Alrighty – so the two big things this week – the HBC training and the AIDS candlelight…
First – the home based care training...overall not too bad. I must say there were some times I was very frustrated and depressed with it all, but there were other times that it was great. That seems to be the story of my life here, or maybe just life itself and I feel it more acutely here.
The purpose of the training was really to prepare the staff to do the trainings in Tolikara when they start the home based care part of the project – mostly Thoni and Rahel since they do most of the actual training there. We had also invited some of the other local yayasan partners working in HIV/ since it is not something that is really happening much here right now.
Like I mentioned – there were many replies of yes – and I had a panic moment the week before the training, but it ended up being small. Sad that there is not more interest or drive to do this, but easier and more comfortable for me. The first 2 days it was us and one or two others. One organization had forgotten and they sent two people for the last 3days.
From their feedback, the information was mostly new for them and they felt that they could use it in Tolikara or wherever they work. The feedback from Rahel and Thoni was especially helpful in thinking about the situation in Tolikara.
I think the most frustrating thing for me was the participant's focus on challenges, something that Heidy has also said she experiences sometimes. When we did case studies, I wanted them to think through how it could apply here even though it is a different situation. But they could only focus on the differences and particularly the challenge of no VCT or ART. But I wanted them to think beyond the challenges to problem solve those challenges and to think about how we can apply things in a context with those challenges. I want them to dream and think big!
I feel they think their situation is unique here, particularly with stigma, VCT, and ART; which of course every place is unique. Yet 5,10,20 years ago there was high stigma and little VCT or ART in other places (definitions: VCT=voluntary counseling and testing ART=antiretroviral therapy). It is a process, and here is just closer to the beginning still. But other places didn’t get where they are now by people sitting around saying everything is too challenging; but by getting out there, trying to provide care, advocating for these services.
I am not blind to all these challenges – trying to help plan these MCH and HBC projects I have come across many obstacles! But my first instinct is - ok how do we work with those challenges instead of give up. I think if there is one message I hope they got out of this week, it is to see that they can start caring for people now, with very little, and that itself can help inspire change in the situation.
And I don’t want you to think they are doing nothing because of the challenges! All the participants had stories to share about experiences caring for people – with or without HIV, and all are working hard in their organizations to tackle this problem of HIV/AIDS. I think it is difficult for them to think about how to help others overcome the challenges to specifically provide care, particularly in the far villages and districts where we work.
There is part of me that just wants to come back here to Papua and start working through some of these things. I am motivated by challenges and solving problems! Not sure if, when, or how, but I am open if God opens a door to come back, even if sometimes I just want to throw up my hands and say forget it! Besides, I already am well on my way to being able to communicate in bahasa Indonesia;)
Second…the AIDS candlelight. The youth forum has been working very hard to put this together. The KPA (local AIDS commission) and World Vision supported the event, and the youth forum did a lot of the planning and execution. The event went well – they did great. There were a few technical and weather issues, but those did not hinder it.
At was supposed to start at 3 – but tradition – started around 4:30. And it lasted until almost 9! There was a lot of worship and special music by not just the youth forum, but various other groups from churches and local yayasan. The youth forum led a lot of the worship, moderated, and did their drama.
I wish I understood more; other than the worship songs my understanding was like nil due to the sound quality of the microphones. I did get that there was a big candle lit for every organization working with HIV in Wamena, and everyone had a small candle. Not sure what they were saying while lighting the candles or what it was supposed to signify.
There were many people there, but whether they really got much out of it or were just there for a fun service and playing with candles, I’m not sure. But I know the youth forum and others that were involved really care about seeing people living in godly lives and in preventing HIV in their community.
During the training we read a case study that included a letter by a home based care volunteer that said we have to protect our own candle so it does not go out. As my little candle kept going out when I didn’t protect it from the wind, I was thinking about this and how true it is. The youth forum certainly has many individuals with passion for the Lord and HIV. Yet they historically do these one time events but have not met too regularly. Until this year, they have been getting together, preparing the drama, doing the Choose Life sessions. I pray that their passion would not die out, even though the work is difficult. They have some great plans and ideas, I pray that they would continue on with it.
That’s about it – moving the office this week – so pray for that. Then June is a busy month and I need to start wrapping things up!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Some random highlights of the last two weeks...
So the focus groups were already two weeks ago; it’s been a busy two weeks that has gone by too fast! But not too much to report since it was mostly work in the office. That basically meant pulling together information from the week of FGD to think about the future of the MCH project and getting the HBC materials ready for training that starts…Mo…nday...ah!
For you Emily:) HBC = home based care MCH = maternal child health, FGD= focus group discussion…am I forgetting any??
Some highlights or lowlights:)
Had a panic moment about the HBC training…but went for a quick walk around the block to regroup and remember that God is in control and it really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things whether this training succeeds or fails – God will accomplish what he wants through it either way. I was also encouraged later on by conversations with several different people – that what is included isn’t as basic as it seems, it isn’t going to be repetitive and it is important. So pray for this week – for me, and the staff, and the other participants.
I visited another missionary that has been here for a long time and we chatted about health, HIV/AIDS, history of the area/the church…so interesting! This requires a separate entry of its own sometime when I have more time.
If you haven’t read my last few facebook posts…– addicted to peanut butter at the moment and you can buy it here – thank goodness! And tried making kettle corn, which failed. But today (Sunday) I made no bake cookies again (pudding instead of peanut butter this time) that turned out good.
Song that I have listened to a TON the past few weeks and played for the youth forum was “Shine” – my prayer for me “That I might move mountains, wake the seas, O that your light would shine through me” and for Papua and particularly the youth “Establish your kingdom in this crying land…take over this nation and reclaim your youth”. Pray for the youth forum as they prepare for an AIDS candlelight service, that is next weekend I think.
Had coffee/meals with several different people last weekend and this weekend. It has been nice getting to know people better. Last night (Sat night) they made sambal that was good, but “pedas sekali” (very hot and spicy!). One of the girls is also taking care of a baby tree kangaroo right now, and it is so cute, has such character!
Showed the 2 kids who live here how to take pictures with my webcam and had fun night watching them make funny faces for almost a half hour straight! I think there are now over 150 pictures of funny faces and random objects on my computer:)
Update: The office is moving June 1st – which means I am also moving. I won’t be able to stay at the new office, but I have been blessed with another place to stay! There is a large house that will eventually be a guest house. Despite the work to move and resettle in, and that this has been a good living situation, I am looking forward to a change; particularly having more control over my diet and hopefully no dogs, chickens, and loud music at night and in the morning!
Well, that is a few highlights of my life the last two weeks. There is so much I have been thinking about relating to everything I have actually been doing, but that will have to wait until another time!
For you Emily:) HBC = home based care MCH = maternal child health, FGD= focus group discussion…am I forgetting any??
Some highlights or lowlights:)
Had a panic moment about the HBC training…but went for a quick walk around the block to regroup and remember that God is in control and it really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things whether this training succeeds or fails – God will accomplish what he wants through it either way. I was also encouraged later on by conversations with several different people – that what is included isn’t as basic as it seems, it isn’t going to be repetitive and it is important. So pray for this week – for me, and the staff, and the other participants.
I visited another missionary that has been here for a long time and we chatted about health, HIV/AIDS, history of the area/the church…so interesting! This requires a separate entry of its own sometime when I have more time.
If you haven’t read my last few facebook posts…– addicted to peanut butter at the moment and you can buy it here – thank goodness! And tried making kettle corn, which failed. But today (Sunday) I made no bake cookies again (pudding instead of peanut butter this time) that turned out good.
