July 21. Praise the Lord for sunshine again. Got up around 6:30. Made pancakes today. It was nice to have something different for breakfast. Sat outside on the veranda after breakfast and had quiet time. After a while, we listened to a message by Pastor W entitled “An Old Prophet, a Donkey, and a Lion.” Had some really good thoughts regarding obedience to the Lord. Listened to another message this evening about King David and his loyalty to his covenants with King Saul and with Jonathan. It was a rather complicated message to follow but had some very good thoughts about loyalty with applications to the family and the church family.
0 Comments
July 19. The Lord gave us another nice day. After breakfast and quiet time, Daddy and I finished checking Hebrews 9. And after a short break, I made corrections in the computer file and then started setting it up in the print file. I had just barely started on the print file when the computer quit working. It wouldn’t do anything. Did I pick up a virus again? Had to force shut down. Then Daddy took the computer down to the office to be looked at. After that, we went out to do a little shopping and have lunch at Papindo Café. Came back and had nap. Then did mostly nothing for the rest of the afternoon and evening. The CRMF worker brought my computer up around 4:00. He said the hard drive has gone bad and I should back up files before it completely crashes. Thankfully, I had already backed up everything while we were still in Owena. There were just a few files I had worked on while we were out which I needed to back up. I had to restart the computer four or five times just to save about a dozen files, forcing shut down each time because everything locked up, including the mouse. Later in the evening, I did a couple puzzles in Daddy’s crossword puzzle book, and sang a few hymns. And before bed, we had devotions together. July 20. I remembered at bedtime last night that I hadn’t backed up my journal files. This morning there was laundry to do again. Put the clothes in the machine to wash while I was having quiet time and breakfast since it takes over an hour for the machine to go through the whole cycle. Also had a few minutes to boot up the computer once more and save my journal files to the flash drive. After we got the laundry hung up in the breezeway, we skyped C&C and enjoyed a nice chat. It is such a blessing to have that option. When we finished talking, we got ready to go out shopping again. We were prepared to search all the stores for mayonnaise, starting with stores we hadn’t looked at yet. We did stop at Papindo central first. Looked again for mayo while we were there, but there was none. Thought I would get some of those nice tomatoes I had seen there the other day, but the nice ones were all gone, and they were replaced with trays of half green tomatoes. Next on the way was King Wee. Looked first for mayo and found four bottles on the shelf. Went back to get a buggy and then came and put all four bottles in the buggy. Daddy came in right after that. He went to look for Ritz cheese crackers and found some. I went to the cooler and found tomatoes. Praise the Lord! Then Daddy got a carton of Indomie chicken noodles and a half case of cooking oil for trade items. Then we were ready to check out. Next we went to Remington, hoping to look at computers and printers, but they were closed. Checked Goroka Stationery, but they didn’t have much available. Went around to Able’s and they were closed. Last stop was the post office. Daddy went in and checked with Joanne about the package we were expecting. Joanne checked with Francis who works in that department; and, praise the Lord, the package was there, and Daddy was able to pick it up. The best news, however, was that Joanne said she had invited Francis to hear the Jewish men preach, and Francis got saved. After we got back to the flat, we opened the box. I kept out a couple items I needed and then repacked the box. We read the mail. Then Daddy went out to Papindo again to get himself some lunch. I cooked some carrots and warmed up leftover chicken and chips from yesterday’s lunch. Daddy ran into the Tanners at Papindo Café. Then Andrew, a Pacific Helicopter worker, sat down and talked with Daddy. He remembered Daddy from several years ago when we had dinner with Remi and other MAF folks. He invited us out to dinner Monday night at Pacific Garden, along with the Venters. He said he is the only Christian he knows of working with PH, but he is hoping to get a position with MAF. When Daddy came home, we had a nap. This afternoon, I remembered that I hadn’t written journal notes yesterday. (I have to write them by hand now until I get another computer.) So spent a good part of the afternoon writing journal notes for yesterday and today. This evening, I started looking through ALL THE WOMEN OF THE BIBLE, a book I had had C&C send. Then did the dishes. Sang a while. Then had a shower. Then we had devotions together before bed.
