In an effort to find a good deal on a trumpet for my daughter, I visited 3 pawn shops today. I have never set foot in a pawnshop, and the Oregon ones are rather clean and nice.
I didn't buy a thing, but they have used power tools, dvd's, electronics, musical instruments.
My wife and I have become enthralled with all the 'bargains' that are to be had out there. Thrift stores, pawn shops, these are wonderful things to people on a budget.
I suppose this isn't news to families with 6 kids, but to a Silicon Valley computer geek, become missionary in PNG... it's a whole new world full of promise and previously owned merchandise.
Once your levels of expectation and definition of what is 'nice' have been changed by living in a third world country... America's hand-me-downs are actually a really nice step UP for us!
Craigslist/ebay - for getting in touch with how much used stuff should cost.
Thrift stores - for kids clothing when they change sizes so quickly
Pawn shops - for trinkets that you may need.. you never know what you're going to find.
it's like treasure hunting, and as many of you know, I HATE to shop but I love to geocache. So long as I can see these places as searching for treasure and not shopping, I can find a way to enjoy it!
8/25/2010
8/24/2010
Miramont pointe
Today we spent time with our friends and partners a place in Oregon.
It was a real blessing to get to share about what God is doing in PNG
with them. We thank you again for praying for opportunities to speak!!
It was a real blessing to get to share about what God is doing in PNG
with them. We thank you again for praying for opportunities to speak!!
-Chad
8/22/2010
Friends we met
Today we were invited to brunch at the home of a family that has been praying and supporting us over the years even though they had never met us. I'll keep their names private.
The wife used to pray for my father in law when he was a boy and his neighbor. Now she's added his daughter to her prayer list. Knowing a woman like this is praying for us encourages us immensely.
Her husband served in WWII in the First Calvary division. He had been to Papua New Guinea on his way to the Phillipines. He told me a few war stories which I'll treasure because you don't often get a change like that. For me, learning about WWII and frankly any history is exciting.
So here, nestled in a pocket of the world called Beaverton, Oregon is a family praying for us and supporting us... and after 3.5 years I finally got a chance to meet them, and we were so blessed by the meeting.
What an incredible family.... what a great testimony.
For all those folks out there praying for us that we don't even know about.
thank you... there are truly definite times when we can feel the prayer.
Times when we say 'wow that could have been a LOT worse... someone must be praying for us!"
thank you.
The wife used to pray for my father in law when he was a boy and his neighbor. Now she's added his daughter to her prayer list. Knowing a woman like this is praying for us encourages us immensely.
Her husband served in WWII in the First Calvary division. He had been to Papua New Guinea on his way to the Phillipines. He told me a few war stories which I'll treasure because you don't often get a change like that. For me, learning about WWII and frankly any history is exciting.
So here, nestled in a pocket of the world called Beaverton, Oregon is a family praying for us and supporting us... and after 3.5 years I finally got a chance to meet them, and we were so blessed by the meeting.
What an incredible family.... what a great testimony.
For all those folks out there praying for us that we don't even know about.
thank you... there are truly definite times when we can feel the prayer.
Times when we say 'wow that could have been a LOT worse... someone must be praying for us!"
thank you.
8/18/2010
Progress
We're at 70% of our support raising goal! If you're interested in joining us, please contact us.
Prayer needs:
-Family Health - there are members of our extended family who need prayer regarding their health. For more personal data, you can contact us via email.
-Support Opportunities - we are looking for opportunities to speak/share/talk about missions.
-Travel safety - we're going to Oregon, pray for our safety
Tired yet?
Someone said to us 'it wouldn't be furlough if you weren't exhausted'.
Funny thing about exhaustion... you don't often recognize it until you receive rest.
We're very thankful for the house we're living in because it offers us some rest from running around.
This post however is for parents of young children.
We have been warned and have in fact gone through training and counciling for our kids and how to watch for signs of .... travel stress.
In the past 24 hours both of our children have had uncharacteristic 'melt downs'. Anger, tears, shouting, bargaining, extreme selfishness.... and then they fall asleep.
I'm not proud of their behavior, and my response in discipline and punishment doesn't alter if they break the rules...
but we are definitely aware that with each transition there comes some level of emotional adjustment on the kids.
So today I sat down with my son and asked him 'how does it feel when...' type of questions.
-He enjoys going from place to place. He feels sad if he stays alone in one place for too long.
-He likes the house we're in but he likes our house in PNG too, because it has his own room and it feels... RIGHT... this place is very nice according to him, but doesn't feel like 'home'.
-He doesn't get sad when we have to go someplace, but he gets sad when he realizes he won't see someone for a while.
This is the trigger point for his meltdowns I realized today. When he's faced with saying 'goodbye' for a prolongued period of time to his close friends or close cousins, and knowing he won't see them for a few weeks.... THAT is the trigger.
