Travels in September
After a number of relatively sedentary months in Ukarumpa, September is bringing a number of opportunities for Joyce and me to travel.
It began a couple of a weeks ago, as I had the chance to drive from Ukarumpa to Madang with my boss and spend a couple of days at our organization's Pacific Orientation Course (those of you who have been following us for a long time will remember hearing about our own experience as students at POC, and then later as Academic Coordinators at another session). The students at the current POC session were about 4 weeks into their 12-week orientation, and we wanted to visit and get to know them a little bit. It's a really good group of people, who will greatly benefit the work of Bible translation and language development in PNG.
I stayed on in Madang, going on to beautiful Alexishafen--an area about 20 minutes' drive from Madang town. Alexishafen was the first station of the Catholic church in Papua New Guinea, even once boasting an enormous cathedral (until Americans bombed it in World War II). Last week Alexishafen was the host venue for the joint conferences of the Linguistics Society of Papua New Guinea and the International Council for Traditional Music's Study Group on Music and Dance in Oceania (which I helped organize). It was a really good week of seeing old and new friends, and sharing research from around Papua New Guinea. I gave a presentation about engaging with the Christian church in the work of advocating for revitalization of local artistic traditions (the presentation paper and slides are available here: https://db.tt/gpqPgj00).
The week of LSPNG/ICTM also included PNG's Independence Day (September 16). It was enjoyable being in town for the cultural festivities during that week. We continue to pray that the leaders of this nation will make wise choices every day.
Now I'm home again, but Joyce departs tomorrow for a trip with some of her high school students and a couple of fellow teachers. That group will be driving to the coastal town of Lae tomorrow (Wednesday) for a buying trip in preparation for the school Carnival in November. Joyce will return home on Friday. Please pray for safety on the road as the students and teachers drive down the infamous Highlands Highway!
Joyce returns on Friday, and then on Saturday morning I get on a plane for a day trip back to Madang Province. I'll be the directorate representative at the dedication of the revised Waskia New Testament, Psalms, and other Old Testament portions, held on Karkar Island. It will be the second Bible dedication I've attended this month, and next week I'll write an update about both.
It began a couple of a weeks ago, as I had the chance to drive from Ukarumpa to Madang with my boss and spend a couple of days at our organization's Pacific Orientation Course (those of you who have been following us for a long time will remember hearing about our own experience as students at POC, and then later as Academic Coordinators at another session). The students at the current POC session were about 4 weeks into their 12-week orientation, and we wanted to visit and get to know them a little bit. It's a really good group of people, who will greatly benefit the work of Bible translation and language development in PNG.
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| The view from Nobnob Mountain, location of the Pacific Orientation Course |
I stayed on in Madang, going on to beautiful Alexishafen--an area about 20 minutes' drive from Madang town. Alexishafen was the first station of the Catholic church in Papua New Guinea, even once boasting an enormous cathedral (until Americans bombed it in World War II). Last week Alexishafen was the host venue for the joint conferences of the Linguistics Society of Papua New Guinea and the International Council for Traditional Music's Study Group on Music and Dance in Oceania (which I helped organize). It was a really good week of seeing old and new friends, and sharing research from around Papua New Guinea. I gave a presentation about engaging with the Christian church in the work of advocating for revitalization of local artistic traditions (the presentation paper and slides are available here: https://db.tt/gpqPgj00).
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| Views from picture-perfect Alexishafen |
The week of LSPNG/ICTM also included PNG's Independence Day (September 16). It was enjoyable being in town for the cultural festivities during that week. We continue to pray that the leaders of this nation will make wise choices every day.
Now I'm home again, but Joyce departs tomorrow for a trip with some of her high school students and a couple of fellow teachers. That group will be driving to the coastal town of Lae tomorrow (Wednesday) for a buying trip in preparation for the school Carnival in November. Joyce will return home on Friday. Please pray for safety on the road as the students and teachers drive down the infamous Highlands Highway!
Joyce returns on Friday, and then on Saturday morning I get on a plane for a day trip back to Madang Province. I'll be the directorate representative at the dedication of the revised Waskia New Testament, Psalms, and other Old Testament portions, held on Karkar Island. It will be the second Bible dedication I've attended this month, and next week I'll write an update about both.
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