A Wonderful Adventure: Bye Busama, you were lovely!

You're probably getting sick of my photos of Busama....! But maybe it shows you how much I loved my time there :) So relaxing and so nice to be by the beach. Seriously amazing and such a blessing. Here's my last post showing the final glimpses of this beautiful place. I am hoping that I can take Mum there when she visits in July. If it works out!! We'll see :)

Uncle Guring and his wife, our hosts for the weekend. They prepared are dinners which were incredibly delicious - and even better because we didn't need to do it ourselves.

Looking out over the water - so calm and still

Relaxed me, after a few days in the sun. Came home with a little but of a red face, but totally worth it :)

Stunning. You have to see it to understand how amazingly beautiful it is!

Our beach house. Can we stay forever?

The little ferns that grow all over the trees are really bright green and just so pretty. This photo doesn't capture it well unfortunately

One of the locals with her little boy. I love the way the women carry their bilums!

The houses just behind the beach house we stayed in - to give you an idea of how the people live here

These homes are very different to how the people in Lae live! These are a lot bigger and a lot more sturdy

Sunrise. The sun absolutely flies up! If you look away for a second, the sun has moved so much. Amazing to watch

Light reflecting on the water. So beautiful

One of the most beautiful sunrises I've ever seen. God the Master Artist at work!

Kids hanging out on the beach and racing eachother towards the water. Cool to see them having so much fun!

Morning light makes beautiful shadows and silhouettes. Words cannot describe the beauty

Some coconuts that were washed up by the waves

Hopscotch with a twist

On Sunday Torsten and I went to the local church. It was a Church of Christ. The pastor saw Torsten sitting in the chairs and invited him to preach - with only about 5 minutes warning. Torsten has grown up in this country so he knows how likely it is that preaching will be sprung on him whenever he goes somewhere. As a trained pastor himself, he always comes prepared with a message, on the chance it will be needed. It was a privilege to listen to Torsten explain the gospel so clearly and so Biblically. He spoke on John 18:28 - "Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover." Torsten's message focussed on the Jews who were so concerned with outward cleanliness, and not at all concerned with the condition of their hearts. He warned us all not to focus on outward things, for that means nothing if your heart is not with God. What will it profit you to look good in the eyes of those around you, if your heart remains hard?

Torsten gave a powerful example of a monkey. This monkey wanted to be a lion, who all the other jungle animals would be afraid of. He thought it would give him power. He worked hard every day to roar like a lion, without success. No one was impressed with his weak attempts. One day, as he was walking through the savannah, the monkey came across a fresh lion carcass. The skin was in perfect condition, so the monkey took it home with him. He would wear it everyday, spreading the mane out powerfully as he sat by his tree, frightening any other animal who came past. One day, a lion approached him. Normally this monkey would run away as quickly as he could, knowing that the lion would attack him. This day was different. The monkey was confident that his disguise would protect him! He stood his ground, strong and un-moving as the lion circled him, sniffing. The monkey roared, using his strongest voice and out came the most impressive roar he had ever managed. This didn't deter the lion. The lion looked confused. Here was a creature that looked like a lion, sounded a bit like a lion, but certainly didn't smell like a lion. It smelled like a monkey, so the lion crept closer, deciding he would catch this monkey for his dinner! The monkey realised what was about to happen, so he shook off his disguise and ran up the tree as quickly as he could. This monkey had managed to fool a lot of animals, but when it came to the King of the Jungle, his trickery came to a sudden end.

Torsten ended his message reminding us to consider our hearts and ask ourselves what is important to us. Is it the outward appearance before men, or the inward condition of your heart before Almighty God? Men man be fooled by your trickery, but Creator will not be.

The very gifted music team

View out of the church window - straight to the ocean!

PNG flags and Morobe flags, decorating the church

The pastor (in blue) and one of the other church members

Waltraud enjoying a coffee under the shade of the house. I told you it's literally on the beach!! Cool, hey :)

Karlyn and Sami loving the water

Looking up the beach at the house. Love this place

This house was made entirely of wood that was collected in and around the village. All of the timbers were cut using a chainsaw. Isn't that incredible!! Someone is very talented with a chain saw, as the work is high quality! Are you impressed Stu?

My few minutes in the hammock. Absolute bliss. Couldn't get a better view I don't think

Hard to tell in this photo, but the clouds were running in lines across the sky. Was really pretty. I love how the light of the sun is behind the mountain. Excuse my slightly wonky horizon line....!!!

This is how cocoa grows

Our bush toilet. Complete with spider friends :)

This cocoa is closer to being ready. Amazing how it attaches to the tree trunk don't you think

The path to the toilet - through the cocoa groves. Someone swept it each day (at least twice) to ensure the sand was even and not covered in footprints

A campfire, a moon rise and the fading light of a sunset. Beautiful

I went across to the haus kuk to see our host family prepare dinner. Was really cool to learn some of their PNG cooking styles. Chicken in the bottom of this saucepan, cooked for a while over the fire and then add the vegetables, coconut and spices and cook for a little longer