Around the World with the Woltjers

It’s 8:30am on a Sunday morning. I enter the packed waiting area in the domestic departure terminal in Port Moresby. I scan the room, and there are few available seats. I’ve been sitting a LOT these past couple of days, so I stroll around for a few minutes. Laying across two seats is a woman bundled in a white hoodie. She must be tired. I think nothing of it.

After another 30 minutes or so, some flights start to board, and some seats open up. I end up in a seat across from this woman. Her motions indicate that she’s in pain, and I get a little concerned. I then notice blood stains on the inside of her hood. She’s sniffling a little, and keeps touching her nose, wiping little drops of blood away. Now I’m really concerned and think to myself – what kind of disease causes persistent nosebleeds? I feel so helpless; the only thing I can do is say a quick prayer for her.

Then she turns a little, and I see her face. Both eyes are nearly swollen shut. Her cheekbones are black and blue with bruises. It becomes apparent what kind of sickness she her husband has. It hits me like a 2×4 to the chest. I feel even more helpless now, taking in the situation and connecting the pieces. The two boys, perhaps 3 and 5, that have been chasing each other around the waiting area are theirs. They’ve been playing around as though everything were normal.

Their flight gets cancelled. The husband collects their items and walks his two kids and bundled up wife out of the waiting area. He’s wearing nice work boots. The wife and kids are barefoot.

This family came through two security checkpoints at this airport. Everyone who sees her probably puts the pieces together more quickly than I do. It’s all there in plain sight. There’s just a blood-spotted white hoodie providing some concealment.

Our doctors have told me the confusion and emotions when they see a woman – beaten – come into the emergency room accompanied by the perpetrator of the beating. These men admit to having beaten their wives as factually as I might relay the status of one of the projects I’m working on. How do we – myself, the doctors – deal with the evidence of this inescapable violence? How do we respond? It’s everywhere, in plain sight, and without the promise of justice for the survivors and consequences for the perpetrators.

I think about this woman still. Where can she find hope and peace? Could I have confronted the man? Could I have reported this to the police? Would that have only made things worse?

Please join me in praying for these women. Pray for their whole families. Pray for the children – that they make the conscious choice to end the cycle of violence when they mature. Pray for justice to be served. Pray for direction as we – the Church, the missionaries, and the PNG nationals that we work with – try to change this part of PNG culture. Pray for God to change hearts and make a way for hope, love, and shalom in this place.