September 27. A couple days have been lost while I’ve recovered from sickness — possibly malaria and respiratory infection. At least that’s what I treated for. Last Friday morning, I started with a bad headache. That continued Saturday and Sunday, but no other symptoms until Sunday when my throat and ears became very painful. I was thankful that no young men came on Sunday evening because, by that time, I was beginning to feel very weak and ended up going to bed before 8:30. Started on amoxicillin for the sore throat and earaches, but didn’t know what to do about the headache. During the night, I thought it might be from being off the parasite medicine too long. But, no, it hadn’t been very long at all. Since I had chills too, I then thought of malaria so started on artemisinin. Slept most all day Monday and Monday night too. Didn’t even feel strong enough to talk with Daddy Monday evening. Went to bed early again Monday evening and slept a good part of the day Tuesday, I was too weak to do anything those two days. Never even turned on my computer. Started feeling a little bit better by Tuesday evening, but still went to bed early. Today I am feeling a bit stronger, but not strong enough to do much. Am thankful to be eating a bit more as I wasn’t able to eat at all on Monday and only a little bit yesterday. Could hardly even drink anything, although I did okay with tea and not too bad with a little cool water. Late yesterday afternoon, the water ran out. Marivo boys had cut the pipe. Dallas and Amos went up and found the cut and fixed it, but the water only came at a trickle. It was too dark by then to work on it more so Amos went up and worked on it this morning, and praise the Lord, now the water is running again. Had an early lunch and went for an early nap. Had part of supper when I first got up and the rest of supper at our normal supper time. Washed the dishes and then poured a large kettle full of boiling water down the kitchen drain followed by some bleach. The gnats had gotten unbearable again. Worked a while on answering e-mails. After supper, I lay down a bit for a while, but didn’t try to go to sleep because I knew Anna Jean and Judy would be coming to get their phones which they had brought earlier to charge. While they were here, Anna Jean filled the washing machine so she can wash clothes in the morning. After they left, I washed up and then it was time for Daddy to call. After five or six tries, we were finally able to get a somewhat good connection in order to talk for about 45 minutes although Daddy kept cutting out every so often and had to repeat a lot. Now MAF has canceled his flight altogether so he is trying to work something out with NTM. It won’t be until some time next week, however. After we said good-bye, I had a snack and am now good and ready for bed. September 28. Several hours passed before I could get to sleep last night. Was thankful for a good sleep after that. I did get to see the moon around 3:00 a.m.— almost full. What a lovely day the Lord gave us. Some clouds and patchy fog that quickly melted away leaving sunshine and blue sky. However, there was a cold wind that blew all day so I didn’t get to spend time outside as I would have liked. Whenever I went out to check on the clothes or bring clothes in, I needed my hooded jacket to keep the wind out of my ears. Anna Jean had come early and done the wash. Just one load plus my two fleecy blankets for the second load so it didn’t take her long to hang them out. She left right away afterward to go help finish putting the roof on Solomon’s house. It was pretty quiet here most of the day, but I did take a nap both in the morning and the afternoon. I was pretty tired after losing sleep last night. Took a bath after afternoon nap while the house was nice and warm. While I was making granola and getting my supper, Anna Jean came to get her phone. She also wanted some pain medicine because she has a bad boil. While she was here, Nuandauro came to see if I needed kaukau. Yes, I did. I’m thankful Anna Jean was here to help, and Helen was here also as the kaukau actually came from her and she wanted some yarn. In the mean time, I could smell the granola getting a bit over done. Got that out of the oven and finally got my supper a little after 6:00. Time passed quickly as I marker painted visuals for the Sunday evening lessons, and it was soon time to talk with Daddy. It was a blessing to have a good connection this evening for the whole time we talked together. Maybe the weather made a difference in the reception. The skies this afternoon and early evening were clear, clear blue and continued clear when nightfall came upon us. The temperatures dropped quickly so it may get cold tonight unless it turns cloudy; The only way Daddy will be able to get a flight with NTM is if people will be willing to cut the grass on the airstrip in the next few days. It’s getting late now, and I’m very tired so it’s off to bed.
