A Quiet House

Well, it's just me, 3 cats, and a dog in my house now. I actually live in a
sort of duplex. One side is mine and the other side has 3 bedrooms and is
intended for the single short term girls. At the moment, Tiffany is the only
one living on that side but she left yesterday (Monday) to head back to the
U.S. for her sister's wedding. Since the road is now open, Mr. Smith,
Jeremy, Tiffany, and 13 nationals took the truck to the nearest airstrip. We
were a little concerned about the trip as we had a big rainstorm on Sunday
and the makes for slick roads if not landslides. But it was dry Sunday night
and Monday morning, so they were able to drive.

Getting to town is always a bit of a process, no matter what route we take,
as we try to make each trip as economical as possible. For this trip, Mr.
Smith let the nationals put in orders for things that they wanted from town.
(They like to purchase oil, soap, salt, etc. and resell it here in the bush
for a profit.) Then he called the store in town and had their order
delivered to the airplane hangar. That way the plane would come to the
airstrip fully loaded and the nationals' payment for transport of their
cargo would defray some of the cost of the trip. (That's why there were 13
nationals in the truck. They were going to pick up their cargo and would
walk back with it.) Tiffany flies out today (Tuesday), and Mr. Smith and
Jeremy will do our shopping for the next two months, pick up mail, and do
other business in town. They will fly back to the airstrip on Thursday.
There are two flights booked for that day as one plane load would only half
fill the truck, and it is a waste to drive the truck back only half loaded.
Once both flights come in and all the cargo is unloaded and packed in the
truck, Mr. Smith and Jeremy will head for home. When the road and weather
are good, it is about a 3 hour drive, but it often takes 4-5 hours depending
on conditions.

All that say, Tiffany left yesterday and will be gone for almost two months.
Hence the title of this blog entry. I am hoping to use this quiet time to
get a lot of language study in and get all the medical supplies organized.
Thanks once again for all your prayers for the ministry here.