, and the fluctuating health here is a constant reminder.
• Faith – a consequence of being busy, of not understanding the language, and various other things (self-discipline being a large factor), takes a toll on your spiritual health. Often times, the first things sacrificed, are the most important for good spiritual health, and this is (for me at least) a constant battle.
• Wisdom – in deciding which side projects are superfluous or pipe dreams, and which I should aim to make mainstream projects.
• Growth – scripture says that if a person begins to bear fruit, they’ll be pruned so that they will bear more. If this is true, and any of the challenges we face are the pruning of the Gardener, then pray we learn our lessons quickly, and do not despair in the hardship.

Dave, Cheree, Nik, Isaac, Calvin, and Madison

It’s  been a  while  since  you heard  from  us, facebook  tells  us  from  time  to time. Even longer,  for those  who are  not  on facebook,  as  it’s  now  over two months  since  I last  wrote. Much has  changed,  and yet,  much is  still  the  same. The  Wildeboers  have  left, and  should  be  in the  process  of travelling across  Australia, on their final farewell  tour. In a  way, I hope  that  this  is  like  Johnny Farnham’s  final  farewell, in that  he  had several, as  they  are  missed here  in Church, in  Lae,  and in the  compound. Not  only  is  it  quiet  (some would prefer  the  word “tranquil”),  but  we  were  priveleged  to be  able  to glean from  their experience, and  relationships  were  forged  in the  short  time  we  shared a  yard.  At  first  it  seems  odd, how  life  just continues  without  people  you’ve  come  to expect  to be  there;  how  a  vacuum  is  quickly  filled.  But life  does  go on, and our work doesn’t  stop – not  for anyone. On Saturday,  a  work team  from  Reformed  Ministries  arrived from  Perth, so we  have  five  familiar faces  (some  more  than others), and  five  familiar accents  here  for a  short  time. From  what  I can  see, they’ve  wasted no time  in getting busy with the  task at  hand. The  day after  this  team  leaves, City  Mission  will  be  joined by a  group of 30 youth (read:  teenagers) from  the  Summer  Institute  of Linguistics, or SIL, for a  four day stint,  during which they  want  to help  on any work projects  we  have  going.  Then  they leave, and  we  expect  to have  our first  visitors here,  which is  pretty  exciting.  We’re  also  telling people  that  so long as  they have  an  Australian or Canadian passport  (possibly others,  but  these  two are  the  ones  we  know  for certain), they  can get their visas  on arrival  in  Port  Moresby again, so if they  happen to  have  some  time  up their sleeves (nudge,  nudge, wink wink), they don’t  even  need to  plan ahead to be  able  to visit.  Although they might  want  to check  with us  first, before  they jump  on a  plane. Schooling  seems  to be  going well,  and Cheree  tells  me  that  they  are  3 weeks  ahead  of schedule (although they  did start  the  school  year two weeks  early),  which  gives  us  a  little  flexibility in  being able  to plan things. Calvin joins  Timmy DeJonge  for Bible  Studies  and Science  every morning, and all  of the  children  get  together  for  Art  and Science, with  the  teaching  load being  shared between Ruth  and Cheree.  Personally, I still  get  a  pretty big kick out  of seeing  (and hearing)  my children reading books, so I can’t  not  speak  highly of Cheree’s  work in this  area. However, being  a  teacher,  on top of being  a  wife, a  mother, a  housekeeper, a  nurse,  and a  million other  things, takes  its  toll. Not  only is  she  extremely busy, but  this  climate  is  draining.  There  is  no other  way to put  it, and it’s  not  something we  really comprehended  until  we  lived  it  for a  while.  