Conference and Pictures

Haven't been quite as faithful to post on here as I would like due to the internet situation here. Right now, I'm on the New Tribes base at Hoskins with my uncle, aunt, and cousins. We've been having a great time here! This weekend was the regional conference for the missionaries located in the outlying islands of Papua New Guinea. Then this week, there is a Church Planting Workshop for missionaries here. It's been fun attending the sessions and listening to the teacher, who is actually one of our teachers from the Training Center back in Missouri.

While here, I've gotten to connect with a lot of the missionary kids. They are a lot of fun, and it's been cool to interact with them and hear their stories. A lot of them are undergoing some REALLY stressful situations, and they just need to talk about what's going on. I'm so glad I can listen to them and get an idea of what missionary life is like for them.

Here are a few pictures from my time in Tigak:

Learning how to make brooms Tigak style

About to eat a typical Tigak meal

The Tigak church

Sunset from the island

Thanks again for your prayers! God is teaching me a lot, and I am very grateful for my time here!

Time in Tigak

Wow, I can't even begin to describe my time here. It's been incredible getting to see firsthand what I've been preparing to do for the last year.

The Tigak tribe is spread out among several islands in the New Ireland province of Papua New Guinea. They are a very laid back people. They enjoy laughing and hanging out with their friends. For a living, they fish. The men hunt with spears and the women use a line and a hook. Just today, I got to see several dead stingrays that several of the men had speared. Very cool!

I've been able to spend a lot of time learning about the Tigak culture. Since I'm staying with the single lady, Aimee, on the team (the team consists of two couples and Aimee), I've been asking her all kinds of questions about how they live and think. It's a lot more complex than you would imagine! For instance, pretty much everyone is related somehow. If your relative comes to you asking for help (money for instance), you have to help them, even if you don't have much to begin with. It's an interesting concept and not one that we have in America. Not wrong, just different. (Yes, that was a Larry Craig reference for all those from MTC).

I've gotten to do a variety of activities from weaving a mat from palm leaves to attending a Tigak church service to snorkeling to learning how to speak Pidgin (the trade language of Papua New Guinea). I've been able to see firsthand how missionaries over here work together on a team, learn to deal with culture shock ans stress, and disciple a baby church.

Speaking of church, the Tigak church is very small but growing! You can be praying for them. There are currently 13 believers in this village (which is about 250 people), and they want to reach out to their friends and relatives. They are still baby believers, so the missionaries here are working hard to disciple them in God's Word.

It's so sobering to me to see these people living in fear and darkness. The hopelessness and heartache run deep. One unsaved couple in the village got in a fight earlier today, and the husband ended up slicing the wife's shoulder with a machete. It makes me so sad to hear things like that, and yet it fuels my desire to be able to go overseas and share the Gospel with a people group like the Tigak.

Pictures are coming! I should be able to post them by the end of this week.

Thank you all for praying! I know Satan wants to distract and discourage me. But God is really teaching me a TON, and I am so thankful that He has allowed me to come here!