DG's Summer Story Thread

[DG]

So I will try to contain my talking about the summer to here, but I am so excited about what I got to do that I want to talk about it to people I missed dearly. So I'll picture pictures and tidbits here. That way those of you who have known me forever and supported me emotionally can check out what happened. Those of you who don't know me well can opt not to read. It really doesn't matter to me, I've just got to talk.

[DG]

These are so out of order cause I'm having trouble w/ my cd. One of the best things I got to do was visit a village in the East Sepik province. I went on my own in a small Cessna plane. The pilot was an Aussie named Derek who was amazing. Actually, I met tons of Aussies this summer and never met one I didn't like. Anyway, this was midway through the summer and I stayed w/ Jesse and Kari Pryor who are missionaries there. They are some of the only snarky people I lived with this summer so even though I was in a village, I felt like I was home.


Me getting off the plane. (I didn't think you could figure that out from the photo.)

[DG]

The bridge I walked across to get into the village from the airstrip was basically rotten. So, my second day in the village they started to repair the bridge. This is the temporary bridge that I had to cross to get to the garden and the airstrip. I crossed it almost daily. (I was there a week)




That is, by the way, mostly tree bark but it was actually very sturdy. If you can't tell, it is laying on top of the water. The stream was only about 6 ft deep but it was really yucky. All the green is actually the top of the water or stuff growing there.

[DG]

This is me on day one AFTER digging a 6 ft by 4ft mound and planting peanuts in clay soil and AFTER walking the 10 min walk to and from the garden (beside the airstrip) three times in the blazing hot 110 percent humidity weather AFTER getting eaten alive by mosquitoes AFTER having kids slap me to kill said mosquitoes. I blew up 90 balloons for the village kids. It was one of my favorite moments.

[DG]

That's all I've got probably til this weekend because I can't get the cd to work. However, Jill is supposed to be sending me copies of all these so I will have plenty to bore you with.

I also took 12 rolls of film so I know ya'll are just jumping up and down with joy!

[klly]

I love the pictures DG. What an amazing adventure.

[DG]

Thanks klly! I'm glad that I have friends who will indulge me. It's good to be back w/ you and the gang.

[chk]

this thread is mislabelled, DG. There is nothing egocentric about it or what you accomplished this summer. Love the pix, can't wait to see (and read) more!
xo
C

[beachgirl]

I agree with chk, this is not egocentric in any way at all. Yours was an amazing journey and we all, in the smallest ways, got to join you only in spirit. Now to see and hear about it is totally cool! Thanks and bring it on, I want more!

[greeneyes]

DG, of course we want to know about your trip and share every moment with you. We'll just indulge one another.

[ndavis021410]

I'm just so honored to not only know someone like you but to love ya as well...We all want to do good in the world, either it be it in our own communities, our families, our work places, but you....You have to do good for the WORLD, and that's just so awe inspiring, inspirational for all of us to be just a bit like you every day, is a challenge.....I'd bet Dino's new boots, if I had them, on the fact that each and every one of us would love to do exactly what you have done this summer, but just can't, wouldn't, or not able to do such an angelic duty for not only God, but for themselves, other people, and the WORLD.....Spreading love, giving sooooo much of themselves humbly and without even a second thought, is very very very much needed more in this place, this world, and in each of us........

I was very selfish when you left, don't care about underdeveloped kiddies, I'm gonna be missing my DG, well, did I not learn a lesson of a life time!!!....I'm glad you did this, and I'm ashamed of how I felt when you left, and I'm just glad that you are in my life, and in the life of this board.....Share pictures, MORE stories, cause God knows we need to hear about "good" things happening in this world.....Look at those little faces...Just look at their eyes looking up to you.....What you have left us, and them, should be a lesson for all to learn from and live with every day of our lives....Once again, and I'm not saying it again, cause heaven help us all if her head gets big.....I'm proud to not only know you but love you, and thank you for what you have done, and what I'm sure your going to accomplish for the rest of your days here....

Couldn't love ya more sweetie pie full of sugar oats and barley.....OH MY can't ever remember that one correctly.....soup?.......Later Nancy....

[Hoot]

DG...I'm loving the pictures and stories. I can't wait to see and hear more!

[DG]

Ok well.. I should be working, but I'm going to drop off another picture.. This is Samban.