Song that I have listened to a TON the past few weeks and played for the youth forum was “Shine” – my prayer for me “That I might move mountains, wake the seas, O that your light would shine through me” and for Papua and particularly the youth “Establish your kingdom in this crying land…take over this nation and reclaim your youth”. Pray for the youth forum as they prepare for an AIDS candlelight service, that is next weekend I think.
Had coffee/meals with several different people last weekend and this weekend. It has been nice getting to know people better. Last night (Sat night) they made sambal that was good, but “pedas sekali” (very hot and spicy!). One of the girls is also taking care of a baby tree kangaroo right now, and it is so cute, has such character!
Showed the 2 kids who live here how to take pictures with my webcam and had fun night watching them make funny faces for almost a half hour straight! I think there are now over 150 pictures of funny faces and random objects on my computer:)
Update: The office is moving June 1st – which means I am also moving. I won’t be able to stay at the new office, but I have been blessed with another place to stay! There is a large house that will eventually be a guest house. Despite the work to move and resettle in, and that this has been a good living situation, I am looking forward to a change; particularly having more control over my diet and hopefully no dogs, chickens, and loud music at night and in the morning!
Well, that is a few highlights of my life the last two weeks. There is so much I have been thinking about relating to everything I have actually been doing, but that will have to wait until another time!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
A good ending to a busy week
Tolikara FGD Day 4:
Every day we manage to leave a little bit earlier. Today that was particularly important today since we wanted to get the last 3 focus groups in. Rahel was up and at ‘em early, I joined her once I pulled myself out of bed. I enjoyed making us cups of coffee most mornings (instant with water boiled in the electric kettle the night before during the 4 hours of electricity we have at night) to try to wake up as we were cooking:)
Before leaving, we read Psalm 121 for the day’s encouragement – it felt fitting given our climbs and views of the mountains. And we prayed for people at our focus groups today! Yesterday after the hard climb to the top, I was talking to Rahel about how God’s plans are not always are plans. It’s ok if our plans fail or change – maybe God had a better plan for us in meeting Sinai rather than Aromar. And our hard work is for God!
I have been able to communicate well enough to get by. I know a lot of words but don’t make very good sentences. Somehow Rahel can usually try to figure out what I am trying to say. We were joking that she was my translator, from bad bahasa Indonesia to good bahasa Indonesia, so Thoni and Otinus could understand. I also told them that they got lots of extra practice this week with English so they better shine at next week’s English class!
We left around 7:30 and got ojek’s to Kuari Dua – today’s first destination. There were some people around the church, and Rahel and Thoni chatted with them. Another duka!! However, here we would wait because some of the mothers were going to return shortly. There were a ton of kids here and I enjoyed watching them play in the grass while we waited; some game like fishy, fishy cross my ocean (sharks and minnows…whatever you call it!). One of the girls was sitting next to me with her noken and she kept looking in. So I asked what was inside. She showed me and it was two baby chicks eating some obi…you never know what you’ll find in those noken – vegetables, pigs, babies, chicks!
Thoni and Rahel were talking with one of the men while we waited. It turns out the pastor had shared the HIV messages from our last training with the church. The surrounding churches had also received the message. And they understood our purpose – no miscommunication about doctors with them! Rahel said afterwards – I like this pastor, and I agree!
When enough women and men had returned we went inside the church and started. This was our first focus group inside and I was thankful because another day of sitting in the sun would have been hard for me! It was also a little cloudy today – God knew I needed a break from the sun:)
The focus groups seemed to go well and the community seemed appreciative of our visit. A group of children and the pastor walked part of the way to Monom with us. One group of kids came all the way to the top of the hill – quite far! Apparently when there is a duka, there is no school. I was wondering when they ever go to school then!
As we started going down, one of the girls came running after us – Rahel met her part way up the hill. Her friend (who was shy and stayed at the top) wanted to give me her necklace. So sweet. I hadn’t really talked to her much, but during the FGD and the walk we made eye contact several times and shared smiles.
As we went down the hill to Monom there was an old, empty building. There was a group of men and a few women standing and sitting around. Thoni was talking to them, asking where the church was. Rahel wondered if we should do the FGD right there with them, but one of the men and Thoni started walking down a path – so we followed. He opened up the church for us, but no one was around. We were tired so we sat down with him in the church.
Rahel noticed the clock wasn’t working so she got some of the batteries from the MP3 players for it. She was worried about not having a enough extra batteries earlier in the week – so this gesture was generous. I have noticed that she has a very generous spirit – is always giving to others.
The man who let us in (I wasn’t clear if he was the pastor or not) rang some sort of bell thing, and some people started arriving. This time I went with the father’s FGD. It went ok – but as usual one man (the one who had let us in) did most of the talking. In our evaluation the night before I had mentioned how in most of our FGD’s only a few people usually talked. Rahel and Thoni said yes, this is a challenge. But it is part of the culture they said, and you could hear and see the other mothers giving their opinions to those few people to share with the group. So it seems we are getting different people’s opinions – just through these few spokespeople. It's not quite an ideal FGD, a discussion between everyone, but people still participated and we still got information.
When the women finished, Rahel asked me to come over, said there was a difficult situation here that she would tell me about later, but would I pray with the women. So I did. Later she told me that the women were moved to tears that we came to talk with them. Sometime (I don’t know when/timeline) two people died in Monom in one day, and maybe there were other deaths – I wasn’t clear on that. People were afraid to go there because of those deaths, maybe afraid of spirits. That was interesting, and I am glad that we could show them Jesus’ love just through not being afraid to come and see them. And that we come with Jesus in all his power, strength, and love, which is greater than any other spirits or fears.
This is where the mantri is stationed that the women in Sinai mentioned. I had said earlier that if we could, I would like to meet him. Thoni found out more about him. It was difficult to figure out what Thoni, Rahel, and the pastor were discussing, but then they were asking (again) what I wanted to do. So I had to try and figure out the whole conversation/situation. It turns out the mantri was trained by the missionaries – I probed for more information – who, when, where…but they didn’t know. I would have loved to speak with him and find out more, but he was out visiting patients and doing ministry today. It turns out the people trust him a lot, and often come from far and choose to see him over the government health workers.
So we could wait to see him, go try Timbum again, or go on to Bandia Sion. I gathered that Rahel wanted to go back to Timbum, Thoni to wait or go on the Bandia Sion. I don’t like being the decision maker even when I understand, even less so when I only have partial understanding! But I said we had made an appointment for the late afternoon with Bandia Sion and had already changed the schedule with them once, so we should probably make sure we got there today. It was already getting late, so I thought we should skip waiting and Timbum and head straight there.
We walked down some paths to the main road. One of the boys from Monom showed us where to go and joined us for a snack. Going down I remembered to tell Otinus that the English word for “kodok” is “frog”, and he started making frog noises again, and then right in the middle of the path was a dead frog…weird! Only frog I’ve seen here and right when we were talking about it!
Going to Bandia Sion turned out to be a good decision. Once at the main road, we took ojek’s back to the office, had a quick snack, and walked over. Though close, at the end of three loooong days of walking – it felt far. We got there about 4:00 and a couple women were waiting at the gate. We followed them to the clearing that was the church.
We had to wait a little for everyone to gather and I was a little anxious to finish; we were tired and it would be dark soon. I didn’t particularly want to walk back in the dark. The FGD ended up being good - the best discussion, with everyone contributing. However according to these mothers, child and mother deaths are not much of a problem here; there is just one woman with HIV/AIDS who died. They say no child deaths. Maybe that is true – they are very close to Karubaga. Though hard to believe zero. They did however, come up with a long list of other, more minor health problems in mothers and children.
