Christmas 2012 Recap

I suppose before the New Year hits that I better do a recap of Christmas 2012. 

Christmas came and went fast since we got back from PNG just one week earlier. Ben and I spent the saturday before finishing up shopping. Christmas Eve we spent at Ben's grandpa's house with his extended family.

Christmas morning we spent with Ben's family, and then we spent that night with my family. It was a fun day. Sophie was thoroughly spoiled, and Ben and I received a lot of fun gifts as well!

She got a shopping cart (amongst many other gifts) from Grandpa and Grandma Miller...

She read books with Aunt Katie...

She played with her new baby doll from Grandma Walton...

And we all played a fun game that Nate and Kelly introduced to us at the Walton Christmas where we had to try to unwrap a very securely taped while wearing a pair of gloves and a santa hat. Whoever got the gift opened got to keep it. Nate won and got to keep the Reeses :)

I have a sweet husband who knows the way to my heart :) We have discussed for several months about getting me a nice camera since we just had a cheaper digital camera. The other camera (which took it's last photo below) worked well enough, but now that we have kids, I'd like to be able to take nicer pictures of them. He chose the model and color of camera after talking to several people, and I love it! He also got me lots of other fun goodies, like dark chocolate, beef jerky, and socks. And to top it, he bought me an egg slicer as a joke (he said he walked into a store and wanted to buy the dumbest kitchen gadget he could find- he did well!) and mace (which isn't a joke... he fully expects me to carry it in my purse and use it if necessary).

We are so thankful for wonderful families to celebrate Christmas with. We are also thankful that Christmas is a time where we can reflect on the birth of our Lord and Savior who has blessed us abundantly.

PNG Recap Video

Chris Jones helped us put together a recap video of our time in PNG as well as some information about our future plans. Here it is!

A Wife's and Mother's Role [PNG]

As a wife and mother, I've often wondered what my role will look like in tribal missions. During our time at Bible school, we had many speakers come through, and we often heard over and over the husbands say, "If my wife didn't stay home and keep up the house and home-school the kids, I would never be able to do what I'm doing" ("do what I'm doing" = learning an unwritten language, turning it into a written language, teaching the people to read and write, teaching the people the Bible, and translating the Bible). A part of me was always frustrated when I heard this. I love being a wife and mother... I enjoy cooking and keeping my house clean, I love spending time with Sophie, and I'm guessing that some day I'll really enjoy teaching my kids since I liked school myself. But still... I'm good at other things. I'm good at language and at English-type things... I think I'll do well at language learning, linguistics, and translation. And those are HUGE parts of what New Tribes Missions does. So I didn't know how to reconcile in my heart that God had given me a love for and a giftings in these areas, yet I might never use them.

Going to Papua New Guinea for a month allowed Ben and I to get a very realistic view of what tribal missions is like and entails. Not only were we able to talk to a number of veteran missionaries, but we were also able to experience so much. 

I was thankful for our trip because I was able to make peace in my heart with what my role will look like. I still don't know exactly what it will look like. But I did conclude that I am a wife and mother, first, and I am okay with that, and really... I'm more than happy to be that. Being a wife and mother overseas, especially in a third world country, is more work than it is in the states. Cooking from scratch,  trying to make sure no one gets dehydrated, going to town/market (Walmart is wonderful, incase you've ever wondered), laundry, homeschooling is a must rather than an option... and I was able to see that. Even more importantly, I was able to see how important it is for my husband that I be a wife and mother first. In most (probably all) of the countries NTM works in, men hold the dominant role, so it is crucial that the tribal men are the ones who hear and acknowledge the Word of God if anyone else in the tribe is going to. And if they are going to hear it, then it is going to be most effective from a male missionary. In order for my husband to take this position, he must spend A LOT of time with the men in the tribe. He must be willing to go on hunting trips with them, cut down trees with them, visit neighboring tribes with them (which can mean overnight trips), etc. Through these types of experiences, Ben will not only learn the language well, but he will also gain respect and friendship with the men of the tribe which will have a key role when it comes time to share the gospel.

So seeing this, I've accepted that I am first and foremost a mother, and that truly, this role will be extremely important for me to accept in order for the gospel to get to our tribe as fast as it can.

