Well the time has come to say farewells to family and friends again and once again begin the journey back to PNG. We head out tomorrow for Australia, to see how Alo Alo has enjoyed her time there and to find out if we can put into action our lessons learned earlier this summer. We will keep you posted!
Monday, August 24, 2015
We're headed out!
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
I don't want to talk about it!
That is what Julie said when I saw how many fleece blankets she had in our Salvation Army shopping cart. It is June. In Iowa. And we don't need 25 fleece blankets - not here, and certainly not in PNG. "But they are so cheap." she said. "You can't get blankets this cheap." But apparently we were getting blankets this cheap, and apparently she was awfully proud of it given the sassy look she's attempting to sport in the picture. So what was the deal?
Rainy season in Papua New Guinea is our tropical version of a Midwestern winter...without the obvious snow and subzero temps. It is wet, everyone is cold and miserable (when you're used to 100 degrees, 75 or 80 feels pretty rough), nothing ever dries out, and everyone gets sick. And it last forever. Just like an Iowa winter. When we head back in August, it will be the middle of that miserable season. And while we have multiple changes of clothes, a way to dry any clothes that get wet, and warm showers to warm up with, our friends and neighbors don't have such luxuries.
The Akolet, all 3000+ of them, suffer with a change of clothes or two that once wet, don't dry until the lucky day of some sunshine. And at night, blankets are few and far between - especially for the elderly and the babies.
So back to my shopping cart piled with fleece blankets in the middle of June in Iowa. We are hoping, along with all the rain ponchos that many of you gave, to be able to take a lot of blankets back to our friends and neighbors. We would love to be able to return to our home in Akolet and give the Akolet church the mission of delivering blankets to every person in all 8 villages. And while they are delivering blankets, maybe a door will open for the Gospel to go to a new village, one that is still in spiritual darkness, which we all know is way worse than merely suffering through rainy season.
Three thousand+ blankets seems like a lofty goal when it is just the 3 of us - but that is maybe where you can come in. For about $3.00, you could buy a fleece blanket and pay for the shipping of that blanket to Australia where we will pick it up and boat it up to PNG in August when we return as a family. Or, you can hop in your car and do like Julie did - make a scene at the local thrift store with a shopping cart full of blankets. The lightweight fleece throw is perfect: lightweight but warm, dries quickly, and a nice size for one person. So our challenge to you is to make a scene at Goodwill (or your thrift store of choice, or donate some $ so we can make further scenes ourselves) and make someone in Akoletland warm this rainy season, and maybe, just maybe, open the door for the Gospel to keep moving forward.
The Akolet, all 3000+ of them, suffer with a change of clothes or two that once wet, don't dry until the lucky day of some sunshine. And at night, blankets are few and far between - especially for the elderly and the babies.
So back to my shopping cart piled with fleece blankets in the middle of June in Iowa. We are hoping, along with all the rain ponchos that many of you gave, to be able to take a lot of blankets back to our friends and neighbors. We would love to be able to return to our home in Akolet and give the Akolet church the mission of delivering blankets to every person in all 8 villages. And while they are delivering blankets, maybe a door will open for the Gospel to go to a new village, one that is still in spiritual darkness, which we all know is way worse than merely suffering through rainy season.
Three thousand+ blankets seems like a lofty goal when it is just the 3 of us - but that is maybe where you can come in. For about $3.00, you could buy a fleece blanket and pay for the shipping of that blanket to Australia where we will pick it up and boat it up to PNG in August when we return as a family. Or, you can hop in your car and do like Julie did - make a scene at the local thrift store with a shopping cart full of blankets. The lightweight fleece throw is perfect: lightweight but warm, dries quickly, and a nice size for one person. So our challenge to you is to make a scene at Goodwill (or your thrift store of choice, or donate some $ so we can make further scenes ourselves) and make someone in Akoletland warm this rainy season, and maybe, just maybe, open the door for the Gospel to keep moving forward.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Some eye candy to get you started
So we haven't really done much with this blog...other than start it. But we have a few pictures and that is better than nothing. So here they are with not much fanfare.
Ready to set sail with Captain Jimmi
Foolish smiles!
Only made it half way and Mr. Engine Sir quit.
Lela's cosy bedroom
You know what this is
Our room
The galley
A lovely salon
So there Alo Alo is for now. Much work and love is needed but this is a start.
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