Cheaper by the Dozen

Well, Mr. Frank Gilbreth definitely seemed to know how to work efficiently and economically. In light of his example, I may just need a "dozen" entries to figure out how to make my blogging more streamlined. I have experimented a bit with the collage idea. Let us know what you think of this format. If I'm not mistaken, you can view the pictures more largely if you click on the whole collage.

PNG Independence Celebrations

Independence Day

We celebrated PNG Independence Day on September 16^th, alongside our Papua New Guinean friends as they took a day off from work and commemorated in grand fashion. The day got off to a celebratory start as we watched several men and young boys carry a large live pig down to the waterfront across the street from our house. Though breakfast was in the making, Tim took the camera over to the beach to capture the kill on camera. He was a little wary of doing this right before we ate, but didn't want to miss the moment. How often is a pig slaughtered outside one's front door? The men worked together as they burned and scraped the hair off the pig before quickly and mercifully slashing the throat and allowing its blood to run out into the sea. The pig was then butchered, cleaned and carried back to the house. The men worked together during this process and included Tim in the conversation if not the actual kill. Shortly after Tim returned home, some of the boys came to our gate carrying a large bag with a beautiful cut of the pig. It was a very lovely gesture. Later we enjoyed some homemade mojo-marinated pig. Yum! 

At midday we went into town to watch some of the traditional dances and observe the annual "greasy pole" climb. Two wooden poles (one for the women and one for the men) are placed in the field beside our market and then thoroughly greased with pig grease. At the top of the poles several prizes are strung up awaiting the one who reaches the top first. Along with soccer balls, lanterns, cooking pans, guitars and bush knives, there is often a cash prize available as well. You can imagine the excitement of being the one to reach the summit. My lack of experience in this event did not really prepare me for the 2+ hours of perseverance that went into reaching the top. Teams of people worked together hoisting one another on top of each other countless times until basically their bodies had rubbed enough of the grease off the pole to make it possible to shimmy up to the prize laden apex. (For the record, the women had a slower start than the men but reached the prizes first.)  It seemed that all of Alotau turned up to watch this event. It was a joy to laugh alongside the Papua New Guineans as we all enjoyed this hilarious spectator sport.

The day ended up being laced with grief, however, as we learned of the sudden death of our neighbor's newborn baby. The same family that had slain the pig returned home to find that their sister's 3 day old infant had passed from this world into his heavenly home. The baby had come home from the hospital seemingly perfectly fine just the day before but had cried extensively throughout his first night home. The mother was preparing to take him to the hospital in the morning only to discover that he was not breathing. In the late afternoon we made our first trip to the morgue to offer our comfort and prayers to the family as they awaited news of the cause of death. Unfortunately, they did not receive any conclusive answers. The mom, however, is a believer, and knows the comfort of a Savior who holds her beautiful baby. She grieves but as one not without hope. Please pray for Shalon and her family as they continue to mourn the loss of their little blessing.

Weston's Arrival

Austin loves his new baby brother

Sweet Baby, Sweet Sis

Happy Birthday Weston!

Testing, testing

Preying Mantis

Lucas loves his critters!

May We Love Silently

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging symbol.

Congratulations Josh and Corrie!!!

Our friends’ wedding occurred on the same date as my cousin Corrie’s. While I was happy to celebrate with our friends here I was poignantly reminded of and missing the sweet celebration of Corrie and Josh’s union. We wish we could have been in 2 places at once. Congratulations to both of you! We love you and wish you a lifetime of joy, adventures,and blessings.

White Wedding

Some of our friends from church told us that we missed the first white wedding at church. I knew there weren’t too many white people who attended so I wondered who had gotten married while we were away. After they told me, I realized that white wedding simply means formal wedding with a white dress!

During our times in Papua New Guinea we have been privileged to celebrate and commemorate with our friends some of the more significant moments of life. I have been involved in the birth of 2 babies, we have attended several funerals, a handful of New Testament dedications and most recently we were invited to the wedding of our friend and associate pastor of our church, Mr. Martin Mareco. I was so excited about attending this event not only because I love weddings, but because I had not attended a PNG wedding before. I was imaging thebeating of Kundu drums as the chief led the groom into the area dressed in traditional grass skirts. The bride would come after the blowing of the conch shell and she would arrive adorned from head to toe in feathers and shells with bright markings on her cheeks. I imagined the traditional dancing and decorative guests as they gave gifts of pigs and clay pots. Imagine my (slight)disappointment when it turned out to be an almost exact, though lovely replica of the many “western” weddings I have attended in my life—complete with the wedding march, the kiss, and sharing of cake bites. One exception however, was the inclusion of the word “obey” in the vows. I had not heard this word used in too many American weddings of my generation. Though it was not as I had imagined, it was actually a beautiful reminder that things are changing for the better for many of the Papua New Guineans. Marriage in the past has not always been formally or officially recognized. One of our friends here shared how if a man and woman move into one another’s home, then they are considered married. The flaw that comes from this “tradition” is that when either one moves out, the marriage can be considered dissolved, leaving a string of unwanted spouses and children in the wake. This lack of accountability and commitment has created a dissolution of family units and family values in the country. Please pray for the people of PNG as they take steps toward strengthening the family unit through these “white” weddings.

