Weekend in Ipaiyu

Last weekend,  I had an opportunity to hike to a village called Ipaiyu with Sarah Glover, and our friend Lynn.  We stayed with her family in their home Saturday night. We started our journey around 11:15 on Saturday and arrived around 3:15 at our destination.  The hike left me breathless in more ways than one ;)  The scenery in PNG is absolutely beautiful, it never ceases to amaze me!  The 4 hour trip was so worth it once we got there!! Ipaiyu has the most beautiful view I've seen since being here.  By the time we arrived it was about time to begin dinner preparations.  So Sarah and I joined in, with peeling the caocao, and straightening the greens.  For all 9 of us that were in the bush hut to eat, it took a lot of food!  Before we ate, I leaned over to ask Sarah what I should do if I couldn't eat it all, but she said it was perfectly acceptable to hand your food to someone else.  I was surprised to find myself looking at the bottom of my bowl.  I ate all of it!  The food was very delicious, and I was really hungry after hiking all afternoon.  After dinner Sarah, Lynn, and I played UNO for awhile, but bedtime is always early here in PNG so I started going downhill around 8. We slept on the bamboo thatched floor, all 9 of us, surrounding the fire pit.  The next morning, I woke up to someone getting the fire started, and a pig snorting underneath the house.  :)  I then went out to the ridge, and watched the most amazing sunrise I have ever seen.  It was such a great moment.  Just me, and my Savior (and Skippy the dog).  I felt like I was right in the middle of heaven.  The clouds were eye level, and the yellow sun coming over the blue mountains made the prettiest picture!  I went back to the bush hut in awe of our Creator!  I wish I could truly put into words how wonderful this place is!  While preparing breakfast, we all shared our testimonies with one another.  Lynn and Sarah in pigin, and mine in English with Sarah translating for both sides.  Lynn then shared her mother's testimony with us.  To see the way God has worked in this family's life is truly amazing!  Their story is one I will never forget, and I'm sure will continue to impact me even after I get back.  At church, we sat under a tarp outside, as Bro. John taught on Jesus as a young boy in the temple.  Sarah translated for me as I watched everyone soak the story up like a sponge.  Church really is one of my favorite things here.  It is such a huge reminder of God's love for us in sending his Son to die for the whole world! Not just my comfort zone in Tennessee!  Watching these people learn about and worship the same God I worship at home is a humbling experience. I pray I never forget it. When church was over we hiked an hour back to Kanabea and rode the mule the rest of the way home.  This was an adventure I'll never forget.  I'm thankful I had such a wonderful opportunity!