July 17. Praise the Lord for a change in the weather today. It was a joy to see the blue sky and feel the warmth of the sunshine when we went out to shop. And we should even have hot water for showers tonight. That will be a blessing. After breakfast and quiet time this morning, we went out to shop for a few things that we want to take back to Owena. We did well to find half the items on the list. Went to Papindo for a cup of coffee and/or something to eat for mid-morning. Bought a little pack of crackers to eat to hold me over until lunch time. Daddy just had a regular cup of coffee. Went to NTM to check on flights, but it doesn’t look like they will have anything available for a while. Checked at the pharmacies for a certain medicine we wanted. Looked for sunglasses too. There was also a nurse at City Pharmacy who was checking people’s blood pressure so I was able to get a recheck there. Praise the Lord, my blood pressure was down to 136/84, a good change from the day I went to see Dr. Tom. It was 12:30 when we got back to the flat for dinner. Daddy hadn’t eaten anything mid-morning and started getting a migraine as soon as we got inside. We warmed up dinner and ate, and then had nap. After nap, Daddy went to check at MAF about a flight to SIL so we can get back to Owena. They have one going Friday, but also Luke will be here next Wednesday or Thursday and can fly us directly into Owena. Praise the Lord for that. While Daddy was gone, I did eye exercises, had a banana-yogurt snack, washed up the rest of the very ripe bananas, and put away the groceries we had bought this morning. When Daddy got back, he called the Cairns Eye and Laser Clinic and scheduled an appointment for 19 August. Then I wrote an e-mail to Dr. Tom to let him know about the appointment, about the things I am using to try to help with the healing of my eye, and about today’s blood pressure reading. After that, I finished the July update and Daddy proofread it. Then I prepared the copies that need to be mailed. When I went to add the acknowledgments for gifts, however, I couldn’t find the June spreadsheet. I thought I had transferred it from the other computer before we left, but there is no sign of it. After supper, I wrote a short e-mail to C&C. Washed the dishes. Did eye exercises. Daddy had a call from Brad saying that Luke wouldn’t be able to take us into Owena next week after all because he just got word that his father-in-law has died, and he will be going to Australia. “5My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. 6He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. 7In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.” Psalm 62:5-7 Waiting! Waiting upon God. Waiting only upon God. For our expectation is from Him. July 18. Praise the Lord for another nice sunny day and for rain this evening. We didn’t go anywhere today. Did a load of wash early this morning. Talked a short while to Christy and Connie on skype. Revised the update letter again and then got them ready to send off to Christy—first the file for printing and mailing. Then the letter and list for e-mailing. All that took up a good portion of the day. We went downstairs to see about getting the Mircrosoft 2016, but Lucas is the only one who installs those and he is gone for a couple more weeks. So I guess I’m stuck with the other Microsoft Office for a while yet. Daddy called MAF to try to make arrangements for a flight to Aiyura so we can get back to Owena. Ben said he would try to work out something, but we didn’t hear anything back from him today. Peninnah, Maura, and Frina came by this afternoon. It was good to see them and have hugs. It was good to hear that they have opportunity to serve in one of the local churches in the area. Just before supper, we checked the first eighteen verses of Hebrews 9. This evening, I did the dishes and wrote a Sunday school lesson. “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.” Psalm 62:8 What a comfort to know that we can always trust the Lord, and that we can pour out our hearts before Him!
July 15. It has been a slow, relaxing day, another “winter” day in PNG. Cloudy and cool the whole day through. We even wore our jackets when we went uptown to buy a handful of groceries. We arose early this morning so we could do laundry before the house worker came to work. We knew she would have lots of laundry to do today since the men left the other flat on Saturday. And it takes over an hour just to wash one small load of clothes in the little washing machine that is here. That is the way the machine is set, and every wash load takes the same amount of time. We had two small loads to do today so that took well over two hours. In the meantime, I worked on the July update so we can get that out as soon as possible. Daddy made phone calls—the Cairns Eye and Laser Clinic have no openings before August 8. Same for The Eye Specialists in Cairns. They hadn’t answered our e-mail because they just reopened after their two-week annual holiday and are booked in advance. So looks like we will go back home, for now anyway. Later in the morning, we went out to the stores. When we came back to the flat, it was 12:30. Warmed up leftovers for dinner and then had nap. After nap, Daddy tried to call Dr. Tom to ask him what we should do now. Dr. Tom was busy with a patient and would call us back. It was quite a while later before he called, but he did encourage us to definitely go ahead and make an appointment for August. However, if there should be a worsening of my condition before that time, we should let him know; and he himself will work on getting things rolling. Daddy and I also checked over Hebrews chapter 8 before supper. Praise the Lord for His help with the task. This evening, I finished the Bible lesson I had been working on and also did the dishes. July 16. The month is passing quickly away. Today has been another tropical winter day although there was a wee bit of sunshine in the middle of the day. The water got warmed up just enough to wash my hair. Daddy had a pretty rough night last night. In the middle of yesterday evening, he thought he was getting a migraine and went and lay down a while. Then he realized he was either having a reaction to something, or something he ate made him sick to his stomach. He was up for a while in the night trying to get stuff out of his system, and he slept most of this morning. When he finally got up, he felt better and was hungry enough to eat a piece of toast although he still felt weak. He ate some rice and carrots for dinner and felt better by mid-afternoon—well enough to go out and pick up the generator and bring it back here to CRMF. I wrote several e-mails this morning, wrote down notes on eye exercises and did the exercises, made corrections in the computer for Hebrews 8 and set it up in the print file, prepared a pot of rice and some carrots for dinner. We still had leftover meat sauce, and I had some of that over