Today we landed in Seattle about 9:07 a.m. All our flights were smooth and we cleared customs with no problems-I really did not want to have our suitcases searched and have to repack them again. I just finished opening my suitcase with some Madang pottery birthday presents for Terri's sister and dad and they are all intact-Praise God who oversees the smallest details and cares about the little things!
It was so GREAT to come home and see our children! Mike is spending the day with his daughter Meghan tomorrow who just happens to have the day off from school. God arranges things in ways we can't even imagine! Please pray for them to have a wonderful day spending time together tomorrow.
Chcuk and I took a nap today and are feeling like flat tires........Chuck will return to work tomorrow and your prayers for his physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being are most appreciated! I have a job for Wed. and have blocked myself out for tomorrow to get settled or caught up on sleep whichever the case may be.
Thank you again for your prayers and financial support to help encourage those who serve at Lapilo to reach the tribal villages with the gospel translated into their own language. Chuck and Mike were able to finish installing turbine ventilation boxes in the elementary school which will greatly improve the learning environment for both staff and students.
We will send out a detailed report in the next few weeks. To God be the glory for what He has done in PNG for the last two weeks!
Giving thanks with a grateful heart to God for all of you,
Sheila, Chuck and Mike
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
DANUNGET TRIBE VISIT
Today Chuck, Mike and I flew out east to visit the Danunget tribe and one of the families who is translating the bible into their native language. The people were more reserved and shy than the people here in Goroka. They were holding a meeting today because somebody burned down the school in the village and almost all the curriculum was destroyed. They were trying to figure out who set the school on fire (if it was somebody from their own tribe or from another tribe), and the reason for it. There is now a church there and the believers are wanting to take the bible stories to the next tribe. The closest tribe is not very open but the next closest tribe is wide open and is saying, "Forget the _____ tribe, come to our village. We want to hear the bible!" Praise God for those open hearts and for the joy the new believers are experiencing. They are now in Romans chap.4 and the teaching usually takes place outside on the grass. The New Guinean people prefer sitting on the ground to a chair anyday!
Ralph took us on a hike up a mountain and as we gained elevation, the view was better and better. We could see houses hidden. They are garden houses where people might spend the night after working in their gardens. The people also love to burn their land. On the flight back in to Goroka, we saw fires plente and lots and lots of smoke. Ralph told us about a villager who was burning his land and it kept going up the mountain until the house just on the other side of the mountain went up in flames. The man never thought the fire would travel that far. We also saw a river that came down the mountain and majorly altered the landscape widening the banks, rocks sliding, and yet, no harm came to the village. The people thanked God for protecting their village and they pray to him to bring rain to their gardens and other things. I was so blessed to hear these things....our God is the same in the United States, in Papua New Guinea and all over the world! On our hike back down, I slipped and had significant knee pain. The river was close by and so I knelt in it to let the cold water do some numbing. It hurt more going down. With a walking stick and Ralph and Scott holding my hands, I made it back down. We prayed for my knees and really, they are so much better-I thank the Lord for His healing in my knees.
Tomorrow is our last day here and I am feeling quite sad. I know that my meri friends will stop by to say goodbye and it will be hard knowing that we are leaving on Sat. Please pray for a good last day saying goodbye to the old friends and new friends we have made here at Lapilo. We enjoyed a beautiful meal at a couple's house tonight on their deck overlooking the mountains. With all the smoke in the air from fires burning, it was the prettiest sunset during the time we've been here.
Chuck and Mike will put in a full day of work tomorrow finishing installing the vents. Please pray for safety as they will be up on ladders and even the roof. We thank you for your prayers. You have been a part of team PukPuk (Crocodile) and made a BIG IMPACT in this corner of the world!
