Greetings to all. We want you to know that we miss you. We are very grateful for your thoughts and prayers. We absolutely love the people here. They are so very kind and appreciative of everything we do for them. We have been very busy with training, meetings, learning center graduation, teaching English to the full-time elders, and developing a stake emergency plan at the request of the Stake President.
Nyman Hota is the Stake President. He works for the church as director for seminary and institute in this area. He and his wife are so very sweet. We recently learned they are allowing 8 young single adults (YSA) to live in their house. President and Sister Hota and their young son and return missionary daughter stay in a rented space; which is also the stake office at the Madang Star hotel where the learning center is located. They feed the YSA and sacrifice so much for the youth. They are great examples of Christ-like charity.
Kari coined the phrase “everything is harder here.” This is so true. Even the graduation had hiccups due to the food and decorations not being paid for by the church office in Port Moresby PNG. We did not find out until one hour before graduation. We told the YSA who were in charge that if we had known we could have used our church credit card to pay for it. They had not wanted to bother us. They told us they are used to doing things with what they have. We will be sure they have what they need for the next graduation.
We had another experience with our young friend Gary whose foot we patched up previously. He showed up at the graduation suffering from Malaria. One of the young women told us he was refusing to go to the doctor and asked if I could talk with him. I convinced him and we took him to the local clinic for a test which was positive. They gave him a shot and some pills to take. President Hota told us Gary got malaria by being stupid and staying out after dark. He told us the mosquitoes that carry it come out at Dawn and Dusk. He said these kids need to be in at night rather than out. He said, “I love them but sometimes they are stupid”.
We were at a home furnishing store in town. We spoke briefly to an older native man and then continued our way. He came chasing after us and said he loved God, and he was very happy we were in his country. He pulled out a 2 Kina bill and asked me to donate it for him. Just for reference, a 2 Kina bill is 50 cents US. I thought of the widow’s mite in the New Testament. It was very humbling because you could tell it was a sacrifice for him to make the donation. The faith of the people here is incredible.
We are currently working on putting together a comprehensive higher learning list. We contacted all of the institutions that are here in Madang this week. The YSA do not have the means to pay the bus fare to find out the information themselves. The websites for the Madang colleges and university are a little lacking. The purpose is to have all the information in one spot. Ron and I have been trained to be Career Coaches. It is a program they are using here in the South Pacific to help the missionaries in the field and those that have returned, as well as other YSA to map out their lives for the next 5 years. As Career Coaches, we will mentor and help them set goals. This also means we will help them to find resources to reach their goals. Everything is harder here. The amount of work to be done is staggering. They are living in primitive conditions with first-world technology on their doorsteps. It is a little weird to be the bridge guide between them.
On a much weirder note, (pun intended) we are teaching a music class on Saturday mornings now. Never mind that we only have a few years of music lessons between us, smattered with school band practices and a few church callings such as primary chorister and ward chorister. It does not matter! WE, yes Elder Trogdon and I, are the music EXPERTS here. Unlike the United States, there isn’t and never has there been music training here. Nope, no music in school and no piano lessons. No annoying recorders for 5th graders. No middle school band concerts. Well, you get the picture.
The bishop of the ward asked if we could help the YSA learn music. We are to teach them how to conduct music and how to play the piano. This will be very interesting. We started this morning. We started with quarter notes, timing and rhythm, and what the symbols and markings mean on the hymn pages. Just that amount of information, turned on some light bulbs for some of the YSA. We will teach them all we know and see how far they come. I hope the Lord sends someone behind us that can take them farther.
We are really enjoying our time here. It is hard, but we are learning new things. Being able to impart knowledge gained over a lifetime gives our lives new meaning and joy. We know that the Lord is in charge, and he loves all of His children. We miss all of you, but we wouldn’t trade this experience for anything.
We are attaching pictures from the local farmer’s market, as well as a picture of the small boats that ferry people in from the islands to market their wares.
Until next time,
Elder and Sister Trogdon
Author: Sister Trogdon
Missionary