First Impressions: Week One

I'm off to the Pacific Orientation Course (POC)! These are some of my first impressions, and a general idea of what we're doing on a daily basis.

Heading Out!

Well, tomorrow is the big day! The P2 bus is picking me up at 6 am to go out to the airstrip and from there I’m heading up to Madang for the Pacific Orientation Course (POC). Madang is about 90 miles north of Ukarumpa, only a 30 minute flight!

The Journey

After a whirlwind year and an even crazier three months, I’m finally in Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea (PNG)! Almost exactly a year ago, I went to Monterrey, Mexico once again with a group of friends to build a house and do a VBS with the kids there. I have always known that God was calling me into missions, but hadn’t gotten the “go ahead” from Him to act on it. Shortly after I returned to Wisconsin, a Wycliffe missionary pilot and his family visited my church. They spoke about Wycliffe, a Bible translation organization, and how teachers are desperately needed, specifically in PNG. So after much prayer and seeking advice, I applied to Wycliffe Bible Translators and was accepted as an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher!

A month and a half ago, I was able to go to Orlando for three weeks for Wycliffe orientation training. While there, I was privileged to meet 36 of my co-workers who are heading all around the world, either as linguists and translators or support staff (like myself—teachers, pilots, boarding home parents; pretty much any job you can think of is needed). Many of us were/are headed to PNG, including one of the girls I roomed with while in Orlando. She and I were able to book our flights at the same time and we flew all the way from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Ukarumpa together, which was a huge blessing.

I’ve been in Ukarumpa for almost two weeks now, and what a two weeks it’s been! I’m (finally!) learning my way around and getting settled in.