Change of Plan for Clare

This month's photo is from 2005.  Some of you will remember that I (Clare) first came to Papua New Guinea (PNG) to teach grade two children at Ukarumpa International School.  This is the school that Levi, Heidi and Eowyn now attend, alongside children of other Bible Translation workers.  

Over the last 13 years, I've served at the school in a variety of different areas.  Between mid-June and January I'll be taking on the role of temporary (and part-time) principal.  I'm excited about this opportunity; I can already see that all I've learnt in my years of missionary care and parenting will be useful in this role. But I am aware that it will also be very challenging!

Over the next two weeks I'll be handing over my work in the staff care department as well as ending my year of teaching mathematics to students with special educational needs.  I'll be asking many questions of the current principal too and starting to move into the new role.   That's an awful lot of juggling!   And I'm also recovering from a virus that I caught while working at the school.  I am very grateful for your prayers and for a God who I can fully rely on.

Thank you so much for your love and support towards us all; we certainly couldn't be doing this alone.

School Holiday Fun

At the moment our children are enjoying their five-week school holiday.  Here is their guide to staying entertained while living in a remote location:

1) Take the lid of the crate that came by ship filled with shoes, clothes and other items that we'll be using between now and 2021
2) Draw pictures (in this case, of a light bulb, a child and a cat)
3) Cut out head holes
4) Stick your head through and get your Mum to take pictures

Next week, Levi (9) will begin Grade 4 and Heidi (6) starts Grade 2 at Ukarumpa International School. Eowyn (4) has another year of pre-school; on some mornings she'll stay home with Mum or with Mama Hana, a wonderful Papua New Guinean lady who helps us at home.

High School Graduation Day

In the 2005/6 school year, I (Clare) taught grade 2 at Ukarumpa International School (UIS):

Tonight, many of those students will be graduating from UIS.  This is what they look like now:

It has been wonderful to watch these children grow up into young men and women.  It's also very rewarding to think of all the ways their parents have been able to support Bible translation in the eleven years that I've known them.  Some did this by being directly involved in the completion of four New Testament translations.  Others supported the work in other ways: Planes that carry translators to remote locations were flown and maintained, students were taught, cars were fixed and the infrastructure of the Ukarumpa centre was maintained. 

Next month Heidi will begin Kindergarten in the classroom shown in the top photo.  Levi will move to grade 2.  Just like the parents who have gone before us, Andrew and I will continue to support Bible translation in Papua New Guinea, knowing that our children are receiving a great education at UIS.

Thank you for the part you play in helping us to continue serving here.   

End of School Year and Film Recommendation

It's the end of the school year here in Ukarumpa. 

This means:

*Friends are leaving, some of them for good.
*Other friends are returning from home leave.
*I (Clare) have finished my semester of teaching Kindergarten part-time (phew!)
*Levi and Heidi are enjoying a five week school break before starting Grade One and Preschool in July.
*Andrew's various jobs continue to keep him busy.  This week his work has included Executive Committee business, rescuing a vehicle that broke down an hour away from our centre, ordering parts for motorbikes, helping newcomers learn about life in PNG and a two-day trip to the town of Lae on Autoshop business.

We have often mentioned the Aitape West Translation Project, which we help to support in different ways.  Wycliffe USA has produced an excellent documentary about this multi-language project, including the moving story of how it got started.  The video can be found at www.wycliffe.org/arop.

And finally, here is this month's photo. Eowyn now loves to join in fully with our daily walks.

Recruiting Teachers

My official work assignment here in Papua New Guinea involves recruiting teachers to come and serve at Ukarumpa International School (UIS).  We have a huge need for more teachers, so this role is keeping me busy! 

Although I've been involved at the school for nine years, I have even more appreciation for the teachers now that Levi is a pupil there.  We're very grateful that he is able to get a good education at UIS that will prepare him as well as possible for his future.

Part of my work involves writing to teachers who may be interested in teaching here; another aspect is making the needs of our school known as widely as possible. 

One thing I've been working on lately is sending out weekly prayer requests, asking people to pray for various teacher needs.

This week I'm asking people to pray that we'll have all the teachers we need for the next semester, which starts after Christmas.  One of the classes we still don't have a teacher for is Kindergarten (roughly equivalent to UK 'Reception').

If you recognise the boy standing next to the teacher on the back row, you'll understand why this is of particular interest to me!


We're always grateful for your prayer.  Here are some things you may like to pray for with us:
* Please pray that God would provide a Kindergarten teacher for Levi's class next semester.
* We also are in need of several new teachers for the 2015-16 school year, as many of our current teachers will no longer be here.
* Pray for wisdom for me as I work out how best to use the time that I have available for teacher recruitment.
* Andrew would appreciate prayer for wisdom as he takes part in the next Executive Committee session from 19-28 November. 

June News

Falling Down Bridge

For One Morning Only

I (Clare) recently had a new experience: teaching preschool for the morning. There is no agency the school can contact to send for a substitute/supply teacher, so if a teacher is unable to work one day, members of the community might be asked to fill in.