An adventurous weekend

 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