Back in the Saddle

Elias and Tim just back from exploring with Dad

If you are looking for something…

So, a friend brought me a rock today (obsidian?)… or maybe it was plastic. It was hard to tell. He wanted to know how much it is worth. He told me that he put it ‘somewhere’ and money spontaneously appeared with it (about $.34 worth). My friend’s desire for a way to wealth is very very strong. Our conversation revealed to me that he meets every situation in life with a hunger for the riches that others appear to have. Would you pray with us for our friends to begin to hunger for the riches of God’s mercy and grace? Even though it will be some time before we are able to bring them the good news in their own language, we trust that God is at work readying the soil for planting.

So, the ball went in the goal 4 times, but no points were scored?

Today we experienced the direct impact of culture on soccer. It was quite amazing to be engulfed in a game whose rules are fairly consistent internationally, but largely different locally due to cultural sensibilities. In Pal specifically and in PNG in general it is fairly common to idealize good relationship (important to limit the dastardly deeds that frequently come with Hatfield and McCoy level conflict  - aka clan wars.)  The idea in sport, then, is that one team does not dominate, but both teams play hard and the match ends with a point spread of 1 or less. The importance of this balance  and the relationship between the sides was illustrated by the pre-game ceremony (both sides shake hands, team captains give a little speech, and both teams cheer for each other), the play (for example: a dominating player would be called  off-sides frequently to reign in his aggression, goals were called back etc), and the post-game ceremony (basically a repeat of the pre-game, but with an extra speech by the referee about being at peace with each other.) We had a great time… we’ll just be looking for a different outlet for our unbridled aggressions (All right boys, it’s time for some cutthroat ‘Go Fish’).

Praying

·         Thank the Lord that flights and transition back to our home in Pal went smoothly.

·         Pray for us as we comfort our Pal friends who just lost babies

·         Pray for clear focus and communication with our friends  - we’d like them to see by our actions how important the message is.

Thanks so much for standing with us,

Nate for the Cs.

Posted via email from PNG Time