January 27. Sunday. After breakfast and quiet time this morning, we took the printers out of their boxes and set them up on the desk. Now we will have to see about getting them installed in our computers. Then I went back to picture editing. Phinehas had taken quite a few pictures, and the editing takes up quite a bit of time. Shortly before church was to start, we called Christy and Connie and talked with them for about fifteen minutes. It was so good to hear their voices. Since nobody came right away for church meeting, I spent more time editing photos. It was actually 11:00 before the 10:00 meeting began. I was happy for the opportunity to talk with Graham a bit beforehand. The school he attends is in Lufa. He seemed happy to know that he is saved and plans to live outside the dorm this year. He said there is too much temptation and peer pressure among the unsaved crowd in the dorm. He is in tenth grade now. The new school year will begin the first full week of February. Once again, Amos felt that, even though the family was in mourning for his father, it was important for him to fulfill his responsibilities to the Lord first. A baptism had been scheduled for today, and that would take place, after the church service. Amos is the only functioning pastor right now. After Philemon led in a number of songs, Amos had Mike, another young man, and Mike’s sister Kavu (the three baptismal candidates) come and give their testimony. After that he preached on baptism, using the discipleship booklet that we had written. One young lady came forward to pray during the invitation. Enjoyed a time of fellowship after the meeting. Shook hands with a number of children who were just toddlers when we were here before and obviously don’t remember us very well. Since they were standing around staring at us, I tried to get them all to shake our hands. Oh, so many children! Children in need of a Saviour. The revival of Sunday school is a definite need. Talked a bit with Matusa. Asked about his wife who was not here for lotu. She has been away from the Lord for a while and has not been attending church. I told him to let her know that I would be praying for her. Talked a little while with Phinehas too about his schooling and about his serving the Lord. Am thankful to hear that he is doing well spiritually and has opportunity to serve the Lord in a church near the school that he has been attending in Kudjip. Phinehas also will be starting tenth grade. It was 1:00 before we finally came in for lunch. The church folks all went down to Owendaveq for the baptismal service. Warmed up leftover stew from yesterday and nourished our bodies with that. Then I had a long nap again today. This afternoon, I started organizing paper and other office items back on the shelves I cleaned yesterday. Also put some papers in file folders and put them in the file cabinet. Found some extra booklets “Bai Mi Maritim Husat?” (Whom Shall I Marry?} so Asenat and I can read them together when she comes tomorrow. Daddy started the generator at 5:00, and then we had supper. After supper, I finished up the picture editing and started compressing the pictures. Have quite a ways to go on that yet. Bonita came by, and we talked for a while about school. It looks like all the other students who finished eighth grade with her here in the village are planning to go out to town. Even though Bonita’s name was sent out and she was accepted, her father chose not to send her. In submission to her father, she has accepted his choice. We know the Lord will bless her for that. We are trying to work out something where I can help her, but she will also have to do a lot to help herself.
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January 25. When we finally crawled into bed last night, our legs and feet hurt, and we were super tired. Daddy went right to sleep, I guess, but I had a giant headache which prevented sleep from coming. I finally got up and fixed myself a small bowlful of Weetbix and oat bran with honey and milk. Also took an ibuprofen, and it wasn’t long before I felt relaxed enough to drift off to sleep. Rains continued into the night sometime. Slept quite well after that, I guess, but was chilly when I woke up and had to hunt around for another blanket. I had no idea what time it was, but Daddy said he was awake, and it was somewhere around 4:30. By 6:00 this morning, the sun was up, and it was time to get up and greet the day. Breakfast. Quiet time. And then more work to do. There were still things to be unpacked, things to put away, and many cleaning projects to be done. Daddy tried to get a fire going in the wood stove so we could heat water for cleaning, but wasn’t having much success. He finally called for Amos to help. Amos came, and voila! A nice fire. After a while Bonita came by to see if there was work she could do. There was—dishes to be washed; food to prepare (peel and cut up potatoes, carrots, and onions; husk corn, brought by Beni’s wife); clothesline to wash off. We had started getting ready to wash clothes. Had the machine filled with water and a load of clothes already in it. When Daddy went down to fill the generator with diesel before starting it, however, the pump hose jumped out of the tank and spilled fuel on the engine. It wouldn’t due to start the generator with fuel spilled on the engine. It had to be wiped off and then left for a while to evaporate off completely. So, Lord willing, clothes will be washed tomorrow. By the time Bonita had finished everything else, I let her go for the day. It was now nearly lunch time, and we were hungry. I warmed up the leftover rice and