As of late the local stores have been out of a few key items that we Westerners like to use in our cooking. Mayonnaise, cheese, parmesan cheese, sliced ham and bacon, and brown sugar are a few of the items not to be found. White sugar is also apparently no longer legal and so the stores are selling a more brownish coloured version. I've also noticed that margarine seems to be running out. The main shop where we purchase this key item had only one rather damaged tub sitting forlornly in the cooler. This lack has prompted me to add even more items to my "I make this from scratch" list. Yesterday I made mayonnaise, yogurt and granola while the laundry hung out to dry. I felt as though I should go out and kill and pluck a chicken as well....

However, my life is rather easy compared to that of the family that owns the freezer being transported on top of the canoe in the photo above. They are still getting moved into their new house interior and the only way for them to get food (they can grow a few things in their garden) is by plane or helicopter. And the only plane that can get to them is our float plane. Our float plane pilot brought their freezer in the other day along with some guys who helped the family set up their solar power system. Unfortunately their batteries had not done well while in storage so the freezer is for now a piece of decoration. They have no fridge... I feel her pain...

Fun at the river...

Yesterday we went to the river that is located in the military base here. You travel up a lovely road lined with lovely well-groomed trees until you reach a guard post. There you must check in and leave a piece of ID. We always leave my MAF Canada ID - I'm Ground Crew (imagine my chest puffing out...). Then we travel up the road, which is now a pot-holed mess. The living quarters for military families are also nothing to get excited about. Some live in converted quonset huts left over from WW2...

Then we park and hike down about 15-20 minutes through the jungle where there are quite a few cocoa trees. As we've had a lot of rain lately so the water level was quite high and the water was flowing rather quickly. We went with our friends the Lewis' and took along Rode and Awi as well. They all had a great time jumping off the rocks and exploring around.

Before we left to go to the river, I made a trip to the market to get some chicken. The only chicken you can buy at the grocery store is whole frozen ones that have come on a boat from Surabaya. Everyday they thaw some and cut them up but of course you can't refreeze that meat... So off to the market I went. I was struck again by how many people touch the raw meat and don't wash their hands (of course there is no place to wash your hands there... at least nowhere where there is clean water...). On my way to the market there was a bit of a traffic jam. I was very thankful to be on my motorbike and not in a car. It's election time you see. Yesterday there were dump truck loads of people and taxis (like little vans) full of people and others were walking alongside the road; all campaigning for their favorite political party. I passed a group of men dressed up like women dancing to some Javanese music.... hmmm.... Thankfully, election time here is a relatively peaceful time. Lots of money is handed out so people are generally happy....

Wheel barrow advertising at its best...

Mikah's birthday party...

What would we do without the pool??? We had a nice "pool party" for Mikah for her birthday including yummy chocolate cake with chocolate icing.... Mikah LOVES chocolate. She had invited all the girls in her class and two other girls she hangs out with who are not in her class.

Of course the other photo is Brynnie on her bike wearing her new Singapore t-shirt.... Looking just sooo incredibly sweet!

*Our reformed churches here are working on starting a new school with a dorm for kids aged 15 and up (I believe). The idea is to grow leaders and teachers with a real heart for God. They hope to start up this summer. Good education of a Christian nature is sorely lacking here. In the interior any education is sorely lacking so a school like this is greatly needed. Many kids from the interior go to the cities on the coast to complete high school and come completely under-educated and very naive and therefore struggle in school and often fall in with a bad crowd. Please remember this vital project in your prayers.

Bits and Bites....

A couple weeks ago two of our pilots had the pleasure of opening a new airstrip in the interior village of Pamek. The people had been working on this strip for 7 years!! A few days beforehand one of the pilots had hiked to the village from another airstrip. He checked it all out and deemed it fit for use. Two days later they landed for the first time. The villagers were very excited and were all dressed up in traditional festive-wear (wearing western clothes underneath so as not to be virtually n*ked). They also cooked up a bunch of pigs in the traditional pit with hot stones. It's really exciting for a village to have its own strip; it's also a bit of a status symbol... Now if a villager should need immediate medical attention, they don't need to carry them to another strip. The hike is a dangerous and laborious one; certainly not one you'd like to do while carrying an ill person.

In the last two weeks twice our pilots have made emergency airdrops of meds to "M's" in great need of medicine. These folks are working in areas accesible only by helicopter. As the heli's were down, our guys were called on to make the airdrops. And they did so successfully and the patients were able to get their meds!