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September 22. It was a foggy morning, but the Lord had lifted the fog sufficiently for the plane to come somewhat after mid-morning. Praise the Lord for making the way for Daddy to get out to town. Bonita, Dallas, and Wan carried cargo up to the airstrip. The two men had done a little finishing work from yesterday and then quit for the day. Bonita was observing in the classroom. This afternoon, I worked on lesson preparations for next week and oven fried some chicken for my supper. In the evening, there were dishes to do. Anna Jean came to get her phones. Apekio came with a couple pumpkins. And I was thankful to have somewhat of a conversation with Daddy in spite of the fact that my phone told me “no service” all day. Afterward, I had more supper since I hadn’t had much earlier with interruptions at the door. Then I worked on lessons again, mostly finding and making visuals for the Bible lessons. September 23. Most of the day was spent in the classroom — cleaning the chalkboard, writing some lessons on the chalkboard, planning phonics lessons for next week, math lessons too, doing scanning and printing. Anna Jean came early and did the laundry, cut up half a pumpkin for my meals, swept the floors. I enjoyed getting outside for a while in the fresh air and sunshine. Heated bath water while I was having supper, so I could get a bath right away and be ready in time for the meeting. It was 7:15 before anyone showed up. Eventually, there was Amos and family (except for Nendisa), Dallas and family (except for Dalista), Phinehas and Evelin. Dallas looked after the prayer time and singing, and Amos brought us a good lesson from Genesis 4:7. He brought out that Cain was the first to start a false religion (seeking to come to God according to his own thinking and not God’s) and the first murderer. He also brought out that we do not need to let sin boss us, but we can rule over sin. We can say “no” to sin or “yes” to sin. The choice is up to us. September 24. Today’s weather was a mixture of some sunshine with lots of clouds and some rain. Today’s work was planning reading lessons and doing printing of worksheets. No boys came on this rainy night for Bible study. September 20. Back to fog and cool this morning. Phinehas and Evelin came early and finished weeding the yard. Anna Jean came early and did the laundry and worked in the garden. Amos came early with another pole for the work of extending the meeting room; and a bit later, he and Phinehas went to work on the extension. Not too long afterward, Wan arrived. Erovi (one of the elderly men) also came early this morning so Daddy could pray with him, and I gave him a small goody bag. About mid-morning, I went outside for a while to see how Anna Jean was doing with the garden work. Gave her a few suggestions and did a little weed-pulling too. Used the machete to get down some huge spider webs that were between the generator shed and the tall tangets. Killed a big mama spider and destroyed a large cocoon full of her spider babies. Off and on, I worked on an e-mail to C&C. Didn’t finish that until early this evening. September 21. Praise the Lord that the men got the roof on the extension today. Next will be the floor, I think. Daddy has been busy getting ready to go to town (Goroka), and I kept busy with teaching and preparations for tomorrow. Also cooked some lentils and onions, added it to the leftover carrots, added seasonings and milk, and whipped it up for soup for our supper. Tomorrow, I will need to prepare something for the days to come. Hi, all! I'm sorry that these journal notes have been hit and miss lately. Here are some entries from September. September 18. Back to school today after a week’s holiday. Bonita came along to observe; and if she continues coming, I’ll give her some things to do to help. The boys did fine in their lessons today.
Wan, Amos, and Dallas came early and worked on the extension. Shortly after school was out, the men all left too. They need to get more poles to finish the job. The three young men who came to the meeting last night offered to get trees for the flooring. The skies were so smoky today that the smoke was about as thick as fog. I’ll be glad when people are done burning off the mountainsides. This afternoon, I did a little work on lesson plans, but am thankful that most of it had been done before the week began. I also had an early bath before the cool evening came on. Before Daddy finished washing up, someone had come to see us. Daniel Antoveri came with a national EBC missionary named Dalton who had heard about us and wanted to meet us. Dalton also had Daniel take a couple snapshots of himself with us. Daddy and I got the shopping list made after we had snack this evening. We have not heard anything yet about whether or not the container [of Bibles] arrived in Goroka. It was supposed to have arrived today. September 19. A very dry, clear day, although by noon, smoke had already started filling up the air. It wasn’t quite as bad as yesterday as most of the fires were on the other side of the ridge today. But all that smoke still causes my eyes severe irritation. While I taught the three boys their school lessons, five men worked on the extension. Bonita came to observe classes, but offered to go cook some food for the men. I was thankful Nuandauro brought kaukau yesterday. Daddy learned from Dallas that the “missionary” who came to see us yesterday was an SDA missionary holding meetings at the SDA church here. We had just assumed that, since he told us he was from To’okena, he was EBC; and he led us on to believe that it was so. It taught us a lesson that we must be very careful not to assume, but to ask questions and check things out thoroughly.