Where there is no Bridge (Matt)

In June, Laveryl Voss (an experienced builder here), Kay Hapawo  (a local carpenter), and myself went to Lae to work on a house for Nathalie and Foreting Simonsson. They are both deaf and are working with about 80 deaf people in Lae, a large port city. They said that number should be much higher, but many deaf children are believed to be mentally handicapped and many times pushed out of a village or abandoned.They asked us to help assist in finishing the outside of their house.

   We drove 4 hours and brought in all of our materials, tools and equipment. There is no power there so we brought a generator, too. We forded a river to get there. When we went there, there had been little rain so the water was low.

Almost all the people that we interacted with there were deaf. It was exciting to see a world that I was unfamiliar with. Many wanted to help us build. At times, it was quite a challenge to communicate while building, but we really enjoyed it and made friends too! We were only there one week but we got a lot accomplished. The last three days, there were heavy rains and when the morning came for us to leave, it was pouring. Foreting's father came and told us that the river was impassible. We went to check it out after a larger vehicle came through.  Several people from the village waded across to find the best route for us and then we went for it.

I was really happy to be able to work on a village project. It's fulfilling to help other missionaries on the field.

Sharing is Caring (Laura)

Since the moment we arrived in Papua New Guinea (PNG), I have been struck by the beauty if this place and its people. I was impressed with each village’s sense of community and how they take care of each other as they have needs. When we arrived here in the Highlands, it was encouraging to realize that the other missionaries here really look after each other, too! As our plane landed on the grass runway, we could see a family waiting for us at the hangar. (Click HERE to see our landing video!) They  helped us settle in by making sure we had a ride from the plane to the center, meals for the first few days, and could find our way around. But others purposefully reached out with food, rides, tips, and words to welcome and encourage us as well. 

Sometimes life can be hard here, and we really start to miss the people, things, and familiarity we’ve had to sacrifice coming to PNG. Being with others who have made similar sacrifices and are more than willing to help out, makes it easier. 

The day we met Buddy and Puddle Duck.

We’ve wanted a pet since we got here (we miss you Oreo and Freckles!) but didn’t want to commit to owning a pet. We can’t have pets in the house we’re renting, but a family was leaving for Australia for six months and needed someone to look after their parrots. Matt grew up owning parrots in Peru and has always talked about how fun that was (see photo below). So, we now have two beautiful Ekkies (Eclectus), Buddy and Puddle Duck! They have been so much fun to hold, feed, play with, and listen to – and they stay outdoors! Win, win!

Matt, with one of his pet parrots in Peru.

 We’re quickly finding that we are blessed as we bless others! A family that is on furlough needed someone to look after their vehicle until they get back in November. We were looking for a car to use (Brianna and Grayson are troopers, but the walk up the big hill to our house from the school sure can feel long)! I’ve had fun learning how to maneuver a 1986 diesel Pajero around on the muddy roads. Win, win again!

"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had." Acts 4:32

Am I doing this right? (Laura)

We made it! We finished up our orientation and are now settling into life in Ukarumpa, in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. I have to say, it’s really nice to have a spot we can call “home” for a while! We are renting a house that’s quite a hike to get to and right next to the center’s water tanks, but a very welcome change from our traditional village home and communal living at POC. There are a lot of differences between here and the U.S. that we’re still getting used to…

"Ram" is river water pumped up our hill. Tank water comes from the metal water tanks outside our house: roof to gutters to tank (this is also our drinking water). The rectangular metal box-like thing on our roof is our solar-heated hot water tank (cloudy day = cold shower!).

DRIVING…

That’s right! I’m licensed to drive on the LEFT HAND side of the road now! I still panic a little when I see another car coming towards us on the "wrong" side. When I’m catching a ride with someone, I automatically go to the right side to hop in (that’s where the driver sits here). Awkward…

  

 PLUGGING IN…

Alright, where I’m from it’s pretty simple. If you want to use a device that requires electricity, you plug it in. Not so much here. The outlets have switches on them to turn them on and off! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve plugged something in to charge it, forgetting to turn the outlet on. It’s dead.

But I’m learning! I now know how to plug something from the U.S. into the wall without blowing it up (everything is 220v here). I put the plug adapter on, plug it into the transformer or surge protector (sometimes both), THEN plug it into the wall. And (hopefully) turn on the outlet.  

TEA TIME…

Since Papua New Guinea is part of the Commonwealth and is a former Australian colony, we have tea time every day! Every morning at 10:15 am and 3:00 pm, a loud horn blasts on the center to announce it is tea time. Everyone takes a break for tea and biscuits and then heads back to work fifteen minutes later. Oh, and I have to mention that this coming Monday is a National Holiday to celebrate the queen’s birthday! I think I’ll have tea.

