Jones’ Clips - A Cicada Song: December 2017 I often share about the majestic visual beauty that surrounds us here in PNG, both from the air and from the ground. I’m continually in awe of the variety and grandeur of God’s creation! This time I thought I’d share about something much smaller that invokes a similar wonder. It is something that I hear more often than I see. On early mornings before a flight, I am encouraged when I hear the song of the cicada. Quite often, the singing of this large insect is an forecast for good weather. Many mornings, the valley we are in is shrouded in fog, making it frustratingly difficult to know what the weather is like beyond our airport. (Unlike in the US, we don’t have any reliable local weather reports or forecasts here besides word of mouth.) Often just a few hundred feet off the ground await crisp blue skies surrounding massive mountain peaks and deep river valleys. As a pilot sitting down in the fog, the sound of the cicada can lift my spirits. Their song encourages me that the fog will likely break, revealing the glory of God’s creation and a path through the skies to my destination. Cicada trivia: The cicada is one of the loudest insects in the world, as loud as 120 decibels, enough to cause damage to the human ear in close proximity. (As loud as a car horn or chainsaw!) The Emperor Cicada that is in PNG is the largest of the hundreds of species God has spread around the world, with a wingspan of about 4 inches. The incredible sound that comes from their bodies is produced by a vibrating membrane inside their body cavity. They have a variety of songs that communicate various things from mating calls to indications of nearby danger. See the picture below of one I found in our helicopter hangar. Also, click on the link to see and hear a video I took of their amazing sound. Sometimes we are surrounded by the fog of doubt, fear, frustration, regret, or whatever Satan wants to use to discourage us. Often, like the song of the cicada, all we need is a verse of scripture, a worship song, the kind words of a friend, an encouraging email, to focus our view beyond the mist of our situation, to the joy, peace, and goodness God has set before us in his Word and demonstrated in his creation.
Click here to hear the sound of the cicadas here in PNG from a few hundred feet away! Gavin, Carrie, Isaac, Will, David, Marcie, Seth, & Grace Jones
Blog: gavincarrie.blogspot.com Facebook: Jones 8 in PNG To give: www.wycliffe.org/Partnership.aspx?mid=E4B68E Wycliffe website: www.wycliffe.org
Jones’ Photo Booth
Grace helping Carrie make Christmas cookies
David really loves watermelon! 10 pieces in one sitting!
Dropping off the Language Survey team in a remote village along a thin ridge.
Will’s regular happy face!
The “Cow Train” was The kids’ favorite ride at our annual Carnival, a fundraiser put on by the high school.
