Madang 2008

This year I traveled to Madang before my birthday and had a great few days of rest. On Friday 5 of us went down on our mission plane and stayed at Jais Aben. We did a little shopping Friday morning in town and then stayed out at the resort the rest of the time. We swam, snorkeled, played cards and visited. It was just relaxing.

Waiting for our ride after shopping in town. We waited on that wall for nearly an hour, but we eventually got picked up.On Monday 3 of our friends joined us that had been doing a VBS program for the Madang regional conference. So for the last 2 days we had five ladies in one room! It was a bit tight but it was really wonderful to spend time with these good friends.

Paul M, Hannah, Paul W, Moses, Me, Emily, Katie and Andrea

Paul W, Andrea, Emily, Me, Moses, Hannah and Katie

Shopping in Goroka - An Adventure Like None Other

Shopping takes on a whole new meaning when shopping in Papua New Guinea

So it all begins by getting up the nerve to ask someone to drive you into town. Of course it is nearly a whole day event so the person you ask has to give up their day to do this for you. So I emailed a friend of mine, and figured it was a long shot because there were no vans available and it was pretty late notice, so I figured he had plans. However, at 5 pm the night before our proposed shopping day he called, and said that he got a van from his department so we could go, however, he was going to stay in the van and at the Bird to work on his sermon prep for Oct. 5. I “argued” with him a bit about the whole trip since it sounded like he really had other things to do, but he insisted it would all work out.

So in the morning at 9 am 4 girls went into town with Paul driving us. We stopped at Brian Bell, our most western style store, and got a couple things. I got a handle for my broom and some kebob skewers. Next we went next door to the old Papindos and found a few things. I found some shirts for my brother’s boys for Christmas. Then we piled into the van and headed to “down town”. Paul dropped us off at the store farthest away from the Bird so that we could then just walk back. This store is called SVS and we got some fabric, food, and other little random things we could find. One of the ladies got some great picture frames. Never have I seen such nice frames here. Then we went across the street to the pharmacy, well actually two. I found some stocking stuffer gifts and was able to get a phone card for my cell phone. We were going to go into one store that once had sugar free cookies and pick some up for another friend, but there was a large mob of people outside that store and I didn’t feel too comfortable going in there. So we figured the cookies were not that important. We decided that we would head back to the Bird, use the bathroom and get some lunch. We had a nice meal at the hotel and visited over lunch. Then we went back out across the road to Bintangor, a grocery store, and got a few items, including cash back on our credit cards. We came back to the Bird and loaded up the van to head back home. However we had one more stop to make at the new Papindos and did our last shopping there.

We made it back home just after 2 pm and felt like we had a very successful day. However once I got all my packages in, I realized that at least half the items I bought need to be washed before I use them. You always feel a bit grimy after being in town. We all talked today about how fun it is "back home" to shop and not feel the need for a shower when you get home.

All in all it was a fun day and I really did feel like I got so much that I needed. I haven’t been shopping in town since before the school term started. So that has been 8 weeks.

School had begun!

School began over two weeks ago. It took me over two weeks to get a class picture. I took my camera to school each day, and yet we would be so busy that I would forget to take a class shot. Thankfully on Friday I remembered. We did have two students that had been visiting for 2weeks and Friday was their last day. That did give me some motivation. So here are my 24 students and our two visiting ones. Keep us in your prayers as we grow together as a class. Some of these kids have never been in school before and this is a big change for them; many of the others have had me as a teacher for a year already and may become bored.

4th of July!

Even in PNG we need to have a 4th of July celebration. It may not look just like the USA style celebration, but we did have food, friends and fun! Even a few fireworks and a real fire. 14 people were at my house for the evening. It was a great way to fill the void of not being in Wenatchee for the 4th.

Here are the barbeque guys - Moses, Paul Wilson, and Matt

A table full of friends...Paul Wilson, Paul McKnight, Callum, Amy, Lesley, and Andrea peeking over Erika's head

Yes, even I was there. Here are baby Amy, Erika and I.

Of course there had to be dessert! American flag cheesecake, apple pie and chocolate bars.

And finally a bonire and a snowball fight? Yes we had a ton of paper to burn and so it turned into a "snowball" fight as we attempted to get the paper in the fire.

Have I Mentioned That I Hate Goodbyes?

The hardest part of being a missionary is saying godbye to family. I love my family and every time I head back to PNG I think it is going to kill me to say goodbye. We all have come to the understanding that going to airport to say goodbye is no fun.

Well only second to saying goodbye to family is saying goodbye to friends that have become like family over the years. This year I say goodbye to 5 families that have become my family away from family. Usually you say goodbye to one or two each year, but 5 is pretty severe.

First I said goodbye to my friend Gayle and her family. They are leaving and not planning to return after 13 year on the field.

Then I said goodbye to the Bowers, who have been my family for the last 4 years, celebrating holidays together. Saying goodbye to Joanie was a horrible process and all the pictures we took of the two of us are on her camera. That wasn't smart.

The third goodbye was to the Burleson family. Neil and Becky are great friends and their kids have such a special place in my heart.

