Welcome to My Diggings

Looks like a bunch of archaeologists digging up...tractors?

It’s writing day again! And I honestly don’t know what to write about, as this last month has been rather uninteresting as it comes to blogging material. Instead of waking up before the roosters and spending long days traversing the mountains with my instructor in PK-TCA, I’ve been sleeping in (relatively speaking) and working 8-hour days swinging a shovel with a crew of Papaun guys. Definitely a change of pace, but if I knew it in theory before, I know it in verity now: expect a diverse and ever-expanding job description when you’re in the mission field.

The flood in the middle of March really made a mess of things here. I’m amazed at how God protected us and has kept the flight operations running despite the loss of so much important infrastructure. But, unfortunately, there’s no getting around the fact that we have a lot of work piled up—literally!

All that darker soil you see piled up? It came out of the house.

There are three damaged, but salvageable buildings that need recovering. The flood left them inundated with a 3-4 foot thick layer of sand and of course an excavator can’t clean that mess up without taking down the building first, so it has remained for us to get it all cleared out…by hand. Darron, our Adventist Mission coordinator, got the ball rolling on the arduous task and hired some local guys to come help out. For weeks he could be seen sweating it out with the workers as they dug and pried and pulled all sorts of debris out of the building where his office was.

After getting back from the village, I pitched in for a few days as the work crew started on the second building. Helping out turned into taking over for Darron at the end of the month when his family finished their term here and said their final goodbyes. I was glad the Boyds could finally get a well-deserved break, although I have to admit I was a little jealous. After wishing them farewell at the airport, it was back to my diggings in the second building.

Not the greatest picture, but the floor is several feet below me.

It would have been interesting to note the days we started and finished, but I think it must have taken a good 2 weeks of full-time work with 5-6 guys to get the second building cleared of sand and mud. My favorite (cough) project was the little side room that I tackled with the youngest guy on the team. It was about the size of a large bathroom and the only way in and out was via the top 3 feet of doorway that was still clear. As I eyed the confined space, it was evident there was no particularly efficient way to get this one done. So we just climbed in and got going one shovelful at a time.

You could say he was staying on top of things.

I worked from the back of the room, tossing the sand forward toward the entrance where my coworker would load it into the wheelbarrow. The place had no ventilation and I was intrigued how after half an hour of working in there my clothes and I were as wet as if I had been standing out in the rain, due to the humidity and the fact I was sweating like a pig (or horse, or whatever actually sweats a lot). We spent 2 and 1/2 days in that cave. You could say it was a breath of fresh air—literally, hehe—to be finally done with that one.

Right side was dug out for renovation. Left will be smashed.

As of this writing, we have just completed clearing out building number three and have moved on to the last, relatively smaller projects that we will finish before we let the workers go for the time-being. I’ve been able to do the supervisor thing this week and leave the guys to do their job while I have spent most of the day in the hangar—not to get out of hard work, but because my supervisor needed my help with some projects related to the 100-hour inspection. I must say, although the Parts Room and I have a strained relationship, it was very nice to be back in a place with AC!

Not for actual use! Sorry, I was a bit bored.

As much as I hate to admit it, there have been some benefits to being on the digging crew. For one thing, I’ve gotten more exercise than I know what to do with (and picked up an enviable farmer’s tan during the outside stints). Secondly, though the progress has not been immediately perceptible, I’ve made some important strides with my Bahasa through working and directing my crew. Lastly, it has been a continued reminder of my utter lack of control in avoiding disaster and the truth that my life is completely in God’s hands.

It has been mind-boggling to observe the results of nature’s immensely destructive power and realize how all you own can be swept away or buried in moments. If I’m tempted to go back to my neighborhood in California where there isn’t a threat of flash floods, I’m reminded that the whole state is just one careless spark away from being burnt to a crisp during the dry summers. To be blunt, there is no 100-percent safe place in the world, and what can seem like a good place can change in an instant. And Bible students know that it’s only going to get worse.

And yet remarkably I have found over 100 references in the Bible that say in one way or another, “Don’t fear.” Is it because if you choose to not be afraid, fearful things won’t happen? We know that’s not the case. But is it because we have a big-picture perspective, we know there is a God who often intervenes remarkably, and we have the assurance that “even if” He doesn’t intervene there’s the hope of eternal life at the resurrection day? I think that’s a big part of the answer.

So as I look ahead and wonder what in the world things will be like a few months from now, a year from now, and beyond, I have a gentle reminder: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things.” Matthew 6:34.