DG's Summer Story Thread

[DG]

Ok.. so my trip was in three parts..Madang, Samban, and Ukarumpa. I still have more pictures to load, but these are some of my Ukarumpa pictures.

Ukarumpa is a compound for SIL (mainly) that is located up in the highlands. This is an aerial view. (I didn't take this one)

[DG]

These are my friends Abby (on the right) and Laura. I rode back there with them from the compound to Kainiantu (sp) where we went shopping. The track is actually an old Japanese fire truck.


You can kind of tell from the wardrobe choices that Ukarumpa was a bit on the chilly side. It is at 5000 feet elavation and gets quite nippy. At night I'd have a comforter and 2 quilts on my bed and still be cold sometimes. What a change from Samban and Madang!

[DG]

This is Charlene (the one SPED teacher they have) and Cecil. There is a belief that the SPED position in jinxed. All the SPED teachers end up getting married w/in 2 years and leaving. Charlene is leaving this year..Hmmm so if I do want to find Mr. Right.. maybe..

[DG]

Views from the Ukarumpa Compound.. It is completely enclosed by the fence w/ the razor wire ontop. There are also guard towers all around, though I never saw a guard in one.






Because it reminded me so much of home I kept taking pictures of the mountains.

[ndavis021410]

What exactly was the fencing attempting to "keep" out?....

Where is the gas stations for the old truck?

What are the gas prices like there?

I'm noticing no pavement on most of the roads, upkeep on those trucks I bet was a fortune....I really am loving these pictures....*shivers still* bats.....

Ok, enough of my questions.....Love ya...Thanks for the pics....

[Amy]

ndavis021410 said:

What exactly was the fencing attempting to "keep" out?....

I'm wondering the same thing!

[rachael]

DG, About the guard towers, what is that for? Their version of police?
Darn, those bats for only eating fruit. Didn't they want to expand their taste buds?

[DG]

Ok.. I'm kind of just going to write some narration here.. I'll tell the tale w/out pictures.

Let's see..

So you guys know that my going away party here was fantabulous. I laughed so hard that night. It was great. And then crying w/ Penny and Nancy..even though it was our first face to face, it felt like we had known each other forever. I cried so hard on the plane, but I had my fabulous binder to keep me company. That is one of the only things that got me through the first two weeks of training in Dallas.

The training time totally broke me down emotionally. I was tired from work and just wasn't good at the physical or linguistic stuff. God took care of me though. On the way out of the country I was stranded in LA and got to meet face to face my beloved friend Doc. We went to Hermosa Pier and it is now my happy place. I have never felt so comfortable or peaceful. That was one of the best days in my life. Her cat even liked me.

Ok, so flying into PNG was beautiful. It is a tropical island with gorgeous blue water. It was hot and humid and things were overwhelming. We were met by a ton of people who just kind of grabbed our bags and put us on a truck. The luggage was just brought out and put out on a table. It was kind of shocking to be so low tech. The luggage pickup was just in a shelter area.

So the first few days just kind of flew by and I was disappointed. We were living in a bubble. It was freaky that I was in another country, but not part of it. That was unacceptable to me. Anyway, a serious of events led to me being in town by myself which was the best thing that could have happened.

I won't lie to you. The first week by myself was the biggest emotional roller coaster ever. There I was, doing office work that I had never done. I was printing books to aid in mother tongue literacy. I was doing jobs (grunt work) that they had no one to do. All this was in a small way aiding the work of Bible translation. Which, by the way, I got to see someone hold the scriptures in his hand for the first time. All he said was "thank you".. That's what it was all about. On the other hand, I'd go to my flat at night.. I was alone with only books and fangirl messages to read. At several pts I just wanted to come home. It was during this time that I reread the book Christy. This book (a gift from Cindy) was exactly where I was at. It talks about loving the work, but getting bogged down by all the mental stuff that happens. I cried reading it.

The work was intoxicating though. I was a productive part of the team. Especially during my last 2 weeks there. I was able to get a vehicle and learn the language enough to get around. I was really living the PNG life, not just observing. I made friends and I got to help an amazing mission. The funny thing was that it was not teaching that gave me the biggest rush.. It was things like going to the market or shopping for stuff for missionaries. I loved going to the chemist and chatting about what medicines they might need. Even hearing Britney Spears play in Papindo's Supermarket was a treat.

