Sunday, March 6, 2016

Patience


“The times we find ourselves having to wait on others may be the perfect opportunities to train ourselves to wait on the Lord.”  Joni Eareckson Tada

An applicable quote while we wait for news on Visas..
Wait on the LORD! 
It will happen in His good time!

In the meantime, there is sorting and packing, last minute renovations and yard cleanups, library and park visits, outings with family and friends, language learning, and...the list goes on.. plenty to keep us busy!




*I started this post a couple weeks back and never posted it. Latest news on the VISA front - we have been approved - now waiting for the sticker to be printed and put in our passports and sent back to us.*

While we are champing at the bit, so to speak, to get to Lae and start with this new venture, we are learning to wait - patiently.  We know patience is a needed trait for living in PNG also, so this is a good 'test' for us :)

Earlier this week or eldest son jumped off a swing (as adventurous kids do) landed wrong on uneven ground, and fell onto his arm, fracturing the bone just above the elbow.  The Doctor said its not a bad break - no cast needed - so he just has to wear a sling until his appointment Thursday the 10th, and we will find out more then.

Please pray for quick healing that we are able to travel as soon as our passports come back!




Psalm 27:14

 Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!


****UPDATE ON NIKOLAS and PASSPORTS****
We saw the doctor today at the fracture clinic for Nikolas' arm, and were sent for another x-ray.  We were hoping he would be given the all clear - no more sling.  

However the x-ray showed it is not completely healed as yet, so another 2 weeks of wearing the sling full time and then for the 2 weeks after that he can start taking the sling off and using his arm. Next appointment is 4th April. Doctor said we can travel, but advised to have the next appointment before we go.  

We are now sending our Passports to Port Moresby Immigration Office (due to some minor issues from the other consulate where our passport were already waiting) for them to print visa stickers and return to us. This may end up to be up to or around a 4 week turn around.

So all being well, our passports will arrive back to us around the time Nikolas can give up his sling for good :)

Top right -  last week Tuesday - waiting in ED - reading 
Middle right -x-ray today, pretty impressed with the "inside the body" camera!
Bottom right - x-ray today, hard to see but there is still a crack above elbow
Left - he can still smile after being disappointed with more sling use!


























Homeschooling





Sharing a few photos of our home schooling.  Its been about 4 weeks and not once have they asked to go back to 'real' school, so we must be doing something right ;)

We are settling into a bit of routine (somewhat) and looking forward to the time we move and can settle into a more permanent schooling routine in PNG!

While we wait, we enjoy making use of the local library for games and books, looking up and learning more information about Papua New Guinea (their favorite thing to look up right now is the Volcanoes), and continue with learning bits and pieces of the Pidgin language.

Playdough is a great tool for school!

Using duplo to do addition and multiplication 
Life Skills training ;) fixing our deadlock!
Having fun with review words - flipping them over
Having another reader in the house is a blessing - and that he loves reading to siblings - a bigger blessing!

Isaac "Hey Mum. I just wrote and drew a story!' (unprompted writing!) 
Apparently this was the best lesson yet:
water colour review words



Getting all the school work done in the morning leaves
lots of time for sibling bonding.
Fort building and fighting the enemy.
and little Miss Madison happy to sit in the grass watching the boys play.