Reflections from Papua New Guinea - part 2

As I said in my last post, I wasn't expecting to be writing from the relative comfort of the UK so soon and I'll share a little here about what led to my return so that anyone who's interested can read. After spending a couple of days at the lovely Mapang Missionary House in Port Moresby for a couple of nights and being hosted brilliantly by local United Church members, I flew the 90 mins or so internal flight to New Britain Island and Rabaul Airport where I would be greeted by my former colleague Garo (pictured) and his wife Dada.

Many people have asked about why I ended up in PNG in the first place. Well, for a number of years, Garo served in the UK church in Lancashire, while I was stationed there, even serving in the same circuit for two years. As I was planning my sabbatical I wanted to test a call to theological education as well as experiencing Christianity in a different culture. Garo, now back in PNG, serves as Principal of the School of Theology & Mission at Rarongo - the primary training college for Ministers in the United Church - and so this contact provided an opportunity both to teach and see a different cultural context.

As I arrived Garo informed me that there had been a few earthquakes in the area, likely linked to the increased activity of Mt Tavurvur - an active volcano on the island of New Britain. Having never experienced an earthquake I was a little apprehensive but was unsure what was really in store.

We headed to a local foodstore, as Garo and Dada were concerned for me to have as western a diet as possible - their constant thoughtfulness and care to me from the word go was quite remarkable - and it was there that the fun(!) really began. After a while in the store I heard a loud rumble and instinctively assumed it was thunder, it was the fact that the whole building was shaking and the shelves emptying their contents to the ground that made me realise in that this was something quite different. We ran from the building, still shaking at this point, as some of the ceiling fixtures came down around me, being one of the last to leave the building with the ground still shaking violently outside. It soon transpired that this was a significant earthquake - of greater magnitude than the recent ones - and one of the largest that Garo & Dada had experienced. It was significant enough to make international news but thankfully there were no reports of casualties. A tsunami warning was issued but no major problems occurred.

For me this was a frightening experience. I've never experienced an earthquake before, let alone one that was so sizeable and I was shaking from the ordeal. Even recounting it now, nearly two weeks on, makes my heart race and the adrenaline kick in just a little.

We proceeded on to Rarongo, considering my options as I went. It was our guess, and no more, that this latest quake marked an escalation in the activity of the volcano - something that would pose a threat to many of the communities on the north of New Britain island.

On the basis of the information at the time and in the context of a frightening earthquake it seemed the most sensible decision to head back home fairly quickly in order to make sure I was safe and my family back home could be assured of my well-being. It was my guess that if the earthquakes continued, and if the volcano did erupt, having me around and needing to get me out of the province would have been a burden that the local people didn't need to have and so, it was thought best for me to return initially back to Port Moresby and then home. A couple of weeks on and that decision seems somewhat ridiculous. The earthquakes have continued but seem not be escalating and their scale is considerably diminished from the one I experienced. The staff and missionaries at the college are continuing as normal so it feels somewhat a considerable opportunity gone to waste. On the flip side, what I didn't want to happen was for the college to spend considerable resources on feeding and looking after me only for all this to go to waste just a couple of days later.

Nevertheless, my brief overnight stay at Rarongo enabled me to see the college, its beautiful setting- a rural village on the coast, just paces from the beach - and to meet some great people, however briefly. The care and love given to me by some of the staff of the college and Garo & Dada was quite something.

So this stay in PNG was a lot briefer than expected. My family are relieved I'm home, the love and affection from my two lovely children seem to bear this out! Im left with mixed feelings. Im glad to be out of the heat, I'm glad to have modern comforts again, but I am reflecting on my propensity to panic rather than to pray. My honest reflection (and my critique is of myself solely) is that I made quick, even possibly positive decisions quickly & decisively, (something I'm not prone too!) but I what I didn't do is to pause, pray and seek the mind of my Creator and Master. Unanimously Ive been reassured by godly and caring friends in the UK that my actions were entirely reasonable and I'm coming to terms with that, but how can I continue to encourage others to lean on the Lord even in the most severe of trials and to know His peace and wisdom if when push comes to shove Im unable to do so. If I had my time again, I may not necessarily have a different outcome, but I would hope to take a breath, pause, pray and seek the guidance of One whose will and wisdom can only ever be for my eternal good, whatever the earthly circumstances.