[DG]

So, I was supposed to go to a village called Akurai and meet up w/ my team, but the road went foul and they couldn't get me to the river where I was supposed to meet a canoe. Again, this was totally a God thing because going to Samban instead was the best experience ever. It was hot, muddy, and mosquito ridden. Everywhere I went I was called fat. But I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Jesse and Kari are amazing people and they actually "live" with the people. They are not mere observers. This is there home. The cool thing is that the people really accept outsiders and make you feel welcome. The work in the village was great too. I got to teach, help w/ translation (as a secretary), help do checkups for pregnant women, cook, fish, and garden. But, I also spent a lot of time hanging out and just getting to know people and the language. I made so many friends there. I had so many "I never thought I could do this moments."

Then there was that dang rooster. My bedroom was below the house in an area enclosed only by chicken wire and fly screen. To get up to the house (where the only bathroom was) I had to climb up some steep stairs and go through a trapdoor. Anyway, so every morning this stupid rooster would come about 2 feet from where I was sleeping and crow. He would crow to the right then turn and crow to the left. This would start the crowing for all the village roosters. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR..

But, it was an amazing experience. It was only a week..I wish it had been longer. I learned so much about myself and about the importance of the work there. These people really believe in evil spirits. They fear sorcery. The stories they tell are not just stories. While I was there I heard of a woman who had given birth to a deformed baby in a neighboring village. The baby died and the villagers said the woman must have slept w/ an evil spirit. They believe this to be true.

[DG]

So, going back to Madang was a lot like going home. Except, we had moved from the flat I had been in to the flat above the office. I had so much work to do.. I had two books to typeset and print and the branch newsletter to write articles for, edit, and publish. For my team, they weren't integrated into the office like I had been. So, I was coming home.. they had been vacationing there. They had done their work in various villages. It was hard to reintegrate with the team, but I did.

I also was happy to be back w/ my friends and they were thrilled w/ my language learning. My friend Augusta and I had a long chat now that we could understand each other. It was a good time. They kept fussing though because I wouldn't slow down. I was also having a huge allergic reaction to something and was covered in mosquito bites. Finally, Jill forced me to take a day off.

Meanwhile, Cecil went to visit another village. He was supposed to come up on radio, but didn't. For 3.5 days he was totally MIA. Now, this guy had become like my little brother. I was worried sick for him. They were about to send someone out to get him when he came walking through the door. It had taken him 2 days to get back once he realized the radio was not working.

[DG]

From Madang we flew up to Ukarumpa. This is a missionary compound the size of a small town. I thought I was in shape from always walking about town in Madang. HA.. The hills there KILLED me for the first two days. I was assigned to the Primary School which was the farthest possible pt away from our flat. And it seemed like everywhere you needed to go was up a steep hill both ways.

But, the only time I got to be alone was when I went walking so I walked a lot. I really liked Ukarumpa. It was a very social place to be. There were only 2 out of our 14 nights there that we weren't either at someone's home or entertaining people in our home. The school is great. At the time I could totally see myself working there. I spent a week and a half just doing assessments. They needed to be done, but they didn't have time for them. However, now.. it seems like it was too easy. We got to talk to amazing people who are involved in the work of translation. The thing is that it takes so many more people than just translators to make it work. I got to tour the airplane hanger and found out that the engine in our plane was about to be replaced cause it was too old, but not before our trip. NICE..

[Cindy]

DG

This is the most AMAZING thread on the entire message board. I don't have much time for the board right now because of work...but each day I rush over here to check and see if you have added new photos and stories. I hope you realize that your mission trip has had special meaning for a lot of us. Thank you for sharing this with us.

[DG]

Ok.. So the final week..

Madang was packed, so many missionaries had just returned from America. It was nice to see people we had met in Dallas, but there kind of was no purpose for me so I hung out and went shopping. Then I got the coolest surprise. Jesse and Kari came into town so I got to see them for a bit before we left. I cried and the office staff cried when we hopped in the truck to go to the airport. They (the nationals) became my family when I really needed one. I even told them about Marty and Bobby.

