First I will share about my first day in Madang
I slept pretty well last night. This morning I took everything out of 3 of my bags (I put the same code on each of the locks, but one bag remains unopened due to a persnickety lock! I may have to have it cut off). Emily came and got me and we went to the office so that I could meet everyone and get set up online so I could communicate with my family and friends. After touring the facilities, (it is really nice) we walked a couple of blocks over to get a SIM card for my phone and got that all set up. I communicated a little via FaceBook and sent a couple of emails. But it was late night in the USA so I had very few responses. I sent Alicia my first notes about my departure; thank you Alicia, for sending them out for me! The internet here makes dial up seem like Roadrunner! Please don’t send me any emails that have pictures in them. I don’t think I will be able to open very large files. After my time in the office I went over to Jim and Joni’s place. It is really nice. It is on the second floor so they get a nice ocean breeze most of the time. The reason I said “most of the time” is because the power went out while I was visiting and boy does it get warm quick!! We sat out on their patio for a while and caught a nice breeze ~ once in a while. I think that the power was out for at least 2 hours (although it felt like much longer!). It’s back on now. It is nearly 5:30 and Kathy is picking me up around 6 or so for dinner at her place. She lives in a one bedroom under J & J. I am glad that the power is back on. I am sitting in my living room under the ceiling fan.
Something that is really cool here is that the birds don’t quit singing until way after dark. Don’t they know they’re prey? I love it!! And!! They are awake really early. I love that even more! I remember walking in Dublin in the Nature Preserve by Hooper House and talking to God about the different types of sounds I would hear here. So far, I am not disappointed!
… I haven’t written for a bit… I got distracted.
We had the most fantastic ride up to Nobonob Mountain. It is an incredibly steep hill and I was on the cliff side. Absolutely fantastic ~ I loved every single moment of the ride!!!
We got checked into our rooms. My companion or partner for POC is Coralie and she is a few years older than me and from Australia. She is a lot of fun. I love her accent, and boy can she come up with some funny words for stuff. I smile a lot.
Our first chance to go on the conditioning walk was the 20th at 06:00. I considered it… but drug my feet in anticipation. I guess I wanted some to go and tell me what it was like and then go the next day. I know, I know… dive in Sharon, right?! Well… I decided that I would go the next morning without fail. We have our meals in a dining room. They feed us very well! They are amazing with teaching us about nutrition and our daily needs. I really love the granola they make for breakfast. I will totally be making it often! I’m listening for the Hilo to come up the hill, which brings me to my next subject.
I forgot to set my alarm to get up in time for the walk at 6 on the 21st. But I had mentioned to Joni that I wanted to go and would she holler at me so I wouldn’t miss it. She hollered and I was sound asleep. I jumped up and got ready to go. We met out at the gate and began our walk up the trail. I made it about 20 steps when my right ankle turned on some uneven ground (not like there is much that is level, ha-ha!) and down I went hearing a snap. Oh no!!! Pain, lots of pain… it was quite a journey getting back up the hill and to the clinic to be examined. They brought a chair for me to sit on while they got the truck. There was no way I could have made it alone. I was so grateful for Coralie and the others that came to my rescue. We told J & J to go on and enjoy the walk. They did and I guess it was wonderful. Verna is our nurse. She has been one since 1968. She is wonderful. I voiced my concern about the snap or pop that I heard when it happened and we watched my ankle swell bigger and bigger. Dang, I don’t get hurt very often, so I don’t necessarily know how to deal with that sort of pain. She wrapped it after I applied some of the Essential Oil that Jennie sent with me for pain. I know that I could have been in more pain that I have experienced without it, because of what it did for my back just a week before I left home. Anyway… they drove me back to my room and unloaded me into bed with a fan, an elevated foot with an ice pack and I rested the entire day; most thankful for the camper style porta-potty next to my bed. It was a couple of really long days, but here I am, on Saturday the 25th (4 days after my fall) and I am doing pretty darn well! Verna said that I will miss most of the hikes and I was not able to go swimming yesterday, but next week is looking good for my first swim. I am allowed to put weight on my foot next Tuesday. Today the rest of our POC family is in town; they should be back soon. The reason I so easily called them family is due to the way they have rallied around me checking on me and helping me as I trek from my room to the dining hall and the classroom where we have our lectures and (!!!) where we began our Tok Pisin lessons yesterday!! I can’t wait to be able to speak freely in the language here. It sounds really cool and it is fun to speak it! I know a little from Ellen in Dallas…but I want to be proficient as soon as the Lord will allow 😀
I would really appreciate your prayers for healing and getting on track with things here. It has been rather depressing watching what I should be doing from a distance. I sometimes struggle to find my joy. Lately I have to try to smile… and you know me… I want to smile all the time! I read this in Jesus Calling (Dec 18) before I left and I jotted it in my calendar…I had no idea when I would share it, but God knew that this would happen. “Once you have become grateful for a problem, it loses its power to drag you down.” Please pray for me.
Well that is about it for now. I haven’t gotten many cool pictures yet, but I am sure that will come! These are pretty much all I have right now. One is of the guy “mowing the path” with his machete, another of snails as big as my palm, one of me with my Tok Pisin Tisa (teacher) and Jacob who over sees our lessons (we meet in small groups). Behind me in the distance is Madang… I can see the airport, can you?
Lukim Yu (see ya!)
Wonderful post, well not about you ankle, just about your journey…
Well it may be hot there but it’s very cold here. The high this week is zero with a low of 14 below. Everyone is getting ready to hunker down. We received about 8 inches of snow over the weekend, was a lot of shoveling…was so bad today (Sunday) they cancelled Vista service.
We are so proud of you and keeping you in our prayers.
In Him,
Erik