I'm currently trying to figure out ways to help alleviate this stress on them.
Today my 11 yr old daughter said 'I can't handle all this moving around, it's too much for me.' Well, admittedly, she's a bit of a drama queen and probably heard that on a t.v. show somewhere, but we're still digging into it.
There is FAR more transition during furlough than there is in moving to PNG. Furlough we are finding is more energy consuming.
Funny thing about exhaustion... you don't often recognize it until you receive rest.
We're very thankful for the house we're living in because it offers us some rest from running around.
This post however is for parents of young children.
We have been warned and have in fact gone through training and counciling for our kids and how to watch for signs of .... travel stress.
In the past 24 hours both of our children have had uncharacteristic 'melt downs'. Anger, tears, shouting, bargaining, extreme selfishness.... and then they fall asleep.
I'm not proud of their behavior, and my response in discipline and punishment doesn't alter if they break the rules...
but we are definitely aware that with each transition there comes some level of emotional adjustment on the kids.
So today I sat down with my son and asked him 'how does it feel when...' type of questions.
-He enjoys going from place to place. He feels sad if he stays alone in one place for too long.
-He likes the house we're in but he likes our house in PNG too, because it has his own room and it feels... RIGHT... this place is very nice according to him, but doesn't feel like 'home'.
-He doesn't get sad when we have to go someplace, but he gets sad when he realizes he won't see someone for a while.
This is the trigger point for his meltdowns I realized today. When he's faced with saying 'goodbye' for a prolongued period of time to his close friends or close cousins, and knowing he won't see them for a few weeks.... THAT is the trigger.
I'm currently trying to figure out ways to help alleviate this stress on them.
Today my 11 yr old daughter said 'I can't handle all this moving around, it's too much for me.' Well, admittedly, she's a bit of a drama queen and probably heard that on a t.v. show somewhere, but we're still digging into it.
There is FAR more transition during furlough than there is in moving to PNG. Furlough we are finding is more energy consuming.
8/12/2010
Coolest bathroom ever
in the bathroom
8/11/2010
Encouragement
Yesterday my wife and I were feeling a little overwhelmed. We have about 4.5 months left of furlough in which time we need to raise 30% of our support, visit doctors, dentists, eye doctors, etc. Fix all the things we have that are outdated (email lists, mailing lists) communicate to all of our existing supporters as to what God's been doing through them.... and the list goes on.
Time is flying by, and we're accomplishing not near enough to meet our schedule.
So we have felt a bit overwhelmed.
So I stopped and we prayed and I said 'God please today, soon send us some encouragement. We're trying to do what you want and we know we need to trust in You." During that prayer I heard the familiar tones of my laptop receiving two emails... and I said 'God thank you, I know one of those is an encouragement'
And you know what... it was.
I got an email setting up an engagement to speak to a missions committee.
I also later in the day received a check to help cover the expense of our brake job.
GOD IS GREAT. I wanted to share this to show you the immediate answer to prayer God has bestowed on us.
Time is flying by, and we're accomplishing not near enough to meet our schedule.
So we have felt a bit overwhelmed.
So I stopped and we prayed and I said 'God please today, soon send us some encouragement. We're trying to do what you want and we know we need to trust in You." During that prayer I heard the familiar tones of my laptop receiving two emails... and I said 'God thank you, I know one of those is an encouragement'
And you know what... it was.
I got an email setting up an engagement to speak to a missions committee.
I also later in the day received a check to help cover the expense of our brake job.
GOD IS GREAT. I wanted to share this to show you the immediate answer to prayer God has bestowed on us.
Schedule for august
The second half of August we will be in Portland, Oregon. If you are nearby and would like us to visit, please send us an email.
We are currently in the process of trying to meet new groups and tell new people about what we do in Papua New Guinea. Our desire is first to glorify God and tell people about the exciting things He is doing.
We also will need to see a 30% rise in support before returning to PNG. Our plane tickets are booked for January.
What this means is reaching new groups with our message. We have found in the past that personal relationships seems to be the most effective form of partnership and so we strive to meet new people and make new friends.
If you know of a group that might be missions minded and want to hear about some exciting things God is doing in PNG, please let us know! We'd love to come and share.
We are currently in the process of trying to meet new groups and tell new people about what we do in Papua New Guinea. Our desire is first to glorify God and tell people about the exciting things He is doing.
We also will need to see a 30% rise in support before returning to PNG. Our plane tickets are booked for January.
What this means is reaching new groups with our message. We have found in the past that personal relationships seems to be the most effective form of partnership and so we strive to meet new people and make new friends.
If you know of a group that might be missions minded and want to hear about some exciting things God is doing in PNG, please let us know! We'd love to come and share.
8/07/2010
Resisting the Urge or.. HEY LADY!!!!