And so, we’ve  taken  on a  haus  meri, to free  up Cheree’s  schedule  a  little,  and take  some  of that  burden off her shoulders. It  still  feels  a  little  weird, hiring someone  to help  out, and I secretly hope  that  if there  is  any prejudice  in the  way we  are  percieved, it  is  that  we  are  the  weak white  folk who can’t survive  without  help  (probably true),  rather  than the  rich  white  folk, who see  housework as  beneath them  (obviously  wrong). We also hope  that  having a  haus  meri  will  help Cheree  learn the  language  a  little  faster,  as  she doesn’t  get  anywhere  near  the  exposure  I do. I offered  to trade  places  with her for a  week,  but  the offer was  never taken up. She  tells  me  that  it  is  already helping – to  hold a  conversation in  another language, you need  to learn to think in that  language, so the  only way forward is  with constant practice  – as  she  managed  to have  a  full  conversation  at  Church  on Sunday.  Looks  like  the  haus meri  is  paying  for herself already! The  immersion into  a  foreign  language  does  come  at  a  cost  though. Madison seems  to be  learning Tok Pisin quicker than  she  is  learning  English, and  sometimes  listens  to  an instruction in  Tok Pisin, while  ignoring  the  same  instruction  in English. Calvin,  meanwhile, thinks  he  has  it  all  figured  out, and  his  version  of  Tok Pisin  is  to just  use  English words, structure,  and grammar,  but  adding “p’la” to  the  end of every  word. Work  is  something  which keeps  me  extremely  busy. Having  taken on the  role  of farm  management, as  well  as  kicking  off a  maintenance  crew  with their own schedule,  means  that  I can  almost guarantee  that  I’ll  be  spending  the  best  part  of Monday in town. Sometimes,  that  spills  over to the Tuesday  as  well, and some  weeks  it  seems  like  I’ve  spent  very little  time  actually  working  alongside the  young men here.  As  they are  one  of the  biggest  reasons  I am  here, I am  in the  process  of trying to  set  some  form  a  schedule  into place, where  I can  carve  out  a  large  section  of the  week to  spend  in working directly  alongside  everyone  else.  I do understand that  management  requires  taking  a  step back,  but  I don’t  want  to  step back  so far,  that  I’m  out  of contact  with everyone. The  extreme  busy-ness  can, and does, take  a  toll  on family  life  too,  so while  I can  be  glad that  I am usually  home  for my  lunch hour,  I find myself in  a  place  where  I and  seeing a  need  to step away  for a  short  break, and to  re-assess  priorities. Some  would  say that  it  is  a  balancing  act,  or a  juggling  act, but  I tend to  favour the  view  that  it’s  not  so much  about  balance,  as  it  is  about  the  order  of priorities. Leading my  family, must  come  before  leading anyone  else.  That’s  the  way God made  it, and  the criteria  for office  bearers  make  it  abundantly  clear  that  to allow  your own house  to  fall  into disarray, is  to  disqualify  yourself  from  leading the  Church.  Whenever  I think  about  this  subject  now, I remember  a  discussion I had a  while  ago, about  doing great  things  for God, but  neglecting wives and  children.  The  two are  diametrically  oppposed. Prayer  Points • Health.  This  seems  to  be  a  recurring theme, but  health  can change  quickly  here. Everyone was  well  yessterday, but  Nik woke  up with  a  nasty cough and  a  low  fever this  morning.  Two of the  others  also look  to be  coming down with the  same  cold,  but  there  is  always  the  danger that  it  turns  into  a  chest  infection,  or that  it  can  become  pnuemonia  (simply  because  of how wet  the  air  is  here). Infections  grow, and spread, very  quickly here. • Strength.  The  heat  is  oppressive, at  a  whole  different  level  to  anything  we’ve  experinced before.  This  drains  us  very quickly, and we  are  often “wiped”  by the  end of the  week. • Grace.  Even with  our growing  understanding of  Tok Pisin, there  is  something  to be  said  for “heart  languages”, and  for sitting  under the  preaching  of the  full  Gospel  in your own heart language. Eventually, I’m  sure,  this  will  subside,  and we  will  be  fed by the  preaching  here, but  for now  it  can feel  like  we  haven’t  been to  Church (as  we  know  it)  in the  longest  time. • Patience.  Especially with  the  children.  ‘Nuff  Said. • Rest.  I’ve  heard it  said that  we  should aim  to take  a  break  every three  months.  It’s  been six, and  I’m  beginning  to see  the  rationale. • Love.  Of the Agape  variety.