my rice. Daddy had to eat his rather bland. After nap, I washed my hair. Daddy made a call to the eye clinic in Cairns to follow up the e-mail I had written this morning. The receptionist said they don’t have an opening until the end of August, but she would see if they can work something out to fit me in before that and would send me an e-mail before the end of the day. Before the afternoon, was over, we received the e-mail which stated that the doctor there had reviewed my report again and that they are too busy to see me. Also if I need further treatment, he would not be able to do that so recommended that we go straight to Brisbane where I could get any treatment I might need. As Daddy looked at the websites, however, and we saw what treatments are like and the possible dangers involved, it is too scary to even think about. All we’re really looking for at this point is a diagnosis so we can know what we are treating and how to treat it naturally. Now we are back to the question, is it really worth it spending all that money and going all that distance just to get a diagnosis? How we need a clear answer from the Lord that we might act wisely and not foolishly! After Daddy made the call, he went out to pick up the generator at Brian Bell. I proofread the Bible lesson and later got the student copy made. This evening, I made up the quiz to go with the lesson. “1To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David. Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation. 2He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved.” Psalm 62:1,2 Thank you, Lord, that we can wait upon You, for we don’t know what to do; but we know that our salvation comes from You, and that You are our Rock, our Salvation, and our Defence so that we need not be greatly shaken or carried off course. “They who wait for God, and God alone, cannot wait in vain.” (F.B.Meyer)
July 14. I was lazy this morning and slept in until 7:00. Praise the Lord for some sunshine today. While I was getting my breakfast, Daddy skyped Martha and we enjoyed a chat with her. He talked with her a bit, and I talked with her some, more after I got my breakfast fixed so I could eat while we were talking. Afterward, I had quiet time and did a little walking at the same time to get some exercise. Later I worked on the June progress report, which I had started while we were still in the village but had forgotten about until just yesterday. I guess there has been too much else going on. Around 11:00, I started getting dinner. Cooked up the rest of the kaukau which we had brought out with us. Then I made a meat sauce to go on the kaukau—ground meat, onions, tomato, zucchini, and seasonings. Dinner was ready a little early, about 11:45, so we went ahead and ate. We tried during the morning and again after dinner to listen to an online sermon, but internet has not been good today at all. Finally decided to go ahead and have our nap. This afternoon, I finished up the progress report and sent it off. Washed up the dishes while the water was hot – solar water heater here. Then wrote an e-mail to our two special daughters, ready to send this evening after the day’s events have ended, not that there will likely to be anything much else going on this evening. Since we had an early dinner, we were hungry early for supper so ate a little bit early. This evening, I spent a little time on a Bible lesson for school, but don’t work long at a time as I don’t want to aggravate my eyes. We also listened to an EBC message online, missionary Matt Starin preaching on why the Lord allows certain things to happen in our lives and using the story of Joseph as one who responded correctly to events that the Lord allowed in his life. “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.” Psalm 57:7 David set his heart to sing and give God the praise. May my heart also be fixed (firmly established, established immovably, permanently settled, stable) on singing and praising the LORD.
July 12. We had to be up bright and early this morning as the P2-Bus would be picking us up at 6:30. We were awake a little before 5:30. Got right up and dressed, packed everything up, went out and had a little breakfast. Then brought our luggage out by the door so we would be ready when the bus came. The linguistic team was also waiting for the bus and would go out before us. It was about 6:30 when the bus came for them, and we waited a half hour or so before it came back for us. I was thankful for that time so I could have a little quiet time before the day was too far gone. The linguistic team was still waiting at the hangar when we arrived there. They were waiting for the fog to clear, but took off shortly for Moresby. Our flight was scheduled to leave by 8:00, but there were maintenance problems, and they had to wait for someone to come and take care of things. It was around 8:45 when we finally boarded the plane. There were two pilots—Steve Geis as trainer, and Bryan as trainee. When we landed at the NTM hangar in Goroka, who should be there but the Cranes! Praise the Lord for bringing us across their paths again as we had not been able to find a vehicle to use while in Goroka, and they allowed us to use their mission’s vehicle as they were on their way back to Aibai. They also gave us a reference for a former missionary family in Cairns who has a nice house with a semi-private area for guests. Rebecca also recommended a Baptist Church which they attended when they were there. There was a young lady with the Cranes named Lonita, a co-worker who teaches school. She is from Alaska and it was a pleasure to get acquainted with her. After talking with Rebecca a while, I happened to look over at the trolley that had our cargo on it. I noticed that our suitcase was not on the trolley. It had ALL our clothes in it. Daddy was in the office so I went in and asked him where our suitcase was. Hopefully it had not been left at Aiyura. Daddy went out to the plane where the pilots and workers were loading up the Cranes’ cargo. He asked about our suitcase, and there it was on the bottom of the trolley of the Cranes’ cargo, about to be loaded back on the plane headed for Aibai. Praise the Lord, we discovered that before it headed out to Aibai. When they got to the bottom of the stack, pilot Steve brought the suitcase over to us, and then he stood and prayed with us before he went back to finish loading the plane. Bro. Matt and a couple NTM workers helped Daddy load the generator into the back of the vehicle we would be using. We loaded our other cargo into the back seat and then took off for CRMF. Daddy went into the office to get the key for the flat, and I stayed in the truck. But when he came out, he said Christie wanted to see me so I got out to go see her. She came outside just to say hello and give me a big hug. She is a sweet lady. So we went upstairs to the apartment. Poor Daddy had to carry all the cargo up by himself because there was