Leaving on a jet plane,

don't know when I'll be back again, oh I hate to go. All my bags are packed I'm ready to go....
The Muslim prayer call woke me up at 4:15 this AM and I have not been able to go back to sleep. Mijo came home crying again last evening..she will be crying again this morning. All her friends are coming to the airport to say good-bye. I am doing OK...These next few days of adventure will help in the transitions. Then we live in obligation to commitments we have made, but for now there is a time delay. Our plane leaves at 9:20 this morning and again I am amazed at the amount of stuff we have even though we have given most of everything away, well...obviously not everything.
Next stop Timika and the mine at Tembagapura.

Breathe in...Blow out

If we had not invested in anybody here in Papua, we would not be having such a hard time leaving. If we had kept tight to our homes and schedules we would not have had to cry as hard or hurt as much. BUT..we woul d be very much like these dolls in the window. Just looking in...is the pain of leaving worth the joy of investment? Absolutely! Souls invested are souls enriched.

Breathe in...Blow out. These are the last few days. All the hoopla of graduation, parties, banquets etc., all done. Good-byes, the last of's, we will never again do...done. Now we are trying to figure out how all our stuff multiplied and we are going back with as many pieces of luggage as we had coming. We are blowing out at the moment... de-compressing from all the intensity of the last few days.

Many have asked me what I will take away from here...Maybe finally for the first time in my life I can be more then just an MK. This is important to me that my history does not limit me from living in the present. Having been here in the Great Thief of a country (takes much without asking) I realize that the truth of what I became here cannot give me the boundaries that I have to live in now. I am much more then just an MK, just a mixed up, global, cultural miss fit...I am good to go in spite of and because of previous reality. I am loved by the only Constant in my life, I am good with Him no matter the geography, job or lack of, history and/or heritage. We are all awkward in some way where we live and how we live. None of us are baggage free...we all need help carrying each others stuff.

Breathing in and blowing out...

Twilight...

I went down to get a shirt that was being made for me out of Batik material. It has been in the making for about 3 weeks now. What I did wrong from the get go...I told them I wasn't in a hurry. They have taken this to heart and had not started until we came down to see if they were done. You know something is off when you come in to pick up your clothes and they are working on the shirt as you walk in. The were very nice though...they pulled out a stool for me to sit on and wait. I don't wait well....I went back out and got more done and came back 45 minutes later. The reason they had kept this shirt for all this time is that I needed it to be made larger...well, they made it smaller and tighter and unwearable. Now if I was the size of most Indonesian women it would fit great but as much as I would like to be that petite, I am not. Waiting for nothing...They still have another shirt they are making for me, I don't think they have started and looked a bit surprised when I told them I was leaving this Sunday. I will go and see on Friday and hopefully won't have a small stool to sit on.
Twilight...I have to wait to get the full affect of the sunset. If I run out to get the picture I am always in a quandary if this is the best picture or if I need to sit and wait a few for better colors.
Waiting on God is similar...could the colors get better then this? Have I seen the best of students, the best of experiences...or do I wait and see. Twilight, sunsets and life is like that...sitting still and waiting as He unfolds the colors before my patient eyes.

Dearest Mijo

This was written for her and read at her 8th grade graduation.

Dearest Mijo, OK..so what happened exactly? How did you become so old so quickly. I know you were born just the other day in all your newness and wonder. What an amazing gift you have been, every expression of hope, joy , surprise, despair dances across your beautiful face. We haven't even started to talk about your compassionate, dramatic, gentle spontaneous soul.

When you were 5 years old, you were starting to learn your letter. We were working on your letter C but you kept on writing your C backwards. Finally, after a seeing your backwards C i sat down and explained that the C if you wanted to write it correctly needed to point the other direction. I thought it was a matter of education, you just needed to know the right way of doing things. You looked at me and said, " No, I like my C's to point that direction".
'Well, Mijo, you may like them that way, but there is a rule about how C's are supposed to be written. You can't just change it, you aren't ruler of the universe".
Under her breath she said quietly, "Not yet".
I thought in that moment we were in for a long road ahead. It has been a road but not a long one. We can't imagine our family without you and your dramatic imaginations and consistent love.

We love all that you are and all that you are becoming. We are so proud of you and who you are choosing to be, especially since you have decided Who the Ruler of the universe it and that it isn't you. Dad and Mom

And the trumpet sounded...

