we're in Madang!

I'm enjoying every single second of our holiday in Madang. What a rare treat! I love ordering off a menu. I'm loving my time off from the kitchen. The boys are enjoying time with Nana & Papa, and also with their PNG Mama and Papa. We visited Sarang once again. It always feels like home to me when I go back. Nana & Papa were welcomed with open arms and with a big PNG feast. Then our wasfamili joined us for a day at the resort. They had a blast swimming in the pool and we enjoyed a poolside lunch together. The boys have really warmed up to Mama & Papa and their children. Jesse especially likes Papa Thomas and even cried when he left! (What will it be like when Papa Marv leaves?! Yikes!!!) It was a very memorable day.

Last night Drew and I went on an real date to a real restaurant - something we don't get to do when we're in Ukarumpa. We found a great place and had a quiet dinner overlooking the ocean. We realized this could very easily be our one an only date in 2 1/2 years. We'll have more date nights back in Ukarumpa, but not going to a fancy restaurant - that's for sure!

Our time is nearly over in Madang. It's gone by way too fast! We'll be heading back to Ukarumpa tomorrow on that bumpy, long road.

p.s. Mom and Dad: We're at a loss for words for how to thank you for this! It's been the trip of a lifetime! Thanks a million times over.

*I'll post pictures when we get back to Uka....the internet is way too slow here!*

geeks

forgot this one!

Nana squishing Bill.

nana & papa arrival pics

I love the way Jester just melted into Papa and the way it looks like Nana is squishing William way too hard! 

 

One pic is the official 'mac' ceremony picture.  I'm in heaven.

nana & papa

My mom and dad are here with us for the next 4 weeks. Are we excited? YES! Are we happy? YES! Are we being spoiled? YES!!

Nana is the apple of Jesse's eye and Nana is officially my replacement. My current status is chopped liver (but I don't mind....also keep in mind I don't have an unending stash of fun fruits to give him). William is busy being the tour guide. He is a walking encyclopedia, knows all the short cuts around town, and gives commentary to every movie we watch together. In Tok Pisin we say, "William, em i mauswara pikinini," (William is a 'mouth water' kid - which is he talks LOTS).

It's so fun to have Nana & Papa here....2 new faces to show of the latest Lego creation or the latest 'bug of the day'. I know the time will go by way too fast. Hopefully when Nana leaves my status will go up from chopped liver.

Bilum Boys

This is a familiar sight every Tuesday and Thursday morning.  Off to school they go with their bilums hung around their necks.  I love seeing how Papua New Guineans react to the boys when they see them walk around 'PNG style'. They love it. Our hausmeri made these little bilums for the boys and they are very proud of them.

bug cocktail anyone?

Cocktail of the day: Bug Juice. 

 Ingredients: 4 Spiders, 1 Gecko, 1 Giant Grasshopper, 3 Earthworms, and a few other species I've never seen in my life.  Any takers? 

 

 

Jesse & Co.

Jester's main mission in life is to capture anything that crawls. Unfortunately most of his friendships end fatally. That spider isn't poisonous, is it? Jester assured me it was.

this is how it feels sometimes.....

Jesse has a growing fascination with anything that moves right now. His latest pet is this oversized grasshopper with one leg missing. He carries it with him in a jar wherever he goes. The grasshopper faithfully sits beside him as he eats at the table, watches over him as he sleeps at night, and endures 'playtime' which involves being put through earthquakes that would be at least 7.0 on the Richter scale. This morning Jesse went to nursery so his faithful friend was left behind, just sitting on the table with nothing to do but wait for Jesse's return. As I looked at the grasshopper I felt sympathy come over me. "I feel like you," I thought, "Trapped".

Geologically, on the map, I am smack dab in the centre of Papua New Guinea. I am living on a fenced in mission base. I have no car. And I'm living in this country where I don't have the same freedom that I had at home. I can't go out alone after dark. I can't just hop in a car and go shopping to 'the city'. I'm just...here. And it's not always a bad thing, it's just something to get used to.

