Sister Cyd James - Notes From The Homefront

News From The Home Front - January, 2003     The rains have started up here in Port Moresby. It’s a blessing to see the trees and grass turn green once again. Though Papua New Guinea does not have a winter season, the flora turns brown and withers away in the dry season.
    There was a church fellowship today at the Botanical Gardens. The grounds had recently been cleaned and the flowers were blooming, therefore it was more scenic than usual. We barbecued meat on the grill and had that along with bread and butter sandwiches. Everyone seemed to have a good time together.
    Since we are fixing to go back to the USA on furlough, I’ve been in the cleaning-out and organizing mood. Frank says everyday he comes home and sees things missing. This morning he asked me where the jelly was. I told him that I was sorry but didn’t know he was eating it and gave it away. Then before our picnic he asked, "Do we have any insect repellent?" I said, "No, I gave that away too." It’s more blessed to give than to receive, but I’ll try to refrain from giving away the last of his coffee before I leave.
    On the new church bathroom, there are signs that say "men" and "women." The first week the church met on the property, I noticed one lady watching which side of the building the ladies were going to and it dawned on me that she couldn’t read the signs. Literacy isn’t a problem in the USA and so it’s easy for me to forget that some people can’t read. Whenever I put myself in their shoes and think how difficult it would be to shop for food or clothes, do banking, vote, and most of all not being able to read the Bible, it makes me more thankful for the blessing of being able to read. Frank and I were happy that Brother Norman and some of the church members want to teach literacy. It’s an important ministry here.
    At a cafe we went to recently there were dead flies in the glass toothpick containers on several tables. Perhaps they had just sprayed insect repellent. The containers were sitting in the middle of the table, which made the dead flies difficult to ignore. It wasn’t appetizing so Frank asked the waiter to please take the container away. The waiter did and was kind enough to bring us a different toothpick container. When we got ready to leave, Frank told me to only use the bottom half of the toothpick because a lot of people probably touched the top half. I think he forgot about the dead flies. Since he had a toothpick in his mouth, I didn’t know if I should remind him about it or not.
    A friend in Christ,
    Sister Cyd James