Soccer Camp Devotional Video

Ian is leading a time of devotion in Pidgin in the grand stands at Soccer Camp. We think that by the end of the week, there were about 200 kids coming to camp... we hope and pray that seeds of faith were planted!

Papuan Worship Group

This video is a clip from the Reformed Church in Lae, when a visiting group from the highlands came to perform a few worship songs for us. We loved the worship and singing time in Church, as music definately crosses language and cultural barriers! It often gave us goosebumps!

Driving Through River Video

Here is a video of us driving through a river on our way to Ukarumpa in the highlands. The bridge was out and this was the only way to get to our destination.

Goodbye PNG... Hello Canada!

Our last week in PNG was really special, it was amazing to feel connected to so many members of the Living Waters church. At the last Sunday service we said goodbye to most of the members, and as is the tradition in PNG we were given a whole lot of gifts - all handmade bilums, jewelry, traditional beadwork peices, some handsewn maryblouses, Tim even got a handsewn man's shirt (you'll have to ask him to model it for you sometime!)... we were overwhelmed with the generosity. It is amazing to see people who have little material possions be so willing to give so much away. On our last night a group of people came from Biwat, the nearby settlement to say goodbye, and we had a nice time of prayer and singing with them.

Tim saying bye to the guys at church

Saying goodbye to Emalda (she sewed the maryblouse I am wearing!)

As you might of already heard, Ian, Nadia and family are also headed "home" to Ontario for an early furlough, as Ian is dealing with ongoing health issues. We of course never expected to be leaving at the same time as Ian & Nadia, but it did make leaving PNG easier - knowing we would be able to see them fairly soon again. We all left on the same flight out of Lae together, and we got to spend one day in Cairns, AU together. They will be taking their time to get home, and we headed straight back to Canada without any breaks.

The little 20 seater prop plane that took us from Port Moresby to Cairns, AU!

Lucas in Cairns

Noah, Jono & Karlyn excited about cheesecake!

And now we have arrived home in Ontario! Wow, what a long and exhausting plane trip home - our own bed has never felt so good before! We are so thankful to be home, and to be healthy and safe, we praise God for His blessings over us on our time away! The 6 plane trips (yes we had to go on 6 planes to get from Lae, PNG to Buffalo, NY!) felt really long and tiring, but it went really well - the kids did great! Our first plane and our last plane were delayed, but thankfully we were able to make all our connections on time! For the really long stretch (Sydney to LA) we had bulkhead seats, so extra leg room - which turned into a great spot for Noah to sleep! We are definately dealing with jetlag (the boys were wide awake from 1:20-4:30 am last night), but we hope to get back into Ontario time soon!

Since we now have highspeed internet... I thought I'd upload a few more pictures... some more of our favourites!

Soccer camp

Kids at soccer camp in the stands during devotional time Soccer camp - Noah getting involved

Shopping PNG style for a maryblouse at the market
View of Yonki Lake in the Highlands View of horse pastures in Ukarumpa, Highlands
Gami showing Noah a little rat
Health session in the villageCooking over fire in clay pot
Lucas sleeping
Lucas managed to crawl up into the change table shelf himself... I couldn't find him anywhere!
Room in school in village... kids sit on mats on ground
School kids
Village homes
Family that is very involved in the church... Tim helped fix the windows of the home they are now living in
Mama and beautiful baby girl

Favourite Pictures

Our time here is winding down, we have only 5 days left. Tim is working hard to finish the sandbox shade cover (which has now become a playstructure!), and I had the last 2 health sessions finish up on Wednesday. It still sometimes feels surreal to stop and look around at the scenery, the people, and feel this heat – did we just spend a summer in PNG?!? Time does go by so fast, especially with so many new experiences. We do look forward to returning home to Canada, where you won’t be stared at when out and about (a few people have told us that we are the first white person their child has seen!). We have learned so much, and have so much respect for people like Ian, Nadia, Jono & Karlyn, who dedicate their lives to serve the people here. Here are some of our favorite pictures from our time here… we look forward to catching up with you when we get home!

Jono and Noah... smiles and hugs!

Woman and child at market

Our generous hosts...

Noah, Karlyn & Jono

Lucas smiling again...

Village Life

On Monday we had another amazing day! We trekked out to a village in the Markham valley, where Pastor Bob and his wife Ruth hosted us for some PNG kaikai (food), what a great experience! Tim was able to lead the young men of the village (about 40 guys) in some soccer skill stuff – which they loved, and I taught another health session to the mommas. It was really amazing to see this beautiful village, surrounded by cocco trees, coconut trees, banana trees, and huge lush ferns. The people live in really simple homes on stilts with no running water or electricity, and cook over an open fire, use an outhouse, bathe in the nearby river… wow. There is something totally amazing about living in the jungle like that, the people were all so happy and welcoming and very proud to share their home with us. The meal we had together was very special, and the prayer to open the meal by a leader in the village was moving, he prayed that although we come from different backgrounds it is a blessing to serve the same Lord.
Nadia with a bilum hanging from her head - if you look closely you will see a little baby sleeping in the bilum!
Lucas chillin' with one of the village leaders
Some bananas cooked in coconut oil, kumo (like spinach) and fish - yup I ate it all!

