Travis and Nikki Ray: March Madness 2014

We are now into a new year and as time ticks by the work keeps going. BUSY would explain our lives here in PNG. WE have been blessed to be a part of so many new families moving into the bush and setting up their future homes! This means that Travis is not only drawing up blueprints but figuring up material lists, running back and forth from town purchasing materials, assembling work teams, flights, and lodging to make all this happen. As I write he is on his way to a volcanic island meeting the first work team there to build a home for a family of 5. There is a lot of pressure for the man who is responsible to make this all happen- as once you fly/boat into your location you can't just hop into your car and drive to the nearest hardware house to exchange or purchase something you forgot. My busy looks a little different as I don't often go with Travis on his building trips but assist him before, during, and after with office work. Earlier this year I was praying about taking a day off to get caught up at home. After looking at schedules I decided to take Thursdays as my day off. This has been such a blessing and much needed time for me to recoup. It was during this time that one day I noticed out my kitchen window one of my neighbors kids sitting on her porch watching me do dishes. I was thinking to myself why she is not in school, so I walked over to her house and asked her. She was a little hesitant to tell me but the story I found out is that my neighbors are looking after her right now (her parents died) and they don't have the funds to pay for her schooling. I felt bad for her as the rest of the kids every morning go to school and she stays all day long at the house with no one to play with. I do see her doing her chores outside like washing dishes, clothes, cleaning weeds out of the garden, etc. I prayed about using my Thursdays to teach her literacy. I went over and asked her if she would like that and with a Big smile she said yes. So for about 30mins. Thursday mornings I go over and teach her how to make letters and then we story a little. Her name is Ipi (sounds like EP) so you can pray for us in this adventure! The other busy that is going on is a literacy class here at Sobega that our co-workers decided to take on for our national believers who work for us. I was so excited to hear this because we have these believers, but they don't know how to read or write. Once they complete this course they can get encouraged and guided in Gods word! The class started up this week and they meet every Monday-Friday for an hour. It was so unreal to me to sit in on the class and see grown men and women learning how to hold a pencil and try and make a circle or a letter for the first time. Many of them were complaining how their hands were cramping and they needed a break from holding the pencil, so they did some hand exercises ha! Can you remember back when you first learned how to hold a pencil and your hand cramped from gripping it too hard? Many things are happening here and around us and we are grateful to play a part in it. I will end with the last Busy I am involved in here at Sobega. As we look to go home this summer I needed to find someone to train in my work here. This was not looking good as many of our co-workers were leaving around the same time for graduation or furlough. After talking with a few people here I mentioned that I was thinking of a national worker of ours that I thought could learn fast as she speaks good English and has learned some things on the computer. We talked about this with her and she was very excited to learn more as it will help her in the future if she ever looks for an office job. So, I have been busy in the office training her 2-3 days a week on all the duties and she tells me at the end of the day that she has head pain (meaning headache). This is more critical thinking for her but she is learning fast and I have confidence she will be ready when its time for us to leave. I have taken a few pics of the things we have been involved in below.