FOOD…

I think we’re eating better here than we’ve ever eaten before, but it’s A LOT of work! We have a small store on the center that sells some things and an awesome outdoor market three days a week (organic!). But cooking here takes a lot of time and planning. When we have tacos, I make the tortillas, guacamole, and beans from scratch and shred the cheese. I’ve even learned how to make sour cream (there’s no fresh dairy here)! I started making enchiladas at 4:00 last week, and we ate at 7:00! 

Buy flour. check. Put in freezer to kill bugs. Check. Sift out bugs. Check. Bake! And don't forget to make milk before bed so you have cold milk in the morning for breakfast (1 cup each skim and whole milk powder to a jug of water does the trick)!

Bananas anyone? Let's just hope they don't all ripen at the same time!

Adding vanilla to a recipe is a bit challenging at times – but if I have vanilla beans with me, it all works out! Here you can see my first attempt at making ice cream (you guessed it, vanilla bean!).

Bought these for 2 Kina at the market (about $1)!

 

Are There Crocodiles In Here? (Matt)

Throughout our stay in Surumuran I asked many people if there were still crocodiles in the river. "Yu lukim pukpuk long dispela wara?"  I would say. "Nogat (No)", was usually the reply. Although I did get a few of them to tell me that they had spotted a huge one a year earlier, close to where we bathed each night, at the mouth of the river. It was maybe 12 ft long.


My waspapa (guardian), Laboi and his father, Mum (a respectable term for "Father" in their language,) and I had spent two days in the jungle cutting down and up trees.We also had a small caravan of boys helping us. We dropped 6 trees into the river in order to get 3 good Limboom trees for my waspapa's new floor for the house that we were living in.

Once we had 16 logs cut to length, we made a raft with all of them and floated it down the river to the ocean. Floating, walking next to, pulling, and swimming it across deep parts with 3 kids on top took about 2hrs. Once we got to the ocean, we guided it down the beach to their village.

 Several times as we were swimming next to it, I pretended to get attacked by a puk puk. I would scream and go under. The kids' eyes would get real big, waiting to see if I would come up. Once we made it to the ocean, many kids climbed on for the remainder of the trip, including Grayson and Brianna.

Once we got to the beach, we rolled them all up on shore. Later we split them, chopped and shoveled out the middle, and broke them flat with an ax. That is how you get a free floor for your house in the jungle. Any takers? I will do it for $50 per square foot, installed! Plus crocodile insurance.

So...what about the crocodiles? Were they in the river?

YOU BET! Two weeks later as Laboi, his 5yr old son Nigel, and I were paddling a dugout canoe up the river, we paddled right up on one. It was probably 6 or 7 feet long. It rose up off its log when it saw us, and slipped into the water toward us. Then the wake from it came straight towards us. We could no longer see it above water. Laboi spun the canoe around and paddled out of there. It had come within 30 ft of us. Laughing, but a bit relieved, we headed home. I guess when they would tell us that crocodiles and other bad things didn't exist, they were just "protecting" us from reality. I wish I had my camera for that one!

Surumaran (Matt)

 
  We just spent 5 weeks in this house in the small village of Surumaran up the North Coast Highway above Madang, Papua New Guinea. We have now left to the mountains of Papua New Guinea.

Our dining room table!

Surumaran is a beautiful fishing village with black sand beaches. From there you can see two volcanic islands. The people there were friendly and welcoming. They became close to our hearts. We were sad to leave them.

Fish Tales (Matt)

Marcus ran up to our house one night while we were living in Surumarang about 4 weeks ago. "Kam, yumi go huk nau nait?" He wanted to me to go out fishing all night in the community boat with him and several other guys. It was already 8:30 at night. I was totally unprepared to go, so I said "No thanks!" This is what they came back with the next morning plus plenty of other fish.

 I am also including any other nice fish pics for all my fishing Posse. They pulled all of these fish up without a rod or reel. They just drop fishing line and when they have a big fish, it cuts into their fingers. Most of the time, they just fish from dugout canoes with outriggers.

This one is called a "Bik Mous" (Big Mouth).

Loved my "brata" neighbor Jacob. He is a master fisherman.

We always had a fish in our 8x13 pan!

This fish on the right is called "Sweet Lips".

They said we wouldn't see many snakes... (Laura)

A few days ago, we came back to our room from lunch to find a bunch of people pointing and staring up into the eaves of our dorm.  There was a small python hanging out of the rafters! It was wrapped around its next meal, a lizard. One of the staff here said he thought we should leave it to live above our rooms to eat rodents. However, several other students did not like that idea at all, so I (Matt) caught the snake as he dropped his meal and tried to get back up into the attic space. We put him in a tank at the school here for the kids to observe and keep as a “class pet”!

Here are some of the other amazing creatures we've seen...