While I was in Saidor, Madang, on staff at a literacy course, I passed my one-year anniversary of arriving in PNG. As I looked around my room at the mosquito nets, piles of cabbage and kru sako (a kind of leafy green), and stacks of materials for the book production classes coming up, I could only shake my head at how different it was—and yet still quite similar—from where I was living when I first arrived.
Now that the course is complete, I’m back in Ukarumpa, and have internet again, I thought it would be fun to take you on a tour of where I have lived in the past year...my own Parade of Homes, PNG style!
1. It started off in Madang, on Nobnob mountain, at POC...
2. Then, we moved to the village of Aronis....
...where I lived with Jessica and my new wasfemili (host family) for 5 weeks.
3. Upon conclusion of this time, Jessica and I moved back to the POC dorms...
grateful for luxuries like the POC bucket shower for 1 week.
4. Now on to Ukarumpa, in the Eastern Highlands province where Jessica and I moved into this house...
...with the stupendous Donna. Later, the delightful Jill also joined us, for a total of 8 weeks.
5. Then I was asked to go back to POC to be on staff. So, I trekked down to Madang once again...
...and moved into the Black House with my dear friend, Mandy. At one point, a short-term staff member, Valerie, also joined us during our 9 week stay. (Note the number 9. It won't happen again.)
6. While the POC students were in village living, I went back to Ukarumpa...
...and moved into yet another house on centre. All my future roommates were gone at this point, so for 5 weeks, I had the house to myself (not counting the dogs).
7. But, I had to finish up my duties at POC, so I zipped down to Madang for 1 week...
...once again, taking up residence in the Black House, this time sans roommate.
8. After POC, I went back up to Ukarumpa for a total of 4 weeks, where I joined the spectacular Jessie for the first time in my house.
Part of the way through, she left and my marvelous aunt Wendy joined me briefly.
9. Then, my aunt and I flew to Cairns, where we stayed at the lovely TreeTops for 1 week...
(Okay, so this is a picture of downtown Cairns...but I forgot to take a picture of our room so it will have to do.)
10. A change of plans sent me straight to Kokopo for 2 weeks (but not before I spent a night in Port Moresby at a fancy hotel)....
...where I lived with the amazing Robyn during this time!
11. Once that course finished, I flew and PMV’d my way back to Ukarumpa...
... where, for 4 weeks, I joined Jessie and my new incredible housemate Melissa, who just returned from furlough. (This was the first time I returned to Ukarumpa to the same house with at least one same roommate)
12. Soon it was time to leave again, and I flew to Saidor, Madang for a literacy course...
...where I lived for 5 weeks with two lovely ladies named Mavis and Barbara.
And now I am back in Ukarumpa with Melissa! How long I will stay here in Ukarumpa before I go bouncing off again is anyone’s guess, but I’m glad for a bit of a breather. Sometimes that much travel and lack of stability can get exhausting and draining (notice that in the past year, I’ve only been in one place for 9 weeks, and the average is about 4 weeks), and I find myself pondering switching to a job that require staying in one place (like volunteering to be a human post in a house’s foundation or keying all of our centres’ doors to only open with my thumbprint). Even Jesus experienced the challenges of constant transition when He warned some potential followers that “foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Matt 8:20).
But, even as I look back on the past year, with its revolving doors and changing scenery, I am reminded that stability and consistency is ultimately not rooted in always carrying the same set of keys. Rather, it is embedded deep in the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, whose love is unshakeable, and whose presence whispers “hello” every morning, and who has gone ahead to prepare a place for me, because my citizenship and passport is in heaven.
And that, I think, is a pretty incredible finale to my PNG parade of homes :-)
Now that the course is complete, I’m back in Ukarumpa, and have internet again, I thought it would be fun to take you on a tour of where I have lived in the past year...my own Parade of Homes, PNG style!
1. It started off in Madang, on Nobnob mountain, at POC...
where I lived in this dorm with the remarkable Jessica for about 8 weeks, with the occasional overnight with my local wasfemili (host family).
2. Then, we moved to the village of Aronis....
3. Upon conclusion of this time, Jessica and I moved back to the POC dorms...
4. Now on to Ukarumpa, in the Eastern Highlands province where Jessica and I moved into this house...
...with the stupendous Donna. Later, the delightful Jill also joined us, for a total of 8 weeks.
5. Then I was asked to go back to POC to be on staff. So, I trekked down to Madang once again...
6. While the POC students were in village living, I went back to Ukarumpa...
...and moved into yet another house on centre. All my future roommates were gone at this point, so for 5 weeks, I had the house to myself (not counting the dogs).
7. But, I had to finish up my duties at POC, so I zipped down to Madang for 1 week...
8. After POC, I went back up to Ukarumpa for a total of 4 weeks, where I joined the spectacular Jessie for the first time in my house.
9. Then, my aunt and I flew to Cairns, where we stayed at the lovely TreeTops for 1 week...
(Okay, so this is a picture of downtown Cairns...but I forgot to take a picture of our room so it will have to do.)
10. A change of plans sent me straight to Kokopo for 2 weeks (but not before I spent a night in Port Moresby at a fancy hotel)....
11. Once that course finished, I flew and PMV’d my way back to Ukarumpa...
12. Soon it was time to leave again, and I flew to Saidor, Madang for a literacy course...
And now I am back in Ukarumpa with Melissa! How long I will stay here in Ukarumpa before I go bouncing off again is anyone’s guess, but I’m glad for a bit of a breather. Sometimes that much travel and lack of stability can get exhausting and draining (notice that in the past year, I’ve only been in one place for 9 weeks, and the average is about 4 weeks), and I find myself pondering switching to a job that require staying in one place (like volunteering to be a human post in a house’s foundation or keying all of our centres’ doors to only open with my thumbprint). Even Jesus experienced the challenges of constant transition when He warned some potential followers that “foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Matt 8:20).
But, even as I look back on the past year, with its revolving doors and changing scenery, I am reminded that stability and consistency is ultimately not rooted in always carrying the same set of keys. Rather, it is embedded deep in the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, whose love is unshakeable, and whose presence whispers “hello” every morning, and who has gone ahead to prepare a place for me, because my citizenship and passport is in heaven.
And that, I think, is a pretty incredible finale to my PNG parade of homes :-)