On a spiritual level I've been feeling trapped too (this is the point I'm really trying to get to)..... I'm reading an eye opening book called The Supernatural Ways of Royalty by Kris Vallotton and Bill Johnson. Throughout my Christian walk I seem to struggle with the same issues over and over. I haven't fully grasped the implications of the profound truth that I am God's child. In many ways I've accepted 'Pauperhood'. What is a Pauperhood? Here is how Kris Vallotton describes it in his book;

"Pauperhood is relegated to the children of a lesser god. It is the condition of slaves who have yet to discover their freedom on the other side of the river of baptism and find themselves still captured by the dark prince of torture and torment. He is the one who assigns them to a life of poverty, pain and depression through a diabolical play of illusion hoping to conceal their true identity forever. This evil prince feeds his captors the rations of religion to fill their soul's hunger for righteousness. These slaves, blindfolded by their sin, think that they are laboring for their own freedom and work to pave their way out of prison with bricks built from the miry clay of self-righteousness. Yet unknowingly, brick by brick, the are erecting their own chambers of death."

After reading that being trapped inside a jar doesn't sound so bad. But if I'm honest with myself I find myself in this very state. Something my pastor said has spurred me on; "We need to start praying that our true identity will be revealed to us." So I've started praying. I'm tired of living like a second class citizen and believing the same lies over and over again. The reality is that I have the mind of Christ. I have his divine nature. I can know the thoughts of God and I do hear His voice. I am heir to His throne. I have the same Spirit living in me that resurrected Jesus from the dead. I have full rights and privileges to God's promises because I am his daughter. These things are true, so why isn't my life radically different? Jesus is inside me and is ready to come out!

Since coming here I've really struggled. I've felt so discouraged. Before we left the Lord gave me so many dreams about our time here...things He wanted to do through me. Now that I'm here those dreams seem so impossible. But I think they seem impossible because I've been living as a Pauper. Too often my thoughts are, "Can God really use little old me"? The answer is YES. I need to change the way I think and start walking in the authority I have as the Lord's daughter.

"The lowest (the least) member of His body is superior to the highest principality and power of darkness. The original target in the creation of man was for us to live and dwell in His glory. "All of sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). The cross removes the obstacle to His purposes, and restores us to His original intent. The religious heart is unwilling to recognize that we really have been made in His image, and that being born again restores us to a place of absolute purity.
Jesus added to this in His priestly prayer, "The glory which You have give Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one" (John 17:22). It is recorded in Proverbs that wisdom will bring to us a crown of glory. Even our bodies were designed to live in His glory. As we become more and more accustomed to the presence of His glory, even our bodies hunger for God's glorious presence. The sons of Korah, who had spent considerable time in the actual glory of God, and had seen the effect on the physical being, sang, "My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God" (Ps. 84:2).
When God's royalty touches our lives, we discover we are designed to live in God's glory. We no longer live in the bondages of our past - performance and comparison in our daily lives, but we know our worth in simply loving Him. For out of that springs living water and revelation for those who have not found the truth in the nations of the earth!"

I've found this to be so true. I have had God's royalty touch my life many times before - my physical body has felt His glory and once you've experienced that you are never the same. You just crave His presence and nothing else satisfies you....

So that's where I'm at. It's a little scary to be transparent....but I think we can learn from each other's journeys. So here's hoping you'll take something from mine.

if only.....

William asked me, "Mommy, do marshmallows grow here?"

 

Unfortunately not....but here is a picture of a marshmallow I know.

Mama i stap wantaim mi

She's here!  My Mama from Sarang has arrived.  I thank the Lord she is here with me.  She has big a huge help and encouragement to me. She has a strong faith in God and I know she prays for me a lot.  She is really becoming a 'Mama' to me and my love for her grows daily.  I can't believe she came all this way to help me while Andrew is gone and she's going to stay the full three weeks.  At first I was very nervous at the length of her visit because I didn't know what it would be like, but now I'm incredibly thankful.  I couldn't do it without her here - I told her that if she would'nt have come I probably would be on a bus by now with W and J to come and stay with her in Sarang.