Gut nait,
Sheila and the team
Ralph took us on a hike up a mountain and as we gained elevation, the view was better and better. We could see houses hidden. They are garden houses where people might spend the night after working in their gardens. The people also love to burn their land. On the flight back in to Goroka, we saw fires plente and lots and lots of smoke. Ralph told us about a villager who was burning his land and it kept going up the mountain until the house just on the other side of the mountain went up in flames. The man never thought the fire would travel that far. We also saw a river that came down the mountain and majorly altered the landscape widening the banks, rocks sliding, and yet, no harm came to the village. The people thanked God for protecting their village and they pray to him to bring rain to their gardens and other things. I was so blessed to hear these things....our God is the same in the United States, in Papua New Guinea and all over the world! On our hike back down, I slipped and had significant knee pain. The river was close by and so I knelt in it to let the cold water do some numbing. It hurt more going down. With a walking stick and Ralph and Scott holding my hands, I made it back down. We prayed for my knees and really, they are so much better-I thank the Lord for His healing in my knees.
Tomorrow is our last day here and I am feeling quite sad. I know that my meri friends will stop by to say goodbye and it will be hard knowing that we are leaving on Sat. Please pray for a good last day saying goodbye to the old friends and new friends we have made here at Lapilo. We enjoyed a beautiful meal at a couple's house tonight on their deck overlooking the mountains. With all the smoke in the air from fires burning, it was the prettiest sunset during the time we've been here.
Chuck and Mike will put in a full day of work tomorrow finishing installing the vents. Please pray for safety as they will be up on ladders and even the roof. We thank you for your prayers. You have been a part of team PukPuk (Crocodile) and made a BIG IMPACT in this corner of the world!
Gut nait,
Sheila and the team
Monday, October 5, 2009
YUMMY CROCODILE
We had two families over for dinner Sunday night. The menu was BBQ chicken, Teriyaki Crocodile shishkebabs, potato salad, cucumber salad, herb bread and grape finger jello. We marinated the crocodile meat overnight and when it came off the grill, it was tender and tasted like a teriyaki pork loin-unbelievable! The kids ate up all the seconds of crocodile and I am ready to look for crocodile meat in the U.S.! Of course, I don't think I'd be able to find it for less than a dollar a pound. So that was quite an eating adventure for us as no one had ever tasted crocodile meat before!
Today the guys worked on building ventilation boxes for the Elementary School. After they are painted, they will install them. God has been renewing their strength and mine as well. It rained all night into the morning. It was so peaceful sitting in the common room listening to the rain after we had devotionals. The Lord refreshed us and all of us had a good day.
Tomorrow morning we are going for a walk through the village we visited last year. We plan to go a little further to see the view from the hill. Also, we plan to go to the village school where the kids were thrilled to get a piece of candy last year. This year we have candy to bring them again but we also have school supplies for them and I can't wait to see their faces:) We are leaving early and will be back for lunch.
We have been invited to so many missionaries' homes. It has been a blessing to break bread with them and learn about their lives here and in the states. It is truly a team effort here where they work behind the scenes to bring the gospel to the unreached tribes in Papua New Guinea.
Time for bed, Gut Nait,
Sheila
Today the guys worked on building ventilation boxes for the Elementary School. After they are painted, they will install them. God has been renewing their strength and mine as well. It rained all night into the morning. It was so peaceful sitting in the common room listening to the rain after we had devotionals. The Lord refreshed us and all of us had a good day.
Tomorrow morning we are going for a walk through the village we visited last year. We plan to go a little further to see the view from the hill. Also, we plan to go to the village school where the kids were thrilled to get a piece of candy last year. This year we have candy to bring them again but we also have school supplies for them and I can't wait to see their faces:) We are leaving early and will be back for lunch.
We have been invited to so many missionaries' homes. It has been a blessing to break bread with them and learn about their lives here and in the states. It is truly a team effort here where they work behind the scenes to bring the gospel to the unreached tribes in Papua New Guinea.
Time for bed, Gut Nait,
Sheila
Friday, October 2, 2009
LIVING WITH COCKROACHES
I just came home from the Sasakis and I opened a kitchen drawer where a cockroach is now living. I've seen them on the walls and floors but this is the first time I've seen one in a kitchen drawer! YUCK! I don't like them and the guys are on cockroach duty when they come home. They are playing a Star Wars video game with the Sasaki boys.
