Home

Yes...if you haven't heard you have been under a rock. We are home from our trip safe and sound. Its been nearly a months since we returned and yet its seems a lifetime ago that we were in PNG. I mourn the fact that it does seem so distant and that I am back to being a full blooded American. I seem to be loosing my sensitivity to all. Steve agreed with me as we were sitting in Costco last night on our date night having pizza (I might add we can both eat for $5) that it feels miles away. We also agreed that we will never be the same people that came home as the ones that left. For this I am grateful. Yes grateful that that we will never be the same, but more grateful that we AGREED! (this sometimes can be a rare occurrence in the Ericson household).

 When we came home it was a hard adjustment seeing as 2 girls were living in our home, had moved things around and had put clothes in my dresser. It seemed as if I wasn't home. Such an odd feeling that you pay the mortgage on this house but its not yours. After a week or two and being unpacked...OKAY I'll admit it. I still have one suitcase that is still packed...our home began to feel comfortable again and I settled back into my daily routine of laundry, dishes, cooking, diapers, working etc. Its been nice to see all our friends and family while being home.

 Steve decided that he was going to put forth much effort to spend as much time with his Grandma as he could. He has devoted most Monday's to going and seeing her or at least calling her and checking in. He was reminded this week how special she is as she was admitted to Good Samaritan hospital for having low Sodium. After 7 days she was discharged home in stable condition. I'm so very thankful that the Lord has put this on Steve's heart to spend time with Mary Lou as he defiantly is a Grandma's boy :)

 We were also greeted by some nice weather upon our arrival in WA. Gracie was able to play outside and eat popsicles. Now that we are back to rain she goes to the back door and so kindly knocks on the door and says outside. Poor thing, she so desperately wants to run around in the grass and chase the dog and do kid things. I can't wait until summer comes...Generally July 5th in WA.

A few pictures since being home...

Gracie at the Tulip festival

Steve, Mary Lou, Myself, and Gracie

Mothers Day photo 2012

Mothers Day photo 2011

Really....9 more full days!

Well sorry it has been so long since I have posted on our blog. On the 14th we were getting ready to head to Goroka for a 3 day trip to spend with our friends the Sisson's.

We had a great time and were able to really see into the heart of the mission "To every tribe". It was very relaxing and Gracie got to spend 3 full days with 5 other kids. She had a blast.
We took public PNG transportation to Goroka which was an adventure in itself. Its a large van that holds 15 people. They picked us up in the morning at our house and we filled up heading to the closest town of Kainantu. Once there most passangers got off the van and then we rode around the main strip with someone yelling Goroka loudly looking to fill the van back up . This took nearly an hour before we were full and ready to head to our destination. Goroka was about 2.5 hours away from where we were so it was a tight trip with Gracie in our lap. (Lets just say it was less enjoyable than an airplane ride). Gracie did however go sit on a National ladies lap in front of us and fall asleep for maybe 45 minutes. This was a nice break until she awoke with complete startlement because she didn't know where she was and who she was with. She let out a huge cry and promptly came back to mommy and daddy.

While in Goroka Steve was able to help the construction team some, and throw around the hammer a bit. The Sisson's are building a new home and have had a wide arrange of people here to help. While Gracie and I tried to help cook for the team that was there. In the evenings we played games and asked all kinds of questions about their orginization. Steve and I were both sad to come back to Ukarumpa after a joyus and fun time in Goroka. Plus the bed there was much more comfrotable!!!

Since then Steve has been teaching CPR like crazy. He had a class on the 24th, 26th, 28th, and 30th. I do think that most of the people that wanted to have training were able to make it and that he was a blessing to this community. PTL

I got a chance to go out into the village last week and give medical care with some of the nationals. It was interesting and I got to give some injections and dress some wounds. They do things very differenlty and unfortunatly with the amount of people waiting to be seen and the language barrier I wasn't able to ask why they did what they did. For example; they give sub-qutanious injecitons right under the skin like you would put a wheel in for a TB test. When I gave a sub-q shot I thought the PNG nurse was going to have a heart attack. He did not know what I was doing. I tried to do it the way he did the next time but it is actually much harder to do on a squirmey new born. I got the job done but it was not pretty. I thank the Lord for this experience and have been so blessed to see what good care we get in the states.

Gracie just turned 18 months this last week. She is finally a year and a half and is running like a crazy lady. I sat down and typed out the words she says on a daily basis and she was somewhere around 35 words that she can articulate appropriately and not just copy what we ar saying. It is amazing how much she has changed since we have gotten here. I was telling my mom that most days I put her hair in a poney tail now that it is long enough, her hair has lightened drastically and is a pretty dish water blonde which just makes her blue eyes pop out even more. Its been such a joy to be a parent that is around so much while being here and even though Gracie is still a Daddy's girl she is much more of a Mama's girl then when we came! YEHAW! I love it.

I did decied however, that I don't think that I want to be a full time stay at home mom. This was a supprise to me as this was my thought heading to PNG. I really enjoy working and I could not ask for a better job then the one I have; it is so flexable and really I work as much and as often as I want. I do enjoy seeing all my favorite girls at work and spending time with them. Caring for people has become a passion and i don't want to loose that - Plus all the work to be come a nurse.

Thanks for listening to my short update on how we are doing. We have 9 more days in Ukarumpa. We will then fly out on the 11th of April - your 10th as we are a day ahead, and spend the night in Port Morsby, PNG. The 12th we will fly to Australia and then to New Zealand. There we will spend 3 nights and board a plane late the 15th and fly to SFO. In SFO we will have approximatley a 7 hour lay over and then fly home to SEA arriving 10 pm on the 15th.

- Please pray for our travels as we prepare to spend many days with lots of changes. We ask for safety as well as easy transition for Gracie.

- Please pray that our last 9 days here will be fruitful and that his will would be completed.

- Please pray for our National friends here in PNG as leaving them will be the hardest part about coming home.

Thank You for all your continued support as we have been in PNG. I say this because I am not sure if this will be my last post from this country. I think that all 3 of us will be coming back to America as changed people and can't wait to share our stories and pictures. GET READY I HAVE AT LEAST 700 PICTURES!!!

xoxo,
Becky

Bilum

Well since we still have this loaner computer I thought I would give you a little more infomration about PNG.

Today I thought I would introduce a bag called a Bilum (Pronounced Bee-lum). This is a common bag in PNG. Most people cary one here and use it as a women would use a purse. It has been very helpful for Steve because he seems to loose less things :) and most men cary one so its not something against culture like it would be in America.

The Bilum is often given as a gift to visitors whom one respects and have made a friendship with. The idea makes me think of a friendship necklace that we would have as children where one girl wears half of the heart necklace and the other girl wears the other half. Same type of meaning.

The Bilum takes quite a bit of time to make, women must first purchase yarn and then must roll it to make it stronger. You then would crochet it together which can take several weeks to months depending upon the size of the bag and how skilled the women would be.

I was teasing Steve that I have traded my Luis Vuitton bag for a knit bag :)

I thought that I would add a description of a Bilum from Wikipedia. Now please remember the source in that it is a general description and that anyone can post on this site so its not hard fast information, but seems to be a good general description after reading it.

