I completed the six week POC course last Tuesday. But there are three families and one single doing the fourteen week course. One of the things I really wanted to do of the fourteen week course, but couldn’t was the three day hike. I was due to be fly back to Mt Hagen last Friday.

There is a SIL translator and his family serving in a remote villagec called Bang, which is about three and a half hours away from POC off the Rai Coast. Their current house has been falling apart and it was decided that they could have a home kit built. This village is up a river and on top of a hill. There are plenty of rivers to cross, mud pits, dry river beds and rough roads to drive through just to get to the Rai Coast, let alone to reach his village. So this kit which is 9 tonnes of timber down to the bathroom sink was sent by a barge from Madang. The shipment reached as far as the coast, as the village was not accessible as there had been too much rain and the rivers were too high. A team of five coming from America arrived yesterday (Sunday) to help build this house for ten days. So the three day hike was changed to help transport this home kit from one village (Sangom, on the coast) to the other (Bang) in time before Sunday.

I returned from Village living last week on Monday afternoon, thinking I was on my way to Mt Hagen that week. But I was offered to go if I wanted to. So when I called my Manager in Mt Hagen about transport, there was a flight last Friday or this Tuesday. But he was happy for me to stay on for the extra time as MAF conference starts later this week in Goroka. And this really worked out a lot better for me to stay and return on the following Tuesday.

So at 0630 Wednesday morning two staff, five national workman and five students headed off from POC with a Hilux, a Dyna (4 Tonne truck), a 4WD tractor and a motorcycle. I really did not know what to expect. All I knew was that we needed to get this home kit across these river crossings before Sunday and we were planning on coming back on Friday. Getting to the village that was storing the kit was interesting enough. I could not believe what we were doing with the machinery we had. I have never crossed rivers like that before, sometimes we could not get the truck across without the tractor pulling us through.

On the first day we did three loads with the Dyna, carrying most of the kit up to the village Bang. It took us an hour to an hour and a half to get to the neighbouring village Sangom. Around half an hour to load the truck and another hour back to the village. So the turnaround time we had for each load was two and a half hours to three hours long. On the last run of the day we were driving into the night with the Dyna fully loaded to the roof of the cab and sitting on top. Not only that but it started raining and did so all the way back to the village. We arrived back just after 2000 all wet, we had dinner and some locals gave up rooms for us to sleep in for the period of our stay.

On Thursday we started eager to get the rest of the kit up to the village, we knew that there was only two trips left at the most. We also knew that if it continued to rain, we might not be able to finish transporting the kit. We had to wait till around eleven o’clock in the morning until the river was low enough for us to cross (with the tractor pulling us through). That morning we spent time organising the kit into the correct bundles that it was suppose to be in, but had all been put out of place. The following day there had been some difficulties with some locals at the other village, which had become an interesting turn of events. We returned to the village with about thirty five locals from Bang on the back of the Dyna for the fourth load mid afternoon, and on the final run only some nationals went. Four of us stayed and started on the front steps of the house, and we were able to work really well together and complete it as it got dark. And during this the final load arrived, so it was a great achievement and success to get the whole kit to the village in time for this team. Also for the SIL builder who had been there for a week already, so he knew what he was working with and had something to work with.

On Friday we packed up and planned on heading back home. But interesting enough it had been asked if we could transport some Cocoa to Madang for the locals in the village. Which don’t have any other way to do so, especially with the obstacles in place. In the end we took 22 bags of Cocoa, which is 1.4 tonnes. We made it safely back across all the river crossing’s and so called roads we had to travel through in order to get back to the main highway. I am really thankful to God for a safe trip, that I had this opportunity to participate in this exercise which was highly productive and successful, which at first was thought of as impossible. And I feel that I have contributed something after being here at POC for over six weeks now. It was a real adventure and a lot of hard work, but I really enjoyed the experience.

