A whole new world

I'm in PNG!!  What a whole new world it is over here!

Below are a few photo's of my time here so far...

Waiting to board our flight in Cairns...

                                      

                                           Ready to go!

  

I was sitting just across the isle from my adorable little cousin...

One of my very first views of PNG!

Portmoresby Airport...This place was really hot! We enjoyed all the fans, as there was no AC.

                                     
                                       I enjoyed spending some more time in cloud kingdom

After a day of travels we finally arrived in Lae!!

We received a warm welcome at the compound with these beautiful flower necklaces

My new little friend on the compound

While we were in Cairns these puppies were born...so the kids were very eager to meet these puppies as soon as we got here!

I have been enjoying caring for the runt

The day after we arrived I gave them this tree (all the way from Canada!)

                                     
                             It was really cool spending my first Sunday here! I really hope that I will be able to understand more of the language soon. I was very thankful for my new friend Jaquline, as she helped me translate alot of things! And I am looking forward to singing (in pidgen) with her, and some others for Christmas day!
                                    

                         It's such a different world here! I have been adjusting to the heat pretty well. I am very thankful that it does cool down a bit in the evenings though. When we first arrived here we had a water shortage, due to lack of rain...so we had to be conservative with or use of it. But a few days later we were blessed with rain (lots of it). I experienced the out door market place as well....it was pretty interesting, and everybody wanted to shake my hand (a customary thing here). Even just the trip into town was an experience in and of itself, due to the conditions of the road :p But I am getting use to that as well. And today when I went to the grocery store I was holding baby Ava, and many people wanted their picture taken with me and the baby.   It has been a pretty big eye-opener to see the way people live here, and getting use to their different culture.  I am really looking forward to spending some more time here! God is so good, always!

Reflections, and eager anticipation

I can hardly believe that my time here in Cairns is already coming to an end!  It feels like I only just arrived.  During my time here I have enjoyed helping out with my relative's family, getting to know the wonderful church group here, and do some exploring in this beautiful country.

I've begun to get use to the accents and different phrases.  And driving on the other side of the road...it took a bit of getting use to :)  I also had an ant infestation in my room. I learned real quick that if you don't want the ants to get at your edible things you have to keep them in the fridge. One day I abandoned my tea for two minutes and by the time I got back there were ants floating in it...I scooped them out and continued drinking it anyway, at this point I was very used to them...Thankfully this week the pest control people happened to be doing their treatment this week at tree tops, and so I said farewell, quite happily, to the ants!

It truly has been a blessing getting to know the people at the church here in Cairns,  Being the introvert that I sometimes am, I wasn't sure how it would go, but everyone here has been so welcoming. I am looking forward to spending one more Sunday with them tomorrow!

Here's a few pictures from the past few weeks:

We spent a morning down at this creek

Ben especially enjoyed this day....isn't that the cutest smile?

                                      

For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver. ~Martin Luther

Last weekend I was able to go to Fitzroy island to see part of the reef!  A wonderful family from the church took me out on their boat for this occasion!  The water was a little rough and so it was hard to get any clear underwater pictures while snorkeling, but it was still a very memorable experience...

Leaving Cairns..

And here's the island!

Here's a shot of the reef (sorry about the not-extremely-great quality of the picture). I found nemo, and saw a sting ray, and lion fish...as well as some other cool fish...

My ride for the day!

Enjoying some cold water and shade after a long day of swimming....the sunburn was worth it!

The clouds were majestic! 

The boat ride home was a little more choppy then the way there...but not too bad, and we made it back to Cairns!

By the time we got back it was getting pretty dark...That night we had a big rain/thunder/lightning storm. My first real tropical storm!

One day this week my cousins, some other kids from tree tops, and I decorated a Christmas tree

Another day this week we spent the day with some families from the church at a water park...

The view from the top

Ava enjoyed napping in the warm shade

There were peacocks just walking around there too...

The misty mountain...

Yesterday I helped family from the church clean their house in preparation to move.  It was a very humid 38 degrees (the weather said it would feel like 45 degrees!), and so the theory that says pigs don't sweat proved that I am no pig... I went back to tree tops for lunch and a cool shower.  And then in the afternoon I helped them do a little bit of unpacking...I worked unpacking books in the library while holding baby Ava.  She liked it alot, In fact she liked it so much that she fell asleep! It was great...except for when a geko crawled out of one of the books...haha that's life in the tropics for you.

This evening I enjoyed a biblestudy and swim with some friends from church.  It was a great evening!

Over  the next couple days (except Sunday) we will be cleaning and packing at tree tops.  And on Tuesday we are heading over to PNG!!!  I am really looking forward to getting there.  It is going to be a whole new world.  And I will have to learn some more pidgin phrases so I can actually talk to the people there a bit :)  Thankfully my relatives can be (and already have been) helping with this.  

Tolkien quote of the day: 

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way,
Where many paths and errands meet.

Weekend outings

On Friday morning the ladies from the church held a birthday party for my aunt at a golf course near by. While the ladies visited I looked after my cousins. we had a great time!

The water was especially fun...and it's great having a waterproof camera!

But after lots of swimming a break is necessary..... 

                                     

This was certainly a beautiful way to spend our Friday morning! I love how green everything is!

On Saturday evening we enjoyed eating outside at a very picturesque place for dinner! 

                                     

We got to watch this cruise ship take off...

the pilot boat has returned!

Another wonderful experience enjoying God's beautiful creation! I am blessed beyond measure!

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

~Psalm 84:11