A bilum is a string bag made by hand in Papua New Guinea. The bag can be made by a process known as string looping or by crocheting. Traditionally, the string used was hand-made, normally from plant materials. Now, however, many people who can afford to do so make their bilums from store bought yarn and string.

Bilums are used to carry a wide range of items, from shopping goods in large bilums to personal items in purse-sized varieties. Mothers often carry their babies in bilums.

Whilst the traditional method of making bilums using woven plant reeds is still widely spread across Papua New Guinea, many villagers are now finding it easier to use wool-based yarns to make their bags. This allows a greater diversity of color schemes to be incorporated into the making of the bilums, and as a result they are more highly sought after, due to their highly visible and different patterns and color combinations.

Local men usually prefer to use long handle styles so they can be worn over the shoulder, freeing their arms for more important issues, like carrying important bush knives or to grab onto things while hiking mountains. Women often prefer the short handled versions that they can sling across their foreheads to carry greater loads, such as babies and/or large quantities of foodstuff (yams/potatoes/kau-kau etc.)

We have seen several women even white skins carrying their small children in these larger bags. Think of a baby in a hammock. There are several places around center that have hooks so that you can hang your child up and let them continue to sleep after walking to your desination. Its kind of a cool thing. These large Bilums are generally about $120 Kina or $60 USD because of the amount of yarn and time it takes to make them.

Feel free to google the Bilum and leave any comments you might have about the bags :)

Much Love
Becky

Ammenities

Hmmm where to start. Well I'm back after loosing our computer. If you haven't heard becasue you are not a member of facebook our Mac has offically died. It won't even boot up. Its a sad day, and I am hoping that we are able to get all our pictures off of the computer. That would be good since I have taken over 600 pictures so far. But other then that it has been a fairly similar week. Therefore I wanted to paint you a picture of what life is like here in PNG.

We live in a small community of several hundred homes that has a meeting house used for most gatherings, a store that is the size of a large 7-11, a post office that serves us well, and a clinic that meets the needs of all us white skins as well as serves the national community. The town sits at nearly 5,000 feet meaning that there is little humitity and has much cooler temperatures then the lowlands that are usually in the high 90's. We are connected by dirt roads that are full of rocks and are dusty if it hasn't rained for a while but otherwise are muddy. The homes here are well kept as many people hire natinoals to work for them for very inexpensive. Because of the rain and heat the grass grows nicely and looks fresh and inviting to play on. The town is on a hilly piece of property that means most places you get to walk uphill both ways :). Homes here are very reasonably priced between 10k and 50k but cars are another story. Therefore most of the cars are old (If anyone from Cascade reads this I have seen several cars that remind me of Eli Johnson's brown car that he had twice hehe)Someone told us when we first got here that cars don't die here they just get new owners. This was coming from a family that was driving a van from the 80's with a dindgy white paint job and a cow skull attached to the front of the roof of the van.

All this discription to say that this town is called Little America. Meaning that most people here are very blessed. We all have a stove that works, a refridgerator that runs, and a washing machine that keeps us from going down to the river to wash our clothes. My favorite ammenity is the SHOWER. Oh how I love a warm, acutally, hot shower.

The nationals that live in the villages are not as privilaged to have these ammenities. They live in usually a one room hut that is very nicely built but does not have electricity. They must collect water to drink from rain. They wash every morning in the cold river to get clean, they have no way to perserve food such as a refirdgerator so meat is not often eaten, and their clothes are all washed by hand in the river and hung to dry.

To live here takes all day. Working in the garden, bathing, washing clothes, and feeding your family is so time consuming for a national family I'm not sure how they have time to do anything but sustain life.

As I'm sure its not custom but we have gotten to the place in our relationship where our hosue Mary takes a shower or "wash,wash" every day after working here before she goes home becuase she just hates getting up at 6am to go down to the river to take a freezing bath. I am very blessed by Anna and this is the least I can do to show her how much I care for her.

There are many other things that PNG has that the national people are not able to enjoy due to the lack of finances. For example PNG loves coke! We have learned that most people from PNG would pick coke over any other drink. It has been a great way for us to meet people and invite them over for a "cupa" <--- Cupa is a Austrailan term. You invite someone over for a cupa. A cupa tea, a cupa coffee, a cupa coke. I like the term so when I get home you might here me invite you over for a cupa :) Back to my point...Coke has become expensive here and is not enjoyed by many nationals. It is almost 4 kina or 2 USD for a small 16oz bottle. When you think that you make 2.5k an hour a national would have to work 2 hours for a small bottle of coke. Steve and I have been able to use coke as a ministry to nationals by shairing a bottle of coke. I don't think I will ever look at coke in the same manner and really have a new respect and desire to drink it than I have ever had before.


Food has also been another form of ministry for us. Our house mary says that often she goes home (from work) with a hungry stomach that aches for food but is so thankful that she goes home from our home with a full stomach and a greatful heart. I see that many white skins are burdend by the need to feed nationals, but so many of them are hungry and desiring food that it only seems fair to share when you have much and they have little. It has been a wonderful privilage to bless the natinoals with something so small as food and feel the warmth of their big smiles when their stomach is content.

Speaking of food I thought I would talk about the national diet some. The national diet pretty much consists of what you can grow in the ground. Cow-Cow is sweet potato, peanuts, carrots, lettuce, tomato, bananas, pineapple, green beans, brocholli to give you an idea of the diet. It is a very healthy diet but you often have to eat alot to make you full. Meaning that you need to grow alot of food to satisfy your hunger. Only to lead back to why living here is so hard.

I hope that this painted a small picture of what it is like to live in PNG as a white skin or as a National. But I am sure that when we return home that pictures will paint the 1,000 words that I have left out.

Please pray for Steve and I as we head to Garoka this week. This is where we will be spending time with To every tribe and the Sisson family. We are really hoping that the Lord will lead us and reveal much to us at this time. I know that after this next week we will both be ready to head home as our work in PNG will have come to a close. We ask that you pray specifically for travel mercies as well as an open heart.

Much Love Becky

Women in PNG

Hi again! Today is another beautiful day here in PNG. Its about 82 degrees in the house with a light cross breeze that keeps it very comfortable. I was thinking that I would like to blog some more about our trip but didn’t have much to say about our time here as not much has changed. So I thought I would give a perspective of what life is like to live as a women in PNG.

I think that in America for the most part women are valued. There are many women that want to be treated as equals, but in my opinion we aren’t equal to men and I don’t want to pretend that I am. Instead we have different attributes that make us just as valuable, but not equal. In the Ericosn house there are blue jobs, pink jobs, and purple jobs. A blue job is a job that is performed by Steve and primarily Steve (never say only). Pink jobs are Becky jobs, and purple jobs are for either. For example changing the oil in the car is a blue job. Yes I could learn how to do it, and sure if I wanted to be just like one of the guys I would. Hmmm, but I don’t want to or have the need to be the same as Steve. The Lord made me good at different things and I am pleased to leave that messy and time-consuming job up to my husband. Now make sure all you ladies take this with a grain of salt. If you have a desire to change the oil in the car go for it I’m sure your spouse would love that, but then that would be a gift that the Lord gave you, that I didn’t get. ☺

I say all this to point out the fact that women have many different qualities that allow them a way in which to serve their family. This is where men and women become a valuable part of the family by using their different talents. PNG women live very contrasting lives.

