February 13. Another cold night; and cloudy with cold winds blowing most of the day. We praise the Lord for a little sunshine now and then throughout the day. We kept the wood fire going up through early afternoon as I had to make tortillas today, and we decided to try to cook them on the wood stove. It is hard to keep an even temperature though so some of them took a long time to cook and some of them got too done. It was lotu day today. Amos continued his teaching in the discipleship booklet. During the middle of the meeting, a young man came in and sat down between me and Ellen. I thought it was Esau, but he was turned the other direction. Right after the meeting, he stood up and looked at me. It was Esau. Then we hugged and shook hands and he started sobbing. After he quieted down a bit, I invited him in to talk. I gave him a tissue to wipe his nose because he was wiping it on his hat. Then he looked at me and smiled and said good morning in Owena. It has been five months since he returned from Moresby and this was his first time back to church. His father had been working with him and helping him to get things right with the Lord. He had lived in Moresby for nearly three years, trying to earn money to pay for his wife. Life there was very hard, and he could not find a good church. The city churches are so different. He could only get a low-paying job because he doesn’t have a tenth grade education, and most of his money was taken up with just living—rent, food, transportation, etc. So he gained practically nothing by being in Moresby. He now has to start saving his coffee income to pay for his wife. I was so thankful to hear that he has been reconciled to fellowship with the Lord. Have prayed for him often, as I do for all my former (and present) school students. After lotu, too, Mike, Dallas, and one of Eric’s sons cut some firewood for us as we were down to the bottom of the wood box. After talking with Esau, I got busy making tortillas. It takes a long time to roll them all out by hand, with the heel of the hands that is, since my rolling pin is not here yet. Finally got them rolled out and then put the pans on the wood stove to heat. While they were heating, and while the tortillas started cooking, I threw together some ingredients for oatmeal raisin cookie bars for Daddy. This was our first time to use the oven of the gas stove. One problem is that there was no instruction booklet with the stove. I didn’t have any trouble figuring out how to light the oven as it is much like the one we used to have. But I didn’t know how to set the temperature because it doesn’t have any degrees on the knob, just numbers from 1 to 4. It was 1:30 before the tortillas were finally done. The oatmeal raisin bars finished baking long before, and we had finished our dinner 45 minutes or so before. After nap, I looked over some songs while Daddy charged up the ACER so he could try again to send the other page of the newsletter. When it was done charging and he went outside to try to get a good connection, I went and practiced keyboard. Then Daddy returned with nine e-mails to read but no success in sending the newsletter page. We have prayed, and he has tried day after day, but still cannot get the rest of the newsletter to send. So we just continue to commit that need to the Lord. I stopped practicing keyboard for a while so we could read the e-mails that came in. Then I went back and practiced a little more. After that, I turned on my computer and worked on writing today’s events in my journal until supper time. Right after supper, I put water on to heat for dishes, and then washed the day’s dishes. I was just about done when Erisa came by, and we enjoyed a nice visit with her. This evening, I printed out another song and then found the music for song three and got the Pidgin words laid out with that music. That way I can start practicing ahead on some other songs. “16Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. 17If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” John 13:16,17 Jesus Christ, God Himself, came to this world as a servant. He has sent us into into the world to be servants as well. Surely we are not greater than our Lord to think that we should be served rather than serve. Happiness comes from knowing these things and doing them. February 14. The Lord gave us another very chilly, cloudy day with periods of rain. Daddy said he saw the sunshine while I was sleeping this afternoon, but that is all there was for today. How thankful we are for the wood stove to keep the chill off the house! We had some good discussions in our Bible class this morning. I am pleased with how well they are doing learning their parts to the song we’ve been learning (“Sing Hosana”), currently in Pidgin, but later we’ll go to English. When class was dismissed, they asked for their notes so they could sing it once more together. I gave them their notes and then left the classroom while they sang, and they sounded quite good. When they finished and came out into the kitchen, I told them they could have a prize. Bananas! They have each been eating a couple bananas every day to help us use up the over-abundance of ripe bananas. We all stood around and talked a while before they finally left. I had intended to sit down and get some computer work done, when Esau came by with Jaydine and Howard. They had been up this way talking with Amos so came by here afterward. I brought out chairs for them, and we sat and talked a while. After they left, I had about a half hour until lunch time to work on a lesson. We will finish the current Bible lesson tomorrow so I wanted to be sure to get a good start on a lesson for next week. After lunch and nap, I washed my hair. Then I put eggs on the wood stove to boil so I could make egg salad for our supper sandwiches. Then spent time practicing keyboard before getting back to the computer. Washed the dishes right after supper and then finished next week’s Bible lesson. Praise the Lord for His help with that. Also rearranged the music for the next song the students will be learning. “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15 A simple commandment, but not always simple to obey. Yet keeping Christ’s commandments is proof of our love for Him.
