Pictures from Bimin

Here are a few pictures from my trip to Wobegan village, in the Bimin language area...

This is the Weber's village house. The outside has cut lumber and the inside has walls woven of bush material. We used a wood-burning cook stove for baking and cooking, had a water tank to catch rain water, and solar panels to heat the water.
I spent most every morning doing recordings with Bimin men, women, or school students. Here I am recording parts of Acts with a grade 8 student from the community school.
This is one of the ladies who came to read 1 and 2 Timothy, standing outside with her baby after church.
These two houses were right next to ours. You can see the smoke rising from the fire pits in the middle of each house, while kids play outside in the morning mist.
One afternoon the school put on a three-hour program of dancing, singing and dramas. Here is one of the dancing groups, dressed up in their traditional outfits.

Two arrivals

This is Sara, posting again now...

I arrived back to Ukarumpa from Wobegan village this afternoon. God blessed us with a beautiful day and safety in our travels.

(I had an expected phone call from mom tonight - she had a good trip and has arrived safely in Port Moresby, and will be flying to Ukarumpa tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for your prayers for her!)

The work in Wobegan went really well! We were able to record all of the Scripture books we had planned, and more. We couldn't record in the rain, because the sound of the rain on the roof was too loud and would affect the quality of the recording, BUT we only had 10 minutes of rain during 10 days of recording!

(I've tried to post a few pictures, but it's not working right now... Hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures soon.)

A pretty normal day - Guest post by Nancy

This morning seems like a pretty normal morning. I’ve started a load of laundry, eaten my breakfast, and said goodbye to my husband as he left for work. But my mind is already on tomorrow. This time tomorrow I’ll be…

Getting up early so I’m ready to leave by 5:15 AM for the Avoca Airport. Praying my flight will leave there on time (7:40) so I have enough time to catch my next flight in Philadelphia (at 9:45). Flying to LA – almost 6 hours in the air. Then waiting until my flight leaves LA at 9:30 PM heading for New Zealand (this flight is almost 13 hours long). After that it’s on to Brisbane, then Port Morseby. There I will be met by an SIL employee and taken to the Mapang Missionary Guesthouse where I will spend the night. The next afternoon, I will get my SIL flight to Ukarumpa, and Lord willing, Sara will be there to greet me! (She and Christiane are planning to come back from the village the day before I arrive). So, after 6 flights (about 28 hours in the air!) I should arrive at Ukarumpa about 3:30 PM on Friday, August 28th. (That’s 1:30 AM Friday morning Eastern Time, since PNG is 14 hours ahead of us.)

Today, in the meantime, I’m doing the laundry, buying a gallon of milk, going to the bank, and yes, finishing packing my bags and weighing them one more time. I’ll be taking my first anti-malarial pill tonight with supper. Then… I think I’ll be ready!

Please pray:

Sara and Christiane will be able to finish the work they set out to do and for them to have a safe trip back from the village.
My trip will go well, and for good health and safety during my time in PNG.
I will be a blessing and encouragement to Sara and to the other people I meet.
For my family at home while I am away.

Something a little more fun! - Guest post #4 by Nancy

In case my last post was a little too serious for you, I thought I’d tell you about the gifts I’m taking with me. I wanted to have some gifts to give to Papua New Guineans I meet while I’m there, so I asked Sara for ideas. Then I tried to purchase things which followed her suggestions - but it wasn’t always easy! I never did manage to find any “small sturdy dolls” (at least that I thought would be appropriate… little girls in the USA play with some kind of strange-looking dolls these days!)

Here is what I came up with, as you can see in the following photo - bubbles, toy tops, brightly-colored balls, sea creature water squirters, and matchbox cars.


I also picked out a bunch of cute stickers. Laura (Sara’s sister) sent stickers to Sara in the mail before she did the village living part of her orientation course. Sara took them with her and gave them to the kids. They loved them!
For the adults, Sara suggested things with colored photos. I purchased a bunch of local postcards, two Pennsylvania Images books, and some America calendars. We may purchase some more ‘useful’ items to give as gifts, but we can buy those in PNG.

I have also put together a small photo album to take with me to show people. Sara said that could be a good conversation starter. I’ve included photos of my home and family, our church, and some of our local birds, animals, and scenery. I made sure to include some photos of snow. My Tok Pisin/English dictionary does not have a word in it for snow. So, maybe the snow photos will make for some very interesting conversation!

