Numonohi Christian Academy Writing Contest

Grades 7-9 entries

I moved to PNG when I was nine years old and since then I have found several good and bad things about PNG. Some are more obvious than others, of course, such as bad food and no places to buy parts for my bike. Recently I have started doing a lot of freestyle BMX (Bicycle Motocross). It's a lot of fun and I ride pretty much every day, but when you put that much stress on the parts of your bike they are going to break. Here in PNG you may be able to replace parts, but they are really weak products. So I have to order new stuff from Australia every time something breaks. I have had to say goodbye to several of my best friends over the last four years. Some, like my friend Brad Morris, I will see again when I go back home this summer. However, I will probably never see again two of the best friends I've ever had, Hamilton Sutton and Tyson Estelle. Tyson and I often write letters to each other, but that's not the same as actually talking and playing with him. When I leave PNG this summer, I will have to say goodbye to all the other friends I have made here in the past three and a half years. Even though I will see most of them again, it will still be hard leaving them. I've known Sam and Cooper since sixth grade; however, I have been good friends with Joash since fifth grade.

Don't get me wrong though - I love PNG. I mean, where else can you jump off 30-foot cliffs into a river? I haven't gotten up enough courage to do that yet, but I am going to. If I stayed in America, I probably wouldn't have gotten to visit Australia until I was an adult. And in the states I only have one good friend, and he lives about 5 miles away. And here I have three good friends, Sam, Joash, and Cooper, and the distance to their houses is shorter than what I run in PE class. I have seen several kinds of animals in PNG and Australia that I wouldn't have seen in Pennsylvania, such as green tree pythons (I really like snakes), tree kangaroos, and normal kangaroos.

One way NCA has really influenced me is that it got me interested in BMX. I know this sounds pretty hard to believe, but an associate music teacher introduced me to BMX. She was the kind of teacher that just had to tell you everything; her son had just won the bronze medal in the Metro Jam, which is a bike competition, for BMXing. So at a class party we got to watch a BMX video. From then on, you could hardly ever get me off my bike. Another good thing about PNG is that you're allowed to make ramps out of pretty much anything and I take every chance I can get. A bad thing about that is that sometimes center maintenance takes away the dirt that you use. This totally awesome dirt jump was only here for about a week. There are a lot of times when I would say things like "Man I wish we had never left Pennsylvania!" But if I were actually faced with the possibility of leaving, I probably would want to stay here more than go. Going to school here has been a lot more fun than home schooling like I used to do before I started going to school here. There are a lot of dress-up days, which I really like. We get to keep a pet snake in Science class. I got a couple plates of cookies from my classmates. Even though there have been some disadvantages, I have really enjoyed growing up in PNG.

Since the time I left America to come to PNG in 1999, my life has changed dramatically. When I heard we were moving to PNG, I remember being so excited, but also a little scared. I imagined lots of bugs, jungle life, and animals - all things that I loved. I also imagined bears, tigers, and lions; I wasn't fond of those. I never though about what the people would be like. We went to Maprik to stay for 6 months and got a bit more training and that is where I learned Pidgin. I had many PNG friends those 6 months and I grew to love the Papua New Guinea people. After that, my dad and the other men on our team went to find out what Hewa was like before we moved there. They traveled by helicopters. Finding a small clearing in the trees, they landed. There were not any houses there, but people came to welcome the newcomers anyway. After that, they came back and got the ladies and the kids and we went back in together. That was the first time I have every ridden on a helicopter. I remember being so excited. We went up this long and very skinny trail up to this tiny shelter made of plastic that the men had made before they left. Inside were tents. We slept there for the first couple of days until we made 4 of these plastic shacks in different places to house the 4 families. They were very small and again we slept in tents. We had no floors, just dirt and the people would stare in at us all the time and at night wild dogs would break in the plastic and tear apart our trash. For about 6 months to a year, we lived in these houses until 4 sturdy houses were built. All this time I was home schooled along with my brother, Micah. After we moved into our real homes, we had the impossible job of learning the language, making friends and learning the culture and the way of life of the Hewa people. Over the years, 2 of the families that came in with us left for various reasons. A couple times we were evacuated because of the wars that went on between the tribes. My family and I grew stronger in the Lord every day. When my brother, Micah was in 7th grade, he flew to Goroka in a plane. Micah went to school there. He lived in a dorm and only saw us about 4 times a year. When Micah went in 8th grade and I in 6th, I came out to live in the dorm as well. It was difficult to leave my family so often, but the people at Lapilo have taught me things I would never have learned if I would have stayed home schooled in Hewa forever. Thanks to the pilots, I can visit my family 4 times a year for break. All the teachers and staff of NCA have taught me so much. From growing closer to the Lord to normal school techniques, I think I am receiving the best education a kid could ever want or have. When I think of all the teachers leaving their homes, families, and friends to come and help me, it just reminds me of how gracious and kind the God we serve is.

