Here is a good video about the volcano. It has good pictures and information. While this should not cause any real problems for Mom and Dad, it may interrupt communications for a while. Australia is expected to get ash from the volcano, but we are not sure if there will be any where Mom and Dad are. The ash apparently is blowing east, and Mom and Dad are west of the area where the eruption occurred.
We have been asked if this is near Mom and Dad. No, it is on one of the islands, near Rabaul. There are a couple of active volcanoes in Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea is part of the "ring of fire" and also has earthquakes. Please pray for the town of Wewak as people from the island will probably go to that town for refuge. Please pray also for those who are losing their houses and property from this event. This volcano last erupted in the 90s. Here is a good video about the volcano. It has good pictures and information. While this should not cause any real problems for Mom and Dad, it may interrupt communications for a while. Australia is expected to get ash from the volcano, but we are not sure if there will be any where Mom and Dad are. The ash apparently is blowing east, and Mom and Dad are west of the area where the eruption occurred.
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I created a Facebook Page for Mom and Dad where I can make brief updates between blog posts as I receive them. Also, I sometimes post facts or links to informational articles or videos about Papua New Guinea.
Check it out here at Owena Opportunity . Or you can also click on the Facebook icon in the upper right corner of this page and it should direct you to their Facebook page. August 16. The Lord gave us a lovely day today. Lots of beautiful, clear blue sky. Daddy and I enjoyed a walk up the airstrip mid-morning. Both of us were very tired today for some reason. I guess I got worn out yesterday. Tomas preached this morning from Matthew 4:1-4, emphasizing the importance of spiritual food above physical food or things of this earth. It was a blessing to hear Mike’s prayer request concerning the work that the Lord has laid on his heart. The other day he saw some men playing cards (gambling), and the Lord laid it on his heart to go and preach to him. He said it gave him joy to go out and preach the word. This evening, he came to get notes on “the PNG Flag and the Gospel” so he can go tomorrow afternoon and preach to the men again when they are playing cards. When he was here, he told us that a Pinata man came and talked to him afterward and told him that his preaching was a big help to him. Mike spent some time talking to him and encouraging him to make sure that he really believed on Christ. After lotu this morning, Daddy turned on the generator, and I worked on the new Bible lesson for this coming week of school. Worked on it some more after we came back from our walk. I was going to make pizza for lunch, but needed to fix carrots too, and also wanted to make granola to put in the oven at the same time as the pizza. I was just too tired to do that at noon so we had an early lunch of sandwiches and went for an early nap. We were very thankful for a good nap. After nap, I washed my hair and got the granola made before finishing up the Bible lesson. I needed to get that lesson done today so I can print out my copy this evening, proofread it, and then make student copies. All that needs to be ready for Monday. Then I got the carrots prepared and ready to cook. Prepared the pizza, and then put the pizza and granola in the oven and lit the burner under the carrots. Did a little more work in the computer while those were cooking. “2In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; 3But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching….” Titus 1:2,3 August 15. Down to about 52º again this morning, and very chilly again this evening. It has been quite a busy day. Up around 5:45 so we could wash clothes and I could finish getting the party food ready for fun day, and still have time for breakfast and quiet time. I didn’t open the door for the students to come in until 8:25, but it was 8:45 before the last one arrived. While the others were waiting, they guessed the number of items in a little bottle of goodies and wrote their guesses on little pieces of paper. Mike won the goodies bottle with an exact guess of 33. Our first game was a Bible game called Twelve Keys. The students were divided into two teams and had to answer Bible questions. With a correct answer, they were allowed to guess a letter to start filling in blanks for Bible words that they could guess. The team was awarded one point for each correct letter, three points for each word guessed correctly, and six points for the starred words. Team two won the game with a total of 58 points. After that, they played musical present. The present was a kina coin (like a dollar) wrapped in about 20 wrappers. Next was phonics pies, a game in which words with long vowels were written on one side of paper pies and words with short vowels on the other side. First I called short vowel words, and whoever had the long vowel word that matched could call out. If he were correct, he could put a marker on the space. The first one to fill the six spaces had to call out “pie-o-my” and would win that game. Then