Food and Games on Christmas Day...

Jenga... how high will it go?


Ham is a special treat here in PNG! We also ate roasted chicken, tossed salad, rolls, green bean casserole, scalloped potatoes, Birthday cake and cherry pie.

Christmas Parties...

Fruit pizza, cranberry cheesecake bars, white chocolate, cheese and
crackers and hot apple cider at Emerson and Miriam's for Christmas Carols.
The kids opening their stockings.
Danny reading the kids a Christmas story.

Christmas cookies... Yummy!

Rolling out Christmas cookies and Gingerbread people and mixing up lots of frosting colors.

The finished products - one of a kind Christmas cookies!

Headed to our co-workers houses to sing Christmas carols and deliver our cookies.

Heading to the ocean!!

After a very busy few months of conferences, Jonny, Nicky, Tobi and I were excited to be heading to the coast for a break. They had fun diving! And I had fun doing nothing but swimming, reading books, shopping and not cooking anything! :) It was extremely strange walking around town sweating like crazy, buying Christmas presents and listening to the Christmas carols playing in the stores!! But I really enjoyed being able to walk around town by myself and go wherever I wanted to go. It is much safer in Madang so I can do that! It was a very relaxing and fun time time for all!!

We were dripping with sweat but there was the Christmas tree at the Hotel for everyone to see as they walked in. :)

This was the norm at our table, an empty water jug! It was soooo hot there that we had to drink so much water!! The wait staff could never keep it full!!

The pizza we waited for... and 2 hours later... after we drank 3 gallons of water each... we ate our pizza. :)

Learning how to dive...

The Divers and the Dive Instructors: Tobi, Skeeter, Nicky, Jonny and Yayoi

The crazy jumpers! :)

The Local Fish Market, right next to our hotel. Yummy fried fish for only K2.50!

Trying fried saksak at the Fish market, not too bad...

Nicky trying steamed saksak at the fish market... not too good!

Headed back to Interface after a fun time in Madang!

Time to Decorate my house for Christmas!!

Just goofing off!

Me, Nicky, Tobi, Jonny and Andy up in my loft for a final picture after the fun of decorating for Christmas!

Hanging out at Pacific Gardens

Fun signs make fun pictures! :)

Andy, Tobi, Me and Nicky

Boys will be boys! :)

Nicky, Heather, me, Andy and Tobi

Cooking for the Translation Workshop...

Natalie and I making cinnamon rolls for 100 appetites!

Now all the hard work is done and we just watch everyone eat and put out more food when it runs out. :) Mariko, Natalie and Andy watching the line.

Crazy Germans! :)

Heather also came out from the NTM Center to volunteer in the kitchen.

Natalie and I cutting almost 30 chickens for the Translation Workshop!

Sone and Julie having fun washing dishes.

Some of the Translation Workshop Kitchen Crew: Simon, Natalie, Nicky, me, Utu, Loli, Piku, Kesi, Sone and Julie

Cooking for SIL Youth Retreat

Lots of Chicken Pot Pie, enough for 120 SIL teenagers!

Hair Cuts...

This is Tobi and Andy after getting a hair cut. My house is not only Beth's Cafe but now it is a Salon where the guys get their hair cut. It is fun to cut their hair! Well, only if they like it in the end. :) The picture on top is of Andy before his hair cut. I loved chopping off all his hair!

Celebrating my Birthday with my PNG Family

My new "family": Jonny, Tobi, Andy and Nicky @ the birthday party.

Blowing out our birthday candles. My co-worker, Danny Mixter, and I celebrate our birthdays. I'd take an apple pie any day over a cake!