We finished and headed out just as it was beginning to get dark, that beautiful time of night when the sky and the surroundings are all different shades of blue. Yay – finished! Cook dinner, write a few reports, bed, and home in the morning! Or not…after I bathed, I came out and Rahel whispered to me that many pastor’s showed up. Last time we left for dinner when there were a lot of pastors staying there, but Rahel wanted to cook this time.
I am amazed by her generousity. Cooking would mean a lot of work, and we were tired. I said no problem for me if we cook for them, but I don’t want you to cook, then do your reports too after a long day! So if you cook, just do that and don’t worry about reports tonight. After all the hard days – I felt like the pastors should be cooking for us since we were helping their churches! An attitude God can work on in me, I need a more generous spirit like Rahel. Dinner ended up being very late. I sat down on my bed towards the end of the cooking, fell asleep, and they had to wake me up for dinner:)
Day 6:
Slept in…like 6:30:) Rahel and Thoni were already up cooking, so of course I joined them. After breakfast, I wanted to try to get over to talk with the missionaries next door. Every night we got back too late and I was too tired or it was raining. So this morning, as soon as I finished breakfast and packing, I headed over. I heard from one of the ibu’s that they were still around and that they had some family coming in for the weekend. Their son actually stopped by the night before while we were cooking. He and his wife are also missionaries in Papua.
When I walked over, they were all outside. They were preparing to cook a pig, bakar batu – traditional cooking. I felt a little bad that when I finally came over, all their family was here, but I chatted with all of them for a little while. Got a chance to ask some about the mantri and his training and about the church; some things that I was wondering about and didn’t get real clear answers on. I joined them for a cup of tea and got to see some old pictures of the area way back when the missionaries first came which was very interesting. I knew that Thoni and Rahel were hoping to “pulang” (return home) soon after breakfast, so I didn't stay to long and said goodbye.
Rahel was still getting ready, but Thoni headed off to get a taxi. Rahel and I got all our stuff ready and sat and waited, and waited. Thoni came back and said there were no cars. So we waited, and then Rahel went to see what she could find. And we waited, and waited. No cars, so we sat around. It was about noon now, and one of the missionaries came and invited us to have lunch. There was a crowd of people there for the bakar batu, and we joined.
I enjoyed trying the food. I didn’t really get a chance at the church since I had to teach English… sayur (vegetables), sinkong (cassava), corn, pork, obi (sweet potatoes). There were some chairs and Rahel pointed me to them, but I said I will sit with you, “tidak apa apa!” After lunch we meandered back, and Thoni and Otinus went back down to find a car. After another long wait, they showed up in a taxi (when I say taxi – it means the four wheel trucks that go over the mountains, not our yellow city taxi’s!)
The taxi was full of people and stuff and I was thinking – o boy… They gave me the front and crammed in back of the cab. Luckily, most of the stuff on the bed was unloaded at a store in Karubaga. We then picked up more people…as well as a dog, a big pig, and 2 piglets. And by the time the pig was loaded in, it was getting late, and starting to drizzle. It was a pretty wet, bumpy ride back to Wamena, with a pig that squeled everytime we went over a particularly large bump! But we made it!
Every day we manage to leave a little bit earlier. Today that was particularly important today since we wanted to get the last 3 focus groups in. Rahel was up and at ‘em early, I joined her once I pulled myself out of bed. I enjoyed making us cups of coffee most mornings (instant with water boiled in the electric kettle the night before during the 4 hours of electricity we have at night) to try to wake up as we were cooking:)
Before leaving, we read Psalm 121 for the day’s encouragement – it felt fitting given our climbs and views of the mountains. And we prayed for people at our focus groups today! Yesterday after the hard climb to the top, I was talking to Rahel about how God’s plans are not always are plans. It’s ok if our plans fail or change – maybe God had a better plan for us in meeting Sinai rather than Aromar. And our hard work is for God!
I have been able to communicate well enough to get by. I know a lot of words but don’t make very good sentences. Somehow Rahel can usually try to figure out what I am trying to say. We were joking that she was my translator, from bad bahasa Indonesia to good bahasa Indonesia, so Thoni and Otinus could understand. I also told them that they got lots of extra practice this week with English so they better shine at next week’s English class!
We left around 7:30 and got ojek’s to Kuari Dua – today’s first destination. There were some people around the church, and Rahel and Thoni chatted with them. Another duka!! However, here we would wait because some of the mothers were going to return shortly. There were a ton of kids here and I enjoyed watching them play in the grass while we waited; some game like fishy, fishy cross my ocean (sharks and minnows…whatever you call it!). One of the girls was sitting next to me with her noken and she kept looking in. So I asked what was inside. She showed me and it was two baby chicks eating some obi…you never know what you’ll find in those noken – vegetables, pigs, babies, chicks!
Thoni and Rahel were talking with one of the men while we waited. It turns out the pastor had shared the HIV messages from our last training with the church. The surrounding churches had also received the message. And they understood our purpose – no miscommunication about doctors with them! Rahel said afterwards – I like this pastor, and I agree!
When enough women and men had returned we went inside the church and started. This was our first focus group inside and I was thankful because another day of sitting in the sun would have been hard for me! It was also a little cloudy today – God knew I needed a break from the sun:)
The focus groups seemed to go well and the community seemed appreciative of our visit. A group of children and the pastor walked part of the way to Monom with us. One group of kids came all the way to the top of the hill – quite far! Apparently when there is a duka, there is no school. I was wondering when they ever go to school then!
As we started going down, one of the girls came running after us – Rahel met her part way up the hill. Her friend (who was shy and stayed at the top) wanted to give me her necklace. So sweet. I hadn’t really talked to her much, but during the FGD and the walk we made eye contact several times and shared smiles.
As we went down the hill to Monom there was an old, empty building. There was a group of men and a few women standing and sitting around. Thoni was talking to them, asking where the church was. Rahel wondered if we should do the FGD right there with them, but one of the men and Thoni started walking down a path – so we followed. He opened up the church for us, but no one was around. We were tired so we sat down with him in the church.
Rahel noticed the clock wasn’t working so she got some of the batteries from the MP3 players for it. She was worried about not having a enough extra batteries earlier in the week – so this gesture was generous. I have noticed that she has a very generous spirit – is always giving to others.
The man who let us in (I wasn’t clear if he was the pastor or not) rang some sort of bell thing, and some people started arriving. This time I went with the father’s FGD. It went ok – but as usual one man (the one who had let us in) did most of the talking. In our evaluation the night before I had mentioned how in most of our FGD’s only a few people usually talked. Rahel and Thoni said yes, this is a challenge. But it is part of the culture they said, and you could hear and see the other mothers giving their opinions to those few people to share with the group. So it seems we are getting different people’s opinions – just through these few spokespeople. It's not quite an ideal FGD, a discussion between everyone, but people still participated and we still got information.
When the women finished, Rahel asked me to come over, said there was a difficult situation here that she would tell me about later, but would I pray with the women. So I did. Later she told me that the women were moved to tears that we came to talk with them. Sometime (I don’t know when/timeline) two people died in Monom in one day, and maybe there were other deaths – I wasn’t clear on that. People were afraid to go there because of those deaths, maybe afraid of spirits. That was interesting, and I am glad that we could show them Jesus’ love just through not being afraid to come and see them. And that we come with Jesus in all his power, strength, and love, which is greater than any other spirits or fears.