nothing light enough for me to carry up that long flight of stairs. (He didn’t carry up the generator, of course. Left it in the truck and would take it back to the store shortly.) After getting into the apartment, I started unpacking and putting food away. Daddy went downstairs to get internet passes. While he was down there, he met a young man named Chase who is with Daniel Fried and the preaching team from the states. They are staying right next door to us in the other flat. We would get to see them after all. They were on their way to meetings when Daddy met Chase so didn’t get to see any of the other team members then. After getting the internet up and running, Daddy checked e-mails and found there was an answer back from the eye clinic in Cairns. They wanted us to let them know when would be a good time for fitting us into an appointment. Since they want us to give them a date, we wrote back and told them where we are now and that, as soon as we can get plane bookings and arrive in Cairns, we will contact them and let them know we are there so they can set us up. Then Daddy went out to Brian Bell to return the generator. They said they would work on it and get back to him. While he was gone, I cut up the two popo we had brought out with us. One had some bad spots and a smashed spot, but had a lot that was still salvageable. But they both needed to be cut up and used right away. Washed a few bananas to eat with the popo later. I also made myself a cup of reishi tea and started unpacking clothes and other things. When Daddy got back, we had lunch, and then I had a very welcome nap. It was 3:15 when I got up, and we needed to get to the store and get some things for supper. We went first to Goroka Food Mart because they close early on Friday. They were already getting ready to close when we got there. We picked up a few things and then headed uptown. After that, with the help of a security guard, we found the Air Niugini office upstairs in the Gouna Center, but it was already closed. We had hoped to get bookings made for Cairns. Security guards up there said the office will be open tomorrow, however. Last of all we went to Bintangor to get some fresh veggies, rice, and a few other little things. I was thankful to find some carrots, napa cabbage, and zucchini. We can’t find the Good Rice in town anymore, but they have a new brown jasmine rice now so we got a pack of that. As we were on our way out of Bintangor, a voice behind us asked if we were missionaries. We turned around and there stood a man who introduced himself as Steve Sconce. He used to be with NTM but is now with a group called Commission, I believe. We haven’t heard of it before, but we had heard of Steve Sconce somewhere. We talked with him just briefly as he had to hurry on his way. But before he left us, he asked if he could pray with us. So that was the second Steve that prayed with us today. While we were still uptown, Daddy received a call from Brian Bell saying that the generator was repaired and ready for pick-up. It was already going on 5:00 when we got back. I needed to get supper started right away. Put rice on to cook first. Then started preparing carrots and cabbage. Zucchini will be for another time. Around 5:45, we heard people leaving next door. The evangelistic team was headed out for an evening meeting. We went to the doorway of our flat in hopes of saying hello to Samuel Fried as he left. We not only got to say hello to him, but also got to meet all the members of the team. They didn’t have time to talk as they were on their way for meetings. They were quite excited about how the Lord has been working. They said they did preaching this morning and then sat and did teaching. There was a lady present who works in the national government and closely with the prime minister. She was driving by when the meetings were going on and stopped to listen. She then wanted to stay for the teaching afterward so called and cancelled all her other appointments so she could hear the teaching. Then she asked the team if it would be okay for her to ask the prime minister if they could come and preach in parliament. They would also be on TV so would be seen and heard throughout the nation. What an opportunity! This will be in April next year. Tomorrow morning, the team heads back to the states, but they plan to be back here next year. Lord willing, we will have a time of fellowship with them in the morning before they leave. Daddy asked them about coming and spending some time in Owena when they come back, and they said they would be happy to do that. What this country needs more than anything else is a great awakening to the true gospel! There is so much superficial Christianity and so much religious delusion because of so many missions preaching another gospel which is not the gospel. They all left, and we sat down for supper. Most of the evening after that was spent catching up on journal notes. Took a break in the middle of that to wash the dishes. Daddy brought up an online message by Adrian Rogers. We were only able to listen to part of it before it kept stopping too much. July 13. It has been a very cool and mostly cloudy day. It did not work out for us to have fellowship with the Hope of Israel team this morning. They were all very tired last night after a long day yesterday and so were needing some extra rest. Samuel did stop and talk to us for a short while as they were on their way out. And he prayed with us before taking off for the airport. After they left, we skyped C&C and enjoyed about an hour chatting with them. Then we went uptown to the AirNiugini ticket office. We hadn’t thought to take our passports so only got prices and dates for possible bookings. I really would like to get another check on blood pressure before we make further plans anyway. From the ticket office, we went to Papindo and got some sugar and a couple other things. Then we came back to the flat. There was hardly anyone around uptown this morning. I felt very over-tired this morning after the long, busy week with many early mornings so by the time we got back from uptown, I was ready for a nap. Was thankful for a before-dinner nap and felt much refreshed after that. After dinner, Daddy had his nap, and I worked on getting Monday’s and Tuesday’s journal notes into the computer. Had previously written them in a notebook since we hadn’t taken our computers to Aiyura. Before I quite finished typing the journal notes, I got a migraine. Daddy was just getting up from nap, and I went and lay down for a second nap until the “lights” went away. Ended up with a bad headache though. After second nap, we each had a bowl of fruit. Then I finished up the journal notes I had been working on. By then it was supper time. After supper, I started getting the past two weeks journal notes ready to send to Connie. Took a break to wash dishes and enjoy a cupful of hot moringa leaf broth. Then I got back to the journal notes.