Tomorrow we will ride into the town of Goroka and do some shopping and have lunch at the Bird-a hotel that ex-pats like to visit and a place for missionaries here to go swimming and relax.
The guys have been working hard every day this week and this will be a great break for them.
Thank you so much for your prayers for our team. We have truly felt them and are seeing God at work in so many ways. We have a posterboard taped on the kitchen wall where we write down answered prayers-there are so many and we know that our prayer support from you is why there are so many answered prayers!
We thank God for His mercies, New Every Morning! GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS! All we have needed, His hand hath provideth, Great is Thy Faithfulness, Lord unto me!
Gut nait,
Sheila for Team PukPuk
Tomorrow we will ride into the town of Goroka and do some shopping and have lunch at the Bird-a hotel that ex-pats like to visit and a place for missionaries here to go swimming and relax.
The guys have been working hard every day this week and this will be a great break for them.
Thank you so much for your prayers for our team. We have truly felt them and are seeing God at work in so many ways. We have a posterboard taped on the kitchen wall where we write down answered prayers-there are so many and we know that our prayer support from you is why there are so many answered prayers!
We thank God for His mercies, New Every Morning! GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS! All we have needed, His hand hath provideth, Great is Thy Faithfulness, Lord unto me!
Gut nait,
Sheila for Team PukPuk
MERI PARTY A BIG HIT!
This afternoon was the first day it hasn't rained. The weather was perfect for our Meri party. The Meris began arriving soon after 3:00 p.m. Terri and I were ready with cold apple juice and frosted cupcakes. As each Meri arrived, I went over to greet them by saying, "Nem bilong mi Sheila. Nem bilong yu?" Then they would tell me their name and Terri would come over with some juice and I would offer them a cupcake. What amazed me was how I recognized so many of them by their face. Last year they all looked very similiar. This year they all are individuals with very distinct characteristics. At first they were all sitting at the picnic tables but as the sun got hotter, they moved to sit on the ground in the shade and then they took out their bilums to work on them. I am hoping I captured some of their bilum working on the videocamera (I had never used it). I sat with them and asked them in pisin where they lived, how many kids they had and how old their children are. Some of the meris had grandchildren, or booboos, as they are called in pisin. I told them, mama bilong mi gat thirteen booboos. They were impressed by that.
I made a small baggie gift for the meris which had a piece of chocolate, a piece of licorice and a candy with two boxes of matches. I told them that I was taking home matches from PNG and when I light them I will think of my meri friends, and hoped that when they lit their match to start a fire, that they would think of me. They appreciated that.
We laughed together and talked and just enjoyed being with each other. One of the meris calls me wantok now which means local and I thanked her for the compliment.
All the meris thanked me profusely for the juice, cupcake and small gift, before they left. I was touched deeply by the joy in their hearts and the smiles on their faces. Indeed, it was I who was refreshed and renewed by the openness of their hearts and thankfulness. What I am so grateful for is that I will be able to see them another week and call them by name and talk to them about their personal lives.
I thank God for all His provisions and for using me to bring some joy into my meri friends' lives,
Sheila fo Team PukPuk
I made a small baggie gift for the meris which had a piece of chocolate, a piece of licorice and a candy with two boxes of matches. I told them that I was taking home matches from PNG and when I light them I will think of my meri friends, and hoped that when they lit their match to start a fire, that they would think of me. They appreciated that.
We laughed together and talked and just enjoyed being with each other. One of the meris calls me wantok now which means local and I thanked her for the compliment.
All the meris thanked me profusely for the juice, cupcake and small gift, before they left. I was touched deeply by the joy in their hearts and the smiles on their faces. Indeed, it was I who was refreshed and renewed by the openness of their hearts and thankfulness. What I am so grateful for is that I will be able to see them another week and call them by name and talk to them about their personal lives.
I thank God for all His provisions and for using me to bring some joy into my meri friends' lives,
Sheila fo Team PukPuk
Thursday, October 1, 2009
CUPCAKES, MARKET AND CROCODILE MEAT
Today Terri and I baked and frosted 72 cupcakes for the party with the Meris tomorrow. I went to market by the gate to the Centre with Scott this afternoon and had fun buying lemons, carrots, lettuce and papaya and a pineapple. On the way out, I saw a basket for sale and bartered the price down from 20 to 16 Kina (approx. $6-16 Kina).
