I hope that you had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend, and I hope that in the mess that is 2020 you have been able to find things to be thankful for!
We were thankful for a low-key weekend — we drove up a few hours to see our friends, the Simmons, again and it was so nice! There was no rush or agenda or pressure. Just easy company and good food. Lucy Mae adores their girls, and the girls very sweetly played with her the entire time! Josh and I felt like we had been given a couple of days off. Thankful!
End of the day. Sleepy girls.
We’re in the final few weeks of classes before Christmas break, and the workload has definitely increased. The next few weeks are going to be busy, for sure!
“hatching” dinosaur eggs
Last week we celebrated Lucy Mae turning 3 years old! She’s such a spunky, sassy, and silly little girl and we are so thankful for her! She requested: “chocolate with pink cream and dinosaurs” for her birthday. It was everything you can imagine a 3-year-old’s party would be: laughing, screaming, crying, messes, and chaos. I wouldn’t change it, and the kids all loved it.
Here we are — entering week 14 (of 18) at the MTC! This week, Lucy Mae’s classroom was closed for part of the week, so we ended up switching in and out of classes during the morning so that one of us was home with LM. Thankfully, the school offers live-stream of the classes, and counts that as attendance! LM was very excited to get back to her classroom mid-week, though (and so were we ☺️).
I got to have a little coffee date with friends this week – outside in the sunshine! What a special time with these sweet girls.
This week is our last full week of classes before Thanksgiving break! We’re planning to spend it with friends (thanksgiving is always better with friends!). We’re looking forward to time spent with them! Pray that there’s no more lockdown/quarantines in the area so that we can actually get together.
The end of this week is also Lucy Mae’s birthday! She’ll be 3 years old! I almost can’t believe it’s been that long, but also… she acts like a teenager (three-nager?) already, so I can’t believe she’s ONLY turning 3 (and not 16). I’ve got a couple of fun crafty things up my sleeves to celebrate.
Lucy Mae loved the orange and yellow trees by the lake. They’ve all just about lost all of their leaves now.
We put out a ministry update this week. If you’d like to get on our list – just drop a comment down below, or shoot me an email on the contact page with your email address and I’ll get you added. In it, we talk about our current support levels and needs. Several churches/individuals have dropped and/or slashed their giving (due to Covid killing their budgets, too) so we are really needing some more people and churches to jump onboard financially! Another thing is that we’re still waiting for a refund for one set of tickets from this summer — this is several thousand dollars that is “being processed” but hasn’t made it to us yet. Our tuition is due soon, so please pray that this would come through quickly!
If you have questions about anything, just send me a message and I’ll be happy to answer what I can! ♡
I very nearly had a panic attack when I came home one day to find this SNOW SHOVEL outside my door. I’M NOT READY YET.
This week has been heavy, and I sometimes find it hard to come up for air in the midst of it. The pandemic. The election. The tension. There has also been a potential exposure to Covid19 on campus again, so there are a few extra precautions in place. So here are a few of the happy things from this last week.
Last week we visited the local pumpkin patch! It was the last day they were open, and I’m so glad we went! We walked through the field of pumpkins, watched the corn cannon shoot, climbed on hay bails, visited all the animals in the petting zoo, took a trek through the woods, and tramped in the corn before picking a pumpkin and taking the hay ride back to the car. It wasn’t too cold either, so it was a lovely American Fall Adventure.
They did a little trick or treating event on campus for all the kids, and it was such a sweet time! Lots of folks participated, there was a candy shoot/slide, glow sticks, and everyone was very careful to maintain a cautious distance. LM and I love to dress up, so it was fun to get our costumes on and do it together! Josh drove us around when it got too dark and too far to walk.
she was adamant that it be a scary face!
I don’t have much else to say right now: we’re just hanging in there, doing our best, and waiting for the next thing. The world feels like it’s in a constant tension… an anxious place of unknowns. I guess that’s to be expected since this world is not our home. Let’s be kind and look for the happy things!