Just as I was getting ready to put Gracie down for her nap, it was the second time in 2 days that a husband came to “sell” his wife. When we moved into the new house it was assumed that we would need help inside and out. Therefore husbands are out scouting work for the wife or wives rather then looking to pour out their own blood and sweat for the income. It is assumed that all the inside chores as well as weeding/gardening is for the women to do. At the same time the women are expected to continue with all of the home chores such as cooking and taking care of the children. Women are expected to chop fire wood and kindling. It is the wife’s job to till the garden, plant the seeds, harvest the food. (Men are to dig the irrigation) It seems women deal with polygamy. When approached about having some work done around the house (like yard work) one man said he had many women to work. Our house mary’s husband left her 3 years ago for another women. Now I’m not saying that this doesn’t happen in America as it has become much more prevalent, but here it is a way of life, and back home it as least as seen as a shameful act.

It is also true that here white women are not treated with the same value. I use the word value here instead of equality because we are not made the same but should be respected. In one of our first days in PNG a women whom I have come to greatly respect, Martha Hinton, told me that if you want a man that is working for you to do a specific task you must tell them that your husband said so. I was so taken back by this. I am paying this person and he won’t do what I ask? Only if my husband wants it done? No way, this can’t be. Not until we had a man come work in our yard did I find this to be true. I had fed this particular gentleman maybe 5 times in the last two weeks and yet he still had not learned my name. When he came to work at 8 am I was told that he expected breakfast, a snack at 10 and lunch. I was also told what he would do around the yard to clean up. Wait aren’t I the employer? Don’t I make the terms? Aren’t I handing over the dough? This was a very humbling experience for me as I had to swallow my pride and realize that I wasn’t in America, and the culture here is very different. This was not a “dig” at me, but what all women deal with while living in PNG. To take a submissive role, work hard, and follow instructions.

I hope that this brief description of what it is like to be a women in PNG reminds us American women that we are not equal to men, just as one women is not equal to another, but that we are valued and well taken care of. That many of us are nurtured and encouraged rather that expected and that we have a wonderful opportunity to be a witness to our family by serving them with grateful hearts.

Rise and Shine

This morning Steve and I woke up with a great sense of peace.

So I say THANK YOU! There have obviously been many prayers on our behalf in the last day.

We began our day with blueberry pancakes. Then showers/baths
We continued down to the horse paddocks and Gracie went for another pony ride as well as a ride in a cart like the Amish would use.
We came home and Gracie is now napping and Steve is off to the PNG Prison to help with their ministry.
Tonight we will have a short date while seeing the play Sherlock Holm and Gracie hopefully does well with babysitting. Definitely a challenge for the babysitter to get her to not cry.

Anyway I don't have too much to update on but I thought I would let you all know that our hearts are in a much happier place today and we are grateful for you all.

Becky

United as one

As I sit here at the computer its 9 am and I am groggily sipping my cup of coffee while Gracie runs circles around the house as though she got to the pot of coffee before I even woke up.

I thought that I would be able to blog about my experience as if I was writing in a journal. In which a way to express myself and look back at my experience and see where I came from and how much I have grown. But as I type I realize that there are just some things that you can’t tell the whole world. I can however make requests.

So my blog today is a request.

Steve and I stayed up until 2 am last night talking about our thoughts and intentions, our passions and our hearts desire. (This is why I am groggy at 9am, Gracie woke up at 7!). As we sat last night we realized at this point our hearts are in two very different spots and have never really had to overcome something like this before.

So I ask for you to pray. Pray that the Lord would unite our hearts. That he would give us similar passions and desires for our life. Pray that we would not have feelings of resentment or fear, but that we would live our last month here with certainty and gratitude.

I also ask that as you read this not to take it as though Steve and I are not enjoying our time here. We have come to a real appreciation and love for the country and its people.

Please also pray that Steve would be able to give CPR certifications. We found out this morning that there is a form you must fill out to teach overseas and it takes 6 weeks to process. He specifically asked about this before we left and was not told about this form until this morning. He has already given his word that he would certify the clinic employees and we pray that he could do this in good conscious. We have also spent nearly $1,000 of our money for him to have gone through this class to be able to certify people so I pray that our money would not have been used in vein.

On a brighter note we got to go to Amumu this last Wednesday. Amumu is the roasting of a pig and vegetables under the ground like they would do in Hawaii when you think of a Lu’au. This was a fun experience and we were so excited to be invited.

I was also presented with an opportunity to go for a helicopter ride, but with much regret I had to decline as I had already made a previous engagement; such a disappointment. As you can see, since I am blogging about it!

Last Sunday after service Steve got to go paragliding, and for some reason I felt some envy well up within me. I so wanted to go, but of course someone had to stay with the baby. The main guy that does the paragliding does have a tandem (wing I guess you would call it?) and I hope to be able to go before we leave.

Tonight we will be having our friends the Pennington family over for dinner. Ryan (The husband) grew up in Gig Harbor through Jr. High and they have a little girl about 11 months older than Gracie, these girls have so much fun together. The Penningtons also have a 6 month old son. Anyway we met Ryan on the plan our first day coming into Ukarumpa and have found their friendship invaluable while here.

Tomorrow we have someone coming to baby sit Gracie while we get a chance to go see the play that the HS is putting on. Sherlock Holms. I am so excited as this would not be something that Steve would agree to do if we were back in the states. Although….I did get him to take myself and our moms to see Mary Poppins last year in Seattle! (Don’t tell him I said that ☺

Please know that my heart misses you all. If you read this blog your have been a vital and important part of our lives. We love to hear from each and every one of you and to know that you are praying for us helps so much. So please don’t be shy to leave a message it is a blessing to us!

Love Becky, Steve and Gracie

35 days and counting

It is Saturday Feburary 25th, 2012 at about noon here in PNG. The sun is shining and for the first time while living here I slept late. This morning reminded me of they days prior to Gracie. Ten o’clock rolled around before I crept out of bed groggily looking for my family.

Steve made us breakfast. Blueberry pancakes, and the best part is…That he is cleaning up while I sit here in front of the bay windows blogging.

Gracie is out in the front yard playing…Hmmm you ask?? Playing, Yup that’s right I had to learn to relax a little, therefore she is out side by herself, playing. I was originally out there with her but she was brining dirt/mud over to me and spreading it on my pants so rather than tell her she couldn’t play in the mud, I left her out there alone. ☺

This week seemed to fly by. We are officially almost half way done with our trip. We have been out of the US for 35 out of our 81 days. It was today, one month ago that we reached PNG on January 25th. Although the first several weeks seemed to have taken months to pass our last 2 weeks have flown by. For those of you who were asking we have 47 more sleeps in PNG and 3 more sleeps in New Zealand so 50 more days.