tuna, and we had that for our dinner. Later, I cooked the veggies and the corn and had some of that for supper. Daddy had sandwiches – one tomato and cheese, and one peanut butter and honey. Most of the day, I was busy cleaning. Even though the youth had cleaned, there was (and still is) lots of cleaning to do. I had to disinfect the plastic table cover three times before it was clean. Washed off the office desks so we could set up our computers. Cleaned the kitchen countertops and a shelf unit in the bathroom that hadn’t been done. Also did more unpacking and finding a place for everything. Daddy turned on the ACER computer which hadn’t been used for two years. We thought the battery would be dead, but it was actually on 51% charge. We were quite surprised. Philemon brought back the modem we had given him. He hadn’t used it because it wasn’t compatible with his computer. There was no SIM card in it so we will have to get a new one. In the meantime, Daddy used the SIM card from his phone to see if he could get in e-mails, but he couldn’t get a good connection. The day was already quite cloudy, however, so that may have been hindering reception. By evening, I was ready to relax. Tried catching up on journal notes with just a short break to do dishes. Rain again this evening. January 26. Rains continued on into the night. We were up again around 6:00 this morning, Lotu (church service) would be at 7:00 (PNG time). Had time for some breakfast and a start of quiet time before the crowd started gathering for lotu. There were about 40 in attendance, perhaps half of them young people. The time was spent singing a few songs, taking prayer requests, and praying. After lotu there was some time to fellowship before getting busy with work. We did do the laundry this morning. Bonita came and helped, and I started teaching her how to use the washing machine. After she had hung out the clothes, I had her sweep the floors and burn the trash. Daddy tried to get e-mails in again this morning, but still couldn’t get a good connection. Matthew said that he gets good reception at his house, so Daddy took the ACER and went to Matthew’s house. Success! Praise the Lord! Now we need to start writing e-mails and keeping in touch with the other side of the world. Looks like we’ll be doing our e-mails on the ACER. I was more tired today, and my legs and feet were hurting quite a bit, so I didn’t do as much cleaning. I did make sure the last few items we brought in were removed from their boxes and put away somewhere. Put away extra vitamins and a few other things in a box and organized the bedroom better so it looks a lot neater. Transferred pictures to the computer and started editing them. Philemon took a lot of pictures so I have quite a few to go yet. (Sorry, I don’t have pictures to post yet. Mom and Dad probably won’t be able to send them until they go out to town again as internet connection in the village is too slow.) For dinner I browned a chunk of ground beef, made a broth for it, and added the potatoes, carrots, and onions that had been cooked yesterday. Voila! Nourishing stew for dinner. I was really wiped out at nap time and took a long nap. After nap, I folded and put away the clothes that Daddy brought in while I was sleeping. Later this afternoon, Amos came by to let us know that he was going to go and preach to some men that were playing cards nearby. Apparently some have started playing (gambling) out here a short ways from the church house. We were so thankful to hear that he is concerned about their souls. Daddy and I took time to pray for him after he headed out. Later he came back with a report that he went through the whole plan of salvation, and they all listened attentively. They thanked him for teaching them some things that they did not know and asked if he had more to teach them. We trust this will be an open door for him to give them more of God’s Word and win some (all would be wonderful) to Christ. Amos had no sooner come back from preaching to the card players and had started the generator when he heard crying up on the hill. He knew that his father, Putaso, was at the point of death, but he let the family know that he was going to fulfill his obligations to the Lord first. He had earlier questioned his father about his salvation and felt confident that his father clearly understood and was at peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Daddy and I had just sat down and started eating supper when a handful of the SDA followers came by for a visit—Paqo and Nandana, Kaipo, Mishek, and Magaret (Danny’s wife). So we pulled up a bench, and they all sat on the floor while we chatted with them. They were just leaving when Salome came along, as well as Singinis and her three little children. They didn’t stay, but came in for just a couple minutes to say hello. After they all left, we went back and finished our supper. This evening, Asenat came by to see me and asked if I could give some time to teach her some things about knowing the will of God regarding marriage. I told her I would be delighted to do that, and we decided on Monday afternoon to get together and talk. After Asenat left, I took everything off the paper storage shelves about the right end of the office desk area, swept them off, and washed them with disinfectant. I wanted to get that clean before we set up the printers underneath so I wouldn’t be getting dirt on the printers later. Then I put water on to heat for dishes. Worked a while on journal notes while I was waiting for the water to get hot. When dishes were done, I fixed a snack. Then did more picture editing until bedtime.
