Lapilo center tends to empty out pretty quickly after school lets out at the end of May, so the "summer" months are fairly quiet around here... except at our house of course! :) We spent the summer months relaxing and continuing on with our regular routines. Tayah completed her kindergarten year (which I homeschooled) and she did well. She was granted admission into the 1st grade class out here based on some entrance tests she did. She is the youngest in her class by 8 months! We felt that might have been a hindrance to her, but she has been doing great! The school year started off at the end of July and Tayah has been loving every day of it!
She does great at math and reading, though her hand-writing skills need improvement. She tends to write very slanted letters so we've been practicing extra hard with that. I am amazed at how far she has come with reading... her mind seems like a sponge! This is also very handy as she has a bible class in which she has to learn a bunch of verses, she's been picking them up so quickly! Needless to say, we're quite proud of our student! :)
The end of July also brought about the twins' 3rd birthday. We celebrated quietly at home with cake and some presents. The twins seem to have grown up so much in the year that we've been here... but I guess that's to be expected! :)
August brought about Tayah's 2nd root canal procedure. This time however, Tayah and Clinton were able to travel in with a friend of ours who had to take his boy to the dentist for a root canal as well! The Lord worked out a great blessing for us. This saved us a lot of money as this friend owns his own car so we didn't have to rent and the gas was split between both our families. It also provided a great deal of safety in travelling as the more men you travel with the safer you are! I didn't worry nearly so much this time around. Another blessing was that this root canal took 3 visits instead of 4 and none of them caused Tayah much pain. She actually really looked forward to visiting the dentist! He is a really nice man and always complimented Tayah on her pretty dresses :).
As for our ministries out here...
Clinton continues to fill 2 positions at the hangar and is keeping up fairly well. He still enjoys being busy and truly enjoys working with the guys at the hangar. Pilots and mechanics seem to be in great demand and short supply. It's been a source of frustration and anxiety for many, not knowing if we'll have the personnel to keep the flight department running. It's a great snowball effect. If the flight department can't fly then the tribal missionaries can't stay in the tribes as they can't get food/supplies and they won't be able to come out in case of medical emergency or for other reasons. We are getting desperate for more pilots/mechanics, but in all this, we know that God has not forgotten. He knows our needs and in all honesty, the people of PNG mean much more to Him then they do to us ultimately. We love our national brothers & sisters, but these are the people Christ died for... He will provide. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are so much greater than ours! Who are we to complain or demand our way... (these are great things to remind myself of when I start to feel anxious or forgotten).
As for the clinic, we continue to run with a fairly full staff right now! Praise God! We have 2 American doctors this year, 1 RN from Germany, 2 from the states, and me! 1 of the American nurses will be going home in December, but we'll manage. I truly enjoy all the new skills I am learning. I'm quite proficient at the xray machine and lab machines. I enjoy the pharmacy aspect of it as well as I'm learning more about medications. I love the variety of patients that come in, the vast array of different diseases/illnesses and the differing degrees of severity within the patients. I love how we all work together to bring about healing, but how ultimately we all recognize God's hand in the medical care we give. I love the opportunity to practice my Pidgin with the patients, they are very understanding when I mess up or say something wrong...and very quick to laugh with me when I say something completely inappropriate! :) I'm still learning!
Socially we are involved in a few things...
Clinton plays soccer or hockey on sundays. Though soccer has become his new favorite game to play out here. He really misses the ice and I know he's looking forward to playing some real hockey when he gets home next winter! :)
I am involved in a ladies Bible study on Grace by Kay Arthur. It's been truly a blessing to me to be able to meet with these ladies and learn from them. I also play women's floor hockey on monday nights... and I love it! :) Who would have thought eh? My slapshot is actually better than Clinton's now... :)
Tayah is involved in wednesday night soccer for grades 1-4 and she loves the competition! Many times we'll catch her doing spins and ballet moves on the court rather than focusing on the game, but she's still having fun! Tayah has 2 days left of school for this term. (our school year has 4 terms). She's excited for the break, but I think she'll get bored pretty quick! :) My job will be to keep them all occupied!
It's been raining a lot the last few days, lucky for our family we love the rain! However, it does cause problems for the nationals if there is too much rain. It floods gardens and ruins the food, it also causes mudslides and the river to rise and wipe out more gardens. It's also more treacherous for them to cross the river as it rises.
Well I'll sign this post off for now, but I just wanted to say thank you to all who have been praying for us and continue to pray for us. We love you all!
Some items to pray for specifically:
1. personnel for NTM aviation (for pilots/mechanics)
2. for our continued health and safety
3. that we would serve with a joyful heart even when things are difficult or we miss home
Tayah enjoying the water slide
Aowyn feeding Rorik
Tayah's first day at school
Twins' 3rd year picture
God Bless!
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