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During our three day adventure transporting a home kit, we encountered one of a few interesting development of events. One of these would involve a conflict between the two villages we were working with. The village where the home kit was being stored, Sangom and the village where we were transporting it to, called Bang. It all started on the first day of the trip, where we were doing load after load. Sometime in the afternoon, a flowerbed in Sangom which was right on the edge of the road in the village was run over. On the next run, the Hilux was the first vehicle back to find a roadblock across the road. The owner of the flowerbed came out of his house, probably waiting three hours for us to return, to bring it to our attention. Who from what I heard was quite good about it and had a very valid point. But one interesting thing about the PNG culture is compensation. It is something that is a big part of the culture. If something happens to something you own, then you are owed compensation by the person responsible. And sadly there are some people who try to take advantage of this.

On my return to bang late that night after travelling in the rain and a long day, those of us who had been travelling on the Dyna (4 tonne truck) all day learned off what had happened. But little did we know that night the events that were developing in both villages, until the next morning. Both villages held meetings that night with their leaders in what do with the situation. As there were some in the other village demanding compensation from us and not allowing us to continue the work. So it was a bit frustrating with some little being blown out of perspective and trying to take advantage of it. And being white, it is expected that you have plenty of money and cargo (belongings). One of their thoughts on the matter even included fighting.

The following day (second day), we headed off on our first trip of the day, once the river near our village had lowered enough for us to cross. But for the first time, we had a lot more ‘helpers’ travelling with us than normal. The SIL translator’s Hilux was full of men and boys from the village. And every part of the Dyna was taken up with men and boys. There was at least thirty men in both vehicles. Some carrying weapons, which could easily be assumed as for hunting. But again little did we know until that night, that these guys were coming with us for protection or as peacekeepers. To prevent anything happening in the other village, and if something was to happen, then they would resolve it, even if that meant fighting. As the other village did not want us to drive into their village anymore. And not being able to get this home kit to the other village, greatly affected the other village, especially in having God’s word translated into their own language. So there we were in this village loading the truck and Hilux, without really knowing the communication and the processing of events that were taking place. But yet despite all this we were able to finish the work we set out to do and had no problems, the conflict was resolved peacefully. The leaders of the team were aware of the events taking place, but because of our isolation it took time to spread. And we were amazed and discussed what had been taking place. But despite all the dramas and seriousness, it was a great opportunity to see this side of their culture.

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In Mt Hagen MAF have several different compounds throughout town. My current place of residence is within the Kum Rd compound. This one compound was the one that I always thought the worst of and my last preference in a place. Mainly due to it be in a part of town with a lot of settlements and a lot of noise. But funny enough I have come to like being at this compound and would not mind staying here for the whole period.

Kum Rd has two houses and two apartments for expatriate staff, and four apartments for national staff down the back of the compound. I am in one of the apartments, house sitting for another Engineer who is away on his midterm break in Canada. So I will be here till September at the earliest and November at the latest. It is a two bedroom apartment, one bedroom is out of action as it is filled up with someone else’s belongings. It has a kitchen, dining room and lounge room all joined together. Along with a bathroom, a balcony and a laundry downstairs. It is not as spacious as what I am use to, but it is a comfortable living space for a single or couple, beats living out bush any day.

Security around this area has properly the worst reputation out of all the compounds. Mainly due to the settlements around this area. Any sort of unrest or unsettlement in town could involve this part of town. For example last year, a bouncer was killed at a club and this resulted into a tribal fight between two tribes that were involved. This included drive by shootings in our street and road blockades being put up to keep the other tribe out. In the end seven people were killed, no one on the compound was harmed during that time. But rather the locals looked out for them. We have a security guard on the compound from 2000 – 0600 every night (if you are a rascal ignore this statement). We all take turns for a week letting him in and out of the compound, not always the best thing on weekend mornings. But we have had no issues with security for some time or since I have been here.