Six days to go - Guest post #3 by Nancy

My husband asked me yesterday if this trip seems real to me yet. Planning something for six months ahead may have a way of making it seem like it’s never really going to happen! But I have to say, with all the thought and preparation that has gone into this, it does seem real. Guess that’s a good thing, since I’m leaving in six days! I only bought my tickets 5 months ago, but I also spent about a month before that discussing it with Sara and the rest of my family and looking into what it would entail.

People ask me if I’m nervous. The answer to that question is “yes, sometimes” but mostly – “not as much as I would have thought I would be”. I feel prepared as much as I could be and I know God is in control. “He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in Him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord” Isaiah 26:3.

I reread Corrie ten Boom’s book The Hiding Place this summer. What a wonderful faith she and her family possessed. If you have never read it, I would highly recommend it. Corrie tells a story about going on a train ride and how her father would not give her the ticket until she needed it. He said that is how our Heavenly Father gives us what we need, also, in His perfect timing. So though I don’t know what this trip holds for me, I will trust in Him.

And even though I do have a few more things to do before I’m really ready to leave, I’m starting to think – let’s get this “show on the road”!

Packing up!

Since the middle of March, I’ve been collecting “stuff” for my trip. Things I will need, things Sara has asked me to bring, and things for gifts for people in Papua New Guinea. Until yesterday, all these things have been accumulating in one green suitcase, on a shelf, and on the floor in my sewing room. Another blue suitcase was purchased and was sitting there empty. Yesterday I decided it was time to start organizing, packing, and weighing!
The airlines allow two checked bags up to 50 pounds each, one carry-on up to 15 pounds, and one personal item such as a purse or briefcase. (by “allow” they mean I will pay for these, and then anything over this amount, I will be charged a whole bunch more for!) Since my usual purse is quite small, I decided to buy a bigger one for the trip. To me it seems huge… but it’s wonderful because even with all the stuff I’ve put in it already, it still appears half empty. My strategy for packing was similar to when I used to pack our backpacks for hiking trips. You need to know what you have put where when you get done, you need to know you “have everything” and it can’t weigh too much! Armed with lots of zip-lock bags of various sizes, some tape and bubble wrap, and a clipboard, I got started. As I packed, I jotted down each item on my clipboard under the heading of blue or green suitcase, carry-on, or purse. Then, the weigh-in! With most of my things packed, my blue suitcase weighed in at 31 pounds, the green one at 33.5, my carry-on at 13.5 and hey, might as well see how much my purse weighed just for fun… 3.5 pounds! I still have a few more last minute things to purchase and pack, but I’m happy to have the bulk of my packing done and know that my luggage is not too heavy. I know it’s “just stuff" but I do pray it will arrive safely in PNG!

Nem bilong mi Nancy

Yes, that’s Tok Pisin for “my name is Nancy”. For those of you who don’t know, I am Sara’s Mom. Sara asked if I would like to be a guest on her blog while she is out in the village. She thought it would be interesting for me to write some posts, because I can tell you about my upcoming trip to visit her in PNG! My trip will begin on August 25th when I fly from Scranton, to Philadelphia, then on to Los Angeles, Auckland, Brisbane, Port Morseby, and finally to Ukarumpa - where Sara lives! (That’s six flights, the longest one is almost 13 hours). For someone who is not known as being “adventurous” this is going to be quite an adventure. Shortly after beginning to plan this trip, I read Joshua 1:9 - “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." I know “wherever” includes all those places and I am trusting the Lord that He will be with me!

I’d like to thank my husband for encouraging and supporting me to take this trip. I know he would like to go, too, and hopefully he will get a chance to someday soon as well.

I’ve been preparing for this trip since the middle of March, when I bought my airline tickets. Since then, I’ve been working on things like getting the necessary shots and anti-malarial medicine, purchasing things I’ll need and that Sara has asked me to bring, and getting my Visas (one for PNG and one for Australia since I have to stay overnight there on the way home). Preparing for this month-long trip has helped me understand better how much missionaries have to do to get ready to spend several years of their lives on the mission field! Mine is not a missions trip, just a visit to Sara, but my prayer is that I will be an encouragement to her and the other missionaries I meet while I am there. I’m very excited to be going – to see Sara (it’ll be a year since she left), meet her co-workers, and to experience PNG for myself after hearing and reading so much about it. I'll try to share a little about my experiences here with you as I continue to get ready and possibly after I arrive in PNG.

Please continue to remember Sara and Christiane in your prayers as they work on recording the Bimin New Testament! Thank you.

