September and October 2013
Experiencing Technical Difficulties
It was inevitable. There was a knowing down deep inside that it was going to happen. Yet it doesn’t make the situation easier to handle, but the reality is that I knew it was coming. It’s not a new experience, however, there’s a certain dread that you go through before it happens. Yet once it happens or starts happening there’s a sigh of relief that it has begun. Because I was expecting it, it made it easier to accept and work through.
I am speaking of the different mechanical and technical problems we have experienced since returning to the village. All the 12 volt batteries that give us the power for our house are no longer able to hold a charge. We have some new ones coming in a container from the USA, but that doesn’t light our house here in PNG! We are using the battery for the tractor and welder to operate our lights at night. Hopefully the new ones will arrive in 3 to 4 months.
From replacing the head gasket on an outboard motor that we use for medical evacuations, or replacing the piston and piston rings on a chainsaw that we use for milling our timber, there has been a broad range of different items that need fixed. The tractor has a cracked head. So we are mowing an 750 yard long and 75 yard wide airstrip with a 20 inch wide lawnmower. The generator we use to run the washing machine and pump water just stripped a gear and punched a hole in the side of the engine block. Fortunately we have a small backup. Yet I had to do an engine rebuild on it before it would run. Replacing a set of piston rings is not fun when you know if you don’t fix it, you will have to wash clothes by hand!
Not that we are unwilling to do that! On the contrary, we will do what needs to be done. It’s just all more time consuming than “normal”. Which means the more we have to do that has to do with our day to day living, the less we can work for the future.
After being gone for as long as we were, some equipment just had sat for too long. It happens because of operator error, or in some cases things just turn or go up and down so many times before they wear out. Unfortunately things aren’t made to last forever! I wish they were. Sure would make our lives easier!
So we will continue to forge ahead. Because we knew some of the equipment was in decline, we had already purchased the replacement parts. It’s just a matter of waiting for them to get here. Some of the breakdowns were a “surprise.” Yet they are just machines. They can be fixed. We will slowly make repairs to equipment as time, money, and “know how” allows. In the meantime we can pray that we have seen the worst of it, and we are on the way back from all the technical difficulties.
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Can’t We All Just Get Along
This may seem odd to you, but stick with me on this. I’ve always thought of God as stubborn. The reason I say this is because He has always been adamant that He will not accept anything less than 100% of our best. We must fully submit to His will and desire for us. So many times people describe Him as full of mercy and grace. He is definitely each of those. He also cared about us so much, regardless of our sin, that He sent Jesus to die in our place. He was that stubborn! He would not accept that we had no bridge over our sin to get to Him.
Stubbornness can be a good thing. The unwillingness to accept the status quo is what Christians should be about. Just because the world is the way it is, doesn’t mean that’s the way it should be. We should fight to make it better.
We are made in His image. We share many of His attributes. Stubbornness is one of them. Yet too often we are misguided in our stubbornness. We make it work against us, instead of for us.
People are the same the world over. It doesn’t matter what skin tone, geographical location, or language they speak. We all get offended, our feelings hurt, and are unforgiving when we have been wronged. We have the same issues here in Samban to deal with that people all over the world deal with, but knowing that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.
We have had several meetings and “get togethers” with those that work for/with us in our ministry here since getting back. Without going in to details, there are some issues we need to work through that happened while we were in the USA. The situations may be different, but the issue is still the same. Are we willing to forgive those around us when they do wrong against or towards us? Can we forgive those who wrong us or say derogatory things about us and work to a common good? This seems to be a main issue we are dealing with right now.
Please pray for all of us. We need HIS wisdom and guidance as we deal with all the issues. We need the right mindset and heart!! If we can’t submit to Him, how are we going to do so to others? If we have done wrong, can we admit it and realize we need forgiveness? How can we be salt and light, if we can’t get along with each other? How can we show His love, when we can’t get along with each other?
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Life in the Bush
A Few Paragraphs from Our
Co-worker, Rebecca Linsenbigler
Now that I have survived my first stay in the bush with the Pryor’s, I
have to chance to think about all that has happened. First, I want to
say that I am very blessed to be with the Pryor’s. They know what they
are doing and have made the transition to life in the bush very easy.
The first task, once we arrived in Samban, was to get the kids
schooling started. Karie and I decided to split the teaching, so she
works with Judah while I work with Elijah and Naleh. Of course like
any good student, they wanted to test the boundaries of their new
teacher. Since their dad is the “principal”, testing boundaries didn’t
last too long. Since I live with them and teach them, we got to know
each other really fast and their schooling is going well.
The other task that Karie and I teamed up on was the English class for
the local adults. We started out with one class that I would teach,
but many people were asking for 2 classes. Karie started a
conversational English class, while I kept the students who already
had a good grasp on the English language. Each student is reading a
book and we take time every week to answer questions from their books.
Sometimes this makes me feel inadequate, when I feel I need a
dictionary to explain words from my own language. We also play games,
like Dutch Blitz and Bohnanza to work on math skills and encourage
them to speak in English to each other.
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