Friday, November 20, 2009

Holidays & PNG fun

Hi all,

We are currently home in Australia on furlough for a few weeks. We have visited Townsville, Charters Towers, Mount Isa and Canberra, and we head to Mackay on Tuesday. We have the next few days visiting with Duane (Brad's older brother), his wife Rebecca, and their gorgeous 10-week old baby Amelia (aka Milly). It's been lovely to catch up with them, and babysit Milly.

Just a quick update on our adventures in PNG in the last month or two before we came home...

Brad and I both had our birthdays (27 and 26 respectively). We had a little party for Brad, complete with an abundance of food, friends, and pass-the-parcel.

Brad had another bout of Malaria, this time symptomatic with fevers, aches and pains. It was a different strain to the last one, as the treatment didn't work this time and we had to try a newer drug (8 tablets as a single dose!).

I took Brad with me to visit the children's ward with books and toys. He enjoyed it, but was appalled at the facility and standard of care offered.

My job at the hospital pharmacy didn't work out, so I'm now looking at doing work in the health department of the PNG Union Mission on a volunteer's stipend. We are yet to see if the proposal for this position will be approved.

I have begun doing piano lessons at the orphanage with 12 children and 3 nuns. They love it! I've only done 2 lessons so far but have left a keyboard with them to practice on, and we'll re-commence lessons in the new year.

We have had big problems with our power and water supplies, sometimes having neither for hours or days! Very frustrating... may I suggest that you never take the little luxuries of life for granted!

I think that's about all for now,

God bless you all,

Love Kriselle & Brad

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Hi all,
Brad & I had an awesome Sabbath. We went out to the Boundary Rd settlement area church where one of my house meri's attends. I got to hang out in the cradle roll/kindy sabbath school class. I joined in on all the songs, and the kids thought it was hilarious when I did the actions with them for Father Abraham. My house meri (Norris) has 3 pikininis and the youngest had his second birthday last week. So I made him a birthday cake and helped her ice it for him. It's amazing how far that cake went (maybe 30 people?)!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Weekend fun in PNG

Hi all,
Brad & I have had a great weekend.
Yesterday we attended the prison church (Brad in high security, and me in low security). The group in low security included both prisoners and family/friends from the community. The church was pretty full (maybe 150 people) and the singing was awesome. I'm still having trouble understanding the pidgin sermons properly.
This morning we picked up our house meri and her husband and 4 pikininis to go to the beach. We went to the village where my house meri grew up, which is just a few metres off the shoreline. They have black sand (maybe from an extinct volcano). About 50 metres down the beach they have a shipwrecked Japanese ship which was bombed by the Americans in World War 2. Half the boat is under the sand and coconut trees and houses are now on top of it.
All along the beach they have built small tin shacks used as outhouses (though there was evidence that not everybody uses these!).
We played ball and walked along the beach for an hour or two. After our beach adventure we took the family home for lunch and spent some time playing with remote control cars with the children, and showing the adults some of our family photos (they are amazed that I still have 4 grandparents alive!... here people are doing well to live to 50 or 60).
May God bless you all in the coming week!