Lori Morley Working with the Simbari people of Papua New Guinea 
Sepik boy with the catch of the day.
Well, I made it back safely from my trip to a tribe in the lowlands (Sepik region) of Papua New Guinea. I went with my sidekick, Hope, the same person that I did all that traveling with this furlough. The trip involved a one hour flight in a Cessna 206 and then a 2 hour canoe trip in the biggest canoe that I have ever seen! Seriously. It must be the biggest canoe ever! One missionary thought it was about 70 ft. long and considering the fact that the tribal people make the canoes out of one huge tree which they must haul out of the jungle to the river and hollow out… well, it’s just amazing!
It’s a whole ‘nother world down there in the lowlands. First of all, it’s hot and humid. Thankfully, they had fans and during the hottest part of the day, I only felt comfortable in front of one… and the missionaries say that this is the coolest time of the year! I wouldn’t have slept very well if it weren’t for the fan. The tribal people there are different, too. They eat different food (like that thing that is in the picture above…a crayfish? freshwater lobster?) and have different houses and tribal beliefs.
Hope and I went there to help the missionaries construct their literacy primers and the project went very well. We were able to accomplish everything that we went there to do and it is always a privilege to get to know more of my fellow missionaries.
Believe the Impossible
I have one last little adventure planned before I return to the tribe on August 26th. I’m planning a trip to climb Mt. Wilhelm, the highest mountain in PNG (14, 793 ft). Some of our missionaries have taken trips there before. I don’t know if I will make it to the top but I figure if I don’t do it now while I am out of the tribe and tolerably fit, I never will so I’m sure going to give it a try. I’m told that the difficulty of the hike is not so much the terrain as it is the altitude and the cold. One missionary told me that it is all in your determination of mind, just making yourself take one slow step after the next. I’m going to take the following advice from the Queen.
“Alice laughed: “There’s no use trying,” she said; “one can’t believe impossible things.”
“I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
- Alice in Wonderland.
The hike will involve a 5 hour drive to the base of the mountain, a 4 hour hike to a camping site where we will spend 2 nights, and then another 6 hour hike to the top. Even if I don’t make it all the way to the top, the camping site and the nearby lake is beautiful and I plan on taking lots of pictures. I’ve rounded up 10 other people to go with me. Two of them are nurses and 8 of them are men so we have people who can handle emergencies and the 3 of us women should be well protected.
Prayer Requests
- Thanks for praying about the classes I was teaching for the Interface program. The classes went well and I think the students were challenged
- Pray for safety on our hiking trip to Mt. Wilhelm.
- Praise the Lord for my health and especially my strong back. Can you believe that I’m even attempting such a thing as a mountain climb?!!! A few years ago I never would have dreamed of it! I thank the Lord often for the healing of my back.
Thank you for praying.
Lori
Tags: Literacy, Mt. Wilhelm, primer construction, Sepik