I have begun working at the clinic. This last Thursday was an eye opener. As a nurse here you work with Americans/Australians/Kiwis/Koreans basically anyone that is part of SIL. The Doctors however take call working with PNG nationals to give care to the people of PNG. Right now there are 2 doctors here Dr. Jeff and Dr. Helen. Every other day they are available to help give care to the hundred or so people that wait outside the clinic hoping that they got here early enough to be seen that day. The SIL clinic and the UHC (Ukarumpa Health Clinic) are in different buildings and the two do not mix. At first this was very disappointing to me as I can take care of white people that speak English at home! But after some thought and prayer the Lord helped me to realize that this is good too. For one I do not Tok Pisin. I can’t communicate and take a good history of their illness if I don’t’ speak the language. Second the Dr’s here are so awesome that they involve you anyway! Dr. Jeff pulled me in on Thursday to watch an ultrasound of a 50 year old whose liver was HUGE. She unfortunately had large amounts of tumor in her liver and spleen and Dr. Jeff had to tell and her daughter that she only had maybe several months to live. The average age here is much shorter then America 50-60 is old is a long life here. I think in part the hard work and sun take years off of their life. Anyway this was a sad day to realize that many of the Nationals come to the clinic too late and if they had been seen earlier they many may not have had the finances anyway.

Next week I will be traveling to the Primary school with another nurse to do eye exams on all the students there. It will probably be a three-day job since we both only work half days 8am-12pm. I know rough right? Ukarumpa only has daycare in the AM so most mom’s only work then. I will be there on Tuesday and Friday. Gracie will be dropped of in the morning and she has learned that it isn’t so bad. But we know it isn’t nearly as fun as going to Grammy and Papa’s house.

Yesterday we spent time walking out to our House Mary’s village. We took a little over 150 pictures of her family. She is one of 7 but there were only 4 brothers and sisters there and their children and it was still a HUGE family. They were so excited for us to come and we were so blessed by the experience. Now I will need to find a way to print the pictures and hopefully laminate them so that they will be safe for her family. My plan is to print perhaps maybe the best 15-20 pictures several times for each of the families to own. It was important for me to capture many pictures of her mother as she is in her 60’s they think (Many people don’t know when they were born) and is probably reaching the end of her life. We alos got a few pictures of a bunch of black skin children and Gracie sticking out like a sore thumb! So cute!!
- Thanks Dad for the spare camera battery it has come in handy!

I hope this blog finds you well. Perhaps we can send some of our sun home as we are in need of rain here for the gardens and for drinking water. Want to trade? How did I know you would? We had a small amount of rain last night but that was the first rain for almost 2 weeks.

Love you all greatly.

xoxo,

~Becky

Update from Ukarumpa

Good afternoon from PNG.

This afternoon Steve is now taking a cat nap and Gracie has fallen asleep on the floor near me even though she just recently woke up form a 2 hour nap.

Today was Gracie’s first day in daycare in her entire life. Steve said she whaled when he left her, but when I went to pick her up she was dazed and tired. I’m not quite sure if she played hard or if she cried the whole time. The ladies at the daycare said she was fine after daddy left her sight. I pray that this is true.

The reason Gracie was in daycare was because this was my first week working as a nurse in PNG. Originally I thought I would work, then I thought they wouldn’t need me, then again finally it was decided that I would work Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 8-12 seeing as that is when daycare is open, (half days).

This last weekend we were able to get out of the gate and I was able to see a little bit of what PNG is really like. It really is a beautiful country lush and green, warm and colorful. We went to Yaunke dam where we had a nice picnic lunch and were able to swim for several hours. This was very enjoyable and we were glad that we went (and I got lots of pictures of Gracie naked swimming in a brown lake).
It was then time for our valentine’s dinner, which was much joy. The 11th grade class set up a room on center to be like a restaurant. The class worked by waiting the tables and cooking the food. It was very well decorated and had my wedding pictures of those that have been here for a while.

Last night we went to a friend of ours that is a National but works for BTA (Bible Translation Association) They were very sweet and made us a home made dinner PNG style. WE ate on the floor and had many different types of potatoes, fruit, chicken and veggies; most of which they grew themselves. Because the wife is employed by BTA they have housing and a steady income. This is unusual in PNG. Since we have been here many people have asked to work for us. While it is not expensive to hire them one only has so many jobs. The PNG people often see white skins as a mode to receive something because we are very wealthy compared to them. So this friendship we have made that we have made as equals is very nice and refreshing. Also not very common here, so we are so blessed to have them to dinner tonight.

Other than this we have continued to be welcomed and have had several dinners/lunches by various families that have been all so wonderful in their own way.

Please continue to pray for us as we have 7 more weeks in PNG
- Please pray that we will continue to seek what the Lord has in store for us
- That we would be a blessing to those that are here
- Our skills would be beneficial and helpful while we are in Ukarumpa
- That when we travel to Garoka next month that the Lord would watch over us and keep us safe.

We love you all very much and are blessed to have the support from home as we are in this far off place. As I enjoy my time here more and more each day, I can’t help but be excited to reunite with our friends and family in April!

xoxo
~Becky

Enough about me

I have been using this blog as a journal to tell you all my thoughts and feelings along the way. To share the ups and downs of living in a third world country and having limited friend and family contact. So you have been able to see deep into my emotions and reliance on God. But I have yet to talk much about Steve and Gracie and how they are doing on this trip so today’s blog will be devoted to updates on both of them.

STEVE
Yup you guessed it LOVES it here. He thrives on meeting new people and interacting with the nationals. He feels a real sense of connection with the people and usually bring someone home new each day. He has made several good friends and brothers in the Lord while we have been here.

Yesterday he met a fellow named Powell. He originally worked as security in Ukarumpa but has since married a national women that is involved in translating and has begun a farm and a coffee plantation. We will be going to dinner at their house next Monday for an authentic PNG meal. (Side note we eat much like American’s so I am excited to eat some traditional food and see what it is like, but thankful I can cook like home on a regular basis). Powell is also 27 years old and is not like the normal National. He speaks English well and it seems like you could drop him in America and he would fit right in.

Steve is also planning on getting involved in the Prison ministry here. He is very eager to go out and meet these men and women that often have life transformations while stuck in a small cell. The prisoners get very little food while interned here so the missionaries that go often bring fruit and vegetables. The Nationals call it their freedom food. They go every other Saturday so I think Steve will be going not this upcoming week but 2 weeks after that.

Steve has been busy every day doing escape plans fore each of the major buildings as well as teaching first aid and CPR. Yesterday he was assigned a classroom for the rest of our stay and will be teaching a rotating class of First Aid and CPR each morning for 3 hours. Anyone and everyone will be able to come and is encouraged by the director of Wycliffe.

