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.
