Taking a break….

Adam and I had a great time together in Australia and made it back to PNG safely! 

A few months back, after a rough patch, we decided we needed this break. At first I felt guilty, even selfish about going on holiday (holiday=this part of the worlds word for vacation). I could hear the enemy whispering in my ear, “it will cost too much”, “people will think you are waisting money on luxurious vacations and frivolous things”, “you can’t leave the kids for a week”, “you have work to do”, etc. So, feeling heavily influenced by what the world was going to think of this “frivolous” use of time, I took it to prayer. 

Well much to my surprise, right away God gave me a tremendous sense of peace regarding taking time away from our work and the kids. I also felt Him telling me to stop worrying about what everyone else was going to think, that this was about building up our marriage and our call...and that He would speak to those who are behind us so that we would have their encouragement and support. 

While gone, I realized that we really needed this break, this time of refreshment, a time to “get” on the same page, to enjoy life together with little to no stressors. I remembered that guilt wasn’t from God, and as He lined up every flight, every taxi, and every bus, I saw His hand and blessing on our marriage and our time together. Learning to serve God with all our heart, mind, and soul is a process. It is not just about the times when we are turning out visible results. It’s also about the time when we are just resting in His embrace, enjoying His creation, taking time to refuel and unwind.   

This was the first truly intentional un-work/church/family related vacation we have ever taken alone. It was a building block in our marriage, a blessing. Thank you to those who encouraged us to take this time together. Thank you to the brave ones who loved on the girls for the week. Thank you to God for the beautiful world He created and for the realization that we CAN enjoy it!

"So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun."

Ecclesiastes 8:15

We went estuary fishing.

A Glimpse of our time…. 

We rode the Sky Rail to Kuranda and took the train back.

We went on a river boat ride.

We went to the Australian Armour & Artillery Museum.

We took time at the Cairns Zoo.

We had a great holiday together... 

Thanks for all the love and support while we are on this journey!

Spoiled...48 hours of uninterrupted electricity!

April 30th brought us the grand opening and celebration of our new hydro electric dam. It was standing room only, as representatives from AUSAID and Nazarene Health Ministries, along with community leaders and many others, shared in the excitement of a new, reliable, power source at Kudjip Nazarene Hospital.

  We came into the project a little over a year ago as it was about 1/3 of the way done. In the past year they have finished building the dam, canal, & power house, along with installing the gates, penstock, turbines, and new power lines through most of the mission station. However, not all of the change has been by means of physical construction. Around Christmas time last year, the national crew from the project had a revival which stretched into their communities and lines (tribes). Earl Hartwig, the project manager, has done an amazing job overseeing this project and leading by example.

The gates being lowered

Reservoir being filled

This past month , in preparation for the opening, we had a christian team here from Pennsylvania called “i-tec” (International Technical, Electric and Construction). They were made up mostly of linemen, but men of varying construction skill sets. They gave the station a much needed over haul in regards to our power lines. I really can’t explain what all they did, but it looks really nice! You can read more and check their group out at www.itec.org.   

Scott Dooley, Hospital Administrator,
helping to lower the gates

For the grand opening celebrations they closed the main gates at the reservoir and opened the gate to the new canal that leads to the hydro power house. This week they actually started up the turbines and we are officially operating on hydro power. It has been a shock to all our systems as we went a whole 48 hours without a power outage! 

"Kudjip Water Park"

There have been so many instrumental people over the past several years working to put this whole project together. I can’t even begin to name them all, but am very thankful for the long hours and sacrifice it took to get this project to completion. It will make a big difference for the community, but especially for the Kingdom, as Kudjip Nazarene Hospital is able to function on a more reliable power source. 

Stories from a Nazarene Hospital, from people just like you...

I wanted to share a story with you, for those of you that did not see my link on Facebook this week.

http://www.asiapacificnazarene.org/medical-failure-turns-into-spiritual-success/

If you click on the link it will take you to our Asia Pacific News Website where you can read an article written by Dr. Jim Radcliffe, who is our missionary surgeon on station. The article was titled "Medical Failure Turns into Spiritual Success", about a matriarch whose passing caused a bit of a stir. 

So many times we look only to our current situation and morn the depth of the situation or even dwell on the failures and disappointments. All the while, unbeknownst to us, God is orchestrating something so much bigger than we could even imagine. I was reminded this week of Ephesians 3:20, "Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." I was reminded once again (I'm a little slow, sometimes many reminders are needed!) that He is big, He is in control, and He is able. Out of the ashes we will rise...out of our complaining, out of our doubt, out of our loss...He will use it all. He will use the situations that look bleak and hopeless to make change. "More than we might ask or think..." He will use each of us and the situations that surround us to change the hearts and minds of our brothers, our sisters, our mothers, our fathers, our neighbors, our friends, our children.

I don't know about you, but I can get so caught up in the to-do's of daily life, the good and the bad, that I forget that out of winter comes spring...comes new life! Here in Papua New Guinea, grieving is such a part of daily life and in a way that western society cannot even imagine. The girls and I often make at least a weekly trip to the north end of station in which more often than not we pass the morgue only to witness another family grieving the loss of yet another family member, another father carrying his lifeless child, another loss, another heartache. My hope is that like Gertrude and her line, the family in Dr. Jim's story, I will choose each day to be an opportunity to have victory over my heartaches. I will choose to trust in the one who is able to handle more than I might even think or ask. And I will choose to celebrate and rejoice for this day that God has given me.  

We went to sing and pray with patients at the hospital this morning and my heart is heavy for a little girl with Pig Bel (a fatal type of food poisoning), they operated on her several weeks ago and her prognosis is bleak. Tonight as we prayed for little Haddi I thought of how God has a plan for each one of us. It may not be what we expected or what we want, but if we trust in Him He will not disappoint us. He will use our lives, no matter how short or long, to to do so much more than we could even ask or think. So, I want you to know that even at the ends of the earth, in PNG, God is at work. He is using lives to change peoples hearts and minds towards Him. He is using you and He is using me in such a way that we cannot even dream. Don't waste today, but use your situation no matter how marvelous or how bleak, to glorify Him and out of this season will come more than you could ever imagine. 

Blessings,

Stephanie Peterson

Kudjip, PNG

Gracyn and I praying with Haddi and her mama this morning...attempting to use our broken pidgin! 

Praise God that he knows our hearts and minds, because I'm still working on the Tok Pisin.