Like mother like daughter

This picture has nothing at all to do with what I want to write about but it is such a fun picture that I needed to upload it while the computer is compliant.

Remember many many moons ago while we were in Nampa and I put 5 cups of water rather then 5 tablespoon into the pie batter? Well...

Mijo was making this crazy cake that her wonderful Grandmother had taught her to make and every time she made the cake something was off. I asked her if she had put in all the ingredients etc...always the yes. I just thought maybe the ingredients were a bit off and that is why it always tasted funny. Mijo had done a great job with it when Grandmother was here but recently when she had attempted it herself...not so good.

She had made a cake for her Algebra class in celebration for something or other and it was an awful failure, they said it had a really bad aftertaste like there was too much salt. So we went and looked at the receipt again...she asked innocently...what does tsp stand for? All the ingredients other then the water, flour,sugar and cocoa was in tsp amounts. She asked innocently is that the same as tablespoon? No, I said tables spoon is TBS...ooh she said. I think we know the problem and today we will make a crazy cake with tsp ingredients rather then tbs ingredients.

Scott has had this fellow asking him and asking him for US coin. We thought he was just asking because he liked the coins..they seem a bit more substantial then the Indo coin here which are made out of aluminum. This man who speaks broken English went and talked to another teacher friend of ours and come to find out these US coins he wants so badly are used in a ritual of black magic and sorcery. Somehow in the using of these coins maybe they will gain their freedom. So much is not as it appears. It seems to be a problem here adding more to the story then the simplicity of the Story. Tbs religion...looks good, tastes funny.

58

Days, that is until we leave. Take a day or two depending on how flights are worked out. That isn't much.
Nick has strep, Mijo and Scott are fighting a cold, it hasn't rained hard enough in awhile, the smoke from the fires are making it hazy and since the seniors are on their senior trip some of my classes are half full. All this to say that we have only 58 more days to get it all done.

I think the dreaded distance thing has begun. I was told at the start of the year that near the end for those who are leaving people here start distancing themselves. I think this is happening because slowly but surely I am having less conversations with people. Maybe I am doing the distancing or..we are both doing it together. In either case...everyone has started to leave even though no one has left yet and we have 58 more days of leaving to go. It is going to get quiet around here!

To catch a butterfly

I have been stalking butterflies...I have been looking to catch either a bright green or yellow butterfly that frequents this plant outside my window but when they arrive and I try and sneak out...they fly away. This one, this is the best picture I could get because it never really stayed anyplace long enough or pose long enough. As beautiful as these butterflies are I have a feeling they don't live long because they never stay anywhere long enough to enjoy. It is as if they are racing through life one flower at at time and may the best butterfly win.

So I am still looking for the indolent butterfly who wants to just hang around the flower and show off his/her beautiful colors against this fuchsia plant. Why can't they just stop and smell the flowers?

It is Resurrection Sunday...May the Risen Lord grace your day with His presence. Maybe we should stop awhile and smell the proverbial flower.

Evening sun

We are having a mini vacation this unusual early Easter. We have this Good Friday as well as Easter Monday off...this is a much needed break.

We went on a drive to Jayapura today to find some artifacts to buy and visit the city again. While we were there I saw an Easter procession through the street replete with the whole cast of characters. It was between the the noon hour prayer call and the three o'clock prayer call and I wondered if they worked out a schedule.

I heard the prayer calls again as I enjoyed this evening sun...it seems to go together. These prayer interruptions are part of the routine of the day, a way to figure out what time it is without looking at my watch. I am not upset anymore with the sound..I know which mosque has better callers and which one runs a bit behind the others.

As we were buying our artifacts today we we returning back to the car as the mosque near by emptied from the noon prayer. It was a bit disconcerting to walk among the men with their prayer mats slung over their shoulder...as soft as their prayer calls are in the fading light, there was nothing soft in the looks of these committed men. Two expressions of commitment on this Good Friday... a pageant of strange looking people walking down the road and a consistent dedication of commit ed men. Somehow..I would feel better if the expression of our faith was a bit different. We maybe need more consistent commitment rather then colorful pageantry...but at the same time the story behind the foolish pageantry is freedom and the consistent dogged commitment brings death. This is the conundrum here in Papua as these two faiths live side by side... I can only hope that the prayer calls are the only interruptions to the peaceful evening sun.

