Family and Friends,
Mike and I were just talking that it has been 2 weeks already in Kudjip, WHP Paupa New Guinea. We can’t believe that the time is passing so quickly. Last week at this time we just got back from Mondomil. This week has been fast with all types of activities.
We had a wonderful Christmas!!! 75 degrees slight wind, and beautiful sunshine!!! We started Christmas Eve at Jeff and Susan Meyers party playing games and eating snacks. On Christmas Day we ate dinner at Andy and Judy Bennett’s. They had invited others for dinner so we enjoyed visiting. In the afternoon we went to Ray and Karen Comstocks for games until 5 p.m. We thought we were done for the evening then here comes Dr. Bill McCoy saying we are having a bonfire in the park at 8 p.m. We went to the park, sat around telling stories of how we got to PNG, roasted marshmallows and made smores. It was a fantastic time of learning how God directs our paths and opens doors.
The last time I wrote, the hospital was closed because of threats being made to the project general contractor. As of Christmas Day Evening the hospital has been opened back up. The man making the threats came to Dr. Bill Christmas morning apologizing that he had been shamed (this is a shame based society) and was wrong. We hope that he understands that he hurt the hospital and the project because they are one in the same. Dr. Bill then made the decision to open the hospital for emergency patients Christmas Eve. Wednesday started full hospital operations. Mike has ‘in meetings Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday making sure that everyone is thinking on the same page and understands what is to happen. No contracts will be given for the project unless the general contractor’s project manager’s, the subcontractor’s, and Mike’s signature is on the contract. Continue to pray that communication lines are clear.
Mike has been working in his office getting it set up and going through all the paperwork. He has stacks of papers that there left from the beginning of the project. He hopes to get it organized quickly so that he can get the budget numbers in line. The team needs to know how much money has been spent and what is left. He is also working on the work and witness blog. The blog will be a site that teams can go to for all the information needed about coming to PNG - flights, travel tips, housing, grocery shopping, materials.
I have been working at the school house getting ready for Jan 2nd, the first day of school. I will have 1 first grader, 1 third grader, 2 fourth graders, 1 sixth grader. I have had meetings with all the parents and gone through the curriculum. We will be very busy with math, reading, writing, spelling, English, history, and science. It will be a challenge to make sure everyone is working on the correct lessons and that time is used efficiently. The children are already in a routine so they know what is expected. Parents are available to help when needed. The high school teacher will be here Jan 12th. Her passport was found.
This week I went to market for the first shopping day in Mt. Hagan. What an experience!!! When you drive on the road you are on the left side. People walk right on the side of the road. The car has the right away. We arrived in town 1 hour after leaving Kudjip. We did have to slow down for some potholes and one lane bridges. The grocery store is like a department store. You enter through a gated entrance and leave through a gated exit. The security guards check everything and everybody. When they find that we are from the Nazarene Hospital we are taken through quickly. The grocery store has lots of different items. The products come from Australia so it has English on the packaging that helps. I was able to find everything on my list except Lysol wipes and a small fan. We are going to be using boxed milk. The meat department is a question! I am going to try and get fresh chickens whenever possible. It took me 2 hours to spend $1965 kena. When I got home, I had to wash all the items - cans, bottles, etc. before putting them in the cabinet or refrigerator. It has been recommended that all vegetables and fruits are soaked in Clorox water before using.
After the grocery store we went to the open market. My, what a selection of fruits, vegetables, chicken, yarn, mariblouses, skirts, belims, and hats. As we walked around several boys were following us and all of a sudden a man started kicking them and told them not to follow us. I was told later that I should have said hi to the children then they would have left. The market is everyday.
When we got home from town. I washed a couple loads of clothes. As I was hanging out clothes I heard this noise in the garden. I looked and there was a pig. He was digging and rutting around. I thought that someone would come and get him. I didn’t realize that I should have chased him away right. No one showed up and he made a miss in the garden and yard. Next time I will tie a rope around his front leg and tie him to the tree in the front of the house. I can get reimbursement because they are not to have their pigs on the station. Everyone walks around with their pigs and chickens on a rope.
Another learning experience is when you open a door or cabinet expect a bug of some sort to be looking at you - cockroach, cricket, or ants. It is amazing how fast ants appear if you leave something on the counter top. We definantly will clean as we go!!! When I was cleaning the toaster, a gecko fell out with the crumbs, what a surprise.
Saturday, Dec 29, we went to Mt. Hagan for fun with several. We walked around the market, got groceries, ate lunch at the Highlander (very nice resort with swimming pool), and drove up to Rondom Ridge for coffee. Rondom Ridge is a big resort that sits high on the mountain overlooking Mt. Hagan. They also had beautiful gardens. We got back to Kudjip at 4 p.m. It was a very nice to day to be able to learn the town better so that when we go by ourselves we can find the stores. Mike is quite the novelty with the people because of his height. Everyone was looking at him, smiling, and talking. He would greet them and shake hands.
This morning we are going to a rural church about 15 minutes from the station. We will continue language lessons with Jonathan and Lina. We have books that we are studying and reading.
Thank you for your prayers and support. It is really important to continue to pray for the hospital project that clear communication is had by all. Other prayer requests would be more funding for the hospital, work and witness project funding, work and witness teams planning on coming, and also school starting this week.
Have a great NEW YEAR’S and may God richly bless you in the coming year.
Michael and Diane Chapman
