Dedicated

A couple of Sundays ago, we had Reuben 'dedicated' at the Tok Pisin worship service we regularly attend on a Sunday morning. We wanted to stand up at the front and publically thank God for giving us Reuben, as well as promise to bring him up to know Jesus.
  

Dave, one of the elders of the church, is asking us whether we are happy to dedicate Reuben to God

After we had made our promises, the church was then asked to make a promise too - they stood up and agreed to support us as we try to bring up Reuben wisely. It was brilliant to hear a resounding 'We will' come as their answer. Then Dave marked the forehead of all three of us, praying for us as he went and asking God to help us. When he had done that, he invited people to come up and pray for us too. A surge of friends and colleagues joined us, surrounded us and prayed for Reuben. It was a moment we will never forget and Reuben loved it! He smiled and gurgled through the whole thing.
  

Friends and colleagues came up the front to pray for Reuben - it was wonderful!



 It was great to be surrounded by our Ukarumpa family.



Reuben really enjoyed it!



Reuben is 8 months old today and loving life. We still cannot quite believe he is here and are just SO GRATEFUL for him! Earlier this month, we celebrated ten years of marriage as well. Thank you God for our ten years and the blessing of this wonderful little boy!

Thank you to our friend, Susan, for all the photographs apart from the last one.

Going Mobile

PNG is a country where communication is difficult; installing a land-line telephone system is impractical. That's why mobile phones are really popular, and becoming ever increasingly so. But even mobile phones need masts to send and receive the signals. The terrain is extremely steep and undulating, so where does one put a mast to best reach the villages in the area? Well, that's where a team of guys with GPS receivers and good relational skills comes into play, along with the helicopter.

First of all you have to locate the spot you want to survey. For good reception the masts want to be up on high terrain, which makes them pretty inaccessible.

And it wasn't just the steepness of the terrain which would have made walking to this spot difficult.

Thankfully the drop-off was steep enough that the aircraft was safely on the ground whilst the tail rotor was clear of  the grass.

Once the site was surveyed, then the guy went the the local village. On this occasion I gave him a lift down in the helicopter, rather than making him walk!

In the village he spent a few days negotiating the land rights to put up a new mobile phone mast, before getting collected again.

The other side to this mobile phone company is their charitable foundation. They fund the likes of the aid post I was previously involved with and schools. We provided the transport to one of their school openings. With a couple of VIPs present, the village put on quite a programme.

There was a drumming band

There were ladies singing

There were the Highlands 'clay men'

There were warriors

There were children singing the national anthem

There were the necessary speeches

And there was the opening of the school

New Britain

As I'm still trying to learn the different landmarks around the country, I sat in on a aeroplane flight over to New Britain. We were taking some translators out to meet up with another mission's helicopter so it could transfer them into their village.

There are some pretty amazing colours in the waters off PNG

 Unfortunately, whilst we could get within 2 miles of the airstrip, low cloud prevented us from being able to land. So went to a nearby airstrip to wait and see if the weather would improve.

To get mobile phone reception you had to go and stand on the other side of the 'haus win' where the guy in the blue shirt can just be spotted!

Being coastal, the weather here was better that day

 Typically, the cloud and rain had set in for the day, so we flew to the nearest town for the night. Moving meant we had better communications, a guesthouse to sleep in and fuel for the aircraft. Going home would have meant 4 hours of wasted flying.

I was a bit surprised to see this Land Rover, complete with British number plate, at the place we stayed

 The next morning the weather was lovely and we got into the airstrip without any problems.

Transferring the people and cargo between the 2 aircraft at the landing strip

 Apart from when Eyjafjallajökull erupted spectacularly on Iceland in 2010, I've not really had to worry much about volcanoes before. New Britain has a number of them that are active. Thankfully we get information from Australia about their status.

This photo was taken from the airstrip we landed at. The volcano is venting gas, but not emitting any ash.

We then headed home, enjoying some more of PNG's amazing scenery on the way.

An amazing blue river (the colour comes from the minerals in the hills that the river flows out of)

One of the many valleys that run through New Britain

Different days

Apologies for our recent silence. Reuben is growing up fast and keeping me occupied! Days float by in a haze of play, laundry, washing the dishes, changing nappies (diapers), e-mails, cooking and did I mention laundry?! Reuben likes to get out, so we often walk down to the store (we just have one shop on centre), go to a friend’s house, check our PO box (we love receiving mail, so please write to us!) or just go for a walk round our little Ukarumpa world. It’s a small world to be honest, but most days I am content.

