In my last blog post, we had just arrived in Wewak, a port town in the East Sepik Region. The town is basically a run-down area with a large outdoor market and hundreds of people and trash lining the streets at all times. We were in Wewak before we left for the river, so we already had some contacts and a heart for the people!
Sunday, Jan. 29

Started the week off in prison! Haha, I should probably explain that we weren’t the criminals, but we spent our morning at the prison’s church! I have never seen a group of 100 men so happy to be at church, completely engaged throughout, desiring prayer after, and so clearly being transformed by Jesus! René gave a message on being a son of God and, based on Joshua 5, talked about entering into this new life obeying God. I got to pray in pigen for a few of the men after, who were so eager for more prayer and support as they make the most of their current circumstances. After, we found out that each of these men had to write a letter to their head official, meet daily expectations & uphold flawless character just to attend church every weekend. Wow was it a privilege to sit on these cement block-turned benches with these men. In the afternoon we attended a church service for all the missionaries in the area, which made us feel so connected and welcomed!
Monday, Jan. 30

Today, we had an early morning at the Christian bookshop (large missionary company our host family runs) giving a devotion on the character of God to their employees! We are excited to start doing morning encouragement + worship + mini teaching in every major business in town next week. A few teammates had a meeting with the Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, an incredible woman that loves helping us, to nail down the service opportunities that will be most impactful here. Met some friendly women in the market and spent the rest of the day with our Australian missionary host family, the Wetzels, kids – 4 boys under 13 with an attitude but also such a need for outside attention & fun! They have been teaching me patience (haha), but we’ve already started to see a change in their behavior & respect since we got here! Although not super glamorous, I have been praying to find fulfillment in the smaller acts of service, like babysitting for the missionaries and pouring into these boys. 
Tuesday, Jan. 31

Awesome time in worship this morning, after some recent frustrations/ questions for God, I was overjoyed with peace and encouragement from the Bible & music! God’s definitely teaching me a lot lately (more on “Reshaped Perspectives”) and I’m learning to have child-like excitement & faith in the simple, not small, ways to serve. We spent the day writing church messages, making skits, planning our schedule, & thinking of cool topics to speak about on the national radio (ahh)!! In the afternoon we went for a walk and ended up walking with 2 awesome ladies, Anna & Clementia, and hearing their stories. The friendliness & joy to talk to us here makes it all worth it and keeps me centered on why I’m here: the people of PNG. 
Wednesday, Feb. 1

Day at the warehouse – rearranging giant shelves, millions of boxes, and having sweat-covered joy all at the same time turned out so much better than expected! One of our goals is to bless the long term missionaries in the area, and the Christian bookshop needs financial help by renting out the space we are clearing in the warehouse. Seemed a little unimpactful at first, but to find out their incredible outreach in the community – broke ground today on a new classroom, currently training all employees in fellowship and university education – we are honored to encourage and be a part of these great plans with the physical work, morning staff devotions, and getting to know the warehouse staff 🙂
Thursday, Feb. 2

Day 2 at the warehouse, starting with another morning devotion & worship with the staff on starting the day with Jesus like most people do with coffee! Made a ton of progress with moving giant shelving units and rearranging everything, with no lack of sweat and dirt coving our bodies! I finally finished the book Isaiah in the afternoon, part of my attempt to hopefully read the whole Bible by the end of this outreach (#prayforchanae). Then the missionary company treated us to an evening at the beach, one of the few times we’ve been able to get in the ocean we see every day! Mind you, we are fully clothed and look ridiculous in our men’s basketball shorts and full length pants! Overall great day!
Friday, Feb. 3

Third & final day at the warehouse with the devotion on thankfulness. We were amazed to see our work paid off as we cleared out the last of the half of the warehouse – a planned 6 month project in 3 days, with a bunch of teenagers and the Lord’s strength! I say the Lord’s strength because my daily push-ups did not prepare me well enough for those million pound boxes (a little dramatic), yet we did it! We had some fun in town with some local friends we made on the ship and then spent the evening with the Wetzels, eating dinner & sharing stories of the incredible ways God has worked in their lives & is working here! Update on the 4 boys: wow have we seen a change! The power of constant uplifting, some correction, and as much patience as we can is getting to them! One in particular is becoming an encourager, listener, better brother, and helper! I actually love talking, playing volleyball on the lawn, card games, and pitch dark hide-n-go seek with them now! I love how God can change hearts and also give grace and love for people you never thought possible!
Saturday, Feb. 4

Day off snorkeling & hiking down the most breathtaking jungle of waterfalls! Getting to know the Australian team that’s been working with us and joining a whole group of nationals jumping off the waterfalls! Crazy to stop and take a minute realizing where we are! It’s almost become normal walking the streets & living in a country on the other side of the world, but driving a few minutes to the jungle surrounding us refocuses our perspective and takes my breathe away. The beauty in PNG is honestly out of a movie. Perfect end to our week! I can’t wait what next week has in store…