January 23. Although we’ve been praying for dry weather, the Lord has been giving us rain. I’m inclined to think that it rained all night long, as it was raining whenever I woke up, and Daddy said it was raining whenever he was awake to. So we thank the Lord for the rain, and we continue to wait and pray. Matthew said it didn’t rain much in Owena last night, however, and the weather was good this morning; but the weather has remained cloudy and cool here all day, and there have been more periods of rain. Did MAF get to make the fuel flight into Owena? We don’t know. Will they be able to get us in tomorrow? We don’t know. This morning, I worked on the World Missions course for MTP and have that perfected as much as possible until our book Operation World arrives in PNG with our shipped goods. About mid-morning, when we thought the rain had stopped, Daddy and I walked to Papindo in West Goroka to get something else to eat. It was a nice walk, but just before we got there, I felt a couple drops of rain on my arms; and when we came out of Papindo to head back to CRMF, there was a light rain falling. I was able to walk briskly for about half the distance, but my legs began to weaken so that I had to slow down a bit. So we got a little wet on the way home, but not too bad. We were thankful that it wasn’t raining hard. (Maybe we should have waited at the store until the rain let up.) I was rudely awakened from my nap when Daddy got a phone call from Ben saying that the fuel flight went into Owena today so we need to be ready to go at 10:00 in the morning. However, we need to get all the rest of our cargo ready now (except 16kg each) and get it over to the hangar to be weighed up. So we got up and got busy packing all that we won’t need this evening or first thing in the morning. As soon as we had everything ready, Brad came and helped Daddy take things over to the hangar. The rest of the afternoon and early evening, I worked on the MTP courses, getting some notes into better order, looking for the flash drive I came across the other day with notes on A Missionary Helpmeet, and starting to translate those notes into Pidgin for a course for the missionary wives. This evening, after I read hymn stories and sang a while, I washed up the day’s dishes. January 24. Thursday, but we didn’t get a chance to get the computers set up last night so I am writing these notes on Friday, attempting to force this tired brain to remember Thursday’s events. Thursday was a special day. We were up at 6:00 to get ready for our flight at 10:00. Or maybe earlier if the first flight planned wasn’t able to take place because of weather. By 8:30, we pretty much had everything else packed up, dishes done, beds stripped, etc. We would pack up the freezer/fridge box and get a couple last minute things put into travel bags as soon as MAF should call to let us know when they would pick us up and take us to the hangar. We already figured it wouldn’t be the first flight since it was past the time point for that flight to take place. The next thing we knew, there was the MAF truck outside the gate. They had come to take us to the hangar. The driver said he had tried to call first, but couldn’t get an answer for some reason. But Daddy’s phone never rang. We had to ask him to wait a few minutes while we packed up the freezer and fridge box and finished getting ourselves ready. It was around 9:00 when we headed for the hangar. The plane was already at its first destination, trying to get to another airstrip about five minutes away, but the weather had closed in. They waited for some time, but that airstrip never opened up so they off-loaded the cargo for that village and left it at the airstrip they were at to hopefully pick up tomorrow. Our cargo was all weighed up and loaded onto a cargo trolley, waiting to be loaded onto the plane as soon as it came back from its first round. The morning was moving on, and we were both getting hungry. All I had had for breakfast was a small dish of leftover potatoes. I had intended to have carrots too, but the carrots were spoiled. I finally opened one of the boxes that was on the trolley, found some peanut butter and some plain cookies, spread the peanut butter on with my fingers, and made a couple peanut butter cookie sandwiches. Then I had to get out the packing tape and scissors and tape the box back up. The plane finally arrived back around 11:15. Weather was good in Owena. Praise the Lord! They refueled and loaded up the plane as quickly as possible. It was close to 11:50 when we took off for Owena, Captains Greg and Glennis flying the twin otter. There was quite a crowd waiting when we arrived. After they had unloaded all the cargo, the welcome program began. The three churches—Liberty Independent Baptist (formerly Owena Baptist), Emmanuel Baptist, and Glory Independent Baptist) had worked together to plan a grand welcome home for us. Some of the youth arrived bearing the PNG flag, the Eastern Highlands flag, and the GIBC welcome sign that we had used when Nathan C came in 2013. They wanted the pilots to be a part of the beginning of the program too, to which request they willingly complied stating that they felt it was much more important than being in a hurry to get back to work. First of all the youth laid a path of laplap (a certain type of cloth) and leaves along which they had us walk, then turn around and face the MC, Matthew. He gave a brief welcome and thanked the pilots for bringing us back to Owena. We and the pilots were each decorated with a lei. The youth sang a couple songs. What a joy to hear them sing again! Their voices blend so nicely. I think it must have been a little taste of heaven. I spied