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July 12, 2006 |
getting settled
Volume
1, Number 7 |
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Need to tell: Story of the Month The fax
machine spit out the same message again, “Jammed.” I was quickly trying to do all the
troubleshooting in my head – only one piece of paper so it should be
fine. What could the problem
be? Finally I opened the part of
the fax machine with the form feed and low and behold a gecko had taken up
residence inside the fax form feed portion of the machine. Most of him ran away quickly after
seeing me; however a small portion remained behind (I will not be any more
graphic for the sake of those who are a little more imaginative than others)
in the wheels that are supposed to turn the paper as it passes. Interestingly,
the HP guide did not include looking for a gecko as one of its
troubleshooting options. Perhaps some
of our friends in
Hannah
certainly is adjusting well! Our mailing
address in Alotau: Craig Ford Alotau, MBP
211 E-mail
OR We are now receiving mail from both addresses. We will likely send mail from pngfords@daltron.com.pg so be sure we are on your safe list. Prayer Requests: o
Wisdom as we
continue to evaluate the ways we can be most useful to God’s work in
this town. o
Guidance so we
will know what is best with the frequent benevolence requests. o
Current and
upcoming studies. Pray that God
will open the door for more study opportunities. o
Our cultural
adjustment We thank each one of you for your prayers and support. May God Bless You! |
It seems each passing day we find ourselves getting busier
and busier. Every day carries new
opportunities for ministry and new jobs that seem to demand our
attention. However, in the midst
of everything, we do feel a sense of peace – knowing that we are doing
God’s will. We find our
involvement and work very rewarding, yet challenging in some ways. We pray
for a continual blessing to the ministry here. Church lnvolvement:
Youth:
Each Sunday the youth have different activities following service so Jeri and
I stay around and help with the events. Men’s
Meeting: Every Thursday night the men of the congregation (all 5 of us)
gather to plan the Sunday worship, pray, fellowship, and have a Bible
study. Advanced
Study: On Wednesday evening I am teaching a class on the Gospel of Mark
for Christians only. This class
serves to strengthen those who are already Christians. Religious
Instruction Class: Each Monday morning I teach a class at the local high
school. Each student has a choice
of what ‘denominational’ class they will attend. 10 kids come to the class I teach. Hopefully these
events give you a glimpse into the type of work we are doing. In addition I have started an evangelistic study with a man. Jeri is doing a study with a lady who
is already a Christian, and she is also helping to write the children’s
curriculum for church. Hannah
continues to be our primary contact point with the culture since we meet so
many people when we are carrying Hannah around town.
Many of you have inquired about our vehicle, housing, and
container situations. We plan to
purchase a vehicle in We have purchased a
piece of land, however, the infrustructure is not yet complete. They are still putting in power,
water, and such. It will likely
be another 6+ weeks before we can start building and then around 8 + weeks to
have the house built. Adjusting to a new
culture:
Family Perspective, written
by Jeri: As mentioned earlier, everyone in town seems to
know Hannah. If I leave her home
when I go grocery shopping, people ask where she is – by name! She has definitely made a good
impression. A baby with white
skin is hard to keep hidden here!
We plan to celebrate Hannah’s first birthday (July 1) with a
banana cake and ice cream, since she loves bananas. I am
learning to cook some new foods.
The picture above shows me scraping a coconut. Susan, pictured with me, taught me how
to husk and scrape a coconut so I can make coconut creamed rice and
veggies. One of Hannah’s
favorite meals now is rice cooked in coconut cream with tulip greens. The Williams’s yard has plenty
of coconut trees, so we never have to buy any. I hope to learn to make banana chips
in the next couple of weeks. I have
been especially impressed with Craig since we have been here. He is so natural in his ability to
relate to the culture, and is an incredible teacher. A man we studied with today told Craig
afterward that he likes how he teaches because he is easy to understand
(which is a huge compliment!) and uses drawings to help make the lesson
understandable. He also told
Craig that he speaks in words that are clear and not too fancy. Although people in Alotau speak
English, we’re learning that it’s not always easy to communicate! I think God has definitely given Craig
the gift of sharing Christ with this culture.
Check it out: o
Visit our blog:
pngfords.blogspot.com! J o
Visit the church
website: www.championschurch.org |
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