Heading Out and Cleaning Up

Day 63: Students left for the village this morning and now that all is quiet on the POC front...

…it’s time to clean up the kitchen.  Here is the amazing crew of women we had the pleasure or serving with for the past eight weeks.  We’d have been lost without them…as well they know.  <smile>

Packing Day

Day 62: The students begin their 4-week village stay tomorrow so it's time to pack cargo into the truck and sandwiches into bags.  (The sandwiches are for their first meal in the village.)

A Whirlwind Trip to Ukarumpa

Day 55/56:  The hospital in Madang had all the right doctors when we needed them, but not the supplies to make a cast for Claire’s foot—especially one that would stand up to the rigors of international travel!

So after consulting with a doctor at the clinic back in Ukarumpa, we decided it would be best to take her there for a cast.  Again…God worked out all the details.  The SIL aviation department was able to divert a flight to pick us up on Tuesday afternoon and take us back to Madang on Wednesday morning.

Claire was a bit embarrassed by all the drama of having to be carried and carted…but PNG is just not shall I say…a handicap accessible country.  Crutches and wheelchairs are rare commodities here.

Once we got to the clinic, the doctor took a couple more x-rays of Claire’s foot and checked for tendon or ligament damage.  Fortunately he didn’t discovered any injuries beyond what we already knew from the x-ray in Madang. Then he made Claire a fiberglass cast.  Claire got to choose the color.  Maybe this is so we don’t loose her in all the airports we’ll be traveling through in two weeks?

 

The doctor gave Claire a quick lesson on using crutches.  She was pretty nervous but we reassured her she’d be flying around on them in no time.

 

 

A wonderful friend had us over for dinner that night and arranged for Claire’s friends to come visit.  Claire had been really missing them while at POC so we thank God for meeting this need as well.  Might have even made the break all worthwhile.  OK, Claire says…”No, but still nice.”  <wink>

 

Broken Bones

Day 53: While visiting the ocean this afternoon, Claire jumped into the shallow water from a concrete ledge and broke three bones in her foot. God in his wonderful providence arranged for a doctor to be at the scene of the accident who helped us get to the hospital. God also arranged for THE radiologist, THE orthopedic surgeon and THE senior doctor of the "emergency room" to be at the hospital on a Sunday afternoon right when we needed them. (You have to have lived in PNG to realize what a miracle that is.) We're praising God!

Independence Day

Day 41:  Today Papua New Guinea celebrates its 39th birthday.  The kitchen ladies had the day off so this is what I spent the day doing.  Fortunately, we did get to see some of the preparations over the weekend.  This elaborate house boat was in Madang harbor on Saturday.

Bread-baking Class

Day 30: We had the first of three bread-baking classes today. Ten students each made a loaf of bread or a dozen rolls. (All without the use of any electrical appliances.) We didn't get photos of the finished products but they turned out great!

Hauskuk Demo Day

Day 27 is Hauskuk Demo Day! We prepared various items for the students to practice cooking over a wood fire. No bonfires here! It's hot work but we had Mexican stew, greens, fried kaukau (sweet potato), battered onion rings, fry bread, and pancakes. They did great!