Warakar

Warakar is a fairly remote village about 30 min drive and 45 min walk from the station we live on. I was invited to go by a friend who works for the maintenance crew here on station. Of coarse I jumped at the opportunity to go. It's always a treat to go visit the "bush" to go for a hike and see how the majority of people in the highlands of PNG live. This however, was not the typical hiking trip I was used to. The day before the hike I got a letter from the Warakar village leader via my maintenance friend. The letter read very nicely at the beginning talking about how he and his people were exited about my upcoming visit, but the second half was concerning to say the least. The later half of the letter said things about Rachel and I promising to come back to PNG in 3 years to start an orphanage in the Warakar village. Like I said before this was concerning since we had made no such promise. Putting the pleasent first half of the letter in context with the second half made it clear the hike was intended to be a scouting visit for the potential orphanage.

Luckily I was able to express my concerns with Dan, my maintenance friend, before he left that day. Thankfully he shared my concerns and said that if he had read the letter he would have never given it to me. I did the best I could to tell Dan that he needed to go back to his village that night and make it clear that we were just coming for a hike, not a scouting visit. I feared that though Dan was not in agreement with the village leader, the rest of the village may be expecting something of me that I can't deliver.
After some good advice from a full time missionary here on station, Dan and I departed for his village early in the morning. To get to the village we took two PMVs (public motor vehicles), essentially just vans that people pile in to get around for a little money. When we went as far as a PMV would go we push started an old beat up truck that took us a few miles. When we were a far as the truck would take us we walked for another 45 min or so. Finally to the village I was greeted by what seemed to be the entire village. Probably the most interesting greeting I have ever received in my life was by and old man with no teeth who shook my hand, told me that I had big muscles, then proceeded to squeeze my arms, shoulders, and chest with both hands. After recovering from being felt up by a toothless old man we took off on our hike. We hiked for 3 hours or so up and down the mountain side seeing some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever laid my eyes on. The main highlight of the hike was a waterfall that was about 400 ft tall where the water crashed on a ledge and just exploded into mist. I took at least 20 pictures of the waterfall but none of them come even close to capturing the beauty of it all. This was probably the most difficult hike I have ever been on walking up and down streams, crossing rivers, and other things that I will not mention since I know that my mother reads this blog.

The whole experience is one that I will not soon forget. I got to meet some people who were unbelievably kind and hospitable considering my refusal to start an orphanage. I also got to meet my first name-sake, little Jordan the first son of my friend Dan and his wife. Rachel and I have started a small competition of who can have the most name-sakes before we leave PNG. In case you are interested, I am winning Jordan:1, Rachel:1/2 (Dichel, half DIane half raCHEL). Though we make light of it all with a competition I can't help from feeling honored.

Though the concerns with the whole orphanage thing, the people of Warakar have a great need for a school. When Dan was a young he had to walk 2 and 1/2 hours just to get to school, that's five hours of walking every day and it is still that way today. This great distance from school has lead to almost all of the children in the village not attending any kind of school. I am not sure what the best course of action is for the people of Warakar to remedy their education needs, but I know that God has a plan for it all. So please pray for Warakar.

Apa

This is a post written by Dr. Andy Bennet, a full time medical missionary, on his blog site http://day-in-paradise.blogspot.com/. A good friend of mine (Apa) has not had it easy the last few years and has recently had more heart ache. Dr. Any knows Apa better than I and can tell you his story with greater accuracy and tact.


I didn't know how one life could contain so much heartbreak.

He was born with deformed hands. His left hand has a normal thumb and one finger. His right hand has a thumb and 3 fused fingers. Somehow, he seems to be able to handle things and do basic sorts of work.

Although raised in the church, he had never asked Jesus into his life. He followed a life of crime.

By about 2 years ago, he was married and had 3 children. As the only son in his family, he had inherited a large piece of land, and felt pretty well set.

Then one rainy night, he was walking along a familiar path near a river with his 4 year-old son on his shoulders. He was depending on his knowledge of the route, along with the dim moonlight of an overcast night. What he didn't know, and couldn't see, was that there was a place where the heavy rains had washed a section of the path into the stream. He stepped off into the washed-out section and fell and tumbled into the river. He grasped his son's leg with his left hand, but his arm struck a stone, which loosened his grip. They both plunged into the cold, rain-swollen water. He was disoriented at first--perhaps he also struck his head in the fall. In the swirling water he heard a voice saying, "give your life to Jesus." The words were repeated 2 times. There in the blackness, he gave his life to Jesus. Quickly his mind cleared, and he was able to lunge to the surface of the water.

Apa called his son's name, and thrashed around in the water trying to find his son, but to no avail. It was not until 3 days later that the little boy's body was found, some distance downstream.