Anyway, the trip home was not fun. We flew from Madang to Moresby where we were inundated w/ taxi drivers and could not find the company we were told to use. A lady from the airport came out to help us and the taxi drivers started cursing at her. We did have some guys come around to protect us. We were blessed though, cause the head of customer service gave us a ride to the place we were staying.

We had fun that night. We played cards and laughed a lot. It was to be our last night as a team. We saw some new bulletin flash across the screen, but didn't pay it any mind. We got up at 3:30AM to get to the airport to fly to Brisbane.

Unfortunately, our flight was delayed for 6 hrs. While we were sitting in the Moresby airport, we learned about what had happened the day before in England. Then when we got to Brisbane (and had to overnight) I watched the news and found out exactly what we were facing. However, everyone was super nice and I felt safe.

That flight from Brisbane to LA was the most miserable experience. We weren't allowed chapstick and it just sucked. My only thought was "this will be over soon and I'll get to see Doc." I'm crying again as I type this. Through the bad times I had thought.. at least when I get home I'll see Doc again.. We emailed almost daily and honestly she is the best friend I have ever had. But when we got to LA, things were all screwed up. I was standing outside waiting for her. Cecil had come out to check on me and I started crying. Then he told me to look behind and Doc was there. I cried even harder. I had to tell her that she had waited at the airport for an hour for nothing. That I couldn't leave. We had 10 minutes together. I have never been so disappointed. But she brought me a cd player and BABS music. That was the first real music I got to hear in 2 months.

Anyway, we flew on to Dallas.. where I got 2 hrs sleep then I flew to Chicago.

I'll never forget hearing Ultrasound in Penny's car. That's when I knew I was home. That morning, Penny and I were both exhausted but seeing her was like being reunited with family. That's the point at which the travel stress started to disappear.

That's the main tale except for a couple of observations that I'll make.

[DG]

admin said:

DG

This is the most AMAZING thread on the entire message board. I don't have much time for the board right now because of work...but each day I rush over here to check and see if you have added new photos and stories. I hope you realize that your mission trip has had special meaning for a lot of us. Thank you for sharing this with us.

Nah, thank you for indulging me and for supporting me and for the book. You'll never know how much it helped.

[DG]

Ok.. So Observations of Bible Translators (the nationals)

Before we went we were told that women did not talk to men. I did not find this to be so in the office. One of my favorite parts was hanging out with the national translators. One night, a group of them were stuck in the office and I was working so I came out of my cubicle to chat w/ them. It was a blast. These guys are totally dedicated to their work and they are a ton of fun. They asked me questions and would crack jokes with me. Ezekial used one of the most original tactics in trying to get me back. He said that since I was so fat that I need to move to PNG so that I would lose weight because of their climate. This is actually a compliment, not as insulting as it sounds.

I always found people to hang out w/ and crack jokes. This was natural for me, but it wasn't typical of my team. I had a place in the market where I would go and trash talk with guys from the Sepik about which village carved better. They would tell me all sorts of stories about how Kambout was wonderful then I would go on about Samban. They would tell me that I didn't know anything til I visited Kambout. They would show me all the carvings and pt out why theirs was better. It was so much fun.

By the end of the time I would walk down the streets and hear people talking about me. It was frustrating but cool at the same time. It meant that they had accepted me to some degree as part of their culture. That sense of belonging was great.

[DG]

Funny story about this house.. Check out the name.


Yep, this is the Lord's house. We spent a lot of time there. Colin, the man of the house, is actually the music teacher at Ukarumpa. He and his wife Diane have 7 kids.

[DG]

BTW-The brown building in the background..Down the hill was our place.. So we lived below the Lord's house. hmmm

[DG]

Madang picture.. 1.5 blocks from where I first stayed.. I'd walk or drive by there and think of that poem.. "I must go down to the sea again..to the lonely sea and the sky"

[DG]

A student and I in Ukarumpa.. The one and only day that I wore my hair down all summer. Notice the tent I'm wearing.. It was cold there. (Let me lament the fact that I had all my hair cut off this morning.

[DG]

One of my proudest accomplishments: My peanut mound... I had help w/ this one, but 2 days later dug one double the size on my own.

By all accounts the peanuts are growing well now.