Fresh Perspective

This past week marked a year since the day when Bob crashed.   We still look back and wonder, Why?   We press forward, with the hope that one day it will all make sense.   Pastor Rob was inspired to come see what he could do to help support and inspire missions and missionaries after hearing of Bob’s crash.  Pastor Rob runs a ministry of summer camp, that has impacted my boy’s lives every summer.  Without any hesitation, Summer Camp, would be at the top of Aubrey and Andrew’s summer highlights.  Often over family vacations (ouch).  Their one week experiences at summer camp have not only taught them to love wake boarding and have an incredible time with old and new friends, but they have also had many spiritual “high” moments there.  So to have Pastor Rob come to Papua, Indonesia…..was in essence bringing a little bit of favorite summer memories to our doorstep.   As the calendar would reveal, there was only one great date for Past...

A few days ago I went to see my friend Reece in the tribe.  I had to get up at 5:30 in the morning.  My Mom and I arrived to the Yajasi hanger at 6:30.  Sitting in the waiting room I felt tired, and excited.  When we walked out on the tarmac  to go and fly in the airplane, Uncle Zach (the pilot, we call almost all expatriate men and women we know here, “Uncle and Aunt”), asked us,  “Who wants to sit up in the front?”  I was a bit hesitant at first and then I shyly said, “Sure.”  When we took off I saw the airport and the city of Sentani.  I soon saw Sentani lake and the low lands.  Quickly the terrain changed to dense tropical forest.  We saw snaky brown rivers, logging camps, remote villages.  Then we started to get into the mountains.  Sometimes they were sheer drop offs and other times they looked like hills.  About 45 minutes into the flight Uncle Zach asked me if I wanted to fly.  This didn’t take me b...

  I wasn’t suppose to be at the clinic last Thursday, but I accidently forgot to drop Aubrey’s French horn off at the school and so what else is a crazy Mom Nurse like me suppose to do after dropping off the instrument?  Why, go help out in the clinic, of course.  I hadn’t been in the clinic for more then 10 minutes when Dr. Di comes out of an exam room, with two ladies I had not seen before, questioning, “Who is ready to go give measles vaccines on Monday?”  To which Wendy, Mandy and myself all opened our eyes a bit wider and thought, “YES, I’m ready!”.  The Indonesian government had given us a 1,000 measles vaccines to be given in very remote, hard to access, villages.  A measles epidemic is creeping it’s way through these tropical villages.  Leaving behind, dead children and empty arms.  Put a disease like measles into a 3rd world child and they don’t fair well.  10 days of high fever, cough, itching body (inside and out), sore eyes and i...