"In PNG, Plan A rarely happens" - the Director

A Sequel to, Stressed Out!

Two weeks ago, I sat down with my coach and the Director of Support Services from Papua New Guinea. We were hoping to pin down some details about the trip, like when it was going to be.
The complication in pinning that down was that the Branch needed to figure out where it was acceptable to send an unmarried man and woman into the jungle to get some village living without there being a scandal!
"It's a shame," said the Director, "that you're coming before you get married. It'd be so much easier if it were after."
"Right," I said, "but PBT won't let us leave the country for a year after we get married."
"That's not the rule!" she exclaimed. "You can't ALLOCATE for a year after you get married."
(Here's the difference: an exploratory trip is a visit. Allocating is a move. i.e "We can take an exploratory trip to your mother's house, but we are NOT allocating there!" short-term vs long-term)
And suddenly like a tornado of beautiful lights and colors and sounds, I saw the wedding invitations I still had to finish and TIME to do so. I saw the apartment my husband and I would live in and TIME to set it up. I saw the 30% of the funds needed for this trip and TIME to raise it. I saw my wedding in May and TIME to enjoy it. I saw a glimpse of dealing with reverse culture shock 2 weeks before my wedding and it vanished!

Now let me tell you the other ways in which this plan is beautiful and clearly from the Lord.
When we came to this meeting, no one had even considered pushing this trip back. It was prayed at the beginning that we would let the Spirit fill us in this conversation and it appears that He did.
My coach has seen my trip get pushed back a number of times, as you my supporters have, and he knows I DO NOT handle it well. So he took a deep breath before he suggested pushing it back and braced himself for me to bite off his head.
But I didn't. For the first time ever, I was filled with peace instead of turmoil at the suggestion. The whole drive from VA to TX I was thinking about how foolish this trip was, packed so closely to my wedding, but I believed that it was now or a year from May. And I didn't want to wait that long, but it was going to be so stressful to go now...
So the Lord had been working on my heart to accept this suggestion, and that had my coach pretty much convinced that this must from God.

So we decided to part until the next week and see what praying about the idea brought us to. And upon reconvening everyone was more sure than ever that this was a good plan.
(Although the Director of the Branch proposed that if it pushed back allocating why not just skip the exploratory trip and wait to allocate. But I nipped off that idea right there!)

So the new plan is to go for a 60 day period sometime between Aug and Nov. When the Director figures out which village living scenario would be best for the non-scandalous married couple, those dates will be pinned down.

Peace has filled my fiance and me.
Jacob's found a job, I'm looking for an apartment.
And peace abides.

Stressed out!

This blog is not a misnomer.
I am stressed!

There are a number of things that I need to remain a healthy happy human being that other people would not rather stab their eye out than be around.
That is:
8 hours of sleep a night (min)
A nap at some point (for best results mid-day)
A shower and a cup of coffee first thing in the morning
Elizabeth time
a relatively clean working space
a sense of productivity

The things I have in my life right now:
Coffee.
At some point in the day, a shower.
Sometimes, Elizabeth time.

And when we add my lack of important thing I need to the other things in my life, namely:
I have $3000 of $10,000 I need by Jan. (One month from now)
My wedding in May
My apartment that I will need to live in with my new husband, which I don't have.
The project I'm supposed to be working on for Papua New Guinea that I haven't had the time to touch in months due to the raising of supporters and the wedding planning.

So my schedule is: Feb-Apr go to PNG, Apr- drive to VA for Bridal shower, drive to tx to get and set up apartment, May 1st- drive to VA to finish wedding stuff, May 19th - get married, May 22nd drive to apartment in TX,June 9th - Dallas wedding reception. Busy, huh?

So I've been trying to do those things that help me relieve stress: being artsy.
Presently I'm knitting earwarmers and there's a piece of furniture that I found for free on the back porch of the House of Awesome that I'm in the process of refurbishing. And i'm trying very hard to finish one of these before I start on another project. Artsy is addicting.
And when I'm working on these things: I feel AWESOME!
And when I stop working on these things: I feel poopy!
Because these things have done nothing to cure the things that are stressing me out! They've just taken me to my happy place for a while. (Fun Fact: Elizabeth's happy place is I-264 in Hampton Roads)

But coming news, coming changes, might bring my to-do list to a manageable level and wipe my stress away!
Thank God, the Opener of Unnoticed Doors!
Stay tuned!

(Also, pray for me)


This is my bedroom (aka: the couch in the living room)

Excuse me, Do you know where I could find Waldo?