July 10. It has been a very long day. We were up a few minutes after six. Got dressed and finished packing up. Ate breakfast. Had quiet time and did some reading while waiting for the hangar bus to pick us up. We were to be ready for pickup by 9:00, but it was closer to 9:30 before the bus arrived. Katherine, Jonathan, Nuanda, and Matthew were all waiting at the hangar to go into Owena as well. The schedule had been changed again to make four rounds for coffee, but plane delays and weather allowed only two rounds. We were scheduled to leave Aiyura around 11:00, but the plane was delayed an hour and a half on its first mission so didn’t even arrive back at the hangar until about that time. So we had a lot of time to accomplish other things. Graham and Sosthenes came around to help Matthew, and it was good to see them. We talked with Christopher a good while, and he tried to help us work things out for our journey to Australia. Daddy called the Cairns Eye and Laser Clinic to try to get me an appointment with one of three doctors. They said they are quite booked up, but to send information and they will see if they can fit me in. So Christopher sent them an e-mail for us with a copy of the letter of reference from Dr. Tom. He also sent one to another eye clinic which we hadn’t had a chance to call; but he gave them information about our situation. After the plane returned, it didn’t take them long to unload and then load up with the cargo of the six persons going into Owena. So we were finally off from Aiyura around noon, and back in Owena about ten minutes later. Praise the Lord for a safe trip here. Now there was lots of work to do to get repacked and ready to go back out tomorrow. It was quite cloudy and cool here. And it wasn’t long before the strong winds came up and later rain. The first thing to do was get a banana to eat. We were both really hungry. After getting the few food items put away that we had bought at the SIL store, I scrambled a couple eggs and mixed them with salt, pepper, and mayonnaise to have on sandwiches. We had nap right away as I needed to wash my hair before the afternoon was gone. By the time nap was over, the air had cooled down quite a bit so Daddy started a fire in the wood stove. I put water on to heat for washing my hair and got everything ready to do that as soon as the water was hot. Tomas, in the meantime, had come to help Daddy empty the diesel out of the new generator so we can take it to Goroka tomorrow and return it to the store Daddy bought it from. After getting my hair washed, I started in packing and repacking. A little before 4:00, I washed up kaukau and pumpkin, and put it all in a big pan to be baked in the oven while I kept busy with packing. Also put some eggs on the wood stove to boil to take with us tomorrow. Daddy turned the generator on at 5:00, and I washed a load of clothes as we needed a few things cleaned to repack. We hung them in the schoolroom for the night; and, Lord willing, they should be dry enough in the morning to pack. A few little things are hanging above the wood stove. It was about 5:30 when we finished hanging up laundry. Then supper was done, and we sat down to eat. Cleaned up the kitchen and washed dishes right after supper. The church had not met in the morning because they wanted to be ready for the plane so they met this evening. We did not go out to the meeting because there was still packing to be done. But we went out afterward for a short while to talk with people, and Daddy tried to explain to them what is going on. July 11. We were up bright and early—before 6:00. But we knew we would not be getting out of Owena at 9:00. The world was enshrouded with fog, and it was raining. Nevertheless, we got ready to go and continued to trust the Lord to open up the skies for flying. Daddy kept in touch with Peter at Aiyura, giving him regular updates on the weather situation. They were waiting for Marawaka weather to clear up too as they had six passengers to pick up there before coming to get us at Owena. With that many passengers, Daddy would not be able to take the generator to Goroka to be returned to the store for replacement, repair, or refund. We were thankful that we kept in touch with SIL as they otherwise may never have come since the weather never did open up in Marawaka. We managed to keep busy around the house and I was able to spend extra time in prayer. Our computers were already packed and waiting to go. Boxes were all packed and taped up too, and our suitcase and travel bags were packed. Mike came by to buy some things that he can sell while we’re gone—Maggi, salt, and a few bars of soap. Then he gave me a gift of K20 to help along the road. I felt very humbled and unworthy. We ate an early lunch—around 11:45. Opened up a couple taped up boxes to get out leftovers. Washed the few dishes up after lunch. By then, the clouds had gone high enough for the ridges to be clear enough for circling, and the approach was clear although a cloud wanted to sit on the mountain top right beside it. Daddy let Peter know that we were clear, but Peter said that Marawaka still wasn’t open. Around 12:30, Peter called to say that they were taxiing for takeoff to Owena. Marawaka was not opening up, and the clouds had even come back down. We hastened to get everything back in order. There was nobody around to carry our cargo up to the airstrip, and Peter wanted Matthew to have coffee there too. We figured people would come out of nowhere as soon as they heard the plane, and sure enough, they did. The trail to the airstrip was a bit slippery due to rain most of the morning; and it was slow going for me up to the top of the airstrip. But there was no hurry. He would be waiting for bags of coffee to be brought from the coffee house. I believe it was around 1:30 or so before we left Owena. We were thankful we could take the generator after all. Our pilot was Steve Geis. He is very nice, too, and I was thankful that he prayed for the trip before taking off. I also prayed, as I usually do, for a safe takeoff, flight, and landing. Praise the Lord for taking us safely to Aiyura. Once we arrived there, there was payment to make. Then Daddy made some phone calls to see about getting a ride up to Goroka, but there was nothing available. He eventually called the SIL guest house and was able to get us in there again for the night. Praise the Lord! In the meantime, Christopher worked with us to