(Quick) Answer to Prayer

Last night, as I sent am email to confirm my flights home for this December, I prayed that God would provide the money for the expensive ticket. Then I went to bed.

When I woke up, I had two emails that provided the answer to my prayer... One was letter (scanned and forwarded to me by my mom) from a generous supporter giving a gift almost exactly equal to the amount of my ticket cost! (The gift was given over three weeks ago, but I just found out this morning.)

The second email told me that an ongoing problem with health insurance claims from my shoulder surgery (last April) was resolved, so I expect to get a significant bit money back from that. (With my insurance, I pay upfront and then get reimbursed.)

So my flights and my overnight in Hong Kong are both covered now... Praise the Lord with me for the way He answered my prayer at just the right time!

SU Conference: Day 3

The Scripture Use conference continues here in Ukarumpa. Thanks for praying for the leaders as they traveled. All those who were stuck on the other side of the collapsed road were flown in by MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) and those who were bumped from their commercial flights made it on a flight later that day.

Since arriving, the participants have been busy with seminars, group discussions and time to talk together. Here's a shot of Ukarumpa's meeting house, with the participants engaged in discussion at their tables. (I'll be helping to lead worship there tomorrow morning.)

Photo by Sharon Bowers

Tonight I had three of the participants (and my friends Joy and Juliann) over for dinner. It was really neat to meet three ladies who are here for the conference - two who have influential positions in their respective churches (Salvation Army and Baptist) and another who is attending university and plans to work with the PNG Bible Translation Association!

We had a fun time chatting in Tok Pisin and English about a number of topics - from the weather to cultural differences. Before they left, they took time to pray for us - it was a blessing to meet them!

Keep praying for the conference as it ends tomorrow (Thursday) and for the participants as they go travel home on Friday. Thanks!

SU Conference Starts Today!

Today marks the start of the first Scripture Use (SU) conference in PNG. Eighty-nine church leaders from all over the country will be arriving at Ukarumpa today (Lord willing). See my earlier post for more details.

Please pray:

-For the leaders as they arrive today. The only road between here and the city of Goroka (where many leaders were coming from) is currently impassible. (Heavy rains took out two bridges and washed out part of the road.)

-For this conference to have a big impact in the way vernacular Scriptures are used in PNG.

-That all the details will come together for the tours, meals, meetings, display times, etc.

Thanks!

Learning that Lasts

Have you ever sat through a class (or sermon or Bible study) and wondered why you were there, because you weren't really learning anything?

This week I took a course called "Learning that Lasts" which is designed to help teachers teach in an engaging way that helps adults to learn, remember, and apply what they learn. It was a challenge to write a lesson plan in a short time and then teach it the next day, but with the help of my partner and our patient instructor, I did it and got lots of positive feedback about it!

In our class of twelve, five were Papua New Guinean Bible translators. It was cool to hear their insights in class discussions and to get to know them a little outside of class.

This afternoon, we had a class picture taken. Here we are: four instructors and twelve students (five PNGians, six Americans and 1 Argentinian):

(Click the picture for a larger view)

Upcoming Scripture Use Conference

A week from tomorrow (January 18) church leaders from many denominations will be arriving at Ukarumpa from all over PNG for a landmark conference. The purpose of the conference is to encourage a dialogue about using the vernacular in churches. We want to hear what these leaders think and give them a venue to talk together and process this issue.

Many people here are involved in organizing this conference - working out travel logistics, planning for housing and food, preparing the schedule, organizing tours of Ukarumpa, etc. My small part is to coordinate an area of display tables showing the work that we do here.

Please pray for me and all the others organizing this conference (Jennie, Rich, Deb, Danny, Martha, and others) and for the leaders who will be attending. It's our prayer that these leaders will catch a vision for using vernacular Scriptures in churches and that many people will come to know Christ more deeply as a result.

The "Exciting" Conclusion

Thanks to those of you who gave suggestions :-)

After I wrote my previous post, I asked for advice on the local newsgroups to see what I could learn from the collective wisdom of Ukarumpa-ites. I got some helpful replies for people with much more cultural experience than I; the theme seemed to be: find out where she got the wood from. So I did.

When I took the gardener some coffee and a snack, she said that the homeowners told her she could have the wood. So this means: she didn't do anything wrong in taking the wood, although she still exercised poor judgment by leaving the wood by the road for so long and not telling me what she was doing. During our chat, she volunteered that it was her fault that the wood was taken - apologizing and taking responsibility. We were "wanbel" (Tok Pisin for "in agreement," literally "of one heart") and all was well.

Living room of the beautiful place I'm housesitting - the housekeeper keeps it spotless

I thought things were all set, but wait! Today the housekeeper came and asked me where the wood went. She said that the homeowners told her and the gardener that they could split the wood, so that she was wrong in taking it.

I'm more confused than ever, and not sure who is "telling the truth". Truth is a tricky subject in PNG culture; just like people everywhere, people often tell the parts of the truth that are convenient for them. Do you see how the gardener and housekeeper could both be telling what they consider to be the truth? (The homeowners did tell the gardener she could have (part of) the wood, when they told her and the housekeeper that they could split it.)

So you see, I need your prayers for wisdom in dealing with sticky cross-cultural situations like this! Thanks :-)

Choose Your Own (Cross-Cultural) Answer

One "normal" part of life for missionaries in many parts of the world is having employees. Here in Ukarumpa most people have a gardener, housekeeper, and lawn care person. Our PNG friends expect us to employ people (to give them a source of income). It's not a shameful thing to be someone's gardener; rather, it's a coveted position.

Part of the backyard, taken care of by the gardener

While you may be thinking "those lucky missionaries!" and it is nice to have help around the house, there are a thousand potential problems that come with having employees, especially ones from a completely different culture. Let me give you an example:

A few weeks ago, I noticed some logs piled by the road outside my house. I didn't know where they came from and I didn't need them myself, so when someone called to ask if they could have them, I said sure. (I was actually pleasantly surprised that someone asked, because usually if you leave anything (from empty plastic container to wood to shoes) outside it magically disappears within a day or two.)

This morning when my gardener showed up (for the first time after Christmas break) she was very angry with me, because apparently it was her (fire)wood and now it was gone. She told me that she and her kids came one day when I wasn't home and moved the wood from the backyard to along the road. She intended to have a friend with a truck come and pick it up, but never did. She never told me about any of this, so I had no idea.

So, before I tell you what I did, I want to hear some ideas from all of you. What would you do? In a few days, I'll post the exciting conclusion to this problem, but for now, leave a comment with your suggestions.