ch-ch-changes , not renewing my contract

Time to share the big change I am making.  In July my contract will be over and I will be coming back to the United States.  I decided not to renew as it seems time to come back to the US and look for a job in a congregation.  It was a tough decision as I have really enjoyed the work in PNG and have found it very rewarding.  However, after my father died I realized I felt the need to be closer to my family.  I also have been fighting nagging health issues that are more easily dealt with in the US.

I have had very mixed feeling and prayed a lot about it.  In many ways these last three and a half years have been both the most rewarding and the most difficult time in my life.  I have enjoyed the students very much and will miss working with them.  It is a rare privilege for someone with a MDiv to get to teach in a seminary.

I do plan to continue to give at least short bursts of sharing on this site.

Christmas in PNG

In my previous post I mentioned that Christmas is low key in PNG.  I got a few questions about it, so here are some more thoughts.

Reasons that Christmas is more low key.
1) Christams is seen as a religious holiday, not a cultural event.  Easter is just a big of an event or perhaps bigger.  Both may include a Bible Camp.  The equivalent of a synod will get together and have three days of Bible Study together.  A guest preacher (such as SFS faculty members) comes and gives around 6 hours of Bible study/ talks over a three day period.  There will be singing and dancing involved, but that is part of every church gathering, not especially tied to Christmas or Easter.

2)  Cultural history is tied to other events.  Christianity is quite new in PNG - 50 to 100 years in most areas.  This means community customs and celebrations have been tied to other events.  For many of us in America, Christmas has ties to our family history and may show marks of the "old country" our family came from.  In PNG your home town or "as ples" is your "old country".  So, even if you have moved off to the city to work, you are likely back home in your village for Christmas.

3)  Less distinct seasons.  Here in the tropics you have rainy season or dry season, but the timing of this  varies from location to location.  So, there is not the distinct visuals of North America and Europe.  Christmas is not tied to snow or even cooler weather.  Easter is not tied to Spring.  This not only affects the visuals but also the food available.  The main parts of your feast meal, such as pig and potatoes, will be the same whenever you feast.  Though one time you might have pineapple and another time you may have papaya. However, I don't hear talk of particular Christmas food.

4)  Lack of cash.  Many of our traditions, such as special Christmas decorations require some cash.  When you are a subsistence farmer, you decorate with flowers etc. year round.  Again, less special signs of Christmas.  I have heard that the Christmas pageant may be quite elaborately decorated, such a stable built and some sort of lights to stand in for the star.  The star is supposed to move across set to help guide the wise men.

5) life of a farmer.  Most people in PNg grow their own crops.  So, while you may take a few days off, you have to keep on working to have food ready.  Even our students that go home do a lot of work in their parents' garden or farm. Farming is year round here, with crops being planted and harvested on a regular basis.

In Lae, the bigger city in my area, I did some some decorations.  The stores would have a few strings of lights up.  I saw a few plastic Christmas tress.  It is a quiet time for many of the churches in the city, as many people travel to their home town for Christmas.

End of the old year

I have been lax in writing, so thought I would do some quick catch up on the end of 2015.

I spent the first half of December on vacation in Brisbane AUS.  I stayed in small apartment and enjoyed the city life.  I did shopping and did a lot of doctor/ dental appointments.  OK, I didn't really enjoy the medical / dental work, but was glad to get it done.  I was relieved that I got a bridge and no longer have a gap near the front of my mouth from where I had a tooth pulled around the time of my Dad's funeral.  Gaps are common in PNG, but I felt self-conscious about it.  I also got to the bottom of my vision problems.  My vision had been getting blurrier.  I had thought about waiting until I was in the US for treatment but it was bothering me too much.  I found out it was garden variety cataracts so scheduled surgery in Brisbane in February.

I spent the second half of December relaxing back home at Logaweng.  Most of the students go home, so it is very quiet on campus.  Christmas Eve we had a campus wide worship and party.  On Christmas Day a few of us went swimming and had a picnic on the beach.  Pleasant and SO different from the elaborate Christmases I grew up with. .Christmas tends to be low key in PNG. At first I missed all the decorations and bustle around Christmas, but have learned to appreciate the peace also.

I gave a sermon during the New Years Eve worship (in Tok Pisin so lots of work for me) and then we welcomed in the New Year by burning all the church decorations from Christmas.  Since the decorations are all fresh flowers and branches, they are dry by New Years.  Bon fires are a lot of fun!.  There was extra flames this year as our former principal, who will be moving,  burned his "haus win".  These are  detached from the houses and sort of like covered porches that many families use to relax and enjoy the breeze.  They have wood floors and walls about waist high.They often eat there and mainly go inside to go to bed.  Each family usually builds their own out of "bush materials" which includes local logs, branches and reeds.  After about 10 years they fall apart and you build a new one.  Traditionally a man did not get married until he knew how to build his own house.  Houses are provided for staff on campus but they are very small.  Most have extensive benches and haus win areas.. They also grow almost all their own food.  Quite a different set of skills than most American faculty have!