This last week has felt so long; but I think it’s because it has been such a rollercoaster of temperature. It started out in the 50’s, peaked at 85, and it’s currently 40 with snow predicted in the next day or two. I just really hate being cold.
Wednesday afternoon.
Thursday at school.
My ankle/foot is feeling almost back to normal; thank you for your prayers! It’s still a bit tender if I push on it, but it doesn’t hinder me from walking anymore.
The sweetest little bakery.
We haven’t had much homework this last week, and it was gray and cloudy most of the week, so we haven’t had much opportunity to get out and do stuff. Saturday, however, we were able to go to a few of the local Mennonite businesses with our training team. We visited the cutest little bakery where you can literally buy baked goodness right out of the oven. It was warm and yeasty and delicious and wonderful.
Then we went to a grocery/deli right down the road where they season and slice their own meats and cheeses for sandwiches. It was such a fun little morning outing with friends. Lucy Mae particularly loved the horses and buggies, and the soft pretzels.
Played outside, always must be barefoot, got a little muddy. Straight to the bath before dinner.
Same night; 10 mins before bed, Lucy Mae found Josh’s dirty garage gloves, and rubbed them on her face.
This coming week looks pretty similar to this last week. The weather is supposed to be wet and cold, so I think it will be lots of warm indoor activities to keep us entertained.
Tomorrow morning we finally get to go back to in-the-classroom classes, instead of doing everything online. Woo! We’re so happy to get back to some sort of “normal” — and Lucy Mae is really looking forward to being back with her teachers and friends.
Frost on the ground this week.
This week was much of the same… classes online, homework, housework, try and keep the child entertained. We had a few warm days, which was good for us to get out and enjoy the sunshine. And this weekend, it’s really gotten cold (for me anyway, tropical blood, you know). I’ve settled on Missouri weather is just psycho, and does whatever it wants.
This week I also managed to fit in my every-single-trip-back-to-America visit to the Urgent Care (it’s one of my curses*). I went for my run** after I put Lucy Mae to bed, tripped on a rock and ended up with some nasty scrapes and a sprained foot. At least it isn’t broken, though I feel a bit foolish for getting an x-ray instead of waiting longer. Hopefully our insurance will cover most of it. It’s feeling better every day, and as long as I don’t stand for extended periods of time, it doesn’t hurt too bad.
Lucy Mae is very into setting up and posing for photos right now.
It’ll be good to be back in the classroom this week, and even better to actually see our classmates as we continue to work on projects.
Wearing our matching warm hats! And super thankful for our friend who bought us some warm coats!
*The other curse is that they will always forget my order at a restaurant in every single country I visit.
**Hah, if you followed that star because you’ve heard me say that I would never become a runner FOR YEARS… blah blah blah. I was wrong. Running has done some amazing things for my mental health. I’m still not good at it, and can’t run for very long yet, but I’m getting better, and I still love it! Now, go ahead. Gloat.I deserve it.
This whole week we’ve been in isolation, attending classes online and generally avoiding people. It was pretty discouraging at first, especially when we weren’t feeling 100% physically.
But finally – finally we’re free and feeling good!
Canoeing on Lake of the OzarksA few fall treasures
Well, Josh still can’t taste or smell very much, which is a bummer, but otherwise we feel good. Apparently the whole loss of taste/smell symptom can last for a few weeks. 😅
Walking around Ha Ha TonkaLove this gloomy tree.
Honestly, I think the hardest part has been the isolation; the not getting out and about; the lack of change in the day. Lots of people have been much sicker and had it much harder for much longer than we have.
Physically, we never really felt too horrible. It felt like allergies, or a very mild cold. A little intermittent stuffiness, a little occasional cough, a little extra tired. If it wasn’t for the loss of taste/smell for Josh, we’d probably think it was just allergies and continue on with life. As it is, there are over 50 positive (or presumed positive) cases on campus, most of them mild, thankfully.
