Hello, I hope you all had a chance to read through the posts about Dad and Mom's most recent time in town (November 18th - the 25th). This post will begin the journal notes from the end of their last trip to town and will start on the 8th of October.
October 8. The Lord gave us a good rain last night in Goroka. The power was off for part of the night. Whenever I woke up and heard the rain, I told the Lord thank you.
It has been a long day. Very warm. Very busy. Got up a few minutes earlier than usual so we could finish packing. Before we even got to eat breakfast, Pastor Endru was outside and ready to go. Daddy told him to wait a while. After Daddy finished eating, he went down and brought Pastor Endru up to the flat. Gave him a cup of coffee.
After we finished eating, packing, and cleaning up dishes, etc., Daddy called the hangar. They said we didn’t need to be there before 9:00. We left the house some time after 8:00 (can’t remember exactly what time it was) and took Pastor Endru to the store to pick up the lamb flaps. He had 15 cartons of meat. Took everything over to the hangar and got it all weighed up. They said the plane wouldn’t be back until 10:00 so we had plenty of time to run to the hardware store and pick up some PVC pipe. Daddy wants to put an extra shut off valve outside so we can keep the water running out there instead of in the bathtub all the time.
We left Goroka somewhere around 10:30. It was a cloudy day, and it seemed like we hit lots of “potholes up” there in the clouds. There were eight passengers on the twin otter and lots of cargo for Owena. We were thankful for a safe trip. Everything is still very dry here. No measureable rain. Said they had a few drops this morning. And there were some drops this afternoon.
We got a little bit of unpacking done and then had tuna sandwiches and apple pieces for lunch. As soon as lunch was over, Daddy and Andreas went right to work on the generator. Just as Andreas thought, the problem was in one of the houses — Kelly’s. They had to take out two lights. By 5:00, they had the generator up and running. Praise the Lord! What a blessing! We are glad we brought the meat and bread in.
After the men left to go work, I did more unpacking and putting away; cooked up some meat and veggies for a stew for supper; cleaned the bedroom where Andreas will be sleeping, and made the bed.
Daddy and Andreas came back for a break. After they went back to work, I took a nap. It was already 2:30 by then. Slept about a half hour. After that I worked on unpacking again until supper time. Also got the bathroom swept and cleaned up a bit.
People came and went most of the afternoon and evening.
Andreas worked on a couple other projects for us too. He put together Daddy’s new office chair. Tried to fix Ben’s phone charger — we heard it snap while it was charging — but couldn’t fix it. Fixed Tomas’s solar panel. Looked at the Dell computer, but said we need to have the windows software and other stuff to work on it. Said we’ll have to send it out to the CRMF shop.
“They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.” Psalm 37:19
October 9. A very warm night. Still warm when we got up this morning, and didn’t take long for the day to get hot. The lotu bell was rung at 6:00, a half hour earlier than usual. I guess people wanted to get going with preparations for their parties today. Jevin came by before 7:00 to see if Devit should start. Said he was already at the haus lotu. Daddy had them go ahead; then he and Andreas went up as soon as they finished breakfast. They were home before 8:00, and we started laundry. What a blessing it was to be able to use the washing machine again!
After laundry, I did more unpacking, got the bed made, worked on school stuff, did a little cleaning, cleaned up the schoolroom a bit. Late morning, Andreas went with Nathaniel and Manila over to Marivo for the big party over there. Marivo is hoping to bring peace to everyone regarding Simon’s death and encourage them to leave vengeance in God’s hands. Kelly and Janet also had a big party going today to repay those who helped pay the bride price for Janet.
Made fish patties for lunch for Daddy and me. Couldn’t sleep very well at nap time. Was just too hot. Daddy took a long nap. About 3:00, Tania and Lilian came to help me translate some material to use with Manila in school.
Andreas came back around 5:00. We had egg salad sandwiches for supper. This evening, he tried to fix Jevin’s radio, but couldn’t fix it. He was really tired from the long walk in the hot sun today.
“5Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for he is holy…. 9Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.” Psalm 99:5,9
October 10. 10/10/10. Was this the perfect day? Well, not exactly. The perfect day is coming, the day we see Christ and go with Him to glory. Then all will be perfect. However, we do thank the Lord for His goodness today. The preaching was a blessing. Daddy finished up Romans chapter 3 in the first meeting. Tomas interpreted today. A number of people responded to the invitation. God is good. Then Daddy talked about what belief is in the second meeting, from James 2. And Andreas added an illustration to that, using a small wooden shoe he had brought with him. He told how, in the eyes of the creator of the shoe, the shoe had been made perfect, but it was not yet fit for the child to wear. It had to mature and be completely dry before it could be worn without making the feet sore. The children, of course, were very excited about the wooden shoe and had to have a “hands on” time at the end of the meeting. We had the two meetings back to back, with a 15 minute break between. There are more people who come to the second meeting when there is not such a long break in between.
Had a late dinner — leftover stew and biscuits. Then Opo came with his keyboard for Andreas to look at. Apparently the wires had been connected wrong (factory error) so the amplifier blew and that’s why there was no sound. So there was no way Andreas could fix it. While he was working on that, Daddy and I took a nap. Most of this afternoon and evening has been spent making sure everything is ready to start back to school tomorrow.
Andreas is hoping to leave early in the morning (around 5:00), but nobody has come around to see about going with him. Daddy has just gone out to see if he can find someone.
“1To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD…. 5Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered…. 16Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified. 17But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.” Psalm 40:1-3,5,16,17