But I was also encouraged that this is not all  I have to be. I was encouraged that my memory is better than I thought. I know I used to have a good memory... but since becoming a mother, I feel like half of my brain cells have died. However, while in Pei, I was encouraged that I was able to remember words that the Pei people taught me without having to write them down. I even still remember almost all of the words that they taught me, a couple of weeks later. That's encouraging.

I was also encouraged because I talked with several missionary wives who are in the process of phasing out of their tribes with their families (they have finished translating and are establishing national elders for their tribal churches), and while none of them said they were 100% fluent, a number of the ladies told me that they were fluent enough to be able to communicate well with the ladies and understand all that was said to them. This is cool and exciting. But ALSO, several of them talked about how they helped with the translation work. Double cool and exciting. And they did all of this while maintaining their homes and families.

I don't know exactly how God is going to use me when Ben and I move overseas. Maybe I'll get to do more than I hope, and maybe I'll only be able to do less. But I do know that I've found peace with the fact that God will guide us as a family and show us how much we can handle. And I know that he won't allow these gifts and passions to go unused, whether they are used in ways that I envision now or not.

Sophie helping Mama cook

Shredding up a chicken... but first, cleaning him up

Market time! Sophie didn't love being grabbed at in the heat

She loved making cinnamon rolls best... I wonder why

Arriving in Pei... these were not tears of joy

Eating some Sepik fruit with Pei people

Cooking pizza in Pei

On our way home from Pei- Sophie fell asleep between the boat and plane rides

Praise God from whom all Blessings Flow [PNG]

Ben and I can’t say that we particularly heard a call from God to go into missions in any audible or vision-type sense. Rather, we both went on short-term mission trips in 2006 that opened our eyes to missions and to the world, and we both returned thinking that God was going to use us in missions. The process since then has been that God has slowly, but in His perfect timing, revealed to us what that path would look like.

So while we didn’t receive any amazing calling to missions, we do know that God wants the whole world to hear the gospel, and that means that some people must go and some people must send. Through our time here, seeing the incredible cost it is to allocate into and work in a tribal location, we are so thankful for those who stay home and work hard to keep missionaries on the field. However, we feel confident that God is leading us to be those who go. He has blessed our family in abundant ways that will allow us to survive in difficult, bushy locations, and we want to praise him for these blessings.

1.     We are healthy. We don’t have any chronic illnesses, we don’t have any recurring serious sicknesses, we have good eyesight and hearing, we have all of our limbs and bones in contact. I (Alisha) even have extremely healthy and fairly easy pregnancies. We have so much to be thankful for in this category.

2.     We have high pain tolerances. We both can handle quite a bit of discomfort and pain before breaking.

3.     We are adaptable. All of us- Sophie included. So thankful for this. We are laid-back and can take new situations in stride.

4.     We have childhoods that have helped us to prepare. We both grew up on hobby farms and worked outside often to help with chores, animals, and gardens.

5.     We do not become easily attached to people or things. While we will miss our families, friends, and homes immensely when we move overseas for long-term, we are able to let go of things easier than others and are not home- bodies. While it is sometimes hard and sad to leave and sell things, we are thankful that God helps us to quickly move on and adjust.

6.     We are independent. Working in tribal missions means that you must be willing to spend time apart from your significant other. With meetings, survey trips (trips where you look into different tribal locations), building trips (to build your own home but also to help others build if you have skills), and the amount of time that you must spend language learning, you will be apart from your significant other a number of times. While we sure do miss each other when apart (absence makes the heart grow fonder), God has been good to give us independence that helps us endure well when apart.

7.     We have skills that can be used well. Ben has great construction and hard-working skills, I have a  fairly good memory that should help with language learning… we are thankful for these skills.

8.     We both grew up in the church and have had good Bible training. While there is still much we could learn, God has equipped us well with knowing the Bible.

9.     We have extremely supportive people in our lives… family, friends, Christ’s Covenant Church, Merriam Christian Chapel

10. Other small blessings that certainly aren’t necessary but that we appreciate so much… neither of us  appear to get rashes easy, neither of us gets bit by mosquitos easy (I – Alisha – think I only got one mosquito bite the whole time), neither of us gets burnt easy… Sophie’s skin doesn’t seem to fare quite as well, but thankfully she does not get super upset by bug bites and rashes.

