A Look Back...

 My "random pictures to blog" folder is filling up so here's a look back at some things I never got a chance to blog over the past six months.

 

In October some co-workers of mine were heading to a bush location to help out a missionary for 1 1/2 weeks, and I had the privelege of looking after their two daughters, Sierra and Brooke, while they were away.  These are two awesome girls and we had a great time together. 

 

 We headed to town for some shopping one day and saw that Christmas had finally arrived in Papua New Guinea (PNG). 

 

 One of my favorite things to eat in town is chicken and chips (fries) at a local take out restaurant.  The Kentucky Fried Chicken of PNG.

 

 There's no such place as Wal-Mart or Target in PNG, but once in a while you find some surprising things popping up in stores. 

 

 Every year the mission school has a Sadie Hawkin's banquet, and it was fun to watch Sierra put this idea together to ask out her date....

 

 She even made the pizza herself and brought it to school.  Who could say no to that?

 

 Every year Interface enjoys taking on three interns from Germany for a year.  These guys are a huge help around campus and a lot of fun to have around, but it comes with a lot of adjustments for them including living on their own for the first time (for most of them) and being plunked right into several new cultures (missionary and PNG) and a new language.  This last year we each took turns giving the guys some basic cooking lessons.  Matthias Dorendorf puts the finishing touches on dessert.

   

 Edgard Braun goes to work on the beans.

 

 I put Thomas Krüger's muscles to work on rolling out some Naan Bread for the chicken curry.  

 

I was out in the village and liked the look of these names cut into a cactus. 

Sone lives in the village next to us.

 

The villagers like to make a little cash by selling fruit, veggies, and different kinds of fried food along the road.  I found Sone frying up some "bread scones" - pieces of bread dipped in batter and deep fried.  Her granddaughter must be enjoying a nap.

 

 

One day I finally got brave enough to open the old medicine cupboard that had been sitting unattended for years outside the office.  Ever the "picker," after chucking several bags of trash I came away with, oddly enough for a medicine cabinet, one great vintage deep fryer. 

 

I just can't get enough of the flowers that our village ladies sell at market each week!

We're really fortunate to have a a couple of great places in town to relax and eat.  The Steak Haus (Steak House) main building burnt down a couple of years ago but the poolside eating area survived and they've kept cooking out of a tiny makeshift kitchen.

 

Bobbi and I wait for the food (which is when a deck of cards comes in handy to pass the time).

When we go to town we usually make a day of it to get as much done as possible. 

Shopping chaos.  It's usually a cozy ride home.

 

Thanksgiving 2012. 

Thanksgiving view.

My co-worker and good friend, Janie, and I enjoying a chilly PNG morning together.

I don't remember this being part of my job description when I came to Interface.

Tim and Kay Hughes worked in PNG for many years (including when I was here in High School) and are now Stateside working with NTM Aviation.  They recently took a trip back to PNG, and we had a great time catching up.

Goroka's very own fire station.  Possibly one of the cutest in the world.

Life for kids in PNG means 101 ways to have fun with mud.

A common sight on a trip to town...a local PMV (Public Motor Vehicle a.k.a. taxi) in the mud needing a tow.

 

Goroka Coffee to go. 

At the Goroka airport.  Anna Bottcher was at ITF for eight months helping in the main kitchen.  She was a big help and a lot of fun to have around. 
 

I got another chance recently to look after some co-worker's kids for almost two weeks.  Gracie, Malachi and Annie were a blast and there was no shortage of fun in that house.

 

The artwork in baskets here is incredible.

Last month Interface had the opportunity to encourage several couples from the main mission center with an evening away from home.  Our ITF dining hall transformed into an inviting restaurant where we wined and dined these couples.  There aren't many options for people to get away around here (especially without the kids) and we were so excited to be able to do this for them. 

 

The men worked the BBQ's out back while everyone else put all the plates together inside.

These girls were nervous at first about waitressing for the evening (and facing some of their teachers!), but they did a great job.

 

I enjoy helping with music on Sundays and for the occassional conference.

 

You can't beat Goroka Second Handing.