Mr. Martin Mareco

Martin and Groomsmen

Can you find us?

The Father Escorts His Daughter Lao

The Unity Candle

Martin and his lovely bride Lao

Frying Fish for the Wedding Feast

Pastor Harry Serves the Cake

Auntie watches over the abundance of food brought by the guests.  Plenty of greens, fish, chicken, pig, sweet potatoes, bananas and rice filled the plates of the many guests.

Old Cars and Good Friends

The vehicle we drive is not really in very good condition. In fact it is slowly, but surely dying. When I got into the van the other day, I had to laugh at all the indicator lights that are now permanently on. (The gas gauge died long ago.) Every few days we give it a charge so it will start again for the next few days. Most days we can laugh about the situation.

Last night following a reunion with some of our sweet friends and co-laborers, the Reese Family, we left their house in a downpour, not knowing when the rain would stop but knowing we needed to get home. After we all ran under shared umbrellas into the van, Tim put in the key and ….nothing. Again he tried…nothing. He and Austin got out and started to push the van in order to start it. Almost immediately, the whole Reese family ran out of the house and added their strength to the start attempt. Laughingly we got the van to start but not without many soaked bodies. We are so thankful for brothers and sisters who literally come beside us in our time of need.

Seafood Curry with the Reese Family

Kylah and Hadassah enjoy a candlelit table

The Boys Share Food and Coversation with Rochelle

We Love Out-of Date Products

Cereal is something we don’t often eat in Alotau as it is very costly--$7-$10 USD a box!!! However, a bunch of boxes went past their expiration date and the prices dropped dramatically so we have been enjoying the convenience of cereal—a little stale, but no complaints.

Another Job for Super-hero Dad

Today Tim became the official papaya picker after I went out to pick one and encountered this hand-sized spider.

Haus Kuk

Austin’s first week began with a job. The month long VITAL workshop is going to be held on center for the first time this October and in order to provide the needed meals for the 30+ attendants, a hauskuk (cook-house) is being built. Austin was able to join Caden Farr and Bego and Bidolph (our center employees) to help work on the building of it. He was quite satisfied after working with the men.

Housing Crunch and Answered Prayers

As many of you know, our housing situation had been a bit of a concern.. Our last assignment was that of Boat Manager as well as Center Manager. Unfortunately, though both are enjoyable jobs, it was a stressful, exhausting stretch for Tim to do both full-time jobs. Thank the Lord, however, a wonderful family has come to take on the full-time job of Center Management. With that being said, the Farr family moved into our old house on center and we were moved off center because there are no other housing options on the center and it makes perfect sense for the center manager to be on center. Off center housing is very limited and extremely expensive so we did not know what our options were. We knew in advance that we would not be living on center and of course had mixed feelings about that. I prayed for some very specific things when our colleagues were looking for housing for us. I prayed for a house near the center as we wanted to maintain a close distance for security/emergencies as well as a close connection to the goings on of the center. I prayed for a big yard for all the neighbor kids to play in, as well as a house big enough to be used for all the gatherings we enjoy. I prayed for a safe neighborhood as well. Sometimes when we pray for cake, we forget that the Lord often ices it too!

 The house we are now living in is a 5-7 minute walk from the center. The yard is not only big enough for soccer games but is filled with fruits and veggies lining the edges. The house is very spacious and under the house, there is a huge covered patio where many kids have already christianed it with laughter and games. We live less than 100 feet from the water and fall asleep to the sound of the ocean every night. There is a room under the house we have turned into a schoolroom and there is even a small flat where we can house overflow guests from the center. We have already had 3 SIL pilots stay overnight since our arrival. We are enjoying the feel of living in the community. It a little different than your average American neighborhood as each house is surrounded by chain link fencing and barb wired lined gates, but nevertheless it has a distinct neighborly feel about it. Pray for us as we get to know the people living around us.

Weston overlooking the ocean-side view from the verandah

Kylah jump ropes with neighbor girls