The visitation team on their last day in Sydney, Australia riding the ferry through Sydney Harbor to Manly.  From left to right, Gary Teske, Dan Lilienkamp, Eli Truhe, Amy Truhe, Grace Vannoy, Emily Greble and Noah Hornbeck.  Alex Lang is missing from the picture.

It is Sunday back in the states and I think that everyone who was on the trip to PNG is home by now.  Unfortunately, Amy and Eli Truhe who were flying into Wichita by way of the Twin Cities got stranded for a night in Minnesota when their flight into Wichita was cancelled.  I am battling some serious jet lag as I suspect is the case with the rest of the group.  For some reason, it seems that jet lag hits me harder coming east than going west.  I'm not sure why.  I am also still feeling sort of an afterglow from the trip.  Everyone on the visitation team participated so well and with so much heart and each in their own way.  Dan and Alex battled the difficulties of the poor internet situation and kept working to help the circuit communicators get more comfortable with their computers.  And, perhaps more importantly, they used the time to build stronger and deeper ties to the Papua New Guinean communicators who they had first met in 2014.  Eli and Noah kept breaking the ice with the youth by pulling out their frisbees and introducing the young people to those flying discs.  Emily and Grace cuddled every little kid they could get their hands on and found a new friend in Natasha, the daughter of the local doctor.  They, together with Amy also joined wholeheartedly in donning some "bilas" (body decorations) and dancing with about 100 women from the Kotte District who were gathering for their biannual "bung" (meeting).  I just enjoyed seeing a lot of dear old friends from Finschhafen, and seeing more friendships established and cultivated by everyone there. We came back with plans for the future.  We would like to find a confirmation class or two who would like to become pen-pals with a confirmation class in Papua New Guinea.  We are also planning to bring youth from PNG to our Synod next summer.  For some reason, I think I was more aware than in the past of just how long and hard it is to get to our CoSyn Christians in Finschhafen.  20+ hours of flying followed by 3-4 hours in a speedboat and another hour on a very bumpy road.  Just to survive the trip is an accomplishment.  However, the intensity of the relationships that we encounter there, the warmth of the hospitality and the appreciation on the part of our hosts for our willingness to make the journey just to spend time with them is very moving and I think that I can speak for everyone in saying that it certainly makes it all worth while.  We thank God for safe travel, good health and for encountering our risen Lord in remarkable ways in the land of Papua New Guinea.  Gary.   

The full moon setting over the ocean as seen from the house where Amy,  Emily and Grace were staying on our last night in Finschhafen. 

Dan and the circuit communicators working on gaining proficiency with their laptops.

I am writing this blog from the Lutheran guest house at ELCPNG headquarters in Lae. I thought it somehow fitting that our last night in Finschhafen should feature a full moon reflecting off a beautiful ocean on a still clear night.   Somehow that event seemed to express the moment quite well.  We were all sort of glowing with all of the fullness and delight of the past week,  a bit like that moon.   And yet,  the evening of our stay had arrived and our time with our Kotte CoSyns was essentially over.   The final day in Finschhafen had ended with a big meal with our hosts, speeches and the exchange of presents.  We just can't get used to the generosity and warmth of our PNG CoSyns.   Dan and Alex put in many hours wrestling with the inadequacies of the Internet signal for the sake of helping the circuit communicators uncover more of the secrets of their computers.   However,  they will tell you that the most rewarding part of their week was not the progress of the communicators with the computers,  but rather the growth in the relationships.  They became very close over the course of the week.  We caught the speedboat out of Finschhafen this morning and arrived in Lae about 12:30.  The first half of the ride was rough and rainy  while the second half was much sunnier and the seas quite calm.   Not a bad trip for a 15 foot speedboat.   We are spending tonight in Lae and leave for Sydney early tomorrow morning  (Wednesday).  We will spend a couple of days checking out Sydney,  and then fly out for the USA on Saturday.   We enjoyed a great meal and electricity at the guest house this evening.   We look forward to a hot shower and a good Internet connection tomorrow in Sydney.   Ando then, we look forward to getting back home to our loved ones even as we leave different loved ones behind in PNG.  God has been and continues to be good.   Gary
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Girls Gone Wild, oops, I mean, gone native.

