Catching up

After being so sick several weeks ago, I and random family members laid on the upper deck.  We used the umbrellas to shield us from the sun and from being on display to the onlookers from the road.  It was great therapy.  I must have laid there for 2 or 3 hours....so weak.  Now we are all healthy and full of energy again.  No more naps for now!

 

This is Don and Darron repairing our water tank on the upper deck.  These tanks are used more as back up supply in case the water gets turned off, which does happen from time to time.

Don caught this Emerald Dove and gave it to Andrew to hold.  Don is very talented at anything to do with nature and surviving.  He was bird watching with Darron yesterday and said, "Oh that one is friend, he is deaf and easy to catch."  Before Don became a Christian he hunted birds and ate them.  Don is teaching my boys many, many things.  He has been a great blessing to our family.  He is currently teaching the boys to set traps.

Healthy again, and back studying at school.  Nathaniel took this picture.  He sits right next to me in class and gets to play on my Ipod the last half of class.  On Thanksgiving Day we moaned and groaned the whole way to class.  Belly aching that is was so "not right".  The day before our language teachers had taught us to say "lagi bete neh"....which interpreted means "I am in a bad mood".  Every day our teachers ask us how we are and it is appropriate to respond, "good" or "healthy" so when we responded "lagi bete neh"  many questions were asked about Thanksgiving and our feelings.  Several hours later the head teacher came to us and "suggested" that we take the next day off from class.  The family rejoiced at last!!!!  In true American tradition (that we rarely participated in while there) we went shopping on Friday.  We are in our final three weeks here and there are many things that we cannot buy in Papua, so we are checking the list's off.

We spent Thanksgiving Day at school and then came home to bake Apple Pie, Sweet Potato Pie and Banana Bread all in the rice cooker.  That evening we went to the Gallant Families house and celebrated the day together.  This was our first American Holiday to be away.  We all missed being with family and once again are reminded that mission service is a sacrifice of all the family members, not just the ones "sent".   

After being sick 3 times in one week, I took Nathaniel to the hospital to be tested.  He was so brave.  Spores were found in his stool.  Now he has finished all his medicine (Flagyl and antibiotic) and is back to his normal self.  Happy kid, happy Mom.

Aubrey has been caught up with me in stature for  a several months now.  Thought you would appreciate an image to prove the point.  Andrew won't be long.  Last Sunday Andrew was running barefoot and caught his big toenail, pulling it 3/4 off at the base.   He came up to the house with much blood flowing and extreme pain.  Darron prayed and with in a minute of that prayer a friend showed on his motorcycle and was able to run Andrew to a little clinic.  There he was seen right away and placed on antibiotics (much to my relief).  Currently Andrew is able to hobble around much more and no infection is setting in, but that toe keeps getting bumped and is limited a boy who would love to exert his energy some more.

After the emergency clinic run, Darron and friend took off on the motor cycle to Bandung to car hunt.  On Tuesday we became proud owners of a Toyota Kijang.  It is a 2003 and certainly not new, but we are thrilled to have our own transportation.  Driving in Bandung requires constant alertness as motor cycles prove to be the biggest challenge.  They search for any opening in traffic, swerving into on coming traffic.  Dodging around both sides of the cars.  Riding right on the bumpers of cars.  We use to review all our vocabulary words while we rode in the taxi's.  Now we pray and keep our eyes on the road.

Please pray: that we will have wisdom when/how/where to ship the vehicle to Papua.
Also for Andrew's toe to heal quickly.
And that our minds can continue to absorb new words as we pack and sort out a multitude of details before moving to our planned destination.

In church today I heard this quote from a runner who was injured but still planned to race.  When asked "why?" he stated, "My country did not send me 7,000 miles to start this race, but to finish."  May you and I have strength to finish.  Thanks for reading.........