Sometime after this, his wife's family came and took her away from Apa. He had not paid any bride price at the time of the marriage, and because he couldn't work for wages (no one would hire him because of his had deformities), and because he didn't have any brothers or other close relatives to help him, he had not been able to pay, and her family had allowed him to postpone payment. But now their patience was at an end. Besides, they accused him of killing his son. If they were serious about this accusation, I don't know why they didn't try to take the other children away from him, but they didn't.

He was recently able to get a job as a security guard at the hospital, and thing were looking up. He assumed that if he could save up some money to pay bride price, he would get his wife back. A friend even offered a generous gift to help with the bride price. But then it became obvious that she did not want to come back to him. There were rumors that she had moved in with another man. Then she went to his employer with false accusations that lead to the loss of his job.

A few weeks ago, it became obvious that some of Apa's cousins were determined to take his land away from him. His coffee gardens were about his only source of income. Because there were many male cousins to divide their family's land, they didn't have much for each one of them. They told Apa that they wanted the land. However, Apa's mother was living on the land, and she had enough influence in the tribe to make it difficult for them.

Last week, Apa's relatives accused his mother of using sorcery to cause the death of another relative. In many deaths, especially ones that aren't understood, it is assumed that sorcery is involved. It is culturally acceptable to take revenge on sorcerers, and the sorcerer's family has no right of counter revenge. It therefore becomes convenient to bring an accusation of sorcery against someone whom one wants to hurt or kill. So the cousins accused Apa's mother of sorcery. They found her in the market, with Apa's 2 children. They attacked her and killed her.

They apparently intended to kill the children as well. The little girl was left on the ground unconscious, and assumed dead. The little boy got lost in the crowd, and was rescued by a female relative, who hid him under her coat. The murderers carried the body of Apa's mother away, and buried her in a location that is unknown to Apa, to deny him of the ability to hold a proper funeral and burial for her. After the murderers left, someone noted that the little girl was still breathing, and she was brought to the hospital, where she recovered. Both children are now safe with other relatives.


Finally, the relatives have burned Apa's house, along with all his possessions. The items he mentioned specifically that were lost were his Bibles.

He came to the house Sunday afternoon, along with Simon and Esther, mutual friends. We had known bits and pieces of his story, but not many of the details. Obviously, most of what has happened to Apa can't be fixed, but we are going to try to help with a few things. Judy had a new Bible which had not yet started "feeling like mine", and she gave it to him. I know someone who can talk to his former boss to see if there is a possibility of getting the job back, and I have shared the story with him. Apa has been given a little cash to help with immediate expenses. Most of all, we are requesting your prayers for him.

Late note: Apa may be getting his job back. His wife, who works at the hospital will probably be reprimanded for lying to the security company and getting him fired, and if he doesn't get the job back, she will probably be fired. A tiny shred of justice in this painful situation.

We're back in the land of blogging!

Alrighty...so we may have underestimated our ability to maintain a blog. Apparently you have to write things now and then and we are amazingly good at putting that off!
BUT we are prepared to give it another shot!! YAY! Part of our problem may have been that we felt the need to write about huge exciting things and now that we are in some what of a routine, big exciting things don't seem to happen quite as often....SO our blogs will now be about things that happen in our normal day. Hopefully some of you will find that interesting!?!

To get you a little caught up...here are some of the things we've learned so far:

-Pineapples grow on low spiky bush like plants...NOT trees.
-Peanuts that come right out of the ground don't actually taste like a peanut. Apparently it has to be roasted first before it tastes like the familiar nut we all know and love. (AND...this just in...raw peanuts can grow a deadly fungus! Good reason to roast them!)
-96% of dogs are NOT friendly.
-A banana tree will only produce one bunch of bananas.
- If you are a child and haven't seen a white person before...we are very very scary!
- There is a difference between sugar fruit, passion fruit, and tree tomatoes...even though they still all look the same to me!
-The local tribal language sounds like it's about 90% vowels, 6% consonants, and 4% grunts. (Thank goodness we can communicate in Pidgin instead!)
- Sarcasm does not translate.
-Everyone despises the Chinese for their cheap products.
-Everything moves a little slower in PNG. Jordan's new rule is to estimate the time to finish something and then double it.
-There is no such thing as standing in line. You just work your way to the front of the crowd to get what you need.
-Be mindful of the babies you hold, some of them are....well...some of them are not properly "sealed"
-AND most importantly...God is SO faithful!

Hopefully we'll have more blogs soon!! :)

My Friend Jon

I have been friends with Jon Opa since the first week Rachel and I arrived in PNG. Jon was working on the new hospital as a painter. Jon's skills as painter leave something to be desired but, after seeing the other guys paint, Jon is a pro. Anyway, Jon is not the smartest person you will meet but he has a heart made of gold. But Jon is more than a painter and a nice guy, he is a quote machine! His English is pretty good, but he still doesn't understand that different cultures have different social standards. All that on top of not have a verbal filter makes for some pretty funny stuff. Every time I see him he will say something that makes me want to burst out in laughter, but I have to hold it in because he didn't say it to make me laugh, he said it to be informative. He are a few of the most memorable Jon Opa quotes...

