trip to Kainantu - part 3

On our way home, we decided to go by a bakery. We got a loaf of bread, and Thad got this bun, decorated with cream on top.

The cream was a hit!

We thought the building in the back of this photo had quite a unique design on top.

Here is the town elementary school.





A 'Kofi Shop'

The local coffee processing plant...and, yes, we do get yummy coffee in PNG!

A little erosion on one end of the bridge...

and a little more erosion on the other end!



Erosion on the roadside too--this one they are working on. You can see the baskets of rock on the right side of the photo.

In the middle, just beyond the bushes and bordered by some trees, this is airstrip the Jamie comes home to. The view is from a nearby hill.

This is the elementary school for PNG kids in our area. Some have to walk over an hour to reach school!

Banana plants--the 'ropes' of ripening bananas are often covered with bags. We hear that this helps them riped better, but it also keeps fruit bats from eating them.  The water behind these plants is a fish pond.

Coffee plants - coffee is a popular cash crop in the highlands where we live.

trip to Kainantu - part 2

The continuation of our trip into town to renew our driver's licenses:

  

Here are some people milling around--and the building behind them is where we got our licenses.





Jamie and Thad waiting in line to pay for the license and get a receipt.

  

where this nice lady took my old licence and typed up all the information on a typewriter...




and I was invited in the door to sit in this chair...

  

then this lady took my photo.





Thad did a good job of waiting for us!

trip to Kainantu - part 1

A month or so ago we made a trip into Kainantu, the town that is about a 15 minute drive away. We rarely make this trip, as we are able to get most of what we need right here on our center (food, medical care, fuel, etc.), however, both Jamie and I were needing to renew our driver’s licenses, so off we went.



Thad LOVES riding in the car



The grass grows quite tall on the sides of the road--usually the people who live near each section of the road cut it (using machetes) down every so often



These people must've been tired of people walking on their land, so they put up a woven bamboo fence



This lady has set up a little stand to sell to passers-by. She has some "2-minute noodles" (like Ramen noodles) and a few other small items for sale.



The bridge into town ~ we're looking forward to a new bridge, which we hear is being shipped to PNG.



Off to the right is the vegetable market, where you can also buy bags made from rice bags (that's what all the white things are hanging on the fence). 



Off to the left is where people sell live chickens.



There was a cholera epidemic a year or two ago, and along with that came some education about important ways to stay healthy: cook your oown food, don't eat food from roadside stands; don't let flies sit on your food; wash your hands; use toilets (don't go just anywhere); boil your water before you drink it.



This is the main road through town, and also part of the "Highlands Highway."



Here is the Singaut Christian Bookstore which sells not only Christian books and cards, but all sorts of other things, even fabric!



The town police station--and that white truck on the right is a police truck.



Thad - 2 yr birthday

We celebrated Thad's 2nd birthday this month:

Thad and friend, Kaitlyn

Thad's cake--notice the flaming exhaust, Jamie's idea! (Thanks, Debbie, for the cake pan, the frosting bags & tips, and for watching Thad & Thea so I could have uninterrupted time in which to decorate!)

Blowing out the candles...

"Yep - I'm two!"

Family photo - June 2012

A family photo – June 2012

Thad is 2 years and Thea is 5 months

Nice

Seeming to be a people-person, Thad regularly follows me into whatever room of the house I happen to be in. This time I was in Thea’s room changing her diaper. I had stepped a little bit back from the changing table as I was putting together a cloth diaper for her, and I heard Thad saying “nice”, so I repeated, saying back to him, “nice”. He hurriedly left the room and came back saying, “nice” and carrying two toys for Thea, and he tossed them up onto the table where she was laying. Apparently, somewhere he learned that giving toys to people is “nice”!

Here is Thea with her toy, Phileas Frog, that Thad brought for her:

buddies

A couple of weeks ago we had a play date with some boys all right about Thad’s age. They were all really happy to have their picture taken and climbed right up on the sofa! Here’s Thad with his buddies:

Greg, Robby, Thad, & Daniel

…and with Daniel’s little brother, Josh – the 5 boys