Giving by Receiving

Every Wednesday I meet a friend for a time of ministry in Boston. As we talk together,  I find that I often remember some story from Papua New Guinea that I had completely forgotten. It is good to record these stories, for while some of them are very funny and some less so, those stories speak of God’s amazing faithfulness. This story speaks of sacrificial love.

 Over the years I have had a number of surgeries for my spinal cord injury, as well as several additional surgeries for various things that seem to show up where they shouldn’t be, or for things inside that decided they wanted to check out before I do. I joke that “we shall meet the Lord in the air” because so much of me is buried on different continents that I will have to be reassembled mid-resurrection.

At one point I had terrible pain with gallstone. A decision was made to medevac me and Tony so I could be checked out and sure enough, my gall bladder and I had “irreconcilable differences”, necessitating that we part company quickly. By this time, I’d already had surgery in PNG without enough anesthesia and I found I cope best if I sleep when some part of me is removed, so I knew Australia was the place to go. Neil was still in the village and I conveyed the message to him on short wave so he prepared to hike out and meet me so he could care for Tony, freeing me to go to Australia for surgery.

 Neil knew from experience that the night before we left Samanzing was always very hectic. Everyone who had a need would come and the house was always crowded with those who wanted one thing or another. So it was no surprise to Neil that the house filled to capacity even as he hurried to fill his backpack so he could depart before dawn for his 10 hour hike to the nearest road. 

Very late at night, after things quieted down there was yet another knock on door.  The village headman arrived with a small bag.  He gave it to Neil who looked inside and realized it was full of money. Now the Mesem are desperately poor people. Inside this bag were many coins as well as “treasures” that people had held on to for years in case of an emergency. One man had placed a 20 yen note from the Japanese occupancy in the bag. Several had given silver sterlings that pre-dated independence by more than 30 years.  When Neil tried to give it back the village elder said, “You must take it, you are one of us now”.

I am always grateful we took it.  There were many lessons in that act. People need to give and we need to receive to show they have value. We needed to show that they, too, had something to offer us. Had we not taken that gift, we would have been saying that we didn’t need them, and being “one of them” was not important.  It was in the humility of receiving we were initiated into the relationship which we most desired to have with them. They showed sacrificial love and by letting them love us, we loved them in return.

It’s good to give and I like to give, but we always have a certain control when we are giving. We are in a different position, relationally, than when we take. One of the difficult things for me in becoming a missionary was living on support, because we had always been generous givers and enjoyed doing that. Being a recipient is a humbling thing.  But I have come to realize that when we receive acts of love, we are loving and affirming the love of the one who gives and that is a good thing.  

I share this story before I forget again. I share it to remind myself that in receiving God’s love, I am loving Him back.   

The Woman with Nothing To Give

I was telling a story this week to a friend about the first Mesem book of scripture ever published. It was the Gospel of Mark.  I told a story that many of you might not know, but which touches me to this day.

One morning I spoke at my home church and at the end of the service one of the ushers came over with tears in his eyes.  He had ring. He said, “I don’t know what to do. This woman said to me, “I have no money to give but give this to that missionary” and she ran out so fast I didn’t get her name or anything.” Then he handed me a beautiful ring. It was delicate ring with red stones.

I was leaving the US the next day and asked my father to have it appraised but the jeweler told him that it was not his area of expertise because the ring was antique.  I realized that gift, which I knew to be great was a greater sacrifice than I initially imagined.

Ultimately, we sold the ring for $220.  We felt that a gift so precious needed to be used for a special purpose.  In 1995, we bought the paper on which the Gospel of Mark was printed with the proceeds from that ring.

If you go to our website there is a video of that dedication and part way through I appear, much younger, dressed in PNG clothing and the story I am telling is how the first gospel was given to the Mesem, by a woman who said she had nothing to give.

I am not sure who she is, nor if she ever knew.  But I know that great sacrifices do reap great rewards, and though it was sewn in her tears, it will be harvested with rejoicing.  And if you who gave that ring are reading this, please get in touch….