This is where the mantri is stationed that the women in Sinai mentioned. I had said earlier that if we could, I would like to meet him. Thoni found out more about him. It was difficult to figure out what Thoni, Rahel, and the pastor were discussing, but then they were asking (again) what I wanted to do. So I had to try and figure out the whole conversation/situation. It turns out the mantri was trained by the missionaries – I probed for more information – who, when, where…but they didn’t know. I would have loved to speak with him and find out more, but he was out visiting patients and doing ministry today. It turns out the people trust him a lot, and often come from far and choose to see him over the government health workers.
So we could wait to see him, go try Timbum again, or go on to Bandia Sion. I gathered that Rahel wanted to go back to Timbum, Thoni to wait or go on the Bandia Sion. I don’t like being the decision maker even when I understand, even less so when I only have partial understanding! But I said we had made an appointment for the late afternoon with Bandia Sion and had already changed the schedule with them once, so we should probably make sure we got there today. It was already getting late, so I thought we should skip waiting and Timbum and head straight there.
We walked down some paths to the main road. One of the boys from Monom showed us where to go and joined us for a snack. Going down I remembered to tell Otinus that the English word for “kodok” is “frog”, and he started making frog noises again, and then right in the middle of the path was a dead frog…weird! Only frog I’ve seen here and right when we were talking about it!
Going to Bandia Sion turned out to be a good decision. Once at the main road, we took ojek’s back to the office, had a quick snack, and walked over. Though close, at the end of three loooong days of walking – it felt far. We got there about 4:00 and a couple women were waiting at the gate. We followed them to the clearing that was the church.
We had to wait a little for everyone to gather and I was a little anxious to finish; we were tired and it would be dark soon. I didn’t particularly want to walk back in the dark. The FGD ended up being good - the best discussion, with everyone contributing. However according to these mothers, child and mother deaths are not much of a problem here; there is just one woman with HIV/AIDS who died. They say no child deaths. Maybe that is true – they are very close to Karubaga. Though hard to believe zero. They did however, come up with a long list of other, more minor health problems in mothers and children.
We finished and headed out just as it was beginning to get dark, that beautiful time of night when the sky and the surroundings are all different shades of blue. Yay – finished! Cook dinner, write a few reports, bed, and home in the morning! Or not…after I bathed, I came out and Rahel whispered to me that many pastor’s showed up. Last time we left for dinner when there were a lot of pastors staying there, but Rahel wanted to cook this time.
I am amazed by her generousity. Cooking would mean a lot of work, and we were tired. I said no problem for me if we cook for them, but I don’t want you to cook, then do your reports too after a long day! So if you cook, just do that and don’t worry about reports tonight. After all the hard days – I felt like the pastors should be cooking for us since we were helping their churches! An attitude God can work on in me, I need a more generous spirit like Rahel. Dinner ended up being very late. I sat down on my bed towards the end of the cooking, fell asleep, and they had to wake me up for dinner:)
Day 6:
Slept in…like 6:30:) Rahel and Thoni were already up cooking, so of course I joined them. After breakfast, I wanted to try to get over to talk with the missionaries next door. Every night we got back too late and I was too tired or it was raining. So this morning, as soon as I finished breakfast and packing, I headed over. I heard from one of the ibu’s that they were still around and that they had some family coming in for the weekend. Their son actually stopped by the night before while we were cooking. He and his wife are also missionaries in Papua.
When I walked over, they were all outside. They were preparing to cook a pig, bakar batu – traditional cooking. I felt a little bad that when I finally came over, all their family was here, but I chatted with all of them for a little while. Got a chance to ask some about the mantri and his training and about the church; some things that I was wondering about and didn’t get real clear answers on. I joined them for a cup of tea and got to see some old pictures of the area way back when the missionaries first came which was very interesting. I knew that Thoni and Rahel were hoping to “pulang” (return home) soon after breakfast, so I didn't stay to long and said goodbye.
Rahel was still getting ready, but Thoni headed off to get a taxi. Rahel and I got all our stuff ready and sat and waited, and waited. Thoni came back and said there were no cars. So we waited, and then Rahel went to see what she could find. And we waited, and waited. No cars, so we sat around. It was about noon now, and one of the missionaries came and invited us to have lunch. There was a crowd of people there for the bakar batu, and we joined.
I enjoyed trying the food. I didn’t really get a chance at the church since I had to teach English… sayur (vegetables), sinkong (cassava), corn, pork, obi (sweet potatoes). There were some chairs and Rahel pointed me to them, but I said I will sit with you, “tidak apa apa!” After lunch we meandered back, and Thoni and Otinus went back down to find a car. After another long wait, they showed up in a taxi (when I say taxi – it means the four wheel trucks that go over the mountains, not our yellow city taxi’s!)
The taxi was full of people and stuff and I was thinking – o boy… They gave me the front and crammed in back of the cab. Luckily, most of the stuff on the bed was unloaded at a store in Karubaga. We then picked up more people…as well as a dog, a big pig, and 2 piglets. And by the time the pig was loaded in, it was getting late, and starting to drizzle. It was a pretty wet, bumpy ride back to Wamena, with a pig that squeled everytime we went over a particularly large bump! But we made it!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Hump day - in more ways than one
Tolikara FGD Day 3:
This morning we read some scriptures that had been an encouragement for me. It was a good day to read it because it was the middle of the week and ended up being a more difficult day. We read Ephesians 3:14-21 which was more self explanatory so my limited language was fine, and Acts 4:8-12, a bit tougher to explain. I’m not sure my purpose in reading this was clear. After Kolenggar and feeling sad that we didn’t have anything tangible to help right now, I was encouraged that, yes, God does care for physical needs and what we are doing is important. Yet they also have the most important thing already, the hope that comes from salvation through Christ Jesus.
After hearing at Gileme that many people had shown up at our scheduled time, we thought maybe the next day we should follow the original schedule. We made it out a little earlier today, found our same ojek drivers, and headed to Aromar. The drivers left us off at a clearing, which was apparently the church. I was expecting a huge crowd after hearing about people waiting at Gileme, but it was completely empty. Thoni and Rahel looked around, down the hill into the valley below. It was already 9:30, a half hour after our scheduled time, so even if people were late, there should have been a few arriving already.
Rahel asked me what we should do. The road continued up, there was a path across the side of the mountain to where we could see another church in the distance, and Timbum, our next church, was back down the road. We could head one of those directions or wait. I said they knew better about the people and places so they should decide – I trusted them. While we were talking, three men came up the path. They said that there was a death and “duka” nearby; towards the church we could see in the distance. They also said there was a church up the road, at the top, not too far.
So we went up. But near was not quite so near! It was probably the most difficult climb we made the whole week. We did find a few people and clusters of honai at the top. The church was a little bit further across so we went there first, spoke with pastor briefly, then returned to where there were more people. This was Sinai – the village/church basically at the top of the mountain – beautiful! We had some time for a little bit of informal conversation again, and had another small, but decent FGD. Apparently a lot of people here had also gone to the duka so that is why not many people were around.
On our way back down Rahel mentioned that there was a toilet area and a spring/stream in the compound and maybe that is why they had better health. The women had also mentioned that there is a mantri (male nurse) in a nearby village. I noticed the spring, but wouldn’t know what to look for in terms of toilets – so it was good that she observed that . This is valuable information beyond just the questions in the FGD.
