River Fun

During this 5 week school holiday we've just stayed home.  It's been relaxing and we've enjoyed the slower pace of the non-school days, but I have to confess that when most of my friends have gotten to take off on a holiday somewhere, there have been moments when I've been a tad jealous. 

But on Saturday we decided to go have a play time at the Bae river that borders a good portion of Ukarumpa.  The weather has been pretty glum lately, but for the past several days while it was grey, cold and drizzly in the mornings, the sun would finally break through in the afternoons.  Until Saturday of course!  Then, it was beautiful in the morning, but as noon drew near, the clouds rolled in!  But we had made plans and we just decided to go ahead and hope it wouldn't rain.

We headed down to the Bae river, through a small waist-high gate in the back of a friend's house.  It was a short hike down the trail past some gardens until we got to the river. 

Then it was time to play!  The kids didn't seem to care that the water was freezing cold!  They jumped in and had a blast.

They also found that on the opposite bank, there was a patch of ground (clay, really) that when wet was unbelievably slippery.  I know my kids at least spent a great part of the time sliding down it like a waterslide!  It was so slippery that it was hard to stay on one's feet on it. 

 Nathan, after an unintentional slip!

Kaitlyn and her friends got covered in mud and had a blast doing it!

My Love-Hate Relationship with Facebook

I love Facebook!  I mean, how else could I sit down in the morning, with my steaming cup of coffee and in ten minutes, get caught up on everyone's lives.  I can see how my friend's kids are growing like weeds.  I can keep tabs on my nephews and niece.  I can enjoy the pictures of vacations and family get-togethers that have been happening.  With Facebook, it's so nice to feel like I'm not entirely cut off from family and friends around the world, who, with my living over here, I basically AM cut off from. 

In my busy life as Mom of five, I just find it super hard to be good at communicating by emails.  On a good day, I can get maybe one or two personal emails written.  But more often than not, they are written in my head and I never get the needed 20 minutes to sit down and type them up.  So when I can send a friend a short message or keep in touch via Facebook, I go for it!

But I HATE Facebook.  Every time I get on (especially during this time of the year!) I am reminded over and over of what I can't do.  Of what I've given up.  I see pictures of family get-togethers to celebrate birthdays, holidays, life that I've not been able to be a part of.  I see pictures of nephews and nieces who will be 2, or closer to 3 years old before I get to meet them.  I see beautiful pictures of camping trips friends have gone on, or trips to Disneyland, or hikes in the mountains, or playdays at parks and beaches, or plans for big 4th of July barbecues and parties.

And to be completely honest, sometimes I get jealous.  And discontented.  I wish I could take my kids and show them the beauty of Yellowstone.  Or go on the family camping trip to Yosemite.  Or be at the family reunion with Aunts, Uncles and Cousins who I haven't seen in 6 years.  Or take my kids to the beach on a warm, sunny day.  Or just go out and buy an ice cream cone.  But I can't.

I actually once saw an article that was saying how people on Fb do tend to be more discontented.  They see all the vacations and new cars or houses or whatever that their friends have, and they feel unhappy. 

And it's true.  When we allow our focus to shift from the present, to the 'what if's' or the 'what I am missing out on' mentality, we will be miserable.  And truly, I'm NOT miserable.  But it's so easy to see that when I allow my focus to shift to the wrong place, I do start feeling jealous and..... sad, I guess.... and really, I'm sinning.  I'm coveting the things I don't have, and that's wrong.

I truly DO love my life here in PNG.  And I have so very much to be thankful for.  I have been abundantly blessed with dear friends here.  A loving and supportive family back home.  The most fantastic, amazing husband ever.  Five incredible kids.

So I'll continue to enjoy browsing Facebook and I will be happy for the vacations and activities that my friends and family back home are getting to enjoy.  And, honestly, from time to time, I'll wish that I could go to the beach too, or be at the birthday party or whatever.  But I will also strive to be content in my life and where God has put me for this time.

Whew... What a Week!

This past week has really been..... awful.  One of those weeks you know you never want to repeat.

Looking at it in perspective though, it is very clear to me that we are under attack.  From the one who does not want to see God's word in the Nukna language, and is sure trying every which way to discourage and hinder us!  And, I have to confess, sometimes it's working.

I know, coming from our Western background, we aren't all that comfortable talking about Spiritual battles and Satan's power.  In the western way of thinking, we just seem to tend to not put much credibility into 'the unseen' and we like to have tangible, obvious explanations for everything.  It's quite different living here in PNG where EVERYTHING has a spiritual meaning behind it.  Even for many professing Christians, no one gets sick, or dies or has any bad thing happen to them without sorcery being behind it.  Coming from my western upbringing, it's sometimes hard for me to understand.  I think someones lingering illness was probably from undiagnosed cancer or AIDS, rather than the fact that someone put a curse on them.  But I have to say that for the most part, the people of PNG are far more aware of the spiritual side of things than many of us are.

