Welcome back to our blog! Our last posts, a year ago, detailed our new experiences in Rumginae as we began to build a life for ourselves there and as Tim began to fly as a line pilot for MAF. In February, we were suddenly pulled away from our new life because of a serious health situation. We’ve stepped back from our blog this year while we have navigated some paths we did not expect and encountered experiences we would not have chosen. Our "precious stones" this year have been a faithful God and His loving people who have carried us through.
Returning to PNG after months away, a number of transitions have led us to a different MAF base within PNG, and we are settling in to the town of Goroka in the Eastern highlands. Tim continues to fly the GA8 Airvan from Goroka, where we live in community with three other pilot families.
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| Our home lit up for the holidays |
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| Christmas and New Years celebrations take place around the BBQ |
A few weeks ago, Tim and I were driving through town and I snapped a few pictures. They're not super quality but they give a sense of town.
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| All of our fruit and vegetables are bought at the outdoor marker |
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The Goroka market is under renovations, so vendors have been moving from park to park.
Which begs the question:Where is the market today? |
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| Colourful bilums (string bags) for sale line the fence of the government offices |
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| Papindos is an Indonesian grocery where we buy many dry goods |
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| Kim's Restaurant is Tim's favourite "kai bar" (lunch counter) |
One of my favourite things about living in Goroka is that it is in a valley. It reminds me very much of growing up in the Kathmandu valley, where every horizon is blue mountains. Being able to lift my eyes to the hills at any time of day creates a sense of home and security that was ingrained in me from childhood. I can look up from the busy-ness, the dust, the crowds, over the razor-wire, and the mountains are always there.
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| MAF Airvans parked at Goroka Airport with the mountains in the distance |
I’ve been reading in Colossians recently, where Paul encourages us to “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (3:2) The past few years have taken us through a number of experiences of grief or fear in which there seems to be no hope. There have been times when, looking at my experience, I can see nothing good; no fix, no happy ending. When I try to find hope, it is not visible in my experience. It is only when I look up – outside of earthly experience – that I can see hope and begin to piece together meaning. The book of Colossians calls it “the hope of Glory.” (1:27) Some things will not be fixed on this Earth; some things will not be made whole again here. Because of Christ, we can look beyond the brokenness of the world around us, into an eternity that is whole, secure, healed, and without fear.
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| The view from our kitchen window |
Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
Though mountains may move – particularly if you live on the Pacific Rim – and our circumstances and surroundings may change, our hope is secure in the unchangeable nature of God.