Tonight Gracie and I will go watch Steve play a type of street hokey with out skates but inside. I cannot remember the name of the game but he plans to meet his friend Powell down at the teen center and with many other people from Ukarumpa and play. The way it was described was like the Swedish version of Bandi, so Steve was saying he has good blood for hokey but is not good himself. He also has been playing Ultimate Frisbee every Sunday and comes home exhausted from running for 3 hours straight. I’m sure he would like to go play Soccer on Saturday’s but I claimed that time to go to Zumba.

Please keep Steve in your prayers as well as he has much joy and excitement while here. I have a feeling he will morn the time here once we come home and he goes back to the usual routine of his daily job. Please pray that he will transition back home well and that he will find a type of outreach/discipleship that he will be able to be involved in back at home.

GRACIE
She also LOVES it here. Well for the first thing she gets to play outside every day in the sun and run around. When we first got here she wouldn’t touch the grass with her feet but now bolts as soon as the door opens. She is very happy that her parents are around every day. Mama is always here and Dada comes home every night. This is a huge luxury here for her in the fact the she often has both of us around.

She has been spending a lot of time with a girl named Kate. Kate is 10 and moved here from Tennessee when she was 5. Her parents originally came to be host parents. The Browns would be a home for teens that stayed back in Ukarumpa to go to school while their parents went to villages to do translation work. Because of the cost of food here in PNG the Brown family would need to raise $2.000 more a MONTH to stay, so they will be heading back to the US in June. They have had up to 17 children in their home at one time, 5 of witch are their own, but now only have 7. The Browns also believe in reformed theology and Charley Brown (No joke, that is his name) is in charge of Sunday school here. We are often able to see videos of John Piper or similar preachers that are very encouraging.

Gracie also LOVES the bananas here. They are so dense and creamy. Nothing like what we get in the states and they are so inexpensive. She often has 3 or more bananas in one day. Although I would be concerned about being constipated we have not run into that problem so I let her eat them freely. She is now able to open the refrigerator and pull one out, and brings it to me to open. I can not believe how big my girl is getting. I may have to put a lock on the refrigerator door once we get home.
I have also been making juice. It is so overpriced that it is much cheaper to make your own. Yesterday I simmered several dozen cherry guava and made a concentrate, then added some fresh squeezed lemon and boiled a pot of water added sugar and then the concentrate and we had juice or Muli as they call it here. Gracie cannot seem to get enough and often drinks at least two sippy cups worth a day. We are officially done with bottles. She no longer is drinking milk from a bottle anymore. Unfortunately she isn’t really drinking milk at all but often has water or Muli.

Cloth diapering is going very well. The first several days we leaked every time she went to the bathroom but now we maybe have one accident a day where I don’t change her fast enough and she is so well hydrated that she pee’s more then the diaper is capable of holding. Otherwise we have been using one disposable diaper while sleeping and cloth during the day. I purchased diaper liners before we left home and they have been AWESOME. I would completely recommend them to anyone who is thinking of doing cloth diapering. You place the liner in the diaper and it catches the solid waste. You can then toss the liner in the toilet and flush it (unless you have septic – like they do here). But it has been great even with loose and watery stools. Since I invested so much money in these diapers before we came I might just use them when we are around the house once we come back to the states. Other than the washing they are not really that much more work then disposables.

Now that I have officially bored all of you to tears, I will leave you with my encouragement of the day! This book was given to us by Steve’s dear friend Jake before we left and has a daily devotion by Charles Spurgeon. He ended his devotion today with a quote:

“Trials make the promise sweet,
Trials give new life to prayer,
Trials bring me to His feet,
Lay me low and keep me there.”

Love this. What an encouragement!
Love you all and keeping you in our prayers and we venture on!

xoxo
~Becky

FInally!

Finally a great day in PNG!

Steve and I woke up this morning getting ready for our big move! We packed most of our stuff yesterday and was ready to start the process by 8 am.

Anna our house mary came and cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned our old place so that I didn't have to do anything other then help Steve and take care of Gracie.

After 3.5 hours of moving...(we had to carry everything by hand up a hill to our new house, including all our food) it was time for lunch and it was a good one with our new friend Anna.

Our new house is full of windows that overlook these great green hills. We have a view of a village that is being built and you can watch nationals making huts as we would call them with branches, and mud, like what you would see on Survivor but much more elaborate. We also have tons of bushes that have cherry guavas growing on them and they are so good. We have tons of pineapple bushes (I always thought they grew in trees), and a papaya tree.

I can't help but feel my moral uplifted already. When wondering why I felt so much more comfortable today I started to realize that although clean our Translator lodge was more like a uncomfortable hotel room. Hotel rooms are temporary, you come stay for a week or two and then head home. I was never in the mind set of staying, it just felt like I was waiting to pack back up. Today as I unpacked I though how blessed I was to stay here. We have two comfortable couches and two recliners. You never realize how much one enjoys their furniture until you have some really uncomfortable stuff. I never felt like I could relax in our old place because there was no real place to do so. We have a huge tub...like one at home, and Gracie took a great bath tonight that wasn't in brown water because we have 2 rain tanks so all the water comes from rain water them rather than the river. We also have a hot water heater!! No more COLD showers! WOO HOO!!!

I also did Zumba for the first time today. There is an instructor here, she travels and teaches Zumba at missionary towns around the world. I never thought I could get into it but boy was it fun! I was sweating up a storm by the end (maybe because it was humid today) but never the less it felt great to exercise and not have the baby all day. Just a little time to myself was WONDERFUL :) She teaches the class Tuesday and Saturday through the end of March so I think that I will have to become a regular. I was talking to a lady named Kelly and we decided it was like a bad cheerleading practice. :) Not that I was ever a cheerleader I will never admit to that ;)

Finally tonight we made it down to a Wycliff Associates (all the support staff for the translators) pot luck. It was perfect because I had no plans for dinner so I made a quick batch of snicker-doodle cookies (that everyone loved) and we headed down for a great meal and lots of good conversation.

I expected a fight from Gracie tonight as I thought she would be distraught over her new room but she waved at me as I left and said bye-bye and I haven't heard from her since. She definitely likes all the room here and has been running around getting into everything. Ohhhh and guess what I have a laundry dryer! This is not meant for daily use, however, it is for when the sun goes away at noon and your laundry is still damp you can throw them in and not have to wait a whole day to put them back out and start drying your clothes again.

Thank you for your continued prayers. I have definitely felt the love and support from our Lord leading me through.

Happy Valentines day from PNG :) (Its 3am your time)

PS. We do have valentines plans for Saturday. Steve is taking me "out" to dinner, and we have found a babysitter for Gracie!

Love Becky

We are Moving!

Let me start by saying that the duplex that we live in does not like me. I have been having major allergy problems which I normally do not get. I constantly want to rip out my right eyeball...thats right, I plan on keeping the left one. I sneeze maybe 20-30 times a day and am stuffed up in the evening (whenever we go into our bedroom). I do believe the culprit is MOLD. PNG is a warm place that is wet all the time. Perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Ewwww

That lead to a conversation Steve had with a family that was leaving for furlough today (Monday). Well they either need to rent out their house or will have to pay their mortgage here and in Korea. Steve was telling them about my allergies and we all decided that a move was in order. The dad Mr. Park said that we were and answer to his prayers. WOW I don't think I have ever been an answer to anyone's prayers. What an amazing feeling to know that God is using me to help others. I am so excited to move into this 4 bedroom house that is so much comfortable for us and the same price rent!!