The Scott Who Drew for the Rainforest People

God has an amazing way of weaving together threads of our lives with those we've never met.  Needing an illustration for the "armour of God", someone suggested I ask Karyn, a member of our Thursday Bible Study if she could illustrate the text.  Twenty-four hours later, the soldier here was ready and will be included in the Mesem New Testament. Now Karyn was born in Scotland. I was born in Winchester.  The Mesem who will use this picture for generations to come live in a remote rainforest area half a world away.  I don't think Karyn knew last month that God would use her gifts to bless a group of people who she has only recently learned existed, and whose knowledge of them is confined to what she can see on our website. But God has done just that.

Meanwhile in Papua New Guinea, the roofing iron for Susie's house has been purchased. Christians from Canada, the US, Brazil, and Vietnam have come together to help a woman they don't know but who is related by the blood of Christ.  There is something so powerful and beautiful in all of that.We're part of a family so big we don't know each other but we love and care for each other anyway. I know God smiles on that.  We pass along to Susie notes from everyone who writes. She is encouraged and that in itself is a gift to us.We're still going via Gapfill.org to help with her school fees but the house is the most immediate need and we are so, so thankful that so much has come together so quickly for her. A PNG sister wrote to express her thanks on behalf of  this "unseen" widow. I thought of that and smiled. No one is unseen. We might think we are, but God sees and He is not far fro any one of us.

Thanksgiving is next week. We are most blessed.

Keep on Praying Mantis

I was looking through our photos the other day and saw that Neil had captured this picture when he was translating.  If you look closely, you'll see that Mantis is posed right over a section of scripture.  The New England sense of humor set in and I thought, "We need to study scripture and keep on praying, Mantis,or we'll never see the scripture in the hands of the Mesem.

Our final days in Papua New Guinea were not as I had envisioned them.  I thought of chances to sit with friends, visit places that I have loved and take photos with people who mean a lot to me. I thought of going through the market and enjoying the produce.  I had vague ideas of how to celebrate Tony's graduation, which, though it was from a long distance academy, was no less an accomplishment. He didn't get Pomp and Circumstance, there was not prom, or graduating class, but he is great guy who did a great job finishing his senior year in extraordinary circumstances.

Our time, however, did not end as we thought it would. We knew our truck had been stolen and demolished while we were in the US. We didn't know someone had helped themselves to some of our electrical equipment and personal items.  It was disappointing. We were very thankful that a Lutheran missionary couple offered us use of their vehicle while we finished in PNG.  Neil and Tony went to pick up that vehicle the day after we arrived back to Bobiufa.  While on their way, they were held up at shotgun point.  I knew we were back.  It set the tone for our ending days in PNG.

While we faced a number of challenges, including the theft of Neil's computer from a locked vehicle, and ultimately, lost luggage courtesy of an airline error on the way home. (No, it has not been found, but the contents are invaluable to us).  What was most tragic was the death of Susie Leo's husband.  Leo was a police officer who was a very committed and loving Christian.  Many of you have seen him in our pictures of "Flat Stanley" which was a project for our nieces school class.  While the police world wide are known as ones who protect us, we don't always think of "police gentleness". Yet, Leo was a gentle and loving man who cared deeply for his family.  He also cared deeply for missionary kids who struggled with their faith and he and Susie opened their home to many young people sharing the love of God and a bit of good kaukau with all who came their way.

I was shocked by the difficulty Susie faced in the aftermath of Leo's death. She has five children still living. (She lost her daughter to cancer last year) and she is a dear friend. Her struggles make any hardship we face pale in comparison.  I talked to her via Skype this week.  She's got a place to live until December and then she has to move.  Our friends at GapFill.org are raising funds for her to be able to pay school fees as there is no free universal education in Papua New Guinea.

I share all this to ask you to keep praying. I have no doubt we made it home because of your prayers. I am sure that this New Testament has been prayed through to this point. What we need is to keep praying, praying for the Mesem, praying for the New Testament to be completed without further delays, pray for the finances, pray for the families of the people involved in supporting and praying for all this.  We need to pray for one another. We need to pray for revival. We need to pray that the scriptures are not delayed because of any more because of extraordinary circumstances. Pray for the health, safety and employment of all involved. Pray that daily needs are met. Pray for revival. Or as we say to our friend Mantis, "Keep on Praying".  We're eternally grateful and we know the Mesem will be as well.