Alone, but not alone.

For the last year, I have been the only whiteskin working in my village. I have been alone, but not alone.

I have been alone, as being the only person from my social and linguistic background can be very isolating at time. At the same time, I have not been alone, as the community has been incredibly welcoming and I am surrounded by friends and family. It’s just that I’m still getting to know them. I am thankful that in being alone, I have been forced outside my comfort zone to build good friendships with the people around me.

With swamp-friends from Kapuna Hospital (A.Evers)

I may be alone in the village, but I have good friends in the region. With friends from both my own organisation as well as through the mission hospitals at Kapuna and Kikori, I have good friends in the region. We may not see that much of each other, but we are all in the swamp together, and understand the context, the challenges and the joys in a way that others cannot share. I am so thankful for my swamp friends, even if they’re three hours away by boat.

Although on my own in the village, I have a good support network in the country and beyond. Sometimes an Ukarumpa friend comes up on the radio for a chat, breaking my isolation and reminding me I am part of something much bigger than little ol’ me in my remote village. I am reminded that there are many people in many places who are thinking of me and praying for me, and that makes a big difference.

I am never alone, because God is with me. My favourite name for God has long been ‘Immanuel’, the reminder that God is with us. This name becomes true in deeper ways when one is feeling isolated. The only easy English conversation I can have in the village is with God, which is great for my prayer life and for living life by faith. Well, mostly. Mostly, because when alone and separated from the chatter and busyness that life usually has, I am forced to face up to myself, including to aspects of myself I might not like. It is good to discover these things and work on them, but it can still be very confronting at the time.

Alone, but with no one to compare my language learning to, I have also been isolated from competition, and that’s a very good thing. I find it very easy to be self-critical and to compare myself to others. When I am only comparing my progress to yesterday, not to someone else, I am much kinder to myself. Learning language is hard enough, without me being hard on myself.

Over the last year I was alone, but not alone, when working in the village. For the next 18 months I will be working in the village with an intern, Hollie, so I will no longer be alone. Yet, even though not alone, I hope I can still hold on to the lessons learnt while alone.