* Praise the Lord for word from Bryan M that the container arrived this afternoon in Goroka and has been unloaded at its storage point. I praise the Lord for helping me this afternoon to get everything ready for Thursday’s classes. Lord willing, I should be able to get some e-mails written tomorrow. *Note: Dad and Mom didn’t mind talking with Dalton and getting a picture of themselves with him. They would have just appreciated if he had been honest in telling them who he really was and who he represented. July 29. The day was cold and cloudy with some rain. There was no sunshine except for a few peeks. It was a super busy day, too. First order of business was to get and delete files off Anna Jean’s computer before she took it home. In the mean time, Anna Jean did laundry, cut up pumpkin, and swept floors. It was after mid-morning before the men (Wan, Mike, and Dallas) came to work on the expansion of the meeting room and the moving of the office. After reconsideration, they decided it would be easier after all to try to find trees not too far away and do the extension. So they are going to find others who can help them get trees. Because of rain, we had to bring clothes in before they finished drying and hang about half of them inside. We were thankful that about half the laundry did get dry before the rain came. I also did a lot of work preparing worksheets and flash cards for classes, and revising lesson plans a bit for Bible class. Still need to get the Bible lessons printed out. Found more verses for the Bible verse witness cards, too, and printed the verse cards and the worksheets and flash cards. July 30. The Lord gave us a beautiful morning and sent us dark clouds and rain again in the afternoon. It rained steadily all evening. It took a while to get pancakes made this morning as there were more little moth nests to remove from the flour bag and little weevils to remove from the flour. After breakfast and quiet time, I got busy cutting up the Bible verse witness cards and the flash cards and a couple other things for school. The morning moved along all too quickly, and soon Daddy had made contact with C&C. Even though the reception was not as good today and we lost connection a couple times, it was still a joy to spend a little time with them. This afternoon, I washed my hair and had my bath before the weather got too cold as the temperature was quickly dropping. This evening, the other families who have been coming to fellowship with us had other business to take care of so Daddy and I listened to the second in the series of sermons on Malachi by Dr. Spencer. July 27. Praise the Lord for a little bit of warmth and sunshine today. I was happy to get outside for a few minutes although, even though the sun was shining, the rain kept spitting at me. There was still a good bit of clouds and several periods of light rain. It was a joy to see bright stars shining in the dark sky for a time during the night. Even though we have had periods of rain, there has not been enough rain to make the ground wet. I thank the Lord for His strength and guidance throughout the day. July 28. The Lord gave us a cold, foggy, rainy morning. The afternoon was still cloudy and cool, but the skies were a bit brighter. The children had to stay inside for recess (because of the weather). How nice it would be to have a teacher’s helper in the classroom! I miss having Anna Jean there. I am amazed at the children’s progress in learning Psalm 23, especially Gideon. The memorization of the Psalm was not assigned, and I hadn’t intended for them to learn it, but I would not squelch their desire to learn the Scripture for anything. And the fact that they are memorizing it in English and are excited about doing so when they don’t even speak English yet except for a few monologues and dialogues, that makes it even more remarkable. This afternoon, I got a good start on lesson plans for next Monday and next week, and had high hopes of getting lesson plans done before the day was through. But once again, the Lord did not allow that to happen. It seems like the same thing happens every weekend — I get a good start on lesson plans and then somebody comes to visit and talk. This afternoon Rex and his wife, Judy, and little girl Priscilla came to visit before they go back to Bible school this coming week. We enjoyed a good visit with them. It was nearly 5:00 when they left, and Daddy needed to heat water and wash up yet so we had a late supper. I was thankful to have been able to finish all of Monday’s lesson plans in the early evening, except for making and printing worksheets and proofreading and printing Bible lessons for the week. July 24. A very cold, overcast day. Wore both sweater and jacket all day, and still it took a loooong time for the bones to get warm. They didn’t get warm until after we had crawled in under all the blankets at nap time and had a good sleep. Didn’t finish lesson plans until almost 8:00 this evening as after nap there were two popo that needed to be cut up and one was made into popo crisp. Then pizza had to be made for supper. After supper, I took a quick sponge bath and then did the dishes, working a little bit on lesson plans in between times, while the water was heating. July 25. Praise the Lord for a bit more sunshine today and a bit warmer day. Still lots of clouds. Anna Jean washed and hung out the clothes, and they all got dry outside. July 26. Back to cold and overcast. The sun only peeked through a couple times. What a busy day it was! I was so thankful I had asked Anna Jean to come and help me today. Before she came, I got out carrots and potatoes and washed them. I also started cleaning things out of the kitchen cupboards. I certainly wish there was something we could do to get rid of the cockroaches. They make such a mess. When Anna Jean came, she peeled and cut up the carrots and potatoes. Then I had her clean all the cockroaches and their droppings out of the cupboards and give the cupboards a washing. While she