Newsletters and I'm Off!

I emailed my August newsletter out a day or so ago. If you normally get one, but didn't this time, don't think I forgot you - I suspect some may have gotten lost somewhere.

Just email me to let me know you didn't receive a copy and I'll send you one when I get back from the village (after August 27). (Or if you don't get my newsletter but would like to, you can email me too.) Use the following email address, but delete the spaces and replace AT with the @ symbol: sara . vancott AT gmail . com

I'm sorry I won't be able to email anything out earlier, but I'm leaving for the village in six hours! (Most of the emails did go through, so you could also try asking someone else who you suspect gets my newsletter to forward it to you :-) )

I'm looking forward to a good time in the village, helping to record Bimin people reading the New Testament in their own language. These recordings will be used to share the truth of God's word with people who can't read.

Please pray:
That Christiane and I will have safe and timely travels to and from the Bimin area,
That we will demonstrate Christ's love to people and understand it better ourselves, and
That Bimin speakers will have time and be available to help make the recordings.

P.S. Look for some postings by a special guest to appear on the blog sometime in the next two weeks while I'm gone. ;-)

Ear and Job Update

Ear

The antibiotics worked! I've been amazed at how quickly my ear is returning to normal - the swelling and redness are almost gone. And I was even able to sleep on my left side last night, because the pain and tenderness in the ear has decreased a lot!

I had my third appointment in three days at the clinic this morning. The doctor is pleased with my progress and has cleared me to go to the village on Wednesday! Thanks for your prayers :-)

Job

I've decided against taking the temporary Kokopo center manager position. When the opportunity came up, I asked God to give me a red flag if this job wasn't a good idea for me. It seemed like such a perfect fit that I couldn't imagine any reason why I shouldn't do it. But the next day God did give me a red flag, in the form of an email from the current managers. They would not recommend I take the job as a single woman, because of the social isolation and heavy workload.

I can't disregard their advice, and I see it as a signpost from God, directing me away from this job opportunity. Thanks for praying together with me for wisdom and direction. God provided it, as James 1:5 says He will.

Going to Bimin...?

On Wednesday, I'm planning to go to the Bimin language group. Christiane, a translator, is planning to go out for two weeks to do Scripture recordings and literacy training, while her husband stays in Ukarumpa in an administrative role. They dedicated the New Testament last year and are now continuing to help people use the Scriptures - through producing an audio NT and helping people learn to read.

The Bimin language is located right next to Setaman, the language we surveyed in July, in the western-most part of the country. I'm looking forward to getting more experience living and working in a village, helping Christiane out, and getting to know people in the village.

~ ~ ~

Thursday I had a small sore on my ear and by Saturday my whole ear was red, swollen, hot and tender. The nurse I saw on Saturday was very concerned and started me immediately on a strong antibiotic for cellulitis, a deep skin infection, which is fairly common in legs, but uncommon and more serious the closer it is to the brain.

I saw the nurse again today (Sunday) and it seems that the infection is responding to treatment. I need to have another appointment with a doctor to be cleared to go the village, where there is no medical treatment available except what Christiane and I can provide for ourselves.

Please pray that I'll be cleared to go to the village with Christiane, and that my health will continue to improve.

~ ~ ~

Here's a Bimin lady we met on the Setaman survey...

Setaman Story

You can read more about our (exciting!) Setaman survey from my co-worker Juliann's perspective on the PNG survey blog. If you go to http://pngsurvey.blogspot.com/, you can scroll down to her July 28 post and start from the beginning of the story.

Or you can use these links to get to each post individually...

July 28: Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow!

July 31: Rescued in Agali

August 4: Hiking to Dimtikin

August 5: Why outhouses should be deep . . .

August 6: "I promise you, you'll see the sun again . . ."

Enjoy!

New (temporary) job opportunity

I'm in the middle of trying to make a fairly big decision right now, and I'd like to ask for prayer from all of you.

There's a need for a temporary regional center manager in a small town on the beautiful island of New Britain. The job seems like a good fit for me, and I'd like to fill in to help with this important need.

But, the center is quite isolated and I'd be there alone a lot of the time. The current managers have written to me and told me they would not recommend the job for a single by herself (because of the social isolation and the big workload), and I think it's wise to heed their advice.

Please pray with me about this. Pray that God will give me wisdom in deciding and peace in the decision. I'm planning to give my supervisors my decision on Monday. Thanks :-)