Well, I really did write in my calendar to update this. It worked! (this time). I would like to tell some stories about spending Christmas here in Kainantu. For 2 Christmases (2022 and 2023) I was in the USA, helping out Mom with her addiction to joint replacements. (grin) This year Mom is doing really well and has decided 3 new joints in one year is quite enough. Seriously though, our whole family is so grateful to the Lord for this immense blessing. I can say that I see people nearly every day who really need a new joint, but that is not at all possible here. So– what did I do to celebrate Christmas here? Well…..
A few weeks before Christmas my “boss” from the corporation that I volunteer with was here from NZ. We all had a meal together at the hotel restaurant (the corporation owns the hotel, and it’s right next door). One of our group is away in Nepal- we really missed her. Now, one of the couples was with me in the capital city in October. On that quick trip (3 days) I bought stamps and mailed all my Christmas cards. When I told them about it, the lady asked incredulously “Like, made out of paper?!” It was funny. So I decided that I most certainly should give them all Christmas cards; which I did at this dinner at the hotel. The folks from Nepal had not received such a thing before. I included a letter explaining my beliefs. I am thankful for that opportunity to make things clear. I have not heard from any of the Nepalese about their thoughts, but I received a gracious response from the boss who obviously carefully read the letter.
I worked through the 24th ( I saw more patients than I thought I would), and took the rest of the week off. Since PNG most closely follows the Australian calendar, the 26th is also a holiday (Boxing Day- a cousin to Labor Day in the US), so there wasn’t much of a point in going back to work that week. I did work on the 30th and 31st, but the work load was light, as expected. We had a short service at church on
Christmas morning. The visiting pastor compared believers to the manger: rough and crude and full of fairly worthless stuff, but fit for the King of kings. It was really a blessing. In the evening I invited all my Nepali co-workers over for Christmas. It is celebrated mostly as another reason for a day off in Nepal, but it’s meaning and significance is completely unknown. I did explain it in my letter. I’m not sure how much they grasp of it. I know the one co-worker couple understands a good bit, since I have studied the Bible with them for 5 years. This was just a party with mostly vegetarian foods (only one is a vegetarian). And I gave them each an inexpensive gift. Nepali custom dictates that a gift is never opened until you are in private and alone at home. So having them open in front of each other and me was a little shocking and fun for them. The 3 yr old girl got a dress and a package of stickers that were little plastic jewels. We were all decorated when we left. It was also the first time they had ever had pumpkin pie (the only thing that wasn’t vegetarian). They really liked it. It was a very nice evening.
The rest of the week I worked on projects around the house. You know how that is. We all stayed home on New Year’s Day, since PNG custom is for the community young people to get up really early and chase each other (and anyone) and rub mud all over them. Sometimes they get a bit too rough, or throw mud at vehicles. Everyone knows just to stay indoors and let them wear themselves out.
Generally by noon they’ve all gone to take a bath and a nap. I’ve been back to work since the 2nd. On the afternoon of the 1st I had a meal with some folks at church. I’ve done this in the past. I give about $10 (US) to the pastor’s wife, who goes and gets whatever food they enjoy. $10 goes a long way in the market here. I always make sandwiches and cookies. But since there are about 6 children around, I know to keep the cookies hidden until they’ve eaten their meal. This year I made sugar cookies rolled in blue sugar. One old gentleman in the church didn’t know what they were, and asked if these disks were edible. The children were glad to show him what to do. When he took a bite he had a big blue grin and simply said “sugar!” It was fun. It was also a really nice meal.
Well, this is certainly long enough. I hope you all had a good start to your new year as well. I will write it in my calendar to post something in February. Let’s see if it works again.