they turned the pie over and we did the opposite - I called long vowel words, and they found the short vowel words that matched. After that, they had a team race, putting alphabet puzzles together. They had to put each letter in the puzzle in order. The first team to finish received ten points for their team. Last of all, they did a couple math puzzle pages -- first helping Freddy Frog across the pond by jumping only on odd numbers; then doing a dot-to-dot with even numbers from 2 to 98. The first one to finish each of those correctly was the winner of the game. Then I gave them their lunch - rice and fish, peanuts, cookies, lollies, and orange juice. We sang happy birthday three times - first to Graham, and then Bethuel, whose birthdays were last week, and last of all to Steve, whose birthday is next week. Dallas prayed, and they ate their lunch. I warmed up lunch for Daddy and me. After we ate, I let the students choose their prizes. Dallas was the grand winner and got to choose his prize first. Everyone gets a prize on fun day, but the high scores get first choices. Also gave them their report cards and gave birthday gifts to the three birthday people and took their picture. Had them do a little clean-up before sending them home. We had a lot of fun, but I was really exhausted by the time the morning was over. Slept a little bit extra long nap. Afterward, I put away some of the things I had used for games, worked on lesson plans for next week, washed up the party dishes. Daddy gave the chalkboard one more coat of paint. The first coat finally dried after several days. We wondered if it were going to dry at all. So now we’ll have to wait several more days for the second coat to dry before we can try it out. After supper, I hung up my clothes that Daddy had brought in from the clothesline after lunch. Then I finished up the lesson plans for next week. Daddy was teaching Bible school, and all was quiet in here. When I finished lesson plans, I read the e-mails while the dish water was heating. (Daddy had gotten in e-mails right after supper.) Then I washed up our own dishes for today. Got me a snack, and here I am at last, writing in my jounal. It is now ten past nine. Still have a LOT of things to do the next couple days before the new week and new term of school begins. “And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten.” Exodus 13:3 August 13. The Lord gave us a nice, dry season day again today. Very high winds in the afternoon. MAF was in twice to bring supplies for people and take out coffee. Amos finished the story of the Ethiopian eunuch in lotu this morning. We finished school a bit early today which was nice. I was thankful for a bit longer nap today. The chilly air in the early mornings and late afternoons still bothers my ears, throat, and chest. Amos is teaching the youth this evening as David is still in town. He went to town Monday and thought he would be back today, but now says it won’t be until Sunday or Monday. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” II Timothy 3:12 August 14. Started out as a nice, sunny morning. Several light rains later in the day. Daddy kept the wood stove going because the air was cool and damp. Today was the last day of classes for second term. It took quite a while this afternoon to finish getting all the grade averages written in their report cards and write little notes to their parents. Then I doctored up the peach crumb cake I made the other day for Daddy’s birthday and stuck it in the oven to warm for supper. While that was cooking, I sorted and washed the little bunch of greens that Reson’s little girl had brought yesterday. After supper I cut those up into the pressure cooker, along with some green onions, and set those on the wood stove to cook. After supper until now, I have been busy making sure everything is together for fun day tomorrow - all that I need for the games, the birthday gift bags, the birthday dinner. Now the water is heating for dishes. “And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they…. Thus did all the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they.” Exodus 12:28,50 August 11. Daddy’s birthday today. Last night was super moon night. The skies were clear, and the moon was bright. But we woke up to a very cccccold morning - only 50º. It was mid-morning before the day began to warm up. This afternoon, it cooled down quickly, however, and the chilly winds blew. Praise the Lord that school went well today after the students’ being gone for a week. Peninnah, Thania, and Mike were excited to get their new English Bibles which a friend had sent. One Bible also went to Matthew, and Betty came and got hers this afternoon. There are some for several of the other young people, plus a few extras. We praise the Lord for the provision of these nice Bibles. NTM brought two of their mechanics in early this morning. The two men worked most of the day, getting the engine out of the plane and getting a few other parts off the plane. They brought a portable lift of some kind in to use to put the engine on the plane to go back to Goroka. But the lift didn’t work so a number of Owena men put their strength together and helped lift the engine into the plane. Most of the community met the workers at the airstrip and presented them with gifts of bilums and arrows to express