Clouds

I’ve been hoping to avoid the inevitable forever. Hoping I would be special enough or strong enough or happy enough to never feel it. The pull of America. The distaste for PNG. The general discontent that eventually happens to people living away from their home country. My discontent exploded on me when I wasn’t aware […]

Deferred love

The verdict on the dog decision isn’t a yes or a no. It’s the worst kind of verdict: wait. About two weeks ago we went up to the highlands to visit some friends and see the dentist. Our trip ended up reminding us of dog owning headaches. At the mission station people have many dogs […]

Cats, dogs, birds… and decisions

We’re thinking about getting a guard dog. The pros and cons of dog ownership in PNG have been waging a war in my head ever since we started entertaining the idea. During our first term we house/pet-sat for dear friends while they were on furlough. Their collection of animals included an outdoor dog, an indoor […]

Waking up to PNG

Our 3 yr old “sister” going into her bush house with a bag on her head. When you think about it… why not? It was the kind of Saturday morning where I could almost forget that I’m not living in the States. If it weren’t for the sweltering heat already baking the house and the […]

When fears and life collide

“Oh crap.” Not very eloquent, but it’s the first thing that popped into my head when I saw the twenty or thirty men standing by the road a hundred yards ahead of my vehicle. The sun was dipping close to the jagged mountains on my right and bouncing off the sea to my left. It was the […]