We got the keys to the house today but not until 5:30 so we will be moving tomorrow. It feels like a house that should be in Arizona. Great big windows overlooking the lush green rolling hills, tile floors throughout. The best part is that it has a water filter so hopefully that will fix my stomach issues.

I had quite the day today. First my allergies were driving me crazy so I took some benadryl and was knocked out for hours, probably slept 2-3 hours this afternoon. Then when I woke up I fed Gracie and we were getting ready to walk to the store when it began to sprinkle. By the time I ran back and got 3 loads of laundry inside it was a down pour. So I was racing back down the steps to get the bucket of close pins and fell backwards. At least Gracie was on my front side in the ergo. Well It knocked the wind out of me and I ended up at the bottom of the stairs with bruises on my leg and back. Then tonight I burned myself on a cookie sheet. Well with all that in mind the most important part was that I still have a good attitude. Yesterday or the day before I would have crawled back in bed and not gotten out. But today I just kept plugging along trying to keep a positive attitude.

I must say that packing up our duplex today was slightly hard. I am ready to come home and it was a reminder that we have 2 more full months left in Uhkarumpa. But that does mean that we have been here for 3 weeks and although I have had many ups and downs the Lord has sustained me through it all. Each morning I wake up and ask for the grace to make it through another day. I keep waiting to wake up and love it here but it has yet to happen.

Steve has made a friend that is a native to PNG. He works for SIL (Summer institute of Linguistics) and his wife died in 2007. He has 4 children ranging from the age of 5th grade, 3rd grade, 1st grade, and preschool. Kevin walks 2 hours from his village to work. He works straight from 8 am to 4pm (not even a lunch break) then walks 2 hours back home to only cook dinner and take care of his family. Steve invited Kevin and his children to dinner so our prayer is that they can come before we leave. Please keep Kevin in your prayers as he struggles to supply for his family. But continues to work hard! It continues to amaze me the work ethic that people of this country have. I don't know very many Americans that would work for $1.25 an hour and be thankful for the opportunity. What an amazing testimony these people have.

Last night Steve and I had tacos for dinner and boy were they good! I made home made flour tortillas for the first time. I remember my mom doing it once or twice as a child but never payed attention. Well they were sooo easy and WAY better then ones you would buy in the states!
In case anyone would like to try here is the recipe.

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3 tbs of either oil or shortening
Mix 3 ingredients together
Then add one cup of Hot water and kneed until no dough sticks to the bowl
(I had to add a little more water, then I added too much so had to add more flour)
Next you roll them into egg sized balls and let them sit for 15 minutes
Finally you roll them out with a rolling pin the size of a salad plate and fry them on a dry (no oil needed) frying pan. 2 minutes on the first side 1 minute on the second side.

These are delish I will definitely be making them again! Please let me know if you make them and how they turned out. Your husband will approve guarantee it. The question is, whether you want to do it the first time because you won't want to buy store bought tortillas ever again :)

Well more adventures from PNG to come but I have an antsy one year old in my lap that needs to play so we will talk soon!

Love xoxo,
Becky

Good morning PNG!

Mornin to all those back home. Its about 9 am here and Saturday. While its 3pm on Friday your time. Did you want to know how Saturday was going to go? Its going to be a nice relaxing day. Time to sleep in...Pick up the house a little spent time with your family, the normal drill. :) Or maybe thats how our Saturday has gone the hour I have been awake.

I had an interesting experience this week. We recently hired someone that would be called a House Mary this week. She comes in and cleans, does minimal cooking and will take care of your children when you need to leave for any reason. Its amazing how close this comes to resemble the book "The Help". Some of these ladies walk 2 hours to be at work for $1.25 an hour. So for 4 hours of work we pay 10 Kina which is 5 USD. It is expected that you feed them snack and a cup of tea but that seems so minimal for what services they provide you. Our new House Mary's name or Haus Mari in Tok Pisin (the PNG language) is Anna and she is very sweet and lives near by so it only takes her 20 minutes to walk. I can't help feel for these ladies who are so eager to work and not asking for any handouts. If only American's could get the concept that you have to work to get money and food. Go figure.

On other news Steve returned from Madang on Wednesday with a new respect and love for the Nationals are like here. He has some great pictures of the bus getting stuck and maybe a 50-75 nationals watching or helping get the van off a rock. He also got to visit Wycliffe's POC (Pacific Orientation Course). If we were to come for longer than a year to PNG we would spend 3 months learning the language and how to live in a village. They also spend 5 weeks doing village living to better understand how people survive and what it takes. He meet some amazing people there that shared how they ended up in PNG and what they thought the Lord had in store for them.

Steve also got to do some fun things. He went snorkeling and said it was the warmest water he had ever been in. Warmer than Hawaii, and the fish were just as pretty. He also got to go cliff jumping into the ocean with some native boys...I was wondering why he had a sopping pair of wet underwear when he got home, glad it wasn't because he had an accident. :)
All and all I would say that Steve had a great time and learned a lot from the men he traveled with. Thank you for your prayers as he was gone. We were all well taken care of by our heavenly father.

We do have dates for going to Garoka. We will be gone between March 17 and the 21st so please continue to keep us in your prayers as we go to meet the Sisson family that I spoke about in a past blog and see what their mission is all about.

We love you all and will hopefully keep you posted on our blog. More to come in later days. Off to feed the kid and husband breakfast!

xoxo

Becky


Gracie is on my lap and would like to write you all a message: Here is what she has to say..
asdfghjkNJJJJjjmfjhhxxvvbw56 mkklml nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnv x

\gfg

Thanks for listening

Another nap Another blog

It is amazing how strong I have felt the last 24 hours when you have no crutch to stand upon except for God.

Its about 1 pm here and Gracie and I have already had a full day with more to come.
- We began our morning by snuggling in bed and watching Curious George. (My favorite thing to do in the morning SNUGLE)
- We then went for our play date across the center so probably ½ mile and Gracie played with a girl named Chloe who is 2.5 and by the end of our time Gracie had warmed up and was playing
- We went to teatime. I didn’t know I was in England?? haha Tea is very cultural here and there were many new and familiar faces there. This was enjoyable but short lived as 1 year olds only can watch you drink tea and talk for so long
- We then went and had Gracie’s blood re-drawn from when she was sick to ensure you WBC were back to normal. This seemed to take a long time as the lady was a National and slow at the process. Gracie SCREAMED for almost 5 minutes. Which was the hardest part.
- But then we went to the grocery store, and in front of the store there is a place called the Ki Bar. That has some pre made hot food. So Gracie and I had French Fries (Or Chips as they would call them here) for lunch as a treat since her poke was fairly traumatic.
- Tonight we will go to a potluck or as us Church XP members say a Pot Providence because there is no such thing as luck ☺

On my walk home I was contemplating how life would be like without Steve. I know this seems kind of a distressing question but could always be a possibility, as we do not know when we will be taken from this earth. For the first time in my lifetime I felt strong enough that I though that I could carry on with the grace of God if this were to ever happen.

