Above and Beyond...

The Lord blessed me immensely with some great last memories during my final days in Ukarumpa. You could say He kind of went "above and beyond" what I could have hoped for. I had a "bucket list" of things I wanted (or needed) to do before I left and I was able to check off almost every single one of the things, plus do tons more. There were things that I didn't think were going to happen, but spur of the moment changes in plans made the opportunities fall into place.

And some of the greatest, most memorable moments in my final week were made when I literally went above and beyond. 
As a teen girl, I didn't really get the chance to get off the center very much. It's just unsafe, takes a lot of work to get organized if we are even aloud, and is a lot of responsibility on the guys to protect us if something does arise. This was always a very disappointing fact for me because I love getting off center. A 1 mile wide circle gets real small, real fast. And PNG is filled with SO much beauty.

So the boys graciously agreed to take Kaela and I on one last motorcycle ride. A real treat. And it was so spectacular. I love the feeling of zooming off center and being surrounded by the grassy valleys and mountainous horizon. Wind in hair. Open road. Setting sun. Perfection. I was taken back by the beauty once again. As we went through the little villages we were greeted by little kids on the sides of the roads with flowers in their hands that they wanted to give us. They were so priceless. PNG gets a lot of crap for it's problems and the people are not as civilized as the rest of the world, but I was reminded how beautiful and precious they are in God's sight. We rode up to the top of one of the ridges, farther then I had ever gone before and I loved the scenery. Ukarumpa was just a small lump of buildings in a sea of green. Just so gently tucked in the middle of the mountains. The feeling of being on top of a mountain with nothing but God's serene beauty surrounding you for as far as your eye can see, wind gently blowing, perfectly quite and peaceful with no worries of the world. It's close to perfect...Many more handfuls of flowers, racing the boys back to center, wheelies and jumping bridges topped of the exciting adventure perfectly.

Little ol' Ukarumpa nestled in the valley.

Looking the other direction...

So there is this unnamed tower at the unnamed location in PNG that is always a popular place for unnamed teens to "be rebellious", jump the fence, and climb. So we decided we were going to climb it before we left (since we couldn't really get in trouble...). Well we definitely went above. I actually managed to climb ALL the way to the very tippy top of this tower and touch the very last rung and when I managed to catch my breath, it was taken away again. We were doing this lateish at night and the sky was smothered in stars. Looking down you could see a whole display of the center's and valley's lights. And if you looked up you felt like you were in the middle of the Milky Way. Clear in every direction. There is no feeling like it. It wasn't necessarily an easy climb to the top, but the view was amazing. And that's like life...sometimes we got to do the hard, scary things in order to get the most rewarding awards. (I'm not endorsing being "rebellious"...just going along with the fitting analogy ;) )

Lastly, I had always wanted to go up West Ridge because the boys always talk about going up there and I wanted to go on a hike before I left, but neither seemed like they were going to work out. But on my very last day in Ukarumpa I was texting a friend (who was leaving the next day as well) and soon discovered the boys were going on a hike to West Ridge! I quickly got in on the action and after rallying some friends up, we were on our way. Well the hike was...just that- a hike, and rather far. Rather steep too. But I enjoyed every bit of it. The freedom. The views. The company. And when we got to the top, I was once again surprised. You could see the whole center from up there...and more specifically, my house. And I realized we were on the mountain that I always looked at from my window. And the fence we are leaning against- the tiny little sticks I've looked at for years. It was so great seeing everything from another angle. And it was so fitting to stand there, on the outside, taking a moment, and looking in on that place I had called home for 15 years. It truly was the perfect way to end my time in PNG.

I seem to feel that God often shows his unfailing love to me through the beautiful sunsets he displays, and that last night was one of the brightest, most intense skies we had had in a while. I sat on my porch, thinking of the scenes I had just taken in, thinking of the chapter that was beautifully coming to a close. The last time I'd see the sun sink behind those mountains, yet God was practically screaming his love, comfort and faithfulness at me.

And as I look back on all this I am reminded of the verse my mom so often quotes:  
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21)


"Beyond all we can ask or imagine"...in other words- our God goes above, and beyond!

Chopsticks optional.

I couple days before I left Ukarumpa I was invited over to my Korean friends house because his family was having a "house warming party" thing cause they just moved. He said that it started off as a small party, but then "like everyone on center" was invited and so we can come to. Plus, his dad had bought 30 kilos of meat (that's like 66 pounds!!!) so there was plenty to go around. Kaela and I decide to go a little late, just to make sure Seung Jun (our friend) was home from soccer and all but when we showed up we...hid. We quickly diverted the back porch party and hid at the front porch trying to get Seung Jun out of the house. There was only Koreans in the back, having a grand ol' Korean time...it was intimidating. Kevin showed up and we finally worked up the nerve to go to the back. Quickly they forces us all to grab a plate but as we would go for different foods we'd get "oh oh oh spicy!" so we would quickly change our options. The meat was amazing! Lamp chops, ribs, chicken lets, and I don't know what else. Korean food has a great reputation for being ah-maz-ing among us in Ukarumpa - and it all lived up to it. A couple more friends came and Seung Jun eventually made an appearance asking us "Feel awkward yet?". Considering the fact that the chairs where aligned in a giant circle and so everyone could see everyone. Yes. Considering that we had no clue what they were saying when they asked Seung Jun a question and then all would start laughing. Yes. But it was fun. Mr. Lee just kept bringing around more meat, heaping it on our plates.

After we were done eating we had what Mrs. Lee told us was a "Musical concert". There is a Korean man in Ukarumpa who is a professional opera singer- and he's amazing. So we formed another circle around a campfire and he played his guitar and sang songs. I tried to sit on the outside of the circle cause I was still finishing my plate, but they all had to move their chairs to fit mine in. *awkward.* And somehow all the boys ended up on the other side of the circle, laughing at me. (Kaela had to leave so I was the only non Korean girl).
But it was such a odd but special moment sitting in that circle. Here I was surrounded by like 30 Koreans in Papua New Guinea, listening to a Korean sing English....then Pidgin...then Korean. The moon and stars where out above us and the fire was crackling. My favorite part was when he sang "How Great Thou Art" in Pidgin.
It was such a beautiful song and I loved hearing it in Pidgin. It truly was a blessing and a special honor sitting there worshiping with the Korean community.

After the "concert" they served us up huge bowls of cake and icecream that we had to force down and us teens just hung out by the fire. The boys played capture the flag with the little kids for a bit and we just hung around talking and laughing.

It really was a special and relaxing evening and I was reminded what a privilege it was growing up in a diverse, multicultural community. Koreans are such hospitable, generous, generous, generous, fun people and it's always enriching and humbling spending some time around them. Their Korean community in Ukarumpa is founded so strongly in God and always a blessing to the center. It makes me realize the importance of finding a community to fit into that will keep me rooted where I need to be as I go forth into the world.

So if you get a chance, spend sometime with a different culture and see what you learn. :)