A Day in the Life of Cheree (and Kids)

A few of you have asked what we do here every day, so here are a few snap shots!

Newsletter January

The last month of the year slipped by, gone before we had time to realise it had even begun. While the days can feel so very long, the weeks fly by at an unbelievable rate of knots.

The beginning of this month saw the graduation of a sizeable group of young men, who had all finished the program, finished their time in practical work, and are now on the search for a place of employment. Some have been taken on as staff here at City Mission, others are waiting fo word from a factory which promises to take on 40 of them. In the meantime, they are able to remain on plantation and work on the three projects, in return having a place to stay and three meals a day.

The graduation itself saw some 400 people crowd around a small outdoor stage for a combined Church service and graduation ceremony. Pastor Ian from Reformed Ministries shared a timely message about building up a kingdom of men VS building inside God’s Kingdom, which was followed up by Sowet – the valedictorian, and now a staff member – challenging the graduates to continue in what they had learned here at City Mission. Then, a celebratory meal with all of the staff, the graduates, and some members of the graduates’ families, and the day was done.

Then came time for the program to wrap up for the year. The plantation was cleaned up one final time, another bungkai (roughly “gathering for shared food”), and then the plantation emptied. Out of 145 young men, all but 12 left to join their families, relatives, friends, or wantoks (people of the same dialect/language are considered family) for the Christmas and New Year holidays. Three weeks of minimal activity on the plantation. Three weeks to catch our breath (although all of the staff continued working) before kicking off a whole new year.

Somewhere in that time, new faces joined the Reformed Ministries team; Ryan and Ruth, with all of their children, have slotted right into life here, and we are especially grateful that Nikolas has found a good friend in their oldest son, Matthew. Shortly after their arrival, we had to say goodbye to Sarah Heys, with whom we became good friends very quickly, but for whom God has plans outside of Lae, at least for the immediate future. Slowly but surely, the reality is beginning to sink in that, as a co-worker (in the Kingdom, not the organisation) has told me a few times, life on the mission field is transient. People come and go quickly. God puts people on the field for a time, and pulls them out just as quickly. So while we don’t like to say goodbye to people with whom we’ve become friends, there is an enormous comfort in the sovereignty of God. After all, the Creator-God who allows us to call Him “Father”, controls all things.

Our children are also enjoying their break from schooling, intent on running around the compound from sun up ‘til sun down. Occasionally, I try to keep up with them in the afternoon, but their little legs keep on pumping well after my not-so-little legs have given up on trying. Shoes have been abandoned as if they are cumbersome, and to try catch them as they run full speed along a gravel road is a foolish thing to even consider, on my still soft soled feet.

Cheree is also enjoying the break fom schooling, but is nonetheless a very busy woman. Seeing as there can be no wearing the same outfit two days in a row here, keeping on top of the washing alone, is a never ending job. Add to that the cooking, the cleaning, the running after children, the garden she’s starting, and probably a bunch of other things (like running after me as well – how she manages to find the things I don’t see when they are right in front of me, remains a mystery).

Christmas was a busy time, with a breakfast on Saturday with the Reformed Ministries group, a special service on Sunday, where we were blessed to hear preaching in our own tongue, and then a City Mission bungkai and celebration on Sunday afternoon. New years eve had us enjoying all sorts of deep fried (read: delicious) food, but in bed by 10. And then awake again at 12, when the settlements and businesses around us, as well as a few of the staff and young men from City Mision, let loose with fireworks, firecrackers, bamboo (filled with kerosene, makes quite the pop) and gunshots to welcome in the new year.

