Kidding Around

So you may be wondering…didn’t Nate and Elizabeth take their kids with them? Why is it that we have yet to hear much about their experiences so far? We thought we should update you on our boys and how you can be praying for them.

Recently Noah was waiting (and waiting and waiting…it takes a looooong time to use a bank card here - nearly 10 minutes each time) while we checked out at the pharmacy in town, the place where we can buy diapers and bandaids and antibiotics over the counter (yes we ARE in another world!) and he was asked by the guard at the door if he liked Madang. “How you like my town, eh, Noah?” I held my breath…until Noah responded with the words, “I LOVE it here!” Balm for a mother’s heart. Noah has shown more signs of culture stress than either of our other kids as he understands and remembers more of what is “normal.” When we are in town or in the village our kids face intense heat on the road, crowds of people who look very different than what they are used to, and many friendly hands reaching out to tweak their cheeks or rub their heads. He recently made friends with a little boy named Lloyd whose parents have been among our main language helpers and friends.

Noah is growing up. His food consumption has probably doubled in the last few months and he has fully entered the world of chores, sweeping the porch and drying dishes. He has found that helping his younger brothers wins him far more approval from Mom and Dad than tattling on them! He loves the new-found independence of wide open spaces here on the center (with boundaries enforced, of course.) Please pray that we would have wisdom to meet his heart and that he would continue to grow more and more in love with the Lord Jesus.

Timothy just celebrated his third birthday and is in the throes of potty-training. WE celebrated three accident-free days recently! (We won that battle but the war is not yet over…!) He is usually our happy camper, humming to himself as he drives a car around or looks at a train story book. Today Nate brought him along for a trip to town on the PMV to buy some much needed groceries. During the roughly 4 hours in town, somewhere between 20-30 people wanted to talk to Tim and he responded to them well (other than the PMV driver, whose gap-toothed, betel-nut blood red smile scared him!) Nate was thrilled and Tim was delighted to have a “date” with Daddy.

Tim has been our “bite boy” too…his bug bites swell two or three times the size of the rest of the family’s. We have found that only bug spray with DEET is really effective for deterring our insect friends. Please pray with us that we will have wisdom to know how much bug spray we should use on our children and that we will make wise decisions on issues like malaria prophylaxis.

And our Elias…at 15 months old, Elias thinks that he should be able to keep up with his older brothers in every way! We have recently been teaching the “You are not allowed to bash your brothers on the head” and “You are not allowed to play in the toilet” lessons. Please pray for us that we will be consistent and careful with him, even as we juggle household chores, language sessions and older brothers.


Elias is in love with his shoes, with his board books, with his milk cup, with his blankie. He is still our baby and yet his size belies this! We are thrilled that he has finally stopped lurching into wall corners and falling every few yards as he thumps around the house. We thank God for him and for all of our boys! Thank you for praying for us and our three active children as we all settle in to life in our new home, making new friends, speaking a new language.