was working, I got the bed made, and folded and put away yesterday’s laundry. After those jobs were done, we all had a hot drink and a snack and relaxed a bit. I didn’t put things away in the cupboards until afternoon as I wanted to retire some items that I don’t use, put some things that I rarely use in the wooden box, and reorganize everything else in the cupboards. Besides, by the time all the other work was done and Anna Jean had left, it was time to start dinner. It was meal-making day — mashed potatoes (which turned out to be potato soup — I didn’t pour off enough water), carrots, and chicken with gravy. Everything tasted fine together like soup in a bowl. It was a little late before dinner was ready; and after we ate, there was clean-up to do. Besides putting things away that we had cleaned out of the cupboard, I also made yogurt this afternoon. Mata came with more bananas which was a blessing as we were just about out. There was still the rest of the lesson plans for tomorrow that needed attention after that. And this evening, there was a huge stack of dishes to be washed. Whew! What a busy day! Thank you, Lord, for the strength that you gave. May 14. The night was very warm, and even with the window open, it was hard to sleep, and I felt hot and sweaty. The temperature was already in the low 60’s outside and upper 60’s inside. Early morning fog soon turned to sunshine and bright blue sky. I was thankful to get out a few minutes after breakfast and quiet time. By mid-morning, the house was getting quite warm; and by noon, it was stuffy, hot, and humid. I said to myself, “It is going to rain.” And it was just a short while after that statement, that the rains were upon us. It rained quite hard for a while, and water leaked into the entry way near the front door. Afterward, I took time to finish writing the Psalm 91 poem I had started last night before going to bed. Most of the rest of the day was spent making sure that everything was ready for school tomorrow — printing worksheets, looking over lessons, writing math problems on chalkboard, etc. Praise the Lord for a good connection and an enjoyable chat with Daddy again this evening. I made sure my phone was charged just before he called; and I was thankful that I did because when we said good-bye after forty-five minutes, the battery was already about to give out. While we were talking, a small rat came running out of the storage closet (they think that is their hiding place), made a circuit around the unoccupied area next to the office, and ran back into the closet. As soon as we finished talking and I had turned the kitchen light on, two young rats came running out of the closet on a chase. Well, enough of that. Time for a rat trap. A half hour later, they were both stuck fast to the trap. With much trepidation and sadness, I helped put them out of their misery. The most High has a secret place where all who will may dwell, A place close to His heart where we can know that all is well, Underneath the shadow of our Almighty God, There we find peace and safety from the dangers of life’s road. The Lord Himself my refuge is, my fortress, and my God, In Him I’ll trust for I am sure His promise He’ll uphold, Covering with His feathers to keep me from alarm, Secure I am from pestilence, from snares, and every harm. There are no terrors in the night nor any violence by day That can cause me doubt and fear or from God’s truth to stray. I have made the LORD my refuge, even the most High, He is my hope and habitation; no plague or evil shall come nigh. His angels shall be given charge to watch and keep in all my ways, To bear me up whene’er I fall, protect me from all fearsome plagues, I’ve set my love upon Him, thus He promises to save, And because I’ve known His name, He’ll set me in a lofty place. In every trouble He is near, and with honor He’ll bestow me, With long life give satisfaction, His salvation He will show me. Oh, may I never fail Him, though I am weak and small, And may I give my best to Him who in His love hath given me all. May 13. Praise the Lord for helping me through the night. I went to bed early again last night, but not quite as early as the night before. This morning, the Lord sent Anna Jean along, and I was so thankful for her coming. She actually came to charge her phones, but she said she had time to work. She washed the clothes, cut up a small pumpkin, swept the floors, and washed part of the kitchen floor (close to the sink and counters where it had gotten quite dirty. Then she had a cup of coffee before getting ready to go home. In the meantime, Daddy called. I was happy to talk with him for a while and to hear how he is doing and share with him my sickness so he could pray. After Daddy and I hung up, Wan came by to get a couple things and ask about Junias’s phone. I had forgotten to ask Daddy if he found it so will ask him this evening, Lord willing, if we get a connection and good reception. When Wan left, Anna Jean was ready to go too, but I asked her first if she could get my suitcase down for me off the top shelf in the bedroom in case I have to go out to the doctor. I was thankful that she had no trouble doing that when she stood on a chair. I also asked her if she could check on me early Monday morning to see if I am doing okay, and she said she would. After she left, I went outside for a while in the clouded sunshine. Then I finished my prayer time, got the clothes in (a few of them weren’t dry, but I brought them in anyway and hung them in the house because it looked like it was going to rain), Then I