Sin in the Ground.

Tim climbs a tree at one of NTM’s centers of operations.

Thorns, Sickness, Poverty.

Ah to be home again. Yesterday we landed back in Pal after nearly six weeks out. What a relief (truly it is) to see that our house is still standing, that our friends are happy to see us, and that no rodent families have made their homes in the house (we think the rodents are being kept away by the *at least seven* snakes that are living in our walls…OK, well, Elizabeth doesn’t want to think about it so it is more me than her on that one).

Among the urgent things that we were first informed about upon touching down were a couple of biggies – the death of a big man last week (from the description it appears that it was a heart attack) and the group participation in an effort to atone for the sins of the Pal ancestors. If it were less real to our friends I might treat that second one with a splash of humor (especially considering the atonement was closely tied with a money making scheme). The truth is though, neither is a laughing matter.

“We know that our ancestors did bad things and we are suffering the consequences (sickness, hard life, death)… tell us, is there a way for us to make their sins right?”  Their line of questioning showed me that God is making them ready to hear the truth, and the circumstances of death in the community adds to our sense of urgency. Please pray for continued good relationships and quick language progress.

We hiked over to see some friends this afternoon. With rain the name of the game, we showered coming and going…

Remembering

Learning language has made me appreciate the written word more than I ever thought I would. Usually my appreciation is in the form of; “Gee, I wish I’d written that down.” Yesterday a friend was telling  me about a word they use for talking plainly – talk in which the meaning is very clear – and I didn’t write it down (Gee, I wish I had). Now we have the work of trying to duplicate the context for that friend and get him to repeat the same phrase. This is not an easy thing because our friends like to stay in the simple zone when they talk to us – similarly to how we would talk to a preschooler.

How we’d say it (to a preschooler): “Yes, Nate, it is there on top of the table. There is nothing around it. It is very bright and different from the other things there.”

How we wouldn’t say it: “The object in question is conspicuously placed on top of the table.”

So, since we don’t want to be stuck in toddler-speak land forever, we are trying to diligently write down any and all of the more grown up expressions that we hear. Please pray that we would grow in our ability to communicate here.

Rain storm rising in the Goroka Valley.

Longwinded.

For those of you who are still reading (thanks for your patience) we’d like to thank you for your prayers for coworkers. Please continue to pray for our partners the Lockwoods as they continue to seek medical advice about their conditions. We’d love to see them fully restored and back here asap. Also, we’d love for you to continue praying with us about the family that is very interested in joining the Pal team in the near future. We spent a hectic week with them right before our return to the bush and we were encouraged at every turn. We’ll be making a more final decision in fellowship with them and our leadership in a week or two. We’d love for them to have as complete an understanding of us and the work as possible before they sign on the dotted line.  Thanks for your prayers.

As always, we are merely your hands and feet in PNG,

The Cs

Posted via email from PNG Time