-"Jordan is like my son, they are both very fat, and my son he takes after his mother." (This isn't as insulting as it might seem, being a little fat in PNG is a good thing since it means you are healthy and well fed.)
-"When I was young, one day I went to Mt. Hagen (a large town near by) and I got very drunk. Since I was drunk I started to play card games for money, and I took everyone's money. Then I ran away because I was afraid the men would want their money back.
-"In PNG we do not like our wives, we like our children. Our wives give us the children, so that is good, but we like our children more."

There are many others, but those seem to be a good sample of the hilarity of Jon.

Soon after i became friends with Jon I learned that he, like many other nationals, did not know his age let alone his birthday. So I declared that he would turn 53 on October 22nd (just an educated guess). So when October 22nd rolled around Jon came over for lunch and I gave him an umbrella, a practical gift in the land of constant rain. I told Jon, "this umbrella is for you, you can't give it to anyone else". By then I had figured out that Jon liked to give things to his family, which is great but he really needed that umbrella. From his house, Jon walks an hour and a half down the mountain to the hospital station and if it is raining he holds a piece of cardboard above his head the whole way down and the whole way back up. In spite of my insisting, Jon gave the umbrella to his wife so that she could have some shade while selling extra fruits and vegetables at the local market. (So Jon really does love his wife he just loves his kids a lot more)

Jon's heart really is made of gold when he is with his young grandson (pictured above). He loves that kid more than life itself. Jon makes about 60 cents an hour, when he has a job, so he doesn't have a whole lot of money. But when he does have money he does what ever he can to make the lives of his son and grandson better than the life he has had. Jon's shoes are always falling apart yet when he does get some money he will buy shoes for his grandson and everyone else in his family before he buys anything for himself.

Jon's life has not been easy and hearing the stories of his youth makes me very thankful for the life, opportunities, and safety I have had. When Jon was young he lived on the land he does right now, but before Jon came of age his father died. After his father's passing his mother took Jon back to the village she was from, a long way from here and any familiarity young Jon had. Once Jon came of age he moved back to his fathers land the land that was rightfully his and began a life of his own. But moving back to his fathers land meant that he was leaving his family, his seven sisters, some he has not seen or heard from since. Jon told me that he thinks four of his sisters are dead and three are still alive, but he only knows the whereabouts of two. But Jon did make the tough decision to leave his family and start a new one of his own. In starting his own family Jon married not one but two wives, an acceptable practice for non-Christians in PNG. After becoming a Christian Jon repented the error of his ways and gave his second wife the choice of staying with him and his first wife only as a worker, not a wife. Or returning to her parents free to remarry if she wished since the second wife's marriage to Jon was not valid in the eyes of God. She returned back to her parents. Also before becoming a Christian Jon was not afraid to fight in tribal disputes. I won't go into detail but Jon sustained a bullet wound to the neck which nearly took his life. Since He gave his life to the lord Jon does his best to avoid fighting since he knows that is not how God wants him or his people to settle their disputes.

Jon's life has been noticeably changed by God through Jon's faith and commitment. He says he is happier now with his life than he ever was when he was getting drunk, fighting, or had two wives. His life is a true testament to the will of God being fulfilled not only for the good of our faith but for the good of our own lives here on earth. Seeing Jon's commitment to his family and the sacrifices he so willing makes for them everyday brings new insight to what my parents did for me, and what Rachel's parents did for her. Like Jon they sacrificed of themselves to give their family the best they could. Without our parents support throughout our lives we would not be able to be here right now. Weather or not they knew it, they were fulfilling God's will in preparing us for the ministry we are involved in right now. And for all this, Rachel and I are thankful. Thankful to our families, and thankful to our God who provides.

Madang!!

School on Christmas Break + In between construction projects + Super nice missionary family willing to share their vacation with us = Trip to MADANG!!

Madang: a city on the coast about a 10 hour drive from Kudjip
Climate: Hot and humid
Scenery: Beautiful blue ocean in one direction, misty mountains in the other direction
Best known for: HAHA, well, I’m not sure but they have some pretty sweet resorts and great snorkeling
Duration of our trip: 1 week!

Those who went:
- Jordan and myself (HA! Hopefully you already had that one figured out!)
- Andy and Judy Bennett (Missionaries who are now known to us as the King of Coffee and
the Queen of Snorkeling!!)
- Alanna Watton (volunteer staying with the Bennetts…and she’s super fun to vacation with)
- Dave and Rosie Kerr (Missionaries over at the Bible college…also fun to vaca with!)
- Grace and Anna Kerr (Children of Dave and Rosie…these two girls have more energy than I
can ever hope to have in the rest of my life combined)
- Sparkles, Sweetie Bear, Cinderella, and Pretty (misc stuffed animals belonging to Grace and
Anna)

Our trip down:
- Miserable for some and only slightly miserable for others. The roads aren’t really that great but in addition you have to factor in car sickness and certain people already being puking sick before we even left. I would try to describe some of the potholes but you wouldn’t believe me!

