Scones of another kind

 My friend, Sone, lives not too far from our campus, and as my co-worker, Anna, and I were walking through the village the other day we noticed she was frying up just what we were craving - scones!  It takes a while in PNG to get used to the fact that "scones" aren't the nice fluffy biscuits served with tea like back home.  A scone here is a basic recipe of flour and water, usually formed into balls and then deep fried.  You can buy them pretty much anywhere you go in town, and in any village that you might pass through, although different areas have their own twist (like throwing in some green onions).  What Anna and I found Sone frying up this day is, in my opinion, the most bazaar variation of the scone.  Have you ever tried deep-fried battered bread?  That's pretty much what a "bread scone" is.  And oddly enough it totally works!   

 

 Sone's granddaughter sleeps on the floor as Sone fries up the scones.  As you drive into town you'll see men and women selling a wide variety of things along the road, like scones, home-made cigarettes, bananas, yarn, bubblegum, etc.   

 

Bread scones prove that you can deep fry just about anything and it'll taste amazing. 

Where the Palm Trees Sway

 Each year conferences are held around Papua New Guinea to help encourage and refresh the NTM missionaries that work within the different regions of the country.  In September I had the opportunity to fly to the coastal town of Madang to help with their annual conference, and it was one of the highlights of my year.  NTM's gorgeous property in Madang ("Tagog") sits right on the ocean, and I enjoyed watching village life out on the water - people out in their canoes or fishing with their nets, and little kids playing in the water.  Above is the kitchen/dining/meeting hall on the Tagog center.

 

 

Lena Chapman was asked to head up the cooking during conference and invited me along to assist (I got to help do the same at the Madang Conference in 2009).  We enjoyed working together and had a great time in the kitchen all week. 

 

 For one meal a day different missionary families were responsibile for cooking the meals for everyone (there were 84 people altogether), so there were a loooot of cooks in the kitchen.  Although most of the missionaries in the Madang Region work far away from eachother in various tribal areas, they're still like one big family and it was a lot of fun to see them interact with and enjoy each other.  I enjoyed getting to know them better, too, as I don't often get the chance to interact with this group.

 

 The main speaker and kid's program leaders came from the home church in the States of one of the missionaries.  The kitchen was right at the back of the meeting center so as we worked we got to take part in what was going on and enjoy the sessions.

 

 For lunch one day we all headed to Malolo Resort ("malolo" means "rest" or "break" in Melanesian Pidgin).

 

 I talked to several missionaries that day who said that places like Malolo have been one of the biggest blessings and surprises for them working here.  They often work for months at a time alone in the bush, some in helicopter-only locations, and to be able to come out for a break and enjoy a beautiful resort is a perk they never expected. 

 

 Conference is done and it's time to get the plane loaded and head back home.  We have a phenomenal group of pilots/mechanics here with NTM.  These are hard working men who fly, fix, and load the planes, as well as play flight attendant....all with smiles on their faces as they serve us.  We are so hugely grateful for the amazing work and ministry of our pilots here.

 

Farewell Madang!

IT'S HERE!!!

 Well over a year ago now we began praying for a new generator at Interface.  We don't have town power here so we're dependent on our generators and batteries to keep us functioning each day.  We were blown away by the decision of Warsaw Community Church in Indiana to cover the entire cost of purchasing a new generator for us. What a ginormous gift and we are so grateful that the Lord provided for us in this way. 

 

Unfortunately a generator isn't something you can just pop in the mail.  It took months of research and ordering and figuring out how to get it shipped here...but over a year later it's finally here!!!  In the spring one of our two main generators decided it had had enough and was laid to rest in a back field at Interface.  Since then we've been functioning with limited power and praying that our other lone generator would make it through these final months as we waited for the new one to arrive. 

 

Last week we finally got the news that the container had arrived, and on a rainy day it made it's debut at Interface.  It was beautiful, and we were so excited.  The guys got to work right aways unloading and installing it, and we all stood around watching like it was the best entertainment we'd had in a while (it probably was). 

 

 Who needed that tree, anyway?

 

 We had been using this beauty to help us through our months of limited power...

 

...but out it came to make room for a true beauty.  It's so quiet, too!  Normally I can tell what I can and can't use around campus by listening to see if the generator's on, but I've never been more happy to have that convenience taken away. :0)