Fresh Perspective

  Anticipation of this Christmas is not running high in our home this year, as we won't even be home.  Today our family is stepping into another world, the interior of Papua, where Christmas trees and Christmas cookies are unknown.  Our goal is to join Darron and his team of 9 young adults from America, 5 guys from the seminary, and 2 Indonesian girls, to help finish a jungle chapel.   This is a project that we have been preparing for over 3 months for.  Darron in all the preparations of designing a new build, ordering material, getting it cut to size, going ahead several times to work out all the logistics, sending a crew on ahead to prepare the foundation, going with Pastor Rob (camp director from America) to help with that foundation and more logistics, and more details that I am completely unaware of.  I, had to wrap my mind around how to feed a team of 16+ in the tribe.  The grocery trip alone took 6 hours.  Which then all had to be boxe...

The longer I live in Papua, the more I realize that this is how the local people view their local hospital.  Not as a place of hope and healing, but as a death sentence.  They would rather stay at home, and die there, than risk going somewhere where they know so many die. Honestly, I don’t blame them.  I have stood in their emergency room for hours.  Recently it was for a boy, age 11, who had fallen out of a tree and fractured his leg.  Well, the x-ray department was closed because it was Sunday, so that was not confirmed.  However, his intense pain level upon any movement and the swelling were quite strong indications.   It took 3 hours to get his perfectly fine wooden splint taken off and a cardboard cast made instead, a mild sedative given that didn’t touch his pain and for me to arrange a taxi to another hospital where they could help him.  Meanwhile I witnessed so much suffering and crude medical care, I am still overwhelmed and without wo...

It has always fascinated me, the need children have for their parents to SEE what they are doing.  The little backward glances, to see if Mommy saw that cool high jump out of the swing to the persistent, “MOM, DAD…..watch me dive, tumble, ……. “and you can fill in the blank.  It gets less verbal and sleeve tugging as the years slip into mature teens.  Yet there are still those eyes that meet yours across the court, when a goal is made.  Do I still as a middle aged woman desire my parents to SEE what I am doing and the world I am living in?  Do I still want their approval and affirmation?  Eyes catching mine and them trying to understand what is going on in my world? Yes. And so what a delight this last month, that after living in a foreign land for 5 years, they came.  My Mom and Dad.  My Uncle and Aunt.  They saw.  They tasted and felt.  They touched.  They met many of my friends.  They walked where I shop.  It is n...

He didn't ask to be brought up in a Western culture despite his Indonesian Passport, yet he was.  Attending Western level schools, eating Western food, Ryan by age sixteen is fully immersed.  A blessing most would say.  Ryan's father obtained his masters and doctorate in the  Philippines, during much of this time.  Abruptly his world changed, as Ryan's parents felt called back to their passport country to be "missionaries" in Papua.  Apprehensive, somewhat reluctant, and uncertain Ryan follows his parents to Papua. I clearly remember the first time I met Ryan, this past August.  His story captivating me.  He was playing the clarinet for special music in church.  Beaming a beautiful smile that radiated peace. We talked after church.  Perfect English, despite the Asian skin coloring.  Over a Mexican, Western lunch in our home, this sixteen year old boy shares his journey of the last two months.  Being placed into an Indonesian...

What a privilege it has been to be mentored these last 5 years by Doctor Dianne Mathews.  Affectionately known as Dr. Di…..with no pun intended.   She is an incredible teacher and full of grace to us nurses.  I’m never afraid of how she will respond to decisions I make, though I don’t treat her kindness flippantly.  Her life is a story worth telling.  And it will take me several blogs to do so.  For now, I thought I would tease you with the things that delight Dr. Di.  For even though she enjoys patient care and gains much satisfaction from it, her real love is teaching AND puttering around with plants and animals and rocket stoves.  Her blue eyes come fully alive, when she knows that there is a project involving dirt, teaching and community development. Just two weeks ago Dr. Di taught students from our seminary how to build a rocket stove.  The purpose of these stoves is to use way less fuel (wood) and create almost no smoke.  In m...

I’ve almost found my groove for this school year…….but honestly, I’m still wading through adjustments.  The biggest adjustment is that Jacob is in school half time.  This has been a giant step for him and delightfully positive.  We would not have taken that leap without the wonderful encouragement of Jacob’s special education teacher.  She has faithfully walked with us these past 3 years.  Even when Mrs. Kolb could not be here for three-fourths of last school year, she still encouraged me weekly with her supporting emails.  God brought her and her husband back last school year in March.  Roger, her husband, had recovered from an extensive skin cancer surgery on his foot.  Abruptly, last Friday, the Kolb’s flew back to America because a tumor was discovered in Roger’s brain.  We are believing that God will do EXCEEDINGLY MORE than we ask for Roger and bring healing to him once again.  Please join us in praying for him.  Many many stu...

I didn’t know it would be so easy to get medical equipment for our up and coming medical aviation program. All I did was ask, link needs to Amazon and my blog, and YOU gave.  Thank you.  Much work is being done to set this program all in motion.  Please know that your gift of faith and love will bless many many in need.  I can’t wait to tell you stories about how God will use these tools of insight to bring accurate diagnosis and healing. Please pray for God speed, blessing and open doors as we try to set dreams into motion.  Thank you for responding.