Dear friends and family,
Hello again from the bush of Papua New Guinea. We are all doing fine and beginning to adjust. Below is a continuation of our journey from Wewak to May River.
Saying our goodbyes to our new friends at the Sepik Mission in Wewak was easy and hard. The girls had made new friends and now we were moving on. We left for the River at 9:30pm to ride through the night. After two other stops picking up more travelers, we were finally on our way.
Resting quietly on the thin, rough boards they called seats the PMV(public motor vehicle) continued down the dusty road. All of a sudden we were jolted awake and I found myself extended up away from the board I had previously been sitting on. I grabbed Alissa who was resting on my lap and realized it was only a hole in the road we hit, plus Alissa didn’t even wake up. Many times during the night the same experience was repeated to eventually find ourselves back on the boards again to try and catch a few more winks of sleep.
We approached the River to immediately begin transferring our supplies into the boat that would take us to May River Mission. We would be traveling with the clinic boat and the two nurses that were stationed this year. It was a welcoming sight to finally see water and not dust flying in our faces. The girls and I watched with anticipation as our belongings, food and other items were loaded on the boat to venture out into another part of the unknown.
Even though the boat trip took all day and into the evening before we arrived, we had a good time. Between rain and sunshine we finally arrived late in the evening at May River. We climbed out of the boat and waited for our things to be unloaded. People began coming from different directions to help carry our things. In the darkness of the night we followed others down the dirt path, past the church and up the steep hill to the place we would call home for our first year. Out of breath I could only see shadows of the house.
Abby and Alissa immediately went through the house with flashlights choosing which room would be theirs. All I wanted to really do is sleep, so we found two rooms for us to bed down for the night; One for our family and the other for Dale.
In the morning as I Looked out the front door a beautiful sight met my eyes. We were located on the top of a hill along with the clinic and medical housing. We could look all around to surrounding villages, the winding River and the hills beyond. What a wonderful place for God’s mission to be located. I hope and pray that we are His shining light on top of a hill.
Looking around the house I noticed we had four bedrooms, an office and pantry besides a good size kitchen and sitting area. I have a kitchen sink and many cupboards that I will hang curtains on. A big kitchen table is going to be really useful with eating and preparing meals on. The windows all have screens, but most of them need replacing. I hope to purchase material to make curtains for the windows and cupboards. The first thing I did was start scrubbing the walls with bleach. They were dirty, but to me it looked like mold. There is a full size wooden bed off the ground in our room and then single beds in the other rooms. We bought mattresses before coming and they fit perfectly on the beds. Our room and the classroom have closets to hang clothes in. The house is made of wood and is off the ground with posts.
Along with the house that God blessed us with I was also provided with a gas range stove top that I can use to cook on. We have enjoyed “kumu”, which is greens of any type. “I never imagined that I would eat leaves off a tree”, said Alissa. We have a tree out back which is called a two-leaf tree, and it is good to eat the leaves. It tastes like spinach when boiled. We have eaten Rice in coconut cream which is really tasty. Sego with a little salt and ketchup is tolerable, but great when hungry. Sego Pancakes are one of the girl’s favorite foods. We have banana, Papaya, Bread fruit trees in our back yard now and also pit pit(tall like sugar cane, but taste like sawdust when cooked), yum. I am learning to cook many other things and also how to live off the ground. Even though we do not have these in plenty, I am hoping that my garden begins producing soon.
Behind the house is a hill that belongs to the mission. We paid a man to clear the land so I could have space for a garden. With sweat pouring down my face and back I dug on. It sounds like my garden back in Kentucky, but wait, it is not the same. I have been learning how to garden on a hill that when it rains, which is most every night, I slip and slide. I dug steps in the clay soil throughout my garden so I could get to different areas better. I have been having so much fun planting seeds and transplanting other plants. My corn, watermelon and squash seeds are coming up, but I am waiting for my eggplant and tomatoes which have not made an appearance yet. I have my own pineapple garden but it needs lots of prayer. I have transplanted Taro and banana slips too.
