Fresh Perspective

Wow…..this has been so much fun.  Words don’t describe how much I have enjoyed my time in Thailand.  I think the highlights have been the fellowship, the new friends, the great experiences, the worships, and yes, the reason why I came……the learning. Let me share some pictures. The elephant excursion was such a neat experience.  What made it so special was Dr. Krista.  She is a trauma specialist that had just flown in from the states and we were buddies for the day.  She quickly wiggled a special place in my heart as we chatted about everything and took in all the elephant stuff.  The elephants played ball, painted, threw darts, danced, played harmonicas, and gave massages.  We rode for close to an hour and our elephant even took a trip to the water and gave us a little squirt while we were on his back. Here the elephant is getting ready to take some money from my hand with his trunk.   Another great excursion highlight was going to th...

This morning I am being still and just reflecting on the week of learning, the personal encounters and God’s leading.  I am not a crier.  Tears rarely flow.  Yet this week the worship has been so moving that most service times I have just stood there and wept.  Then at least 5 or 6 conversations I have had….again I have cried.  And this morning the tears have flowed freely again.  These are not tears of bitterness or pain or frustration.  They are tears of awe, at who God is and how He knows and cares about my sitting down and my rising up.  They are tears of gratitude at the intimacy of God’s provision in mine and my families’ life.  Yes, we have “ left it all ”, but God has “ given abundantly back ”.  In Papua God has placed amazing people and resources into our lives that have met different needs that have arisen in my family.  Even here in Thailand, God continues to bring different people into my life that are speaking volumes ...

Most days my mind is spinning with thoughts on Dengue Fever, Breast Cancer, TB, Nursing issues, and on and on.  Then there is all the net working.  People from all over Asia and America.  Topics from wild stories, to heart breaking problems, to help with home school, to newly transitioning families, to a lady in her 90’s who has served for years and years…..all very stimulating.  Getting lots of ideas of things we can implement in Papua.  Then there is choir practice.  Just couldn’t resist and they accepted anyone who would just open there mouth and look energetic (that’s me).  Fit in meals (all yummy Thai food), with a sampling of western food every now and then.  Worship time in the morning, that has just left me with deep, deep moving thoughts and mission reports at night…..WHEW!   I am learning in this 10 day marathon of medical smorgasbord that I don’t need to attend every lecture time slot.  That it is ok to go to my room and tal...

Over 95 faculty here to present.  Over 30 lectures a day to choose from.  Missionaries from 40 countries.  Thai food.  New friends.  Beautiful property.  What a delight!  These conferences are held every odd year in Thailand and every even year in Africa (did you catch that Michelle?). Yesterday was a long day of traveling and layovers and waiting for shuttles and suitcases to catch up with us.  Once again, it made it all reality that Papua is a long way from anywhere.  I met a lovely British female doctor at the airport and we have enjoyed keeping up with each other, ever since.    Today was casting day.  Loved it, as it was very hands on.  I casted one of the doctor’s wives who turned out to be a mother of 4 boys.  Instant kindred spirits!  The orthopedic doctor who taught the class also told me how to set up suction on a wound, without a sophisticated wound vac.  He and his family go every summer to A...

For the last two weeks I have been working toward a goal.  Preparing my family for my absence while I attend a medical conference in Thailand.  I am so thankful that I did the bulk of the cooking last week, not this.  As this week we had company and the clinic work was extra demanding, leaving little time in the kitchen.  The freezer is so full of  breads, Chili, pizza dough, pot pie, casseroles, soup, and other concoctions ….. truly these men will not suffer.  But all the boys assured me that by the time I returned they would all be starving (with a little twinkle in their eyes).  If that isn’t enough…..on Wednesday, I have ordered 2 dozen fresh made onion and honey bagels  and 4 dozen tortillas.  Which will be true treats in the land where these do not line the store shelves.  To be honest with myself and my readers, there were times this week that I grappled with the…..”what if’s”.  I won’t expound on the “what if’s”, because mo...