Leaving and longing

One of my freshmen students found out at the start of this week that she is going back to Canada at the end of this week. She is a business student, Dad works at the mine here in Papua and they have decided that they no longer want him to work for them. Just like that uproot, pack and leave. She is such a delight and I will miss her. The leaving and the longing that is etched on her face is remarkable in its clarity. It is echos through out our school as the Seniors embark on their senior trip which marks the beginning of the end for their time here as well. I catch myself preparing as well for those twins of mourning. I look at Mt. Cyclops every morning on my walk to school and deliberately take a mental picture reminding myself that soon the view will be mundane in comparison. I revel in the banter with my students knowing that soon the level in the classroom will not be so innocent nor so easy. I drink in the warmth of the sun because I know that even in summer it never gets warm enough for me in Lynden. My dreams are full of discord as my mind begins to wrap itself around the familiarity of the feelings that have haunted me from my youth. Will I be better at it this time around? Will the longing that accompanies the leaving handicap my ability to settle back in Lynden? Can I savor the gift of being here without letting the pain of leaving spoil?
In a book that we all have been reading "The Shack", the main character deals with the same in wrestling with the fears of tomorrow. Jesus reminds him that most often when we fear the future is because in our imaginations we never imagine Jesus being there with us. Our future is fearful because we leave Him out of it. Mijo said something remarkable at the table yesterday...She was talking about how amazing it was that the Holy Spirit would indwell us...live in us. She wrapped her arms around herself and said "It makes me want to just hug myself".
So...maybe...could be...most likely will be...all OK this leaving and this longing.

Consequences for kindness

Remember the little guy Scott rescued from the savage dogs? Here he is in all his pitty-full glory. He is doing well and we have found a great home and this is a happy ending...but he left us a gift, ringworm. Scott and I have these little red spots that are growing into bulls eyes on our faces, under our arms, on our forarms probably from this cute litte creature. They are itchy not so lovely to look at but will go away in a week with some antifungal cream.
Yesterday, Scott and I went to Jayapura on the bike. This is our first foray on the bike on athat busy road. I know there is inherant danger in a motor bike and maybe more so here except for the fact that no-one really goes fast and the delight in passing lines of cars waiting in a trafic jam was worth it. Nick was with friends and Mijo was practising her skit for talent night. The reason for Jayaura, I was getting my Christmas present, some jewelry :).
Talent night...we had a bit of everything from all cornors of the world; 4th grade American Idol, African prayer dance, Papuan tribal dance, comical Autralian song, gymnastic routine, 2nd grader break -dancing, piano piece, Mijo's princes skit..etc. It was put on by our student counsel and it was a great success.

The good and the bad and the very sad

Remember all the good? All the wonderful things that happened in the Mbua? As the heaviness of sadness descends on our little corners what has happened in the past dims with new events. Several missionary families here in Papua have been threatened, intimidated and slandered by a break away church demanding its right to spread poison and greed. Not only the missionaries but many of the church leaders...yet at the same time there are churches being born and growing and thriving in unity. It all happens at the same time and on any given day it can be good news, bad news and sad news. I often feel unsettled on how to respond if at the moment good news comes I am mourning the sad. Or bad news comes when I am rejoicing in the good.

Growing up has its up sides but the older you get the more varied the news and deeper the impact. In your corner I am sure you live in the same quandary on any given day...maybe that is why we share our burdens, our delights our sorrow...we have to remember what is right when it is bad, comfort when it is sad and perspective when it is good. It is community...you sharing with me sharing with you walking this uncertain path together.

Update

Dad and Elfrieda were told then they landed in Vancouver, they went on the Kelowna to get some warm clothes then on to Saskatoon. Both Anne and Elviera are in ICU, both need surgery and Anne still has not woken up. What a valley to walk from the mountain they have enjoyed. Thank you for your prayer and your loving concern, keep it going there is long road ahead for all of them.