Philemon standing a little ways off to my right and motioned to him to come get my camera and take some pictures with it. While the pilots were preparing to leave and afterward, individuals were given opportunity to welcome us. Many tears of joy were shed. At the same time, the cargo was given to various individuals to carry down to the house, and the youth were down inside the back gate preparing for the next part of the welcome. The early afternoon sun was hot, and I got a little sunburned. As soon as Dallas gave the signal, we followed the leaders down to the house. The pathway across from the airstrip to the house was strewn with leaves. The gateway was decorated with leaves, and a path of leaves led to the house. We were stopped just inside the gate and decorated with bilums. The youth were lined up along the pathway, and they sang a couple songs before we walked the pathway to the house. We were ushered through the house and into the meeting room, while everyone else went around to the church door entrance. The meeting room was packed full with adults and children. My, so many children! Bible reading and speeches were given by Pastor Amos of GIBC, Pastor Ben of LIBC (Pastor Nuanda was still in town), and Pastor Andru of EBC, as well as LIBC’s youth leader, Nehemaia, the son Naomi and Wamara (Nehemaia is currently receiving Bible school training somewhere) and GIBC’s youth leader, Dallas. Last of all, Daddy was asked to say a few words, and then Mike closed with prayer. Afterward there were more hugs and greeting of individuals, particularly my former school students and other youth, well, the girls anyway. The boys came later on to give a hug and a welcome. It was around 2:30 when the grand welcome ended yesterday. We were given much honor, yet, who are we but vessels the Lord has used to bring the good news to the village of Owena? We still had not had a meal since breakfast, which hadn’t been much of a meal. We were thankful we thought to bring a jugful of filtered water with us from town so we had clean water to drink. One of the first things Daddy did after everyone was gone (well, most everyone) was to find the Pur water pitcher and filter that he had left here a couple years ago. We could not find any water filtration units to buy in town so we pray that this little filter will last until a unit arrives from the US. (We have asked C&C to purchase one for us and send it to JAARS to be shipped with our other cargo.) If not, we will have to boil water for a while. Tania stayed around after the meeting and scrubbed the toilet and tub which were really filthy. Some of the men helped set up the stove, freezer, and washing machine, and cut plywood to widen the bed which was too narrow for our two single mattresses. A couple men chopped firewood. I did some unpacking; and as soon as I found the rice, a tin of tuna, and a clean saucepan, I put some rice on to cook. By now it was 4:00 or so, and it was close to 5:00 before a small pot of rice and tuna was ready for us to eat. I think, by this time, our stomachs had shrunk a bit as it was all each of us could do to eat a small bowlful of supper. While supper was cooking, and on into the evening, we unpacked suitcases and a few other things. Found sheets, pillows, pillow cases, and blankets so we could get the bed made and ready for sleeping. Found soap, towels, and washcloths so we could wash our very sweaty bodies. It had been a hot day. Rains came late afternoon and continued into the evening.
January 21. A dreary, rainy morning. Daddy was still not feeling himself so he asked MAF about the possibility of moving our flight up a day if we can’t get things done today. Sosthenes came by around 8:00 this morning. It was good to see him. We visited a while; and, around 9:30, he and Daddy walked over to MAF to pick up the car. When they came back, Sosthenes helped Daddy carry cargo down to the car and load it in. We had a number of items that had been packed up and ready to go. They took that small load over to the hangar. When they got back from the hangar, it was after 10:30. Daddy relaxed a bit and had a snack. A little after 11:00 we headed out, supposing that we were going to market first, but when we got close to the market area, there was nothing there but piles of rubbish. We are wondering where the market went. Did they finally finish renovating the old market place so it was ready for people to move back down there? We will have to try to find out. Went on uptown and stopped at Hot Spot where Daddy got a battery for his phone. Went to Papindo next; and since it was going on 12:00 already, we decided to have lunch first at Papindo Café. I ordered a chunky chicken sandwich, but only ate the chicken. It was full of chicken salad (actually it was shredded, not chunky), and it was plenty for me to eat. Daddy ordered a hamburger. Ate half of it, and was getting full, so left the rest of the bun. Sosthenes ordered chili chicken wings with fries and ate his whole meal, plus my bun and Daddy’s other half of bun. After lunch, we shopped for a few items and looked for pillows which they didn’t have. Realized yesterday that the only pillow we have is the one I brought with me. Hmm! There may be another one in one of the suitcases. Last stop was the bank so Daddy could get some coins for us to buy produce with in the village. Came back to the house, and Sosthenes helped us carry things upstairs. Then he left to go back uptown. He is staying with the pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Temple, which is down a street behind the Bird. Young people from that church were at the same youth meeting that the GIBC youth went to in Kainantu a couple weeks ago. It