Typical PNG style of swimming... Jono, Noah and their friend Robert had a great time playing in the river.

Bouncing Around PNG!

PNG is a breathtakingly beautiful country! We have just come back “home” to Lae after traveling through some of the coast and mountains of this amazing country. We first went to Madang, a small coastal town – we had to go over a mountain to get there, what a ride! The road was steep, windy, sections of the road were washed away from landslides and full of huge potholes – we bounced around a lot but 5 hours later got there safe and sound! It was like a jigsaw puzzle to get us all in the vehicle together… we barely fit! But the drive was definitely worth it – what a beautiful place! We stayed in little cabins right by the Pacific Ocean, with a close little beach, the kids had a great time playing in the sand and water for 3 days!

Here are some Nationals bringing bananas from their garden to the village, this was the view from our little beach area.
Tim, Ian, Jono and Noah went for a boat ride to a nearby island where they played on the beach and the guys did some snorkeling there, the reefs were breathtaking!

Lucas playing on our bed in the cabin... he is so smiley!

From there we drove back through the mountain, then through a river (yes, literally – the bridge was out), and up another mountain to Ukarumpa. Ukarumpa is the SIL and Wycliffe Missionary Base up in the Highlands of PNG and is another amazing place to visit! The weather is wonderful, very cool – we even wore sweaters at night! We visited with some of Ian & Nadia’s friends, and really enjoyed meeting these families! On Saturday we went for a day trip to Yonki, a lake where a wonderful family is starting an orphanage… we also had a “moomoo” (festive meal) with some nationals in Yonki.

View of Yonki from the mountain road, was beautiful!

Back to life in Lae here, and back to the heat, humidity and rain! As I sit here typing, Tim is busy cutting Ian’s hair (much to Nadia’s apprehension), but it looks good from my angle! He has also planted a vegetable garden here, and is working on a shade cover for the sandbox. I am planning to go to a literacy course tomorrow morning with some of the women in the church, and am working on setting up some more health sessions for next week. The kids are still doing really well; we are realizing that it will be hard for the cousins to be apart when we leave. If we reflect on the past 5 weeks, we realize how much we have learned and experienced already, how much Pidgin we have “picked up”, how many people we have met, the sights we have seen, and we are learning so much about the power of God at work in PNG… we look forward to treasuring the next two weeks here with family.

A little of this, a little of that...

Well, so much happens in a week, it’s hard to write it in one entry, but I will try! Tim has been busy with a bit of everything it seems! He has spent almost a week working at the church, putting up screens and metal grates (for security) and finished that project this week. Each day he had some helpers from the church join him, and Tim loved getting to know the people and working with them.

Tim has also spent some time shopping for materials here in PNG, what an exercise in patience! Tim went to pick up some lumber supplies (to build a shade cover for the kid’s sandbox), and it took him about 3 hours, and the building supply store is only 5 mins away… as you can tell it is a long story, but we are learning that time is not of the essence here in this country (it’s a good lesson for us busy Canadians!). Tim has also been running some extra soccer clinics for kids at an open field near their settlement – he had about 60 kids come for a few hours, and they love him! Tim was also invited to play on the PNG Division 1 team on Saturday at the stadium, we’ll have to see how that goes!!

This morning I held the first health teaching session in the Biwat Settlement. We had about 25 “mamas” (moms) and lots of “pikininis” (children) come. The teaching was about disease prevention (healthy living, cleanliness, nutrition) and about treatment of some common problems (dehydration, diarrhea, wounds, TB). In the settlements, the people live in small shacks, with no running water – they bathe in the nearby river. Many of the homes are built on stilts, and we met under a home that was built that way. It is quite a crowded area with lots of families in close proximity. It is sad to hear about how often sickness (and even death) happens from situations that could be prevented (such as untreated, infected sores can quickly make a person septic and if untreated, die). It was an amazing experience to work with the women in the settlement, their desire to learn was so encouraging. I pray that they may live healthier lives. We hope to do a few more teaching sessions in different settlements, as well as to do an evening session on HIV/AIDS and invite the entire community to attend.
The boys have been keeping busy too – swimming, biking, bonding, learning how to share, growing, learning new words (Lucas can say “dada”, Noah can say “sorry”!), they are just doing so well here! We are so thankful that they are adjusting so well, there are so many changes in their little lives. It has also been so special for the cousins to spend so much time together, and for us to get to know Jono and Karlyn!

We are excited to see more of PNG this coming week when we go on a little vacation with Ian and Nadia. We plan to drive to Madang (5 hours away) – a town up the coast – for a few days, then up to Ukarumpa – the missionary base for Wycliffe Bible translators. We’ll be sure to update you when we return!