The castle’s water tower.
The campus is closed for another week, meaning another week of classes online. It’s not the way we want to do classes, but we’re thankful for the staff trying to keep things moving. We’re trying to be very intentional as a family to get out to explore and be in the fresh air. It seems to help the mental health for all of us.
I guess it was inevitable really… but here it is. Covid19 has arrived on campus.
This last week, one by one, our class of 56 students dwindled as people began getting sick or having contact with positive Covid19 cases and entering isolation; on Friday, there were only 18 students in class. Then this weekend, Josh started showing some symptoms consistent with Covid19. Thankfully his symptoms are mild (loss of smell/taste, headaches, some congestion), Lucy Mae has a little cough (but nothing we’re very concerned with), and I have no very noticeable symptoms so far (right now it seems like seasonal allergies, but who knows). With the number of positive cases on campus climbing, we’re assuming that’s what this is, too.
We’re now in isolation… the CDC says 10 days from the onset of symptoms, so that’s our current plan, unless I begin to develop symptoms as well.
The staff here have been working faithfully to continue classes and keep things running. Social distancing and use of masks, with the addition of quarantined students participating via Microsoft Teams. Pray for the staff and teachers here as they try to navigate classes and sickness taking over the campus.
It all feels pretty discouraging right now… This whole year has felt like just constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop. What’s next? We’re not made for isolation.
On Friday, before we had to enter isolation, our training team was talking about John 15… we got stuck on the word “abide.” The ideas of rest, of continual worship and prayer, of peace was the overarching themes of our discussion. I thought back to March, when it felt like the world began to unravel… I literally barred people from talking about Covid19 on my porch, because all it did was stress everyone out. Now… 8 months later, here we are, still talking about it, still stressed out… but God is still the same, and we can abide in that truth. We can set up camp there, rest in that, be still and quiet in that, knowing that He is right here with us, that none of this is a surprise or a shock, and that it doesn’t stress Him out in the least.
So here we are… isolating, doing our classes, homework, and group projects via Teams. Grocery pickup is going to be our new BFF, and taking socially distanced walks to the Lake. But through it, I want to tease out that idea of abiding… and maybe learn to let go and just BE with God. Abiding in His truth and goodness in a weird time; in a weird situation; in a weird world.
Happy Fall, y’all! I’m loving this cooler weather and how the leaves are actually starting to change. After 5 years of no actual seasons – I’m soaking it all up!
This brought back so many memories of Josh’s early training days sitting in the 172!
This weekend we were able to get out of the school bubble and go visit our coworkers and friends at their home a couple of hours away. The company where Josh has been working gave him a super awesome deal on renting the airplane for the weekend — and it was such a blessing and encouragement to us (and I think to our friends, too).
Good friends!
Josh and I were able to spend time with our friends — there are ponds to fish, four-wheelers to ride, targets to shoot, fires to warm ourselves by, big open space to just breathe, and plenty of good food. It was so good to go somewhere on this side of the world and be known and not have to explain anything, just be. We came back Sunday afternoon, just in time to drive through a big front bringing some cold weather.
Love 💕
We jumped right back into class on Monday morning, and this week our classes are taking a deep dive into what a mature church looks like. Some recommended reading (if you’re into that): Building on Firm Foundations by Trevor McIlwain. This is one of the basic guides that Ethnos360 uses for planting a church in a tribal location; this is meant to be used as a resource and not a step-by-step tutorial. It’s been so good getting to the heart of what we (as an org) believe, and why we believe that, so that we can take ownership of it and get excited.
