For these next few weeks, we are shifting a bit from businesses & ministry in town to the schools & surrounding communities. I couldn’t be more excited for what’s in store!
Monday, Feb. 20

Started the day walking down the hill to the local market, only to find an empty lot. Apparently the area is cleaned on Mondays (definitely hard to believe), but fortunately most people still set up around it. I got to meet some incredible families, get to know some I’ve already met, and pray for broken homes, sickness, education, and worry. I fell in love with a baby & her mom, Stella, who went & bought a diaper just so I could hold her! Pigen has become very natural lately, and today I truly felt the language barrier was knocked down 🙂 Later, we drove to a “ward meeting” (community spontaneously gathering on some grass), where I was able to share my testimony & speak on “stepping out of the boat” when God calls, like Peter did to walk on water. The triathlon club leader named it the worst (most dangerous) neighborhood in Wewak, which is saying a lot, but also gives me hope that there are people striving for change. Knowing that they have opportunities like weekly fellowship, cycling & triathlon clubs, and leaders like him is exciting, but also makes me realize how much we take for granted all our programs & organizations. Ended the awesome evening hanging out with some moms + students, and then singing children’s songs with adorable girls!

Tuesday, Feb. 21

Another walk down the hill this morning, but this time carrying a puppy all the way down & all the way back hahaha adding way too much difficulty to the climb. One of the dogs on our property decided to follow us halfway & then got so scared & tired we just had to pick him up! That made our visit at the market a bit different, being bombarded with locals & a random Asian man (who only spoke Pigen… weird) trying to buy my dog. Overall good time continuing to build relationships here 🙂 The afternoon ward meeting went great, as I was surrounded by kiddos, got a village tour, and even felt comfortable enough to share my testimony with a lady after! She ended up being a nurse who asked how she could join YWAM Ships! I also joined into Ashley, Marie, & 20ish kids praying for a woman’s foggy eyesight & difficult hearing and she was miraculously healed! God is good!

Wednesday, Feb. 22

Spent the morning preparing to speak at our first school! We expected a few hundred maybe max, but this afternoon we drove up to 1,200 students all staying after school packed together just to hear us! It was incredible standing up there speaking Pigen, singing, and narrating our skit! Mikal & Jeremiah spoke on identity and relationship over religion. We split up into guys & girls to give a testimony and prayer. I met some super sweet girls, prayed over their education, & ended up taking pictures with tonnns of random girls (definitely felt like a celebrity)! I loved how welcome and excited everyone was and am so proud of these youth rising up, beating the odds, setting goals, and getting educated!

Thursday, Feb. 23

Market Morning! We bused down the hill to pick up some groceries and hang out with the market vendors (our favorite place)! It’s crazy to walk around and feel so at home, so comfortable stopping and having deep talks with strangers, praying for families selling fish, and buying beautiful jewelry for 2 Kina (=.66¢). I swear each person we talk to gets kinder and kinder! In the afternoon, we were scheduled to speak at another ward gathering, but after an hour and a half of waiting for the car, we started to lose hope, even though that can be typical for PNG (haha gotta be flexible here for sure). Sure enough, they lost the keys to the car, so we were pretty disappointed stuck here. The evening was still nice spending time as a team, playing games & talking.
Friday, Feb. 24

Not-so-great morning… I’ve been so sad the past couple days watching Ash have the flu & wanted to stay back with her, buuut the passion for leaving to do ministry kicked in. Unfortunately that was overruled by an intense nausea, that required me to stay back with Ash (funny how that happened), although I did want to support her so it was the right choice. Hard hearing how amazing it went speaking & playing at the school, but in the end, we’re all on the same team and I am so happy for the lives they touched today! I did feel better in the afternoon and got to head to my favorite little village by the wharf (the one I would run through with all the kids following us!) for a ton of games, laughter, little Bible story, lots of singing, pictures, and bubbles! I’m at the point where I might just stay & live here.. hahaha Ah I just love them!