is a good church. Daddy and I had our nap. Then Daddy went downstairs to pay the bill for our lodging, internet service, etc. here at CRMF. We were going to go out again and look for pillows, but it took a long time for them to get our bill figured out, and then it started raining. When the rain stopped, it was time for Daddy to take the car back because the Ventor’s use it Monday afternoons to take some of the MAF kids to karate class. MAF is behind schedule in their flying because of the weather so we won’t be going in tomorrow so we can do a little shopping tomorrow. MAF will still try to do the fuel flight tomorrow and then take us in on Wednesday. This afternoon and evening, I marked places in the culture course where questions can be asked about how to give Biblical answers to various cultural beliefs and practices. Now I’ll turn it over to Daddy to find appropriate Bible verses. Later this evening, we listened to a good message by Adrian Rogers entitled “Totally Abandoned to the Gospel,” based on Romans 1:14-16: “I am debtor.” “I am ready.” “I am not ashamed.” January 22. Woke up to a foggy morning, but it wasn’t long before the sun broke through. How we enjoyed the sunshine after two quite cool days! Then about mid-afternoon, when I was allowing myself the pleasure of an extended nap, a torrential rain came up, blowing wildly across the front veranda and tossing the curtains up in the air by my bed. That blustery rain didn’t last long, but light rain has continued to fall since. The Ventors had told Daddy that the market was moved to a new place across from the lower end of the airstrip. So we went looking for the market, but found few vendors there. They said that a lot of the vendors have moved back away from town to a bush place. The new market place is quite nice though with new tables placed on a large cement foundation. There were security guards there to keep out individuals who just came to cause trouble. We bought a few carrots, a couple tomatoes, and an avocado. Em tasol (That’s all). There were no potatoes, and the onions were rather expensive. Maybe someone in Owena will have onions and potatoes to sell us. We brought the market food back to the house and then went out looking for pillows. Seng Da was all out of pillows too. Well, I said, if anyone has pillows, it is probably The Green Fern, one of the little Asian stores in the center of town. That’s where we got our mattress. So we headed there next; and sure ‘nuf, they had lots of pillows. Bought a couple pillows and headed next to the Digicel office to register our phones. Made a pit stop at the Bird before going to Papindo Café for lunch. It was a bit early, but we didn’t want to go all the way back to the house and then come back uptown again. And we didn’t have anything left to eat at the house. We each got a chicken chunk sandwich today, but only ate the chicken. It was loaded with chicken salad and was more than we could eat. We only ate about half and then asked for a box to take the rest home. It will be good for lunch tomorrow, if we are still here, which it looks like we shall be, but that is in the Lord’s hands. After lunch, we made one more stop—at another Digicel office upstairs from where Gouna Center used to be, to see if they had any modems. They would be getting some soon, but the worker didn’t know if the new ones will be compatible with windows 10, or not. Oh, I almost forgot, we did make one other stop. We went by EBC to see about buying honey. The worker was on his lunch hour, but he kindly took us to the little room where the honey is kept and sold us a 2.5 litre bottle of honey. We took everything back to the flat, and then Daddy took the car back to the Ventors. We will not need to go anywhere tomorrow, unless we go to Owena; but we won’t know until the last minute. We just need to be ready. I waited sleepily for Daddy to come back from MAF before I had my nap. It was a hot walk back in the early afternoon sun. But we are glad he took the car back early because it would have been raining if he had waited until after nap. After our naps, I washed my hair, did some packing, wrote an e-mail, wrote in my journal, washed a load of clothes, peeled and cut up and cooked a few little potatoes to go with our noon meal tomorrow. When the clothes were done washing, I hung them out on the middle veranda. Then I had supper, adding a few pieces of the just-cooked potatoes to some leftover carrots, a little dab of leftover beef with broth, a little dab of egg salad (left after Daddy made his sandwich), a couple pieces of diced cucumber, and one slice of diced tomato (left after Daddy made his sandwich). Tossed it all together with some mayonnaise, fennel powder, and 3-in-1 garlic, ginger, onion powder. Voila! Tasty and filling. This evening, I did the dishes, and we listened to another challenging Adrian Rogers’ message on the life of faith from Hebrews 11:1-3 and 12:1-2.
January 20. It must have rained for several hours during the night last night. It was raining whenever I woke up anyway, and raining quite hard too. It was a cool, cloudy day, with rain this afternoon. It was also very quiet and lonely around here most of the day. Daddy woke up with a bad case of vertigo and spent half the day in bed. I had plenty of time for quiet time, worked on writing and deleting e-mails, finished revising the culture course, got the December progress report written. This evening, I sent the progress report off to Pastor Ogle after Daddy proofread it, read hymn stories and sang some. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” II Chronicles 7:14 A promise God gave to Solomon and a daily prayer for God’s people in my own nation.
