Many people have asked me what life is like here in Papua New Guinea. While every day is a little different, here is a quick look at a normal day in Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea.
Waking Up- Waking up in the morning can be hard to do, but some of the views here are worth it. Ukarumpa lies in a valley in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. I love eating my breakfast and drinking my morning tea next to my window overlooking the beautiful green scenery.
Going to the Market- Ukarumpa has a market every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning where Papua New Guineans from the surrounding area come to sell crafts and fresh produce. I go to the market at least once a week to pick up my fresh fruits and vegetables. My personal favorite are the strawberries which grow year round here!
Waking Up- Waking up in the morning can be hard to do, but some of the views here are worth it. Ukarumpa lies in a valley in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. I love eating my breakfast and drinking my morning tea next to my window overlooking the beautiful green scenery.
Going to the Market- Ukarumpa has a market every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning where Papua New Guineans from the surrounding area come to sell crafts and fresh produce. I go to the market at least once a week to pick up my fresh fruits and vegetables. My personal favorite are the strawberries which grow year round here!
Walking to School- The primary school where I teach is on the mission center which means I walk to work every day. It is only about an 8 minute walk from my house along dirt and gravel roads. The roads here can be tricky to travel during any season. During rainy season, they can be incredibly muddy. In the dry season, the gravel becomes loose and very slippery. My friends and I have made many small tumbles.
Classes- I spend the majority of my day at the primary school. I teach kids from all over the world: Papua New Guinea, the United States, Australia, Korea, Peru, Finland, Canada, and more. My students are the children of translators, pilots, literacy workers, mechanics, doctors, and language surveyors. Last school year I taught grades 5 and 6. This year I get to teach a combination class of grades 3 and 4. I teach all subjects including math, reading, writing, spelling, science, social studies, and Bible. Our classes start at 8:45 and the school day ends at 2:45 (though I normally stay at the school until at least 4:00).
Recess- Our students are lucky to be able to enjoy a wonderful playground for at least an hour a day. It is great to work with a staff that understands and respects a child’s need for physical play time during the day and who will put in extra recess supervisor duty time to make that happen.
Worship time- Our school week also includes a school wide chapel time on Mondays and a grade 4-6 worship time on Fridays. I help lead worship time for the upper grades. I love getting to see children worship our God.
Recess- Our students are lucky to be able to enjoy a wonderful playground for at least an hour a day. It is great to work with a staff that understands and respects a child’s need for physical play time during the day and who will put in extra recess supervisor duty time to make that happen.
Worship time- Our school week also includes a school wide chapel time on Mondays and a grade 4-6 worship time on Fridays. I help lead worship time for the upper grades. I love getting to see children worship our God.
Store- Ukarumpa has a store on center that stays pretty well stocked with the essentials. The store is only open from 8:30 to 4:00 on weekdays, so store trips need to be planned and shopping lists need to be followed otherwise you may not have what you need for dinner that night!
Cooking Dinner- There are only a handful of restaurants in the area and all have restrictive hours, so most meals have to be made from scratch. I’m on my way to becoming a pro at my gas stove and oven. This is also a good time to filter my drinking water. All of the houses here have rain tanks which collect rain water for drinking. Rain water is much cleaner than the river water. It isn’t always ‘clean,’ though. Sometimes things get into the tank that don’t belong there. That is why many people here, including me, filter their drinking water. Thank you to my sisters and their husbands for the wonderful water filter!
Community Groups- As well as working with the kids at the school, I also get the opportunity to work with the eighth grade girls Bible study. At this time we’re going through the Bad Girls of the Bible study which my sisters and I all went through when we were in junior high. The leaders and I take turns meeting at different houses.
Evening Fun- The sun goes down between 6:00 and 7:00 every night here. It is one of the beauties of living in the tropics. But when the sun goes down, there isn’t much to do. The only fun we have after dark is the fun we make. There are no bowling alleys, movie theaters, or open restaurants. So instead I spend a lot of time with friends watching movies, playing board games, eating dinner, and having worship nights. I also created a book club here for the women in the community.
Basically, life here is a lot slower. Chores like making dinner, cleaning the house, washing the laundry, and going to the store take much longer than in the States. We walk almost everywhere on center. We live life in a small and tight knit community which I love (most of the time!) of people from all over the world united by the work God brought us here to do. God uses this community to do His work and God uses you to continue the work as well.