All that to say that this week, I have clearly felt the attacks on our family.  And it's no surprise to me that they coincide with the fact that we are consultant checking the books of Mark and Ruth right now.  (One of the major, final steps before the book will be ready to be typeset and printed.)

Last weekend we discovered that Elijah's teeth are disintegrating.  I mean literally.  While we were in the village, I noticed some brown areas along the tops of some of his teeth, and running down a deep groove on another tooth.  I thought that was not good, and maybe it was some weird plaque build-up.  So we brushed extra.  But by last weekend, part of the grooved tooth was missing, and along the brown areas of his other teeth, there were now a series of holes.  WHAT!?!?!?!  I mean, I've never been a brush my kid's teeth morning, noon and night and make sure they never-ever touch sugar sort of Mom, but I feel like we've always done a pretty decent job of taking care of our kid's teeth.  And now my baby's teeth are rotting out of his mouth!?!?!  It was a stressful few days as we had to wait over a long holiday weekend, and then when I thought we could get into the dentist for help, we discovered it was their day off.  So finally, on Wednesday of this last week, we got Elijah into our dentist here. 

Only to not be given any helpful help. 

Basically, it looks like he has an enamel deficiency and at least 4 of his baby teeth do not have the proper enamel to protect them.  So since last weekend, he has lost over half of one of his teeth.  It just very literally has been disintegrating away.   And the other three teeth all have holes or pits in them now.  And all we were told was that we should just try to brush his teeth constantly.  After every single time any food or drink enters his mouth.  So, yeah, pretty much constantly.  So we've spent the week, brushing his teeth like 10-15 times a day, and watching his one tooth get smaller and smaller.  Let's just say I'm feeling stressed and discouraged!

Thanks to a dental hygienist friend, and friends and family contacting dental friends of theirs for advice, it looks like this problem is not 'contagious'.  It won't spread to every tooth in his mouth, but is more of a tooth-by-tooth basis--- either his teeth have the proper enamel or they don't.  And it's not a given that his adult teeth will be affected.  They might, but there's just as much of a chance that they'll be fine.  We'll just have to wait and see.  But in the meantime, we're just playing a waiting game.... waiting to see how fast his teeth deteriorate.  Waiting to see if I'm going to need to get him to a pediatric dentist (the nearest one would be in Australia) to have teeth removed or whatever.  And waiting is hard for me.

Then, if that wasn't enough to deal with, Nathan has been having some issues this week as well.  He was screaming in pain one night from something that came on suddenly, and then I got to spend 2 hours at the clinic with him yesterday morning, trying to figure out what was causing the unusual symptoms he was having.  But even after 2 hours of testing and examining, the doctor was still befuddled.  We left the clinic with the doctor basically saying that we need to just watch and wait and if this issue continues to happen, we'll need to get Nathan to the nearest specialist which would be in Brisbane, Australia.  Again, not what this already-stressed Momma needed to hear.

So, with all that going on, plus the craziness of all the end-of-the-year school activities here (1 1/2 more school days left for this school year!) and having 3 Nukna guys here for a couple of weeks to feed and socialize with, well, I'm left feeling like I'm just way in over my head right now.  All the unknowns, coupled with all the busyness just has me discouraged.

And I believe that is EXACTLY where the enemy wants me to be!

So, please pray with me this week that God will be glorified in everything that happens (whether Elijah's teeth all fall out of his mouth, or we have to make an unplanned trip to Australia for Nathan, or whatever!) and that Matt and I will be able to truly cast all our cares on Him! 

So this picture has absolutely nothing to do with my post, but I thought I'd end with a hilarious picture of my superhero daughter who dressed up E as Snow White!

Photo Journal of our Village Stay 18 April - 31 May

A lot of times there really aren't too many interesting things to say about our village stay.  We did school.  We sat inside on rainy days, trying to find things to do and not kill each other.  We did laundry, and work and normal life, then went to bed and started the next, similar day.

So sometimes it's easier to just show you a bunch of pictures from our 6 weeks (admit it, that's what most of you are interested in anyway, not me rambling on and on and on!).

Waiting for our helicopter at like 6:30 in the morning

A boy and his ball

What we did for entertainment:

Movies on the Ipod!

One afternoon K and N decided to make Julianne a dress and matching tiara, bracelet and ring out of paper, tape and crayons!