January 18. Praise the Lord for His help through another busy day! Both Daddy and I were extra tired today as we were each awake (at different times) a while in the night with trouble breathing. We finally thought that it might be from the bottled gas for the stove as we had been smelling a pretty strong gas odor the past couple days. We are thankful we still had some windows open at night. First thing this morning, after the offices opened, Daddy went downstairs to make some purchases and report the gas smell. After that, we went to Brian Bell to get coffee plastic. Met up with Korin at Brian Bell, and he went around with us and helped us carry things. Made a stop at Goroka Food Mart for a couple items we didn’t find, but we bought another bag of sultanas while they were available because we saw that most of the dried fruit was gone. Then we dropped the coffee plastic off at MAF before heading uptown. While we were in Brian Bell, we saw a young couple who also showed up at Goroka Food Mart when we were there. We were able to meet them and learned that their name is Haw and they are with ABWE. Have been in the country about four years. They are from Pennsylvania. Uptown we went first to YuYu and got roofing nails, 3” nails, and 4” nails, but they didn’t have any 1 or 2”. Also bought AA and D batteries, but they had no C’s, and a box of marking pens. Daddy and Korin each got a cold drink, but there was nothing there that appealed to me. Went to ChemCare Pharmacy and found rubbing alcohol and tea tree soap. Then Daddy parked at “the Bird” and I went in to use their facilities while Daddy and Korin walked across the street to Bintangor. The only thing they bought there, however, was two cookies. Last of all, we stopped at Hot Spot Electric, but that was an unprofitable stop. After that, we headed back to the flat for lunch. Our nap time was delayed as Lucas came up and tried to sniff out the gas leak, but unsuccessfully; although he did actually smell it a bit even though he doesn’t have a good sense of smell. We have been keeping the gas off today except when we needed to cook something. After he left, we had our naps. We were both pretty tired and had a hard time getting up. Daddy went back out this afternoon to try to get the few items that were left on the list. He did get me a phone for a decent price at one of the little stores in West Goroka so we’ll be able to communicate whenever he is in town and I’m not. The idea of getting a smart phone to use for internet is definitely out of the question. The cost is much to high. However, when he was setting up my phone for me, Digicel had an advertisement to set it up for internet for a fee of K130 for 30 days. We are going to try the old modem first (which Philemon is holding) if the old computer is working; but if not, maybe we can set my phone up for internet. Daddy also found eggs at Seng Da and got ground beef while he was there. Most of the stores in town do not have any eggs. Daddy did see eggs at Bintangor this morning (so maybe eggs have come back into town), but the eggs at Seng Da were cheaper. While Daddy was gone, I packed and labeled boxes. Did more packing after he came home. Thankful to have most of the packing done. When I went to fix tuna for supper, we discovered that I must have packed the can of tuna that I had left out. Since the box was all taped up and ready for travel, we decided that I would boil some eggs, and we could have egg salad sandwiches. While the eggs were boiling, Daddy took the car back to the Ventors. When he got back, the eggs were ready to peel and then mash with mayonnaise. Didn’t feel like doing a whole lot this evening. Wrote an e-mail, read some hymn stories and sang, had Bible reading and prayer time with Daddy. Maybe I’ll just go to bed early. January 19. Saturday. The Lord gave us a lovely, sunny morning. I did go to bed early last night; and I believe I went to sleep before Daddy ever finished his shower. Praise the Lord for a better sleep last night, even though I had one awake period when I was hearing noises outside. Sounded like it was on the front veranda, or it could have been down below the veranda, or even on the veranda roof. Must have been some kind of animal. An owl maybe? Anyway, I was glad when the noise finally stopped and I could go back to sleep. I think it was going on 7:00 before I finally got up. Daddy had already been up for about a half hour. After breakfast and quiet time, we washed clothes. Hung some of them out on the middle veranda, and Daddy took the rest down to the clothesline and hung them up. While the second load was washing, I peeled and cut up carrots and put them on to cook. Before and after lunch, and after nap too, I worked on the culture course revisions. After nap, I also got the clothes in, folded clothes and put them away or packed them away, measured and cut string rope and started weaving it through the bottom, sides, and handles of the market bilum so the bilum wouldn’t have so much stretch. That last job took quite a while, but I finally got it done, and it looks like it is going to help quite a bit. Had planned to do dishes after nap, but it was much too hot in here. In the late afternoon, stormy winds came up, with thunder, although the rain ran away somewhere else. The air cooled off nicely after that, though, so I did dishes around 5:00, before having supper. Worked more on the culture notes this evening. “17Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 18That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: 19Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast….” Hebrews 6:17-19a Praise God for the immuntability of His counsel (His word) and His oath, and for a hope that is both sure (secure, certain) and stedfast (stable, firm).