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February 11. The cold winds blew most of the night, and it was cool and cloudy again most of the day today. The sun did come out for a while this afternoon, but cold wind still blew in through the door and windows when we tried to keep them open for a while for fresh air. This morning, we were up right at 6:00. I needed to fix eggs to go with Daddy’s leftover pancakes, and I wanted to be sure to have some quiet time before the school students came. It was the first day of school, and the students all showed up right on time (except for Elias, AKA Dallas, who lives the farthest away). I asked for prayer requests and then prayed. We sang John 3:16 in English and Owena and then started with Bible class. First I had them copy John 6:37 in English for their first memory verse. (They will later learn the same verse in Pidgin and then Owena.) Then we reviewed John 6:1-13 which was the last lesson we covered last time we had school together, a little over three years ago. This would give us a background for the next eight verses. Then I had them read John 6:14-21 and answer the questions that followed the reading. That ended our Bible class time for today. After a short break, we had music class and started learning the parts to “Sing Hosanna.” I thought I had taught them the parts before, but they said I hadn’t, except for the melody. So we started learning the alto, and maybe tomorrow we can add tenor and bass. I didn’t do much playing as I don’t have it down very well yet. After school, Mike took down the rest of the old silver paper from the classroom ceiling. It was all tearing to shreds and making a mess. There was an old rat nest in the one edge of one strip too. The girls then swept up all the mess that job made on the floor, while Mike checked the office ceiling to see if there were a rat nest up there. It looked like there might be one, but there wasn’t. When they were done working, each one washed their hands and then had a couple bananas to eat. All 65 bananas on the stalk that Apekio sent up a week or so ago are ripe. After they all left, I made corrections in Sunday school lessons. Then it was time to get lunch. We still had a half hour after lunch until nap time so I used that time to practice keyboard. After nap, I cut up the other pineapple into small pieces into the big skillet; added the pineapple I had cut up a week ago; added some popo, sugar, and ginger and set all on to cook. After it had cooked a while, I topped it with oats and butter and let it cook a little while longer. I cooked the pineapple because Daddy said it was very sour; but even with sugar in it, it was still very strong, he said. Then I thought of something, If baking soda cuts the acid in my lemon or vinegar drinks, perhaps it will cut the acid in the pineapple. So I added a half teaspooon of baking soda to the skillet full of fruit, and Voila! Even I was able to eat it. Daddy went out and tried to send the other page of the newsletter, but still can’t get a connection to send e-mails. Is Digicel having problems, or what is the story? We are praying that we can get that other e-mail out soon. Still have more e-mails to write and send, but want to make sure this newsletter page gets out first. The rest of the afternoon, until supper time, I made corrections in the Sunday school lessons and then worked on the game tokens for the Bible game which comes at the end of a set of lessons. Was able to finish that after supper and print the game tokens too. Now I will need to print out copies of the lessons and have someone cut up the pages of game tokens. Later, I’ll need to finish finding visuals for the lessons. When that job was done, I washed the dishes, washed a colander full of lemons (real lemons) that some girls brought from Waisara today, strained the boiled water and poured it into its jug, fixed and ate a snack; and did some more fixing of the music sheet so that the notes are clearer and easier to read. “25Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” John 11:25,26 Never! Shall never die! What a wonderful word! What a wonderful promise! What a wonderful assurance! - whosoever liveth and believeth in me [Jesus] shall never die. February 12. The night was cold, and today was cold too. We were up at 5:45 this morning, and Daddy started the generator at 6:00. Judy (Bonita) was to come at 6:00 to wash clothes, but she didn’t make it here until about 6:15. That’s okay. Daddy had filled the machine yesterday evening, and I had put the first load of clothes in last night before bed. So the machine was all ready to turn on as soon as the generator was up and running. The first load was in the extractor and the second load was washing when Judy arrived. She hadn’t done laundry for a couple weeks, and this was only her second time; but she seemed to remember almost every step of operating the washer. While she was working, I ate my breakfast and started quiet time. Helped her hang out part of the clothes, but saw that there was plenty of time