     We are so, so thankful to God for all of these blessings and hope that we will never lose sight of the fact that these are blessings that should be used for his glory. We are not special people or more important because we plan to head into missions. We simply have been blessed in specific ways that allow us to be those who go. And we recognize similarly that God has blessed others in different ways to be used in different positions to get the gospel to the nations.

     Romans 12:3-5
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Love/Hate Relationship [PNG]

I wrote this post right after we got back from the Pei tribe so that I wouldn't forget the little things. Wanted to post pictures first, though, so am just now posting this :) Just wanted to share some things that I grew to have a love/hate relationship with while in PNG, and particularly in Pei.

-Rain: I know some people always love rain. I don’t mind rain (or thunderstorms) particularly when I’m inside… but when I know we’re going to be outside a lot, I don’t love rain. I don’t love the mud that it creates, I don’t love that you’re just a wet mess then. But I also love rain. When it’s SO STINKIN’ hot, rain cools it down incredibly. In the tribe, rain was also necessary in order to have clean drinking water. You use the water that comes from rain to get clean drinking water (and clean shower water and washing water). You also need rain when in the Pei tribe because you get there by boat, so the water has to be high enough in the river to keep the boat moving. So it’s a big deal.

-Sun: I’m a summer girl. I really love the summer. I would be completely happy to live in Florida my entire life. But when you live in a place with no AC (and in the tribe, no fans), the sun is FRYING. In the tribe, it was pretty hot inside (thankfully I deal well with heat even when pregnant, but it was still hot, especially when cooking). I felt most bad for the guys who were building homes and working right in the sun for 8+ hours a day. I would walk outside for 10 minutes and be ready to go back in or find shade. But I also loved the sun because it meant no mud, less mosquitos, dry clothes,  and clear flying weather.

-Clothes: For the most part, I really love clothes. I’m so thankful I have the luxury of owning many clothes and I enjoy new clothes. But when it’s hot out and the dress code expects more clothing than you would prefer to be wearing, clothing is just a hot, sweaty mess. Plus, it gets dirty. And stays dirty. Plus, it gets ruined easily when it is continually being dried in the hot sun.

-Planes: I really don’t love to travel long distances in cars or in planes. But I particularly don’t love to travel when I’m pregnant, and traveling in a hot plane while pregnant and holding your toddler on your lap is unpleasant. I have puked on two flights so far during our trip. As much as I do not enjoy being in the plane, I am SO thankful for how much quicker travel is because of planes. I can’t imagine the months that it took for missionaries to get to far off lands in years past when boat was the only way to travel.

-Being a Mother: I feel like I shouldn’t even put this as a category because I don’t ever hate being a mother even though there are parts of parenting I particularly dislike (disciplining, the early sleepless nights). Moving to another country  - or visiting another country- that is very different from your home country is particularly stressful as a mother since not only do you have to adjust, but also you have to help your children adjust. You feel bad that they have to sleep in uncomfortable situations and be stared at and grabbed at. And it’s just harder to get things done in awkward living situations (a bush home that has shaky floors and holes and no lights) when you have to keep an eye on a toddler. However, being a mother is such a blessing here as it naturally draws attention to you. Everyone loves the white baby. It’s an easy “in” to getting to know the people. I can go out and sit with the ladies and learn some language without particularly feeling like I need to say or do much. It happens naturally when a child is involved. The Pei tribal ladies (and children) ADORED Sophie.

-Bush Houses: I feel like I also shouldn’t put this as a category, but for the opposite reason as the one above… it’s hard to say that I actually LOVED the bush home we stayed in. It was dark, the floor is shaky, there are holes in random spots, it’s hot, you can hear everything really loud outside (including in the middle of the night), and there are bugs abundant. Oh, and there’s no toilet or shower, let alone any other luxuries (I did get to sleep on a blow-up air mattress and sit on a camping chair- both were blessings at 7 months pregnant). However, there were a few things nice about a bush home. First, it didn’t matter if you poured water all over the floor. It would dry. So Sophie played with water on the floor a lot. Also, you could drop food right down the holes in the floor and the dogs would come get it (so if you have a messy child or have uneaten leftovers, you have an easy solution). Also, because it’s so dark, you don’t notice the bugs (ants, mosquitos, cockroaches… and also rats) as much as you would if there were lights… which is a blessing to me. I’d prefer not to know how many are crawling around. And it was always important to keep in mind that there were people who spent a lot of time (a year, we found out) building this home that had walls and a roof over our head who were giving it up so we had a place to stay while building more permanent homes for our friends.

