Back from PNG

It seems like only yesterday that I left for my 6-week outreach in Papua New Guinea. I really can’t believe how fast time flew! We flew into Port Moresby, PNG’s capital city, and traveled 8 hours by truck and boat to reach the first village called Moro. Upon landing we were met with a warm welcome by the whole village and people from surrounding villages. They greeted us with singing, dancing, and food. It really felt like a hero’s welcome. Our hosts were extremely generous and hospitable to us in every way, clearly reflecting the Papua New Guinean way of treating guests. In Moro we really tried to develop relationships with the villagers on an individual basis. The people were really easy to talk to and were quick to smile and wave whenever you walked by. Packs of children followed us wherever we went and were so fun to play with. In the evenings we held church services and taught about waiting on the Lord, clearing your conscience, and on identity. There is no time for the people there, so they were eager to listen to us for hours on end. We really fell in love with the village and the people, so it was hard to leave for the next village.

After spending 2-weeks in Moro, it was time to move on to Merreke. As we left Moro we were showered with parting gifts by the villagers. We had to hike for 3 hours to reach the village and were completely exhausted by the time we reached it. In Merreke we stayed at a pastor’s house and slept in a tree house. In Merreke we held programs 3 times a day teaching about the same topics that we had learned in lectures. At one of the programs, I got the opportunity to speak for 2 hours about Lordship. I embraced the opportunity and got my message across successfully. I also participated in various skits that we did. As in Moro, we also developed close relationships with many of the villagers. I really developed a close relationship with one man in particular. His name in his language means banana in English, and since I couldn’t pronounce his name, I just called him Banana. He had been coming to our programs, and half way through he came up to me and told me how touched he was by what we said. He said that he had fallen away from the church years ago and had decided to change his life. I continued to develop a relationship with him and his whole extended family. A couple of the girls and I got the opportunity to pray for Banana’s father who had been crippled by malaria. Reality really hit me in the face when I met him. The whole family was encouraged by our prayers, and were going to continue praying for him as a family. By the end of our stay there, I had my PNG family and father was able to walk to the beach by himself. Two weeks in Merreke flew by and it was time to move on to the next village.

We had more goodbye presents showered upon us as we were leaving Merreke and moving on to Hari Babo. Thankfully we only had to hike about half an hour to get the next village. In Hari Babo we only ran a few programs because we really felt that developing relationships with the people was what we were there for. One thing that I was really led to do was to start an interdenominational prayer group. The pastors of three different denominations in the village and about 50 church members gathered together for an extremely moving prayer group. It was the most powerful prayer group that I have ever witnessed. Everyone, including myself, was greatly encouraged after the prayer meeting and the churches were completely united for one goal. After a week and a half in Hari Babo, it was time to start making our way back to Port Moresby for our flight back to Australia. We were showered with more gifts as we were leaving, and people from Merreke and Moro came to send us off. It was really hard to say goodbye.

This is the last week of lectures and it is basically to debrief us and to prepare us for going back home. It's hard to believe that 5 months went by so quickly!

Papua New Guinea!!

So the day I've been waiting for has finally arrived; we are finally leaving for Papua New Guinea. We will be arriving in Port Moresby tomorrow and from there we will be visiting different villages in the jungles. I will not have any internet or connection to the modern world for the whole time we're there, so it will be quite the experience. I can't wait to go out and love on other people! The past two weeks here on base have been busy with preparation and lectures, so I feel like I've hardly had time to breathe. I am looking forward to see what God has in store for me over the next 6 weeks. I will be sure to update as soon as I get back!

