Learning what “normal” really means...

This week I found myself speaking on risk management and security at the PNG Orientation Course, a similar program to the Pacific Orientation Course we participated in when we arrived in January of 2014. I am comfortable with the subject matter, but it felt odd to be on the other side of the podium teaching new missionaries about PNG. After all, it seems like we just got here and yet so much has happened over the last 16 months that has forced us to learn and adapt. For example, the basics of life take 30% more effort here. Doing laundry is an all day affair and cooking, shopping and basic repairs take considerably longer, so we've adapted our expectations accordingly. Professionally, people rarely make appointments here; instead, they show up unannounced and it is considered perfectly normal. Flying is by far he safest and most efficient way of travel here; in contrast, the road conditions are generally poor and become much more so when it rains. There is no national EMS system, first aid is illegal unless you have a license, and the police don't patrol the roads in the same way they do back home, so driving is much more dangerous overall. There are many other differences as well, but even in our relatively short time here we have adapted and some of the additional steps we need to take to get things done have become second nature. The really interesting part of all of this is that life here is far more representative of what the vast majority of people on the planet deal with every day, as opposed to what we were blessed with back in the U.S. So, in a sense, we did not know what normal was until we lived in PNG.-Scott