Independence Day get-away

It has been a pretty rough couple of weeks, with too many "heavies" and difficult cases.  When the September schedule came out and I wasn't working the three day holiday weekend, it was time to plan a mental health get-away.  I recruited Becky 2 and volunteer med student Francine to join me in the excursion.

Of course when you are a trio of single girls living in PNG, "get-away" means:  a) you leave the country, b) you travel with an entire escort, or c) you go to a guest house at another mission station.  Becky and I took advantage of "a" last year when we visited Cairns, Australia.  That wasn't an option for this short trip.  The other missionary families, a.k.a. escorts, either had other plans or the docs were on call.  So that left a visit to some of our missionary neighbors.

On Friday morning, Becky and Francine and I loaded the mocha cruiser with our back packs and laundry basket of food and supplies.  We left Kudjip station and drove just 20 minutes down the road to Melanesia Nazarene Bible College.  Yep, our big excursion was 20 minutes down the road to the Bible College.  LOL.  We were welcomed by Rosie Kerr, our fellow missionary and half-time doc at the hospital.  Rosie's husband Dave is a teacher at the Bible College.  Grace and Anna Kerr are two of my precious nieces.  

Our home sweet home for the evening was one of the few two story buildings on the compound.  It seemed as though we were living in a very nice tree house, with beautiful views of the campus and surrounding mountains.  On Friday afternoon, we all enjoyed a well needed rest.  That evening we invited the Kerrs for pizza and played a few games of our favorite Settlers of Catan.  Settlers is a mission field tradition, all over the world.  Rosie fixed a wonderful waffle breakfast on Saturday morning.  It was a breakfast fit for a queen, or several queens and a couple of princesses.  I contributed a honeydew mellon, a splurge for about $6 at the grocery store in town.  Special treat for a special occasion!  

Grace and Anna organized the morning entertainment, a puppet show starring some very bouncy monkeys.  The monkeys were almost as bouncy as their puppeteers... almost.

After breakfast, we picked up Geneva and headed into Hagen for a bit of shopping.  We had lunch at the Poroman Hotel.  I had never been there before, so it was fun to try a new place.

So that concludes our Independence Day get-away.  It was a much needed time away.  Short, but definitely sweet.  Thanks to the Kerrs for being such wonderful hosts!

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

Even though I walk

through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

forever."

~ Psalm 23