Answers

***Disclaimer***
Most of the questions were about our housing/living situation in the jungle. We had two classes on "Missionary technology" that should have equipped me to answer these questions, however, the information was WAY over my head, and I only got to go to about half the classes. You see, as in churches everywhere, the MTC had a childcare problem. Too many kids and not enough workers. The stereotype about missionaries having lots of kids is true in most cases. I think it is because we are all too poor to afford birth control. But that is just a theory. Many of the beautiful, incredible, angelic ladies that worked in childcare had older kids that they had to get on buses to school every morning, so childcare started after the first class everyday, meaning I missed the first class everyday. I feel very confident that I missed the half that I could understand, and everyday when I walked in the door they started the lecturing in a foreign language.

Ok, so now that you know that, here are the best answers I can give to your questions. I basically just grouped them into 3 questions since most of them fit into these 3 categories:

1. Will you live in a mud hut?

No. We (and I use the term "we" very loosely) will build our own house when we get into the tribe. It will be a few steps above a mud hut. Here are some pictures of some other missionary houses....

house being built


finished house



inside of house (please notice the fans, and note that there will be 10x that in my house)


2. Will you have electricity and running water?


Yes. We will use solar panels for our energy. The solar panels will be used of course when it is sunny for power. This is the best time to use anything electrical. It is called "sun- sync" hours. But, we will also have those panels hooked to batteries that store the energy for us when it is night time or rainy. The more solar panels we have the more electricity we will have, but at $600 a pop, we will be very conservative with that energy. This leads me to the appliances question...we will use special "energy efficient" appliances like this twin tub washing machine...


and this refrigerator...


The fridge is a chest stlye fridge that uses 98% less energy than a standard fridge. Stop saying "fridge". Ok. I can also tell you all the ways to make "that thing that I will not say again, but you know what I am talking about" be more efficient. For example, cover everything, even ice cube trays. Just a helpful hint from me to you to help your "you know what" run more efficiently, save energy, save the planet and get you a high five from Al Gore. Speaking of high fives from Al Gore, our house would get us tons of those.

Now onto running water. This is one of those things that went right over my head. Basically we will get water from a fresh source nearby or collect rainwater in a tank. Either way, we have to build a tank with some height, so we can pump the water into the house. The higher it is the more "head" we have. "Head" is a good thing. That is all I know about that. Oh, and we will have a water filtration system to clean the water and keep us from getting e. coli, giardia, the plague, etc.

3. Will you have internet?
Maybe. We could purchase a satellite modem, and pay a monthly fee for service, but I think the modem costs like $2,000, so that is definitely in the "want" category and not the "need" category.


Ok, so that is the best I can do for now. I am sure some of my smarter missionary friends will read this and think I am an idiot and answered all these questions wrong. If that is the case, please correct me in the comments section, so people will know the truth. I know you want the truth. It will set you free...wait that is a different kind of truth. Sorry... out of context quote.

FAQ

My friend Michelle (hey Michelle, I was going to put a picture of you here, but I only have pictures of you from high school, and I want to still be able to call you my friend, so I didn't add it) suggested that I do an FAQ about PNG post. At first I thought I would just wait until we got there, so I could answer questions more accurately, but now I think it will be fun to go ahead and do it, and then revisit the questions once I get there to see how dumb and/or naive I was about everything! So, if you have questions about PNG or New Tribes or anything really just comment here or you can email them to tribalwife@yahoo.com and I will do my best to answer them. Until then, I thought I would go ahead and tell you just a few of the most common questions I get now and the answers to them...

1. Where is Papua New Guinea?
Above Australia.

2. Are you taking your kids with you?
Yes, I love my kids. I would like to see their faces everyday- not every 3 to 5 years.

3. Are you going to home school?
Yes

4. Are your kids going to be illiterate?
Yes

5. What do your parents think?
They are proud, but very very sad.

6. Do you have to raise your own support?
Yes.

7. Are you going with "the Southern Baptists" or the "IMB"?
No, we are going with New Tribes Mission

8. Did you know that if you go with the IMB you do not have to raise your own support?
Yes, and that would be pretty sweet.

