I should be working on my PNG taxes now.  But somehow writing on my blog seems like
better idea.  It’s amazing the things you can get done when you should be doing something else.  In March four of us girls went to Kokopo and Rabaul.  I highly recommend it for a vacation spot (don’t live there though).  It was quite delightful.  We found a ride down to Lae and then took a plane to Kokopo.  It is a city near Rabaul where there are several active volcanoes.  We kept looking out the window to see them from the plane, but no luck.  When we got of the plane and walked across to the terminal we could see three of them in the farish distance, one of them really puffing smoke.  It was kind of cool, but the best was yet to come. 

We settled into our flat at the SIL Regional Centre and then went to drive around tow  n.  I was happy to be the driver of the week, but I did not instil confidence in my passengers by st arting out on the wrong side of the road.  I went farther down the road and plowed through a pothole that really did look like it was filled until I got just right up to it.  Oops.  So they were ‘helping’ me drive the rest of the way.  My driving did improve (minus the driving across ashen river beds) and they were even complimenting me later on.

            So the wind was blowing our direction from the volcano.  It looked like it was snowing.  It was kind of cool at first.  Then it started getting in the eyes.  We went into a store for about 30 minutes and there was quite a bit of ash on the car when we returned.  Later, we walked down to a pier and took a walk along the beach.  It was very nice with the slight breeze coming in off the ocean.  We could see a wrecked ship in the water not too far off shore.  We tried walking all the way to the place we would snorkel the next day, but the trees deterred my companions. 

            The snorkelling was very nice indeed.  I had to get used to it again which is always a pain.  The colonies of sea urchins were not helping.  Finally I was able to breathe normally and get out there.  The fish are so beautiful.  I just saw today that you can snorkel in Lake DeGray and Lake Ouachita back home (of course technically you can snorkel in just about any body of water).  I could not imagine what you would want to see in the lakes; nothing would compare to the scenes here in PNG.  There were lots of coral and colourful fish.  I really like the deeper parts as well.  The coral seems to attract more kinds of fish and you have room to move around.  We went to this snorkelling spot three different times.  It was a resort about 2km from the centre.  However, one day the waves were really kicking up dirt and I couldn’t see 6 inches under the water.  I decided that the others could go out farther and see if it cleared up.  A lot of the coral and even the sea urchins were close to the surface the day before.  I went back and work with Mel on our Kokopo song and called Paul.  On a clear day I was able to take pictures with an underwater camera.  I don't trust deveolping here too much so I might wait until I go home in July to get them done. (That is assuming I get to go home.  Right now the immigration office has all our passports and we are working on getting our visas. You could pray this gets done.  I really want to go to Vancouver and CO in July and if I leave without a current visa, it is doubtful I can get back in the country. :)

            Yes I got to talk to Paul several times on this trip.  PNG actually now has cell phones.  The company is in a big battle to keep its international calling gateway and are giving nice deals.  It is only 99 toya a minute on weekends and between 7p-7a.  It is so odd seeing a man in the village talking on a phone sitting in front of his bush house.  I don’t have a phone myself (I would have already called all of you a lot).

             I guess I should get my rambling on to the best part of the trip.  We drove over to Rabaul and the smoking volcano.  In 1990 something this one volcano and another on the other side of the bay erupted, spewing ash over most of the city.  Now that part of the  city is s till mostly covered with ash.  Driving on ash feels really neat.  One slight mishap.  I stopped on the side of the road to get a picture and we got snuck.  The ash was not thick; however, it was wet.  So some PNGans stopped to help us out.  The others again were a little concerned about getting stuck along the way.  Still we ventured on.  My main concern was the mostly dried up river beds.  It seemed like we would most likely get stuck in one of those places.  I decided that since slowing down is when you are most likely to get stuck, then we should just plough through them.  It worked. :)  The backseats of vehicles bump higher, I think, than the front and several of my friends are tall.  So they bumped their heads a bit.  They were thankful we didn’t get stuck. 

            We made it out to where it wasn’t advisable to drive further and walk a ways beyond that.  There was on old concrete factory with just some cement posts remaining there.  The ocean at the shore was boiling (which may not be the right term, but that is what the man there said).  We were so close we could hear it rumble and occasionally see rock being thrown out of it.  And for only 2 kina, a man allowed us to stand there looking at the volcano and told us a bit about the history.  Technically it was a rip off since the info is readily available at the hotel in town, but it was less than a buck.  I figure there wasn’t anything to argue over.  I got a very nice shell necklace from one of the ladies there as well. 