So far, we’ve managed to evade being struck down with malaria. Several people around us have had the misfortune of contracting the disease, including one young boy who managed to contract both types of malaria simultaneously, but so far, we have not. That is not to say that we have experienced perfect health either; unexplained aches and pains, infected sores (an untreated sore can turn into a tropical ulcer almost overnight here), mild stomach bugs (although these can sometimes be attributed to adjusting to the new surrounds), and some nasty stubborn coughs and colds, have all visited us, and run their course.

The language barrier is slowly coming down, for mself at least. I reached a point where I knew what some of the words meant, and I could formulate a sentence, but two things would happen. First, by the time I had managed to form a sentence, the time for saying it was gone, and second, even though I knew what words I was meant to say, and what they meant, as they came out of my mouth it felt like I was speaking gibberish. Then, occasionally, someone would reply, and that would completely throw me off – I had only mentally prepared myself to say the sentence, not to have it understood and replied to! Slowly, slowly, I make progress, and I think I’ve found a few staff who will “stretim mi” (correct me) when I get it all muddled. Still, prayer and practice are needed, especially as I need to be able to communicate clearly, not just so that I can work with these men, but so that we can share our thoughts, our concerns, our hevis, and come to a place where we are wanbel tru (in complete agreement, of the heart).

Looking forward, we start up at full speed again tomorrow, with 140-something young men all returned from their time away. As we start up three separate projects, a full vocational roster, and try to get on top of a very lengthy list of maintenance/repair items, I imagine there will be challenges ahead. Balancing all of these things, trying to make sure that projects are being run efficiently, and that the program does not suffer so that projects are completed, is no small task, and this too is becoming a regular part of my personal prayer life.

For now, em tasol (that’s all). Or at least all I can think of right now.

In, for, and through Christ,

Dave, Cheree, and the kids.

What happens when it rains...

 The kids love it when it rains during the day.. they drop everything and run outside to play!

minor flooding after lots of rain over a few days (when the road washed away)

playing in a drain at front of the compound

Newsletter 3

Two photos to go with the following newsletter (its not working for me to add any more or move them into the story! That's one big thing to get used too.. unreliable internet connection, when we are used to having a fast and good internet connection back in Australia!)

First glimpse of Main Market (its a very colourful place!)

Isaac with his favourite - salted peanuts

As you roll down the highway, the sound of the trusty 3 litre diesel filling the cabin of your dual cab 4x4, you take in the scenery. Lush greens line the side of the road, breaking to reveal buildings battered by rain and sun 365 days per year, the once bright colours having quickly faded in the harsh environment. You glance down at the speedometer, seeing the needle hovering just below 80km/h; the sweet spot of maximum speed and least vibrations, the ever present wobble of the steering wheel a reminder of the brutality which all vehicles face on the stretches of road as yet untouched by The Chinese Railway. Earlier in the trip, you passed potholes deep enough to lose a front wheel in, and the traffic had often crossed into the other lane, or veered off the pavement, finding the verge to be a smoother ride than the pothole-ridden blacktop.

Ahead of you, a white coaster bus with green trim belches thick black smoke across the road, and begins to pull away from the bus stop. The bus’ driver pays little heed to the traffic behind him, and you see a Landcruiser ute veer into the inside lane to avoid running into the backend of the coaster. The coaster bus surges forward, its driver wringing every little bit of power from the engine. Both the road, and the driver abuse this particular vehicle, filling it beyond capacity with passengers and getting from point to point in as short a time as possible, to maximise the earnings for the day. The Public Motor Vehicle crabwalks up the highway, so twisted on its chassis that it seems to have a front corner on the curb, and the opposite back corner touching the median strip, and a passenger’s face appears in an open window, spitting a slick of red from pursed lips, and adding to the collection of stains already on the newly finished highway. He sees your approach, and waves, smiling a smile which reveals a few stained teeth, and a lot of missing teeth, rotted away by the incessant consumption of buai.