January 16. The Lord gave us more sunshine today, and it was a bit warmer than yesterday. No shopping again today since Brad is still using his vehicle. Enjoyed some extra quiet time. Made some revisions in my prayer journal in the computer. Prepared last week’s journal notes to send to C&C. Lucas brought us internet tickets and helped us get connected to the internet so we can now send e-mails. Service is very slow, however. Sent off the e-mail I had ready for C&C. Wrote an e-mail to Pastor Ogle. Sent picture e-mails to Connie. She received one of them six times because it kept staying in the outbox, and every few minutes they would send it again. I didn’t know, of course, until we heard back from Connie. I had put it back in drafts during nap time, thinking I would get it out again later and try to send it again, but didn’t need to. Most of the afternoon, I wrote e-mails. Also went through the flash drives trying to find backups from Daddys computer, but couldn’t find any. This evening, I worked on making some major revisions in the MTP culture course. Then I sat and read hymn stories and sang a while before Daddy and I had our Bible reading and prayer time. “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Hebrews 3:13 We who have put our faith in Christ should not let a day go by without seeking to encourage, to embolden, to cheer, to advise, to warn one another, and to strengthen one another’s faith. January 17. This morning, Daddy walked over to MAF to pick up the Land Rover for today and tomorrow. Then he went to MAF to see if they have us booked yet for next week, and they have us scheduled to fly in on Tuesday. Then he went to Hardware House and purchased roofing iron and ridge cap and had them delivered to MAF. Then he came back to pick me up, and we went out shopping together. We wanted to get as much done as we could today as we only have tomorrow and Monday left after this to finish up. We went first to SengDa to look for a modem, but they don’t have any. So it looks like our only option for having internet in the bush and being able to write e-mail is for Daddy to get a smart phone with which we can connect to a hot spot via Digicel. We did spend a good bit of time in Seng Da, exploring their second story department of clothing and dry goods and making a few purchases before going back downstairs to buy a few things in the food department. After Seng Da, we stopped at Papindo central, but didn’t find what we were looking for. Next we made a pit stop at the Bird of Paradise Hotel, and then went on to uptown Papindo. Since it was already going on noon, we had a little lunch first at the café. Then we did some shopping, mostly for dry goods—bowls, small plates, and large plates; water jug; containers for the Celtic sea salt water.and for kefir; trash bags, small and larger. After leaving Papindo, we came back to the house for a nap. As we were carrying bags up the stairs to the flat, an MAF worker on loan to CRMF offered to help. Praise the Lord for that blessing! He is not a pilot but a technical worker of some kind. The first American we’ve seen since we’ve been here, his name is Brian Ward. He is from northeastern Tennessee and works mainly in the area of teaching and media with CRMF. And after nap, we went out to Hardware Haus intending to look at a freezer Daddy had seen there this morning. However, as we came into the store, we saw a small freezer on sale for an affordable price. It is a little smaller than the one we used to have, but it looks like it will be sufficient for our needs. So we purchased it, and Hardware Haus will deliver it to the hangar in the morning. We praise the Lord for this provision, as we had looked everywhere for a suitable chest freezer and had not been able to find one. From there, we went to Brian Bell and got a laundry basket (had not been able to find anything affordable anywhere else) and a wall clock. We also talked with Nagani, our salesman who helped us purchase the stove and washing machine, about purchasing 50 metres of the coffee plastic that is left on their roll, or whatever is left if it is less than 50 metres. So Daddy will go in the morning and buy that and then deliver it or have it delivered straight to the hangar. That done, we came back to the flat. I taped up a couple boxes and started a little packing. When Daddy got back, we both just relaxed and spent time at the computer. I was somewhat slower getting around the stores today as my left knee was screaming at me. We did a lot of going up and down stairs too—at Seng Da, at Brian Bell, and here at CRMF, and that didn’t help the knee any. As the afternoon and evening wore on, I realized that I must have something other than just normal joint pain. By the middle of the evening, my whole body was hurting, and I could hardly move. My stomach hadn’t been feeling quite right most of the day either so I began to wonder if there isn’t something else going around. Daddy said he was hurting all over too so both of us took ibuprofen this evening. Spent a good amount of time late afternoon and in the evening working on the revision of the culture course. Then we had Bible reading and prayer time together and also revised the shopping list to see what was left to do. There really isn’t much left so maybe we can finish tomorrow, except for the freezer stuff we will need to get on Monday. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrrews 4:16 A fitting verse for the close of the day. Yes, we truly are needy people. We need God’s mercy and grace, and we need His help. Therefore we came boldly unto the throne of grace to obtain that which is promised.