 

 I've been finding it almost comical at the things I had to learn when I lived with them compared to the things she is learning living with me.  Here are my observations:

•  I had never bathed in a river and was scared to death the first time.  How do you bathe in public?  And how to you bathe when all those curious onlookers are watching you?
• I had to show Mama how to turn on the water for her shower.  I wondered if it was the first time she'd ever showered in complete privacy.

 

• I had never anything over a fire other than the odd hotdog or marshmallow.  While I was in Sarang I had to master cooking rice, baking bread, frying fish etc etc  over a fire.  It felt silly to have a 10 year old know more than me about cooking.
• Mama is scared of my stove and doesn't touch it.  I do the cooking. :)

 

• The first time I washed clothes in the river I had NO idea what was the best way.  I wanted to observe the other ladies and just copy them but unfortunately no one was washing clothes.  But I did have a crowd watching me to see how I would do it.
• Mama doesn't know how to use a washing machine.  She lets me wash her clothes (except her undies - she insists on washing those by hand)

 

• I often forgot to bring my dishes with me when I went to bathe.  They bathe and wash dishes simultaneously.
• Mama loves washing my dishes, but I had to show her which soap to use and how to turn on the tap. 

 

• When we lived in Sarang I had to get used to making just enough food as we had no way to keep it.  Whatever we couldn't eat we'd give away to somebody.
• I noticed that Mama seems to forget we have a refrigerator and she tries to finish all the food at meal time.  Sometimes I actually purposely make extra so that we have leftovers for the next day to eat!  I'd better tell her that!!

 

• In Sarang they thought it was kinda strange that Andrew and I shared a bed and our boys slept separately from us. 
• Our Papa stayed one night when he dropped Mama off....so here's the dilemma; who will sleep where?  They did share a room which turned out to be fine, but Papa had a terrible sleep because he doesn't like to sleep on a mattress.  When he comes to pick up Mama he wants to sleep on the floor.  I noticed that Mama was sleeping on top of all the blankets instead of between the sheets.  She had been complaining that she was itchy at night and I saw she had been using a scratchy wool blanket to cover up at night.  I explained to her she needs to sleep underneath the sheets and then she'd sleep better! 

 

• I loved the strong family ties in Sarang.  I could hardly tell who's kid was who's while we were there because they are just so intermingled.  Every kid has several Mamas and Papas.  They really take care of each other and share what they have.  It's like one big happy (most of the time) family.
• Since Mama has been here I've been very conscious that I don't even know what some of our neighbors names are.  We live so close together yet so independantly of each other.  It's completely opposite of the way they live.  Mama feels responsible for me and has come all this way.  And if she hadn't come who would've come to help me?  Who would've cared for me?  I have friends that would've helped, but not in the measure that she is.

 

I love it how God has taken two completely different people from opposite ends of the earth and put them together.  The thing that is so obvious to us is that we share the same Spirit - the Spirit of God.  It has united us and made a strong bond.  I know we'll be lifelong friends.

 

An explaination of the pictures:  Mama has never been to the highlands of PNG before so she wanted a picture of her and the mountains.  Her, me and the boys went to watch the horses.  She hopes that W & J will ride horses when they turn 7. :)  In her spare time she's been working on a bilum.  She is going to give it to somebody very special from Canada....

You're all tagged btw.

get to know me...

This is the Lisa edition of getting to know me. I think Crystal will be tickled...

1. What's your favorite dish your mom makes? well, it's more of a tag team with mom and dad....their famous steak dinner with usual; G.B., caesar salad, steamed broccoli with cheese sauce. okay, i'll stop.

2. If you could be anywhere else in the world right now where would it be? I'd be heading off to Winkler, MB.

3. Who's your favorite character on LOST? Siyid, hands down.

4. What is the oldest item of clothing you own and still wear? I still wear my U2 Popmart Tour t-shirt. I got it in summer of 1997. (and FYI I sat beside Mr. Deschauer at the concert..i know...crazy.)

5. Are you an introvert or and extrovert? I'm and introvert with a dash of extrovert.

6. What's your biggest pet peeve? Stinky dishcloths and towels. Ew. Bleach, people! Bleach.

7. If you could be someone else for a day who would it be and why? I'd want to be Andrew so I could know what really goes on in a man's mind and I could find out how to love him better.