Most days. It’s the small things that catch me out and accumulate until I feel stressed, emotional, tired, or all three. For example, about a month ago the store ran out of washing-up liquid. Ok, I thought, I have a few spare bottles…it will be fine. But the weeks passed and I worked my way through our supply. I began to wonder what to do and gradually got more and more worried. I started to dream about the household aisle in Tesco. Dreaming about washing-up liquid?! I knew it had to stop! We have an intranet with different forums and one of them is entitled ‘General Wanted’. Ashamed that I had not planned my washing-up liquid stash better, I reluctantly posted my request to purchase some washing-up liquid from someone. The problem is that it turns out that Americans have a different name for it (dish soap – perfectly sensible, but different), so it took a bit of explaining before it was clear what I wanted. Lots of people offered me their spare bottles, so that I was left in the surprising position of having to choose my donor. Where do they all get it from?! I felt relieved, but tired. I felt awkward because I could not make myself understood. I felt awkward that everyone else had washing-up liquid and I didn’t. I felt awkward because I had been so concerned about not having it. I wished I had bought more before I went home to have Reuben. But, in the midst of all the awkwardness, I also realised I had much to be thankful for!In spite of supply problems and cross-cultural misunderstandings, I experienced generosity and the start of a new friendship and all because there was no washing-up liquid in the store. God provided what I needed and more.

Most of the time we can get the basics in the store and my silly washing-up liquid story just made me more grateful for the things that are there. We live in a remote place, so you can’t always count on being able to have what you want. I have had to be more flexible about meal plans and often have a plan a, b and c. We are yet to reach d…my expectations have had to change and some days I cope better than others.

Whilst I dream about the rows of multi-coloured washing up liquid in Tesco (I’m still not over it I see...!), Duncan is out and about. The other day I had had a bad day. Reuben had screamed for no apparent reason for much of the day and I was struggling with mild flu. Duncan came home and excitedly showed me photographs and video from his trip that day. He had taken some dignitaries to a village where new school buildings had recently been constructed from money donated by this particular company. There was dancing, singing, traditional dress, stunning scenery and of course, the helicopter. 

Apparently these guys asked Duncan to take their photo and put it on Facebook!

His eyes were bright and he was full of stories I was desperately trying to focus on. To be honest, I was thinking about the amount of washing-up preparing dinner had generated! You see why I need washing –up liquid?! Sorry…FOCUS! When it got to my turn to talk, all I could think of was how many naps Reuben had taken, number of nappies changed, games played, how much time Reuben spent crying and what I had bought at the store.

I actually quite enjoy hanging the nappies out...

What very different days! We both do important stuff. I know that, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like it. Most days it does and I am so thankful for this special time with my gorgeous son. Most days I love it. Every day I love him and his jet-setting dad.

Aviation Medley

Here are a few photos from flights I've been on over the past couple of weeks...

I went flying on the Kodiak (aeroplane) to expand my knowledge of PNG landmarks. I was surprised (though I probably shouldn't have been) to also see Australia and Indonesia on this flight!

?

I was initially a bit confused as to what this sign was saying. I think it means The Evangelical Church of Papua New Guinea in Kawito (village), Gogodala (language) Bible Training Centre!

Heathrow eat your heart out!

It is flat out west...

... which gives some amazing river shapes.

And like some ancient monument...

...rises this rather large termite mound.

I've also managed some helicopter flying, landing in villages near and far:

Down in the South East

Out West...

...delivering a sawmill as a sling load, to help construct a literacy building.

Closer to home - in the Finisterre Mountains

PNG is such an amazing country with such wonderful landscapes and people.

Ride to Aviation

Early one Saturday morning I attached a camera to my helmet before I rode out to work (we don't normally work Saturdays, but we had been asked to do a particular job). It shows a little of the centre, going up past the local National High School and then on to Aviation. There aren't many people as they're more sensible than to be up at that time on a Saturday!

If the trip looks relatively smooth - I tried attaching the camera to the bike at first and the result was totally unwatchable! The tarmac is nice, though.

Community

It is hard to believe that we have been back in PNG for almost two weeks. We have spent the time readjusting to life here and getting over the jet lag. If we only had one word to sum up these past days, it would be community. When we arrived at our house, very tired after our long journey, we were greeted by cards, some presents, flowers and food. Over the next few days, people we knew came to say hello and relative strangers turned up bearing food and greetings. One of my favourite moments was when a lady I know very little phoned up and started, "Hello, I am from kitchen angels..." For a moment I heard heavenly music! We feel really blessed to have been met with such kindness in our early days as a new family here. It has been wonderful to have meals brought to us and I am already looking forward to returning the favour by going on the 'kitchen angels' list. These lovely ladies provide meals for people when they are ill, struggling or just arrived with a new baby - it is such a great idea and has really helped me get back into the swing gradually. It has also been great to reconnect with friends and introduce Reuben to them.

Our days of being cooked for have come to an end and now life is truly beginning again. I am learning to be a mum here and Duncan will shortly be the only helicopter pilot. We are not sure how it will go. We are sure that God has things for us to do in this place and has blessed us by putting us in a community that cares.

Reuben was given this bouncer and as you can see, he is really enjoying it!



Duncan and Reuben taking in the view