It's been a while since I've posted. Life has been a little crazy since coming back from beautiful PNG. I'd like to share with you a report I had to write for YWAM. It answers some specific questions they asked, but I think it is a good, quick overview of what Papua New Guinea was for me. Don't worry, there will be more to come! For now though, here is this.
Some people may look back at our outreach and see just the surface level, that we didn't "accomplish" a whole lot on the scales that the world likes to measure us against. My God, who is bigger than the universe and who called 9 people from all over the world to Milne Bay, doesn't measure us against those scales, and that's a big thing I learned on outreach. I've learned that The Lord sustains, even when sleep is fleeting, if you are deep in the Word. I learned how important the individual really is and realized how that is so important in my own story as well. Two small families in Alotau taught me these things. The Butunas and the Wallaces changed my life. It wasn't in a big, flashy production. It was living life everyday.
I love how in Milne Bay it's expected that you say hello and greet everyone you see. At first that was really awkward. In America, if you're from a small town, it okay to greet people you know. In the city though, life is so fast paced and busy that people hardly notice the people around them. The individual isn't recognized on a social level, so how can it be on a familial, spiritual, or church level? If something isn't a habit personally, I think it's hard to apply it to the rest of the world. So while in Milne Bay, I waved at every person we drove by and greeted everyone we walked by. To see the excitement in a person's face when they realize that you are looking at them is humbling. To see a middle aged man jumping up and down in excitement at a dimdim sticking her hand out the window and waving is something that makes you pause and really consider both the small and the big things in life.
I knew that PNG was going to be less than what I'm used to as an American woman. I knew that toilets were probably going to be different and that stuff wasn't going to abound. We cooked meals over a camp stove every night. About every two and a half weeks we would have to go get more gas to fuel the fire. At home I have air con in my kitchen, floors that don't have cracks and that are completely sealed, and every kind of appliance you can imagine. My family in Alotau has almost nothing in comparison. They have cockroaches, fire ants, and cats in their kitchen where all they have is a chest freezer that also serves as their refrigerator. Taking all of that in was a little challenging. But I adapted. I cooked kau-kau like Mom showed me (sometimes) and at least tried everything put in front of me. I slept on the floor for 7 weeks and didn't complain. I was blessed to have four walls and a roof over my head with a locking door.
Ministry opportunities looked different for us. We had two ministry times where we played the guitars in the park and sang worship for a couple hours. So my sharing of the gospel was through music. I can't say there was one day I sat down with someone and had a "gospel conversation". Music was everything I did. I shared everything I had to give, and I did see people respond to that.
Preparing for outreach and arriving was interesting. We had expectations and ideas and a plan that we thought was going to be wonderful. The Lord had a different plan. Outreach didn't seem like outreach until about halfway through when we all realized that we were already where God wanted us. Transitioning mind sets was simple for me. I was happy to be waiting on The Lord for other things.
Transitioning back to Australia was a little harder. I've now seen how the rest of the world is, and those two worlds wage war inside my head and before my eyes in ways I never imagined they would. Going back to the States will be much more dramatic, I anticipate. While Australia is absolutely a first world nation in every regard, it doesn't hold a candle to America in most respects, which makes me sad. Going back to a world of consumerism and everything at your fingertips at all times really is making me consider the truly important things in life and how I want to live. How do I help impact both worlds I've now lived in? I don't know yet, but I'm ready for this crazy journey with my Savior to find out.