started getting my lunch. Around noon, the sun came out, and it did not rain after all. The afternoon was hot, but cooled off early as darkness comes early in the evening these days. I must have been pretty tired at nap time as I slept two hours straight and never heard a thing. After getting up, I put water on to heat for washing my hair and did a number of small clean-up jobs in the kitchen. My supper was a little late because Sunny came just when I sat down to start eating. She had come to get her other phone, but didn’t stay long, but it was long enough for supper to be late. Then I heated water and washed the dishes. I hadn’t planned to wash them again this evening, but somehow there were a lot more dishes than I expected. It was already 6:55 when I finished the dishes so sat down in the recliner with the phone and waited for Daddy’s call. Praise the Lord for a good connection again this evening and a nice time chatting until oops, my phone went beep to let me know that my battery was low. I had never thought about charging it again after we talked in the morning. We hadn’t talked that long, but my battery is getting old and goes down really fast now. It needs to be replaced. I plugged the phone into the charger, and we talked for a few minutes more while it was charging, but I guess we were talking faster than it was charging :-) so we soon had to say “I love you” and “good-night.” I didn’t realize 45 minutes had already gone by, we were having such a good time talking together. After we hung up, I had a drink of water and put water on to heat for washing up. I didn’t really feel hungry for a snack because my tummy isn’t very happy this evening. After wash-up, I finished making a schedule of daily class routine. Psalm 91 and 92 are two of my favorite Psalms, and the Lord used them to give me such peace and strength for today. “1) He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2) I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. 3) Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. 4) He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. 5) Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; 6) Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 7) A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. 8) Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. 9) Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; 10) There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. 11) For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12) They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. 13)Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. 14) Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. 15) He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. 16) With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.” (Psalm 91) May 10. It has been a very quiet day. Only Mora and Julian came to the door . I am thankful that my back has been a little better today. I still move very slowly and need to be very careful about how I move. This morning, I looked over lessons for tomorrow and made sure everything is ready for classes. This afternoon, I made yogurt And this evening, I got to talk for a while to my own best earthly friend. May 11. Christy’s birthday. Woke up this morning with chills. Had chills Tuesday evening and yesterday evening, but today I had them all morning. Have not been able to eat well for the past couple days too. The Lord helped me to feel well enough to teach, but as soon as class was over, I felt very weak and knew I needed to rest. I had a small lunch and went to bed early. When I awoke, I was hot — a fever. Started on amoxicillin and went and lay back down for another hour. Felt a little better after that, but still very weak. May 12. Did not finish writing in my journal yesterday evening. Was even too tired and weak to talk with Daddy. I was going to just let him do most of the talking, but we could not even get good reception. After trying for a good while, we finally said good night. Then I went right to bed. I was too weak to do anything else. It was 8:00 when I went to bed. Woke up a little before 10:00, and I was hungry as I hadn’t eaten much supper. Got up and had a piece of toast with honey and took another amoxicillin. Went back to bed and slept until 5:45 this morning when I was awakened by a noisy rat. Decided I’d slept long enough so got up and ready for the day. Felt so much better this morning, and felt like eating too. My back is still giving me a good amount of pain, however. While I was eating lunch, I filled up the washing machine one half bucket at a time. I had about a two-hour nap. Then I graded the students’ work for today, washed the dishes, roasted peanuts, ate supper, had a bath. This evening again, Daddy and I were not able to talk. There was a storm there in Goroka and fog, too, which may have affected phone connection. He did connect when he first called, but we lost connection within a couple minutes, and he was never able to connect again. So, sadly, we were not able to chat together. I could hear thunder off to the north when Daddy first rang, and it came closer and closer during the next hour until it reached Owena and brought us some light rain for the evening. “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 89:1) Here is another verse that encourages us to talk about the Lord to all generations, and that includes singing. With singing, with talking, we can tell of His mercies, and we can make known His faithfulness to all generations. |
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