The place from where the PMV left is a sea of umbrellas and tent tops; a patch of mud and clay carved into the side of the road and transformed into a market. Already, the new day’s heat is beginning to dry out the puddles formed by the night’s rain.

The brief glimpse of the market quickly gives way to hillside again; the view on your left filled with grass and trees rising from the sidewalk, while the view on your right falls away from the road and ends with a distant mountain reaching up into the clouds. Vendors along the roadside have stalls set up, peddling everything from boiled eggs, to woven mats, to Coca-Cola in front of their homes.

The diesel powerhouse continues its reliable beat, the steering wheel continues its wobble, and your 4x4 consumes the road as you reach the outskirts of town. Traffic ahead slows, as a dual lane highway meets roadwoaks, and two columns, opposed in direction, fight for the smoothest surface. Having arrived at this point after the early morning rush sees you delayed only a little, but you know that you cannot stay in town too late, or you will be slowed to a crawl for a full kilometre on the town side of the roadworks. On the town side of the roadworks, tarmac is swapped for concrete sections, and a rythmic thump is added to the beat of the 3 litre, and the wobbling wheel. You navigate a few roundabouts, for which the rules are dubious. You keep your eyes peeled, as it would not be the first, or even the the last, time that you were cut off by a vehicle turning right, while in the outside lane. You battle a host of PMVs, all fighting for a spot on the line to refill with passengers, and begin to search for a place to pull up onto the kerb. The outer lane is a mix of cars trying to park, trying to leave parking, and trying to merge with the traffic slowly moving past. A spot found, you park, opening the door to find a puddle at your feet. You sling a woven bag over your shoulder, and clench your hand around your cash – small notes and coins, as you know that most vendors wont have change to break even a 20 Kina note. With mud at your feet, dodging puddles and men pushing wheelbarrows full of produce, you aim yourself towards the large metal structure – a shed with no walls – and soon find yourself in a press of people, weaving and dodging like the traffic you experienced earlier on the highway. Vendors call out to get your attention, each competing with his neighbour for a sale. As you walk through the stalls, fresh fruit and even vegetables are pressed into your hands, vendors refusing to take payment for their gift to you. The bag on your shoulder grows heavy with produce, the thin handles cutting into the flesh on your shoulder, and you are not quite certain how much you paid for, and how much was gifted to you. More than one vendor expressed thankfulness for the amount you purchased, by throwing in extra items. The sun beats down outside, and the mercury rises towards the high thirties. You make your way back to the car, wondering if you should stop and buy a coconut to drink, or a pineapple to eat. The bag cuts deep into your shoulder, and you decide against it.

Reaching the car, you find that the mid-morning sun has erased all traces of cool which might have been left from the air conditioning. The oppressive heat sends rivulets of sweat down your back, as you wait for the air con to become effective in its cooling again. You put the 4x4 into reverse, and look for an opening in the outer lane, knowing that your shopping trip is only halfway done.

Notes:

Buai, also known as Betelnut, is chewed by some of the nationals, much like an American might chew tobacco. As I understand it, buai causes teeth to rot, but also numbs the mouth, which can be a vicious cycle. Also like tobacco, those who chew it spit constantly, but unlike tobacco’s black stain, they leave a bright red slick.

Cheree and myself don’t receive anywhere near as much free produce as our children do (although it does happen). I omitted children (and husbands/wives) from this little tale to increase the number of people who could relate, and possibly share in our experience vicariously.

The Main Market is our first stop on shopping day, followed by a a few Supermarkets which are closer to what you would find in Australia/Canada/America.

The depth of the potholes may or may not have been exaggerated for the sake of imagination.

Other points:

The climate here lends itself to a slow paced life. If, as I did, you foolishly try to keep up with the locals, you may, as I did, find yourself wiped out on the floor for a day, too exhausted to function. How the locals manage to keep on keeping on, is a bit of a mystery to me.