Papua New Guinea has been my home since I was one and a half. My parents have had a ministry in the tribe of Wusuraambya, and I have spent nearly my entire life in the tribe. Growing up in a tribe has been fun! Being able to learn an entirely different and unique culture has been a great opportunity.

When I was young, our nearest airstrip was an hour and a half walk away. To get there, we had to cross a log bridge suspended above a rushing river. I was always carried across this bridge, but once I decided I was going to do it myself. Beginning to cross the bridge, I made the mistake of looking down. Fear filled me, and I sat down and began to scream for help. Soon, a woman picked me up and carried me to safety. Since then, I have been afraid of such bridges.

My tribal friends loved me wholeheartedly. They accepted me and did not hold grudges against me if I did something uncultural or offensive to them. In many ways they were a good example of "love your neighbor as yourself" although they were not believers.

Furlough was a difficult time for me. There was a vast difference between a remote tribe in the jungles of Papua New Guinea and the large cities of London or Toronto, Ontario. Gradually, I adjusted to Canada, and by the end of the year, I found it difficult to leave my new home.

Last year, after returning from furlough, I found that many of my friends felt uncomfortable around me because of my height. (I am five foot, eleven inches tall.) Many of them had also married, and were too busy with their own lives to visit me.

I am very glad that I can be here at Numonohi Christian Academy this year. Here I am protected from many temptations that are very common in the western world such as smoking, drugs, or drinking. I have been able to make great friends here, and I am engulfed in a wonderful Christian environment.

I think it is wonderful how our teachers have left their home countries to come here to teach a bunch of MKs. I feel privileged to have such great teachers this year, and I am grateful to all of them for teaching at our school. It is also amazing to see how families have left their homes to come and be dorm parents to those of us kids whose families live in tribes. They make many sacrifices to come here and take care of a bunch of "rowdy bush kids"!

Growing up in a tribe is a really great opportunity and I am very happy to be a missionary kid here! I am very thankful to all the people who have made it possible for me to have this wonderful experience.

The plane soars at 40,000 feet, breaking through the clouds as it flies over the immense Pacific Ocean. I press my face against the glass of the window by my airplane seat, trying to see my home, the exotic island of Papua New Guinea. After spending a year in the United States on furlough, I am eager to again see the place where I grew up.

As the plane continues, my mind drifts off. Although I was born in the States, and I am considered an American citizen, I do not consider that country my home. Whenever I am on furlough, I feel strange. Even though I enjoy seeing my relatives again, eating fast food, and riding on the amazingly smooth roads, I miss the slow-paced lifestyle in Papua New Guinea (PNG). I do have many supportive friends in the US, but being apart from them for such long periods of time means that I have to get to know them all over again each furlough. Even then, there is always that feeling lurking in the pit of my stomach that I am different. I am a missionary kid (MK). When I return to the mission field, something just clicks and I realize I am home again. I do not have to worry about how I look or what others think of me anymore. I am enveloped in a loving community that accepts me for who I am. In PNG, I am surrounded by other MK's who understand me and understand why I am the way I am. The plane drops a few feet. I look around and realize we will be landing soon. I buckle my seat belt and go back to my thoughts.

Numonohi Christian Academy is a hub of activity, in this small missionary community of Lapilo, where I live. This is where the MK's meet, develop relationships, and grow as a part of this community. Being from America, Europe, or Australia does not matter at an international school like this. Everyone is unique, yet alike at the same time. When I graduate from high school, I will always remember the relationships I shared with everyone in the school. When I am passing someone in the hall, I always get a "hi" or receive a word of encouragement. It is like I live in one big family.

Of course, a school is never complete without teachers. But these teachers are not ordinary teachers. These teachers have left their homes, families, and countries to teach me and the other MK's at this school. These educators have to work even harder when they get here, because our school has never had enough teachers. Their example has taught me about the self-sacrificing attitude that every Christian should have, including me. It has become my goal to become a servant like my teachers, who raised support and worked so hard, just so that I could have a future.

As the plane lands, I look for my friends that should be standing by the gates. My family and I get off the plane and walk toward them, luggage in tow. Hugs are exchanged all around, as I am enveloped in a sea of friends. After a year I am finally home, in the community where I belong.