Our stay in Madang:
- We stayed in a house that belonged to Pioneers Bible Translators. The house had 3 bedrooms and air conditioning…yay! We ate a few lunches and one dinner at restaurants but we ate in the house most other nights. We also had some pretty amazing neighbors who felt the need to share their music, conversations, and arguments with us by doing everything at very large decibel levels! Most nights, after dinner, we would play a game…usually Settlers of Cataan! If you have never played…you’re missing out! If you’ve played as much as we have…you’d need a break from the game for a while!

The fun stuff:
- SNORKELING!! Three of the days that we were in Madang we went to a resort called Jais Aben (pronunciation is debatable) where they have AMAZING snorkeling! AND this was my (Rachel) first time ever snorkeling…I picked a good time to start! After much convincing from Jordan that the tube was actually wide enough to provide a sufficient amount of air to my lungs…I started out on my first snorkeling adventure. We saw all sorts of BEAUTIFUL fish and coral!!
- PIG ISLAND!! A remote island about a 15-30 minute boat ride off shore. I pretended like I was stranded and had to think of ways to keep myself alive. After smashing open two rotten coconuts, briefly trying to start a fire, and gulping salt water…I realized I would probably die if I was really stranded. BUT I had a great time…it was probably my favorite part of the trip!
- CHILLAXING (chilling and relaxing)!!
Conclusion:
- We are so grateful to the Bennett family for including us in their trip! We feel very blessed to have gotten the chance to hang out with the Kerrs, Alanna, and the Bennetts! God has placed some really sweet people in our lives!!
- Our trip was super fun and we hardly even got sunburned!!

I'm dreaming of a Green Christmas.....

...just like the ones I've never known
where the banana trees are drippin'
and the Thompson's are wishin'
to be, back home in the snow

I'm dreaming of a wet Christmas
with every blog post that I write
may your days be merry and dry
and may all your Christmas's be White


It doesn't really seem like Christmas since it's 75 degrees outside and we haven't seen a flake of snow since last march, but I guess we will just have to suffer through it :)
Please pray for us and our feelings of home sickness as we spend our first Christmas without our families. Even more importantly please pray that the people in America, PNG, and all around the world would celebrate the truth of the Christmas rather than materialism.


MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Who is John Rambo?

If you ask a Papua New Guinea native, who is John Rambo? some will tell you that he is a film maker who came to Papua New Guinea to make a documentary. Others may only know that he is a film maker. So why ramble on about this John Rambo guy? Well... apparently I am easily mistaken for the man known as John Rambo from the 1980's blockbusters Rambo 1 through 4. I haven't gotten a hair cut for a while and being a big white person has lead to the idea that I not only look like him but could be mistaken for Sylvester Stallone (the actor who plays John Rambo). Just this morning a man near the grocery store approached me, shook my hand, and said good morning John Rambo. It wasn't a question at all, he sincerely thought that I was the one and only Rambo. It took a little convincing from Rachel that I was not Rambo, and that I just looked like him.

An interesting note is that the people here can not wrap their mind's around the idea that Rambo is only a character being played by an actor, and if he is real it must be a documentary. Also the setting for the Rambo movies is in the jungle, and to some nationals if it looks like a PNG setting it must be in PNG.

The man near the grocery store was not the first to mistake me for John Rambo, people from far away bush churches who have extremely limited access to TV and movies have seen the resemblance. In the more remote area's of the country their are small huts called picture house's where someone has acquired enough money to get a generator, a tiny TV, and an old used VHS player. In these huts they charge a little money for people to watch an old VHS from America and apparently Rambo 1, 2, 3, and 4 are very popular. So everyone seems to have seen at least one Rambo movie.

At first I didn't mind people thinking I was Stallone, in fact it was quite flattering since he is ripped in all the pictures I've seen (I looked at plenty of pictures on Google images of Stallone denying any resemblance to the seeming dim witted actor). But the more I hear from people saying hello John Rambo..., the more I worry about them always identifying me as the man who looks like Rambo rather than the man who preached that sermon or who helped build that home in the name of God. Those are the impressions that I want to leave on the people here, not that I look like a guy from a movie.

The thought of pretending that I actually am Rambo did cross my mind. I thought that maybe they would be so impressed with the heroism of Rambo that they would respect me so much that they would hang on every word I had to say about God and salvation. But I pretty sure God doesn't want our evangelism to be through or based on a lie.