see what could be planned for a trip up to Goroka. It worked out that there would be a flight going empty in the morning. So we made a booking to get on that flight. The Lord is good. Our three boxes of food to use in Goroka were stored at the hangar; and our suitcase and two travel bags went with us to the guest house. It was 3:00 when the P2-Bus left the hangar for the guest house. The guest house was packed. There was a linguistic team there from a university in Australia, although the team members were from the US. And there was a young family from South Africa, plus a couple other guests. Daddy and I were tired when we arrived so went and lay down for a nap. At 6:15, supper was served. We sat with the young family from South Africa—Ryan and Elna and their two children—and enjoyed getting to know them. They are working in the Finnesterre Range on the Rie Coast, where they only have helicopter access, and were out for a break from their work. We sat at the table quite a while, even after eating, and chatted with them. Then we retired to our room, where I read for a while—had been reading the autobiography of Charles Finney and continued with that. When my eyes got tired, I took a break and then had a shower. Spent the rest of the evening praying although, I admit, I started dozing off a few times.
July 8. Although we saw the moon and stars last night, we knew when we got up this morning that our flight to Aiyura would not be early. There was some sunshine, however, and the fog seemed thinner than usual. And even though there were several layers of fog, the plane made its first round around 9:00. It was 9:45 before he headed back to Aiyura with a plane load of coffee. He said he would be back in an hour. We were all ready. Just had a few last minute things to pack. Washed up the few dishes from breakfast and yesterday evening’s snack. Answered the door a few times. Swept the floors. Had quiet time, of course, and walked and prayed some more. Daddy tried calling the SIL guest house again and was finally able to get through. Praise the Lord there were accommodations available. He also had to call back the clinic and move my appointment to afternoon. The plane was back right after one hour, just as Christopher had said he would be. After he landed, we shut up the house and walked to the top of the landing strip. He was just about done unloading people and cargo when we arrived. Shortly he had us board the plane so they could load the coffee in behind us. It was a little before 11:30 when we left Owena, and we landed at Aiyura about ten minutes later. We were met by several Owenians—Nuanda, Matthew, Philemon, Jokabet, Wilson (never would have recognized him—he has become a big muscular guy). Jokabet and Philemon were waiting for the flight back home. Daddy paid for our flight out; and right at noon, the hangar staff were ready to go back to the base for their lunch hour. So we hopped onto the P2-Bus with them. The bus dropped us off at the guest house. After checking in, we walked down to the kai bar at the store and got some lunch. Daddy had a hamburger, and I had a quarter chicken. The chicken tasted sooooo good. We have not been able to find any good chicken to buy in Goroka so had not had chicken for a long time, other than chicken salad at Papindo Cafe. Matt and Rebecca Crane were just leaving the store when we got down there. Enjoyed a little time chatting with them before they had to hurry off to pick up their kids and head back to Goroka. Rebecca said that Jennifer is now renting a house on the SIL base and is working with several churches around the area. When we finished our lunch, we walked around the store and looked at all the things we would like to buy to take back to Owena. They had apparently received a new shipment of goods on the recent ship that brought other people’s cargo as the shelves were stocked full of all kinds of things we can’t find in Goroka. Then we went to the shipping department to see about our cargo from the states, but they don’t have a cost figured for us yet, and we can’t pick it up until it is paid for. Please continue to pray about this. Thank you! After that, we walked back up to the guest house and had a 45-minute nap before getting ready to go to the clinic. My appointment was at 3:15, and we got in pretty much right away. It was a blessing not to have to fill out tons of paper work too. Nurse Debbie saw me first. Took vitals (we were quite surprised that my blood pressure was somewhat high—160/100; my weight was a surprise too – down to 70kg from around 82 so have lost well over 20 pounds since being back in PNG), wrote down symptoms, chatted as we waited for Dr. Tom. He came and got us when he was ready. He was quite concerned about the symptoms, but upon checking the eyes, saw no signs of glaucoma, cataracts, or retinal deterioration. There is also no loss of my field of vision. He did, however, detect inflammation of the retina in both eyes. He said the high blood pressure is actually a symptom of something going on, along with my other symptoms, but he didn’t have the equipment to do any further testing. He has no idea what is causing the inflammation. He said I should see an ophthalmologist or other eye specialist right away. So Lord willing, we will start in Goroka. Dr. Tom gave us a couple contacts for there. I guess we weren’t thinking when we came out with only enough personal belongings for a couple nights at Aiyura, thinking we would get care and go right back home. So now we have to fly back to Owena and pack more clothes and other personal things first. Dr. Tom said we should see the ophthalmologist this week, and there is still a possibility we may have to go to Australia. So we will have to be prepared for that. Dr. Tom spent a good bit of time with us. The only thing he could recommend for the inflammation was steroids (prednisone), just for four days, to see if it would make a difference. It was 4:15 before we had paid, left the clinic, and walked back up to the guest house. We unpacked a few things (that’s all we had with us) and then sat and talked and looked at books until supper time. Supper was at 6:00. We were the only two for supper. The worker just warmed up leftovers, far more than we could eat, and out of those, we only ate salad, broccoli, and lasagna. Other guests came in as we were finishing our meal—several men with CIC (Coffee Industry Commission) are here for a meeting