If I had described myself a week ago I would have said that I was a sheltered, timid person that didn’t like change (Unless around friends then I can be loud and obnoxious but not in new situations). Well guess what that does not work in PNG. If your timid you have no friends and change well I don’t think there can be too much more change than this.

I expected to grow and change as we spent time here in PNG but it is amazing how the Lord works in your heart to give you strength and courage that you would have never imagined and strips everything you would consider comforting to bring you closer to Him and be reliant on Him.

~xoxo Becky

Steve's safe and sound

Just a quick note. It is 8:30 am here and I wanted you all to know that Steve made it safely to Madang yesterday and will be flying home tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers and support yesterday as he was traveling.

In other new's my mom has agreed to post some of the pictures on our blog. So please stay tuned for pictures from PNG!

~Becky

Amazing Grace

Today I sit and write to all my family and friends while Gracie takes her second nap for the day. I am taking this time because Steve has left for Madang and will not return until Wednesday. I hope that I will hear from him sometime via email or phone but realistically things are not that easy here.

This morning started by getting up and making my favorite husband and favorite daughter German pancakes. This has become a stable here in PNG seeing it takes 2 cup flour, 2 eggs and some milk and a pinch of salt. Making it an inexpensive meal to make and they both love it. As we ate we waited for the guys to drive up and come pick up Steve. With each car passing I got more anxious and thought why did I agree to Steve leaving Gracie and I in a third world country without any friends or family to support us while he’s gone. I can’t believe this is happening. And then they pulled up we waved good-bye and he was gone. My heart was saddened that I was alone, that I had a huge responsibility of taking care of a one year old in this place I’m not accustomed too and that I was alone, oh ya did I say I was left alone?

After putting Gracie down for a morning nap around 10 I decided to take a shower and get ready as we did have a lunch date today, with a lovely older couple named Tom and Marilyn Kelley who have been so gracious to us while we have been her and have really taken good care of us. After showering the phone rang and a young couple our age was calling to invite us to dinner tomorrow. I had to decline explaining that Steve was gone, so instead we will have a play date tomorrow and dinner on Wednesday upon Steve’s return.

We then went for lunch and upon returning Gracie and I played on the swing and then took a walk to the store, which I had yet to do by myself. I have always gone with Steve or sent him with a list while he was in “center” (The middle of town). Walking back home the Lord was with me. I had this amazing sense of peace as if he was walking next to me, that I wasn’t alone, and that he would give me strength to carry on these 3 months while in PNG. I am so thankful for this day he has given me, and the ability to press on and grow in my relationship with my savior as well as a mother and a wife.

Please continue to keep Steve and I in your prayers as things begin to look up in our life in PNG we still will have many obstacles to overcome.
- Please pray for safety for Steve as he travels
- Please pray for our reliance to be our Father and not ourselves
- Please pray that we would be used mightily of God while here
- Please pray that God would guide our hearts to make wise decisions.

We were blessed to meet the Sisson family yesterday. They are a family that lives outside of Garoka that works with a missionary group called “To every tribe” and we had been talking with the director of the group about meeting while in PNG. This providential meeting was great because we got a chance to spend some time having them for lunch yesterday and their 3 children before traveling to Garoka and staying with them in their home. They have traveled between Ukarumpa and Garoka (About a 2 hour car drive) over 70 times in the last year and agreed that they would possibly be able to pick us up and bring us back, which would be huge answered pray to not be traveling by ourselves on the roads of PNG by ourselves. This trip should happen some time in early to mid March. Our lunch with this family was a much-needed encouragement and we were very blessed to spend time with them.

As Steve and I have discussed in the two weeks we have been here, many strangers have had us over for dinner. Who does that in the US? No one? Why is that? Why don’t we as Christians invest in others that we don’t know? Why are we the same as unbelievers? This is something the Lord has placed deeply on my heart. To reach out, out of love to those we live around and those we don’t know and show them the warmth and love of Christ through a meal. Someone having a genuine investment in me has changed my life in amazing ways and I hope to come home and have the same investment in others.

Hope that his blog isn’t too boring and that you were able to read through it and be encouraged. Please remember…
- You have a dishwasher!
- You have a clothes dryer!
- You have a car!
It’s a good day!

PS. I would like to thank Sarah Franklin as I listen to the CD she gave us before we left and enjoy tremendously as it is the only music that we have.

I would also like to congratulate Adam and Kelsey Baydo on the birth of their little girl Aubrey on 1/28/12! Such an amazing blessing and we can’t wait to see and meet her when we return home!

Again love you all
xoxo ~Becky

Another day in Ukarumpa

Hi all! I just wanted to thank you for the prayers, we finally received Gracie's bag about an hour ago! With everything in tact!
We have been so blessed to have this answered prayer and ask that you would continue to pray for us as we venture on.

Some highlights of the last few days...
- Chasing a Gecko out of the bathroom with a broom
- Having a small kitten less than a week old find its way into the house
- Bright sun shinning days
- Enjoying my laundry (I know right) It is kind of relaxing to go out and hang it up and smell it and bring it down in the sun.
- A electric tea kettle that is always hot and boils in less than a minute! Who knew?? Us Americans are missing out
- Dreaming of home :)
- Email correspondence with those we love
- Steve keeping busy teaching 9th grade class CPR/First Aid, and doing fire escape plans for all of the major buildings.
- Steve booking his flight back from Madang, He leaves on Monday The 6th-8th. Please keep him in your prays for Travel mercies.
- Having Steve come home for lunch during the day (less than 10 minute walking commute, and 1hr lunch times)
- Amazing Pineapple with homemade yogurt!
- Organic Veggies and Fruits
- Finding a bug named a rhinoceros beetle, go ahead google it after you read this!
- Beating Steve at golf (card game)
- Going to bed around 9pm at night and waking refreshed at 7ish
- Getting Gracie's suitcase back
-Picnics in the front lawn
- Swinging at the park, our side yard
- Gracie learning to walk in grass
- More Bananas then you can eat

~Thinking of you all and praying for you nightly as we continue to live on the other side of this thing we call the world!

Apinun

Good Afternoon from Ukarumpa

Or should I say Apinun! Apinun is what PNG people say to greet one another in the afternoon here. Meaning “Afternoon” Many people here talk Pisin which is a form of English that is hard to understand.

I am currently sitting at our kitchen table while Steve is off to teach First Aid and CPR to the Senior High School Health class and Gracie is napping. This is some of the first moments that I have had to myself since we left the states. Ahhh…peace and quite! It is about 11 am here on Tuesday making it about 5pm at home on Monday. To figure out the time I tend to add 6 hours and subtract a day.