We climbed down to Timbum – not on the main road the way we came but down a little side road/path. We could see the church below us as we went, and there weren’t any people around! When we hit the main road, near the church, a group of kids started following us. Rahel talked to them and when we were sitting outside the church, found out that many people were also at the duka – same or different one I wasn’t sure. There was somewhere between 2-4 deaths/duka’s while we were there.
Rahel and Thoni again asked what I wanted to do – go on to Monom, up the hill nearby, or Bandia Sion which was scheduled for the next day, or just be done for the day. Even though I helped planned the week, I don’t know the area or people well enough. And I was thoroughly confused by this time – when we followed the original schedule no one showed up (like today), when we didn’t, like at Kolenggar we got a crowd, and when we didn’t at Gileme there was no one but a crowd at our scheduled time…how can you make any sort of sensible decision then?!?
We decided not to wait around and starting walking back, very tired. Since we were on the main road now, there were some ojek’s going back to the city and we took those to give our tired legs a break. After a short rest, we headed to Bandia Sion. Rahel thought since it was early evening like Kolenggar, maybe people would be getting back from the fields and work and would be free. When we arrived, there were some women around and including the pastor’s wife. They were expecting us tomorrow, but again, a doctor. Rahel clarified and made plans to come back tomorrow evening.
So back to the office. Otinus sat down outside the gate to Bandia Sion and we joked that he was going to fall asleep there and we would pick him tomorrow night when we returned! It was a hard day – long, hot, a lot of walking, and only 1 small focus group. The staff was a little discouraged and instead of reports that night we cooked, did a quick debrief/eval of the last 2 days, and headed to bed. Though it was hard and tiring, I enjoyed the walking, and seeing the area gave me a better idea of what might work there. And we still had fun despite the hard work. At one point, Otinus was making some animal noises and saying “kodok”, but I couldn’t figure out what he was supposed to be. That night while falling asleep I remembered and looked it up in my dictionary – it was a frog!
This morning we read some scriptures that had been an encouragement for me. It was a good day to read it because it was the middle of the week and ended up being a more difficult day. We read Ephesians 3:14-21 which was more self explanatory so my limited language was fine, and Acts 4:8-12, a bit tougher to explain. I’m not sure my purpose in reading this was clear. After Kolenggar and feeling sad that we didn’t have anything tangible to help right now, I was encouraged that, yes, God does care for physical needs and what we are doing is important. Yet they also have the most important thing already, the hope that comes from salvation through Christ Jesus.
After hearing at Gileme that many people had shown up at our scheduled time, we thought maybe the next day we should follow the original schedule. We made it out a little earlier today, found our same ojek drivers, and headed to Aromar. The drivers left us off at a clearing, which was apparently the church. I was expecting a huge crowd after hearing about people waiting at Gileme, but it was completely empty. Thoni and Rahel looked around, down the hill into the valley below. It was already 9:30, a half hour after our scheduled time, so even if people were late, there should have been a few arriving already.
Rahel asked me what we should do. The road continued up, there was a path across the side of the mountain to where we could see another church in the distance, and Timbum, our next church, was back down the road. We could head one of those directions or wait. I said they knew better about the people and places so they should decide – I trusted them. While we were talking, three men came up the path. They said that there was a death and “duka” nearby; towards the church we could see in the distance. They also said there was a church up the road, at the top, not too far.
So we went up. But near was not quite so near! It was probably the most difficult climb we made the whole week. We did find a few people and clusters of honai at the top. The church was a little bit further across so we went there first, spoke with pastor briefly, then returned to where there were more people. This was Sinai – the village/church basically at the top of the mountain – beautiful! We had some time for a little bit of informal conversation again, and had another small, but decent FGD. Apparently a lot of people here had also gone to the duka so that is why not many people were around.
On our way back down Rahel mentioned that there was a toilet area and a spring/stream in the compound and maybe that is why they had better health. The women had also mentioned that there is a mantri (male nurse) in a nearby village. I noticed the spring, but wouldn’t know what to look for in terms of toilets – so it was good that she observed that . This is valuable information beyond just the questions in the FGD.
We climbed down to Timbum – not on the main road the way we came but down a little side road/path. We could see the church below us as we went, and there weren’t any people around! When we hit the main road, near the church, a group of kids started following us. Rahel talked to them and when we were sitting outside the church, found out that many people were also at the duka – same or different one I wasn’t sure. There was somewhere between 2-4 deaths/duka’s while we were there.
Rahel and Thoni again asked what I wanted to do – go on to Monom, up the hill nearby, or Bandia Sion which was scheduled for the next day, or just be done for the day. Even though I helped planned the week, I don’t know the area or people well enough. And I was thoroughly confused by this time – when we followed the original schedule no one showed up (like today), when we didn’t, like at Kolenggar we got a crowd, and when we didn’t at Gileme there was no one but a crowd at our scheduled time…how can you make any sort of sensible decision then?!?
We decided not to wait around and starting walking back, very tired. Since we were on the main road now, there were some ojek’s going back to the city and we took those to give our tired legs a break. After a short rest, we headed to Bandia Sion. Rahel thought since it was early evening like Kolenggar, maybe people would be getting back from the fields and work and would be free. When we arrived, there were some women around and including the pastor’s wife. They were expecting us tomorrow, but again, a doctor. Rahel clarified and made plans to come back tomorrow evening.
So back to the office. Otinus sat down outside the gate to Bandia Sion and we joked that he was going to fall asleep there and we would pick him tomorrow night when we returned! It was a hard day – long, hot, a lot of walking, and only 1 small focus group. The staff was a little discouraged and instead of reports that night we cooked, did a quick debrief/eval of the last 2 days, and headed to bed. Though it was hard and tiring, I enjoyed the walking, and seeing the area gave me a better idea of what might work there. And we still had fun despite the hard work. At one point, Otinus was making some animal noises and saying “kodok”, but I couldn’t figure out what he was supposed to be. That night while falling asleep I remembered and looked it up in my dictionary – it was a frog!
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Indah sekali, tapi susah untuk projekt...
FGD Tolikara Day 2:
It’s a really good thing I let go of the FGD’s going as planned before we came and instead was praying that it would be fruitful and we would get information, even if things went nothing like we had planned.
I woke up at 6 and Rahel was already in the kitchen cooking, so I joined her. With 1 burner and a full meal to cook (big breakfast, snacks, big dinner was our plan), it took a while. Full breakfast meant rice, vegetables, and eggs or chicken, all cooked in oil of course. I thought it would be much easier and faster to just wake up and eat a big bowl of oatmeal or cold cereal, but back in January someone told me – it’s not a meal without rice!
Here’s a little cooking lesson…
1.Cook the rice and chop the vegetables
2.Heat minyak goreng (frying oil) in a pan
3.Add chopped cabe, bawang putih, and bawang merah (hot peppers, garlic, and onions)
4.Add cut up carrots and potatoes
5.Add cut up beans and cauliflower
6.Add a packet of spices and salt and a little water
7.Cook until soft
8.Fry chicken or eggs
9.Eat with kecap manis or saus tomato (sweet soy sauce or ketchup)
So anyways, breakfast finished, they didn’t really know where the churches were so they asked after breakfast. If it were me at home – I’d have had all my directions together the night before so I wouldn’t show up late or get lost, and I'd probably not sleep worrying about getting lost and being late! …but at about 8:45 (we were supposed to start at 9!) we finally had everything together and left.
Our plan for the day was Aruku and Gileme – two of the farthest churches, so to get there meant taking an ojek and walking a lot. Might be the stupidest thing I have ever done to take an ojek, I prayed the whole time. It wasn’t all that scary, I just knew it was probably risky. Later I found out Rahel was thinking about safety though – we sometimes walked where we could have taken ojek’s because the roads were worse and Rahel was “takut” afraid – I think for me.