for her to finish before school started so I came back inside and finished my quiet time. Judy and Anna Jean were here on time for school, but Mike and Elias were late. They were involved in helping to solve a family problem, which is important and excusable. Mike prayed this morning, and we sang “Until Then” in Pidgin. After reviewing the Bible verse, which all of them knew already, we studied verses 14 and 15 of John 6 and went over some questions for discussion. Had a short break and then continued learning “Aleluya” (“Sing Hosanna”), reviewing the alto for Anna Jean’s benefit, and then working on learning tenor and bass for Elias and Mike. After school, the students feasted on bananas again, and we all stood around talking for a while. Anna Jean stayed a while longer and prepared onions and uxai* for our dinner. I spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon finishing up the job of deleting and adding notes to the music for “Aleluya.” It had so many extra notes and no notes for most of the harmony so I was having a really hard time learning to play it. Hopefully it will come a bit better now that it has an arrangement that is easier for me to read. Before nap, we went out and brought the clothes in as there had been a number of small rain showers off and on throughout the morning. In spite of that, Daddy’s pillow case was already dry so we could put that right back on the bed; and the bedroom curtains were almost dry, and we would certainly want them to cover our window before bed tonight so we hung them up over the wood stove, and they were dry in no time. The classroom curtains were also already dry so we just draped them over the chairs in the classroom and would hang them later. The rest of the clothes were left in the laundry basket to be hung on the lines in the classroom after our nap. There won’t be any school tomorrow since there is lotu in the morning so I wouldn’t have to worry about getting them down before tomorrow. After I hung the damp clothes up this afternoon, I hung the curtains back on the classroom windows. This evening, I did the dishes right after supper. Then I cut up a popo that was ripe and already had a bad spot so it needed to be taken care of right away. Then I printed out the music sheets and now I am writing the day’s events in my journal. After getting the journal notes up to date, I went to the kitchen to get a snack, but remembered that the peanuts were still in the wood stove oven. They have been there all day. I remembered them once this afternoon and found that the peanuts on the side close to the firebox were well done so turned the pan around. When I checked them this time, the rest of them were VERY well done so out they came. Peeled and ate a couple of them. They are just right under the skin. It took all day to roast one panful of peanuts. I’m afraid that’s how well the wood stove doesn’t work. But I’m thankful that it does keep the chill and dampness out of the house. And it does heat a kettle of water or anything that is placed on top directly over the firebox. After I got the peanuts out, I remembered that the boiled water still needed to be filtered and poured into its jug so took care of that job. Then I remembered that I needed to cook some rice so it will be ready for my breakfast in the morning. At last, I got the snack for which I went to the kitchen. Afterward I practiced keyboard and then enjoyed a nice bath. “24Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. 25He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. 26If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.” John 12:24-26 *Uxai -- a vegetable that looks something like lemon grass. The skin on the outside is peeled, and the mealy inside is eaten. It is a most delicious vegetable. When Mom and Dad returned to the village of Owena, the people there had a special welcome back celebration for them. Even the airplane pilots got to be part of it. It was a very special time and a time of rejoicing and tears of joy. I hope you enjoy the pictures and that you will take time to pray for Mom and Dad and for the beautiful people of Owena village, Papua New Guinea as you look through them. Thank you! Explanation of Pictures I cannot figure out how to put captions on pictures in Weebly's new setup, so here is a little about the pictures - First picture -- Air Niuguini - the airlines on which they arrived in the town of Goroka. Next eight pictures -- loading caro on MAF's twin otter airplane, taking off, and flight to Owena village. Next twelve pictures -- exit of airplane and greeting by the people Next three pictures -- escort from airplane to the yard of their house. Next two pictures -- more greetings Next three pictures -- entry into the house Next picture -- Dad giving a speech Next two pictures -- part of the crowd that came to greet Dad and Mom Last four pictures -- the youth
