RACE JULY 2012

This past July, God sent me to World Team's headquarters in Pennsylvania for RACE (Reciprocal Assessment Candidate Evaluation).  During RACE, World Team introduces the organization to all the candidates.  It's a wonderful time to better understand them as an organization.  After this introduction, all the candidates are placed into teams.  Within these teams, each person shares their testimony and completes missionary tasks given to the team.  During this time, World Team assesses each candidate.  Although it is a stressful process, God works mightily during this time!  At the end of the assessment, each candidate is given a response from World Team.  By God's grace, I was asked to be an appointee with them!  Glory to God!  Now that I am an appointee with World Team, I get to start the fun process of getting to the field!  May God be seen and glorified during this whole process!

The Heart of the Jungle

 A village from the air

The last place the Lord sent me was to the lowlands. While I was in there, I was blessed to stay with another missionary family, T and T.  I don't want to disclose their names in case of persecution.  During the 2 weeks I was in this village, God faithfully showed me the life of a missionary and the life the villagers. 

arriving to the village

Building the Airstrip

Cooking inside the home

sleeping quarters

      The life of a missionary in the jungle 

•  Filled with Physical Trials
• very difficult trekking that is filled with leeches.
• washing laundry in the river every day.
• First, I thought this would be really cool.  After about a day, I realized how difficult it is to do laundry in the river.
• with no showers, one must bathe in the river.
• Although, I loved bathing in the river, it is hard to stay clean when you bathe in "dirty" water.
• Sickness
• With many mosquitoes and other bugs, infection, malaria and other sicknesses are hard to evade.
• At one point, the missionaries and us interns all got Scabies.  Scabies is a condition where microscopic bugs are all over your body.  With the combination of many mosquito bites, I itched a lot.  It can be miserable.  Yet, God is so faithful to provide grace for these trials!  Praise Him that we had medicated baby powder and Scabies medicine!
• Since no Walgreens or Walmart exist in the jungle, it is very hard to keep bug bites from getting infected.  At one point, my feet and ankles were so swollen that I had swollen ankles..Plus, I itched so bad that I had to put on powder to relieve the itch.  Thus, my feet looked like a leper.  You just have to bear through it.
• Lack of resources make it difficult to help people.  Many people die in the village. T and T face that often.
• filled with Spiritual trials
• Witch doctors still exist here in these remote, tribal places. 
• The Papuan, tribal people are a very superstitious and animistic people
• You have uneducated evangelists leading the church.
• When people are so concerned with surviving physically, it's hard to reach them spiritually.  

The life of the Papuan in Danowage

•  Filled with Physical Trials
• Women are constantly working in their gardens.  Yet garden work in the jungle swamp is much more difficult than American gardening.  In America, we have our nice rows of veggies, fruits, etc.  In Papua, you see jungle everywhere, then all of a sudden a garden.  The garden looks so similar to the rest of the jungle, it is hard to make the distinction.  
• Men are off fishers.
•  If they don't catch anything, no meat for dinner.

• Families harvest sago.
• With little food variation, sago is a grain-like substance that is harvested from a tree.  It takes a group of families all day to harvest the sago.
• The same sicknesses that plague the missionaries hit the villagers as well.  Many people die from sicknesses. 

      

 

     Yet in all these struggles, GOD IS FAITHFUL!  His word says that He daily bears us up (Psalm  68:19).   Although life in the jungle is extremely, God is faithful to bear His children up physically and spiritually.  Glory to His name!  

     God showed me the great cost of being a missionary in these types of environments.  The people are still underneath the curse of Adam in a physical sense: "cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:17b-19  Praise God that He is making all things new!  Although life is difficult both for the missionary and for the people, God is worth having the people come to Him!  God wants His lost sheep to come to Him and they will!  So the physical and spiritual trials are worth it.  Plus, God assures us that He is with us to the end.  We have the love of God, what more could we need! 

Baptism!!

after church

City life in Wamena

Wamena

     One of the other places I visited was a highland city, called Wamena.  Wamena is a city much like Sentani, but much smaller and compact.  While I was in Wamena, I stayed with two missionaries, Art and Carol.  These missionaries were such a wonderful blessing to be around!   I talked with them, had daily devotionals with them, and fellowshipped with their family.  One of their three sons still lives in Indonesia about 5 minutes away walking distance with his wife and four children.  Each day, I home-schooled Art and Carol's two oldest grandchildren, went grocery shopping for the evening meal, and made dinner.  Since I desire to be a missionary wife who also teaches the indigenous women and children about Christ, I was so blessed to teach in the morning and cook throughout the day!  God is so good! 

Art and Carol with me

the home I taught at

     As well as fellow-shipping with Art and Carol, God blessed me with meeting another missionary, Sue.  Sue was very kind to take me around Wamena and show me the city.  Since Sue is a nurse, she took me on a visit to the hospital.  I was overwhelmed with the sorrow and despair I found in the hospital.  Many of the patients suffer from Aids.  Seeing the people dying of this terrible disease without knowing Christ was terribly difficult.  Yet, it was these people Christ came to save.  "And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”  Mark 2:17  Jesus came to call the sick, weak, needy sinners to salvation.  The people in the hospital are the people Jesus came to save. However, all of mankind are like those people; humankind is sick, weak, and terribly lost without Jesus Christ.  "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” Romans 3:10-12.   Laborers must be sent to these people who are dying without the gospel!  "And he said to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.'" Luke 10:2

the children's ward in the hospital

Sue and I

the hospital in Wamena

inside the hospital

village life in the highlands of Mamit

One of the places I lived in was a tribal village in the highlands, Mamit.  A married couple, Wes and Esther Dale, are serving full-time in Mamit.  The Lord Jesus was so kind and gracious to let me live with them for about 10 days.  Living with the Dales was such a blessing for many reasons.  One, they were like parents to me; they loved me, taught me, cared for me when I was sick, and showed me their life.  Wes is such a kind and gentle man, who was always looking out for me.  When he wasn't home with Esther and I, I missed him.  Esther is such a joy to be around.  Since she is a teacher like myself, I was blessed to have many conversations with her about education in Mamit and in the cities of Indonesia.  Often times, we walked around the village and chatted.  These times were such a blessing to me.  We also hung out with the children.  Although, i couldn't talk with the people due to language barriers, I was blessed to get to know them with Esther.  God really blessed me in Mamit!  Praise His holy name!

leaving Mamit :(

Wes and Esther Dale with me

Mamit

our house

market

Teaching villagers - my desire

Esther and I hanging with children

the school

a mosquito net

Wes and Esther :)

my friend

the bible in the Dani language!  Praise the LORD!