How close are you to the people you interact with day in and day out? Is your dentist your friend or the parent of one of your students? Do you see your child’s Principal at social gatherings? Do you shop at the same grocery store and worship at the same church?For those of you who have grown up in or lived in a very small town, the answer to many of these questions might be yes and, for us, living here in Ukarumpa, the answer is most definitely yes. If there are six degrees of separation … [Read more...] about Zero Degrees of Separation
The Curious Case of the Cheesecake in the Kitchen
Depending on your age, you may or may not remember the episode of Friends where Rachel accidentally combines a shepherd’s pie recipe with, I think, a trifle recipe. The result was a disgusting mess of sweet and savoury and a pretty hilarious episode of television. https://youtu.be/i5YckMkwmm4 Well, I had my own, ‘Rachel’ moment this past semester. As I shared with you on our other blog, we have been trying some different things for our oldest, Benjamin (age 11 - Grade 6), to try and help … [Read more...] about The Curious Case of the Cheesecake in the Kitchen
In An Instant…
Have you ever woken up and not felt well? Have you ever had that feeling where you’re just not getting better and you know you need to seek more medical attention? Things change and sometimes things change quickly. And, here, when things change, the changes can involve quick decisions and international flights to seek further answers. Over the past few weeks, a dear friend and fellow Science teacher here at Ukarumpa International School, Sheila Nelson, was experiencing just that. Shiela … [Read more...] about In An Instant…
Elbow Room
“From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety.” Psalm 61:2 (NLT) Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Have you ever felt like the tasks before you were too great. The unknowns too daunting. The stakes too high? I have felt this way so palpably in the past few months. Over the past three years, we have navigated more transition as a family than we have in the 5 years prior and these past few months we have … [Read more...] about Elbow Room
Missionary Improvising
When we went back to Canada, I tried to find ways to explain our life here and I would always come up short. I could explain the big things. The different language. The different culture. Living in a small community in the middle of two villages in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea vs living in the suburbs of Langley, BC. Buying our produce at a market at 6am three times a week instead of going to the grocery store 7 days a week. Teaching in a Christian school vs a Public School. I could … [Read more...] about Missionary Improvising