February 3. Yesterday evening was warmer and drier, and the Lord sent us only a little bit of rain during the night. We are thankful for the rain and thankful for the dry. We are praying for drier weather for the people to be able to do their work and for work to be done on the house, particularly the roof. The sun was shining this morning when we got up. I made pancakes for Daddy’s breakfast with sunny-side-up eggs to go on one pancake and sugar syrup on the other. Couldn’t find any flavorings in town to flavor the syrup with, not even vanilla extract. Enjoyed a pancake myself with peanut butter, banana, and sugar syrup on it. After breafast, I put a pot of water on the stove to boil so we won’t run out of cooking water. After prayer time, I worked on a Bible study lesson for the school students until people were ready for lotu to start. It was going on 11:00 again this morning before lotu began. Dallas led in just a couple songs because it was already late. Then Amos gave announcements, and gave time for people to give testimony or confess sin but there were none. For the preaching time, he covered the next section in the discipleship booklet, talking about how a baby grows and why a new baby in God’s family needs to grow. Then we had dinner, which was followed by afternoon lotu. Again Dallas led in a couple songs, and Amos preached a brief message on the family, beginning today on the husband’s role. After lotu, Daddy and Amos worked on a leaky pipe in the laundry room. I went for a nap, and Daddy came later. When I got up, he was up on the hill checking for e-mails and trying to send a couple. We are thankful that this time the two e-mails sent that were in the outbox. Now we have put the other two back in so we can try to send them next time. It is so hard to get a good connection to send e-mails. Worked on the Bible lesson this afternoon and evening, and I thank the Lord that I was able to complete it early this evening. Then there was quite a stack of dishes to do after that. When those were done, I spent time writing an e-mail to C&C. Phinehas came this evening for counsel and prayer. He is in somewhat of a hard place too. He is living with a family near the school he attends and has not been asked to pay them anything for room and board. Therefore he is indebted to them for taking care of him. He would like to go to the Baptist church in Banz, but it costs him K2 each way. Although we know that the Lord could certainly provide the funds, the family he lives with wants him to attend church with them. He has not joined the church the other family attends and has told the pastor where he stands on the Bible. Even so, the pastor has given him opportunities for leadership, and he takes those opportunities to present truth to the youth, with whom he works quite a bit. How thankful we are that, through the Christian school and through Bible school, we have given these young people a firm foundation on which to stand! And we rejoice to know that Graham and Phinehas are both seeking to stand firm on that foundation. They are both in hard places, however, and need much prayer. Phinehas often teaches the young people about repentance and faith for salvation, rather than confession of sin. He also teaches the young people new songs and how to sing parts so they have a choir. This has brought in more young people and gives Phinehas a great opportunity. Perhaps he can help the pastor himself to come to a true knowledge of the way of salvation. Before Phinehas left this evening, he also took a couple bunches of tracts with him, and Daddy prayed for him. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30 In order for Christ to be exalted in my life, it is a MUST that He become of greater and greater importance, and I become of lesser and lesser.
February 1. This morning, we put a pot of water on to boil so we could have some boiled water for cooking. We want to save the filtered water for drinking because the filter is quickly slowing down. After the generator was on, I printed out the pre-orientation notes for MTP (missionary training program) so Daddy can look them over and make corrections if needed. Then I got four e-mails ready to send out. Amos was here helping Daddy wire the battery light to our bedroom. They finally got that one working, but didn’t have time to work on the kitchen light. There was a wire missing in the kitchen light fixture too so Daddy needed to find a small piece of wire. He searched through some boxes this afternoon and found a piece just the right size. Later in the morning, I went and strained the boiled water. Then I started peeling kaukau and potatoes and getting them ready to cook. Before I finished, however, Nukawai came by to greet us so I took time to go and talk with him for a few minutes. By the time I got the potatoes and kaukau on to cook, it was already about 12:15. While those were getting up to pressure in the pressure cooker, I cut up some onion to sauté, added a chunk of ground beef to brown, and then added some broth. Last of all, I warmed up the leftover greens. By the time we had dinner, it was 12:40. We were just getting ready to go to nap when Amos came with Poqo. Poqo has been sick with chronic