We got off at the top of the hill and walked down. First we passed Gileme, where Thoni and Rahel spoke with someone to let them know we were here. There weren’t many people around, and we found out someone in Gileme had died, and that means there was a “duka” – I really don’t know what all that entails – but is basically the mouring/funeral tradition and everyone goes. We also found out that like Kolenggar, they thought a doctor was coming and many people had showed up yesterday at our scheduled time.
Since Aruku is close to Gileme, we weren’t sure whether people would be there or at the duka. It is one of the farthest churches/villages in the cluster from the city and at the bottom of the hill/mountain we had come over. There was a school and a cluster of buildings. Outside the fence there were some women and children sitting around, no one specifically for our FGD. They were not as receptive as Kolenggar and were a little intense. However we went in the compound and sat down outside a honai where a grandmother was sitting. There were only a few mothers and some young women (unmarried), but we started anyways. It went ok, got “cukup” (enough) information, but not as good as the day before.
I looked over at one point to where Thoni and Otinus were supposed to be doing their FGD with the fathers, but I only saw Otinus sitting with a bunch of kids and teenage boys. No men or Thoni in sight. It turns out they didn’t trust us and thought we were there for political reasons. Maybe since we weren’t conducting the focus group at the actual church, but in the community, we didn’t have the same credibility as the day before even though we still explained the connection to the church. Thoni did get to interview one of the men though.
We didn’t stay long at Aruku, but trekked back up the hill to Gileme. In the compound just before the church we saw some women and children who waved and beckoned us. Rahel wanted to go up and do the FGD there since there were so few people around and probably wouldn’t be many at the church. But Thoni wanted to go straight on to the church. Apparently it was up to me, who is basically clueless about the culture and area! It was still early so I said we have time for both. I appreciated both of their opinions – Rahel’s understanding of what information we need and being flexible and open in how we get it, and Thoni’s understanding of the importance of our going through the churches.
We walked up the hill to the cluster of honai and sat down with some of the women. They were crushing some sort of nut or fruit and Rahel started helping them. They gave us some of the fruit/nuts as they took the shells off. I had no clue what they were. They answered “buah” (I thought this meant fruit) when I asked what they were; and when I asked whether they grow in the ground or on trees, they said trees. They looked like nuts though.
One of the woman brought out a bucket of sayur (greens) which we ate some of and then the women and children ate. During this time we had some informal discussion and I was able to ask a few questions – like how they cooked the vegetables, where they get their water, and about breastfeeding practices (several woman were breastfeeding). Questions that we don’t have time to ask in the FGD but are also important and I was curious about.
I also got to look in a honai here; it is surprisinly bigger than it looks on the outside with an "upstairs" for sleeping. Downstairs is the living area and where they do all the cooking. They do all the cooking on fires in the same honai where they sleep - not very good for health. I noted that in my head, but later on Rahel actually mentioned it to me and said it is different, better, in her village and Wamena. There are two separate honai or houses - sleeping and cooking is separate.
Once there was a small group of mothers and children, we got started. Shortly after, about 5-10 men came from the fields, so Thoni went over to start with them. The men often didn’t understand or seem to care about the health of women and children and this was a little discouraging for Thoni. I kept telling him that even a little information is important and maybe even more important is keeping the men occupied so we can really hear the mothers information and knowledge. From my limited experience in the discussions about HBC in February, when the men were around the women didn’t talk much. However with just the women (same women both times) they had lots to share.
Leaving the compound, we headed back to the church, however no one was there at all this time. So we kept going. Behind the church was a path/road that would take us a different way back – past Kolenggar and into the city. We stopped for a snack at a beautiful spot. Sometimes in Wamena/Karubaga I can see the mountains and just want to be standing on top or hiking, enjoying the beauty. I said “Gunung-gunung indah sekali, tapi susah untuk projekt” (don’t know if my bahasa Indonesia is correct – but should be the mountains are very beautiful but difficult for the project).
The return walk was quite far and I got a lot of sun! I had put on sun screen at the beginning of the day but forgot to bring it to reapply. And I left my hat/visor in the US. Luckily I remembered my friend’s advice to use vinegar on a sunburn. So I looked up the word for vinegar and asked if I could buy it somewhere in Karubaga. Luckily you can and it seems to have worked. My arms where I put the vinegar did not peel, only my nose and ears are peeling slightly now. I was trying to explain my problem with the sun to my companions who don’t really have to worry about that – “terlalu banyak matahari” (too much sun), “sekarang saya merah” (now I am red)…
When we got back it was time to cook again – another long process. It was fun helping with dinner. I played some of my music and had fun trying to find songs they knew. I also had some interesting conversations with Rahel. In Gileme they said they had to walk far for water, and I was trying to explain tippy taps – how people can still have good hygiene – washing hands and face, with small amounts of water. It was a little difficult but I showed them a picture when we returned to Wamena. She said now I understand and can show my village Tagime! Rahel seemed to understand the purpose and need for the MCH project. She had a great attitude and seemed motivated through the week, even when it got difficult.
It’s a really good thing I let go of the FGD’s going as planned before we came and instead was praying that it would be fruitful and we would get information, even if things went nothing like we had planned.
I woke up at 6 and Rahel was already in the kitchen cooking, so I joined her. With 1 burner and a full meal to cook (big breakfast, snacks, big dinner was our plan), it took a while. Full breakfast meant rice, vegetables, and eggs or chicken, all cooked in oil of course. I thought it would be much easier and faster to just wake up and eat a big bowl of oatmeal or cold cereal, but back in January someone told me – it’s not a meal without rice!
Here’s a little cooking lesson…
1.Cook the rice and chop the vegetables
2.Heat minyak goreng (frying oil) in a pan
3.Add chopped cabe, bawang putih, and bawang merah (hot peppers, garlic, and onions)
4.Add cut up carrots and potatoes
5.Add cut up beans and cauliflower
6.Add a packet of spices and salt and a little water
7.Cook until soft
8.Fry chicken or eggs
9.Eat with kecap manis or saus tomato (sweet soy sauce or ketchup)
So anyways, breakfast finished, they didn’t really know where the churches were so they asked after breakfast. If it were me at home – I’d have had all my directions together the night before so I wouldn’t show up late or get lost, and I'd probably not sleep worrying about getting lost and being late! …but at about 8:45 (we were supposed to start at 9!) we finally had everything together and left.
Our plan for the day was Aruku and Gileme – two of the farthest churches, so to get there meant taking an ojek and walking a lot. Might be the stupidest thing I have ever done to take an ojek, I prayed the whole time. It wasn’t all that scary, I just knew it was probably risky. Later I found out Rahel was thinking about safety though – we sometimes walked where we could have taken ojek’s because the roads were worse and Rahel was “takut” afraid – I think for me.
We got off at the top of the hill and walked down. First we passed Gileme, where Thoni and Rahel spoke with someone to let them know we were here. There weren’t many people around, and we found out someone in Gileme had died, and that means there was a “duka” – I really don’t know what all that entails – but is basically the mouring/funeral tradition and everyone goes. We also found out that like Kolenggar, they thought a doctor was coming and many people had showed up yesterday at our scheduled time.
Since Aruku is close to Gileme, we weren’t sure whether people would be there or at the duka. It is one of the farthest churches/villages in the cluster from the city and at the bottom of the hill/mountain we had come over. There was a school and a cluster of buildings. Outside the fence there were some women and children sitting around, no one specifically for our FGD. They were not as receptive as Kolenggar and were a little intense. However we went in the compound and sat down outside a honai where a grandmother was sitting. There were only a few mothers and some young women (unmarried), but we started anyways. It went ok, got “cukup” (enough) information, but not as good as the day before.
