PNG Mission Trip Day 4: Final preparations (we leave tomorrow)

By nature, I’m a night person.  It so very easy for me to stay up late, especially if I’m tired.  But when I come to PNG, I try to keep myself on New Zealand time, which is 2-3 hours ahead.  So, when I’m here I go to bed about 8:30 (about 1 hour after we finish dinner here) and wake up at about 4:30 am, and I have to admit that I really enjoy the quiet in the morning before people at the guest house (8 rooms with 2-6 beds in each) start moving around.  I can shower and get some breakfast and meet with the Lord in quiet & silence.  But it doesn’t last once I return home :-/

We start our week-long project tomorrow!  One thing I want to emphasize with the staff and students this week is the importance of having a quiet time in the morning every day – in our schedule, we’ll have 30 minutes each of our 7 mornings as a team to meet with God together.  Each morning we’ll model a different thing we can do to shift our focus onto God in the morning (I’ll mention each one on my blog each day, if I can post anything without electricity).  Anyway, this morning, as I was listening to Mercy Me’s album “10”, I found 3 songs that emphasize the difference between doing a bible study and seeking to meet with God – so I wrote down the lyrics and hope to print them for them.  We’ll do one song each of the first 3 days.

Jasmine (green) in line at the bank

I had a good couple hours today working with this Jasmine (PNG staff – in green) to coach her in doing the financial report online.  She does it every month and I like to take the opportunity every time I come to help clarify anything for her.  Then I went to the bank with her and stood in line (for 1 hour 15 Minutes) – we talked mostly about the project coming up.

As I mentioned before, another colleague, Matthew, from our Pacific Islands regional team in New Zealand is also here with me.  His main role is to come along side staff & students and encourage them and find needs that we can help to meet, etc.  He is excellent at that and the students love him (I think it’s because they know without a shadow of doubt that he loves them first).  This is his 10^th visit to PNG!  Matthew will be helping me with our daily Team Time (1 hour talking about God, life, or ministry)

Elton in another line

Tomorrow is the day!  We head over to Eva’s house for another mumu – local root crops & chicken wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in the ground on hot rocks – sorry I spelled it wrong in yesterday’s blog :-/  THEN the big truck shows up and takes all of us (about 22) for a lovely 2-hour drive in the country.  Goodbye city life, hello good fresh country air (and no power, hot water, etc.) – just like camping (and we will be in tents).  I mention this because even though there is phone coverage there, and I have internet on my phone, my phone battery only lasts a little while… so I hope to post, but I may end up posting everything when I get back.  I’ll try to do short ones :-)

So please do pray for us – to encourage those in the village, and to grow in our faith and walk with God!  Thanks so much!!