Only two more goodbyes to go. I guess I will make it. I know the Lord gives grace and I have needed an extra amount. How blessed I am to have these dear friends!

Last Day of School

June 4 was the last day of our school year. The grade 3.4 class ended the year with a party. We celebrated the "summer" birthdays and had an all around great time. Here are the birthday kids. The two on the far left were even celebrating their birthdays on that specific day! We played pictionary with little white boards and markers, which was a bigger hit than you might think.
This is our class on the last day. Karina had left a couple months ago and Jesse was in PE at this time. Laura, our faithful TA, joined us for the party. About 7 of these kids will be on furlough next year, but the rest get to have me as a teacher once again. We will be the grade 4.5 class!
This day ended with graduation. I had lots of fun watching my first grade 5 class graduate. This picture is of them in their formal attire after the ceremony.

Going Away Brunch

My blog posts seem to be "going away" or "birthday" reportings. I guess that is what we do. We celebrate birthdays and we say goodbye. Of course we have our ministries in there somewhere.

We are actually beginning our 'saying goodbye' season. Each year we have a mass exodus of missionaries who are going on furlough or have finished their time in PNG. John and Anna are some of the first to go.

Emily, Matt, Andrea, Anna and John

Moses, Paul and the back of Erika's head (I was sitting on the couch near Erika ,but someone had to take the picture.)

Happy May Day

Happy May Day!

I love this day. How I would love to stop by your houses and secretly deliver flowers to all of you. Instead I had my class make May Day Baskets out of paper and they delivered them to 23 people and offices around our centre. The kids had a great time and hopefully they encouraged some people along the way.

Pajama Pinochle Party

More creating your own fun around here. Every few months we have a pinochle party where there are 12 or 16 people invited and we spend the evening playing pinochle. Everyone gets a number and then plays about 28 hands. We change partners and keep track of our scores as we move throughout the evening.

Well at the last pinochle party some of the ladies thought it would be fun to have a 'Ladies Only' pinochle party and come in pajamas. So that is what we did. We had a great evening laughing, visiting, eating, and being comfortable. We gathered at 6 pm and finished 7 rounds at 10:30 pm.

Here is the group of ladies that were present.

Top row: Becky, Andrea, Erika, Pat, Anna, Me.

Bottom row: Jenny, Emily, Christin, Gayle, Susan and Joanie.

Emily's Birthday in the Wonderful Land of Oz

Happy Birthday Emily!!!

So Emily (and her roommate Andrea) love to dress up,

make fools of themselves and make everyone else join them.

(okay, so it wasn't as bad as I am making it sound.

we actually had a lot of fun, even if we looked ridiculous.)

The Three Witches: I was Glenda, the good witch,

Emily was the Wicked Witch of the East

and Andrea was the Wicked Witch of the West.

Anna as the Apple Tree - she even threw her apples like the mean one in the story.
Moses came as one of the Flying Monkeys - quiet but scary!

Erika was one of the Yellow Brick Roads and Joanie was the Scarecrow!

Paul was the Wizard of Oz - always saying something about the man behind the curtain.

And here we are. the great group of characters from the Wizard of Oz.

A most memorable evening. Hope you had a great time Emily!

Birthday for Terri

Happy Birhtday Terri!

We hope you had a great day.

We sure did! Thanks for sharing your day with us!!
Gayle, Gail, Joanie, Susan, Becky, Terri

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter!

He is Risen!

He is Risen, Indeed!

This year I spent Easter with my very dear friends Terri and Becky and their families.

Neil and Becky Burleson hail from the great state of Texas

Scott and Terri Sasaki are from the greater state of Washington!

We had a great meal, an Easter egg hunt, the Easter story and lot of visiting....

A great day was had by all. I am so thankful for these families.

They are my family away from family.

Easter Evening

A few of us went out for dinner on Easter evening. We went to Pacific Gardens and had a great meal. Emily's mom, Jane, is visiting and so we are going to all sorts of places. In this picture we have Jane, Me, Moses, Matt, and Erika. Emily is taking the picture.

As I have said earlier we have to make our own fun here in PNG. Emily is such a trend setter. This evening leaning back for pictures seemed to be the rage. So Emily and her mom started it and then...

Moses joinging in...
Matt not being left out...

Erika taking a turn...

My turn....

Matt coming up with other entertaining activities...

Emily not being outdone...

Party Time!

A night of birthday celebration. We picked a day in the middle and celebrated both Evie's and Lina's birthdays. Evie turned 23 and Lina turned 22. Nothing like making some of us feel old.
Here are Lina and Evie blowing out their candles. Lina is facing the camera and Evie's back is to the camera. (Natalie is in the background taking a picture.)

John, Anna and Paul with their sticky notes on their heads. This is one of our games - we guess who is on our foreheads by asking yes and no questions. Yes, you have to make your own fun in Papua New Guinea.

Here I am looking away and Andrea laughing. Matt's nose even got in there.

Emily, Erika and Evie (the three Es) looking a bit mischievous. Not unusual!