5DE

Just got back from 5DE and it was really awesome. So much happened and time went by so quickly that I'm just starting to get myself together. I think I got about 5 hours of sleep every night! We stayed at this camp site in the mountains outside of Bisbane. We did all sorts of fun activities, like a massive laser tag battle and huge group games. We also went into Brisbane and went shopping in a couple big malls. While in Brisbane we went water skiing and surfing. It was so fun to hang out with the kids and just have fun with them! One night we had a band come play a concert for us and another night we had a super hero theme dance party. I love dancing, so that was awesome for me personally. The best part of the whole camp was the fact that we were able to put a positive influence on the kids that came. I made a lot of valuable relationships with a bunch of kids that came. I tried to encourage them as much as possible and to speak truths into their lives. A lot of them come from rough backgrounds, so it was awesome to see them change by the end of the week. I really saw how valuable Youth Street is and the positive impact it puts on the lives on so many kids. For the next two weeks we continue with lectures :)

Outreach update

So we are back from our trip through Cairns and Hopevale. We are only back on base for 2 days, then we leave again for 5DE. Cairns was a great city, and while there we stayed at a local Baptist church. We visited a middle school and a high school to just hang out with the kids. It was really fun, because we got to connect with them in a relaxed environment. We also ran a church service at another church. I was apart of the worship team, which fits me so well because I love to sing! After a few days in Cairns we made our way to Hopevale, which is an indigenous community. The problems for that community are very similar to the problems of American Indian reservations (alcohol and drugs). We went into the community with the attitude that we were not there to change the people, but rather to just hang out with them and learn from them. We had multiple chances to do so and it was awesome to learn more about them and their culture.

Tomorrow I have to do more preparations for 5DE. I am handling the accounts for the trip, which I have to admit, I am most excited for. I'm also looking forward to connecting with the kids :)

First Outreach

So we are finally leaving for our first outreach tomorrow (Saturday). We will be going to Cairns and will be gone for 2 weeks. During that time we will be visiting churches and running services. We will also be visiting aboriginal communities to develop relationships with the people there. We are going to the very small communities of Hopevale and Mossman. After 2 weeks will be back on base for 2 days, after which we will leave for a the week-long 5DE.

I'm excited to help run church services, but I think that I'm most excited to do 5DE. It will be so awesome to connect with a bunch of Aussie youths :) I will try and update at some points during the outreach...if I can find an internet cafe.

Getting Excited

This week in lectures has been so amazing so far. We are doing bible study, and are learning how to study the bible more effectively. It's really intriguing! I've never had a lecture that goes by as fast as these have. Our lecturer is Johnathan, and he is really knowledgeable. I hope to gain even more understanding as the week goes on.

This Saturday my outreach team is leaving for Cairns (our 3 week outreach starts there). On Sunday we will be doing a whole service for a church (leading worship and doing a message). We will also be going to the indigenous communities in Hopevale and Mossman. On the final week of outreach we will be doing the program called "5DE" which stands for 5-Day Escape. During that week is "Spring Break" for Australian schools, so we take a bunch of middle and high school kids on a cool trip and try to connect with them. It's going to be jam packed with all sorts of fun stuff from surfing and water skiing, to listening to live bands. For 5DE we will be going to Brisbane and will be on the Gold Coast. I'm so excited to go on outreach!!

Camping

So I just got back from the two weeks of camping, it was pretty sick. It was really beautiful there, and I saw some cool stuff. Wild kangaroos and emu's. Spiders as big as long as your finger. Ant hills as high as your knees It was like watching a true nature show out there. Flocks of green parrots flying around. Birds that sounded like women screaming (they sang in the middle of the night too, which was kinda freaky). The second the sun starts rising, EVERY bird that exists there screams at the top of it's lungs. I've never seen as many stars as I've seen there. It was absolutely amazing! The moon went away during the night (it's out in the day) and you could see some of the milky way and space clouds! I can't express how beautiful it was.

In lectures we learned not to live in a fear of what others around us think of us, but how God thinks of us. It was a really powerful time for me personally, and I feel different than I did two weeks ago. I pray differently and I worship differently. Youth Street yesterday was really awesome as well, and I got the privilege of catching up with Daniel. He is a great kid and I love encouraging him! This coming week in lectures will be about Bible study. Then we head off on our 3 week outreach! More to come...