their sorrow over the wrecked plane and their appreciation for NTM’s help with flights. They decided to do that rather than give money. MAF also came in today to bring school supplies. For Daddy’s birthday supper, I made a peach coffee cake, but it didn’t turn out as good as I had hoped. We had it with custard sauce on top. It was very filling, and that’s all we ate for supper; and we are still full. “9Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 10But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel….” II Timothy 1:9,10 August 12. Not as cold this morning, but damp, foggy, and drizzly. The Lord sent us a little sunshine this afternoon. This morning the students finished the third part of the lesson on the woman of Samaria. It was a good lesson and had lots of good applications, especially for knowing how to witness to others. This morning, Amos came and bought everything the school students had for sale, and bought them at the school price. The students were happy about the sale. They now have some money on hand to use for gifts for their parents at the end of the school year and to use for school uniforms. Only one workbook to grade and record today, so I used some of my afternoon time to start writing their grades on their report cards. A few grades will need to be filled in after classes tomorrow and Thursday. “1Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus…. 3Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” II Timothy 2:1,3 August 9. Connie's (our youngest) 40th birthday. My, how fast the years have flown! It was a blessing to talk with them both today, even though there wasn’t a whole lot to say. We had just sent them a couple e-mails with the events and adventures of the past couple days and this past week. The Lord gave us a lovely day today. And I thank Him for better rest last night. Didn’t get up until about 6:20 this morning. Mike wasn’t here this morning so Matthew did the teaching in lotu. After lotu, I worked on the phonics pies and finally finished them up before dinner. About 10:00, we called Christy and Connie. After that, Daddy put a coat of the new chalkboard paint on the chalkboard. This can is oil base and not water base so hopefully it will work better. The smell was quite powerful, however. I was thankful it was a nice day so we could open all the windows. When he finished painting and cleaning up the paint stuff, we went for a little walk. I was surprised that I was able to make it all the way to the top of the airstrip as it had been a while since I’d been out walking. We looked at the remains of the plane that are sitting there waiting to be flown out to town next week. The Owena men had built a fence around it to keep people away. When we got back to the house, it was time to warm up dinner. Then time for nap. Had a hard time sleeping because of the strong smell from the chalkboard paint so it wasn’t a very restful nap. After nap, I wrote seven e-mails and got those ready to send off this evening. Then I started making tortillas for my supper. After supper, we sent the e-mails. A couple of them were pretty big so it took about 45 minutes or so to send them all. Matthew came this afternoon and asked Daddy to preach tomorrow. “6Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: 7And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.” Exodus 6:6-8 August 10. The Lord gave us a sunny morning and a rainy afternoon. Slept in a little bit again this morning. Then got up and made Sunday pancakes. After breakfast and quiet time, I worked on the July progress report. Then it was time for lotu. Before lotu started, Daddy was talking with Matthew and David. Matthew did not have outreach this morning, but was busy helping Amos talk with Bonita. Daddy preached the morning meeting, sharing with the church the work and responsibilities of the pastors. This was a message he had prepared for the ordination service in January, but there was never time to give the message. Later in the afternoon, I washed my hair, got carrots and broccoli ready to be cooked for supper, and then wrote an e-mail to Pastor Ogle. Then I went and made spaghetti for our main dish. “14That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: 15Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; 16Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.” I Timothy 6:14-16 I had waited a few days to post this update because I was waiting on Mom to send pictures to go with it. However, she has not been able to do that yet due to internet connection troubles. Anyway, here is a brief update from the day after the accident. Friday (August 8) – We both got up about 6:15 this morning. It was a cold, clear morning, and looked like it would be another beautiful day. After breakfast and quiet time, we started the laundry. There were only two loads of clothes so I was able to wash both our blanket and bedspread. I was thankful to get those washed and was so happy to get out in the sunshine. Thank you, Lord, for a lovely day. Daddy had just turned off the generator when we heard the whirr of helicopter blades. So I hung the clothes, and he took off for the airstrip. NTM came in with the helicopter and brought four mechanics. NTM had met together yesterday to decide what to do, and they decided to try to salvage as many parts of the plane as