8. Write down the first fond memory that comes to your mind. Our dinner party at C&C's with the gourmet burgers, homemade icecream, and a whole lot of laughs. sniff.

9. Do you like tupperware? I'm afraid to now.

10. If you could have any superpower what would it be? I'd like to be invisible. It'd come in handy.

11. Which countries have you all visited? (not including layovers where you were just in the airport) Ecuador, United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Japan, England, Kenya, Australia, Papua New Guinea.

12. Which country would you like to visit next? Vanuatu

13. Favorite icecream flavor? Rolo...but it has to be eaten at Clear Lake.

14. Are you a rebel or do you follow the rules? weellllll.....I have been tagged the black sheep in the family.

15. What's your favorite chore? I like hanging up clothes on the clothes line.

16. What do you like about yourself? I like it that I like to have meaningful friendships.

17. What would you change about yourself? fear of man is no fun.

18. What inspires you? Being around godly people.

19. What's your favorite fruit and your favorite veggie? Grapes (I miss them!) and Broccoli.

20. Last place you ate out? the Teen Centre! Yay!

21. Are you an early bird or a night owl? an early bird, but not by choice.

22. If you were on a deserted island and could take one person with you (not including your spouse) and one thing with you what would it be?
I'd have to say I'd bring Ruby, Gideon, and Ethan (I know that's 3 but I need to get to know them...and I can break the rules because I'm the author of this thing) and I'd bring along my collection of Robert Munsch to read to them.

23. What's your favorite smell? Arlene. (Crystal Loewen must state her 2nd favorite smell because I already know her favorite smell is Chris' temples)

24. What's your least favorite smell? Stinky dishcloths. We covered this already.

25. Are you a door slammer? Yes. (blush)

26. Do you tell people when their fly is open? Depends on who it is. My rule of thumb: if it's a man that you don't know very well...keep your mouth shut. Anyone else - yes.

27. Share something quarky about yourself. Not under any circumstance will I touch the hand railing on an escalator. (I watched a 20/20 investigation report...thanks a lot John Stossel.)

28. Worst movie you've ever seen? Happy Gilmore.

29. Do you like the person who wrote this? I hope you do...

photos of the week

Here are a few of my faves from this week. 

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yum-O

I made this recipe tonight. It's one of our new faves. You should try it.

SAUCE:
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp honey
1/8 tsp ground red pepper

VEGGIES & CHICKEN:
3 cups broccoli florets
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 Tbsp minced ginger
4 tsp minced garlic
2 lbs thinly sliced boneless chicken breasts
oil for cooking
1/2 cup cashews (I used peanuts cuz they're much cheaper here!)
4 pkts ramen noodles (or you can use rice)
Combine sauce ingredients and set aside. Steam broccoli and set aside, keeping warm.

Add a couple of tablespoons of oil to wok or large skillet. Add garlic and ginger. Heat until garlic starts to spatter. Add chicken and onions. Stir in sauce and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions. (Save seasoning packets for another use). Drain noodles and add chicken mixture, stirring to mix. Arrange broccoli on top and sprinkle with cashews. (I just stirred in the broccoli with the chicken and served it over rice...forget the noodles.)

Bill's birthday with the Ladies

Today was the big day! Bill celebrated his one and only 4th birthday with 4 cute (and single) chicks. Jester is lucky enough to be Bill's little brother and got to join in on the fun. A 2 to 4 ratio ain't bad. I arranged for all the kids to get horse rides. It was a big hit!

For more birthday fun check out our picasa album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lisandrewvb/WillS4thBirthdayWithTheLadies

also check out the new post below - 'she left'

Bill's Brush

This is my guess - Bill will be the artsy type and Jester will be the athletic type. We had a big downpour this afternoon so we got out the paints.

she left

Despite the popular vote that she would stay - she didn't. Auntie Arlene left on Monday. I keep wanting to set the table for 5....