-Mosquito Nets: Pretty simple. Mosquito nets are hot and kind of a pain to have to crawl into all the time. But you gotta love the fact that they keep you from getting bit alive by mosquitos all night long.

-Hair: I love my hair. I love Sophie’s hair. But I completely understand why the people in the tribe have no hair. It’s hot, it’s dirty, and it’s sweaty, and when you think about how easily lice spreads within these tribes… it makes you want to check your head often.

-Tools: This one is for Ben. Tools, particularly ones that run off of batteries or gas, are an amazing invention that makes building (or fixing) a much faster process. The problem is when they don’t work, though. Or when they stop working and you’re in the middle of nowhere and can’t easily get one. The guys had a lot of problems getting the sawmill to work, which is what cut the trees into lumber for the house. Therefore, it was very important. Praise the Lord that the morning we left Pei, a new sawmill came in that was working consistently (please continue to pray that it consistently works until all the lumber is cut)!

Bush Home Living Conditions [PNG]

Since homes are being constructed for our missionary friends, we had to live somewhere else. So, we stayed in a bush home. It was far, far from our luxurious American homes, but we appreciated it because it has walls and a roof and sat up high- so we didn't get wet from the thunderstorms at night, and we stayed away from bugs as much as possible. It was also big! And the most wonderful part was recognizing that several families gave up this place... their home that they spent an entire year building... so that we could live in it for several weeks. Generosity. If you could keep that in mind, you could get over the many things that were not so wonderful about it... the darkness, the holes in the floor,  the shakiness of the floors, the bugs that you did see, the stairs that were difficult to climb at 7 months pregnant (in order to get into the house), the lack of fans or AC, the lack of a bathroom, the lack of couches and beds....

So here is the house in all it's glory. It was actually fairly big!

Here I am working in our "kitchen." Thankfully we had a fridge (which looks more like a freezer) and a small camping stove. We were able to feed the men well so that they could work hard in the heat! Evie and I shared cooking responsibilities :) Many people (us and others at the base in Wewak) prepared things ahead of time that helped IMMENSELY.

Here is our "dining room." We all either sat on the floor or on little wooden bench-type things. There was one camping chair there for this pregnant lady to use, so that was nice :) In the back right corner of this picture, you can see a blue mosquito net hanging... that was where our bedroom was (Ben, Sophie, and I).

 Sophie enjoyed laying like this right at the door. The house sits up fairly high, so I had to keep a close eye on her. All the little kids always would come up and say, "You fall down, Sophie." They were worried for her :)

 Our bedroom... a pack n play, 2 air mattresses, and 3 mosquito nets :)

 My bathroom!! They actually built this just for me. The Pei people have a squatty potty, but Ben and the guys he was working with put together this little wooden and tarp bathroom for me since I'm the big pregnant lady. I tried to remember that every time I used it and had flies and mosquitos swarming around me with sweat dripping off of me... it helped me to be grateful. It wasn't very close to the house either.

Here's where you sit :)

And here was the shower! It was built just for me as well and looked just like the "bathroom" from the outside. We just filled up a bucket and dumped it over our heads. I thought it beat jumping in the river, though! At the end of a hot, sweaty day, it was relaxing to "take a shower" here... other than the mosquitos swarming around. Sophie thought this was her little house. She thought the bathroom was my little house. 

Thank you Lord for so many things that I take for granted in my American home.

Building a Jungle Home [PNG]

The internet has been slow (and at times not working at all) since coming back from the tribe. Was finally able to get blogger to cooperate, so here's the first of a number of posts about our times in the Pei tribe. 

Our main reason for coming to PNG for this month was to help our friends, Chris and Evie Jones, build their home. They will be moving into the Pei tribe to work as missionaries... they will learn their language, teach the people to read and write their language, teach the Bible, translate the Bible, and leave the tribe in 10-20 years with, Lord-willing, a functioning church that is a PEI church and not an AMERICAN church. 

Building a home in the jungle is a little different than building a home in the states. While Ben has a lot of building experience, he learned and experienced many new things. He much prefers building in the states :)

First, you must clear the ground of the many, many trees.