With security being an issue, it is quite easy to develop a lifestyle which involves being restricted. Such as going to work and being in the compound, maybe get out once in a while to go shopping or to church. And I do not want to fall into that trap or to be restricted in how I live. But in saying that I am not going to ignore the issue or put myself at risk or ignore the precautions in place. Neither do I want to use the issue as an excuse to be comfortable.

So I am settling well into my new accommodation, I have set it up as much as possible as my own place. I would like to thank all the ladies at WSAC who gave generously in gifts. It has been such a blessing to have those items here and to be using them! I have a lounge which folds out to a king size bed and I have found some cheap airfares, so visitors are welcome anytime. I still struggle to explain this place and the best answer I can come up with, is to have a look yourself.  But I do look forward to getting my own place that I can setup completely, where ever  and when ever that may be.

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Just a little glimpse of what’s to come, this river is not that deep compared to others that we crossed during the trip, enjoy.

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Last week at work during a lunch break, two other fellow Engineers in there late 30’s and beyond who are married and have children. Started talking about Counter Strike Zero (a first person shooter PC game), about different weapons and all sorts of things. A game that I know very little about. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, especially from these guys. So during last week it was organised to have a guys night on Friday night where we would have a LAN all night and watch a stage of the tour de France live. This year is the first time I have not been able to follow or watch the tour in thirteen years. There is only one free to air TV station here, to get anything else you need cable, even to get the Australian free to air channels.

So last Friday night after a tiring week, while all the guys back home were at man camp eating meat. We had a LAN and played Counter Strike Zero all night, something that I thought I would never do here. Two pilots, four engineers and two teenage kids back home from boarding school on holidays. It is very convenient everyone having laptops and being able to borrow someone’s wireless router. We had a great night together and the ladies had their own gathering at another compound. We were able to watch the stage of the tour in the background, it has been good to have two other keen cyclists here too. But in the end it was only four of us left standing and we stopped around 0330 in the morning. It was the first time that I have enjoyed playing counter strike and the guys are very keen now to try battlefield 1942 next time. But also was good just being able to do something! Even though I am use to the surroundings here now, it was the first time that I can remember when I forgot I was in PNG.

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I am amazed at how many stories there are to share, and it’s hard to choose which ones to share. Everyday something interesting happens or I hear a story of something happening. I think someone could make a reality TV show out of MAF operating in PNG. But there are heaps of stories of stuff happening around the place, some of these stories are good, some are funny, some are serious and some are bad. I don’t know if you have realised that all the stories that have been posted have been about something positive. I haven’t tried to sugar-coat them, but bring out the good in a story. And I can’t really share about bad stuff that happens here, because it wouldn’t do any good. PNG get’s enough image badly portrayed by the media back in Australia. So I am trying to find a balance of what I can share and what I can’t. Every society has its problems and PNG is a developing nation with a very diverse culture spread out across 850 language groups. When you mix that with western culture and a fallen world, then you are bound to have problems. But despite all that it is still a beautiful country and group of people, who are moving forward and whom God is at work and is moving amongst.

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Sikone! The first video to be posted on the blog, but I didn’t make it. This video was put together by one of the students at POC while I was doing village living. It is a compilation of photos that everyone took while on the course and was shown after completing the course. There are a few in house jokes there, so if it doesn’t make any sense don’t worry. Hopefully it will give some insight into POC and that there will be more videos to follow.

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Last Thursday I finally received my notification that my internet account had been activated. It is such a blessing to have internet at my place, just to be able to check email and to use Skype. Internet access here is a lot more expensive than back home. I am paying 101.33 Kina (PNG dollars) a month for 35 hours, which works out to be A$40.53 a month! Which is a lot cheaper than what i was paying at POC. So hopefully this will mean the blog will be updated more frequently and it will be a lot easier to communicate with you guys back home via email and Skype.