gastritis and other complications. He was in the hospital for a while; and, looking at his medical records, we see that he was treated for malaria, parasites, and infection, but is nothing bettered. He was seeking two things from us. One, he wanted to know if we had some medicine to help him. We are sorry that we don’t. He also wanted us to anoint him with oil and pray for him, but we felt, since he is a member of Liberty Baptist, that he should seek the help of his own church leaders. We don’t want to usurp the authority of those who are shepherding that local church. Daddy did pray with him, however, before he left. It was after 2:00 before we finally lay down for nap. A nap was very welcome since I was awake the last two hours of darkness this morning. After nap, I had a little snack and then walked around outside for a while to get some fresh air and sunshine. Came back in and started writing in my journal. Then Mata came and wanted to talk. She shared the blessings that resulted from the ladies’ meetings and wanted to know if there were more lessons. Yes, I do have more lessons ready. Will need to print those out and proofread them before I print copies for her. She also asked about a Tok Pisin class as Apekio had asked a few days ago. She also shared some things about the youth meeting they took the young people to in Kainantu. By the time Mata left, it was after 5:30. Daddy was waiting for his supper, and I was hungry too. Opened a tin of tuna and mixed it up with some mayonnaise. Cut a few slices of cheese. Then we sat down to eat. This evening, I finished writing in my journal, printed and proofread five lessons for ladies’ meetings, re-scanned documents and saved them in jpeg so I could make them smaller for e-mailing, washed dishes. Daddy met again with Mike and Amos. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.” II Chronicles 16:9a Am I the kind of person that the LORD is looking for, that He might shew Himself strong in my behalf? Is my heart perfect toward Him? February 2. There was blue sky and sunshine when we got up this morning, but the skies gradually turned to gray. The sun did peek through now and then during the day, and we were grateful for a nice wind to help dry the clothes. Prayer lotu started around 8:00. Even though most of the youth have already gone off to school, there was still a good number of people here. After lotu, Sunny stayed to do the laundry and prepare some pumpkin to go with our dinner. We had leftover potatoes and kaukau and ground beef with broth. Mike and Dallas dug ditches around the generator shed as a lot of mud had gone into the shed during the hard rain the other day. I was busy instructing Sunny on the use of the washing machine and helping her get started hanging out the clothes. Then I got two e-mails ready to send with compressed pictures of important documents, and Daddy tried to send them. An e-mail came in from Connie, but nothing went out. After nap, Daddy and I brought the clothes in. I started working on some things in the computer, but the rest of the afternoon and evening got busy with visitors. Erovi came with a few ears of corn and a couple cucumbers. He wanted some salt, but he also stayed and visited a while. His granddaughter Venita (Erisa’s firstborn) came in to help translate for us. A group of about ten children and youth came in and sat with them too. After they left, I swept the bathroom floor and cleaned the toilet. Then it was supper time. After supper, I cut a very large towel in half so we can have two good-sized hand towels instead of one great big one. Started hemming up one half when Apekio came to visit for a while. Just before I started dishes, Elijah and Sera came with their two daughters, Gloria and Benita. And shortly after I had started dishes, Graham came to spend the evening with us. He looked at old photo albums and talked with Daddy while I finished dishes. After washing dishes, I also cut up a popo which was getting over-ripe and one of the two small pineapples which Zakias’s children had brought. Gave Graham some pineapple and popo to eat and fixed myself a bowl of popo and all-bran with almond milk. Then I sat down and we all talked the rest of the evening until Daddy was ready to turn off the generator. Graham wanted advice about whether to live in the dorm where there is a lot of temptation or whether to live with the family he stayed with last year where he doesn’t have the time or quietness to study. It’s a hard decision to make as either way has its problems. Graham wanted us to pray with him about that and also that he would be faithful in witnessing to others in the school. We gave him a couple small packs of tracts to carry with him in his bilum when he heads out on Tuesday to go back to school. Daddy prayed for him before he left to go home. “….Behold the Lamb of God….” John 1:29,36 Behold = “Fix the eyes upon;” “see with attention;” “observe with care;” “fix the attention upon;” “direct or fix the mind.” Oh, that my eyes and mind might be wholly fixed upon the Lamb of God!
