Update from the Wheelers
Nikki and Scott Wheeler and their family are NZCMS mission partners who have, after a long wait, arrived in Kapuna, Papua New Guinea. Read Nikki’s update here about how they are settling into life in Kapuna, and navigating the challenges they are facing.
Hello from Kapuna! We are free from quarantine!
Everything went very well with our isolation in our house in Kapuna - we had socially distanced chats with our new neighbors from the deck and food dropped off by the front door for us to collect once they'd gone.
We benefited from having the time to rest and adjust to the heat and logistics of sleeping under mosquito nets and bunk beds! Kids have settled in well and we are slowly hearing less 'I'm hungrys' as they readjust to the fact that there is no pantry full of easy snacks!
We are very blessed that Scott enjoys cooking and has been trying new things in the kitchen with whatever we can scavenge from our backyard and what we have been given. Fortunately our neighbors who have just moved away were great gardeners and I found a pumpkin/butternut growing under some leaves the other day and lots of pawpaw and eggplant! We are learning to tell the difference between cooking and eating bananas growing around our house and have wonderful neighbour kids who climb the coconut palms for us to get coconuts, when our attempts to knock them down with sticks and a football are obviously ineffective (and embarrassing!)
Photos from L-R: Nikki shows the coconut “toilet paper” the kids use at school, Levi, Isaac and Abby have started at the local school, boats on the river carved from trees, Nikki has discovered that if you plant the head of a pineapple, another one grows!
The main goal this last week was to meet the key people around the hospital work site and Scott is spending time getting acquainted with the plumber, electrical guy and builders and seeing what they do and how things work. Few have qualifications and so understanding what their skill level and capabilities are is interesting.
Scott is working with the Project Manager and his role is going to be around the workshop and construction site for the tail end of the Hospital rebuild, with a focus on building up the cohesiveness and work ethic in the team. This is his job 'on paper' but it is quickly becoming evident that there are many jobs he's being asked to get his head around including grave restoration and internet issues.
There is a real need for him and his particular set of management, practical building knowledge and people skills. This, and his adaptability along with people centred team building nature - he's got a hard job ahead but there's a definite sense that he's the right guy for the job!
My focus so far has been getting the kids ready for and introduced to the school. There are four class rooms and they offer alternate grades each year - this year Grades 2, 4, 6 & 8.
Levi is in grade 2 which is a bit advanced for him as they are learning from the NZ Start Right Homeschooling books for Year 3. As he is not reading well or writing much yet, I'm going to need to spend a bit of time working with him in the classroom.
Abby and Isaac are more appropriately matched with their class levels, except Isaac ahead in Grade 6 rather than Year 5 in NZ.
I'll work out a schedule of time for them to be in school and when at home with me learning. They have outside activities in the afternoon including sports and art but also one afternoon a week where we were told Isaac needs to bring a bush knife or machete to help with the yard work! I knew he'd be using one at some point because all the kids grow up with them here, but don't think any of us are ready for him to be yielding one just yet!
My work has begun swiftly in the hospital and I can see that I could be very busy there. Lots of patients with tuberculosis and paralysis/disabilities as a result, so I need to upskill in my knowledge of this condition I've never come across in practise in NZ. The management team have also asked for support with the ordering and money handling for the small store here that sells the basics for the community. We feel called to support and bless this community whose vision is to provide Christ Centered Services to the people in the Gulf - so if they need me in the store, that's where I'll be for now! There will be more work with the GESI (Gender Equality and Social Inclusion) project for both Scott and I possibly more once the rebuild has finished. Our roles, I'd imagine, are going to morph and develop overtime.
We had a wonderful introduction to church on Sunday with the Kapuna community. It reminded us a lot of church in East Africa - almost 3 hrs sitting on a wooden floor! But so much sharing of what is going on in the community and a time for notices and celebration of the amazing blessings from God.
A challenge for us will be that there is a lot of sorcery and witchcraft as part of the culture in PNG, which has a huge impact in a very negative way in people's lives. It is an area we are not familiar with, but will need to be aware of more. We would appreciate prayer for spiritual protection for each of us as we start working and assimilating here - as we open ourselves to relationships with lots of people we need to be kept safe from anything harmful that we don't understand.
We still don't have a good internet connection to our house - the arm extended over the edge of the deck is still how we access it! This should improve when the appropriate cord arrives from Port Moresby.
Thank you for all the praying and fundraising that has been going on for us. We feel hugely blessed and supported as we navigate this. There are times when we can feel quite overwhelmed - with work and bugs (i'll have to do a seperate email on that topic!) but feel at peace knowing we have an amazing support network behind us and are where God needs us to be at the moment.
Thank you and blessings
Nikki, Scott, Isaac, Abby and Levi
Let’s pray for continued provision and grace for the Wheeler family as they adjust to their new life in Kapuna.