On our way to Biwat Night Fellowship (yes, Lucas is in a sling, and Tim has a purse, I mean a bilum - a gift from the nationals, all the men carry a bilum here!)

Some Pictures...

Lucas & Gami bonding after church

My first trip to the market - what a place! There was probably 1000 people there, and all the vendors selling their fruit, veggies, peanuts, and even a roasted turtle!

Tim drinking some Kulau (coconut juice), he got the coconut as a gift from one of the parents from soccer camp!

Noah, Jono & Karlyn playing in the sand pit at the track with some friends

Noah & Jono

Life in Lae

Hey everyone! We hope that you are all doing well! Things are still going really good here in Lae, we are loving this country! It is absolutely beautiful, with lush tropical jungles everywhere, mountains and the Pacific Ocean border the city of Lae. We are getting adjusted to the climate, but still almost always feel hot and sticky – we shower at least 2x a day, and often swim too! It is the rainy season, so almost every day it rains at least once!

I am planning to do the first health session (basic education about disease prevention and treatment for common issues, ie. dehydration, boils, tropical ulcers). The session is planned to be in the Biwat Settlement, and all the mothers are invited to attend. There is a woman from the church who is going to help me by translating - she has some experience with health teaching (such a blessing)! I am trying to make the session as hands-on and practical as possible. We are planning to do an evening education session about HIV/AIDS later, and invite the entire settlement to attend.

It has been amazing to have this glimpse into Ian & Nadia’s life and work, and so powerful to see how God is working in this country. On Sunday we were priviledged to listen to a group of singers from a village in the mountains – they sang with tambourines and guitars, such beautiful and uplifting praises! It is so amazing to worship in a different language and experience how praising God together crosses all language and culture barriers!

(I'm having a hard time uploading pictures, I will try to do that another time!)

Outreach Soccer Camp!

Hi, Tim here! Well our first full week has gone by, and we are feeling quite at home. This week we ran the soccer outreach camp. Monday we used as a planning session, not knowing what to expect it was difficult to anticipate how things would go. The first group of kids showed up around 8:45, the morning was cool for PNG weather around 24 degrees. I was sweating already, perhaps more due to nerves then the actual heat and humidity! The stadium has a seating capacity of about 1000, it has a beautiful track used for the South Pacific games in the 90’s, and the grass was comparable to turf on a fairway, very lush and green. It was quite exciting to have the opportunity to use this facility.

The plan was to start at 9:00 but groups of kids kept showing up. By about 9:30 we started running the first drill with about thirty kids, and I thought to myself this is a good manageable number with the 16 balls I had brought along! But the kids kept joining in, by 10:00 there were over sixty kids. And instead of 8 – 12 year olds as Ian mentioned at Church, 16, 17, 18 year olds started joining in as well, and some younger than 8 as well. They all seemed very keen on learning or perfecting there skills. I was amazed that only 3 or 4 kids wore shoes and only 1 had soccer shoes, the rest went barefoot. At around 10:30, everything is approximate with time here; Ian led a devotion in the grand stands. Ian also had them cheering - I’m sure you could hear the cheering all over Lae.
I guess the word was out about the camp, kids began showing up before we would get there to set-up at 8:30 and by 9 ish on Wednesday there were about 100 kids, youth, and some adults. Some lived in settlements close enough to walk but many rode in on the bus. I would give the instructions and demonstrate and Ian would translate if necessary, it was difficult for everyone to hear so Nadia borrowed a Megaphone (besides the soccer balls, the most effective tool at the camp). Wednesday I lead the devotion while Ian translated. Ian then asked if they wanted to sing and before he was finished talking they broke out into a song with various parts, it was unbelievable. Many of the children have some church background, some attend the church Ian preaches in. Ian mentioned that there is list of Christian songs that are well known by the Nationals. The singing was amazing – they sang with all their hearts, I’m sure with the 120+ people including Moms & Dads that it could be heard all over as well. After serving drinks and kaikai (food), we took to the field and finished the session with games. Thursday was pouring rain but that didn’t stop kids from turning up we still had over 100 and they all wanted to play! On Friday we included various challenges worked into the program. Lis and I had brought 30 t-shirts to handout – we were not able to give one to everyone, so we had juggling and penalty shot competitions and gave a shirt to the winners from each age group.

We donated most of the soccer balls, giving 2 balls to the 4 different settlements there were represented at the camp. Unfortunately, one of the groups ran off to the market we were told to sell the balls! There were a number of parents and older members of the Reformed Church that helped out, we gave them Canadian souvenirs. It was a very rewarding experience – though it had its challenges trying to communicate – the kids were always very excited, and really created an opportunity to get to know the Papuan Nationals, kids wave when you see them on the streets and smile quickly. It was also a great way to draw in the older youth and young men, very few go to Church and there is an issue with gangs, and share the gospel with them!