Last year it was hard for me to look at their faces because they all want to sell their food/crafts. They look downwards until you point to something and hand them the money. This year I wanted to find ripe lemons and I was able to engage in a shopping/bartering mode.
On Sunday we are going to have the Sasakis and Snedekers over for a barbecue. We will be serving crocodile meat and chicken. At the store I picked up a kilo of croc meat. When I looked at my receipt later on, I was surprised to find I had only paid $2.05 for a kilo of croc meat. I am not sure how I will prepare it but I plan to talk to the store operator's wife for suggestions because they eat it quite often. Chuck is pretty excited.
Today Chuck and Mike continued to work on replacing some window boxes that had dry rot. They are working to help out in any way the school needs them.
I will write tomorrow to let you know how our Meri party goes!
Sheila for Team PukPuk
Last year it was hard for me to look at their faces because they all want to sell their food/crafts. They look downwards until you point to something and hand them the money. This year I wanted to find ripe lemons and I was able to engage in a shopping/bartering mode.
On Sunday we are going to have the Sasakis and Snedekers over for a barbecue. We will be serving crocodile meat and chicken. At the store I picked up a kilo of croc meat. When I looked at my receipt later on, I was surprised to find I had only paid $2.05 for a kilo of croc meat. I am not sure how I will prepare it but I plan to talk to the store operator's wife for suggestions because they eat it quite often. Chuck is pretty excited.
Today Chuck and Mike continued to work on replacing some window boxes that had dry rot. They are working to help out in any way the school needs them.
I will write tomorrow to let you know how our Meri party goes!
Sheila for Team PukPuk
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
FRIDAY THE MERIS ARE COMING!
As many of you know, I became friends with many meris (word for woman/wife in pisin) last year. It has been on my heart to do something for them, although I wasn't quite sure how and where to do this. When I mentioned it to Terri, she told me to call Meredith who is in charge of all the meris working here at Lapilo. Meredith told me there were approx. 50 meris employed here and then she suggested reserving the gym and setting up chairs. Terri suggested we do it in her backyard and then I knew that something was going to happen.
On Mon. a.m., Terri sent out a Lapilo Notice Board email inviting all work meris to come from 3:30-5:00 to have cake and punch in her backyard and to bring their bilums that they work on. All employers were asked to pass along this invitation and from talking to meris I see, it sounds like many are coming. I brought cake mixes, frosting from the states and we (Terri and I) are going to make 50+ cupcakes tomorrow and make up punch or I just buy juice tomorrow at the store. I am nervous but even more I am EXCITED because I want to bless the meris, even if it is just with a simple cupcake and punch. Please pray for NO RAIN WEATHER for our FRIDAY AFTERNOON from 3:30-5:00 P.M. And pray that LOVE, THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE will transcend the language barriers and that all the meris will leave feeling loved and cared for. For those of you I shared this prayer request with before, THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE through YOUR PRAYERS. I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am that this is taking place.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY FOR WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO!
Sheila for Team Puk Puk
On Mon. a.m., Terri sent out a Lapilo Notice Board email inviting all work meris to come from 3:30-5:00 to have cake and punch in her backyard and to bring their bilums that they work on. All employers were asked to pass along this invitation and from talking to meris I see, it sounds like many are coming. I brought cake mixes, frosting from the states and we (Terri and I) are going to make 50+ cupcakes tomorrow and make up punch or I just buy juice tomorrow at the store. I am nervous but even more I am EXCITED because I want to bless the meris, even if it is just with a simple cupcake and punch. Please pray for NO RAIN WEATHER for our FRIDAY AFTERNOON from 3:30-5:00 P.M. And pray that LOVE, THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE will transcend the language barriers and that all the meris will leave feeling loved and cared for. For those of you I shared this prayer request with before, THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE through YOUR PRAYERS. I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am that this is taking place.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY FOR WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO!
Sheila for Team Puk Puk
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