Lawnmower Frustrations - Day 12 & 13

Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) are the only way we can get in and out of Yehebi station - unless we trek through the jungle on foot. The airstrip was built during our first and completed on our second terms in PNG in the late l980s.

Day 12 of 21: Sunday 7/19

If the pig meat wasn’t enough, Tomoi brought us a fish today!  We saved it for lunch.  The morning service went well. I felt like there was understanding about things and some light piercing the darkness.  The Lord is faithful.  I spoke on Heb 12:1-3 and Matt 6:19-28 and touched on a lot of things.  

Well, I decided we should fry the fish on our hi-tech kerosene stove. Big mistake.  We should have just boiled it.  The stove gets so hot you can’t fry properly, so it was well done on the outside and semi-raw on the inside – and for some reason very tough.  Anyway, we got decent meat out of it. 

Yummy catfish from the river

I got very nauseous – not really from the fish. It started before we ate.  I laid down and it passed after a while. 

When we first came up for the evening service, the men were playing “touch rugby.” It is always fun to watch them play; they really get into it.  It delayed church a bit, but it all worked out okay.  For the evening service David preached on forgiveness and did a good job.  He spoke to the whole church this time and not just the children.  He held the people’s attention and gave them things to think about.  

Kilas leading music for the service

David preaching with a translator, Kilas

The men's side: Pastor Sefasui is in the blue shirt on the left.

The women's side of the church.

Since I wrote this on Monday I can tell you that I slept lousy Sunday night.  No way to wash the sheets and get them dry right now  so that adds to the problem too – especially if you’re sweating on them!

Day 13 of 21: Monday 7/20

I’m really dragging today.  We ate our standard breakfast – Weet Bix w/powered milk (rehydrated, of course!).  We didn’t bother with coffee.  I bought the cheaper instant brand and it really is baaad. 

I’m feeling the lack of sleep.  Anyways, I want to get the lawnmower maintenance finished. I am really tired of working on it, and I can’t even try to start it because there is no gas and oil or no plane yet to bring it.  I’ve greased the front wheels & shaft for the cutting rotor.  I’ve cleaned out the carburetor (at the time I didn’t not know that I left a major carb issue undone).  I put gear oil in the gear box and replaced the cutting blades. I am very happy that the plane is coming tomorrow with a new radio battery, gas and oil.  

I spent more hours than I'd like to think trying to repair two very old lawnmowers. There was never lack of an audience! In the foreground, you see a guy with his fanciful leaf and foliage hat (One of their creative abilities!).

Well, I was happy until I talked to the doctor at noon.  He told me that one of the MAF planes was in for maintenance for a week and the other one was in for repairs – awaiting a part from Australia!  What a blow to everything I was trying to accomplish.  Maybe, just maybe, I would get a plane on Friday.  That was depressing. We are planning to go out from Yehebi on Tuesday next week. 

A back up plan (for the lawnmower) is to buy some gas and oil from Nomad – a government station about a six-hour walk away.  We had some people who needed to walk in that direction.  Maybe a couple of extra guys could walk up, see if someone will sell some gas and oil, and then come directly back.  Guess we will see.

I have done most everything I can to get the mower in shape.  The mower turned out to be the major maintenance project of our visit.  It is badly needed and wanted by the village people.  It has not run for years, so I just don’t know what to expect. 

Mid-afternoon I stopped with the mower and washed a bunch of dishes, swept out the house – cleaned it up a bit.  Then I went to the river to wash and David cooked coconut rice. We had Taro again. Gahi cooked it for us over a fire.  We both liked the Taro with margarine, salt and pepper. Today we bought two Bush Fowl eggs to eat.

What's any cuter than children?

We were both tired, sitting here with nothing to do and trying not to fall asleep by 6pm.  I think I got a second wind as its late now, 7:45pm, as I write this by flashlight!