My name is Elizabeth Vahey. And I am a missionary.
Presently, my job is to find people to pay my salary and work expenses. And they're not easy to find. Think "Where's Waldo?" but instead of just looking for a striped shirt, you have to sit and dialogue with every person on the page, first to see if they are Waldo, then to see if they know where (another) waldo is. This is a full-time job! Best part? It's only half of my job! A full-time job that's half of my actual job and that I hate.
It is not fun asking people you know for money! You don't want to make them feel awkward. And if they DO feel awkward, then you will feel awkward too. And it's not easy asking people you don't know for money, because they don't even care enough about you to listen to you! And this is all understandable... but it just makes my job a little more than stressful.
But I have to preserve through this part, because the other part is coming.
The part where I go to Papua New Guinea. The part where I live life with the nationals. Incarnational ministry as Jesus demonstrated for us. The part where I sit with them in the morning and evening, studying the Word of God, turning it into their language, showing them that Jesus is bigger than their ancestors spirits, that Jesus is bigger than the Sanguma man who casts spells on people, that they can be free!
I get to live my life in constant adventure as I do frontline work for the Kingdom of Heaven.
And the stress of partnership development will not deter me from that!

Thank you, to all the Waldo's I've found and to all those who have led me to a Waldo. Thank you for seeing the world with Kingdom vision. Thank you for making sacrifices in you life for the sake of the lost in Papua New Guinea. Thank you for seeing that this is an issue of salvation. Thank you for putting the opportunity for salvation of generations above small comforts in your own life. I know that it's a sacrifice. I myself live that sacrifice. I understand. And thank you.

The Story

Foreword:
Jacob and I had committed to getting married before the ring, so I expected him to just give me the ring when it came. The whole idea behind a proposal is you propose the idea of being married to your significant other. Which Jacob and I had already done. So really the only part missing was the ring. Give me that and I'm fine. No need for a big hullabaloo!
"But there has to be a story! People are going to ask what the story is!!! You can't just say, 'Oh, he just gave it to me'!"
(Jacob hasn't come to see yet how I can make the arrival of UPS a thrilling tale indeed (especially when the USPS comes first bearing false hope and devastation))
But he insisted. So now, my dear friends, I have for you a story.

Chapter One:
Errands in the morning, class, immediately followed by a lunch meeting. I was ready for nap time. But this was Date Night and we had plans to go to the Botanical Gardens. So walking back to the House of Awesome, where I live, (no really, that's what they call it and what it is known as), I asked when we'd be leaving. "I think we'll go to the Gardens after dinner..." he said.
After dinner? Who goes to the Botantical Gardens after dinner? Well I guess the sun doesn't set til 8 ish... ok... Score! Nap time!
"Well, then I guess we should go our separate ways for now?" I asked. We exchanged our goodbyes and went home.

Chapter Two:
At 3:30, I was awoken from my nap by the light buzzing of my cell phone. "The Botanical Gardens closes at 5. We need to go now if we want to make it"
"OK" I groggily typed.
After waking up a bit more fully, I realized we wouldn't even have an hour at the Gardens, so I suggested to Jacob we save our tickets for another day, because we might not see everything we want to see in such a short time. Jacob replied, "If there's something you don't get a chance to see, I'll take you back."
It was a nice firm, don't-argue-with-me answer. I like such answers. Firm. I reward firm answers with not arguing (...sometimes).
In the car and on our way, we find that crazy thing that happens happening to us. You're on a four lane interstate where the speed limit is 70 and there's no construction or accidents and yet EVERYONE is STOPPED!
Jacob's frustrated because we are totally NOT getting there in time and I'm frustrated because we're in rush hour traffic and Jacob's not an assertive driver (some call it aggressive, I call it assertive!) which, in Dallas, is a requirement for driving. They even test for it when distributing licenses! (not really. that was an exaggeration.)
But the chapter ends with much frustration.

Chapter Three:
So instead of the Gardens, we decide to go the nice little Italian restaurant Jacob found on the internet. (If red flags aren't going up, they should be). Lover's Pizza and Pasta on Lovers Ln. The picture in my head is a place with ambient lighting, reds and purples for decor, a portrait of Lady and the Tramp eating spaghetti on the wall. Not the dingy dirty little joint we found ourselves in. I, however, was having a delightful time as I composed the article I would've written on this place should I have been a restaurant critic instead of a Bible Translator.
After dinner, we found a place to hang out and play cards, where we stayed for two hours.
We tried to find something else to do but eventually gave up and went back to the House of Awesome to watch an episode of Fringe (a TV series I highly recommend).

Chapter Four:
After an episode, I asked Jacob if he'd like to watch another, or go home as it was getting a little late.
"Walk me outside," he replied.
And when we found ourselves on the doorstep, Jacob pulled a red, leather-bound book with gold filigree from his bag. The cover read Our Story Begins. Down on one knee, he opened the hollowed out book to reveal my diamond ring.
I said yes!