With this picture I want you to be able to see what you could never organize or plan. A Messianic Jew named Lou, from New York, blowing the rams horn across Lake Sentani on a hill set apart specially for prayer that had just been opened that morning.
We were a witness and participant to the triumphant sound of victory blowing freedom from sin over the people of Papua. I had to show you otherwise you would have never believed me. We came, we heard, we prayed, we stood in awe, we left and then we pondered...Did we really participate in this Old Testament sound of triumph over the plains of Papua? It seems that the most profound can't be planned, it happens and only after do you realize its significance. We are grateful Lou, you gave us an amazing gift.

Supposed to be fun

I forgot to tell you about our flight to Bokodini. Nick finally was able to sit in the front seat. Of all the flying we have done, he hadn't had a chance and finally after all the flight simulator games he had been playing he was in the real thing. He helped take off, he helped fly while in the air and then...we experienced ...well, let me explain how it went. Doug ( our pilot)wrote us a note asking if it would be OK to have a bit of fun and have a weightless experience there in the air. I had heard about this but never experienced it and right away thought it might not be such a good idea. Scott was all for it...Yes, lets do it, so we did.

What this involves is going up for a bit then going down for a bit..a lot like a roller coaster. I don't like roller coasters, Nick does not like roller coaster, Scott loves roller coasters. Needless to say as we began and finished this experience in the air, I was terrified and Nick...lets just say, I think he likes the simulator experience a bit better. What may have happened and I am hoping it didn't is that now Nick has a fear of flying. On the way from Wamena we experienced some turbulence, I hate flying and then I saw the same fear written across the face of my son. I have learned this fear from my mom and in that moment I saw what I had transferred to mine. So where do I go from here, how do I ungive this gift that keeps on giving? Especially now on the cusp of so much traveling. It isn't really what I want my son to learn from me...Any advice?

0812...2710...1037...

None of these by the way is my pin number for my debit card. Saturday, Scott's very worn out debit card was sucked into the void at an ATM. No problem, we will use Heidi's card..except it has been 6 months since I last used my debit card and I can't for the life of me remember my pin number. I was sure it was all of the numbers listed above but now we are in danger of having my debit card sucked into the void...We now can't get any money out of our account. Strange feeling not being able to access our account and not really being able to get a hold of our bank to get a new card or my new pin number. Well, we can get a hold of our bank but for it all to happen here before we leave, well, that is another thing all together. My students have been trying to help me figure out my pin . I know what it isn't but I am not really sure what it is. Is this normal not to remember a pin number I had used quite often not too many months ago? I did not write it down, I did not tell the children, you are not supposed to do all these things. I did keep the random number given me by the bank, thinking that it was a good idea. Well, it isn't and I hate this whole reminder that there are some things my feeble mind can not retain. Does any one know my pin number?

Just getting there

I wasn't surprised to see this on the street, just surprised there wasn't a small child tagging along for the ride in the wheelbarrow. I have seen some dangerous things situations on motor bikes. Families with very small children hanging on for dear life weaving in and out of traffic. Teenage boys riding fast and hard just like any teenage boy in the States except here it is with a motorbike. Every MK is working on getting their motorbike license rather then even thinking about driving a car. It seems that you just need to look old enough to get one rather then prove you are old enough to have one.

The down side for all these motor bikes on the road is accidents and you can see one almost every week if not more often. It is fun though, and maybe today while the kids are away Scott and I will take a ride to the PTC or around the lake. Mijo is at a surprise going away party (many tears I am sure) and Nick is at a sleepover with Te-un.

We had another X-ray of Mijo's little finger, it seems that she broke it in two places rather then one. Fortunately for us, a new X-ray machine came to a local hospital this week. I think we were the first to use it from the expat community. She tried to play her viola yesterday, she managed so she is happy. It has been a stressful week, we will unwind slowly this weekend to prepare for the last two weeks.

Right heart, crooked finger

I don't know if you can see how this building is propped up. This is the conference grounds at Pyramid where every CMA conference of my youth was spent. Many many wonderful memories dance around this place and to be honest, I am surprised more is not coming apart at the seams. While the hut on the side is falling apart completely, the mess hall is being supported by drums and rocks. A good shake and the whole thing will lean precariously as much the neighboring hut. Still, it is standing if not just.
Scott and I met with 2 couples who are interested in working alongside the Nduga church. Waiting here on the coast for an opportunity to go and start and learn and do. They were excited and eager to tackle the immensity of the challenge, the Nduga's will certainly benefit from the attention and the support.
2 weeks ago while playing in the pool with her Dad, Mijo injured her finger while attempting to catch a football. It was seriously sprained we thought and she had her finger in a splint all this time. Today, we went again to the nurse to check to see how it was healing. It hasn't been sprained, it has been broken. She is now in a cast and waiting for an xray to see what damage has been done and if anything more needs to happen. Not a peep from this girl, she has endured well. It is the end of the year, where concerts and parties and hoopla is occurring, just not a good time to have a cast. She has such a wonderful heart even though she has such a crooked finger.
Everything is a bit off this week, a bit like the mess hall. A few rocks here and there supporting the whole mess. I know MIjo wishes a different outcome to the break not sprain of her little finger. But...we are standing if not just.