possible. (Otherwise it is a $200,000 loss.) They set up a tent to give themselves shade for working. They were here almost all day today and thought they might have to be here next Monday and Tuesday too; but they got a lot more accomplished today than they expected they would. The people helped them turn the plane back over, and 40 or 50 people pulled the plane up out of the gully. The other people all cheered as they brought it up. It really seemed to encourage the NTM workers to have the people there cheering them on. Mike (the helicopter pilot) said he has seen lots of accidents but never one of this kind. The men said that there was no fault on Ray’s part -- he did everything that he was supposed to do. Amazingly, they got almost everything taken apart today; and this afternoon, another pilot came in with a plane and took most of the parts back to town. (He also brought in our LP and drum of diesel.) The wings and fuselage are still here, and the engine will need to be taken out of the plane. The helicopter will have to sling the bigger parts back to town. The Lord gave them wonderful weather all day, and the plane and helicopter left about 4:00 this afternoon. The plane had left first, but when the helicopter took off, the wind from the chopper blades picked up the plane wings and blew them down into the gully. The helicopter pilot turned around and came back. The mechanics got out to check things over. Some of the people went down into the gully to bring the wings back up. One of them got a bit more bent. When the helicopter took off again, they had some of the people sit on the wings to hold them down. Daddy was back and forth to the airstrip a number of times today and was able to get a few pictures too (still waiting on those). After I hung out the clothes, I got a little something to eat and then lay down for a morning nap. After nap, I added a note to C&C’s e-mail and tried to send e-mails again. We couldn’t connect to the server yesterday evening when we tried. I was thankful to get a connection today, and C&C’s e-mail was sent off okay, but the other e-mail would not go no matter how many times I tried. After lunch, Daddy went out and got the clothes in. I wanted to go help, too, but the wind had gotten pretty strong -- not good for the ears and lungs. So I cleaned up the kitchen and got ready for nap. After nap, I finished up the phonics pies before starting on these journal notes. Then I prepared broccoli and carrots and put them on to cook for supper. When they were done, I warmed up some of the leftover rice and chicken. “5For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” I Timothy 2:5,6 August 5. 5:45 p.m. The day is drawing to a close. I feel the night air even though the house is all closed up now. Am starting to wheeze and cough. Haven’t had much voice today. Yesterday evening, the cough went down into my chest, and I didn’t get to sleep for a long time — wheezing, coughing, pain in ears and chest. Praise the Lord for a lovely day today. When I got up, it looked like it was going to be a nice day. Then the fog came up, and I wasn’t sure; but after the fog lifted, the sun was back and stayed for the day. I took a few minutes in the morning to get out in the sun before the winds blew too hard. Strong winds came up early and are still blowing out there. I was happy to hear from Daddy this morning even though I couldn’t talk very well. After we talked, I started the fire in the wood stove. I was very thankful that the Lord helped me to get a fire started, especially with this bad chest cold – I really needed to try to warm up the air in here. Then I fixed my breakfast and had quiet time. Not long after that, I went for a morning nap before going for my stretch outside. Most of the day today was spent averaging grades for the students’ report cards which they will get next week. Also did some more cleaning in the bathroom, refilled the disinfectant spray bottle and the bathroom soap dispenser, and got things ready for starting a fire in the morning. Boiled a few eggs, some for protein snack and some for supper. Made some tortillas this evening for my supper instead of biscuits. “11And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? 12Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.” Exodus 4:11,12 August 6. 52º this morning with clear skies. The day warmed up pretty quickly, and it is still warm this evening (9:15 now). Am thankful to the Lord for helping me to feel better enough last night to be able to sleep more comfortably and get a little more rest. Got up a little after 6:00 this morning. Started the fire before getting dressed. Then got a drink and sat down to wait for Daddy to call. After we said good-bye, I fixed my breakfast. David and Amos were already here for lotu. I saw David coming while I was talking to Daddy—about ten ‘til 7:00. I did not go sit in the meeting room because it was too cold, but I could hear fine from the bedroom where I could relax and bundle up in the recliner. Amos covered Acts 8:26-34 this morning, the first part of the story of the Ethiopian eunuch. Took time this morning to make an anniversary card for the Merrills and to print out the fun day plan. Also gathered together some small items to fill a little bucket for the door prize for fun day. Around 11:00, I went out for a stretch in the fresh