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Last Tuesday was my first day of work on aircraft since arriving in PNG. I had started the previous week before conference but that involved in getting settled and mainly reading manuals. And prior to Madang, was just orientation around the workplace. It was such a big thing to finally start work after being in the country for two months and being through so much to get here. Not just in the last two months, or six months, but the last several years. Six years really to the first thought and desire of it all.

I was not really sure what to expect as I have felt pretty out of engineering, as I haven’t really worked on aircraft for 18 months (even though I spent a few weeks prior to leaving home). This was one of my main concerns coming to PNG, especially being very different aircraft to what I am use to. But I knew that God wanted me here, He had been preparing me for years for this and would equip me. And it has been such an encouragement the way God has really enabled me to get back into Engineering, even though it’s only been five days now. I have been learning a lot, being refreshed a lot and thinking the way work requires. We work 0730-1630 Monday to Friday, and can involve overtime depending how the check is going.

Most of the engineers are Papua New Guineans, there are only a few white skins. Most of the staff for MAF in Mt Hagen are nationals. It has been really good working alongside my black skin brothers and sisters in Christ. But also resuming friendships from late 2005. I brought a little mini HiFi system prior to coming that plays DVD MP3 discs. In the morning I play way of the master radio and in the afternoon play a huge range of music, mainly rock. And the guys have loved having that in the hanger, before it was very quiet in the hanger.

Last week saw us handle three aircraft checks, the third one which we just finished prior to lunch today. The first one was a B check on a Twin Otter (our largest aircraft, but is still small to anything else I ever worked on). This check is carried out every 125 flying hours, these aircraft range from 28-40 years old. The check started Tuesday morning and was due to finish on Friday. But we were able to finish the check by Thursday afternoon, allowing the aircraft to be free for service on the Friday. Which was a great accomplish considering how much work is involved. I spent the whole check working on the wings, which involved a day of inspections and the rest doing rectifications (fixing).

On the Thursday some of us started a 50 hourly on a Cessna 206 (every 50 flying hours). This check normally takes half a day, as long nothing too serious requires fixing. I spent the check working on the engine, which I really enjoy. And on Friday saw us start a 100 hourly on another Cessna 206 (every 100 flying hours). This normally takes around 3-4 days to complete, and again working on engine.

So after being in the country two months, it has been really good to slowly get setup in Mt Hagen. The last week has been quite busy and tiring settling into a new place and working. I still have no internet at home yet, still waiting and I really don’t have any spare time at work. So hopefully will be online soon.

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Arriving back in Mt Hagen two weeks ago. I spent just over a day in Mt Hagen before it was time to head off again. This time to Goroka in the Eastern Highlands for MAF PNG’s conference for 2008 (what we would call a church family camp). It was a big operation as this involved all expatiate staff based all over PNG to meet in one location for four nights. Including in this were support people visiting from Cairns, which included a Pastor and his wife, who spoke at the five sessions we had. It was not just a spiritual refreshing time for everyone, but also an opportunity to fellowship together. As for most this would be the only time of year to see one another. For me it was good timing, being able to meet all the other staff based around the country. It is quite amazing how many people are involved in making MAF work in PNG, and that doesn’tt even include the multitude of national staff we have. The theme for the conference was Freedom, which covered freedom in Christ and we worked through the book of Galatians. The main verse being:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

It was not only a refreshing time for everyone, but a challenging one also, covering with the theme were what are some things we need to be freed from and what are some things we need to be freed for. It was also a difficult time as some in the MAF family have been going through some tough hardships, sharing these hardships together and also saying goodbye to a few families who have been with MAF for a while.

I returned to Mt Hagen last Monday afternoon pretty tired and awaiting to move into my new accommodation. Which will be home for several months until my house is available (which is currently being renovated). This is my third place of accommodation in just spending over a week in Mt Hagen, due to several places having renovations at the moment. So after being in the country for two months, I start the process of getting settled in Mt Hagen after already being settled elsewhere.

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