In about a week we will have been in PNG for six months! Boy how time flies! In these six months Paul has been in bed for a week with a thrown-out back, had dengue fever, and had malaria twice. Kelly just had a teensy weensy medical evacuation to another country. Piper, unlike her parents has been healthy and happy the whole time. We don’t know where she got her genes but obviously not from us!
Paul loves his job at the hangar so much that he dreams about his work during the night! He is enjoying meeting all of the guys at the hangar and getting into a work routine. He usually drives his motorcycle to work but on sunny days can ride his bicycle out there too (the hangar is about a mile and a half away from the center). He gets to come home and have lunch with us which is a nice treat. It has been an adjustment to work in a hangar with about 15 other guys. In the past he has either worked by himself or with one or two other people. It is a blessing to have so many hands to complete projects though.
Kelly is starting her jobs on January 31st. She will be tutoring three kids at the primary school Tuesday and Thursday mornings as well as managing the daycare on center. The daycare job is mostly paperwork that she can do at home. She is really looking forward to getting out of the house a bit and talking to big people! J But she is also grateful to be able to spend most of the week at home with Piper.
Piper is a big old one year old now! Actually, she isn’t that big. Still a little peanut of a girl! She is walking all over the place. Except when she gets excited and tries to run but her little chubby baby legs are slower than her intentions. She starts to “run” and ends up falling sideways. She has gotten pretty good at the tuck and roll. She has also started saying about 15 words. It is fun to see her think through what she is trying to communicate. She definitely knows what she wants and doesn’t want at this point in life. We love her so much and she keeps us laughing every day. Please keep us in your prayers as we try to parent with love and wisdom and in such a way that we draw her to the Lord.
A lot of our SIL members are coming back from furlough this month. It is fun to watch the center grow with all of God’s workers coming back to the harvest field. With new people comes new energy and an inspiration to keep on trucking! This past month 40 people on center ran a Tok Pisin VBS. About 380 kids (mostly national) came for the week to hear Bible stories and learn of God’s love for them. Praise the Lord that the seed was planted in many hearts. Please continue to keep the translators in your prayers as they go back to their villages after the Christmas holidays. Many of them are leaving junior high and high school children back in Ukarumpa to stay at the children’s hostels while they are away. Pray also for them as they sometimes face spiritual persecution, loneliness, and discouragement. Pray for us also that we would learn to navigate this new culture with grace and love.