air and sunshine. When I came back in, I cut four large pieces of pumpkin and put them in the pressure cooker to cook. Then I made a vegetable pie and put it in the oven to bake. Sautéed some onion, made a white sauce, added seaweed, herbs and soy sauce to doctor up a can of mixed veggies since I didn’t have any other fresh veggies besides the pumpkin and onion. Since the pumpkin was done before the pie, and since I was hungry, I ate some pumpkin first. Then I enjoyed a piece of pie as soon as it was done. The additions did a good job of disguising the canned veggies. The canned veggies were more for fill than for nourishment. This afternoon, I started gathering the other items that will be needed for the games for fun day. Also folded the rest of the plastic bags from Daddy’s last trip to town. Had forgotten about them since they were set back in a corner. Had more veggie pie and a tortilla with peanut butter and honey for supper. After supper, I made a couple birthday cards, had a bath, worked more on fun day items, had snack, and did dishes. Shortly I’ll be going to bed. “But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.” II Thessalonians 3:13 August 3. One day lost - no journal entry for Saturday. On Friday, I started comng down with the flu like Daddy has had. Friday night, I didn’t get to sleep for a long time. Then I remembered that I was going to bring a plate of onions in to set beside the bed. After I did that, I was finally able to get some rest. Yesterday I got quite a bit sicker and slept more hours than not. In the morning, I did manage to get journal notes ready for Christy and Connie. They were somewhat short so it didn’t take too long. Then I started an e-mail but got too tired so lay down again. In the afternoon, I wrote a bit more in the e-mail, but didn’t finish it. Had a fever and was not feeling well at all. I was in bed pretty much the rest of the day and all night. Threw up once late in the evening, before Daddy came to bed. Emptied an activated charcoal tablet into a glass of water and sipped on that whenever I got up during the night. I was thankful to be feeling well enough this morning to want to drink something and later eat a little bit. Started with a cup of Echinacea tea - emptied a capsule into a small cup and added hot water and a dash of raw sugar. Had a couple more small cups of Echinacea during the day. Later in the morning, ate a few pieces of bite-sized shredded wheat. For dinner, I cooked a little bit of rice cereal which I ate with a teeny dab of butter and some salt. In the afternoon, I had a vitamin drink. Ate a few whole-grain Pringles in the afternoon, mainly for the salt, and cooked more rice cereal for my supper, adding an egg. Everything seems to be settling okay, praise the Lord. Had several naps throughout the day. Matthew preached this morning on “Can a true Christian become lost again?” Shortly after David started preaching the afternoon meeting, Daddy came in for a nap. He was pretty tired and needs to get rested up before going to town tomorrow. The Lord gave us a lovely day today - beautiful, clear blue skies. One thing I did today that needed to be done was wash my hair. Then this evening, I took a bath right after supper before the evening air gets too cool. When we got up this morning, we heard crying down at Wanyapeq. Found out that Konianko had just died. He had been sick for a while. As far as we know, he was unsaved. So sad to think of another soul in a Christless eternity. “1Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. 2For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.” I Thessalonians 4:1,2 August 4. Praise the Lord for a perfect morning for the plane to come and take Daddy to town. The plane came a little before 9:00 and left a little before 9:30. I am thankful for a better night’s sleep last night, and that I didn’t have to get up and sit in the recliner at all. I think it was around 6:30 or so when I got up this morning. Fixed some hot rice cereal with dates for my breakfast. Most of the morning I didn’t feel like doing much. Went down for a nap shortly after Daddy left. Had hopes of getting outside for a little sunshine after nap; but when I woke up, the sunshine was gone. Clouds had taken its place, and it was drizzling. This evening, it is raining. After my morning nap, I cleaned the toilets and then started re-setting up the PNG flag tract. After lunch, I had another nap. This afternoon, I cleaned the bathroom sink. Just one little job at a time. Also finished re-setting up the flag tract and then got the Bible test made up for school for next week. This evening, I got lessons plans all made for next week of school. It is good to have that out of the way. Then I printed out a new songbook cover for Esau, a copy of the flag tract to make sure it was all in good order, and copies of the Bible test. “16Rejoice evermore. 17Pray without ceasing. 18In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” I Thessalonians 5:16-18 |
Lewis and Judy Young
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March 2016
CategoriesThis clock shows the time in Papua New Guinea - 14 hours ahead of Easter Standard Time during Daylight Savings. And 15 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time the rest of the year.
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