August 19. Thank the Lord for another fairly warm day and for blue sky and sunshine. I am very thankful not to have a fire going. Don’t know if there is something in this new batch of firewood that bothers me or what, but I really don’t feel good these days when the wood stove is going.
Amos was going to cover Acts 19:21-41 in lotu this morning. They were already a half hour late getting started and then sang several songs. If he had covered all that, he would have run over into school time. Daddy suggested that he stop after verse 34. The students picked up some good applications from the part that he did cover. They are doing quite well in writing their sermon notes.
Today they had their last math speed drill and shouted a triple hooray.
I only had some of the math books to grade this afternoon, and it didn’t take long. Today’s review lesson was all word problems, and there weren’t that many of them. Nothing to put on the chalkboard for tomorrow. Wanted to bake cookies, but it was too warm this afternoon so waited until after supper. So I had an hour to write some e-mails. Wonderful! I am way behind. Well, I got halfway through an e-mail, and something I thought of prompted me to check PNG update distribution file and see if her name was in there. It was. Good. But then I saw a name that I no longer needed in there. Let’s delete that. Oh, no! It deleted the whole PNG update file. and I couldn’t find any way to undo it. Daddy called Lawrence at CRMF. He suggested several things that we couldn’t find in Outlook. Then he suggested restoring the system which we did, but that didn’t bring it back. That means I’ll have to do the whole update distribution file all over again. Wasted most of my free hour working on that. It was rather frustrating. After supper, I made lemon cinnamon sugar cookies, did the dishes, and finished the e-mail I had been writing.
“3For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 4For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” Romans 10:3,4
August 20. My head didn’t feel like sleeping last night for some reason so I was half awake half asleep most of the night. Right after we went to bed, I heard the mad rat galloping all over the house. I think it was in every room in the house. It knocked something out of our closet and knocked over bottles in the pantry and knocked things over other places. It made all kinds of rat-cket. When I finally got to sleep, I must have had that rat on my mind. So I dreamed, not about a mad rat galloping through the house, but a mad horse. Someone had fed it eel (don’t know where that thought came from), and the eel made it go crazy. That’s what the rat poison does to the rats.
The temperature wasn’t very low this morning, but there was a lot of fog, and the weather felt damp and chilly. We did hear heavy mist dripping off the roof and down the wood stove chimney during the night. So Daddy started a fire to get the damp chill out of the house. We let the fire out around noon, and this afternoon, the temperature was up to the low 80’s. It is cooling off quickly this evening, however. It does appear that the country is truly into a drought this year. The more westerly highlands provinces are already suffering from very cold temperatures and frosts, hot days, many gardens destroyed by frost and dry weather, and water supplies dried up. It is a serious problem.
Today the students started on their final review lesson in math. We did the first few exercises orally, and the rest was to be written. A few of them finished today, and the rest should finish tomorrow. We’ll play a review game first in preparation for the test on Monday.
After nap today, I graded a few math books of students who just finished the previous lesson. Then I graded all the English exercises because I could see they would be too complicated for Graham and Sunny. Nothing to put on the board today so only had to look over tomorrow’s lessons. Then I started planning the math game for tomorrow before warming up supper. After supper, I finished that and printed it out. Also got another computer lesson written for Graham and Sunny.
Several of the girls were here again working on their bilums while Sunny and Graham were working and having their computer lesson.
“8But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:8-13 Praise to the Lord for being rich unto all!
August 21. We thought surely that rat had enough rat poison that it would have dropped dead by now. But no, it was back galloping through the house again last night. Daddy finally got up and put out the glue trap. I didn’t hear him get up and put the trap out, but I certainly heard the rat when it got caught. It and the trap were jumping all over the place, as it trying to get free. Daddy got up and clobbered it, and that was the end of that. We are certainly thankful it is gone. That was the most aggressive, noisy rat that has come around.
It was a bit cooler this morning and somewhat cloudy, and Lew had the fire going for a little while. But it wasn’t long before the skies cleared, and it turned into a beautiful clear sky day. Very warm this afternoon and evening, but still very clear so it could get colder tonight.
Our school schedule was a bit different today. After prayer and reciting verses, we went to history class (usually the last class of the day) instead of music practice. At the end of the day, after spelling quiz, the students did their cleaning jobs, and the girls went home. The men stayed to learn a song that just they will sing for graduation - “Mi Pasim Tingting Long Bihainim Jisas.” (I Have Decided to Follow Jesus)
After nap, I graded Sunny’s and Graham’s reading workbooks and spelling quizzes. Tomorrow evening, they will grade the rest of students’ lessons. Then I started writing a computer lesson until time to get supper. Pizza tonight. After I got the pizza made and into the oven, I worked more on the computer lesson. Finished it this evening while clothes were washing.
After supper, we got the laundry done, and I just finished hanging shirts and blouses in the guest room. Sunny is here practicing computer, and Peninnah is working on her bilum. Daddy is teaching Bible school. This is closing night, and the students have prepared a meal to eat afterward.
“14How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Romans 10:14,15