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Psalm 121: "He's not breathing! Please come now!"

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  This story was shared with permission from the patient and family “He’s not breathing! Please come now!” The voice on the other end of the line was tense, close to panicked. “I’m coming now.” I replied. I hung up the phone and ran out the door. I drove across the center, praying urgently for God’s wisdom and help. My car rattled to a stop at the end of the driveway and I could see people standing near the door. I jumped out of my car and ran up the drive and into the house. The patient was in the throes of a severe seizure and was surrounded by scared and desperate friends. My eyes took in the situation and my mind clicked over into assessment mode: watching his chest, feeling for pulse, checking for responses from the patient. Within two minutes it was clear the seizure was not going to stop. “We need to get him to the clinic in my car.” I said. One of my friends grabbed my keys to open the doors of my car, and several strong guys came and picked up the patient. I guided them ou...
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"But when I grew up..."

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  " When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. "   1 Corinthians 13:11 (NLT)   Recently I had the privilege of witnessing a good friend of mine complete Confirmation at her Lutheran church. She had worked for many long months doing Bible study, service, scripture memory, classes and more. When the day of her Confirmation arrived she asked me and another friend to come witness it since this other friend and I had been praying with and for her through this Confirmation process. It was neat to see her joy on this day.  Later, since Confirmation is not part of my church tradition, she was explaining to me more of the significance of Confirmation in her church. She told me that once someone has been confirmed they are no longer considered children in the church. Instead, they are considerd fully grown members of the church and the body of Christ. She said that as such, they now were expected to serve t...
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The Glorious Everyday

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A double rainbow that caught our attention "The heavens declare the glory of God;  the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."                                                                                                Psalm 19:1-4a NIV    A soft breeze wafts through the window of my office. I can hear kids jumping on a trampoline next door and the bustle of the end of the work day as people head home. The smell of fresh grass and light rain and sweet wood smo...
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Lessons from a Rain Tank

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 It’s the rainy season here in Papua New Guinea. Most afternoons are filled with torrential rains that go straight through until the early hours of morning, from October or November until May or June. So, I was steadily chugging away with lavish dish rinsing, normal loads of laundry, and copious amounts of cooking and drinking water. Until, one fateful Friday afternoon, I turned on the faucet to prep things for dinner and was met with a cough, a splutter and spitting brown water. The water pump ran and ran and seemed to be struggling. It had to either be the water pump or my rain tank. I ran out to the rain tank and knocked in its sides. Sure enough, it resounded hollow and empty right down to its base. It was the rain tank. Empty. I was stuck, boiling and filtering every drop of water, from brushing my teeth to rinsing my dishes, and everything in between. For. Three. Long. Weeks. my water for a few weeks. It was grey or brown most of the time.  You’re probably wondering what...
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Hangamap Long Diwai (Caught on a Tree)

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 After a long day at the clinic I shuffled over to my car. It was late and I was really tired and ready to just be home. My mind was full of all the things I needed to do and all the things I needed to decide. I turned on my little car and turned to pull out of the dirt circular drive/parking area near the clinic, when, whump! I found I couldn't go forward and couldn't go backward. I sighed, putting the car into park and climbing out my door. I bent down and discovered, much to my chagrine, that my little tiny car, with about as much ground clearance as a low-riding golf cart had gotten stuck on a tree stump. There I was, my car dangling on a hidden tree stump I hadn't seen and I was powerless to move it. Just as I was about to give up and leave the car for the night and call for help in the morning, a bunch of my friends walked by. "Wanem samting? ( what's going on?)" they asked?  " Kar bilong mi hangamap long diwai ( My car is caught on a tree)." ...
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Brokenness, Hope, and the Now and Not Yet

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Moonrise near my home       I stood in the shower, in the first truly hot shower I’ve had in over a week, the seeping cold slowly melting from my body. Words kept forming on my lips and in my heart in prayer for the twin baby who was rushed to the hospital today. The other twin died the day before yesterday and now the second was in unstable condition at a hospital about 30 minutes away. The babies are relatives of a dear friend and my heart broke in unintelligible words in the shower. It had been a rough day. One woman was brought in without a pulse and it became evident shortly into the resuscitation that she was too far gone. At the same time another baby was fighting for its life hooked to tubes and fluid bags, its fearful mother watching with wide silent eyes as staff worked on her little one.      Less than a month back to my Pacific island home and the black wall of suffering has already slapped me full in the face. The haunting reality of our b...
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A Creepy Crawly Welcome

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  Asiatic rhinoceros beetle  Flicking on the light I walked down the stairs to my basement. I had only been home for a few minutes but wanted to check the house and see what I’d need to do to get it into shape after my long absence. The upstairs was clean and tidy and ready for me to start unpacking and the whole house had been cleaned a couple of weeks before. I went down the stairs and turned the corner. I pulled up short. There if front of me was the huge inverted corpse of a spider, curled legs frozen and dangling in the web of another spider. The dead spider was at least an inch across and had to have been quite big when it was alive. Taking a broom from the wall, I poked at the dead spider, just reassuring myself that it was indeed dead. I shuddered and stepped around the web, making a mental note to clear away the cobwebs downstairs as one of my first chores. I’d only gone a step or two when I stumbled on a rhinoceros beetle that was struggling on its back. It angrily f...
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