A different kind of busy...

First of all….everyone lower your expectations a bit…this is Rachel writing…and not Teddy...  In place of the eloquent descriptive writing you are used to…you will find my scattered conversational ramblings…. Enjoy!    : )

In the process of our planning to come and live at Kudjip for a year, I imagined vast quantities of down time whenever we were not at work.  I was vaguely concerned that I would go a bit stir crazy, since I thrive on being busy.  Boy was I wrong!  My evenings are filled with all sorts of things to occupy my time.  The sneakiest culprit of my “down” time is the kitchen!  I had NO idea how much time it takes to cook/bake EVERYTHING from scratch!  I enjoy the challenge of a new recipe here and there….but when there is no “instant” anything….the expected cooking time is significantly lengthened.  For example, it took 3 hours to prepare and cook dinner on Tuesday night!  We’ve also kept fairly busy with the active social calendar on the station.  As most of you know, Teddy and I enjoy spending time with people and participating in any enjoyable activity we can find.  We have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of opportunities we have to get together with other missionaries.  Teddy is regularly joining in on pick-up basketball/tennis/soccer games, I’ve gone with some of the ladies to go shopping down at the “rot bung” (street market), and to our great pleasure we had a game night with some fellow missionaries.  On Thursday nights we attend a weekly missionary prayer meeting, and each Sunday we attend a local church service.  So far we have experienced a “bush” church, the local Nazarene church near the station, and a monthly “English Lotu” (English speaking service on the station).  Although we are busy here on the station…it is a different kind of busy compared to our lives back in America.  We are busy, but not stressed….we are fatigued, but not weary.  Our time is well spent and we end each day with a satisfying sense of exhaustion.

You are all now well aware of how Teddy spends his time at the hospital, and how we spend some of our free time on the station….but you have NO idea what I do during the day….so let me share…

I am teaching the 4^th – 6^th grade students at the MK (Missionary Kid) School.  The students are all at different grade levels as well as pacing, depending on when they started their school year.  A homeschool curriculum is used, and so I mostly facilitate learning and support/clarify/tutor/teach as needed throughout the day.  It’s a fair amount of grading to stay on top of, but most days I don’t have to stay too late to get it done.  My kiddos are awesome and I am REALLY enjoying getting to know them!  Below are some pictures I’ve taken over the last couple weeks of school.  Enjoy! 

This is the MK School...it used to be a house.                                             

My two 6th grade students presenting their Adopt a Tree Projects for Science:

Lemon Tree and Coconut Tree

Last Wednesday we took a walk to the pediatric ward of the hospital and delivered knit frisbees to the patients. The kids explained the significance of the colors and I tried my best to translate in Pidgin. Luckily, Gail (nurse/parent/organizer) went through it first and I just followed her lead. In case you've never heard the gospel story in a series of colors....here you go.

Black - Represents our sin

Red - Represents the blood of Christ

White - Represents our sins being washed away

Green - Represents growing in our relationship with God

Yellow - Represents glory in Heaven with Him

 This is what recess 

looks like in PNG!  

Hanging and playing in trees!

A few of my lovely gals brought me flowers!!