Then you have to go hunting for your lumber and wood (unless you want to spend an outrageous amount to have it all flown and boated in... and believe me, it's an OUTRAGEOUS amount to do it that way). This was Ben's least favorite part. First, you must cut down GIGANTIC trees. Then you must carry them through the swampy jungle where it's sweaty and the swamp comes up to your waist. Ben says the tribal people are efficient at this but that he and the other white workers struggled to carry the heavy trees, let alone to do so without falling into the swamp water 100 times.

 Once the trees are back and cut, then posts are set, bearers are set, and floor joists are set.

Then the floor boards can be set!

 And once the saw mill is working properly, trees can be cut into lumber that is used to build walls. And then walls can go up!

 While we were in Pei, we were able to get to the walls. Another work team is in right now, so the roof should hopefully be going up today!

And here's my handsome husband working hard in the blistering heat!

How Remote?

You might be wondering just how remote we are. Well, there's a reason that these are some of the last peoples that are being reached with the gospel (and everything else) ... because they are REMOTE! They are not easy to get to. Let me take you on a little journey of how one would get from Indiana, USA to Pei tribe, PNG (where Ben currently is and where Sophie and I will be next week).

First, you must hop on a domestic flight that will take you to the west coast.

Next, you must board a big plane on the west coast that will take you, somehow or some way, to Australia.

Once in Australia, you must board a smaller plane that will take you to Port Moresby, PNG. ALL flights into PNG must go through Port Moresby. From Port Moresby, you sit in a large room and must listen closely to the terrible loudspeaker (and hope your flight isn't cancelled or overbooked which is known to happen) and then hop on a plane (outside... with stairs) that will take you to Wewak (with a stop in Madang on the way).

The Wewak airport is very small- more like a barn than an airport. Baggage claim is outside. From this airport, you will hop on a small Cessna NTM plane that can only hold 900 lbs (people and cargo). This plane will take you to Hauna (if you've heard of Marilyn Lazlo, this is where she served), where there is an airstrip. It's about an hour flight.

There is no airstrip in Pei, so the last stretch of the trip to the Pei people group must be done by boat. This boat ride is about 2 hours. Below is a picture of the boat that is used.

And after those 2 hours, you've finally arrived to the Pefiyahe tribe where the Pei people live! So to all my friends and family back in Indiana (and Vermont)... you can no longer complain about living in the middle of nowhere!

Workin' Hard (PNG)

Here's a glimpse into what has been keeping Ben and I busy here in Papua New Guinea the last week and a half:

Ben has:

-Done several runs to town to pick up last-minute things

-Helped pack up things

-Helped to carry and move things

-Took a 4 day trip into the Pei tribe (1 hour plane ride, 2 hour boat ride) to begin clearing trees and settings post for 3 houses

To give you an idea of what this process looks like... imagine moving your entire life to a new location, but the only way you can get things in is by a boat, a small plane, and a small boat. Nothing can be bought on location at the new home, so everything must be sent in. First, the cost is incredible to move things this way. Second, it takes a LOT of thought as to how you will get everything you need into the location. This is no small task! 

THEN once you get there... you have to clear trees out, build high enough so water won't get into the house when there is a lot of rain, learn how to build with a new type of wood, build a home that is culturally not too far out from the tribal people but comfortable enough to be able to live life in still (that's a tricky task!), and build fast because it's too costly to continuously be flying/boating in and out (which means, you'll be living in a half-built home for a while). We totally respect these missionary friends of ours and are thankful for the realistic view we are getting.

(packing up the truck with things for the boat trip)

(clearing out trees to make room for 3 houses)

 (the 4 guys who went on the first work trip)

And because I know some of you wonder what I (Alisha) am up to (and because I need to prove to our good friend Aaron that I'm actually doing more than just blogging ;)), here is what I have been up to:

-Took a trip to town for fruits and veggies (cultural experience! Can't just go to walmart)
-Have taken several trips to the base store for food
-Have taken several trips (by foot) to a lady's house to try to get a meri blouse (the tops the ladies wear here) made for me.... but she's never home. Getting some exercise, I guess :)
-Making food! Besides cooking for our regular meals, we've been making food for the next few weeks for when the work teams are in building (we've made bread, ham and cheese rolls, granola, a bisquick master mix, and cooked and shredded 2 chickens)
-Laundry (takes a little longer than at home... first, there's more laundry because of it being so hot here. Then, you must hang EVERYTHING up to dry. Also, you have to turn everything inside out to hang it up since the sun is so hot and you don't want everything to fade).
-Taking care of little Soph Soph :) ... who is adjusting really well, by the way

And just to toot my own horn a little more (because let's be honest, we all know Ben is really doing more work than I am), I'm doing all of this at 6.5 months pregnant!