9. Why aren't you going with the IMB?
Simply, God just did not call us to go with them. He called us to New Tribes, so we said, "ok".

10. What is your biggest fear?
Ending up on peopleofwalmart.com

There you go. If you want to know anything else, just ask and I will answer. It might not be a "correct" answer, but it will definitely be answered!

Remember this baby? The one with the ambiguous hair color and the double chin ?





She was born...



She learned karate...



She watched Austin Powers...



She did this... a lot...



Then she stopped. She accepted that she will forever live outside of my womb and made peace with her life...



And now back to this...




I don't know what she is trying to accomplish, but I am NOT putting her back in there!!!

Reality

This is Elisabeth Elliot. She is the ultimate Tribal Wife. I have read almost every book she has ever written. You should too. I read a lot of missionary stories. I have read so many, that it is getting really hard to find ones that I haven't read yet, which makes me very sad. If you have any recommendations, please tell me! Anyway, I really like all the missionaries books I have read. I cannot think of one that I just didn't care for. But, there are some that I do like more than others. The real ones. It is easy to tell when someone is being totally transparent and honest, and when they are telling you only what you want to hear. I am not saying that the missionaries are lying in the books, they are just only sharing the "good" or what the majority of average Christians consider "good". You see most missionaries live on support from family and friends (as we do) and there is a certain pressure that comes with that, to appear like nothing ever goes wrong and you are always happy and singing hymns and baptizing 300 people a day. Again, I still like those stories, but I really love the ones that include the guts and the glory. Those who let it all hang out, so to speak. I think it is because I am following in their footsteps and want to know everything I possibly can about this life I am called to- the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the tough and the easy, the the funny and the tragic, in short...everything.

I have recently learned that a few people read this blog. Some very unexpected people read this blog, and when I heard it, I got a little embarrassed. You see, I write this thing like no one is reading it, because I really don't think anyone reads it, so I say what I want to say...what I am feeling at the time...what I want to remember about this time in my life. I let it all hang out, so to speak (well, not ALL of it, don't worry). The reason I became embarrassed is because most people think missionaries are supposed to be these super Christians. The ultimate followers of God. The Varsity team. I have learned that is the image in most people's minds. That was the image in my mind growing up reading all those stories. That is ok, I guess, I am sure that a lot of missionaries fit that description, but I don't. I am just your average Christian. I know that a lot of people think that packing up and taking your family to live in the jungle is not "average" but it is not true. I am average. You see, it doesn't take "special" people to be missionaries (although, we could stop raising support right now, if I had a dollar for every person who literally said, "it takes a special person..." to us). I am not special. I am average. I don't have any talents. I have never be really good at anything. Just average. But, God loves average. He loves to use people who aren't special. Because He gets the glory with average.

What does that mean exactly? It means I am just a person who has lived my life for myself and given it over to Jesus, and of the two I realized that there is no better way to live than completely surrendered to Christ. I have given Him my life and have not been disappointed by what He has done with it. I heard David Nasser preach a sermon once called "God wants to ruin your life". Well, He totally ruined mine and made it WAY better than I could have ever made it myself. Simply put, I gave up my plans and dreams and trusted God for His plans and dreams for me, and have never looked back. He is so faithful to His Word that His plans are to "prosper you and to give you a hope and a future." It means I am excited for this life He has chosen for me, because I know He is good, and I could never plan anything better for myself.

What it doesn't mean is that I am rich and healthy and never have problems. It doesn't mean that I will always love every part of being a missionary. It doesn't mean that I will always like the people I am ministering to. It doesn't mean that I will never be tempted to quit and come home.

I say all that to say this: This blog is real. It will always be real. That is scary for me sometimes because in all honesty, it scares me that our supporters will read it and not want to support us anymore, or that people who don't support us never will because of some dumb thing I said. But the goal I have in it is that some very average mom, wife, or young girl will read it and say, "if she can me a missionary, than I can be a missionary" and for people to know how to pray for me and my family. How to really pray for me and my family. But the ultimate goal is so that whatever happens with this ministry of Tribal Church Planting and Bible Translation- God will get the glory. So here is my family as we really are. Just an average family. If we can do this, any family can do this.




