Happy New Year!

In the last month we had the excitement of a visit from my (Clare's) parents, Rob and Jenny Noble.  We all had an excellent three weeks.  The bulk of their time was spent here in Ukarumpa, but we also spent a couple of days on the coast.  My parents were struck by the beauty of the place and enjoyed getting to know friends of ours from many different countries, all here to support Bible Translation in various different ways.  The best part was being able to spend time together as a family, and of course Levi and Heidi loved every minute that they got to be with their Grandparents. 


My parents were excited to eat bananas from their garden!

Andrew's Blog

Have you visited Andrew's blog?  If you'd like to know about vehicle rescues, bridge crossing problems, international travel and many other fascinating topics related to being a missionary motorbike mechanic, visit http://pngandrew.blogspot.com/ and read stories written from Andrew's unique perspective.  As of this week you can subscribe by email, and have new entries come direct to your inbox.

For those of you who would rather see pictures of family life than of vehicles and machinery, here is a photo that you won't find on Andrew's blog:

Winter may be approaching for many of you, but that's certainly not the case here in Papua New Guinea.  While there is no chance of riding in a sleigh, Levi and Heidi are enjoying their rides in a one dog open wagon!

Falling Down Bridge

Vegetable Morning

Everyday living is certainly different here from when we are in our home countries.   Here is a list of the jobs I did this morning, most of which I have never done outside PNG:

-Went to the morning vegetable market, buying from local sellers who go home again at 8am .

 
-Planted parsley seeds (dried herbs and spices are expensive to buy here) .
-Roasted and shelled fresh peanuts (with 'help' from Levi).
-Rescued Heidi from the hot red pepper she put in her mouth (though actually she seemed to be enjoying it).
-Washed dishes by hand (yes, I know that many of you do this too!)
-Soaked vegetables in a bleach solution to make sure they were safe to eat (as you can see, we have a good selection).

 

-Prepared and cooked 'veggie-bean casserole' using food bought at the market.

I also make yoghurt and tortillas on a fairly regular basis.   As you may know, I'm really not someone who is fast or efficient when it comes to doing jobs around the home.  Given the work that is involved in producing healthy meals from scratch, as well as the dust and mud that easily gets brought into our house, I'm really glad that we are able to employ Hana, who lives in a local village, to help with household jobs one and a half days a week.



I'll soon be taking on more responsibilities at Ukarumpa International School.  I don't see how I would be able to do this without Hana to help me at home and with the children.