Language is still a massive barrier. While some barriers can be broken by simple actions, the struggle to verbally communicate is often highlighted. Moreso for Cheree, who does not get even half the exposure I do. This is amplified even further for the children, who struggle to sit still for an hour of Church in our own tongue, let alone 2+ hours in a language they do not grasp yet.

The cultural norm of physical touch (grown men will hold hands with other men while they walk down the road), is a little confronting to those of us who are accustomed to keeping our own space, but also comforting as it shows our/my being accepted.

The workload truly does make it difficult to “keep my house in order”. Pray I find some semblance of balance. As one preacher puts it, “What does it matter if a man wins the whole world and loses his own family?”

Sometimes, much the same as in life in Australia, we can find ourselves in situations which prove difficult to navigate – or even to know which direction to begin to steer towards! Pray for wisdom, and for eyes to be lifted up to our Helper, rather than on the hurdles in our path.

The novelty factor is wearing out for our children, and this presents new challenges as they continue trying to find their niche.

Give thanks for the return of Julian and Shannel – from an “outside” perspective, the Reformed Ministries staff were getting a little snowed under, and the extra hands are precisely what are needed. Give thanks especially for Shannel’s health.

Our GM, just back from holiday, has been informed that it would be a miracle for his father to still be on this side of eternity, when Christmas comes around. While expected (I understand they said goodbye during their time away), Bob and Ann could do with some extra support in prayer.

In general terms, Nikolas and Isaac have blitzed their school work, and are looking like they will run out of lessons before our shipping container arrives with the new books. While Cheree is worried about having to play catch-up, we are very thankful for God’s blessing over their schooling. Personally, I am also very thankful for my wife’s ability to teach and guide them through. To see (and hear!!!!) Isaac reading books, is testament to her ability.

As I seek to get the most out of the hours in a day, Cheree faces the same struggle. For this reason, we are considering employing a “haus meri” a couple days of the week, which would alleviate some of the pressure on Cheree, as well as giving her, and the children, greater exposure to the language. One thing we are wrestling with on this, is the divide between the nationals and the whiteskins, with parallels to South Africa, which keep us from having complete peace with the idea.

Every afternoon, the Reformed Ministries compound is filled with the sounds of children running around playing a million different games. We are thankful for how our children have slotted right in, and are included in as much as they would like.

Madison has found two friends around her age here (both of them are also blond, which can be confusing when we look down on the tops of their heads and try to figure out which is which), is talking more, is playing games more, and is generally healthy and happy.

Calvin is beginning to show an interest in learning to write, and is also forming sounds (in speech) which he previously couldn’t. He has found a friend in Ben, and both of them seem determined to blaze their own trail.

Word is getting around, among the City Mission staff, and the young men, about the WiFi hotspot (BiblePress) I took with me. It is exciting to see it being used, and there are plans to collaborate with Reformed Ministries on content (finding any content in Tok Pisin is difficult, let alone finding Christian content), as well as the possible production of more units.

Above all, pray that no matter the challenge, we have the integrity to do what is right, and the comfort of remembering that Father is in control.

In Christ,

Dave, Cheree, Nikolas, Isaac, Calvin, and Madison.

Newsletter 2

Where to begin? In one sense, it seems like we do not have a lot to tell right now – things which happened only a few weeks ago, seem like ancient history, as there is always something, some drama, some challenge, unfolding in front of us. So, let’s start at the beginning, or at least where we left off last time.

The population of our little compound (with Reformed Ministries) is in a constant state of flux. The Mulder and Eikelboom families (apologies if I have misspelled either name) left around the time of my writing the last update, and since then Ray and Cheryl(?) Gibbello were joined by their son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren, and have gone off for three months (they are church planters). We have also had another couple, John and Annette Smid, from Canada (who are involved with one of the boards overseeing the Bible College), as well as Andrew from Crossroads (prison fellowship) come and go. Sarah Heys has also returned from a holiday, somewhere in that time. It is interesting to meet all of these people from different places around the world, all with a passion for sharing the Gospel. Doubly interesting, when one of them starts talking about my hometown, and the people from our Church who he has met through Crossroads.