Saturday, Feb. 25

Our day off started with some homemade banana bread (we eat wayyy too many bananas) before heading to the beach with some locals! Definitely a favorite memory: sitting in a circle under the shade of a huge tree listening to these PNG guys play their original songs for us, most of which were written for the government & to raise awareness in the people. Beautiful melodies with words encouraging national unity, belief that they can rise just like other countries, and men to honor their wives, instead of abusing them. Getting to know them today was incredible – so natural and genuine. We left filled with hope for PNG knowing there are people here inspiring change & committed to the uplifting of the nation.
Sunday, Feb. 26

Today we walked to the local AOG church, which ended up being my favorite church so far! So much energy, excited congregation, upbeat worship! Major highlight of outreach: right when they started playing our favorite Pigen song, like 30 kids sprinted to the front of the church to dance! Of course we joined in and had the best time jumping up and down, spinning around, and laughing! After the best praise time ever, we all introduced ourselves, Ashley gave an encouragement & I gave a mini testimony/message. The pastor came and gave a passionate sermon and the service ended over 3 1/2 hours later (waaaay too long)… Not to mention we also walked to our bimonthly missionary church service and listened to 2 more hours of church. Don’t get me wrong, I love church, but that doesn’t mean I love sitting & listening for that long hahaha but still a great day! Except for the fact that my favorite puppy walked with us to church and never made it home tonight, which means he’s dead (crippled leg + the tons of scary dogs in the streets of PNG… no way). Still praying for a miracle 😦

Monday, Feb. 27

Early morning run before we left for the market! We got to hang out with some of the people we know at the market and bookstore as we shopped for our weekly groceries. Still blows my mind the amount of produce we buy for a few kina! Later, we left for the next ward they planned for us to speak at and ended up arriving at our favorite village by the wharf! Since we have run through & held Bible studies in this village before, we loved the friendly welcome and familiarity! Super impromptu singing occurred in their market amidst their mats of goods! At one point, they were all singing and laughing along so loud (pretty uncommon), me and Ashley felt like rockstars! I gave a recap of Rene’s message on love in Pigen before we continued building relationships and taking pictures (PNG & their funny camera obsessions) with the people!

Tuesday, Feb. 28

Today’s school was incredible! After a long drive full of car sickness, we got to an even more rural area with a 3 room school. We were greeted by swarms of kids and teenagers, since grades 1-8 consists of ages 5-25, with a mix of ages in each grade. To our surprise, they started welcoming us with songs written for us, a skit, and drawings! Our dripping sweat was quickly replaced with a downpour of rain, but we just kept going! We sang Pigen songs, did a skit, and then Ashley shared on relationship with God and His amazing plans for us. After, I got to talk with some teenagers, encourage, and pray with them before joining the kiddos playing volleyball! Such a joyful afternoon! We even had the chance to encourage the 3 teachers of these 200ish students in a little prayer meeting after 🙂 A great day ended with some not-so-great fish for dinner, but hey we tried! ALSO! My puppy wandered home today! We have no idea how she doesn’t have a single scratch on her after 2 nights out there & constant dog fights! PTL!

Wednesday, March 1

The morning started with a run & then long walk down & up the hill to the market, waving at friends & strangers alike. I’ll never forget the joy I have just walking up a hill – the impromptu conversations with passerbys, honks from truckloads of smiling people, and the gorgeous views of the jungle, villages, & ocean all around. Just wow. This afternoon we headed to another community meeting, which ended up just being in the middle of their local market, but went so smoothly. We sang & dance, gave skit & message, and then prayed with & hung out with the people. Some older ladies gave me sago grubs (nasty bugs) as a gift & somehow convinced me to try one (don’t worry they were cooked hahaha).
Thursday, March 1

Fantastic morning! Early start, headed into town to grab some groceries, & swung by our favorite bookstore to join the staff devotion. We have become so close with each staff member there, they were so happy to see us & welcomed us with the most energized, upbeat songs! Who knew a group of 20 people in the back room could lift up such praise, deep prayer, and sweet encouragement to each other that left a few of us in tears of joy. Each time I walk in the bookstore door & am greeted by these friends, I see God so clearly through them. Their desire for change & firm belief in God’s power to change the families, community, and nation is awe-inspiring. We left so fulfilled. Walking around the market was awesome, as usual, saying “monin” to our favorite vendors & meeting new ones, picking out beautiful fruit for little to no money, and today I officially became a PNG woman with the fruit bag hanging on my head 🙂 Later, we were taken to another community meeting, but this time with a surprise! When we arrived, there were women & girls in grass skirts, shells, headbands, traditional paint, & dancing!! After all these weeks in tribes along the river, we finally saw tribal dancing in the middle of town! The evening was so lovely, especially talking with one lady, Betty, most of the time after the worship & message, who was so kind, an easy laugh (way more fun telling jokes in Pigen to someone who laughs!), and so passionate for the Lord. She gave me her super cool headband that doesn’t look as good on me haha but here’s a nice picture of it!