tomorrow. CIC is the organization that is subsidizing Owena’s coffee sales (among other people’s) as the income for coffee is quite low right now. After supper, we sat and talked a while again. Looked at some books for a while. Then went to the bedroom so we could get ready for showers before the evening got too cold. The rest of the evening, I worked on writing journal notes. July 9. Up a little after 6:00 this morning. Heard people up and around at the breakfast table by 6:30 so decided we would go to breakfast too. All the CIC men were there eating or wanting to eat, but they didn’t know that the bread and milk were in the fridge. If the worker hadn’t told us last night, we wouldn’t have known either. After everyone helped themselves to breakfast and sat down at the table together, we enjoyed some interesting conversations. Most of the men know English very well, and a couple of them had a broad range of knowledge. They were all interested to learn about BIMI’s Bible distribution program, and they all were of the opinion that religious instruction should be a compulsory course in the schools. After everyone else left the table, we had the opportunity to ask one man who stayed about his relationship to Jesus Christ. He had mentioned several times about the importance of living out our faith so we wanted to ask him about his faith. He said he had been saved under an AOG mission in his home area of Maprik. The men all left for their meeting as soon as they were done with breakfast. I had quiet time and finished writing yesterdays’ journal notes. Daddy was supposed to go down to the hangar to make arrangements for getting out to Goroka, but he was given the wrong time for bus pick-up so missed the bus. After several futile attempts to get in touch with the flight coordinator by phone, Lynette, the guest house manager, helped by making calls from the guest house business phone. We appreciated her helpfulness. (Lynette is from Buka and has been at Ukarumpa seven years, helping in the passports and work permits department. She still works there in the afternoons, but works at the guest house in the mornings. She and her husband are expecting their first child in September.) Anyway, the flight plan for tomorrow is to take us back to Owena and then pick us up Thursday morning for Goroka. After getting those arrangements made, Daddy started calling Goroka eye clinics. All the numbers we had been given were out of commission. So Daddy called the SIL clinic back to see what our next step should be. We were given a general number for the hospital, but there was no extension number for the eye clinic, and the lady at the information desk didn’t know anything about their services. So Daddy called the clinic back again to see if they know of anything in Lae or Moresby. This time Dr. Tom told us that... his best recommendation is Cairns. Next we called C&C to let them know what is going on and have them ask people to pray. It was good talking with them, but we couldn’t talk long. Daddy had other calls to make, and there were other things to do. He needed to call people to try to get loading for our trip to Goroka, but nothing worked out there. At 11:00, we left for the clinic to pick up the information Dr. Tom was having printed out for us. From there, we walked over to the store again. Daddy talked to the one in charge of shipping, but it looks like it will be a while yet before they have our account figured out so we can pay and have our cargo released. After that we bought drinks inside the store to go with our lunch before going outside to buy chicken at the kai bar. Enjoyed sitting out in the fresh air and sunshine for lunch. When we finished eating, we went inside to do some shopping. Our purchases would be delivered to the guest house later so we walked back up to the guest house and had a nap. Shortly after nap, we had a visit from Pastor Matthew and medical worker Jonathan (from Owena health clinic). After they left, I started writing journal notes. For supper, we enjoyed coleslaw, whole wheat rolls, carrots, nice tender pork loin chops with tomatoes, onions, and peppers, which made a nice broth to go over rice (of which I had but a very small scoop because it was white rice), and peach cobbler for dessert (of which I ate a very little piece because it was too sweet). In the evening hours, I read a little until my eyes got too tired. Then we talked with another worker for a while. Then I just sat and relaxed a bit while Daddy was reading. A little after 8:00, I took a shower and finished writing journal notes. July 7. Praise the Lord for a good day! This morning, I made sure lesson plans are ready for when we come back from Aiyura. Then when the generator was on, I finished setting up the rest of the checked chapters in Hebrews. Dallas taught Sunday school this morning as Mike is still not feeling well although he was here for church. Instead of doing the preaching himself this morning, Daddy gave the time to Amos to share some of the things he learned at the recent meetings at Rambo. Amos truly did learn a lot from the meetings, and he still has more to share later, probably next week. The only thing we can think of is that the Lord must have given him special understanding to hear what was being taught because other people were not able to hear with understanding. Daddy got a bad migraine right after the first meeting so went to bed directly after dinner. Consequently, he didn’t make it to the afternoon meeting. Tomas preached this afternoon on the creation of man in the image of God, Satan’s stealing of man and imprisoning him in the prison of destruction, and Christ’s provision for redemption and deliverance. He really seems to be enjoying his studying and is doing a good job. After the meeting, I fixed a little snack and then lay down for my nap. When I woke up, Wan had just come. He wanted to say “Hello” and let me know that the folks at Liberty are praying for me. After he left, we had supper. While the dish water was heating, we packed a few more things in our travel bags; and after doing dishes, I made a list of things I will need to pack first thing in the morning. “14Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: 15And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me... 23Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.” Psalm 50:14,15,23 Thanksgiving, prayer, deliverance, praise, upright conversation, salvation.