Several months ago, while taking a walk through a neighbouring village, some co-workers came across this extremeley malnourished baby who was not being taken care of by his mother.  None of us had ever seen a baby in this shape, and some of the ITF ladies became involved in little Lalu's life to try and get him healthy.  The doctors ruled out HIV and TB, for which we were grateful, and after supplying his caretakers with some good baby formula and hygeine tips (and the ITF ladies taking care of him themselves for a while), we finally began seeing him put on some weight.  Lalu's got a long road ahead of him but we're grateful for the chance to be a part of his tiny life. 



The Scenic Route

 There are two ways to get to the city of Goroka from our campus...both involve lots of potholes, ditches, bumps and dirt (that's including the paved sections).  We normally just stick to one route, though, and after four years of living here and never having travelled the other way, I knew it was time to explore.  Not being able to drive here, I began dropping hints to the guys on campus (our "chauffeurs") and one day I finally got my chance.  We'd been in town doing some errands, and not being in a rush to get back home we decided to take the scenic route back.  There really isn't an un-scenic route around here but having never been on this road before it held some adventure for me (and sometimes you just need to see your every day life from a different perspective). 

 There's a set of tree-less hills that we can see from our campus that always (except for in burning season) look lush and green, and I'd often looked longingly in their direction (humming "The hills are alive..." and picturing myself bounding through their grass).  The back road takes us right behind these hills so we, of course, had to stop.

 The only leaping and bounding we did was over these ditches.

Interface is right in the center of this picture (you can see several white and green rooves).

 

This is a view of the hills (at far right during burning season) from our campus.

 We had a clear, almost 360 degree view of the valley where you can see the town of Goroka in the distance.

The "Sori"

 

Several weeks ago I got news that an elderly lady in the village had passed away.  "Mamma Wie," (Wee-eh) as we called her, was a tiny little lady that only spoke the tribal language, so our limited communication was either through a family member's translation or a lot of smiles and handshakes.  She was surprisingly "with it," for her age, although the rigorous life that people lead here tends to add years onto their appearance making it almost impossible to guess anyone's age.  Below is one of my favorite pictures of Mamma Wie.  I had already made plans to be in town that day but on the way in we stopped off to show our respects to Mamma Wie's family at her "sori" (sorry) - an extended time of mourning the deceased and burying them. When we arrived, Esta (Mamma Wie's daughter, with me above) and many others in the hut were covered in mud, a common sign of mourning. 

 

  

 It may be a little bold to post a picture like this, but life is bold here.  It was so uncomfortable being in this room!  There are no funeral parlors here to make death "presentable," but in their own way they made Mamma Wie beautiful with their flowers and blankets.   Everyone was thrilled for us to be there and take some final pictures to remember Mamma Wie by. 
 

 
When we came back from town later that afternoon we were flagged down by a group of people still sitting around after Mamma Wie's funeral.  It's customary to make a huge mumu (food steam cooked underground) at times like this, and we were given a bag of leftovers to bring home.  We got a mix of pork, chicken and lamb, and graciously took the gift. Mumu food really is delicious, but we just couldn't get over that hairy piece of pork!
 

 The next day when I had more time to visit I went back with a co-worker to see Esta and Piku (Mamma Wie's other daughter).  There's always lots of kids smiling and giggling along the road.

 We were taken to where Mamma Wie was buried the day before.  No fancy tombstone...just a simple cross to remember her by.  The Bible teaching that had been taking place in the village was being done right outside of Mamma Wie's house, and although she never officially attended the teaching we often hoped that she would have heard and understood as she sat by the fire in her hut. 

After a long time of sitting and reminiscing about her mom, Esta walked us home.  Esta has been a God-send to me in PNG, and she's never short of a smile, even in circumstances like these! 

The Big Day

A big event just happened in our community last week with the loooooong awaited re-opening of a school close by.  I wasn't able to be there at opening day or at any of the other celebrations but it's been exciting to read about it and see pictures from co-workers.  Check out Drew & Bobbi Scholl's blog here if you want to see what gets us excited about school!