Tim and Kirsten Agee Tribal church planting support team Goodbye New Orleans
Well the time is drawing near for us to leave the states and we have officially started our goodbyes. This weekend we visited with loved ones in New Orleans and had some of our favorite foods. We then had the pleasure of being a part of the worship at Calvary. It was so dynamic that it might actually hold us for 2 more years. Thanks for the memories!!
We’re back…Again :)
Well one year ago I said I would do better about posting things. Apparently I lied. Both Tim and I are now ready to try again. We know our visitors have many things to do and want this to be a pleasant and time-worthy thing.
In just about 3 weeks our home assignment will end and we will be heading back to PNG. We are so excited to go back but wish we didn’t have to spend soooo much time on a plane to get there. Just one of the struggles of living so far away. We will be spending these last days with friends and family and eating as much stuff as we can that we will not have for the next 2 years 
We are thankful for all our prayer partners and financial partners. You are each a vital part of this team. Please let us know if there is anything we can do for ya’ll!
Something new
We bought a watermellon a few days ago – not a common thing available to us in the highlands. I had plans to make a lovely fruit salad – pineapple, watermellon, passion fruit, bananas. Apparently I planned for too long. I recieved a call at my office from a very upset young woman. She was outside the house and heard a noise she thought might have been the refridgerator. She came in to find that the watermellon had exploded!!! She was explaining this in Pidgin so the words she was telling me did not compute to “watermellon explosion.” I asked her to just put it in the sink & I would be there as soon as I could. Imagine my surprise to find what looked like a deflated watermellon ballon in my sink. Have you ever heard of such??!
Team Canada
Right now we have a team on center all the way from Canada. What a wonderful group of people. They are all from the same church (the home church of one of our missionary families) and raised funds for building our new national guest house. On the team are 2 mechanics, 2 electricians, 2 reflexologists and several that have building experience. Tim is working with some them on the floor system as we speak. The mechanics have already serviced several vehicles and are working on a dilapidated tractor that has not run since before we arrived on the field. On Monday I will check out the services of one of the reflexologists – I cannot wait! Please be praying while they are here for safety in their work and since it is rainy season, not too much rain during the day.
We’re Back
Well we know it has been a while since updating here but we are back. I (Kirsten) used to pride myself on being up on the latest technical stuff but I must admit I have avoided learning about this new type of site. I am tuffing it out today for you our readers! We have experienced so many things in 2009 and we are equally excited to see what 2010 has in store for us. I am going to make a New Years resolution (YUK!) I will update more than twice a year!! Keep your eyes open….
Expanding Our Horizons
I knew when we moved to PNG that a great deal of our time would be spent learning and trying to understand the culture of the people here. What I didn’t expect was that we would also have to learn about the cultures of the other missionaries here. We have a very diverse group here that includes Canadians, Germans, Australians, Irish, English, Koreans and many more that we haven’t even met yet! Can you believe that they are not all like us? There are certain words that we would say without hesitation that have quite a different meaning say in Australia or England. Our manerisms are different too. I can be loud at times and that is look at by various nationalities as very rude – I guess I will be appologizing a lot! And yes, with some of the nationalities there is quite a language barrier. But hey, I enjoy new things. All this to say that in the last 5 months we have learned a great deal about PNG and many more countries!
Christmas Mumu
Every year our center holds a mumu at Christmas to express our gratitude to our national workers. There is so much food it is crazy (just like back home) but it is cooked a bit different. First a hole is dug, then stones are put in a very hot fire. Once the stones have heated sufficiently, they are put in the hole. Then the stones are covered with banana leaves and the food starts to go in in layers. We happened to have a whole pig cut in various pieces, chicken, carrots, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, onion, tapiok, pumkin, corn and at least 8 different kinds of greens. Then it is all covered with more banana leaves & piled with damp dirt that makes a huge mound. The last ingredient is to add about 25 galllons of water & then close that last hole. It looks like a giant ant mound. It is then left to cook/steam for about 4 hours. After that the entire process is reversed and food is divided amongst all present. There are large bowls placed around the food & filled with a little of everthing. We scored big time & got the heart of the pig! I know, doesn’t sound like much of a treat but it was delicious!! We even got to try the tongue which was also quite good. We all sat around, on the ground and enjoyed this feast together. It was a very special time for us to participate in a cultural staple in this area with the folks who work here and their families.
The Blak Bokis
The blak bokis or fruit bat in English. This creature would be great in any Halloween show. His claws are nearly an inch long as he hangs upside down on our stalk of bananas. His wing span is an easy 24 inches but Tim is determined to find out for sure. He plans to catch one and cook it – apparently this is a common practice here! Just the sound of him coming in for a landing (whoop-whoop-whoop) is enough to make you shiver! Then when he lands and gets settled, his head swivels to look at you with those beady red eyes. What a sight!
Our new friends
Everyone knows how hard it was for us to leave our dogs and cat but God was ready to provide some new friends for us. No, we haven’t adopted them, they belong to our neighbors. They have been great to have around though. When Tim has been gone they both sleep on the front porch! Now if we could just get rid of those fleas…
We made it!
This is what we have been waiting for and it is all we expected and more. The country itself is beautiful and the people we will be working with and around are too. There are so many new things that we have already experienced and we have only been here a week. What a priviledge it is to serve God in such a unique way.