It was built on an abandoned airstrip and gets NO breeze. This was after a couple of days of no rain. It gets swampy quick, but dries pretty quickly too.

[DG]

Alright one more...

Can you believe I only paid the equivalent of 6 dollars for this outfit! This is me teaching a small group underneath the house I was staying at. BTW-My sleeping area was just off this. The school room had that nice half wall.. my sleeping area was just like the top of the schoolroom wall.

Lovely aren't I? Nothing like a gianormous print to make you look petite. Still, it was freaking hot so who cares how I looked.

[nlt]

DG, I'm so glad you made this thread!!! I want to hear all the details about your great experience and didn't want to chance missing some of it if I wasn't in the asylum at the time! Thanks for sharing your stories and pics...can't wait for the rest!!!

[chitowngirl]

Awesome! And very inspiring! Thank you so much for sharing, DG. I look forward to hearing and seeing so much more.

[ndavis021410]

Ok.....Those pics are just going to bring up a BILLION questions...

1. You taught them the English language?.....I see the days of the week up there?...
2. Can you order via internet that outfit?...
3. No walls?...You had no walls for your sleeping room?
4. Look at all those books....What are they?
5. What subjects was predominant in their learning....?
6. Do they understand English or just Pidgin?...(sp)
7. Did you have a translator there with you?
8. Are the mosquitos THAT big?
9. Are those stilts on those buildings?...If so, how come?
10. Does it rain allot?
11. Did you have to walk everywhere?....Where's the trains?...just kidding on that part
12. Ummmmm...I'll think of more later.....
13. Where do the children's cloths come from, are they shipped in?....Made homemade?.....shoes?.....They have shoes?....Bless Their Little Hearts....They do look as happy as they can be....

[DG]

Good questions

1. You taught them the English language?.....I see the days of the week up there?...


This little school is actually geared towards the missionaries daughter so it's American curriculum. Karie invited some village kids in to get a better education. There is another school nearby, but it is not affective or open much. All education in the country is done in English

2. Can you order via internet that outfit?...
Thank goodness NO.. but I have to admit I have three of them and they are the most comfortable clothes in the world. It's called a meri blouse.
3. No walls?...You had no walls for your sleeping room?
Nope.. though there was chicken wire and fly screen. The screens were kind of gunky so I could see out, but they can't see in.
4. Look at all those books....What are they?
The Pryors brought in a lot of books because they wanted to help with literacy.
5. What subjects was predominant in their learning....?
We worked on reading, math, and Bible. They were also learning about ancient civilazations. (It's about a first grade class)
6. Do they understand English or just Pidgin?...(sp)
Mostly Pidgin, but some English. They don't speak English well.
7. Did you have a translator there with you?
Nope.. I was alone for most of the morning. I taught mostly in Pidgin even though I was supposed to teach in English.
8. Are the mosquitos THAT big?
They aren't that big, there are just a TON of them. Samban is known as the birthplace of the mosquito.
9. Are those stilts on those buildings?...If so, how come?
Yep, they are stilts.. During wet season water can come up that high. They have had to travel the village by canoe before. It is typically very swampy there. One day of rain will turn the whole village into a mud hole.
10. Does it rain allot?
It rained my first two days there and then was sunny the rest of the time. It rains a lot during rainy season. I was there in the "dry" season.
11. Did you have to walk everywhere?....Where's the trains?...just kidding on that part

Yep walking is the only way to travel by land... I did once go across the river in a dugout canoe.
12. Ummmmm...I'll think of more later.....
13. Where do the children's cloths come from, are they shipped in?....Made homemade?.....shoes?.....They have shoes?....Bless Their Little Hearts....They do look as happy as they can be....
Clothes mostly come from town.. The village is accessible by river as well as plane so many people go to town to buy and sell things. Samban is known for its carvings. Also, second hand stores are very big in PNG. I bought a good pair of jeans for the equivalent of 33 cents. Women don't really have sewing machines or electricity so they buy clothes or find someone who makes them.

You can't tell, but I didn't wear shoes in the village. It's a burden to wear them. I don't know if they have shoes or not, but really with all the mud you wouldn't want them.

[DG]

You want to see what we call "suffering for Jesus"?

While this is not one of my pictures, this is a place that I got to visit 2 or 3 times. I swam out towards that tree..

[DG]

And while in Madang.. This is the road I drove to go to work..

Hardship after Hardship (again.. not my picture, but I was there)