A Carpenter Makes Christmas Cookies

Occasionally, Jordan gets a craving (even worse than my pregnant cravings!) for cookies.  The other night, after asking me if I would make him cookies (a request he soon reneged after one glance at my swollen feet), Jordan decided to make them himself.   Apparently, getting out the mixer and the transformer was too difficult...so he opted for the more convenient cordless drill!  Turns out it was surprisingly effective!

One random Wednesday...

It was a normal Wednesday before school had begun...I was at maintenance working on invoices when I got a phone call from Jordan.  Our friend Dan and Jordan were planning going into town, and Dan was wondering if I would check in on his son, Little Jordan, while he was gone and make sure he had lunch.  I said it would not be a problem and around lunch time I wandered down to Dan's house to find Little Jordan.
He was busy playing with 2 other boys and a dead snake they had just killed.  I felt bad telling just Little Jordan we were going to go eat lunch so I invited all 3 boys over to our house.  They were eager to come so we set out on our journey across station.   Along the way we ran into 2 other boys.  The original 3 bragged that they were invited to my house for lunch.  Well, that made me feel bad for those 2 who got left out...so I invited them too.  I was now Mother Goose being followed by her 5 little goslings as we continued toward my house.  As we neared my house I turned to look back...and somehow I had picked up another little gosling and was up to 6.  Oh well, the more the merrier, right!?!
They all came in and sat very politely on the sofa...all 6 of them...on the sofa.  I put in Toy Story 3 and made some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  We had a great time eating our lunch and laughing at the movie.
Thank you, Lord, for blessing this random Wednesday!!

Jordan's First House

I'm pleased to present to you.....STONE COTTAGE!!

The house that Jordan has spent the last several months building is finally complete!  It was lovingly given the name "Stone Cottage" after Jordan found a giant rock in the river and had it hauled up to the house to add some "visual interest" to the front yard.  After that, it became a game between Jordan and his workers to see who could stack ONE more rock onto the top.
Thanks to a couple Work & Witness teams, several national carpenters, a few volunteers, and Jordan's know-how and bravery (I figure you have to be brave...or crazy...to take on a project like "build a house!!"  for the first time EVER!) the project was a success!
The house's first tenants are due to move in the beginning of November.
We pray that the Lord will use the house for His purposes.

THE FLYING FOX

"Pteropus, belonging to the MEGABAT suborder, Megachiroptera, are the largest bats in the world. They are commonly known as the fruit bats or flying foxes among other colloquial names. They live in the tropics and subtropics of Asia (including the Indian subcontinent), Australia, islands off East Africa (but not mainland Africa), and a number of remote oceanic islands in both the Indian and Pacific Oceans.”

ACCORDING TO WIKIPEDIA
(my own emphasis added to "megabat" because that was my favorite part!) 

The other day, I was walking home from a long day of school, minding my own business…when our dear friend John calls out to me.  I’m not sure what he says at first, so I begin walking toward him.  Before I know what’s happening there is a bat being unfolded and held up right in front of my face.  I wasn’t scared…just "vigorously confused."   Why was there a bat in my face?  Was the bat still alive?  If the bat is alive, does John have a good enough grip on it?  Where did it come from?  Why was John’s stance and facial expression one of an artist proudly displaying his masterpiece?    It took me a while (and admittedly, a few steps backwards) to figure out what was going on.   

It turns out John had caught and killed the bat earlier when he was working on our neighbor’s house…and he was just very proud of that accomplishment.  No big...

Once I took a few pictures, and made absolutely sure it was actually dead (I imagined it doing the oppossum playing dead thing...then "coming to life" in my hands and attacking my jugular!) I decided to try and hold it.  This picture is proof...although not my most flattering.  I believe I'm right in the middle of saying, "Oh gross, I can feel all its little bones through its rubbery skin!"

Jordan's Latest Project

PNG has a "rural registrar program" that involves Papua New Guinean doctors traveling around to different hospitals, learning as much as they can from each one (I'm not sure of the details).  But I know that several of those doctors come to Kudjip for some of their training.  A few of those doctors have families and require a house larger than what we could provide...cue Jordan!  This is the "Rural Registrar House, also known as the "Mountain House."  To be used by visiting PNG doctors and their families.  So far, Jordan, a crew of about 4 guys, 2 Work and Witness teams, and several other part-time laborers have had their hand in building this house.

Husband brag time:

It's really quite impressive to see Jordan be able to take a few drawings of a house floor plan and turn it into an actual, real, standing house!  What a super talented man I married!!

The house isn't finished yet, so expect more pics to come!

Voting in Kudjip

July 4th, 2012 marked election day for the province of Jiwaka.  

I was fortunate enough to have a front row seat, since they set up a voting area right outside of maintenance. Everything seemed to go very smoothly with very little fighting, bribery, or corruption (which I'm told is not always the case at other voting areas).  

This was the bus of voting officials and armed forces who came to monitor the voting in the area.  Only a few had to stay in Kudjip, the rest were sent out to neighboring villages.

This is how you vote:

1.) Stand in "line" a LONG time.

2.) Enter the secured voting area and receive a ballot.

3.) Stand in line some more.

4.) Go up to the "voting booth" (the desk surrounded with cardboard) and mark your ballot.

5.) Turn in your ballot.  DONE!

There are separate lines for men and women...I'm not sure why.

This is the list of candidates along with their pictures.  These were posted around the outside of the voting area as well as inside the voting "booth."

The "line."  If you don't require any personal space, then PNG is the place for you!!

To make sure that people only vote once, you have to get your fingernail marked with some sort of permanent, extremely difficult to remove nail polish like substance.  

Voila!  It's like the "I VOTED" stickers you get in America...just a little longer lasting! :)

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y...that is Rachel's battle cry!!!

I know...I had vowed to never attempt tortillas again, BUT I did!  AND I  came out VICTORIOUS!!!!  Take that, Tortilla!!  They turned out beautifully round and well cooked!!  Jordan walked in the kitchen and the first thing he said was "WOW, did YOU make those??"  

It turns out the trick is to use hot hot water and never let them stick to the counter.  Now I want to have tacos for every meal!!  (well, not really.)  

YUM!!!