Ebel's Blogmail

Greetings from PNG!

Crunch, crunch, crunch… this was the sound I awoke to the other night. In Canada the sound of footsteps outside your window would be, to say the least, a bit unsettling but here in PNG it means (or it should mean) that the night watchman is still awake and doing his job.

We have arrived safe and sound in Mt Hagen a small city (about 40,000 people) in the Western Highlands province. This is where MAF-PNG has its offices and main operations base. The missionary staff are scattered about town on 6 different compounds. And we live on a compound with three other expat families and four national families. For those familiar with MAF PNG we are living in the Nicholson’s house while they are away.

There are lots of kids and Josh & Morgan have made good friends already, making it hard for them to concentrate on their homeschooling. They have settled in well and feel right at home already. We were warmly welcomed by the folks here and they have worked hard to make us feel at home. So far we have only had to make one meal!

Our first few days have been spent getting established in the community and our home. We had drivers’ licenses to get (actually the computers had been stolen so all they could give us was receipts) and then driver orientation, we drive on the left hand side here. There was shopping to do and accounts to open. The shopping is reasonable here and we will be able to get whatever we need, maybe not what we want or crave but at least all we need. MT Hagen boasts the largest farmers market in PNG loaded with fresh fruit and veggies all at very low prices. The market is at a temporary location that proves to be very muddy when it rains which is every day.

The plan for us right now is to start language study tomorrow which runs full on for two weeks after which we will have a working knowledge of Tok Pisin. Following the language school we will head to a remote village served by MAF for 10 days to practice our Tok Pisin, learn more of the culture, and to be on the receiving end of what MAF does here. This will take us in to early Feb, when Richard will start his flight & operations orientation which will last about a month, when we will move out to Kawito in the Western Province where we will be based.

We sure have appreciated your prayers as we have prepared for service here in PNG! We could not have done it with out your help!

We would like your prayers for the following:

1. Josh & Morgan’s homeschooling as they always have a tough time getting back into routine
2. Our language study
3. Settling in and building good relationships with our coworkers
4. Rich has had a cold which has made getting a good nights sleep difficult to get

Please let us know about any prayer requests you may have!