            After ploughing back over though the ashen river beds, we stopped at the Hotel Rabaul.  It is on the outskirts of the ghost town.  They have been able to stay open largely due to the amount a sweeping they do on the roof.  Many buildings were destroyed just by the weight of the ash.  They have a covering over the pool, but I really don’t see how that would help.  It was quite a contrast to where we had just been.  It was really nice looking and even air conditioned.  We each order a Chinese style dish and shared all-round.  It was nice.  On the way home we got to stop in a ‘cave’ and see some rusted out ships that the Japanese stored there during the war.  The man told us the story of what it was like when they were occupied.  We also stopped off at the observatory to get an awesome view of the harbour and volcano.  One of the geologists showed us around and explained different equipment to us.  They kindly gave us free posters about volcanoes as well.

             Other activities included going to a war cemetery where I came face to face with a praying mantis.  There was some neat historical information as well.  Come sections had just soldiers from the Indian army who died during WWII.  It seemed most of the soldier were ‘Known only unto God’.  The Hindu , Christian and Muslim soldiers had different symbols and recognition that they were a follower of their faith. It   was very well kept.  We also went to a war museum.  Very interesting.  I must admit the most fun portion of the museum was writing silly notes in the ash covered glass.  There were some eerie looking artifacts of dancing men.  Not something I would feel comfortable with carrying home.

            Evenings were filled with cooking, games, singing and basically being a bunch of goofballs.  On Easter Sunday we had an egg hunt in the workshop at the center.  I was the winner finding 7 eggs out of 12.  They were really hidden well.  My cohorts claimed I won either because I was so short or because I was so child like.  I don't care why;I still won. :) As the morning of our departure dawned, we were uncertain if we were actually going to be departing.  According to the airlines the ash was blowing in the wrong direction or something.  However, other airlines seemed to be able to take off.  So we weren’t going then we were and then we weren’t then we were but only if the wind stayed a certain direction.  In the end we had 15 minutes to finish cleaning up and get to the airport.  It was an interesting morning. 

            We got back to Lae and the store manager from Ukarumpa was there.   We all went out the Lae International and had something good.  He was heading back up to Ukarumpa the in a few days and offered to take our bags up in the store truck.  He took us to the PMV stop the next morning and, as God would have it, he saw someone he knew that was going up to Ukarumpa.  It was great.  We reached Kainantu (the town about a 15 minute drive from the Rump and where we have to change PMVs) and decided we should stop at Higlands Fried Chicken.  this is a great place to eat-even though it has been improper named and the signs are suppose to read ‘Highlands Fried Chicken’.  It is new and to closest thing we have to a fast food joint and it is clean and the food is actually good.  You can close your eyes and nose and ears and almost have a faint recollection of being back home.  The funniest part is that the security guard doubled as a waiter.

            We made it safely back home now or then. I guess I have been home a while now.  I miss the lowlands.  As hot as it often is there is just something surreal about standing in the grass watching palm trees blow in the breeze.  Of course just about the time the colours start changing to a curious hue and the song “Bali High” starts playing in the background, a fly darts up your nose or you realize you are standing in an ant pile.  I guess it isn’t paradise.  But it is nice while it lasts. 

            I will close with a poem I wrote in Kokopo.  Keep it always as I am sure I along with the poem will be famous one day.

            Oh the sound of the waves washing on the shore,
            I read my book until I start to snore.
            I watch the volcano blowing ash into the air,
            And then feel it later when I wash out my hair.

I wrote a silly poem for each of my travelling companions and even Paul.  However, I will spare you this time.  I pray you are having a wonderful day.  Next up might be something about TTC.  But if I keep up with my blog as well as I have been, it might be about VITAL which is in June :)  Grace and peace to the fullest measure.

I am currently on holiday.  I enjoyed a week in New Zealand and am wrapping up a week in Australia.  There is much about the land that I can tell you, but it certainly wouldn't do it justice.  And unfortunately this computer's usb ports are missing the front slots and occupied in the back, so I cannot upload pictures right now.  You should really come and see it for yourself sometime.  It (being New Zealand) is gorgeous.  However, the best part of New Zealand isn't a place; it is a person-Paul.

