Within the first few days of arriving in Papua, I witnessed an act of kindness that would be the first of many experienced here.

After eating dinner with an MAF family, they took us out to get some dessert. We stopped at their favorite little smoothie shack to order some cold mango drinks. While we waited for our smoothies, they chatted with the Indonesian woman making our drinks, the owner of the little business. After a while, she mentioned that her blender was starting to act up and soon a sour, burning-electronics smell filled the air. Then it went silent and she told us she was so sorry she couldn’t complete our order. Her blender was dead.

As we walked away, the MAF couple we were with turned to each other and started hatching a plan to buy her a new one. When we couldn’t find a store nearby that sold blenders, they approached the woman, and handed her money to buy a new machine. The woman shook her head at first but after some insisting, she took the money with her eyes glistening and a big smile on her face. It was easy to see how blessed she was by this gift.

Throughout our time traveling around Papua, we have seen so many people that are quick to jump in and give of themselves to others. Pilots that make an extra flight at the end of the day when an emergency comes up. Missionaries that stop what they are doing to care for a sick baby. Families inviting new people (us!) over to dinner.

These beautiful acts are such a testament to the sacrificial life that we’ve been called to as Christians. It’s my hope that someday this reflex of kindness will come as quickly to me as it does to others.

This proverb I saw hanging in the home of a missionary couple living in a remote village sums it up well:

I shall pass through this world but once.

Any good, therefore, that I can do
or any kindness that I can show
to any human being,
let me do it now.

Let me not defer or neglect it,
for I shall not pass this way again.

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