Purpose Asia

“ She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.”  Proverbs 31:25 NLT 365 days, 52 weeks, 12 months, 1 year. A year. A container for life, experience, knowledge, joy, pain, hope, fear. A marker where we step over a line and start another cycle of events that mirror those that have happened before in what can either feel like a relentless march or a fiercely delightful dash into the unknown. These last two years my life was changed forever by phone calls, an accident, a shock. Last year my grandparents were in a car accident that would claim their lives within a week of each other. This year, my Mom lost the battle with cancer but won the war of her walk with the Lord and went ahead to be in His presence. In Papua New Guinea a person bears the outward marks of their grief for a period of time in one or more of several ways. Some choose to twist their hair into dreadlocks, or at least one piece of their hair, as a s

        Today is Christmas Eve. The cicidas are singing outside and the fan palm tree outside flutters in the breeze that heralds the coming rain. The center is quiet and peaceful, the normal rush and bustle stilled for the Christmas holiday as everyone takes a break and spends time with family. I glance over at our tiny Christmas tree, bravely stretching it’s two feet to hold the silly little ornaments I shipped here in November of 2014.   A tiny nativity sits under the tree reminding me of the reason for the Christmas season.      This is my first Christmas in Papua New Guinea. Most of the month I’ve been saying to my friends how much it doesn’t “feel” like Christmas. The weather is closer to a Pacific Northwest summer and the general pace and routine of life has been going on much as usual. However, as I have been reflecting on Christmas this year I realized it does “feel” like Christmas despite the different weather, surroundings and traditions. It does