Not everyone owns a vehicle in PNG, and often folks are walking up the hills. Many times these people are women, single or otherwise, and so it is our habit to stop when driving around and offer our friends rides up the hill.
We find a nice stop and a 'hi would you like a ride', is much better than driving past and kicking up dust in their faces.
We're in the U.S. now and we don't know everyone like we do in Ukarumpa, PNG.
We live at the top of a hill still, although the road is paved.
So, when you see a female, or two females walking up the hill my instinct is to pull over, and roll down my window and offer them a ride up the hill.
This urge MUST be resisted!
Why?
1 - I don't know these people, and so it looks very creepy for me to be offering complete strangers a 'RIDE' in my 'VAN'.
and
2 - they most likely each own multiple vehicles and are out walking for exercise sake and not out of necessity. They probably also have cell phones and would likely report me to the police.
Thankfully I haven't pulled over yet, but somehow, in my mind, the small community mentality is still there and I think 'oh I probably know them, I should give them a ride'.
I am finding that if I act on these small community impulses here, that it doesn't appear gentlemanly and kind, it appears creepy. People aren't used to strangers helping them for pure reasons. I have found as I walk around though, that some things are still appreciated..
like holding open a door, or picking up trash that isn't yours. Or simply, and this is the biggest one... a friendly smile and a hello.
Furlough adjustment 63: - Isolation - surrounded by people but knowing none of them. Unable to say 'how are you doing today?'. This has caused me to appreciate church more, there I'm in a crowd of people I know and who I can say 'howdy' to.
We find a nice stop and a 'hi would you like a ride', is much better than driving past and kicking up dust in their faces.
We're in the U.S. now and we don't know everyone like we do in Ukarumpa, PNG.
We live at the top of a hill still, although the road is paved.
So, when you see a female, or two females walking up the hill my instinct is to pull over, and roll down my window and offer them a ride up the hill.
This urge MUST be resisted!
Why?
1 - I don't know these people, and so it looks very creepy for me to be offering complete strangers a 'RIDE' in my 'VAN'.
and
2 - they most likely each own multiple vehicles and are out walking for exercise sake and not out of necessity. They probably also have cell phones and would likely report me to the police.
Thankfully I haven't pulled over yet, but somehow, in my mind, the small community mentality is still there and I think 'oh I probably know them, I should give them a ride'.
I am finding that if I act on these small community impulses here, that it doesn't appear gentlemanly and kind, it appears creepy. People aren't used to strangers helping them for pure reasons. I have found as I walk around though, that some things are still appreciated..
like holding open a door, or picking up trash that isn't yours. Or simply, and this is the biggest one... a friendly smile and a hello.
Furlough adjustment 63: - Isolation - surrounded by people but knowing none of them. Unable to say 'how are you doing today?'. This has caused me to appreciate church more, there I'm in a crowd of people I know and who I can say 'howdy' to.
8/02/2010
What's that Smell?
This week my wife has been out of town and so I've been doing things around the house.
Since arriving in the U.S. I have felt like the entire place is more... aromatic. Perfumey if you will allow.
My nose is sensitive to fragrances, and often I will sneeze.
All week long I've been thinking 'wow something around me smells like perfume....' my nose has been stuffed up, I've sneezed a lot. No matter what I can't escape this smell.
I figure it must be the carpet, and the cleaners used, because we don't have carpet back in PNG.
Then today, it dawned on me while I was doing my own laundry.
Dryer Sheets.
We don't have a dryer in PNG, we use the sun and clothes lines.
That foreign smell that so many folks here have probably learned to ignore... the overpowering smell of 'clean fragrance' that has been invading my nostrils since we arrived....
is the smell of dryer sheets from clothes dried in drier. It's all over me! I can't outrun it!
I never noticed this smell before moving to PNG.
And to completely candid, it's such a strong smell that I believe the other day no one noticed that I forgot to put on deodorant! Hahhahahaha.. not even me!
Since arriving in the U.S. I have felt like the entire place is more... aromatic. Perfumey if you will allow.
My nose is sensitive to fragrances, and often I will sneeze.
All week long I've been thinking 'wow something around me smells like perfume....' my nose has been stuffed up, I've sneezed a lot. No matter what I can't escape this smell.
I figure it must be the carpet, and the cleaners used, because we don't have carpet back in PNG.
Then today, it dawned on me while I was doing my own laundry.
Dryer Sheets.
We don't have a dryer in PNG, we use the sun and clothes lines.
That foreign smell that so many folks here have probably learned to ignore... the overpowering smell of 'clean fragrance' that has been invading my nostrils since we arrived....
is the smell of dryer sheets from clothes dried in drier. It's all over me! I can't outrun it!
I never noticed this smell before moving to PNG.
And to completely candid, it's such a strong smell that I believe the other day no one noticed that I forgot to put on deodorant! Hahhahahaha.. not even me!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)