It is Sunday, June 19 and our day began with the opening worship for the Bi-annual Kotte District Women's Convention.  Amy, Emily and Grace were recruited by the local ladies to join in the colorful procession which marked the beginning of  the worship service.  Decked out in colorful flowers, skirts and dresses, they were given a crash courses in  Kotte dance, and joined what had to be well over 100 women representing the 8 circuits of the Kotte District as they sang and danced their way down the road and into the church.  The procession was noisy, joyous, colorful and energetic and the three female members of the visitation team joined in vigorously.  This too is accompaniment.  Not just walking side by side, but dancing and singing side by side with our CoSyn Christians from PNG.
There was a worship service which us men were allowed to attend, and then we were dismissed  while the women carried on with their meeting.  District President Kelly Rabisang preached a good sermon based on the lost sheep and challenged the congregation to not just focus on the 99, but to follow the example of Jesus and reach out to the lost.  It was another beautiful sunny day and as a backdrop to all of the activities, we had the beautiful Solomon Sea stretching out from the coast just below the station for as far as the eye can see.  One downside to the lack of rain is that the little stream that runs the station mini-hydro power generating station has slowed to the point that we only have power for a few hours after dark.  However, we are doing fine with flashlights although it will be a  treat to get back to a setting where there is hot water for showers, reliable electricity and a decent internet signal.  The bigger down side to that will be that we will no longer be here with these beautiful people in this beautiful land of Finschhafen.

This afternoon we had a meeting with the district council and they expressed again how much our coming has meant to them.  They talked about how they appreciated us not just staying in Heldsbach, but getting out to some of the villages.  I am hesitant to try and relate what they said because it really requires some interpretation of their sentiments.  I think they were saying that quite apart from any practical benefits they might gain (money or things), they appreciate our wholehearted desire to be their partners and friends.  I think our coming is very affirming for them and makes them feel loved, appreciated and respected.  I am not sure if I got that right, but I think that is close to it, or at least a part of it.  I know that our group has developed a deep fondness for our  partners here, both as a people as well as for numerous individuals who members of the group have met and with whom we have developed good friendships.  I have a weak, slow internet to work with here, so I better wrap  it up here as I don't know how long it will take to upload.  God has richly blessed us through our time with our CoSyn Christians here and we pray we have been a blessing to them as well.  More later.  Gary

Our visitation team with some of our CoSyn Christian hosts at Kumowa, just before  departing for the trek back  down into the valley, across the steam and up the other side for the return to the main district headquarters at Heldsbach.  Eli and Noah are sporting one of the beautifully carved kindu drums given to our group while Grace shows us her pretty red boots that were quickly covered with mud, and then filled with water while crossing the stream. 

The house provided for us at Kumowa village for our overnight visit.  It was built in just 3 days, and built so that we would have a new house to sleep in.

Amy Truhe experiencing "Accompaniment Incarnate" as she is escorted up the trail from our visit to Kumowa by members of the village where we spent the night.  

It has been a couple of days since I updated the blog.  This is mainly because we spent nearly all day Tuesday hiking down a very steep, muddy, slick trail and then back up the other side of a river valley on a similarly steep, muddy, slick trail to spend a day at a village named Kumowa.  As one of our group put it, "it was the hardest thing she had ever done, but it was worth it."  We spent the afternoon visiting and recovering from the hike while the youth introduced our Companion Synod (CoSyn) Christians to a frisbee.   In the evening we gathered for worship and our youth participated by presenting a drama based on Ephesians 6.  Afterwards, we gathered with as many of the Cosyns as could fit into the veranda of the house where we were staying, primarily consisting of youth and children, and singing songs to one another and playing games.  It was a delightful, almost magical evening with lots of laughter and celebration of our relationship.

