And now for something completely different ... Papua New Guinea!

In planning a long multi-country trip, countries come onto the plan and then go away for various reasons. Some are shelved because the routing didn’t work out, or the season was not right for where it fit in the schedule, or the flights were too long or expensive. 

It was last summer that we thought we had our final version of the trip itinerary. Then, we went to Costa Rica on a missions trip with the broader Nazarene church. Our Compassion Church of the Nazarene along with about a hundred other Nazarene churches met up in San Jose, Costa Rica to serve various local churches for a week, but we also had focused time learning about what missions is and what it looks like living missionally. 

During this week we got to talking with the people who head up missions for the Nazarene Church about our upcoming “world tour” and that we felt led to be open on where we go, if we could be of any use. They threw out a couple of places that could have potential needs and the western highlands of Papua New Guinea came up. 

I’m pretty sure I said something like, “Oh! I have always wanted to go to Papua New Guinea!” 

And Tom was like, “That’s the first I’ve heard of this.” 

Both things are true. This is because every time I would consider Papua New Guinea as a destination, I would look up the State Department alerts. So, I never took it much further. 

And yet, if I heard someone say Papua New Guinea (which wasn’t often), my heart would jump with excitement. I’m convinced, now, that this reaction was due to all that time I spent reading missionary books as a kid while I was bored in church. 

My family went to services every time the doors were open. Sunday morning, Sunday School, Sunday evening, Wednesday night, revival services, choir practice, Bible Quizzing, camps, Camp meeting, Family camp, VBS, etc. 

So to prevent us kids from rolling around under the pews, Mom let us read missionary books during services. However, I’m pretty sure I’m the only one of my brother, sister and I that ever did. And boy did I read them, constantly. My brother spent his time carefully opening up the offering envelopes so he had paper to draw on, while my sister would rummage through mom’s purse in search of candy. I, on the other hand, was somewhere in the bush of Papua New Guinea playing with children who lived in huts and ate “kau kau.” 

I read many missionary books, but this one was my favorite as a child.

We were connected with the Nazarene Mission Station in Kudjip and began the conversation. Several months later, we had changed our route, secured visas, bought tickets and allowed a place to stay in mission housing.

And yet, boarding the plane in Auckland, there was a lot of apprehension.

ready with our "backpacks and boarding passes"

We knew very little about Papua New Guinea. There aren’t many guides to buy, and what you read in the news is not encouraging. We also didn’t know much about what we were going to do while there. There was something about helping with the new EMR (electronic medical records) system at the hospital and maybe teach a high school class on tv production for the missionary kids.

We didn’t know any of the missionaries who served there, though I read a few of their blogs, which sometimes made me sad or nervous. Many of the missionaries are doctors, and there are some really hard stories…

And yet, for me, this is what it often feels like when you are open to what God could be doing in your life.

Uncertainty, and yet certainty. 

Experiencing discomfort, but also … gladness.

Knowing it would have been easier to have control of what the trip would look like, but in giving up control, receiving so much joy. 

And, our time in Papua New Guinea has proven to be a treasure of the unexpected wonderful.

I'm so excited to share more about out time in Papua New Guinea!