PRAYER REQUEST!

Bro. Matt has malaria. He's been sitting around his house feeling bad for two days, and that's what he says he has. I'm sure he'd appreciate everyone's prayers to be better quickly, because he has flights starting in a couple days.

We are doing fine here (other than Bro. Matt). This Saturday Collin and I are going with Bro. Matt to a coast village where Matt is starting a church. It's a 15 minute flight, and then a two hour truck ride. On Monday we are flying in to pick up Mrs. Becky and the girls and our luggage and then we are flying to Morsbey. We are staying there Monday and Tuesday and then flying out on Wednesday morning. There's a big market there that Bro. Matt says has awesome souvenirs. Then we will fly out Wednesday morning at 6:45 to come home.

~Connor

Easter Sunday

When I think of Easter, some of the first things that come to mind are egg hunts (Collin stealing the golden egg!!! We have video proof!), families getting together, chocolate bunnies, and of course the resurrection story.  

Being here in PNG has given me a different view of Easter Sunday.  There was no egg hunt here, and even if there was, I'm pretty sure there would be no five dollar golden egg.  Most of my family is still in the states. (All but one as a matter of fact).   And chocolate is extremely scarce over here, so definitely no chocolate bunnies. The only thing that remains of a "normal Easter" is the resurrection.  But when I think about it, that really is the entire reason we celebrate Easter.  Of course, families and traditions are fine in their place, but I think that in America, we are too focused on lunch, when our focus should be on Christ coming up from the grave and what that did for us.  

This morning, I was able to go with Bro. John Allen (Bro. Matt's dad) to the village of Ipaiyu, and Bro. John gave a mini-sermon about the resurrection. It was amazing to watch people who were hanging on every word, many because this was there first time to ever hear this story.  When Bro. John got to the crucifixion, and began talking about how Christ suffered for our sins, Nathaniel, the translator for Bro. John, was barely able to get the story out because he was crying and choking up.  When I looked out across the crowd of forty who had assembled, many heads were hanging, and almost all of the adults were wiping tears from their eyes.  It made me really re-examine my view of the resurrection.  All these people had no other place to be, and were so consumed in the words coming from Bro. John, it made me ashamed for how lightly I take the story of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.  

The next sermon, given by Nathaniel, was about Christ giving us bread and living water.  I really didn't get much of the message, but Bro. John translated the main points.  The service, which lasted over three and a half hours, ended and we found out that three people had been saved, all during Bro. John's message.  We have always heard the saying "Familiarity breeds contempt", but it really sinks in when it's seen from a fresh perspective.  

If I got anything this morning that I wanted to share with everyone back home, especially before Easter services, it would be to take a fresh look at the entire resurrection story.  Just think about it as if you have never heard the story before, and I know it will mean more, and be much more of a blessing to you. I can say from experience that it was for me this morning!

-Connor

Pictures from Connor

  A sink and faucet that I helped Andrew put in.

 the ceiling of the bathroom

  All the ceilings had to be dropped down about two inches, so we are putting up strips to nail the ceiling to.

 what a ceiling looks like after we get done with it

The "apartment" where Collin and I are staying. We are both in the last room on the left.

Church

 Pastor Jack preaching.

A couple of the kids from church.

The church singing "I Surrender All"

Pictures from Connor! (Trip to Komako)

 Me eating sugar cane.

 My first true bush meal. Greens, field corn avocado, and kau kau, and taro.

 Marita tubes waiting to be cooked. 

 Jason taking pictures of kids, and showing them what they look like. 

The hut where Jason and I stayed. 

 The trail to the hut.

 Where we get our fresh water.

 Marking the corner posts of the house. 

 Marking the posts between the corner posts.

 The finished "wood shed" that was completed the morning we left. 

"In the jungle, the mighty jungle..."

Tuesday

I got up at 4:00 AM to leave for the airstrip to fly out by dawn. Jason Ottosen and I got dropped off in the village of Komako, where he is building a house. I could see the house from the airstrip, but it was still a twenty minute hike up a hill.  The elevation really shows on any form of physical activities, especially hiking. Bro. Jason said that I would be exhausted by the time we got there, and I thought he didn't know what he was talking about.  Turns out he did.  We we finally arrived at the cook house where we would be staying, I was entirely out of breath.  Bro. Jason just laughed and went on.  Right after we got our stuff placed in the hut/house, a lady came by with some bananas and some kau kau (a vegetable like a sweet potato, but no marshmallows or brown sugar). Jason translated for me and told me that she said she had walked over an hour and a half to bring this food because she heard that Jason was coming.  Later, we went to market, where all the village people bring their stuff they have to sell and sit it out on a blanket or the ground and try to sell it.  Jason and I had a contest to see who could buy the most with four Kina (K4), which is equivalent to around two American dollars.  Lets just say I need to work on my bartering skills. Jason was able to get a stick of sugar cane, a pineapple, a couple avocado, and some bananas all for only K4. I only got six banana's, but I only spent forty cents. I had to deal with the language barrier. (I also wasn't sure if any of the other food was clean enough to trust eating.) We walked back to the cook house and Asylia, the native pastor's wife, cooked my first authentic village meal.  We had kau kau (pronounced "cow cow") , field corn, two types of greens, taro, and cooking bananas.  The kau kau was surprisingly not that bad, and the corn was ok, but taro and greens were not good at all. I also tried sugar cane for the first time. You have to bite and shuck the outside, and chew the inside, all the while trying not to soak yourself in sugar water. I soaked a shirt with the juice and it turned to a sticky substance that reminded me of syrup. That night we got ready for bed and Jack, the native pastor, got out Uno cards. I soon found out the natives are very competitive.  Finally we got to bed around eight that night, and I drifted right off to sleep.