The night was spent under our mosquito nets, sleeping on a floor with a thin mat on it, and the next morning we set off on the return walk to the road where we were picked up by a truck for the return to Heldsbach, the district headquarters.  Miraculously, although the rainy season had begun, we had no  rain overnight and the trail was a little less muddy than when we had come.  After an hour to clean up at our accommodations in Heldsbach, we set off on a 3 hour ride in a truck with little to no suspension on a very bumpy  road to visit a congregation on the northeast coast of  the Huon Peninsula named "Nanda."  We received a warm welcome and shared a meal and worship with your hosts before climbing back on the truck for  the tailbone punishing ride back.  By the time we got back, the  previous 48 hours had taken their toll and everyone was ready for a shower (only cold water but at that point, nobody cared) and to bed early.  Thursday will be an easier day as the youth meet some of the youth leaders of the district in the afternoon, and catch up on rest in the morning.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that during those two  days, Daniel and Alex were working with the district communicators on improving their facility with the computers we delivered to them in 2014.  They have been doing a lot  of individualized work with these communicators who had learned the basics during the visit in 2014.

One of our group asked the question, "why would they extend such incredible hospitality to us?"  I think that there are several answers,  not all of them altruistic.  However, I believe that one important reason is that they experience our visit as "Gospel." or as they would  say it here, "good news."  You can share the good news in many ways.  It can be done through preaching, teaching, music, drama, and in  so many other ways.  However, I also believe it can be shared just be being present.  To have people come from a great distance  to be with you not because they want something from you, nor to sell anything to you, but just because we share a faith in a common Lord Jesus Christ, and because we care for one another is experienced a Gospel, Good News, love.

More pictures and stories to come.  God's Grace and Guidance be with us all.  Gary Teske

Members of the Visitation Team having refreshments and conversation with the newly elected presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea, Rev. Jack Urame.

Sunday, June 12.  It rained last night and was still damp and dreary as we headed for the church located on the grounds of  the headquarters of the ELCPNG.  You may recall the we arrived mid morning on Saturday, the 11th and spent last night in the guest house at the headquarters of the ELCPNG in Lae.  We have one more night in Lae before boarding a speedboat (as the people here refer to them) for the final leg of the trip to Finschhafen.  It started out dreary and damp and our first impressions we got as we entered the church were not positive.  We and the musician were the only ones there.   Worship was scheduled to begin at 8:30 am, and when the time to start arrived, there were still only about a dozen of us in the church including the pastor.  I thought to myself, "this is going to be bad."  We began with some pre-service music and I became aware of a few more people slipping into the pews.  The service began, we sang the opening hymn and heard the lessons read and I slowly became aware that the church was filling up.  The singing got stronger as more voices joined in, and by the time it ended, there was a sizable congregation of people.  Even the leaders of the church operate on "New Guinea Time," meaning things like start times and schedules are much more flexible and tend to conform to things like rainy mornings and cloudy weather.  It was a good reminder that neither God, nor the faithful Christians in this part of the world are obsessive about punctuality.

Our team was asked to step forward and introduce ourselves.  Then, after the service, we were invited to a time of fellowship in their Sunday School building near the church.  As we began to leave, we discovered that the newly elected Presiding Bishop of the ELC-PNG had been at worship and stayed for the fellowship hour.  He was very approachable and visited extensively with me and others in the group.  I thought the most impressive moment of the morning was when I turned around from visiting with one of the worshippers and found the Bishop sitting at a table,  surrounded by the youth from our Central States Synod having an animated and lengthy visit with them (see the picture above).   I had hoped we might be able to stop by his office sometime and possibly shake his hand.  I had no idea we would be able to have the kind of quality time of fellowship with him that developed after worship this morning.  

I marvel at how often this happens, especially on a Companion Synod visitation.   The beginning of the day or event is slow and unimpressive and one thinks that this is going nowhere.  But then, things - unexpected things begin to happen, things that were not planned nor anticipated but are far better than what one might have planned or expected.  And in the end, it is a time filled with blessings.

