Monday, May 11

I realized this morning that I am not dreaming at night.

We all got to sleep in a little this morning. I fixed sweet rice cereal for breakfast, toast for some and coffee.

At 9 am the students were invited to the seminarians devotion time. At 10 am they would be working in the speech and drama classes.

Sara Kelm is suffering from an upset stomach. She has stayed behind. I washed some community towels and the shower mat that was completely gross.

Finally, I was able to connect with Wade on his cell phone. I lost the satellite feed the first time but connected after several tries and was able to say and hear I love you’s! I miss him, and it felt good to hear is voice. It will be great when he meets me at the airport.

We will be going to the market today. Everyone is excited to finally get into the city and walk around.

Lunch will be leftovers and peanut butter sandwiches.

After lunch the team debriefed from the mornings classes. I was cleaning up from lunch so didn’t hear a lot of the details, but I was able to catch that things went pretty well.

Rhett wisely suggested that the team spend an hour cleaning up while he and I settled finances. It was good to get the house clean, and find out that we are under budget for our food in Lae. It has felt so strange spending 600 kina on food, at one time! And then to watch it disappear so fast!

We then headed in our new Mapai Escort Vehicle to the Lae Market. While I was able to get the fruits and vegetables I desired, the overall feeling was that there really wasn’t much there people wanted to buy. A few of the ladies bought meri skirts and personal food items.

We then went to the Food Mart by way of a tour of the town courtesy of Todd. I purchased the bulk of what we would need for meals the rest of the week but the best buy of all was a huge wheel of fresh rolls. It would be perfect for dinner.

Once home, I began making One Pot Chicken, with kau kau, kumu, bok choy, onions, chicken and curry. It was very good. Everyone enjoyed it. It’s funny, and we commented about this, what if I didn’t know how to cook? The way we are all working together is evidence of God’s provision in putting this trip together.

After dinner the rain came…HARD! So far it has only rained in the wee hours of the night. So Whitney and Cyndi headed outside. Soon most of the team was outside. It was awesome. I was actually chilled a couple of times. It was fun to see how much the kids enjoyed this little activity.

Those who joined in the fun eventually came in the house, piled their wet clothes in the hamper (I volunteered to wash them in the morning) and we all settled down for a time of journaling, reading and NOT sweating. Sara is actually sitting next to me cuddled under a blanket.

So we have been on this journey for one week now. Overall, it’s been a huge success. The students are amazing. They have been stellar in every way.
With the cool breeze and the rains here I hope we will sleep well tonight.
The weather has been really pretty great, except that it is hot and humid. But it has only rained at night, and so we are relived to get some water into the cistern but still be able to be outside during the day. It’s the kind of weather I remember during our time in PNG. The rain and heat create this tropical paradise, flowers and plants galore!