Duplos!  Nathan with his taller than himself tower

Playing in the water at the sink (notice how he's just hanging out there!)

too much fun with chalk

A temporary pet

Bugs!!!!  (my kids spent countless hours catching bugs, moths, frogs, you name it

Playing at the river

I tried to get some pictures of the kids.  They weren't cooperating.  These are the best, but of course, Justin is squinting at the camera.

E hanging out on the morning of our departure with all the stored mattresses

Cinco de Mayo

The next post or two will be catching up from our time out in the village.

This last stay was one of the first stays in a long while when we have had no birthdays to celebrate while we were out there.  Actually, originally we were scheduled to fly out to Hamelengan on my birthday, but at the last our flight was changed and we went out two days later.

But it's always good to have special events to look forward to while we are living in the village.  For us this time, the special day turned out to be Cinco de Mayo.  Believe it or not, my kids are actually part Mexican.  My dear husband, who is the epitome of a 'white boy', is actually 1/4 Mexican.  So, between that and being Californian, I figure we can legally celebrate a Mexican holiday. =)

Our celebrations included making and breaking a pinata.  This was the first time I'd made one before, and so the kids (Kaitlyn, mainly) and I worked on it for a couple of days before Sunday.  I had brought out a balloon and newspaper and streamers for making it.  I think I made it a tad TOO big, but oh well.  It definitely wouldn't win any beauty awards, but it served its purpose.

The final product:



The kids had a blast taking turns hitting it with a stick (or for lack of a real stick, an extra piece of pvc pipe we had lying around.)

Even Elijah wanted in on the action!

Candy!!!!!

A candy-crazed Julianne!

We finished off the day with a nacho dinner.  I fried up tortilla chips and we enjoyed a variety of toppings (including a jar of real salsa) on them!  Yum.

The Power of an Email

Sometimes it amazes me how much power words have.  I mean we all know quotes like, "The pen is mightier than the sword."  And in the New Testament, James devotes the better part of Chapter 3 to the power of the tongue, comparing it to the tiny rudder on a huge ship that controls the direction the ship is heading. 

But sometimes it takes just a sentence in an email and the reaction it causes to be reminded of the power of words.

Last Monday, we were going about our day in the village.  It was a normal day... scrubbing laundry, doing school with the kids, making meals, sweeping the floor, changing diapers... all the regular things that fill up my day.  It was another gloomy day in Hamelengan (we had more than our fair share of them during our 6 weeks out there).  In the afternoon, when the clouds were too thick for Matt to keep working, he came upstairs to check email.  And that's when we got the email. 

It was a simple email.  It basically just said, "Would you be willing to come out on Friday, May 31?"  (Rather than the scheduled Monday, June 3.) 

Wow!  That simple question Made. My. Day!  At first, I thought it was too good to be true!  I had gone in milliseconds from feeling discouraged about yet another day of no sun and no power with a whole week ahead of me in the village, to being afraid to get too excited that this might actually happen and instead of a whole week more in the village, there just being 3 more full days out there!

Instead of wracking my brain, trying to come up with creative ideas for how to spend the remaining week with kids who were bored and fighting constantly, I instantly switched to thoughts of "How do I finish off this week of school with one less day?" and "Wow!  Now we can pick and choose dinners instead of just having do to follow the menu!"

Even Matt, who usually is never happy to leave early because he always has more work that could be done, was just as eager as I to go back home.  We climbed into bed that night elated.... instead of looking ahead all the long days, we just had a couple more days (granted, they would be filled with school, packing and inventorying supplies, and another work day for Matt in revising a chapter of Luke).

So, now I'm sitting here on a Saturday afternoon, comfortable and clean in my home.  The kids are playing with friends and guinea pigs.  Julianne is visiting our next door neighbors, whom she adores.  Matt and I are checking out everything on the internet that we've missed over the past 6 weeks (Facebook, baseball news, world news).  And it's even rainy and gloomy but that doesn't matter!  We're home!  And we even got to go watch all the 11th and 12th graders arrive at Banquet last night! 

But getting back to my original topic, words are powerful.  And they can be used for both good and bad.  As I was reminded this week and encouraged by a few simple words, I want to be more deliberate in how I use words, primarily with my children, as what I say and how I say it is very powerful.  If one email can change the course and feelings of a week, how much more the angry, sarcastic, hurtful or the encouraging, praising, uplifting words that I use throughout the course of every day with my five precious children!

I Really Am Still Around!!!