July 5. The day started out nice and sunny; but by midday, the clouds started filling the sky again, and the evening became quite chilly. Mike was not feeling well this morning, and Sunny had a bad headache. They all did well on their Bible quiz though. Daddy spent the morning making phone calls and has arranged for a doctor appointment for me at SIL early Monday morning. He hasn’t been able to get in touch with the guest house, however, to make arrangements for lodging. Since there won’t be any school for at least the first three days next week, I didn’t want to start anything new so just let the students finish up the assignments they were working on. That shortened school time a bit so they were out by 12:20. Sunny filled up the washing machine before she left. I hope she is feeling well enough tomorrow to wash clothes. While they were working on math, I wrote another e-mail to C&C, mostly with some business matters I had forgotten yesterday. The weather wasn’t good enough this evening to send it out though. This afternoon, I made some revisions on the music lesson I had finished yesterday evening and started writing a quiz for the new Bible lesson. Finished up the quiz this evening. Finished grading the students’ math and English lessons that they finished today. Started getting June’s progress report ready to send to Pastor Ogle, but didn’t get it finished before shut down time. “For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.” Psalm 48:14 What other God is so great as our God who guides us all our lives through, even unto death? And through death, and on into eternity, He will still be our God. July 6. Sunny was not here this morning for lotu. I wondered how she would be feeling today. Sent some aspirin with Apekio to give to Sunny. I was thankful for Bonita’s willingness to do the laundry in Sunny’s place. While Bonita was doing laundry, I had more prayer time. When she went out to hang clothes, I went out and helped her hang up the king size flat sheet. Then I came back in and pureed the soup I had made yesterday. It didn’t take very long, and Daddy waited for me to do that job before turning off the generator. After that I cleaned the bathroom sink and toilet. Then Daddy and I checked Hebrews chapter 7. Praise the Lord for His help with that. Then I made corrections in the computer and went to set up the corrected chapter in the print file, only to discover that I hadn’t even started putting Hebrews in the print file. Then I remembered that the Microsoft files in this computer weren’t available last month when we did the first six chapters. And I didn’t work on the print file in the ACER, because the ACER messes up the whole formatting. I had, however, made the corrections in the regular ACER file, but had never transferred them to the Lenovo. So I turned on the ACER long enough to do that. (Mom and Dad continue to have computer problems, and now Mom’s computer (the Lenovo) has died because of a bad hard drive. Please pray as they try to work without that extra computer. Thanks!) By then it was time to get dinner so would work on that later. Warmed up some of the pureed soup for dinner and also ate more of the greens. Then we got the clothes in. We were thankful to the Lord for giving us enough sunshine this morning to dry most of the clothes. We only had to hang a few in the house after bringing all the clothes in. After we did that and hung up a few dry clothes in the closet and made up the bed, it was time for a nice nap. After nap, I worked a little bit on Hebrews until my eyes needed a break. Then I started packing some things to take out with me on Monday, and also folded and put away all the rest of the laundry. Late this afternoon, Lynn came to visit us and to share her burdens and seek some encouragement. We were glad to try to be a blessing to her. It was 5:30 when she left. Then I mashed up eggs for supper sandwiches and also warmed up more of the soup. Need to try to finish it up by the end of the day tomorrow, as there will be no fridge running to keep it preserved while we are gone. Since heavy rains had come while Lynn was here, and the weather had turned quite chilly, I put bath water on while I was doing dishes so I could take a bath as soon as I finished the dishes. After bath, I worked on the Hebrews print file for a while. Then I printed Bible and music lessons and Bible quizzes, and also photo-copied some English worksheets. Amos and Mata, along with some others, made it back to the village this evening. Amos had no big complaints about there not being an interpreter. He said that he understood a lot of the preaching and had taken notes. That befuddles me as he had a very hard time learning English when he and Matthew were in my class several years ago. 😊 |
|
newsletterfebruary2024.pdf | |
File Size: | 1988 kb |
File Type: |
islesaresingingchapters1to15pdf.pdf | |
File Size: | 395 kb |
File Type: |
Archives
March 2024
January 2024
December 2023
September 2023
July 2023
June 2023
April 2023
March 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016