January 30. Wednesday. A chilly morning. I’m so thankful to have gotten some rest last night, with the Lord’s help and with the help of ParaSmart and Ibuprofen. We had barely gotten settled into bed last night when we heard the rat go dashing across the floor and right into the glue trap. Daddy got out of bed and clobbered it with a piece of firewood to put it out of its misery. Right after he got back into bed, we heard another rat, racing wildly across the floor. Heard it several times during the first half of the night, but no more after that. Lotu morning. The lotu bell rang at 7:00, but it was around 8:30 before anyone arrived for lotu. I had finished breakfast and was praying at my computer, using my prayer notebook that is in the computer since I am still working on revising it. Greeted a number of youth before lotu. No adults had come yet other than Pastor Amos. Amos led in a couple songs and taught from the discipleship booklet starting with the first chapter. He added an interesting note that we hadn’t thought of before—when a son is born, the father rejoices and wants to give the son his name. Just so, when a son is born of the Spirit into God’s family, God desires to give him His name. Greeted most everyone else after lotu. Mata and Elise’s parents were here since they had come to stay at Amos’s house for the funeral so we had a little cry with them afterward. Talked a little while with Amos after everyone left. He has had a bad cold for a while; and, of course, all the crying and lack of sleep hasn’t helped any. We gave him some echinacea to try since neither Daddy nor I can take it. Daddy asked him about helping to build a fire each morning, and he said he hasn’t been able to do that as he’s been taking care of matters regarding his father’s death and burial. But now that he has no more obligation to his earthly father, he can come and help. I made a statement that now Daddy can be his father to take care of. He grabbed hold of that and said that he had lost his mother a long time ago so now Daddy and I can be his father and mother. After he left, Dallas and Elise came to cut firewood. Amos and family came for just a few minutes and they all worked together to put the roofing iron under the house. It had just been left out in the rain since it was carried down here from the airstrip last Thursday when we came. Then Dallas and Elise got busy with the firewood. While they were working, I started an e-mail to C&C and wrote down some e-mail addresses to transfer to the ACER. They may already be in there, but I wrote them down just in case. Shortly, we had a visit from Tania and Maura (Brenda). They had gone after church to get food for the road, and their mother was preparing it. They had decided to walk out today to their place of school and wanted us to pray with them before they left. After we talked a few minutes to find out more details, Daddy prayed. Then we hugged and cried and they left. The clock had struck twelve noon, and we were going to warm up our dinner and eat; but now Dallas and Elise were done cutting firewood, and we stood around and talked with them for a while. It was 12:35 before I started warming up dinner, and 1:00 when we finished eating. Nap time. Right after nap, I washed my hair. Then I went outside to bring in the blanket I had put out this morning to air. Thought I would walk around a bit first and get some sunshine, but it was much too warm out there—in the 80’s again. I brought the blanket in and helped Daddy hang a battery light in our bedroom. Then I sat at the computer and started writing today’s journal notes. Asenat didn’t come until just before supper time this afternoon. We read chapters 2 and 3 together. They were both short. This was our last day together. Tomorrow she will be leaving with a group of other young people going to town for school. ~~~~~ Please pray for these young people heading to school to stay pure and true to the Lord. Pray also for some special needs in the church. Thank you. ~~~~~ Daddy went ahead and had his supper, and I had mine after Asenat left. Apekio came while I was working with Asenat, but I didn’t get time to talk much with her. She brought a bilum full of potatoes and kaukau. Praise the Lord for this provision! In the evening, the youth had their meeting and Amos preached to them. The rain poured down hard during the meeting, and Amos had to lift his voice above the din of the rain on the metal roof. I looked through the Rod and Staff catalog to see what books I could order for the students who want to have school here. After the youth meeting, Dallas came with some school books they had used in the community school so I could get an idea of what type of thing they have been studying and what level they are at. January 31. More hard rain during the early morning hours. The world was quite saturated this morning. Not much sunshine today. More rain is pouring down this evening upon the already-saturated ground. The house has turned chilly, and we sit here working with our sweaters on. After Daddy turned on the generator this morning, I used the Canon printer to scan the subsidy request form for MAF, and then installed the Brother printer into this computer. So now both printers are ready for use. Graham came with a bunch of bananas that his mother had sent up and he put up some rope to hang them on to keep them away from the rats. After Daddy turned off the generator, he and I checked II Timothy chapter 2. Then I made corrections in the computer and set that chapter up in the print file. Added English for chapters 3 and 4 as well. This afternoon, I finished writing e-mails. Then I worked on the school book order and have that ready to transfer to the order form. Will probably scan and e-mail it to Christy so she can make the order from there. It would get there a lot faster that way. “Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.” II Chronicles 15:7 Thank you, Lord, for this promise. Help us to be strong, and not to let our hands be weak.
