To Town

It's been a couple of days since I posted, so I will go back to Tuesday. Dr. Erin and I went into town for my big shopping trip. Generally, the missionaries will go about once a month and get enough supplies/food to last that long. Last time we were in PNG I posted about how horrible these town experiences were, but we actually had a great time! Mainly this was because my brother stayed back at the house with the kids so I could just concentrate on getting what I needed. The stores were the same as I remembered them. Most of the goods there are brought in from Australia so it varies trip to trip what they will have. The people also generally left me alone while I shopped. They were always watching, but not following and grabbing like they did when I had a child with me. Anyway, it was really nice and not stressful at all! There are, of course, some major differences from stores in the states. For one, you have to ignore the beetles and roaches crawling around and the dirt all over most things. I couldn't believe how filthy my hands were after shopping. I have to admit it did make me squirm a little when I saw the cockroach in the raw meat cooler. I decided though that I will cook all of it anyway so it's no big deal. Erin was very helpful as well and would gently say "no, you don't want that" if I picked up something "dangerous" :). On the way home, we stopped at a gas station where people would come up to the windows and try to sell random things like sandwiches and eggs. I really thought that was funny.
It takes about an hour to get into town and I really enjoyed chatting with Dr. Erin during the ride. She told me about some miracles that she has seen at the hospital and some other stories of the area. One miracle being a child that was hit head on by a vehicle but was able to leave the hospital a week and a half later by God's grace. I believe she wrote about it in her blog so you can check it out there. http://erininpng.blogspot.com/
Last time we were here our family would take walks down to the river. I learned from Erin that there have been tensions in that area because of the death of an important man. Many people believe that when someone dies it is because of witchcraft. They will then try to punish whoever they believe is responsible. I guess when this man died they started torturing people in his own extended family. It's really sad. One of the other missionaries told me that there have been some sketchy things happening around the river with drug and alcohol use and even a child rape victim in the last few weeks. Please pray for these people, that they would come to know the Lord.
"He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit."
Ephesians 2:17
When we returned home, I was pleased to see that my children were still alive. Uncle David had taken them on a walk and given them a nap. It did make me laugh when we went to change Thane and his diaper was on backwards...but I think we got off fine if that is the worst that happened. :)