I looked over at one point to where Thoni and Otinus were supposed to be doing their FGD with the fathers, but I only saw Otinus sitting with a bunch of kids and teenage boys. No men or Thoni in sight. It turns out they didn’t trust us and thought we were there for political reasons. Maybe since we weren’t conducting the focus group at the actual church, but in the community, we didn’t have the same credibility as the day before even though we still explained the connection to the church. Thoni did get to interview one of the men though.
We didn’t stay long at Aruku, but trekked back up the hill to Gileme. In the compound just before the church we saw some women and children who waved and beckoned us. Rahel wanted to go up and do the FGD there since there were so few people around and probably wouldn’t be many at the church. But Thoni wanted to go straight on to the church. Apparently it was up to me, who is basically clueless about the culture and area! It was still early so I said we have time for both. I appreciated both of their opinions – Rahel’s understanding of what information we need and being flexible and open in how we get it, and Thoni’s understanding of the importance of our going through the churches.
We walked up the hill to the cluster of honai and sat down with some of the women. They were crushing some sort of nut or fruit and Rahel started helping them. They gave us some of the fruit/nuts as they took the shells off. I had no clue what they were. They answered “buah” (I thought this meant fruit) when I asked what they were; and when I asked whether they grow in the ground or on trees, they said trees. They looked like nuts though.
One of the woman brought out a bucket of sayur (greens) which we ate some of and then the women and children ate. During this time we had some informal discussion and I was able to ask a few questions – like how they cooked the vegetables, where they get their water, and about breastfeeding practices (several woman were breastfeeding). Questions that we don’t have time to ask in the FGD but are also important and I was curious about.
I also got to look in a honai here; it is surprisinly bigger than it looks on the outside with an "upstairs" for sleeping. Downstairs is the living area and where they do all the cooking. They do all the cooking on fires in the same honai where they sleep - not very good for health. I noted that in my head, but later on Rahel actually mentioned it to me and said it is different, better, in her village and Wamena. There are two separate honai or houses - sleeping and cooking is separate.
Once there was a small group of mothers and children, we got started. Shortly after, about 5-10 men came from the fields, so Thoni went over to start with them. The men often didn’t understand or seem to care about the health of women and children and this was a little discouraging for Thoni. I kept telling him that even a little information is important and maybe even more important is keeping the men occupied so we can really hear the mothers information and knowledge. From my limited experience in the discussions about HBC in February, when the men were around the women didn’t talk much. However with just the women (same women both times) they had lots to share.
Leaving the compound, we headed back to the church, however no one was there at all this time. So we kept going. Behind the church was a path/road that would take us a different way back – past Kolenggar and into the city. We stopped for a snack at a beautiful spot. Sometimes in Wamena/Karubaga I can see the mountains and just want to be standing on top or hiking, enjoying the beauty. I said “Gunung-gunung indah sekali, tapi susah untuk projekt” (don’t know if my bahasa Indonesia is correct – but should be the mountains are very beautiful but difficult for the project).
The return walk was quite far and I got a lot of sun! I had put on sun screen at the beginning of the day but forgot to bring it to reapply. And I left my hat/visor in the US. Luckily I remembered my friend’s advice to use vinegar on a sunburn. So I looked up the word for vinegar and asked if I could buy it somewhere in Karubaga. Luckily you can and it seems to have worked. My arms where I put the vinegar did not peel, only my nose and ears are peeling slightly now. I was trying to explain my problem with the sun to my companions who don’t really have to worry about that – “terlalu banyak matahari” (too much sun), “sekarang saya merah” (now I am red)…
When we got back it was time to cook again – another long process. It was fun helping with dinner. I played some of my music and had fun trying to find songs they knew. I also had some interesting conversations with Rahel. In Gileme they said they had to walk far for water, and I was trying to explain tippy taps – how people can still have good hygiene – washing hands and face, with small amounts of water. It was a little difficult but I showed them a picture when we returned to Wamena. She said now I understand and can show my village Tagime! Rahel seemed to understand the purpose and need for the MCH project. She had a great attitude and seemed motivated through the week, even when it got difficult.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
The best laid plans...
As usual, after a visit to Tolikara I have much to say so will post in short chunks as I finish. And the pictures will slowly be uploading - though that often takes a while! This visit to Tolikara was to do focus group discussions with the churches about the health of mothers and children to do some assessment for the MCH project. I went with Rahel, Thoni, and Otinus - so no English translation all week!
Overall it went well. My prayer before leaving was not that our plans would work out, but that whatever happened, we would get good information and have good interactions with the churches. And it was good I did not pray for the plans to suceed, because as you can tell by the title...things did not quite go according to plan. But God did answer my prayer and we had many good interactions and got a lot of information.
FGD Day 1:
Our planned departure for Tolikara for the focus groups was Monday, however we did not leave Monday. Due to something or other, a road block half way, taxi’s weren’t leaving. All morning it was …maybe this afternoon, maybe tomorrow, we hope… But the next day (Tuesday morning), we were able to get a taxi that was loaded with people in the bed of the truck. Every time we go, it seems the road gets a little bumpier! Part way up we stopped at the “rest area”. It is a turn in the road by the river about half way to Karubaga and it seems the taxi’s all stop here.
Monday I made sure that Rahel or Thoni had communicated with the church since we wouldn’t make it for our scheduled visits. I couldn’t quite get whether they had made plans to change the schedule or if we would just skip the ones we missed and pick up with the original schedule. It turns out their plan was to follow the schedule, just a day later. I was a little hesitant, and if I had made the decision, would have just skipped the ones we missed and picked up with wherever we were on the schedule. I figured they communicated with whoever they spoke with about what we do though. It turns out – it really didn’t matter what we did – it was craziness any which way!
When we arrived Thoni took my surat jalan to the police station, but it took a while there. I thought that our new schedule was communicated with the church and we were running late. In my head I am thinking how awfully irresponsible it is to show up late to run your focus group, but was trying to remember where I was. And it didn’t turn out to be a problem.
When Thoni got back we walked with Pak Liwat, one of the church leaders, to Kolenggar Church, about a 20-30 min walk, one of our “in/near the city” churches. It was a beautiful walk and nice to see more than just the center of Karubaga. At a bend in the road Thoni said this is Kolenggar, but I didn’t see any buildings or people, just a gate. We climbed over, and up into a cluster of honai (traditional houses). At the top of the hill was a stony open area, and this was the church and where we had our first focus group discussion (FGD).
I had been worried about no one coming with the changed schedule, and being late…but I shouldn’t have worried about any of that. We sat down with Pak Liwat, and a grandmother brought us a big bowl of food. I felt bad about eating in front of the people and especially the children, but luckily the others just passed their bowls onto the children so I guess that was ok. There were a few people around and lots of kids, but then someone called/whistled/hollered – not quite sure how to describe the noise! And people started coming from every direction.
We had asked for about 15 mothers and 15 fathers, but when we started there were at least 30 mothers, probably the same number of fathers, and tons of children. And more continued to come. I would guess probably about 45 mothers by the end. This made for a difficult FGD! But Rahel, Thoni, and Otinus took it in stride. There were a few mothers who dominated the talking, but quite a few had input and many would nod in agreement.