(Sophie and Evie with the unfinished ham and cheese rolls) 

(Sophie cheesin' it by the oatmeal bread)

We've also really enjoyed meeting the other people here on the Wewak base. Several of these missionaries have already lived in tribal locations... some are currently working on translating the Bible right now! We're so thankful to be able to meet these people- just normal people doing some very COOL things!

Arrival Stressors [PNG]

Ben and I feel so blessed and thankful that we have this opportunity to come to PNG before moving overseas long-term. One of the many blessings is that we are able to experience or get a glimpse of what will be stressful before being here for good. I know it's good for me to have time to process these things now, and to allow God to work on my heart in these areas.

1.     The Plane Ride: Being in a plane just isn’t fun. Add to that the fact that you’re leaving loved ones and your beloved country for a while (obviously, our trip this time isn’t that long… the next time will be much harder), children, pregnancy, security, customs, language barriers, or whatever else is uncomfortable… and the plane ride itself is a stressor.

2.     Jet Lag: When you fly across the world, you’re going to experience jet lag. Can’t escape it. I think we got lucky and didn’t have it too awful, but we still did to a degree. I was SO tired when we arrived… headache, could barely keep my eyes open, etc. Sophie was very tired and grouchy. Our schedule wasn’t too far off, but Sophie was going to bed a little earlier than normal and waking up earlier for these first few days, which affects my sleep too of course. We’re almost back on schedule though- yay! Another thing though is that Sophie has had weird freak-out moments while here… where she gets really scared over things she doesn’t at home. I think it’s because of a mixture of jet lag and being in a strange world.

3.     The Heat: It’s hot here. I like hot weather better than cold weather, so this isn’t the biggest stressor for me, but it’s still no fun. The difference between here and Indiana in the summer is that we don’t have AC to escape to. We do have fans, which are AWESOME, though! Sophie has a rash (little red dots) on her neck and under her neck and a little on her face, as a result of the heat- doesn’t seem to bug her, but she never got that in Indiana summer heat. You also just stink more. I wear clothes more than once at home before washing, but never here. They get stinky! I also don’t bathe Sophie at home every day, but here she needs it! The heat is the worst when the power goes out (which happens often enough, but thankfully, usually not for long periods of time) because then you don’t have fans… and if you’re sleeping, then it really gets sticky.

4.     Language/Culture: This will always be a stressor no matter what part of the mission process you’re in. It’s frustrating to not be able to communicate with these people. Not only does it make life more difficult, but it also makes you feel stupid. But on top of not being able to communicate with the people verbally, there are also SO many cultural differences that are stressful. For a woman, it’s frustrating here in PNG because you cannot just go to town by yourself or smile at a man. There are so many “norms” in America that you have to re-think that will make your head go crazy. This will definitely be one of the top stressors for me when we move overseas long-term.

5.     Bugs/Dirt: Bugs actually aren’t as bad here as I thought they might be, but they’re still more prevalent than in most American homes. They’re just a nuisance, and you have to bag up all your food super well because of them (had to throw away fig newtons I brought for Sophie because I didn’t bag them well enough and bugs were ALL over). And then, there’s the worst bug of them all which is mosquitos, and while they don’t tend to bite me often, there’s that whole malaria thing in the back of your head that’s giving you a good scare. And then dirt… well, I know this will be worse in the tribe, but it’s just hard for things to stay clean as easily when you’re here.

6.     Food: It takes up more time in your day. Every aspect of it. You can’t just run to the store and grab everything you need. So you especially can’t just have all the processed food you want. You have to think ahead about meals, which I’m really lazy about doing. I cook a lot right now, so dinner isn’t much more work than normal, but I’m lazy with breakfast and lunch often (frozen waffles, hot dogs, mac n cheese), and I can’t be quite as lazy here. The trick is to make sure you have leftovers though! No dishwasher, so dishes take a while.  And while I’m talking about how food takes longer, laundry takes a while too! You can’t re-wear clothes (because they stink), so you have more laundry. You don’t have paper towels or napkins- so you go through more cloth towels… which means more laundry. You change your sheets more often… which means more laundry.  And then you hang everything to dry… which means more time. And then you pray it doesn’t rain while your laundry’s hanging to dry… because you don’t want them to mold. And then because you wash your clothes so often, and because the sun is so hot, you can’t expect for your clothes to last as long. Which makes me sad.

