Thought I’d tell you about a wee adventure I had last weekend.
Vicky and Christiane were keen to go to a
village called Liang to find some old leprosy patients and see what the church
was doing there. This village is across the Yabus river which is only passable
by vehicle for 2 or 3 months a year. No one from SIM had been there since 2006,
and we had no idea what to expect, but I was keen for the adventure!
We picked up two church leaders on this
side of the river who would act as translators and guides, and who has arranged
our accommodation.
Rather than bore you with all the details,
here’s a few highlights.
The river crossing
Although the
river was completely dry this was still a bit of a challenge. I had the fun of
putting the Hilux in 4x4 and trying to negotiate the rather steep banks covered
in sand and mud. Felt a bit bad making the 2 church leaders get out and push in
their suits at one point! Unfortunately the photo doesn’t do the angles
justice.
Seatbelts
When was the
last time you thought about putting on your seatbelt? This was the first time
either Samuel or John had ever used them. It was like something from the ‘Two
Ronnies” trying to get them clicked in. It involved me hugging/ tickling/
manhandling this man the age of my father. You probably had to be there.
Leprosy
We found an old
man who had received leprosy treatment from SIM back in the 70s at a leper
colony. The most fascinating part of the discussion with him was what his
expectations were of us, because of the handouts he had received in the past.
It has certainly made me think a lot about the harm as well as good that NGO’s
and missionary organisations can create in places like this. This elderly man’s
feet had been horribly disabled by the effects of leprosy.
B&B
This was the
most humbling and exciting part of the weekend. When it was time to turn in for
the evening, we were taken to this small cluster of mud tukuls where Cela and
Lydia lived. As we sat down for the obligatory juice, tea and coffee, two of
the men pulled 2 string beds out of the tukuls and then headed off into the
bush. They returned back 30mins later with 2 more beds. Not only had they
sacrificed their own beds for us, they had taken their neighbours only beds for
us too! It became apparent that we would be sleeping under the stars. No time
for a change into jammies, or a brush of the teeth as all of a sudden our hosts
just lay down on the floor and that was that! As I lay on my string bed that
was 3 inches too short I could not get over how willing these people are to
sacrifice their best for us. A rather restless night was interspersed with pigs
bumping under the bed, goats tugging at my blanket, and the previous late
nights coffee doing it’s best to keep me awake. Below: Cela and Lydia, and our
sleeping arrangements.
It was so
humbling to see the gratitude these people had for us coming across the river
to spend time with them. The icing on the cake was when they slaughtered a pig
for our lunch. This in a culture when pigs are only eaten at Christmas and
weddings. There is real potential in Liang to further build relationship with
the local church, and help the community. But on this particular trip, I
certainly gained more than I gave.
P