I caught a fish! 🐟
This next week we’re planning to soak up this cooler weather before it gets too cold. I think there might even be a visit to a pumpkin patch in our future, too. 🍂🍁🌾✨
The closest translation would be: “stuffed bamboo”. This is a traditional Highlands dish, generally cooked inside a segment of bamboo over a fire. The bamboo segment would be stuffed with chicken, greens, peas, lemongrass, ginger, and garlic, then “capped” with banana leaves and propped up over a fire to cook. It would be eaten at a small celebration (a birthday, or visitors), often with sweet potatoes, rice, and tapioca bread.
These are pics from 2015 when we first learned how to make traditional suvim mambu!
Josh and I learned to make this the traditional way, but one of our national friends told us a cheater way to cook it: in a big ol pot. We cook this fairly often in PNG, and this last week we had the opportunity to make it for all of our training team –and it was a big hit!
I also found this gigantic cooking pot, which is very similar to something we’d use in PNG to cook this. It made it taste more authentic in my mind.
Greens gathered.Garlic. Ginger. Lemongrass (minced in the food processor until fine).
Suvim Mambu
Ingredients
These are my best approximations for amounts; mostly I just put more or less of what we like and what we’re feeling that day.
2 lbs chicken breast, cubed
4 big handfuls of greens (I used spinach and kale here — this is probably something like 5-6 cups)
1 cup peas (frozen works)
1 inch of ginger, grated
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks lemongrass, minced finely
2 chicken stock cubes
On the side: Baked sweet potatoes, steamed rice, tapioca bread.
Directions
Brown your cubed chicken in a big cooking or stock pot with a little bit of oil.
Add in the rest of the ingredients except for the greens, and sauté everything until fragrant and the chicken and peas are cooked through.
Add the greens and toss everything together until well-combined, lower the heat, and put on the lid to let everything steam together. Once the greens are wilted, it’s ready to serve.
Notes
**The actual “mambu greens” that we would use are called “Mushroom Herb” here, and are a rare plant for fancy collectors. The mix of spinach and baby kale that I used seemed to work just fine for us.
Last week, I was feeling overwhelmed. I even told Josh that I felt like I was just always swamped and trying to catch up. I had a couple of hard mommy days in the midst of everything, and I was not gracious or loving. Josh has sent me out for some time off, and it’s been so good!
One of the things that I think I’ve struggled with here, is that everything feels like its timed. Classes start and end on time. Breaks are on time, for a limited time. Team meetings are timed before childcare pick up. Volunteer hours are counted and managed. I think I felt like I wasn’t getting time to finish a conversation before the time was up, or before it’s nap / bed time and off I run. There’s not much time for just savoring.
Photo by Lucy Mae
So this week, I have. I had coffee at someone else’s house; I went on a girl’s date to a cute coffee shop. I finished conversations, or at least got past the surface a little bit. I made good food that’s close to my heart. I left the dust on the floor and savored a little bit more. I’m not very good at just “being” — I need to do something; but it turns out that I’m also not very good at go-go-go without ever really getting anywhere. I guess there has to be a middle ground somewhere — maybe one day I’ll find it.
not covid-approved, but sharing popsicles with friends
One of the fun things we got to do this week was for our Training Team dinner. Every week we have one evening when we meet with our training team (a group of students and staff that mentor/disciple/work on projects/eventually do “bush living” with, etc); our team likes food (hallelujah!) so we’ve done dinner every week. This week it fell on PNG Independence Day!
Josh and I made “suvim mambu” for our group — it’s one of our favorite PNG dishes. It’s definitely a Highlands type of food, but we love it. It was so fun to put it all together, speak in Pidgin (one of our training team leaders speaks Pidgin, too!), and have a little taste of home. I’ll get the recipe up soon, because it was so fun.
This cooking pot was SO BIG.
This coming week, we finish one class and start a new class; share our testimonies with our training team; and take a weekend trip to see some of our other coworkers in the area. The weather has started to cool off significantly; and while I’m not ready to be cold, I’m looking forward to the coziness, the leaves changing, the boots and sweaters, and experiencing an actual season. 🙂
…and hopefully take some more time to savor the in between.
Erin Verdonck 