Dale Goodson was such a big help to us as we began settling in and we cannot thank him enough. He helped John get the water tank on the roof and connect the pump so we could have water in the house which turned out to be such a blessing. This enabled us to have a running toilet and a shower in the house. This really was more than I had even hoped for. Since the weather is sticky and hot we all have really enjoyed the cold showers, yes, even me. Dale also helped John put the solar panel on the roof and get it connected too so we could have some power for the computer and a few lights. I began my tasks of learning how to survive in the bush.
Bending over a basin in the hot sun, sweat pouring down my face and little eyes watching every move that I made was what I experienced when first washing clothes outside. I am learning to share my space and surroundings with everyone who comes to visit and stay to watch.
Our first assignment is learning the language and since John has worked with the men more than I with the ladies, he is doing quite well. He just gave his first talk in Tok Pisin and I was very proud of him. You could tell from the people how pleased they were that he was attempting to speak their language. I have been spending a lot of my time trying to get settled and get my garden going. Life here takes so much more time to do anything so we have to allow for that. I have purchased books which teach children how to learn tok Pisin and I will be using them. We have been visiting church members in May River and other villages by canoe. It has been neat meeting people in their own homes which are on posts because of the level of water now and different times of the year.
We have taken a motor canoe to Ama and visited the village there. What a welcome we got from most every village we passed on the way. The missionaries there have prayed for so long for a missionary to come and they were delighted to finally meet us.
Ama is a very nice village but more remote than May River. The airstrip there is very long and has been cleared quite well. We can travel by boat or by plane when going to Ama, but it depends on the time of year for the boat travel. The canoe would take around a day to get to Just May River and then 26 more hours to town.
The people provided food for us to eat and also a hut to stay in. There was a small stream behind the hut which we used for “wash wash”(bathing). Walking through the village we met church members and many others that were sick. We were asked to visit some sick people. Even though we were not prepared for that, we did help some that had malaria, but didn’t have anything else with us. There is no clinic in Ama so if the people get sick, unless that travel out by boat, they eventually get worse and die. We tried to help one lady who was so weak. She had been sick for close to a year and we heard later that after we left she had died. Wendy, who was another lady so very sick, came back to May River with us and they treated her for Pneumonia. They thought she also might have TB. There were six in the family that we fed for a 1 ½ weeks and then they had a ride back to Ama. After being back in Ama for a little over a week, we heard she had died too. We took a saliva test before she left and we need to find out if that is what she had, because it could be spreading through the village and other villages too.
The church there has around 35 interest and no baptized members. They are eager to learn more about Jesus though. They are still meeting in the little church that was built by Michael, who at the time was visiting another village. When arriving back in May River, we continued getting more settled.
I have not made friends with the mosquito’s yet and I don’t ever plan too. Since it is dry season right now they are not that bad, but still bothersome and they itch terribly. Abby had bites all up and down her legs, scratched and picked them too much until the bites became infected and were turning into small ulcers. We had to put her on amoxicillin and dress her sores twice a day. They are doing much better now, thank the Lord.
Alissa complained that she felt hot, her ears hurt and she just wasn’t feeling good. I took her temp and it was 102 F. We looked into her ears and found them quite red. The nurse came over and checked her for Malaria and Praise the Lord, she didn’t have that. She had an upper respiratory infection, so we put her on Amoxicillin. She is now feeling quite well again. God is good.
I have started the girls back on their school work and they are doing quite well. We heard that our crate is coming around the 25th of May. We will be traveling to Wewak the middle of June. We are trying to decide how to bring the crate in, because it isn’t safe to leave it in town anywhere.
The weather is quite hot during the day and that is when we usually do our school work. The house stays cool and there usually is always a nice breeze that blows through. I try to work in the garden during the evening hours when it is cooler outside.
We have found that there is a big need for clothes of all ages. These people wear clothes until it is not wearable anymore. The church has asked for clothes. The church in Ama has asked for the same thing, but there, the children run around we nothing to wear and the men and women have clothes that have holes and are torn. We will see what the mission in town can provide. Also we would like to provide song books and Bibles in Tok Pisin.
The church in May River is struggling and there is many back sliders that we need to visit and pray for. There is a problem with drinking and parties that go on late into the night. Please keep May River and the surrounding villages in your prayers as we step out to reach them for Jesus Christ.
May God bless you all.
Love the Lello Bunch