January 28. Rain, rain, rain, all night long. The world is very wet, and the house was very damp this morning. There was also a huge puddle of water on the floor behind the wood stove. Daddy started a fire in the wood stove to try to get the damp chill out of the air. It stayed cool and cloudy most of the day, with just a very short period of sunshine. Late this afternoon, a cold wind came up, and it has been raining again. It is cold, too. As I was having my prayer time, I worked on revising my prayer notebook and prayed as I worked on it. It was time to get back to Scripture translation today, so Daddy and I checked II Timothy chapter 1. Then I made corrections and set it up in the print file. Also added English for II Timothy 2. After a little break and a snack, I got last week’s journal notes ready to be sent to Connie. For dinner, we divided up the rest of the stew and each had a small bowlful. Warmed up an ear of corn for each of us too so that gave us a sufficient meal for today. This afternoon, the Lord sent Beni’s wife along with a bunch of pumpkin greens. Philip A brought a nice popo. Praise the Lord for answered prayer in giving us a vegetable for tomorrow and a nice fruit for snacks or other meals. After my nap, I did a some more organizing in the office. Asenat came at 3:00 (PNG time) and we spent about an hour together reading “Bai Mi Maritim Husat?”, discussing various things as we went along, talking about her desire to find God’s will for marriage and, in particular, her desire to marry a preacher or other servant of the Lord, and praying together. When she left it was supper time. I had just gotten everything on the table when Apekio came along so Daddy ate by himself and I sat down to talk with Apekio. Among other things, she asked about teaching her to write Pidgin. Other ladies had requested help in that area before we left here a few years ago. I told Apekio I had already been thinking about that possibility, but it wouldn’t happen right away. She said that Daniel comes to church sometimes on Sundays now. And she also asked what we need for food. Praise the Lord for hearing our prayers for garden food. After Apekio left, I had my supper. Then I set to work installing the Canon printer in my computer. It presented a couple frustrations, but all worked out in the end. Maybe tomorrow evening I can install the Brother. Then we’ll need to get them both installed in Daddy’s computer. “….and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers.” II Chronicles 13:18b Victory will come as we rely upon the LORD God. January 29. Praise the Lord for sunshine today so we could wash clothes and hang them outside. This evening, we had some thunderstorms, and it has continued to rain since then. I did not sleep well at all last night. It wasn’t because of the crying up on the hill. That wasn’t loud enough to be bothersome. Rather it was that I had a bad headache, and my head felt really heavy on the pillow. It finally came to me that severe headaches and inability to sleep are among the first symptoms letting me know that I needed to get out the ParaSmart and start taking that. That I did first thing this morning after getting dressed. It doesn’t seem like I accomplished a whole lot today. I was just too tired and had a hard time concentrating. Daddy turned the generator on about 8:15 a.m., and Bonita came to do laundry. She had been up all night at the cry for her grandfather so she didn’t get any sleep last night. In spite of that, she was still her cheerful self. After she washed and hung out the clothes, returned a borrowed bucket, and burned the trash, I showed her how to use my camera. She wanted to get some pictures of her grandfather’s casket and of the burial. The burial service took place late this afternoon just below Amos’s house. Bonita took a number of pictures and did a really good job for her first time using a camera. A little before 11:00 this morning, I started picking the leaves off the pumpkin greens and putting them in the sink to be washed, throwing away the stems. Let the leaves drain in the colander for a few minutes while I measured rice and water into a pot and added salt, fennel, and the 3-in-1 combo of garlic, ginger, and onion. Then I cut up the pumpkin leaves and some onion, putting them in the pressure cooker with a little water and salt. When all was done cooking, I added the contents of a tin of tuna to the rice. Then we sat down at the kitchen table and enjoyed our dinner. I went for nap immediately after dinner, I was so wiped out. Slept about an hour and a half. The afternoon weather was very warm—88º. Neither Daddy nor I had enough energy to do anything until the air started cooling down a bit before the rain. This morning, Daddy put a new light fixture in the office, one operated by the 12-volt battery, to be used when the generator is not running. And throughout the day, he started getting battery-operated lights ready for the kitchen and for our bedroom too. Asenat came again this afternoon, and we spent another hour together. Finished reading and discussing chapter 1 of Bai Mi Maritim Husat?. After she left, we had supper. Shortly after supper, Bonita, Sunny, and Dallas came by to ask about school. They said that Mike wants to have school as well. We told them that we could order books and that I would try to help them, but they would have to do a lot to help each other. After they left, I transferred journal notes and pictures to a flash drive so I can transfer them from there to the ACER to be sent to Connie by e-mail. Photocopied some forms for Daddy. Put water on to heat for dishes. Wrote a little in my journal. Washed the dishes. Had a light snack. Folded the clothes. Daddy is meeting with Amos, Mike, and Matthew, talking about repairs and improvements that need to be done on the house. “And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.” II Chronicles 14:11 It matters not whether we are many or few, or whether we have power or none, victory is found in the LORD our God when we rest on Him and go to battle in His name. |
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