In five weeks we will leave PNG for ten months of home assignment.
As well as making preparations for our time away, I'm working hard to get the house ready for others to live here. One part of that is getting rid of items that our family no longer needs. There aren't many recycling programmes in Papua New Guinea, but that doesn't mean that things get thrown away!
Some items are given directly to colleagues and local friends; these items range from used plastic food or drink containers, all of which will get reused, to clothes that our children have outgrown but which other children in Ukarumpa or around the country will appreciate. Boxed up items can be donated to the 'Everything Sale', an annual event run by the teenagers here to raise money towards their youth centre. Some things are sold to colleagues; there is no Ebay here and the range of products available in local stores is limited so people appreciate the opportunity to buy things from each other.
It always amazes me how many lids I find with no containers to go with them. Those, at least, will get thrown away if no matching container appears!
We would appreciate prayer as we enter this time of transition:
*Heidi is concerned about being away from PNG, from her friends and from our dog. Levi was distressed when he heard that he'd have to pack up his bedroom before we left. Eowyn has no memory of living outside PNG. Please pray for all of our children as they face these big changes in their lives. Of course there is a lot to look forward to as well. They are most excited about seeing family. Heidi also wants to see a giraffe and Levi is looking forward to visiting science museums.
*We are grateful for the opportunities that we have to connect with friends and churches back home. It's been encouraging to see our schedule start to fill up:
* Please pray for Andrew and I as we work to complete many tasks that we want to get done before our departure on 6 March. An added complication is that Andrew can't work on some of these jobs until spare parts arrive from overseas; he'd appreciate prayer for these parts to arrive quickly.
*We are thrilled to hear that there should be someone to live in our house and care for our dog from May onwards. We are praying that someone would be willing to look after our dog in the first couple of months that we are away.
As well as making preparations for our time away, I'm working hard to get the house ready for others to live here. One part of that is getting rid of items that our family no longer needs. There aren't many recycling programmes in Papua New Guinea, but that doesn't mean that things get thrown away!
Some items are given directly to colleagues and local friends; these items range from used plastic food or drink containers, all of which will get reused, to clothes that our children have outgrown but which other children in Ukarumpa or around the country will appreciate. Boxed up items can be donated to the 'Everything Sale', an annual event run by the teenagers here to raise money towards their youth centre. Some things are sold to colleagues; there is no Ebay here and the range of products available in local stores is limited so people appreciate the opportunity to buy things from each other.
It always amazes me how many lids I find with no containers to go with them. Those, at least, will get thrown away if no matching container appears!
We would appreciate prayer as we enter this time of transition:
*Heidi is concerned about being away from PNG, from her friends and from our dog. Levi was distressed when he heard that he'd have to pack up his bedroom before we left. Eowyn has no memory of living outside PNG. Please pray for all of our children as they face these big changes in their lives. Of course there is a lot to look forward to as well. They are most excited about seeing family. Heidi also wants to see a giraffe and Levi is looking forward to visiting science museums.
*We are grateful for the opportunities that we have to connect with friends and churches back home. It's been encouraging to see our schedule start to fill up:
* Please pray for Andrew and I as we work to complete many tasks that we want to get done before our departure on 6 March. An added complication is that Andrew can't work on some of these jobs until spare parts arrive from overseas; he'd appreciate prayer for these parts to arrive quickly.
*We are thrilled to hear that there should be someone to live in our house and care for our dog from May onwards. We are praying that someone would be willing to look after our dog in the first couple of months that we are away.