Valentines Day is an appropriate day for me to post this blog that has been sitting in the wings for awhile.  Darron and I have struggled to find romance in Papua.  It seems easier in America with many lovely eateries and fresh flowers and Bed and Breakfast Inn’s and family that will watch four children and……….. And yet “romance” is such a vital ingredient to a yummy marriage.  A few weeks ago, we had one hour to ourselves.  One hour???!  What can a person do in one hour in Papua? At Darron’s suggestion we drove out to Lake Sentani and found this pull off and climbed up to the top of the hill and sat down on a very sharp rock and took in the most gorgeous sight.  We have not yet taken a picture that captures the beauty of this lake.  There is no where else in the world that I have been that has a lake surrounded by such incredible views.  There are these small lush green rolling hills that surround the water.  They are unique and so picture...

Hopefully most of us love our jobs.  For what joy is a job that you don’t enjoy?  Yet, many of us….especially Mom’s with children still at home are often only motivated to work for the reward of money.  Needing to make ends meet.  For truly the demands at home, equal more then full time hours.  So working as a nurse at a volunteer clinic and helping in the community when possible in a volunteer status, doesn’t help put food on the table in this household.  Nor does it buy clothes for the boys, who are growing so fast.  It only adds to the juggle of our lifestyle.  Nathaniel and Jacob have probably spent more hours in the clinic then they would really desire.  At times, it has created a stress trying to fulfill commitments to a community and to my family.  What is the motivation?  Pay day? Mark’s cast coming off and no further infection in his wound.  Pay day. The Papuan yard man’s stump healed.  All his stiches out and...

We spend a fair amount of time in the airport parking lot, waiting for my husband to arrive from various journey’s.  The kids always like it when there is airport entertainment.   Which are:- Goats!  They wander freely all over Papua, but at the airport we are still enough to watch them as they chew on garbage and grab leaves off young tree’s, bending the trees all the way to the ground.  When we first saw them do this feat, we named them “airport entertainment”.  Also in the picture note all the white stripes on the curbs.  When you first pull into the airport, one has to take all these sharp curves in between black and white striped curb’s.  This makes one feel like you are at a go-cart race track, adding to the feeling of entertainment.       I was not disappointed when Darron sent me a text to say the 3rd leg of his journey to Fak Fak had been cancelled.  He also mentioned he was fevering.  This led to a flurry of...

I know our families love it when I just ramble about life here….so forgive me if you like the drama, because this post is just the day-in-day-out stuff. Andrew has now survived a month in braces and to see his teeth in just one month, you would have a hard time believing this is the same mouth.  For over 3 years now he has either not had a front tooth or it has not come fully down.  In just this short period of having braces, the tooth has come into place.  Andrew has the joys of dealing with an expander and head gear also.  Orthodontics is being accomplished by flying to Jakarta (a 6-8 hour flight) 7 times a year.  However you look at the journey it will take at least a full 24 hours if not 36.  You can ponder that the next time your driving the kids to the orthodontist! : )  We are grateful that we found help and are hopeful that in the not to distant future a qualified orthodontist will move to Papua.  Because there are three more Boyd childre...

We started the second year of our term here, asking God for friends.  Especially for the boys.  It was the element in our mission life that was lacking the most.  This was the driving force behind Aubrey and Andrew wanting to go to school.    The best gifts in life are not the physical things that we save up for or ask for on our birthdays.  It is the gift of a friend. With teen boys in the house, they demand the most.  From ball to Jr. High meetings, to school functions.  It’s easy for Jacob and Nathaniel to just get dragged about.  Because they have each other and play together so well, they don’t ask for friends.  Until they met Daniel and Ryan.  Daniel and Ryan live in an interior village on the south side of Papua.  Their village is only accessible by helicopter.  Every few months, their family comes out to restock their supplies.  We met them on a beach outing and they were inseparable.  Just in the s...