7.     Your Kids: This will be one of the biggest stressors for me when we move overseas long-term because I hate when things are out of my control… and the way your kids handle moving overseas is really out of your control. I’ll be sad my kids have to leave behind loved ones, I’ll be sad my kids can’t have all the comforts of America… and then on top of that, they’ll be grouchy from a new environment and traveling and sweaty diapers (Sophie keeps getting grouchy about the sposie diaper she’s wearing, and I think it’s because she doesn’t like the sweaty plastic on her skin). I am thankful that when we move long-term that Sophie will be older and more of a help at that time J

8.     Your Marriage: I am pretty chill with taking care of household responsibilities without Ben… and about him being gone. We’ve been apart from each other before. But it’s still different overseas. It’s sad to say good-bye for a few days or weeks. He’s adjusting to all of his responsibilities overseas, and he’s not going to be able to help you in ways he has before if he’s going to get the work done here that needs done. You’ll need more communication than ever, yet might be too tired to even have any. This is certainly one of the most important “stressor” areas to not let get out of control!

9.     Communication Back Home: When you’re here, you miss people. I’m sure it’s far worse when you’re coming for years rather than weeks. Even more, you know everyone misses you and your kids. My problem is that I’m a people pleaser. I want to make sure no one feels like I’ve forgotten them. But truth be told, the internet isn’t always as good here. The time difference is a pain. You have tons of responsibilities here. You can’t just pick up a phone and text. And then you feel bad because you know people back home want to hear from you… but you also know this is where you life is now. I’m sure this will be one of the biggest stressors for me.

Schedule for Our Time in PNG

For those wondering what our time here will look like more specifically, here is our tentative schedule. As we're on PNG/"island" time now, things are always up for changing, but here's the PLAN.

We arrived thursday night safe and sound, and have been hanging out since. Ben and the guys have been doing lots of thinking/planning/putting things together for their trip. It's a lot of work to make sure you have everything, and even then, it's difficult because you have to rely on other people for some things, and those are other people may or may not come through for you. They are as ready as they can ever be though, so here is what the rest of our schedule should look like :)

Monday, November 12 (today- we're 15 hours ahead of EST time): Ben, Chris, Justin, and Brooks go into the Pei tribe (Chris and Justin will be working with the Pei tribe, and Brooks is the orientation director here - he is also finishing up translation with the tribe he worked with, the YembiYembi). During this time, the guys will take in some supplies, set up the footers and poles or whatever else is involved in the beginning process of house building (these are the times where it would be better if Ben wrote the blog post because I don't know what I'm talking about :)). They will have limited food and uncomfortable sleeping/living situations, so pray for them during this time!
Thursday, November 15: The guys should come back to spend the weekend back in Wewak. They will regroup here, finish the majority of the packing, and prepare for the big trip.
Monday, November 19: Ben, Chris, Evie, Candace, Justin, and a bunch of other male workers go into the Pei tribe (Evie and Candace are going to work among the Pei and will go in to cook for the guys and wash for them- pray for them as this will be a lot of work as they cook over an open fire! They are trying to prepare a lot of the food ahead of time).
Wednesday, November 28: Alisha and Sophie go into the Pei tribe!!!!
Tuesday, December 4: Ben, Alisha, Sophie, Chris, and Evie come back to Wewak
Monday, December 10: Ben, Alisha, and Sophie head to Goroka
Tuesday, December 11:  Ben, Alisha, and Sophie head to Port Moresby to Cairns, Australia.

If you're wondering what Sophie and I will do in Wewak while Ben is in the tribe... we'll hang out, visit town, visit the rest of the Wewak base, make food for the guys (this week), sweat, take showers, do laundry, etc.

One prayer request I have right now- there is a boat taking stuff to the Pei tribe, and it was supposed to arrive tuesday while the guys were there. Now it may not arrive until thursday, and the guys are supposed to leave that day. Pray that it would arrive by wednesday so that no guys has to stay behind to collect the items.