Before and after they smiled, shook my hand, and said “Wa, Wa, Wa...” – a greeting and thank you and more in bahasa Lani. One older women sitting next to me kept showing me her skin that was dry and peeling, and there was another mother with a sick child nearby. I knew it would be hard coming and not doing anything medical/tangible, but it was even harder than I thought. At least at the end, we prayed with them and I hope soon we can implement the MCH projects and maybe still find a good way to do a clinic with the church.
Afterwards Rahel said they had misunderstood or there had been a miscommunication and they thought a doctor was coming. It just broke my heart! But after Thoni and Rahel explained our purpose, they weren’t upset that we didn’t have a doctor. When we left they followed us partway up the road singing, that brought me nearly to tears. There is a tradition involving bracelets here and over the weekend retreat we gave bracelets to bless and encourage each other. One of the girls walking back with us saw my bracelet and gave me hers, and then another did. I had to say sorry I only have one to give, but they said no problem. From that one bracelet blessing at the retreat, it opened a door to relate to some of the young girls. My blessing multiplied and I was encouraged.
When we arrived back at the church office where we stay, it was dinnertime. This first night we went out to eat at one of the little restaurants. There were some pastors at the office and Rahel was worried they expected us to cook and we didn’t have enough for that many people every meal.
I was worried about language being a problem, and though frustrating at times, it wasn’t bad. We were even able to joke around. When we got back from dinner we heard mice in the room. Rahel and I thought they were in the snack box, so Otinus was looking in the box. He jumped back to scare us – he got me:) They weren’t in the box, but in the walls, scurrying around. There was a whole in the ceiling where they could come out, so Otinus closed the mouse door by taping up the hole.
Overall it went well. My prayer before leaving was not that our plans would work out, but that whatever happened, we would get good information and have good interactions with the churches. And it was good I did not pray for the plans to suceed, because as you can tell by the title...things did not quite go according to plan. But God did answer my prayer and we had many good interactions and got a lot of information.
FGD Day 1:
Our planned departure for Tolikara for the focus groups was Monday, however we did not leave Monday. Due to something or other, a road block half way, taxi’s weren’t leaving. All morning it was …maybe this afternoon, maybe tomorrow, we hope… But the next day (Tuesday morning), we were able to get a taxi that was loaded with people in the bed of the truck. Every time we go, it seems the road gets a little bumpier! Part way up we stopped at the “rest area”. It is a turn in the road by the river about half way to Karubaga and it seems the taxi’s all stop here.
Monday I made sure that Rahel or Thoni had communicated with the church since we wouldn’t make it for our scheduled visits. I couldn’t quite get whether they had made plans to change the schedule or if we would just skip the ones we missed and pick up with the original schedule. It turns out their plan was to follow the schedule, just a day later. I was a little hesitant, and if I had made the decision, would have just skipped the ones we missed and picked up with wherever we were on the schedule. I figured they communicated with whoever they spoke with about what we do though. It turns out – it really didn’t matter what we did – it was craziness any which way!
When we arrived Thoni took my surat jalan to the police station, but it took a while there. I thought that our new schedule was communicated with the church and we were running late. In my head I am thinking how awfully irresponsible it is to show up late to run your focus group, but was trying to remember where I was. And it didn’t turn out to be a problem.
When Thoni got back we walked with Pak Liwat, one of the church leaders, to Kolenggar Church, about a 20-30 min walk, one of our “in/near the city” churches. It was a beautiful walk and nice to see more than just the center of Karubaga. At a bend in the road Thoni said this is Kolenggar, but I didn’t see any buildings or people, just a gate. We climbed over, and up into a cluster of honai (traditional houses). At the top of the hill was a stony open area, and this was the church and where we had our first focus group discussion (FGD).
I had been worried about no one coming with the changed schedule, and being late…but I shouldn’t have worried about any of that. We sat down with Pak Liwat, and a grandmother brought us a big bowl of food. I felt bad about eating in front of the people and especially the children, but luckily the others just passed their bowls onto the children so I guess that was ok. There were a few people around and lots of kids, but then someone called/whistled/hollered – not quite sure how to describe the noise! And people started coming from every direction.
We had asked for about 15 mothers and 15 fathers, but when we started there were at least 30 mothers, probably the same number of fathers, and tons of children. And more continued to come. I would guess probably about 45 mothers by the end. This made for a difficult FGD! But Rahel, Thoni, and Otinus took it in stride. There were a few mothers who dominated the talking, but quite a few had input and many would nod in agreement.
Before and after they smiled, shook my hand, and said “Wa, Wa, Wa...” – a greeting and thank you and more in bahasa Lani. One older women sitting next to me kept showing me her skin that was dry and peeling, and there was another mother with a sick child nearby. I knew it would be hard coming and not doing anything medical/tangible, but it was even harder than I thought. At least at the end, we prayed with them and I hope soon we can implement the MCH projects and maybe still find a good way to do a clinic with the church.
Afterwards Rahel said they had misunderstood or there had been a miscommunication and they thought a doctor was coming. It just broke my heart! But after Thoni and Rahel explained our purpose, they weren’t upset that we didn’t have a doctor. When we left they followed us partway up the road singing, that brought me nearly to tears. There is a tradition involving bracelets here and over the weekend retreat we gave bracelets to bless and encourage each other. One of the girls walking back with us saw my bracelet and gave me hers, and then another did. I had to say sorry I only have one to give, but they said no problem. From that one bracelet blessing at the retreat, it opened a door to relate to some of the young girls. My blessing multiplied and I was encouraged.
When we arrived back at the church office where we stay, it was dinnertime. This first night we went out to eat at one of the little restaurants. There were some pastors at the office and Rahel was worried they expected us to cook and we didn’t have enough for that many people every meal.
I was worried about language being a problem, and though frustrating at times, it wasn’t bad. We were even able to joke around. When we got back from dinner we heard mice in the room. Rahel and I thought they were in the snack box, so Otinus was looking in the box. He jumped back to scare us – he got me:) They weren’t in the box, but in the walls, scurrying around. There was a whole in the ceiling where they could come out, so Otinus closed the mouse door by taping up the hole.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Weekend Ladies Retreat
I didn’t know if I would have time to post again before I leave – but I just briefly wanted to say a few things about the weekend. The retreat time was great. It felt like I was somewhere completely different and not here in Wamena. Materially it was such a blessing – to eat good homemade Western food (pizza, breads, pasta…), take a hot shower, and sleep on a real mattress. I met and almost got jumped on in my sleep by a baby tree kangaroo. It is super cute – was rescued by one of the pilots I think and the girl who is staying at the house retreat house is taking care of it while the family is gone.
It was also a good time spiritually and relationally. It was such a blessing to get a glimpse into the lives of the missionaries. To hear some of their experiences here. I felt less alone in some of my experiences. I enjoyed getting to hear some of their stories and just get to know them better. I was the youngest one there and that has been nice to just glean the wisdom of all their years of experience. It was also encouraging to see their real struggles and their real love for the people. I was also able to speak lots of English and just be able to share spiritually through worship, Bible study discussion, and prayer.
Same prayer request for next week with going to Tolikara!
It was also a good time spiritually and relationally. It was such a blessing to get a glimpse into the lives of the missionaries. To hear some of their experiences here. I felt less alone in some of my experiences. I enjoyed getting to hear some of their stories and just get to know them better. I was the youngest one there and that has been nice to just glean the wisdom of all their years of experience. It was also encouraging to see their real struggles and their real love for the people. I was also able to speak lots of English and just be able to share spiritually through worship, Bible study discussion, and prayer.
Same prayer request for next week with going to Tolikara!
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