Now, while Andrew may have caught my attention in conversation, our weekend with John and Anna was probably one we will remember for much longer. Towards the end of the week, we noticed that water was washing away the riverbank on one side of the road. On Saturday, the road was replaced by a gaping hole which cut us off from town. As this was on the edge of City Mission property, our front fence was lined with people, vehicles, and angst, everyone pondered their immediate problem of getting into town. We were among the fortunate, who had people in town who could come and pick us up, just as soon as we had figured out how to cross the river. Others milled about, and as the day grew longer, frustrations led to shots being fired by the police force in attempt to subdue some of the more unruly in the crowd. Needless to say, trying to fall asleep while hearing gunshots ring out on the other side of the fence – within meters of where staff and their children sleep – is a pretty pointless exercise. Turns out that shots in the air are not something people worry about too much in these parts, and my concerns were met with grins from the staff I spoke to. It seems that John and Annette managed to get the whole “Lae Experience” in a few short days.

Madison fast asleep in a bilum

The Haus Clare orphanage taking shape

Fast forward a few long weeks, and the temporary bridge is still standing, although more of the river bank has washed out, taking a family home down with it in the settlement adjacent to us. Fortunately, we have not been impacted beyond a little difficulty in getting to town, and a power outage for some of the staff houses.

Cheree is well and truly back into homeschooling the oldest two, and we reap the rewards of her labours in seeing Isaac find his love for reading (almost) at the expense of meals. While Sarah is still here, they are able to join in with her art class too, which they seem to be enjoying.

All of our children have found good friends and playmates here, and have abandoned the idea of shoes as being old-fashioned and backwards. How they run across the hot, sharp stones is a bit of a mystery to me at the moment, with my soft baby-feet crying out at my lunacy whenever I try it.

Meanwhile, projects continue, and eat up the majority of my time. The Children’s Crisis Centre, or Haus Clare, is taking shape quite quickly, although a pause has been been put on the other projects for the short term.  

Adventurous ride to church when the road caved in

The hole in the road (it got a lot bigger and deeper in the days after this photo was taken)

Of course, all of this is not without troubles or burdens. In no particular order, some of them are:

• The Thermomix which a group gave to Cheree seems to be malfunctioning. I know that this probably sounds like more of a minor inconvenience than a “trouble”, but I know that it has been a great help in her being able to achieve as much in a day as she does. For now, it seems to have sorted itself out, but we are not sure at all if it will last for a whole lot longer.
• Language. While I am picking up more and more of the language, albeit slowly, and we are starting to understand more in Church, it remains a challenge. This is magnified for Cheree, who does not have the same exposure as I do. We know that these things will take time, but it is a challenge nonetheless.
• Leadership. At this moment, I stand at the edge of the abyss. It’s time to find out if I sink or swim. There is a gap of approximately a week, between the acting GM leaving, and the actual GM arriving back from furlough. During that time, as far as projects are concerned, I am it, and bear the responsibility of keeping things running as smoothly as they have been under Kirt’s watchful eye.
• Leadership. Again. All work and no play makes Daddy an abstract ideal. A man who is never home, cannot keep his house in order. I think that about sums it up.
  
  At the same time, we have much to be thankful for:
• Technology. Free facebook (which I am personally beginning to loathe) means free messaging loved ones back home. Skype, on special occasions, means seeing their faces.
• Family, who answer our groans of not being able to understand the sermons, by sending us sermons from home.
• Family in Blood. We’ve been welcomed here with open arms; the kids have all gained a few more uncles and aunties, and we’ve both gained more than a few nephews and neices.
• Experienced missionaries. Ian and Nadia’s experience has been a great guide as we tried to find our feet, especially in dealing with things like sores which become infected.
• Like minded individuals. Outside of the Reformed Ministries compound, we hae made fast friends in Ricky and his family.
• Fresh fruit. Bananas coming out of our ears.