Australia - Medical/Tourist/Relax/Cuisine

 

The last time we were in Brisbane Naomi was 2 1/2 years old. We went every year for three years when she was little for her annual check ups for her NCM condition. Thankfully she has never had any symptoms. We praise God for this! In Dec 2020 we wanted to go through Brisbane for another check up, but due to Covid, we started going to Boston Childrens Hospital... but thankfully she just needed MRIs every two years after 2 1/2 years old. So the last few years we have been able to go to Boston for all her checkups. But now it is easier for us to fly down to Australia instead of around the world.

We were excited to get to go back to the Ronald MacDonald House and visit South Brisbane again... yet Naomi didn't remember much of our times there before! 

They added a new amazing play place right outside the dining hall.

Where is Naomi? Where is Jonathan? Where am I? :)

View from the Ronald MacDonald House... just a short walk from South Bank.

Jacob and Jonathan got to try out the Scooter system and had a great time.

We enjoyed a lot of delicious food in Brisbane.

When Naomi wasn't going to an appointment, the kids played here a lot!

Since our waffle maker broke in PNG and it was 22 years old!... We bought a new one... the only option was a Belgian waffle maker. :)

The joy of eating grapes for the first time after a couple years!

We found food that we could eat at the grocery store... and in the Ronald MacDonald House pantry!

We also got to watch a few movies together... and even go to the movie theatre to see How to Train Your Dragon, live action.

And we found restaurants that served GF, Dairy free pizza!

While in Australia we got very familiar with the transportation system... we traveled by buses, trains, ferrys and cars. Our favorite method... trains! The kids were excited to be responsible and hold their own "GO" cards for the transportation system... just 50 cents per ride.

On Our Way Out!

 

Kiso, our guesthouse driver, and Jacob having a coffee before we fly out.

The kids were excited to fly and amazed at how big their backpacks were.

First time for everything... we no longer need to each sit with a child on the airplane! They are growing up!

Doing a little transit work on our centre in Port Moresby before flying out to Australia for medical and break. The centre has been flooded a few times, so when doing renovations we want to make sure that we build above the flood line.

It is good to hang out with Nate in POM again.

Gym Renovation complete!

Just down the hill from our house on the right side is the Gym. It is a multipurpose building. We use it for Gym class and Recess for school. We also use it on Sundays for church, after setting up chairs and a few instruments and speakers. It is also used for Graduation and other special events as well as birthday party fun. And of course ... roller hockey. :)

The inside of the gym has needed some renovations for many years. We were so thankful to watch and see how God enabled Jacob & his team, Franc, Dardi and their Church work team to complete the renovation project of the gym. It needed a bit of a facelift! Here are a couple of before pictures...

It is hard to believe that the team was just in Goroka for a week and had 4 working days to do this! These walls needed a repair for many years. Yet it was difficult to get the sound board in country. So Jacob found a lumber yard near by and came up with a different method... a lot cheaper! Lumber in PNG can be bought at a good price!

 

The team revived our well-worn community building and brought encouragement to many at our center through their love and care and hard work to come all the way over to PNG to help out!

Happy Birthday Jacob!

 

We normally have a campfire every Saturday evening. So we invited a few more of Jacob's friends to join us for dessert and to celebrate his birthday. It was a great time of hanging out!

Then today we had a restful day at home celebrating some more as a family!

Strawberry ice cream pie! One of Jacob's favorites... ice cream made of cashews, strawberries and dates pureed together!

Our kids are old enough to play games with us!!

Meanwhile Jacob is still at work...

 

Jacob and the guys have been trying different methods of finishing the walls.

Redoing walls in one of our guest houses... this seems to be the best method. Looking good!

Getting ready for the work team to arrive by setting up scaffolding and tearing off sound boards. The team will put up new walls.

These are before pictures...

Progress!! Exciting!!