So I know I’ve been pretty bad about blogging lately.  First, there was just no power.  Lately it seems like I just haven’t had any time to sit down at the computer.  I keep busy mainly with teaching the kids, and a lot of days, it’s 3 or even 4pm before I have everyone’s work wrapped up and put away.  So things like computer time just don’t happen.  I do have some blog posts in my head that hopefully will eventually make it to my blog in the future.

 

In the meantime, here’s a fun story Nathan wrote last week for school.  They were writing a time-travel fantasy.  Enjoy! =)

 

The Crazy Travel in Time

written and illustrated by Nathan T.

 

One hot, sunny day, I walked into my backyard.  I looked around and saw something hidden in the bushes.

 

“Hey Justin!” I called.  “Come see what I found.”  Justin came running.

 

“What is it?” He asked.

 

“I don’t know,” I said “It looks like a little ball with a door.”  We walked over to see what it was.  It turned out not to be a little ball with a door, but a big ball with a door.

 

“Let’s go inside it,” Justin said.

 

“Good idea.”  I said.  I looked around the door for a handle but I couldn’t find it anywhere.

 

“The handle must have come off.”  I said.  “I can’t find it anywhere.”  We looked here and there, near and far, but couldn’t find it anywhere.  Then I saw a panel-like rectangle by the door.

 

“What’s this?” I wondered out loud.

 

“What’s what?”  Justin asked.

 

“This.” I said pointing to the panel.

 

“Oh, that.” said Justin.  We thought and thought but couldn’t think of what it could be.  All of a sudden Justin cried out, “I know!  I know.  You have to press a secret code on it and the door will open!”

 

“Silly Justin,”  I said, “even if this was a giant rock, you could probably find something and imagine you could press a secret code on it.  But still, it’s worth a try.”

 

“Okay,” said Justin.  “If that’s what you think.”

 

“Now,” I said.  “What kind of code would you use if you were going to stop people from entering a top secret all?” I asked.

 

“I wouldn’t use a code at all.”  Justin said.

 

“What in the universe are you talking about?” I asked.

 

“I would pick something unusual, like that writing.”  I looked over to where he was pointing and saw an inscription.  It said “757 Ballmobile.”

 

“Good idea.”  I said.  I ran over to the panel and pushed 7-5-7-B-a-l-l-m-o-b-i-l-e.  The door slid open with a creak.

 

“Please enter.”  A mechanical voice said.  We walked into the 757 Ballmobile, which on the inside wasn’t a circle at all, but a square.

 

“Look at this place!” I said with amazement.  “It even has a timeline.”  I looked at the timeline.

 

“Look!  here’s the time of the dinos!”  I said, tapping it with my finger.  I was so busy looking around the 757 Ballmobile that I didn’t notice some words on a screen that said, “Get ready to travel to the time of the dinosaurs.”  All of a sudden, the 757 Ballmobile began to shake.

 

“What’s happening?” I asked.

 

“Look!”  Justin yelled above all the noise.  I turned around and saw the words.

 

“Hold on!” I shouted.  When the 757 Ballmobile came to a stop, I opened the door and peered out.  There were no houses in sight, but there was a big cloud of dust in the distance that just seemed to get bigger and bigger.  Just then Justn crawled out of the 757 Ballmobile and saw the cloud of dust.

 

“What’s that?” Justin asked.

 

“I don’t know.” I said.  Just then the cloud of dust cleared and we saw a giant brontasaurus running away from a fierce dinosaur.

 

“What’s that?”  Justin asked again.  I opened my book on dinosaurs.

 

“Don’t move a muscle.”  I answered.

 

“What do you mean?  Don’t move a muscle?” Justin asked.

 

“I mean, don’t move a muscle.” I said.  “That’s a Tyrannosaurus rex.  The fiercest of all dinos.  If you move it will come and eat you up.”  But it was too late.  The Tyrannosaurus rex was already on it’s way.

 

“Run!  Get back to the seven fi……….. I think it’s a time machine!  But that doesn’t matter right now!  We’re about to be dino food!”  I yelled.  We scrambled back into the time machine, or at least, that’s what I thought it was.  The thundering sound of the Tyrannosaurus rex’s footsteps were getting closer.

 

“What year was it when we left?”  I hurridly asked.

 

“I think it was 2013.”  Justin answered.  I quickly found 2013 on the timeline and tapped it with my finger.  The time machine began shaking.  When it stopped, we both scrambled out as fast as we could.

 

“Let’s not ever go there again.”  Justin said.

 

“Good idea.  Very good idea.”  I answered.  “I think that’s the best idea I’ve heard in a very, very long time.”  And with that, we both walked into the house to tell everyone about our amazing adventure.

 

The End