**I realize that is not entirely accurate to tell you this is our family as we "really" are when one child is dressed as a mermaid and the other is dressed as Snow White, but you get the point, right?**

Clarification

Yesterday I posted about my desperate desire to know my baby's hair color. I realize now that it came across as me being terrified that she would have red hair. That is NOT the case! In fact, there is a part of me that wants her to have red hair...or blond...or purple...just something different. See these two. Yeah, the ones with the frogs on their heads. They have the EXACT same hair color. They were born with it. It fell out and came back exactly the same. Brown. There was and never has been any question. With this new little peanut. I have no idea. Sometimes it is brown looking. Sometimes red. Sometimes blond. But I NEED to know. I am her mother. What kind of mother doesn't know what color her baby's hair is?? Actually, that is dumb, I know. First of all no one asks that. People can just look for themselves and everyone knows that it can change. But a couple weeks ago I had to write it on her passport form. I had no idea what to write. I asked my husband. He had no idea what to write. I wrote RED. From that point on I have been plagued with the thought that it actually isn't red, and I wrote that on her passport application! What is this going to mean for her life? What is it going to mean for my life? When we return from the US in 4 years and I have a little blond or brunette kid and her passport says "red" they are going to think her mother is some sort of color blind dummy who doesn't know what color her kid's hair is!!! Ok, so maybe that is a little dramatic. I mean look at this picture. This is the actual passport picture. Is she gonna look anything like this in 4 years? NO. I know that. What I don't know is what color her hair is, and that bothers me!

P.S. My husband has this fascination with putting frogs on my kid's heads. I have no idea why. This might be more disturbing than not knowing what color my daughter's hair is. I know it is at least as disturbing for the frog.

HELP PLEASE!!!!!

I have a question.

I desperately need an answer to.

It plagues me night and day.

My life is troubled.

My spirit is disturbed.

I will not be at peace until I get an answer.


Does this baby have red hair??




I mean, I know she has a double chin, but is her hair red?? Thanks for your input! I will feel much better once I know!

Supper. Yeah, I said it, and will say it again...Supper!

I made this for supper tonight. (Yes, I am southern and I say "supper". It means "dinner" or the last meal of the day...unless you are like my husband who eats a 4th meal at midnight.) It is pineapple coconut chicken and the recipe can be found here:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/special-dietary-needs/pineapple-coconut-chicken/

But, I made it with rice instead of black beans because my black beans were dry and I did not plan ahead long enough to soak and cook them. Plus, this is a "low carb" recipe and I do not believe in "low carbs". In fact, I believe in carbs,lots of them, and their ability to make my life happier and my jeans tighter. Anyway, I loved this recipe and am excited because I am pretty sure I can get pineapple and coconut in PNG! Yay!

I have been a little worried lately about cooking over there. I have a hard time with "from scratch" stuff. Also, I know ingredients will be limited. I bought some tools to help me, like the Kitchenaid and a pressure cooker, but I have never used either and I shipped them over with our stuff last month, so who knows if they will help or if they will actually be the cause of our house exploding or burning down or something. Who knows.

Anyway, just thought I would share. It is yummy if you like chicken and pineapple and coconut milk. Coconut milk is my new obsession, which is weird because I really do not like coconut that much. Go figure!

Disturbing

I would like to apologize for my last post. I don't know what got into me. I guess when I see disturbing photos, I feel the need to share them with you. I need you to feel as disturbed as I do. Misery loves company and what not. Speaking of disturbing check this out...




My child covering herself in dirt...


She loves to do this...



I have no idea why...



But it disturbs me. And my bathtub...



We go to a lot of different churches and share with people about our ministry. They are always amazed that we are taking three little girls into the jungle with us. I always hear, "I don't know how you are taking those sweet, precious, daughters of yours to live like that." To that I usually say, "Have you met my children?"