We ended off our time with Arlene in Madang. Drew and I attended a conference with our organization for the first 5 days (all expense paid at the hotel!!!). Arlene watched the boys for us while we were in meetings. After the conference was over and the free stay at the hotel was over we moved to the 'guest house' flat for a few nights (I can't mention the names of our organization on my blog). Arlene got to experience a night in Sarang (our POC village). Her and I slept at our wasfamili's house and Andrew went back to Madang with the boys and picked us up the next day. It's about a 45min drive from Madang. We had a great time catching up with our dear wasfamili. Arlene was presented with a beautiful Madang bilum which was a pretty big deal! They treated her like a guest of honor - if she's our sister than she's family to them too.



One memorable moment.....we took a boat taxi to a secluded island for a morning. I had the unforgettable experience of getting stung by a jellyfish. It was really scary because we were pretty isolated and I was in a whole lot of pain. To make a long story short we found a boat ride back to Madang and I went right to the doctor where I got two injections - one penicillan shot and one anti-histamine shot. I would say that the pain was different than childbirth, but definitately on the same scale. I hope that never happens to me again!



Check out these pics from our time in Madang:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lisandrewvb/Madang0109

sweet 16

here's my 16.....

1. I love taking pictures and wish I had more time and money to spend on my hobby.

2. I have a sweet tooth like you wouldn't believe. I don't understand it when someone says they're too full for dessert.

3. I think Crystal has the most beautiful skin and eyes. I'm kinda jealous. (You go girl!)

4. I never ever get tired of hearing Jesse's raspy, gravelly voice. It makes my insides smile.

5. I love playing Lego and hope and pray my boys will be big into it....especially castles. I'm always up for playing Lego....or 'Legos' as we call it.

6. I've recently discovered that scuba diving is way more fun than anything else you can do in the water. It's really hard to drown....which is a fear of mine.

7. I had a major crush on McGuyver once.

8. My least favorite chore used to be emptying the dishwasher.....now I wish I had a dishwasher to empty.

9. I want to be like Elf one day.

10. I have this amazing ability that I look like I'm listening and following along, but really I'm not. It runs in the family.....right Chris?

11. I'm scared to call to make appointments. I wish my mommy would still do it for me. Drew refuses.

12. I want to learn how to make bagels and black bean sauce. Anyone have a good recipe?

13. All I want is a big slab of farmer sausage.

14. I need to lighten up more. Life shouldn't be so serious. Laughing feels so darn good.

15. I wish I could be more opinionated on stuff.....I'm on the fence a lot.

16. I've discovered that homesickness is an incurable disease. I could use a little Winkler lovin' right about now.

my day off.

My day off means two things.....I got off the centre - WOO HOO! And I had a day off from the regular routine - WOO HOO!!! On Tuesday we travelled to Goroka with Arlene, Nato, and Ryan & Crystal. Goroka is a big town about a 2 hour drive from Uka. We definitely pray for safety when we travel because rascals are unfortunately a part of life here. We had no glitches...only came close to hitting a few pigs and one goat....oh yeah - and a car veered into our side of the road, but missed us by a hair. Thank the Lord for his protection!

The scenery on the way to Goroka is absolutely breathtaking and we were fortunate enough to have a clear day so we could see the mountains. Goroka is known for it's coffee, bilums, and woven baskets...and you better believe I bought some coffee to send home to my coffee lovin' friends. That was practically the reason for the trip!

This is 'Blue Mountain Coffee' - we actually watched them package the coffee I'm sending home for everyone! It doesn't get much fresher than this. The smell in the place was intoxicatingly wonderful. I wish I could put in a bottle and wear it as a perfume.

Here are Ryan & Crystal - having a hoot in the back of the Land Cruiser. No Ryan, we're not there yet.
This was probaby my favorite part of the day - eating out! We rarely get the chance to eat out so I enjoyed every bite! And sharing a milkshake with my honey just topped it off.

Here's the group! Cheers to great day!

Oh yeah - and I'm still eating my words....I'm sharing this to keep me humble.

1. I said my kids could NEVER drink pop until they were 18 years old. Being in a developing country changes that.....they're averaging about one a week. Gotta keep hydrated, ya know?

2. I've never been a big vitamin/supplement person....I thought I'd never get into it. Just eat your veggies! But now I've got about 3 different vitamins/supplements I take with my breakfast....it's practically like a breakfast in itself!