Reflections from Papua New Guinea - Part 1

As many of you will be aware by now, I'm not in the Papua New Guinean bush teaching student minsters but back home in the UK largely feeling sorry for myself. I'll say more about that in my next post, but I wanted to share some brief and fairly simple reflections from my travels over the last week or so.

Firstly, Papua New Guinea (PNG) is so very far away from the UK! It looks far away on a map and on plane tickets when the relevant timings are set out before you, but it is quite another thing to spend  nearly 2 1/2 days travelling to the place one is headed to. Nothing quite prepared me for just how long it would take to get there and back, but I made it courtesy of Singapore Airlines!

Secondly, PNG is hot & humid. The temperature was around 30* celsius while I was there and its a heat that comes with a high degree of humidity too that makes it feel even hotter than it is. For someone who naturally prefers the cold, it was something of a shock to exit the plane at Port Moresby and be confronted with the sheer wall of heat that is the pacific climate.  

Thirdly, PNG is a land of contrast. Although my experience was confined to the capital Port Moresby, and a brief stay on New Britain Island, the gap between rich and poor is immediately evident. There are brand new 4x4 and SUV's driving the same streets that naked children live and scavenge on. The streets are dirty and sometimes unkempt, while pristine office blocks and high end hotels line them. This contrast is even more noticeable the further out from the capital one gets. The rural communities living in increasingly primitive conditions, yet each with cell phones - an essential point of connection to the rest of the world and essential services.

Fourthly, PNGers are lovely people! Although I must confess to being intimidated at first by the cultural differences, my experience of PNG people is overwhelmingly positive. In my brief time in PNG I met church officials and local church members and found them to be a delight. The small band of church members who looked after me for a few days in Port Moresby were a wonderful tribute to their church and nation as they ferried me left and right and looked after me with incredible generosity. Once again, the kindness and hospitality of the local people left a lasting impact on me.

Lastly, PNG is often referred to as the 'Land of the unexpected'. My last post was about the need to relax into God's purposes whatever they may be. I didn't anticipate being back to soon, or experiencing an earthquake - Im unsure as to what God's purpose in all of this is still - but the laid back culture of the pacific once again challenged my need to be in control at all times rather than go with the flow a little more. In the next post I'll share some more reflections about living in a vulnerable situation and the challenges faced by communities whose infrastructure is far less reliable than that in the west.

Don't Panic!!!

Although it wasn't planned this way, the increasing theme of this sabbatical seems to be around the area of trusting God. I guess the whole theology of sabbath and sabbatical is fundamentally an issue of faith and trust. Right at the foundation of the world we are set an example of sabbath - of rest - by God himself as though He wanted us to know right from the beginning that non-stop frantic activity is not how God wants us to be or how He wants us to live.

Im not good at stopping and being still, not good at resting and so perhaps my faith and trust levels are not as high as I would like them to be. Its as though frantic activity, the need to be doing doing doing says to ourselves, to others, and ultimately to God that we are indispensable, He cannot do with out our doing. I remember a wise college lecturer saying to us that a day off was an act of faith - a statement that even when we are not exerting energy the world will not stop turning, for it is Gods work anyway not ours.

I think of all the people I have worked with who thought time off was almost a sin, a sign of neglect of God's work, rather than a statement of faith that says there is One bigger, greater and more able than I.

I write all this in the context of a week for us that has been full-on with frantic activity. I am due to fly to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea in a matter of hours (writing this from an airport cafe) and although we had planned to have all our preparation done well in advance to enable us, maybe naively, to have a relaxed family week, we have been rushing from pillar to post to get VISA's sorted, borrow all sorts of things from friends, pack, re-pack, buy last minute essentials, collect items that need to be taken to missionaries stationed in PNG and etc etc. This has hardly been a week of rest and relaxation. I would love to tell you how I have quietly trusted God all along and rested in His peace amidst the various upheavals! Nothing could be further from the trust, as I have panicked, panicked, panicked!

I'm reminded of Corporal Jones in the sitcom 'Dads Army' whose catchphrase of 'Don't panic' was almost always accompanied with frantic activity as he, yes panicked!

So to return to the beginning, this sabbatical is increasingly about learning to trust God when the plans I make seem to take another direction, to remember that I am dispensable and that He is big, is great and is Eternal. In the context of ministry, I need to learn that God is ultimately in control, and ultimately He is responsible for the outcome of His work. My task is to be regularly available, willing and faithful, and to have enough faith not to try to grasp the outcome for myself but to trust Him in all things.