Please Pray

This is Elfrieda's whole family. The 81 year old man was Elfrieda's brother, the other 2 her sisters. At this time Elfrieda and Dad are flying home and I have no idea even if they know...

One killed, two in critical condition after crash north of Saskatoon
1 day ago
SASKATOON — A collision between two cars on a Saskatchewan highway has killed an 81-year-old man and critically injured two women.
RCMP say a car was turning off Highway 11 near Osler, just north of Saskatoon, Saturday morning when it was broadsided by another car.
They say the male passenger in the front of the car was killed in the collision, while two woman riding in the back - aged 69 and 84 - were critically injured.
The 73-year-old driver received minor injuries, as did the driver of the other car, a 44-year-old woman.
Police say paramedics took everyone to hospitals in Saskatoon.
They say road and weather conditions were good at the time of the crash.

Somewhere over the ...

I am a rainbow collector as well as a shell collector. One, I have some control the other..it is very much up to everything else. The only way to collect them is to be there at the right time with a camera. I have some wonderful images not only from Sentani..this one, but a great one in Eipomek. There is something about a rainbow...it is random but also predictable. It is beautiful but temporary. It needs clouds and sun and rain. It says something every time about the Creator, good and bad. I have seen them everywhere I have ever traveled. They are always the same but never identical. They always interrupt and enhance the view. They are full of stories and folklore...maybe more then any other natural occurrence. They are full of promise. In common language... they are so very cool. Thought maybe you would enjoy a rainbow in Papua.

And then they left...again

My folks left this AM after being here for several months. Their little house in the Mbua is empty again. I know they left wishing that they could stay but what they were able to accomplish in these few months has been inspiring. I am humbled at the significance of their work with the Nduga people and the encouragement they have been to the Pastors and Health workers. They have stayed in rustic places and patiently worked through issues with countless number of men and women who needed wisdom. Last night was a great picture of what happened over and ever again in their day. All morning till 3 PM they were in Abe with students who wanted to air their grievances and complaints. They came home and took a quick nap because at 4 the house began filling up with men and women who wanted to say their good-by's. During this time while Scott and I are filling glasses of juice for the company, the Jordan's came over to work through some financial details. While that was going...4 little girls came over to check on the kitten. At one time we had 14 people who were in our house and 10 of them their for my folks. It was about 7 PM, I was wondering when and if anyone would be leaving only to find out that they would leave when Scott went to pick up supper and pick up a book that had been printed. When everything finally settles down, Moses text messaged from Timika and Elfrieda learns a new technology. It is a strange thing when all the Nduga's have cell phones and Dad and Elf still don't own one. They are becoming more technology savvy then the missionaries who led them out of the stone age. What really shook my perception was the afternoon before we had a Nduga man try and sell us something on a pyramid scheme. An Amway moment in the jungles of Papua...there is something surreal about it all. And all the while
So all is quiet on the western front...Mbua, Mapnduma, Paro, Jigi, Wosak...and many many more villages all going back to their routine. Dad and Elfrieda flying back to theirs. We have participated from the sidelines in this reunion of old friends...it has been so very good.

Scott 911

About a week ago Scott rescues a kitten from 2 mangy dogs looking for a meal. This kitten was about 3 weeks old if that and he put the kitten in the storage area where the rest of the cats were being taken care of at the MAF base. On Saturday he went down to the bast to see how this kitten was doing and saw that it had been injured by the gate and was lost and alone. We now have this lost and forlorn kitten in our house while we try ...while Scott tries to nurse it back to health. It is really young and should be with its mother so as a result seems to only be able to sleep tucked under a chin or curled by the side of a warm human being. The first night..it was me, last night it was Scott's turn. I am all for cute kittens...BUT, I like my sleep. Scott, well he believes that when you find a broken piece of creation if at all possible you are to make it right, people and animals...land and water...fix it if you can. Sooooooo...we are trying to fix this broken piece of creation even if it cries all the time.