So date night last week was a trip to the zoo on half-price day! Total win!
And one of our first stops was the reptile house, air-conditioned as we waited for the heat of the day to pass before venturing out in the Savannah exhibit.
Now, I'm very much a Where's-Waldo reptile house guest. Some people like to read the descriptions and such. Not me. The only time that I'll read a description is if the creature is so odd looking an explanation is necessary.
Well we reached this one snake, in clear view, lazily draped over the limb of an assortment of branches in a wide circle. A brilliant green. It was so pretty, and bold, not hiding in a corner,that I found my eyes wandering to the description. Both Jacob and I read it at the same time and instinctively jumped back from the snake.
Important for training in PBT is taking the required classes but just as important, if not more so is listening to the stories of seasoned missionaries and learning from them. And we had both listened to enough stories to have it ingrained in us that when you see this snake you need to reverse in haste. The Green Mamba!!!!
Of course, after that initial instinctive retreat we approached the glass in defiance and "bravery".
Also, on our travels through the reptile house we met the Black Mamba, and the Death Adder.
The Mamba's are intensely venomous snakes from Africa, while the Death Adder is affectionately called the 5-step Killer in the jungles of Papua New Guinea. And regretfully, these snakes ARE NOT more afraid of you than you are of them. They will hunt you down and nibble on your toes. Then you may take 5 more steps and that is all.
This bloke right here is the Death Adder. He's just angry looking...

It's Not a Cult! ...I think ...pretty sure...

Names say a lot about a place. And sometimes, at first glance, they might scream "cult!"
Example? The Village.
Creepy...
But really, Jacob and I were getting desperate. We had gone to a fair handful of churches in the area and had met churches that didn't want to use the Bible because some people listening may not believe the Bible is the Inspired Word, and some churches whose manner of worship music sounded like noise to my... uncultured ears, and some churches that were on the farside of the Metroplex.
A nearby place with awesome music and Biblical-based preaching!
Is that too much to ask?

"Why, Forefront, did you spoil me so!?!?!?" -me
"By emulating a Biblical Church?" - Jacob
"Why, Forefront, Why!?!?!?" -me

So we went to The Village.
Yes, it sounds like a cult, but the normal sounding churches weren't what we were looking for. We were desperate.
We walked in and were told to scoot over to the center, that every seat was precious, that they often had to send people away for lack of room. The room sat about 300 (maybe?) and there were 5 services at that campus and 2 other campuses.
The service started by verbally giving us the order of the service and key announcements, before going into one worship song. Which was rocking.
Then the video service started and the pastor was animated and enthralling and used the Bible a lot. Which, as a Bible Translator, and a Christian, I appreciate. The sermon concluded, communion was passed which we all took at the same time, and the service was concluded with the rest of the worship set.
Rocking worship, Biblical based preaching, 20 minutes away. Win.

While in Dallas, I attend the Village Church. And it's not a cult! Well, at least, I haven't seen that side yet.

Internal Dialogue

9:00 am, a cup of Blue Mountain Coffee from PNG, and the day such a lovely temperature that every door in the house is flung wide open.
A delightfully calm and peaceful morning.
And here I am, unable to enjoy it, because someone seasoned my coffee with broken worry.


"Don't worry, the Bible says, rest your cares on the Lord," my Superego says to my Id.
"Listen, I didn't just pick up Worry because I thought she was pretty! She's growing on my like a fungus! I can't get rid of her!"
"You can do all things through Christ Jesus," Superego recites dutifully.
"I wish I could get someone to call me back about this PD trip! Even if they told me no, someone extending the courtesy of returning my calls would be so ...nice," Id laments.
"I wish I didn't have to raise money for this. I just had money. Or I was paid like a normal employee. Or anything!" Id continues.
"That's rather selfish. You get to go work to fulfill the Mission of God and you don't want to let others have their chance to contribute to the Mission? Not nice."
"They don't want to contribute to the mission!"
"Yes they do. They just don't know that they do. You have to tell them."
"And how can I tell them if they wont take my calls!"
Sensing that Id's emotional levels had risen to the brink of dangerous, Ego stepped forth.
"I'm going to go try to make some more phone calls. If at first you don't succeed!"
Ego picks up the phone.
"$10 that everyone she talks to blows her off."
"Gambling is a very irresponsible way to handle money," Superego sniffs disdainfully.


Needless to say, I'm a little stressed out. My heart longs to see Papua New Guinea again, and I have an opportunity in February, but I fear I won't have the funds to do it. The past ... many years of my life have been focused on this goal of going to PNG. And now that I've been to PNG, seen the love and hospitality of the people, seen the desperate desire for the Word of God in their own language, seen their proactive efforts that can, alas, only get them so far without a Translator, it makes not being there so much harder.

So, if you would, pray that sugar seasons my coffee instead, that people get back to me about this PD trip, and that God communicates to me somehow what He wants me to do, and that I can learn to hear.