CALLED to Papua New Guinea

We have entered our fourth week in PNG, and every day presents new challenges, joys, and sorrows such that time frequently stands still and we experience two or three days worth of memories in a single 24 hours.  With PNG following other countries in a nationwide shut-down, Dr Mark and Dr Erin have been on double duty organizing hospital and community COVID response efforts - appropriate education being the most important, followed by equipping hospital staff with PPE (masks mainly), and coordinating an entirely new hospital protocol for COVID screening with suspect patients being first seen in the COVID tent set up outside the Station fence at the primary school. This design theoretically keeps the Hospital free to run as normal without COVID suspect cases spreading the virus from within Station .  Doctors are taking turns covering the COVID tent while the rest continue to cover the Outpatient and ER, but with non-essential domestic travel banned, only seriously ill patient...

I thought it might be nice to share a bit about something other than COVID-19... s o here's a short summary of some things we've done over the weekends. The weekend officially begins on Friday night - when we observe the long-standing Kudjip tradition of "Pizza Night!"  Because we are in the Western Highlands and one cannot simply order Papa John's, or buy a frozen pizza at the grocery store, Pizza Night preparations begin during afternoon nap time.  Dough is made, cheese is shredded, toppings are prepared/diced, sauce is cooked... it's quite the production, but always super tasty and fun!  This week's pizza was a white sauce base with sautéed asparagus, sausage & tomatoes.       Besides homemade pizza, another food-first for the kiddos this past weekend was making our own popcorn - they LOVED watching the kernels pop!           Pennie joined Ted one morning for rounds on the Peds Ward.  ...

Dear Readers, As of now, we write to you from one of only 14 countries in the World yet to have a confirmed case of COVID-19. ( The PNG Government thought there was a case earlier in the week, but the man tested Negative ). Life and work here continue as normal, but under the surface there is a bustle of readiness preparing the Hospital and educating missionaries and staff for the possibility of the pandemic spreading to our remote Highlands. We are well supplied and our administrative team has worked overtime to construct a comprehensive plan which will address each stage of a COVID outbreak in our community. As many countries are closing their boarders and travel is becoming more difficult, we are not taking the first available flight home. God has brought us here at this time for His work to be done, and we have great peace and joy to serve Him here, come what may. In fact, because some of the usual medical staff and volunteers are no longer able to return to Kudjip, our ability ...

Don’t let all the sweetly playing pics in this post fool you...keeping two tiny people alive, fed, clothed, sort of clean, diapered/bathroomed, and occupied is exhausting in America...even more so in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea.   Ted shared in his latest post about this past week feeling so long, and I wholeheartedly agree!  The kids and I have gotten into a good daily routine, which is great...but...we are ALL working through the difficult lesson that well established behavior back home does not necessarily apply in a different home in another country.   Culture shock for a toddler seems to look like throwing all the normal behavior expectations out the window and starting from scratch; testing every possible boundary there is to test - whether that’s trying to climb up on top of the dinner table, wandering into the road, or refusing to comply with a simple directive ... it’s all testing ... and it’s been happening ALL week.   So while Ted is wor...

A dozen times a day I have become lost in the surreal awareness of being back at Kudjip Hospital. As though 5 years never happened, the same faces of hospital staff smile and laugh in passing, the same graphic odors and vivid images shock the senses, and Tok Pisin pours easily from my mouth from a source I didn’t know remained.  I have thought and dreamed of these images, scents, and faces thousands of times over the years - to be here now again is mind blowing, heart wrenching, and saturates a part of my soul Called to Serve here. I did not realize just how dry the well had become, but now my soul drinks deeply from these rich waters. So surreal is the experience at times, I have felt detached from reality - like I’m behind the camera of a documentary on Kudjip Hospital. Panning left we see a patient in the ER struggling to breath. Panning right, a bright lightbox on the wall illuminates xrays of broken bones. The camera zooms in at flies landing on a malnourished baby’s face, hal...