Weir in PNG

First of all, thank you for following our blog. It means so much to us to know that we have such a wonderful support team! We have learned that it will be possible for us to send updates via this blog, but we will not be able to read many e-mails. We will also not be able to send many letters. It is very expensive. As sad as this is, we know that it is only for a season! After this initial training, we will have regular e-mail access again. (14 weeks to go!)

These posts start in my journal, then are typed onto our laptop and then finally get e-mailed to our blog. When I sit down to "start" a post, it is so hard to decide what to share with all of you. Please forgive me for the randomness of my thoughts.

We are definitely in a third world country. That is obvious. We are also the minority, which warrants lots of stares when we go into town. We are out here in what feels like the middle of nowhere. I feel like we are just tiny specs on the lower right-hand corner of your world map. Even though we are so far away, it has not hit me yet. My eyes are still wide....and I'm still taking in the beautiful scenery, new tastes, interesting sounds and more. I am anxious to meet more of the people of PNG....or at least to start talking with those I meet. Our classes officially begin tomorrow. We will begin to learn the language, Tok Pisin! Currently, I only know a few phrases:

Moning (Good Morning)
Gut de (Midday Greeting)
Apinun (Good Afternoon)
Gut Nait (Good Evening)
Nem bilong me Adrienne
Nem bilong em Benjamin
Gutpela (That's Good)

The only phrases I use are "Moning" and "Apinun" (sounds like Hoppy Noon without the H).

Along with our language learning, we will be taking classes in anthropology- in hopes of learning more of the culture. We will also start training for a 1-mile swim test and a 3-day hike. Yikes!

By tomorrow, most of our classmates will be here. There are 17 adults and about 13 children. Ben is the youngest. Only he and one other boy (a 4 year old) will be in the nursery. The rest of the kids are in grade school or are teenagers. We took Ben to the nursery yesterday and today. It is run by national women who are very nice and attentive. After two hours with Ben, they told me he was a "gutpela" boy and that he talks A LOT! He is a talker- more then when we left. He is putting strings of thoughts and words together. It's great...but we are ready for him to have more friends soon....so he can talk to them some!

Let me give you a little idea of where we are living and what it is like. We are in Madang- near the coast. But, our training center is 1200 feel above sea level. At the first resort that we stayed, we could walk from our room to the Pacific Ocean. Here, we had to ride the Dina (a PMV-style truck) up a bumpy, steep mountain. We are at the top of a mountain named NobNob (prounounced Nob-e-Nob). We are staying in the dormitory section....all one story and connected to all the other rooms. If you went to Campbell University, it is very similar to Bryan Hall. There are rooms all around an open-air courtyard. The bathrooms (communal style- one for men and one for women) are to the far end. The nursery conveniently opens on the other end of the courtyard. There is a sand pit right by the door to the nursery. Ben loves playing in the sand with his friend Jessica (pronounced Yes-sica). Her parents are from Holland.

The campus has an office that is air-conditioned where we keep our computers away from the moisture and humidity of our rooms. There is a little store, a clinic with a nurse, a dining hall, little houses for the staff and a classroom with a library.

Meals have been surprisingly GOOD! Eventually, I think that we will have to cook our meals and clean it all up ourselves....but for now, the staff has been preparing it all. Missy is in charge of the kitchen. She is from Australia and adds a nice Aussie flare to the food and drink. I am already thinking of recipes I need to ask for so that I can show off back in the states. Today, two people had birthdays, so we all got cake and ice cream. Ben LOVED that. It actually made me a little sad....don't get me wrong, I LOVE ice cream, but it reminded me of Ben's birthday party back in the states....and all the birthday celebrations we had for him on the road around Christmas. Made me miss you all....and I digress....

Oh! On a happier note, I HAVE to tell you about the showers here! You can take either a cold or a HOT shower! Score! To get a hot shower, a fire is lit behind the bathhouse in the early morning. The furnace is named Martha. She heats up the water for us! Then, there is a bucket which you fill with hot water. You then take the bucket to the shower where there is another bucket hanging from the ceiling. You lower that bucket, pour in the hot water, raise it up again, jump in the shower and then turn the knob. It takes a little work, but it is totally worth it for hot water. It is a little old-timey....but the hot water is so nice on sore muscles! Don't tell anyone, but I take at least two showers a day- one hot and one cold. I actually just found out today that there is no limit on the number of showers we can take because we are in the rainy season. Supposedly, if it were August, we would be limited on the number of showers we can take. I am thanking God right now for !
the rainy season....and for multiple showering opportunities. I think I even said to someone today, "Who needs TV when you have hot showers?" You probably don't understand, but that's OK.

That's about all for now. I do have a few prayer requests:

Please pray:
that we will learn the language
that we will not get sick (malaria, migraines, heat exhaustion)
that we will be able to sleep at night....and will adjust to the heat.
that we will not get homesick too often or for too long
for our family and friends at home who miss us
that we will make friends easily with other students and nationals
that we will have a learner-attitude
that we will maintain a close relationship with the Lord
that Adrienne does not get cut off from showers!!

We miss you all.....