A while ago I wrote about having lent money to a woman from our church and I had had to go to their house to ask them about it. Well, they paid me back in full the other week. I asked a Dutch guy who works with them if I should pursue repayment or forgive the debt or what. He said that I should pursue repayment as forgiving it sets a bad precedent. Plus they do receive a decent wage so they can handle repaying that kind of money.

There have been soccer games across the road every evening again. The games start at around 5:00 and end about an hour later. This week, for the duration of each and every game, children have been drumming loudly and singing a little tune, without ceasing... I can't imagine where they get the stamina from????

Mikah's 11!!!!

Yesterday was Mikah's 11th birthday. It was a quiet day. As I had just come home from Singapore the day before (losing a night of sleep in the process), I was not prepared to host a birthday party. That will hopefully happen next Saturday. It was neat that I was in Singapore before Mikah's birthday as I could shop there for her. I found a nice little Bible for her, an Mp3 player, a ball for her hamster to run around the house in, a nice t-shirt and then a sarong which I purchased in the airport in Bali from one of the only two shops open in the middle of the night in the dumpy domestic terminal... Mikah was rather thrilled with her gifts particularly the Mp3 player. She loves to sing and to listen to music. She was also thrilled with the chocolate trifle I made for her birthday. The pudding and chocolate bits are from Singapore...

Last saturday I went with Brynne, Mikah and two other ladies to Abe for haircuts. We all went to Ibu Linda. She has a little salon on the second floor of a two-storey building that has rebar sticking out the side of it. She lives at the back of the salon. I don't think she ever really takes a break from working except when she goes to her home island to visit and buy stuff for her salon. She doesn't normally wear sunglasses while working, but one of her eyes was sore that day.

Right across the road from the hair salon is what you see in the first photo... The Auto Bridal Salon Mobil (Car) - Snow car washer cuci salju (snow wash). They love our English language here, but they don't really know it... :-)

Back in the saddle again...

We have returned! Yesterday morning at 9:00 Christiaan and I returned (rather happily I might add) home. We had a whirlwind trip lasting a mere three nights (well, four really if you count the night spent in the airport in Bali and on the plane...). We visited the ENT and he cleaned out C's ears and then we walked down the road to the audiologist who checked C's hearing and hearing aids. All is well. I got some good advice regarding what to do about C's hearing aids. Apparently, as hearing aids get older the cost of repair goes up rather steeply. There is a flat rate charge for hearing aid repair and when the aids are five years old the cost is $1,000 sing... yikes!!! Might as well purchase new ones...

Singapore is a country (well, a city really) where apartments, luxury cars, malls, and nannies abound. Not a Superstore in sight... sigh.... I have never seen so many luxury vehicles in my life including a Rolls Royce! At the risk of sounding self-righteous, I couldn't help but think about how much a person could help others if they bought a basic vehicle instead of a show-off vehicle.

As the regular guest house that we use is under major renovations, we were forced to find other accomodations. This isn't the funnest thing to do over the internet. In addition, our insurance gives us a rather small daily allowance so we need to keep things tight. I found a "guest house" online and booked a private room. Turns out, this place is a converted apartment housing five rooms in all. One room has a private bathroom (not ours) and the rest share a tiny bathroom where the shower head is located directly across from the porcelain throne. There are two young guys who live permanently in this place. They share a tiny room in the back away from the other guest rooms. One fellow, a 26 year old from the Philipines, has dreams of immigrating to Canada and joining his aunt who lives in Loydminster Alberta. So he was quite excited to be able to chat with a real Canadian. The one benefit of this place is that it is located near the other guest house so I was already familiar with the area. In addition it is directly across the road from the Singapore Botanical gardens. On our last morning there, Christiaan and I wandered around and wondered at the cleanliness and beauty of the gardens.
I must say that it was a treat to drive on a road that was pothole free, eat real western food, be able to walk outside at night and it wasn't yet dark, speak english all the time (and be understood). But as we landed at Jayapura airport (it's actually in Sentani), I gave a great sigh of happiness; we were home again.... :-)

* The woman from our church ended up having a c-section last Sunday night. (Big surprise...) They had a baby boy. Unlike most couples here, this couple did not want to know ahead of time what they were having... It's really too bad that she had a c-section because it costs them a lot more money than a "normal" delivery does. I hope to visit her next week.

Bits and Bites....

Here are some pics from Ori and Willem's big trip to Bali. In the first photo he is in the sound booth to have his hearing checked. In the second photo he is wearing his new hearing aid and joining in a class. In the third photo he is being checked by the ENT. In the fourth photo they are checking out the beach.

