Last Sunday I went to a local church in the valley. It was the first time since coming back from my vacation in March that I'd been outside "the fence" (the chain-link and razor-wire fence surrounding Ukarumpa's 0.8 square miles).
It took about 25 minutes to walk to the church, which includes crossing a river. We're in dry season now so it's not too deep, even though the current was still pretty strong.
I really enjoyed visiting this church and meeting the friendly people there. They are a fairly small congregation but will be moving into a new permanent building in the next few weeks and hope to draw in more people from the local community.
The service was all in Tok Pisin, which was good, so I could follow along. There were some songs, testimonies, and a sermon from a visiting pastor.
I would like to go back there to church this week, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to. I can't find anyone else from Ukarumpa who's going and probably shouldn't walk out there by myself. Maybe next week...
Here's a picture of the beautiful scenery outside "the fence," taken from right behind the church.
(All pictures courtesy of Jim Kraft)
3 comments:
Hi Sara,
Thanks for the nice pictures. Seems natural to see you wading a river to get to church:) Hope you get to go again soon. We surely enjoyed Grace Fabian at the M-D banquet. Her book is just like the title "Outrageous Grace"--such a good reminder of the ways God uses hard times and tragedies for His glory. This week's lesson is on Jehovah-Tsidkenu--that was a new one to me. It stands for "The Lord Our Righteousness" Jer. 23:6 was the reference. There was a song by this title by Robert Murray McCheyne. The stanza I liked best was "Jehovah-Tsidkenu! my treasure and boast, Jehovah-Tsidkenu! I ne'er can be lost; In Thee I shall conquer by flood and by field--My cable, my anchor, my breastplate and shield!" Also, the chorus, "Seek Ye First the kingdom of God."
Have a great day and week,
Karen H
Sara,
Maybe you, Laura and I can go in the next couple of Sundays!
Love, Dad
I was at Messiah this weekend for graduation, and at Baccalaureate they read Scripture in many languages, including Tok Pisin! Thought of you.
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