I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord. (Ezekiel 34:26, 27 NIV).
I've read that passage and ones surrounding it recently and I've been pondering seasons, change, and challenges I see around me. The students have been taking their finals, and are starting back to clinical rotations in the hospitals. I also see posts on their Facebook pages that they are ready to go home for holiday. Our sermon at church yesterday was from Ecclesiastes and on are we making the right changes in our lives, living abnormally or the normal function Christ created us for. And then, there is the fact that we are getting back to rainy season in PNG, but my calendar says its fall! Changes and new normals all around!
So, this September and October have been a little different than last year. Finishing up the Second half of the Obstetric Complication class has gone well. I only have a little grading to finish up. I've had a few free evenings and weekends to experiment with baking, and I have some baking afternoons with the neighbor girls. It been great to share some baking tips with the girls again and even help them fill up their own little cookbooks.
This year I've been more aware also that I'm not at home doing the autumn, my favorite time of year. I guess last year I was still getting in the hang of things here, and also last year I knew I'd be home just in time for Thanksgiving. Well, that's not going to happen this year, so I've felt the need to create a little Autumn over here in PNG.
First it was autumn baking, pumpkin bars, apple pie, pumpkin bread, and most recently pumpkin cheesecake! And after I about ran out of my imported Libby's pumpkin, I realized PNG pumpkin (or what Americans would call squash) will actually work quite well for all those recipes, and its sooo much cheaper!! I also am sharing all of my baking attempts, I can't handle all the calories myself but just need at least one piece of each!
Then I had to do some decorating, This required a little more planning, some trips to the second hand clothing spot at the market, and waiting until my monthly trip to town to get a few things I had seen I thought I could adapt to make my creations! (I also budgeted for a little data to use up on Pinterest, a weakness of mine and something I can't use quite like I would in the states, which is probably a good thing!) I also got a little inspiration from Danielle, a fellow missionary crafter here who is also missing fall in the USA. We even got together one day and worked on some pumpkin projects! She graciously shared some Chai and we had a great morning of piecing together some of our pumpkins. She also shared some PNG crafting secrets--- Black poster board works well for a one time use chalkboard, (paint is very expensive!) and burlap is available here in the form of PNG coffee sacks!! Oh the projects you can do once you have these two extremely cheap materials!!
What follows are my creations over the last 6 weeks or so, and I've started on some Christmas items as well, but you will just have to wait for those. I'm enjoying my Autumn, even if I had to make it myself.
Then here is my "chalkboard" creation, placed over a picture of PNG and can easily be removed and changed again, or changed back. I loved the previous picture but a little change for the dinning room wall for a month or so is nice.
I will give thanks with a grateful heart for all that God has done for me this year, for all he has allowed me to do, enabled me to do, and continues to challenge me to do. These little additions to my place here are daily reminders of those things. Nothing here is as "easy" or "instant" as it can be in the US, from making pumpkin purée instead of popping open a can, making your own yarn from shirts you searched through piles and piles to find, and then the adjusting to challenges on the labor ward and constantly working on forming and building relationships. But I'm looking forward to these blessings and I am thankful for them and ever grateful to be growing closer to my God.
I've read that passage and ones surrounding it recently and I've been pondering seasons, change, and challenges I see around me. The students have been taking their finals, and are starting back to clinical rotations in the hospitals. I also see posts on their Facebook pages that they are ready to go home for holiday. Our sermon at church yesterday was from Ecclesiastes and on are we making the right changes in our lives, living abnormally or the normal function Christ created us for. And then, there is the fact that we are getting back to rainy season in PNG, but my calendar says its fall! Changes and new normals all around!
So, this September and October have been a little different than last year. Finishing up the Second half of the Obstetric Complication class has gone well. I only have a little grading to finish up. I've had a few free evenings and weekends to experiment with baking, and I have some baking afternoons with the neighbor girls. It been great to share some baking tips with the girls again and even help them fill up their own little cookbooks.
This year I've been more aware also that I'm not at home doing the autumn, my favorite time of year. I guess last year I was still getting in the hang of things here, and also last year I knew I'd be home just in time for Thanksgiving. Well, that's not going to happen this year, so I've felt the need to create a little Autumn over here in PNG.
First it was autumn baking, pumpkin bars, apple pie, pumpkin bread, and most recently pumpkin cheesecake! And after I about ran out of my imported Libby's pumpkin, I realized PNG pumpkin (or what Americans would call squash) will actually work quite well for all those recipes, and its sooo much cheaper!! I also am sharing all of my baking attempts, I can't handle all the calories myself but just need at least one piece of each!
Then I had to do some decorating, This required a little more planning, some trips to the second hand clothing spot at the market, and waiting until my monthly trip to town to get a few things I had seen I thought I could adapt to make my creations! (I also budgeted for a little data to use up on Pinterest, a weakness of mine and something I can't use quite like I would in the states, which is probably a good thing!) I also got a little inspiration from Danielle, a fellow missionary crafter here who is also missing fall in the USA. We even got together one day and worked on some pumpkin projects! She graciously shared some Chai and we had a great morning of piecing together some of our pumpkins. She also shared some PNG crafting secrets--- Black poster board works well for a one time use chalkboard, (paint is very expensive!) and burlap is available here in the form of PNG coffee sacks!! Oh the projects you can do once you have these two extremely cheap materials!!
What follows are my creations over the last 6 weeks or so, and I've started on some Christmas items as well, but you will just have to wait for those. I'm enjoying my Autumn, even if I had to make it myself.
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| Pumpkins made from old shirts I actually wore, and wore out. They are also stuffed with old shirt scraps, and plastic bags. The basket is another project, T-shirts form second hand, cut up into yarn and crocheted. This is my second basket, the first is various grays. |
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| My favorite pumpkin! The stem is material from my favorite capris from last year. They also got worn out and torn from some wire on a hike but work great here! |
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| My bed with a burlap pumpkin pillow. And my living room also got some T-shirt pumpkins. I also recently got this rug and a third blue chair from the warehouse. They fit well into the room and the rug adds a nice autumn touch that will last all year round! |
Then here is my "chalkboard" creation, placed over a picture of PNG and can easily be removed and changed again, or changed back. I loved the previous picture but a little change for the dinning room wall for a month or so is nice.
I will give thanks with a grateful heart for all that God has done for me this year, for all he has allowed me to do, enabled me to do, and continues to challenge me to do. These little additions to my place here are daily reminders of those things. Nothing here is as "easy" or "instant" as it can be in the US, from making pumpkin purée instead of popping open a can, making your own yarn from shirts you searched through piles and piles to find, and then the adjusting to challenges on the labor ward and constantly working on forming and building relationships. But I'm looking forward to these blessings and I am thankful for them and ever grateful to be growing closer to my God.
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