This morning Gracie and I got up about 6:50 which is perfect since we have been going to bed between 8 and 9 pm here. We were told on our first day here that there is not much to do in the evenings that is why people have some many children here (LOL). It is the truth once the sun goes down everyone hunkers in for the evening. Anyway back to my story, I was able to get up make pancakes, take a shower, make Steve a lunch, play with Gracie on the playground swing, and get two loads of laundry out on the line by 11 here. I guess maybe it should be my nap time too.

We have been so graciously greeted by many of the people living here. In the week we have been here we have had only one dinner at home. We often meet someone new and they say come for dinner tonight! Woo Hoo another day with out cooking. So we have plans through Tomorrow night for dinner with several other invites that we have not accepted a date yet. This too is a blessing because of the cost of food. We packed 385$ Kina so 190$ in to a milk crate yesterday. Wow no wonder many people can’t afford to live here anymore and are forced to move back to the states.

I thought you might find the water system interesting. Our house is plumed to two different sources. First the Hot water comes from a near by river so when drawing a bath it often has a brown color to it due to the rainy season. Our cold water is plumed to the rain water off our roof. Some people drink this directly while others filter it. There is quite a bit of sediment in it, if you were to get a glass from the tap. We have not been able to find a filter here so have been using tap water. I think this is why my stomach has been so iffy lately, well pretty much since we arrived. I often find myself in the bathroom once to twice a day with an upset stomach. I took a picture of Steve and Gracie the other day in a brown bathtub. This portion of living in a third world country will be quite a memory.

There have been several words that have thrown us for a loop lately. Although everyone speaks English its not necessarily the same English. Some examples…
Diapers = Nappies
Stroller = Pram
Pot luck dinner = Bring a plate
There are others that I can’t think of but I find them interesting so I must share as I run across them with you.
Steve has a chance to travel to Madang a town a day and a half by car north of us. People often measure in time here rather than in distance (either how long to drive or walk). So I believe he will be traveling February 6th through the 8th helping transport a car and then flying home. This will allow him to leave the “compound” with two other men and get to see some of the countryside. Please pray for travel mercies for him as he is out, many times people can be held up and robbed while traveling by car (All mom’s disregard that last comment)

We got our email set up through SIL which I believe Summer Institute of Linguistics (The overall umbrella organization here) and we will be able to send pictures for free to those who would like to see. Please leave your email if you would like to be on our Picture list, or perhaps I will send them to a family member and ask them to post them on the blog. We will see how long it takes to send the email today.

Again I hope that this post finds you well. That you are able to keep us in your prayers and that many you are comforted by our redeemer.
~Becky…Steve and Gracie too!

A new Adventure

A New Adventure in Papua New Guinea!

Well we made it after 5 plane rides to PNG. If I never told you how we were traveling here is an outline
-Seattle to San Fran
-San Fran to Auckland New Zealand
- Auckland to Brisbane Australia
-Australia to Port Moresby New Guinea
-Port Moresby to Ukarumpa!
Whew I tried from just typing it. We left on Sunday the 22 and arrived on Thursday 26 after a day layover and loosing a day with the time change.

Gracie did great with all the flying. On our long trip to Auckland she slept between 8 and 9 hours of the 12 hours which was amazing. We were also blessed with a seat for her on every plane ride. WOOOHOO So very thankful for that ☺

In Brisbane we were short one bag…being Gracie’s which has all the diapers and wipes. I did buy one small pack of wipes when in Australia so we are “making do” and had some extra disposables that have lasted so far as well as many people have donated to our cause while here these few short days. Another blessing.

When we got to Ukarumpa we were greeted at the grass airstrip by approximately 8 people that were there to welcome us and make us feel comfortable. We have been taken well care of and have found the community quite endearing. When a new couple comes to Ukarumpa it is custom to have them over for dinner and lunch for the first 3 days, So today was the first day that I had to cook.

Food here is very EXPENSIVE. I’ll give you an example. The PNG dollar is called a Kina well we get 2 kina for very 1 dollar. Now a carton of eggs is 12$ Kina. Which is still 6 dollars! Everything that is brought in by ship from the USA or Australia is very overpriced a box of cereal is 18 Kina, and yes somehow Steve talked me into a box of cereal. Many of the boxes were close to expiring because no one buys cereal here.
However there is a market here that the locals grow food for on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 6-8am. The vegetables and fruit is very reasonable much cheaper than in the States and we had an amazing salad for dinner tonight with all Organic veggies and home made yogurt. Who knew you could make yogurt so easily, and such a good low cal dressing ☺ I spent 6 USD at the market for all the vegetables we got and Steve bought me lovely flowers for 50 cents!

Our home is very comfortable but plane. No colors on the wall are much decoration, man I would love a few candles to burn for just a little ambiance but I guess I shall wait until I return home for that. We are staying in a duplex that was originally made for translators that would only be in town for less than 5 months and then again back in the village to learn the language so many people have slept in these beds. The homes that people own are almost like the ones at home. Many people have remolded and have this amazing rose wood here that they use for cabinets and floors.

Poor Gracie, or should I say poor Mommy and Daddy, because Gracie’s time clock has still not changed. She has been up between 4 and 5 EVERY night since we left ready for the day to begin. Some of the days I have been able to get her back to sleep and some I have not been so lucky. Please pray for better time adjustment for her so that we can feel rested as well.

She also had a hard time with a fever and rash. She had been running at least a 103 fever and has had a horrible rash all over her body looking like measles, also with diarrhea. Her fever has subsided and the rash is fading slowly, still having some loose stools, so please pray for her health as well that she would return back to her happy self, seeing as she doesn’t feel well she has been quite cranky.

I plan to add some pictures but after trying for 15 minutes for one picture I guess it will have to be another day!

I hope that this note finds you well and that we will be hearing from many of you on here.

Love Becky, Steve and Gracie

Starting to say Good-bye

Well I thought I better jump back on the blogging bandwagon since this will be my main source of communication in the up coming months.
Gracie and I had a great lunch today at Rock pizza with our great friends Shannon and Sarah. It really hit home when we were leaving and I realized I wouldn't see those sweet faces until we return from New Guinea in April...Seems so far away.
I also bought cloth diapers today....hmmmm this will be quite the experience. I know the Lord will use it to sanctify and grow me but I'm still nervous and slightly scared. I am so ready for an amazing adventure but I'm not good with change. It is something that I tend to do dragging both feet. I only have 4 more shifts at work before we leave and so may Good-byes to say that my heart is saddened. But perhaps I'll just say "See you later" as it is only 3 months we will be gone and not as thought we will not be back.

I have so much to pack and still to purchase. I really don't have many summer clothes due to the fact that Washington DOESN"T have summers. I am in need of some long skirts if anyone has a few to spare during these cold months here. It should be 80-90 degrees where we are headed but warmer with the humidity.

I did find out that we will have DSL in our room. WOO HOO connection to America. However, we have to pay 12 cents per MB we down/upload...so skyping with family will be limited. I hope to be able to post some videos of GRacie though so all the Grandparents can see her as a one year old changes dramatically in 3 months.

Well these are just my thoughts for the day. Excitement and sadness at the same time. Thanks for listening to my heart and here are a few recent pictures of Gracie our family since it has been a while since I have posted on here.