Joanie's Birthday!!

Even when Joanie isn't in PNG we still celebrate her birthday in style. Second-handing is one of her favorite pasttimes in Goroka. Don't you miss this? Here are Pat, Stuart, and Matt checking out with their finds.

Even your husband went second-handing. No wrist slitting that I saw. Here are Robyn, Dana and Kristin.

You know you are my dear friend if I will go into the second-hand store AND get my picture taken just for this blog post!

And we couldn't leave out your lovely daughter. Here are Stephanie, Matt (again), Carmen, Jenny and there she is Hayley. We love you and hope you have as much fun as we did on your special day. Happy Birthday!!!

July Prayer Letter

“Summer” time = VBS
For many of you summer means a change of weather, camping, and Vacation Bible School! In Papua New Guinea we don’t have much of a change in weather (though this year is challenging that a bit). We don’t do any camping, but we did have Vacation Bible school this year. A couple ladies here on center headed up VBS this year with materials sent from one of their home churches. We had singing, Bible lessons, snacks, crafts and games. There were about 35 missionary children from our center and others nearby that came to our four day VBS. I had the privilege of organizing and leading crafts. I loved having each of the four age groups for 20 minutes at a time and helping them with their craft.

The kids seemed to love the opportunity to have a structured learning and play time during the long school break. We don’t have local parks or extended family to visit so the 7 or 8 weeks of school break can seem long. This helped break up our break and reinforced Biblical truths of God’s power, His presence, and His truthfulness.

School!!
The beginning of school has me all excited! I have had lots of time to prepare and I am ready to begin. However, we have had to postpone the beginning of school this year in hopes that a few of our teachers will arrive on time. School was to start on July 27 and now we are beginning on Aug. 3. This week long extension has allowed 3 of our staff members to arrive before school starts. Our grade 3 teacher will not be able to be here at the beginning, but we hope that she will arrive just a couple weeks late. Please continue to pray for her entry visa to come through soon.
This year I will begin the year with just 15 students in grades 4 and 5. It is the fewest students I have had in a class since 2002! I will work my way up to 20 students by January as families have had to delay due to finances, furloughs, and other family issues. Please pray for my class as we welcome students throughout the year.

Hannah Update
Hannah has had some ups and downs this month. She was very weak at one point and in severe pain. She went up to the hospital and found out that her gall bladder needed to be removed, but after an exploratory surgery they decided that it could wait until she was a little stronger and the gall bladder was not as inflamed. Please pray for her and her family as the surgery is scheduled for July 27.

Praise/Prayer Points
• Praise that many of our teachers have arrived and are getting ready for school to begin on Aug. 3rd.
• Pray for Hannah’s surgery on the July 27th.
• Pray for our 3rd grade teacher as she is still awaiting her entry visa. Pray that she will be able to arrive soon after school starts.