My New House

"Blessed are you, O Lord, our God, King of the Universe, who has kept us alive until now, so that we may find joy in what has just come to us." – Jewish blessing

After a whirlwind of preparations and many precious goodbyes with friends and family, I am pleased to announce that I have arrived in Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea! This new chapter in my life has started and I am settling in nicely. If you have a minute, I’d like to introduce you to some important parts of my life here. If you have other questions, please ask!

My Home: As I wrote in my last post, I am living with two young women, Rebekah Drew and Rachel Stanton. Rebekah has purchased an adorable Finnish-style house and has graciously asked Rachel and I to live with her. This is a huge blessing as single people often have to move around from place to place, wherever there is room. This way I can stay put as long as I need!

Here are some interesting things about our house…

Here’s where I get to remember all of you! I brought many pictures of friends and family and I look at them and pray for you every day. Miss you all!

In Finland, many houses have a neat feature that allows dishes to air dry out of view. After we wash our dishes, we set them above the sink and out of the way until they dry. I love this part of our house!

 Laundry takes MUCH longer than it did in the States. We do have a washing machine (which takes about 2 and a half hours for a cycle!) and then our dryer is pictured above. It took me almost 30 mins to hang these few items up. I guess I need some practice.

My housemate, Rebekah, is a wonderfully talented pianist. I get to hear her play all sorts of songs at random points throughout the evening. Although the only instrument I can play is the radio, I am happy to appreciate the music Rebekah can create!

Here is my first attempt at cooking (with the help of Rebekah!). I was very pleased with our veggie pizza...and it even tasted great!! You are all invited to come for dinner some time. :)

Security…our house has an alarm system and electricity running through our windows so that no one tampers with them. Unfortunately, break ins happen often here so anything we can do to deter “raskols” is wise. We make sure all of our valuables are put away out of sight whenever we are not home or are sleeping because the bad people are after our stuff, not us. Some people have even slept through a break in. As in the States, our confidence is in our Heavenly Protector, not our security systems or forethought. Of course, prayers for protection are always welcome!

In my next post, I will introduce you to another part of our security system named Riggs. Stay tuned for more…