Oh  yes, and the worship and sermon were good too.   One thing that struck me was that the Pastor and every one of the worship leaders addressed the congregation with this greeting.  "Good Morning Church."  I like it.  He named the congregation for what it is, and did so emphatically.   The people gathered for worship are not just a collection of folks who showed up for worship that morning.  That group of people,  ourselves included are "the church" and we should never forget that.

So, after a day filled with touching moments and unexpected blessings, we prepare to get a little sleep before catching a small boat for a long trip to be with our Cosyns in Christ, the people of the Kotte District of the ELCPNG.  And so I say to you, the followers of Jesus.  "Good night Church."  Gary.

After landing in Lae, the group had to hit a roadside market and sample "koolows" (spelling ), which is the milk of the coconut that is not yetripe.   Emily is really getting into it. 

The little jet toucheddown in Lae about 10:30 Saturday morning ending the final flight of the team on their trip to Papua new Guinea.   We have 2 nights in Lae at the Lutheran guest house near the headquarters of the ELC-PNG, and then we push on to Finschhafen by boat.   Unfortunately, we learned that the large Ferry Boat that we had planned to take recently blew an engine,  so we will be making the trip in a 15 ft long speedboat.   That can be a punishing trip in the small boat,  especially if the seas are high and/or it is raining.   The trip has gone phenomenally well up to this point (knock on wood ) and we just keep praying that God will continue to smile on us for another couple of weeks.   I think it really works well to stop over in Australia on the way in.  The team has to adjust to a lot that is new there, but there is still much that is familiar.   It seems to me that it helps us transition out of our comfort zone and helps us come to regard that which is "new" and " other " as something fascinating and unique; something to be explored and appreciated,  not feared.  After a trip to the local food store for supplies,  everyone is resting or napping,  or like me,  updating the blog.  I think it is time for this blogger to grab a nap as well.   More later.   Gary

Amy, Dan, Grace and Eli collecting their luggage in Brisbane following the 14 hour flight from LA. 

The entire visitation team modeling some of the "Meri skirts and blouses " made by Mary Kern of Christ and Trinity Lutheran Church in Sedalia,  the home congregation of Emily Greble.  After 30 solid hours of travel,  everyone was a little slap-happy.  Even the guys got in on the fashion show.   

After 30 plus hours of either sitting in an airplane or an airport,  the visitation team of Dan Lilienkamp and Noah Hornbeck of St. Louis,  Emily Greble of Sedalia,  Grace Vannoy and Alex Lang of KC, Gary Teske of Topeka,  and Amy and Eli Truhe of Salina landed in Cairns, Australia.   The trip went well and everyone managed to get some sleep en route from LA to Brisbane,  no small feat crammed into economy class seating.   The group suffered through another 2 hours in the air and disembarked at Cairns, extremely thankful that they wouldn't have to board a plane for 2 days.   After dropping off their gear at the rustic Floriana Guest house,  they explored the waterfront of Cairns and ate lunch at a little Indonesian cafe down the street from the guest house.   Everyone was a little squirrelly from lack of sleep and jet lag and the youngest five had a great time cutting up in the oceanside parks and in the little pool behind the guest house.   Dan and Amy joined them in the pool.   The weather here is beautiful and everyone is looking forward to eating supper, sleeping in a bed tonight and taking a day trip out to the great Barrier reef tomorrow before heading on to PNG.   While I doubt that anyone would describe the trip thus far as "fun", I believe everyone would agree that it has been enjoyable in its own unique way.   There is good chemistry among the team and a great spirit of participation and expectation that bodes well for the rest of the visitation.   And so we go forth in peace to love and serve God and God's people.   Thanks be to God.   (Post by Gary Teske )

It is 10:30 pm LA time.   Gary,  Grace and Alex all arrived from KC about 4:30 and Amy and Eli Truhe rolled in about 7:30.  We have gathered at gate 150 in the Tom Bradley International Departure Terminal where we are awaiting Dan, Noah and Emily who have landed but not yet made it from the domestic terminal to our departure gate.   Actually,  they walked in while I was writing this blog.   So, we have all made it this far and will be boarding the flight for Brisbane, Australia in a few minutes.   More to come after we get to Cairns.