Year of the House

Having grown up in church-owned housing and rented my way through a number of houses as an adult, the great Aussie dream of home ownership has always been just that, a dream. This year though, that has changed.

Recently I was given a house in Ukarumpa.

My new Ukarumpa home.

This is our ‘company town’ in the Highlands where I am based when not living in a village situation. It is my base of professional support, personal friendships and ex-pat belonging. It is a town with a complex identity that means different things to different people, but for me it is one of my PNG homes. It is also now a place where I own a home.

Robyn (Aussie) came to PNG in 1987 and Lisbeth (Swede) arrived in 1986. Together they worked with the Ramoaaina people of the Duke of York Island near Rabaul, dedicating the Ramoaaina New Testament in 2007. They continue to work in that region, supporting the Ramoaaina Old Testament translation as well as the Label, Kandas and Fanamaket New Testament translation teams from nearby New Ireland Province.

Previously, they too were Ukarumpa based, coming and going to the Islands. These days they are Kokopo based and no longer need their Ukarumpa house. Some people sell their home, but they decided to give theirs away. It is a cosy little home, with three bedrooms, office, living room, kitchen and shed. At the moment I live here alone, but may end up sharing with another single woman either long or short term.

At the same time as moving into my Ukarumpa home, I have been getting ready to go to the village, where I am in the process of building a house. Land has been set aside and posts and bearers have already been installed. I am bringing a solar power system with me, and water tanks and some tin roofing for water catchment are on order. Nails, hinges and a saw are among the items I’m providing to assist in the building effort.

An Ubuo house (not mine) under construction (D.Petterson)

So it is that this year will probably end up with me having two homes to call my own! While I have been given one house and am buying nails to build another, my sister has gone through a mountain of paperwork and stress to gain a mortgage and purchase a home in Australia. The contrast in home acquisition is stark, yet so is the nature of our houses.

My Ukarumpa home is on land that is part of a 99 year lease to an organisation I am a member of. My village house is on land that I have no title to. Both houses are in a country where I currently have a five year visa. I expect to be here long term and renew my visa many times, which is why I am investing myself and my resources, but many things could easily change. Still, I am excited at these developments that continue to make this country more and more ‘home’.

Community

Our tree started as a cutting picked up
from the verge. It was a Christmas tree
that stayed and became a seasonal tree.
Here it is both Easter tree and
remembrance tree. 

After writing about being single and finding a work partnership, the natural next topic for me is community. For many years community has been a high value for me. Along the way of looking at how I can share life with those around me, I came up with five [s]s, to which I’ve added an ‘h’, so I’ll start with those;

Simplicity [sɪmˈplɪsəti]

To practice gratitude and contentment and a recognition of ‘enough’ rather than giving in to the cultural demand for ‘more’…bigger, better, newer, shinier, sexier…but always more. Sometimes it is about getting back to basics, which can be more effort than instant, but is simple in its own way.

The tree in mourning between
Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Solidarity [sɒlɪˈdæɹəti]

To remember our brothers and sisters both in other places and nearby and to live accordingly. Sometimes this will mean small sacrifices, other times significant protests or changes. To seek to understand the ‘other’ and how they experience life, then to respond to that in love. Who would I want them to be or do if our places were reversed?

Spirituality [spɪɹɪtjuæləti]

To make the time to share, explore and deepen our spiritual life. I live this as a Christian, but expect communities of other faiths could also hold the same value. I’ve found that shared spiritual practices takes discipline and commitment, but that it is worth it. Shared prayer, shared Scripture, shared quiet, shared fears, shared joys…these are all pieces of a communal spiritual life.

Sustainability includes the vegie patch

Sustainability [sɑˈstæɪnəˌbɪliəti]

To live in a way that does not destroy God’s creation or burn ourselves out. For me this is about being community to those I cannot see and will never meet, by caring for the world in a way that allows them to live in it too. It extends my sense of community beyond people to nature.

Celebrate life [ˈsɛləbɹæɪt ˌlaɪf]

Don’t take all this too seriously, but enjoy the life we’ve been given. Create! Celebrate! Don’t wear yourself down with having to ‘do’ but spend time to ‘be’.

The tree of thankfulness,
decorated with tins that hold
candles and cards that
express thanks, which were
written as part of a
celebratory meal.

Hospitality [hɒspɪˈtæləti]

Welcoming others, sharing food and drink, making home a warm place, not a fortress, yet still having it be a sanctuary when need be. Having visitors, be they family or travellers, to stay for a day or a week.

These things all overlap and I am constantly rediscovering and redefining them.  Through childhood, travel, house-shares, sailing, villages, intentional communities and communities-by-necessity, I’ve experienced the blessings and challenges of community. Although these elements of community bring together the way I wish to live, I regularly fail. Still, it is a journey worth continuing.