January 14. Amos and Dallas came a little after 8:00 this morning to help us with shopping today. Our first stop was Papindo’s and market. Daddy went into Papindo, while Dallas, Amos, and I went across the street to start the market shopping—onions, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, napa cabbage, popo, and bananas. Daddy had joined us there before we were quite finished. We took the market goods back to the house and then went to West Goroka. First of all, Daddy had business to attend to with MAF. Then we went across the street to Brian Bell and made the purchases that had been written up for us by Paul Opa. Paul wasn’t there today so another man, Nagani, handled our business. He was very friendly and helpful and even gave us a discount on our purchases of gas stove, twin tub washing machine, and blender. When Daddy inquired, he said that he attends the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints here in Goroka. Next stop was Goroka Food Mart to get muesli (which they didn’t have), Weetbix, two storage totes, and two conference chairs. Took the chairs over to the hangar and brought the other items back to the house. Then went uptown to look at a freezer at Chemica. They have just one freezer in stock that will meet our needs; but while Daddy was asking a worker about it, Amos and Dallas noticed a man eyeing Daddy’s bilum and pockets. So Daddy told the worker we would come back later, and then we left. Went to YuYu Trading and got a case of salt and a bottle of crunchy peanut butter. Then to Istana for a case of soap, some more tuna and milk powder, and some cold drinks for four thirsty souls. Stopped at the kai bar to let Amos and Dallas pick out something to eat, but all they wanted was bread so they each got a muffin. Then we went back to the house and had lunch. Amos and Dallas stayed a little while and talked before heading back to Philip’s house where they have been staying. They are planning to head back to Owena tomorrow so Daddy gave them some money for bus fares. After they left, we had our nap. We didn’t have time to go anywhere this afternoon, except downstairs to pay for the items Nick was getting together for us – solar panel, lights, battery, power bar, printer and extra ink. Then Daddy had to take the car back to MAF as they will be needing it for the next couple days. While Daddy was gone, I cut up the popo we had bought today so that we could enjoy some fruit this afternoon. Daddy walked back, and whom should he meet up with but Wan and Korin? They came in and visited for a while. It was good to see them. After they left, we two each enjoyed a bowl of fruit, and that was followed by supper. After supper, I did a little packing and re-packing. Then washed the dishes. “5And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods. 6But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him?” II Chronicles 2:5,6 God is so great that no place, not even the heaven of heavens, can contain Him. It is hard to even comprehend One so great, and yet this great and mighty God thinks about and cares for you and me. Let us worship and bow down, for He is our God. January 15. No transportation for shopping this morning, but there was quite a bit to do around here. I was thankful for a little extra quiet time, too. Before I even ate breakfast, I prepared the napa cabbage and broccoli we got yesterday at market so we would have some green vegetable as well as the yellow (the carrots). Set those on to cook and then heated a bowlful of carrots, taters, and ground beef with some chicken boullion to eat for my breakfast. After breakfast, I put a load of clothes in to wash. The machine is quite small so I had to do two loads. Each load takes over an hour on the eco cycle. The machine is not working properly either so had to stop it a couple times each load and unwrap the clothes that had tied themselves up around the agitator. After the first load was in, I washed the dishes. Then I made the bed. As soon as the load was done, I put the second load in. Then hung most of the first load out on the veranda between the flats and the office area. Hung a couple shirts on hangers in the house. The second load had only a few shirts, dresses, and trousers, and all of those were hung on hangers around the house. Midway through the second wash, while I was working on untwisting the clothes that had wrapped around the agitator, Michael and another worker came running up because it was “raining” in their office below the laundry area. As we looked for the source of the problem, water was discovered all over the floor behind and beside the washing machine. Where was it coming from? over the top of the bowl? from the drain? from one of the hoses? The haus meri Lin brought some towels to sop up the water. When I started the machine going again to finish draining and then spin, it was evident that the water was coming from somewhere underneath the machine. They said to go ahead and finish the wash—just leave towels on the floor to sop up the “rain”. Before Michael went back downstairs, Daddy talked with him a bit about the internet. Then he sent Lucas up to talk more since Lucas deals more in that field. By the time all that was done, it was 11:30. Had a few minutes at the computer before getting lunch. Then we lay down for nap. Was enjoying a nice sleep when Daddy got a call from Nuanda who was at the gate. Daddy went down to let him in, and he and Senka came up for a visit. What a blessing to hear from his (Nuanda’s) own mouth how God had chastened him and not cast him away! Please keep praying for Nuanda. The Lord has done a great work in his heart. I’m sure he needs all the prayer and encouragement he can get. After they left, I got the clothes in, had a fruit snack, and did the dishes. This evening, I wrote a couple thank you notes and answered a couple encouragement notes so there is a file ready to send to C&C for printing and delivering. Also read some more hymn stories and sang the hymns, and Daddy and I read Hebrews 2 and had prayer together. “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Hebrews 2:9 By the grace of God, Christ tasted death for me. By the grace of God, Christ suffered for me. By the grace of God, I have been delivered from bondage, from the power and fear of death, from the power of the devil. (verses 14,15) By the grace of God, I am saved. Hallelujah! Amazing grace! |
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