Wednesday

On Wednesday morning we found out that a rat had been in our hut the night before, and that really freaked me out!!! We tried several times, but never could catch the rat, which made an unwelcome entrance every night.  We got to go later that day and watch an elderly man make marita, a traditional PNG dish.  This is the only food that the men still make, and women are not allowed to even be around while they make it. I have no idea why, but it is considered a very masculine thing. The man cut up the fruit, crammed it down into bamboo, then cooked it over a fire.  Later, he squished it up (with his dirty hands!!), and that is what everyone dipped their food in. They gave us a special bowl before everyone started dipping, and I tasted it.  It wasn't as bad as Jason had told me it would be, but it is definitely a one time event.  That afternoon, we went to a "mu mu", a feast in Pidgin, because they finished the roof to Jason's wood shed.  It started to rain, so we moved inside where I tried most everything I hadn't, and then Jason and I had spaghetti cooked over an open fire. It was the best spaghetti I think I've ever eaten. Right after we ate, I had my first experience bathing in a river. It was more like get wet while wearing your clothes and try to get all the mud off you in the river. Jason stood guard at the road, so thankfully I didn't have an audience. We got back to the house and all the clothes dried before we had to turn in for bed.


Thursday

Jason gave a Pigin devotion this morning, and he translated the main points for me.  He was teaching about being a good servant, and used the passage where Jesus washed the disciples' feet. Then, we went out and marked post for Pastor Jack's house, which Jason is also paying for.  We got the corner posts marked and squared, and then marked all the post between.  That took most of the morning, and then it began to pour rain, so we had to go inside and sit for the rest of the day.  I took a nap, because I had been waking up around four every morning thanks to jet lag and the mouse.  Later, when I woke up, Jason was giving a man a file for his machete. The man was so thankful for it, because now he wouldn't have to spend time finding something to sharpen his machete with.  The man said thank you no less than thirty times.  It was such an humbling experience for me, because this man was nearly moved to tears with thankfulness for a file.  That was basically it for the rest of the day.

Friday

This morning, we woke up and had bananas for breakfast. Matt came and picked us up around eight, and we got back to "civilization". It's not real civilization, but after being in the bush, it's close enough for me!

I am so glad I agreed to go with Jason, because even though it was in some ways not fun, it was a great experience for me, and opened my eyes to how blessed I truly am. Those people have almost nothing but the shirt on their back and their machete.  It made me so happy and proud to be an American, and I cannot tell you how many times I have thanked God for that since I have been here!

And so it begins....Kotidanga

Today, we got up at 4 AM to leave the hotel to go to the airport to make our flight to Port Morsbey. We made it to Morsbey safely, and then Drew split up from Collin and me. Just as we were leaving, Drew was talking to a man about finding his luggage and the man thought that he had actually seen Drew's bag at the airport already, so they were going off to search for it. I do not know if they ever did find it, but we all pray that they did for Drew's sake.

We flew an hour-and-a-half with Bro. Matt to a village close to his, and then got on his Mule to ride another hour to Kotidanga, Matt's village.  We were given a tour by Andrew, a young man who is here helping Matt.

Tomorrow, I am leaving with Bro. Jason Ottosen to go help him build his house in one of the neighboring villages.  We leave at 5 AM to drive the hour back to the plane for the trip. The entire flight will take only four and a half minutes, but if we had to hike, it would take over twelve hours.  I will be staying with him for four days helping him to build his house before Matt comes back and picks us up on Friday.  Collin or Drew will have to keep you updated because they do not have internet in the bush.  I appreciate everyone's prayers for us while we are here.  I hope I have a great report when I get back.

-Connor

Thank you!

  Before we board and leave out from LA, I wanted to personally thank all of Cornerstone via this blog for being such a giving church to be able to send Collin, Drew, and myself to help these missionaries. I know that many of you work hard, grueling hours every day and put some of that money into the offering to support this type of endeavor. I am extremely excited for this opportunity, and know that it will be an eye-opening trip that I will remember for the rest of my life! On behalf of all three of us, I sincerely thank each and every one of you!!!

  
  I will try to put something on the blog as often as possible, but the Internet connection in PNG is notorious for being undependable at best. Hopefully, it will be good enough for me to be able to give everyone an update several times a week. I hope everyone enjoys and is encouraged by what is going on in our lives while in PNG. 

~Connor