Yesterday I went with Mikah and Brynne and two other ladies to Abe to get our hair cut. I let our hairdresser know that five of us were coming so she was prepared and had a friend do the washing and blowdrying. We did a little shopping, had lunch at KFC where Brynnie was thrilled to play in their little play area. They have a trampoline so that's always a hit.

While we were driving to Abe we saw a guy driving a motorcycle, wearing a life jacket... backwards.... hmmm.... Masuk (enter) angin (wind) maybe??? (I've blogged about this traditional belief before... Indonesians think that the wind is bad and so when you are on a motorcycle you need to cover up your torso so the wind doesn't get inside and make you sick...)

Right now one of the ladies of our church as a the hospital to have her baby. Last night her water broke but her contractions haven't really started. They first brought her to a clinic where they were told to bring her to the hospital in Abe where they were told to bring her to the Catholic hospital where Marc was born. The problem? All the government doctors are leaving the province today for meetings??????!!!!! Ugghh... Well, that Catholic hospital is in our opinion, the best hospital around here so let's pray that she is in good hands there and that all goes well.

Tomorrow I am heading to Singapore with Christiaan for his annual check-up and new ear molds. We'll see an ENT and then head over to the audiology clinic (within walking distance of the hospital). I'm not really looking forward to this trip... we can't stay in the guest house that we stayed in last year so I had to find someplace else within budget so who knows what it will be like.... It is in the same area though so at least that's familiar... But I am looking forward to eating a juicy delicious hamburger.... and a salad on the side! :-)

Update....

Well, Willem and his dad have returned from their adventure in Bali. It was a great experience for them! The operation drained the fluid from Willem's middle ear but he still has a hearing loss. This could be the result of prolonged fluid build-up in the inner ear. However, he really loves his new hearing aid and did great in his speech therapy sessions. He was assessed by the speech therapist at the school and she determined that it would be best if he went to a regular school as he would have better auditory stimulation than he gets at the school for the deaf and hard of hearing. Willem's dad was very enthusiastic about the school in Bali and how they work with the kids there. I really pray that one day they will have such a program here as well. There is such need here!

Update...

Willem and his Dad are in Bali now. The first day they went to the school and Willem was tested. It was determined that he has a conductive loss. His one ear has a moderate loss and the other ear has a severe loss due to no ear canal. At the time they were there, one of Bali's top ENT's was there as well and he examined Willem's ears and found that Willem's better ear was completely plugged by a huge plug of wax. After that Willem was fitted with a pocket hearing aid and had a session with a speach therapist. The next day that same ENT re-examined Willem's better ear and determined that Willem has otitis media. So yesterday they operated on Willem and put a tube in his ear. I haven't heard yet how it went. Today they are going to retest Willem and the best possible result is that he will be able to hear without a hearing aid! Can you imagine!!! This is truly a work of God. Just think if you thought that there was nothing you could do for your child due to where you live and your financial situation... I can't imagine, being a priviledged Westerner.... Please pray with me that the surgery would be a success and that Willem would be able to hear without the use of an aid.

Bits and Bites....

Ball update: It hasn't been returned yet but the word on the streets is that Timotius has it.... As we've told a few kids to tell him to return it, he's probably too frightened to do so....

Yesterday we had the 8 kids from the new Pelita Harapan school come over to play. I thought it would be a fun thing for them to do and a good experience for our kids. We learned how to say "hi" in their tribal language of Moni which surprised them all. I borrowed a few bicycles from our neighbours as we only had two that they would be able to use and that was the star attraction for sure! One of the boys was pretty much instantly able to ride a bike! They have never tried to ride 2-wheelers before. We enjoyed cupcakes, juice and freezies. It was a fun afternoon!

I've written before about Willem, the hard of hearing son of one of our Papuan mechanics assistant's. Well, a group of students in Vancouver raised some funds and those funds along with donations from a couple of our supporters has given us enough to send Willem and his Dad to Bali for two nights. There is a school there where he can be tested and receive a body worn hearing aid. They will also meet a couple times with a speech therapist. This is very exciting for Willem's parents as they never thought they would ever be able to help their son in this way. There's no guarantee that the hearing aid will allow him to speak and hear well, but at least he will have an opportunity, which he didn't before. I pray that this opens doors here. I pray that this will be a witness to those that go to school with Willem (many of them are of our cousin faith). I also pray that maybe others will see the benefits and work towards attaining a facility for the deaf and hard of hearing here in Papua. There are so many kids here who will never have the joy of hearing unless a facility is placed here.