My much coveted and looked forward to “girl time” with fellow missionaries when going out to town!
I thought it would be nice to sit down and just write a letter from one lady to another. Recently I was asked how long I have lived here in PNG by a new missionary and I said,” 6 years this August” and you know what? They looked at me like I was this old and seasoned missionary!! Boy do I have them fooled! It’s hard to believe that it has been 6 years ago that we packed up and headed to a completely unknown country, ministry, and way of life. Along with those things my mixed feelings of fear and excitement. Now I sit here 6 years later and I still have those mixed feelings of fear and excitement! I love looking back at what God has done in those 6 years in my life as a wife, mother, and friend. I can honestly say He never failed me, never gave up on me, never left me, never stopped being good, and never stopped growing me. I wish I could say the same about myself!
Even though I live in a different country than you and have a different ministry and different lifestyle. I know that we all struggle with a lot of the same things. And ultimately we are all learning to be totally and completely dependent on our God. I frankly don’t enjoy the molding part of being a clay pot for Him and have prayed that desperate prayer of “Father leave me alone it hurts too much!!!” But when it’s all said and done I am so thankful that He didn’t stop and leave me alone.
I want to thank each one of you ladies for being with me in this journey of life and for praying for me in this ministry. It has it’s hardships just like anywhere else. But I am privileged to be a part of it and to have you behind me in it. Thank you for the grace, love, and forgiveness that you have poured out on me as I learn to be what He wants me to be and as I represent you over here to the Tobo church. I am sure God could have picked someone wiser, more loving, more perfect. But I guess He thinks this broken pot is useful out here in PNG.
Your prayers, letters, e-mails, packages, and gifts of love do not go unnoticed and you are a big factor in keeping me sane out here in an isolated mountain tribe. You are my special gifts of blessings and my long distance “girl time”!
Here are some questions I get asked that I thought might be fun to answer and feel free to ask anything else you might think of:
How do you get your food and supplies?Well I have tried to keep this e-mail short but you know how woman are!!!
Once a month I send out a grocery list to a supply buyer in town who takes that list and try’s to find it all in our limited grocery stores in town and then packs it up, weighs it, and puts it on the plane for us. Once a month a small little 206 Cessna plane then flies into our grass airstrip and brings us all our food, veggies, eggs, mail, and supplies. Including all cosmetics, office supplies, hardware, medical, etc. That is one of my biggest jobs. To make sure we have enough to eat for a month and not to forget anything on that list!! There are times that due to weather or scheduling the plane cant come in so I also need to keep an extra month worth of supplies on hand for those “just in case” moments!
What is your kitchen like?
We don’t have a toaster, a refrigerator, a mixer, a microwave or anything that requires electricity. We do have a freezer that runs off of solar power for all our meats and leftovers. We fly in gas bottles that run our gas stove and oven. Jason made a gravity fed water system. So above our house is a spring that he piped into our house and I have running water in my kitchen and bathroom. We also heat the water through the gas bottles for a must have hot water shower for me!
What do you cook?
I try and cook as American as possible. The Tobo people’s sweet potatoes and spinach get old really fast.
Is there anywhere to go to getaway?
No. There is just mountain after mountain of tribe after tribe of people after people. If we go for a walk or sit on the porch there is always people around looking at us or following us. I am still trying to talk the Grandparents, Wal-mart, McDonalds, and Kohls to move out here!
How do you do laundry?
I have an automatic washing machine that we run on our generator and then hang the laundry out under the roof of our porch.
Do you dress-up and wear make-up?
You bet! I still have a husband who I like to flirt with. We try to make a date night once a week where the kids go to bed early and we go on a date to… our living room.
Do you get TV?
No we don’t, but we do have a DVD player and TV that we love to watch movies/sitcoms on. It has to have a good Hollywood ending though for me to watch it!!
What do you do for the kid’s schooling?
I home school Micah and Sophia. I dream of living in a place that I can send them to a school that has a qualified teacher!
Do you love what you do?
I know this is where God wants me to be and I would not trade it for anywhere else. I also know we will not be here forever.
What are holidays like there?
Even though we don’t have hallmark to remind us we make a pretty good party way out here! If it is a holiday we make sure to decorate and celebrate it! Yes, despite popular opinion…the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause, and the Tooth Fairy do know where PNG is.
What do you do for medical and dental?
We have medicines and medical books in the tribe so we try and do a lot of diagnosing and treating ourselves. When that doesn’t work we then fly out to see our mission Dr. It’s usually a $2,000.00 trip not covered by insurance so we don’t like to do that very often. And if the weather is bad or it’s night time then a plane can't get into here to get us out. We have learned (and in the process of learning) to rest in that God will take care of us and our kids in His perfect way, no matter where we are.
What is your house like?
I will send you pictures of it…once it’s all cleaned up!
His Clay Pot,
Kellie
Kellie
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