Sharing about our work in PNG
Our time in the UK and Canada has been very busy but a real blessing. If you were unable to hear us share about our work, here is a video of one of our presentations.
The Bible Box
Most of the time when Ryan is flying to bush strips, he carries with him his trusty Bible Box, which contains Tok Pisin (Melanesian Pidgin) Bibles, Audio Bibles, small Bible Dictionaries and even a few pairs of reading glasses.
Recently, our friends, Mandy & Mathias, were given some Bible Concordances which had been translated into Tok Pisin. They asked Ryan to distribute them to some bush pastors…
Shiv’s Birthday Celebration
My birthday’s on Tuesday this year, so we celebrated a little early as Ryan is flying on Tuesday and we don’t have any expat neighbours for me to have a birthday tea party with.
As I expected, no post from overseas arrived in time, although I know some is coming! However, my Parents-in-Law sent my birthday card with us from Canada and I have some wonderful friends in PNG who sent me cards and gifts.
So, even though this was an unusually quiet birthday with no friends around, I feel throughly spoilt and extremely blessed, thanks mostly to my wonderful husband!
KETCHUP - CATCH UP!
Last week we held a 4-day gathering for all of the MAF PNG, in-country expat families. “The KETCHUP” was a chance for all expats to gather, get some spiritual input and share in some overdue fellowship. As our expat colleagues are based in 4 different locations, it is often a long time between visits, so this was a wonderful opportunity to meet the new families and have time to support and encourage each other.
Click to see more pics and find out a bit of what we got up to.
Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!
We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving this weekend with two other Canadian families, one with MAF and the other who works for a local tourism company.
Ray enjoyed the leftovers!
Mushrooms!!!
Simple pleasures can be a huge blessing!
Our friend, Glenys who is a pilot based in Goroka, kindly arranged to send some locally grown Oyster Mushrooms on the MAF plane to some of us in Mt Hagen (My friend, Mandy is pictured with me). This is only the third time I have seen fresh mushrooms in my 6.5 years in PNG! Usually we just use tinned ones, so this is a lovely treat.
Saturday fun with friends…
Most of the MAF ladies currently in Mt Hagen spent Saturday morning glass painting, thanks to Fiona, who brought all the glass painting pens with her from the UK last year.
It was a fun time to spend together and rather novel to do a different activity whilst sharing a cuppa!
As we will only be in Mt Hagen for a couple more weeks, I (Shiv) am trying to make the most of these lovely social opportunities.
Family Afternoon Out
On Saturday afternoon we borrowed a MAF vehicle (ours is waiting for a part) and drove up to Ronden Ridge, about half an hour outside of Mt Hagen. There are beautiful views of Hagen and it’s very peaceful up there. But our main reason for going was to visit the spot where we first said “I love you” about 4 years ago. 😍 The rock in the stream where we had a picnic is still there, pictured just over Ryan’s right shoulder! Happy memories!
Ray the dog seemed a little confused with his new backpack, but he’s an old man now, he can’t keep up with us on walks like he used to. The backpack means he can still come with us for a bit of fresh air and exercise!
Ryan also found an empty Cicada shell, click below to see the pics.
Sharing our Struggles
I (Shiv) wanted to share how I was struggling with my feelings of isolation in the midst of the COVID-19 situation and having my life seemingly on hold, and how I am learning to lean on God to cope.
Our friends at Rural Light Ministries (www.rurallight.com) kindly filmed and edited this video of my sharing. If you are struggling with isolation, I really hope this is encouraging to you!
Click on the picture to watch the video.
Click on the picture, left, to watch a video of our friend, Nurse Rhema, one of the local health care workers who MAF supports and we fly out of Telefomin.