So why did I not see this before?

Mothers day at the beach, it was wonderful. Every time I have walked along the beach looking for shells, I have looked at the overhanging trees and wondered if there were snakes up there in thar trees. Well, there are and thankfully this one did not drop on me in my walk, but it was resting in a tree close to where we all gather. It is hard to see...ya? Beautiful in all its camouflage down to the white underbelly. A tree python in all its slow and methodical beauty.

We have started to pack up. I am hoping we are going home with much less then when we came, but we are resilient and resourceful. I am sure because we have empty boxes to fill we will see if we can. So what would you like from here? Let me know, I will see what we can do. The tricky thing will be to see how to get the bow and arrows home in one piece. Our luggage may look a bit more exotic. We leave Sentani on the 1st of June to see the mine in Tembagapura, then on to Bali on the 3rd, Jogjakarta on the 13th and Seattle on the 17th. We are thinking and planning on going on the Texas and home to Lynden the first week of July. I am thinking a bright green tree python won't be resting in any of the trees all the way home, this is something to be thankful about.

There we were !!!

Of course...all you see is a bad road and huge ruts. What you don't see is...

all of us hanging on for dear life, rain and cold at the top of the mountain road, leaning side to side as we try and figure out how to get to the top of the hill, sliding backwards and going forwards, and sitting in the exhaust and fumes of either the truck going up or the motorcycles following. We left around 8AM and arrived in Wamena around 12:30. I sat in the back of the truck with Nick, Scott sat in the front so he could talk to Benni, and the back seat of the cab there was Carl who had shaking chills from malaria, a grandmother and mother with 2 children. It would have been too dangerous for the kids and mothers to sit in the back so Nick and I did. It was an adventure... and to see things along the side of the road, valleys and villages..it was worth it. It had not rained the night before so we were told the road was much better. We did not have to walk up any muddy hill or push anything.

Why I have not posted in awhile. It seems that blogspot is becoming raunchy and the filter decided that enough is enough and blocked access. It has taken us a week to figure out how to get on my site and still not allow access to others. I am very disappointed that blogspot is now that suspect...be assured though, we will always be G rated.

Scott has counted the hours till we leave...I keep trying to ignore the fact that we are leaving at all. This week, I was trying all sorts of gyrations to figure out how to stay. The SS teacher that was coming is now not coming, they need me here as much as they don't need me at LC. Trust me, it is not going to happen but for a few hours it was interesting to see to what lengths we were thinking to make it possible. Pray for us as it all winds down...the transition will be more difficult going back to Lynden then it was coming here.

Smote his ruin on the mountain side

When Gandalf said this in the Lords of the Ring ..it stuck with me for some very odd reason. I want to smote some ruin...on an evil force bent on my destruction, wouldn't you?
Our mini trip to Bokodini , Pyramid and Wamena was AMAZING in all the ways that we wanted it to be. We went because we heard about Netiaken and the discipleship ministry that is happening in Pyramid with Paul and Victoria and Bokodini with Scott and Heidi. The enemy is bent on the destruciton of the Papuan soul with the loss of dignity and the worth of their soul. When you believe you are less the enemy has gained his foothold to kill, maim, destroy. He has been persistent and he has been successful...BUT, and that is God there is always a but. There in those mountains Netiaken is smiting some big ruin. Netiaken means soul in the Dani language and the battle is on for each Papuan to know they are loved and they are of Much worth.
I have struggled with the concept of how do you do servant leadership when you come here you are placed far above and those you want to serve feel far less then you. How far can you bend and not be condescending or patronizing? OR..do you live in such a way that perpetrates the caste system of worth? I think some have lost their love for the papuan soul and love living in Papua.
We saw some ruin of our enemies ploy and dignity being restored...Scott and I can see us being part of this battle..but that is another story on another day. Needless to say...this weekend had such an impact on us and I haven't even started telling you about the drive out. Stay tuned.