You may have read about Paul some in emails or other postings.  He came to PNG in July (I think) to do some computer programming work for about five months.  We were running around in the same circles and even ended up taking a trip to Madang together with a bunch of friends.  At this point I had noticed some nice qualities about him and thought it would be nice to get to know him more.  Unknown to me it was on this trip that he started to really take note of me.  Of course I am a little slow in these things always thinking I am reading into things, so it was much longer before I even had a clue.  As God would have it we did get to know each other more.  We started spending more and more time together.  We probably had far too many late nights staying up chatting, but time seemed so short and precious.  As I got to know him more, I saw in him many of the qualities I had prayed for in a husband.  Still mistakes of the past and fear of being hurt and even hurting him kept coming up.  I would get scared and start to throw up the wall.  But as I prayed, God would tell me that I didn't need to have all the answers up front to continue in a relationship with him.  As my family prayed with me, their advice was the same.  All this was coupled with the fact that I wasn't sure what he thought of me.  At times I thought he did care for me as more than a friend, but then I would think that women always read too much into things or see ways he didn't treat me any different than others and I would talk myself out of it.  It's crazy the effect fear can have on you.  Even when I did decide he did care for me, I wasn't sure how deeply he cared.

So though I could not see clearly, Paul continued to pursue me and we grew closer.  I had plans to meet a friend in Australia for a holiday, but this fell through.  I had a free week of holiday before I would have to meet my roommate in Sydney on Dec 26.  I really wanted to spend more time with Paul in New Zealand to get a chance to be with him outside the PNG culture and to meet his family as well.  I was reluctant to say anything as the timing wasn't all that great and I didn't know how he would really feel about it.  I would arrive just after he returned home and thought he (and his family) might like some time together.  I would try to figure out if Paul wanted me to come but ended up just thinking I was trying to push things and let it go.  I still had a week free and thought it would be nice to go see New Zealand itself but was reluctant because Paul was there.  Isn't that silly?  Finally, I clearly felt like God had said He was fine with me going.  Then, Paul said something that made me think that if I am going to go see it, then it is better to have someone there who can show me around.  So I mentioned this to Paul.  He was happy to have me come.  I am so glad I went.

So at the last minute I decided to go.  It actually worked out great as there was trouble with the SIL flight to Australia and I was able to easily accommodate the changes as I did not have flight plans yet.  This also put me on the same flight as Paul.  I must admit I was a bit nervous going to meet his family even though it was still not as a potential wife situation.  I would find myself literally wringing my hands.  His family is very nice.  I like them a lot.  His brothers were on strict orders from their wives not to mess with him.  They seem as pesky as my two brother-in-laws.  That's a good thing.  His nephews and nieces were so cute!  They had made a sign for him and one kept asking me questions.  He was ever so polite as well.

So, the next day we went out and about to see Devonport and Auckland.  Very nice-as I said, you should come see it sometime.  At one point he got a phone call from his brother and it seemed like there was something going on that I wanted to know about.  Later, he got a text that made me think the same thing, so this time I asked him about it.  He told me it was his brother wanting to know if there was anything between us so they could make an effort to get to know me more in that way (his wife's idea I believe-I like her).  This got the ball rolling.  Over the next several days we were able to talk about exactly where we were in our thinking of each other and where we felt God was leading us.  While we still have a lot of unknowns this is what we do know.  We are making plans to marry likely in the Summer of 09 in Arkansas.  We will eventually end up in New Zealand to settle down.  The first thing I am praying about is whether or not I should stay with Wycliffe.  Paul does not want to take me away from any calling God has on my life, but at the same time isn't sure if God would have him return to PNG.  There are other options such as living in Canada or England.  If I do stay with Wycliffe I could go to school in Canada near where Paul will be next year.  If not we could possibly get married a little earlier.  So, I would appreciate your prayers in all this.  Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the amount of the unknown but feel at peace when I think of this gift God has given me in Paul and the fact we will end up together in the end regardless of the details.

Next post I might have some pix for you or in the very least details of the trip itself.  One word of advice is NOT to make a special trip to see the fireworks in Sydney.  They are worth it if you are already going to be there and have a day to waste staking out your viewing spot.  However, it is a lot of effort and quite tiresome to go just for that:)    May God bless your day.  Let me know how I can keep praying for each of you.