Did you know that Papua New Guinea has over 3,000 known species of orchids? It’s no wonder that Ian’s passion for orchids began there. While living in Lae, almost every week the same young boys would see us in town and show us the newest orchid they had found growing in the wild and had brought to town to sell. I don’t think we ever turned them down and so we started our own small orchid garden. Ian began experimenting with wood chips and charcoal and rocks and different amounts of shade and sun to try to grow these incredible, endurable, but finicky, flowers. (Being a beginner, he had limited success with them—which is one more reason we want to go back. He doesn’t bend to defeat very easily!)
So when we heard about the tropical orchid show at the nearby Royal Botanical Gardens, we had to go! And since the variety in colour and texture and design is near indescribable, here are a few.
It seems every new orchid only serves to outdo the last one in capturing your amazement. The book of creation is far too vast to comprehend; for our Awesome God wrote that book.
BUGS
At the same RBG, they’re having a Bug Show for kids. There are pictures of bugs to colour, stories of bugs to listen to, bugs to learn about and hold, bugs to sing about and even bugs to taste! So being the missionary from the jungle that I am, naturally I grabbed a whole handful…um, well, actually, I decided to pass, using the oldest PNG excuse in the book, “My mama didn’t teach me how to eat those things!” But my friend Alice is braver than I and she savoured one whole chocolate-covered cricket. She said it wasn’t bad, although she was complaining of bug legs stuck between her teeth for the rest of the afternoon.
Speaking of bugs, Jonathan said to me the other day, “Mom, did you know that we have ‘taste bugs’ on our tongues that help us taste our food?!” (He’s been learning about the 5 senses at school and had a whole session on tasting the other week.)
BABY--Halfway there!
Yesterday marked week 20 of my pregnancy! And we also went for an ultrasound this week. And it appeared from it that things with “junior”, who as the sonographer said, was doing ‘rapid-fire’ kicking throughout the 40 minute ordeal, are going well so far, and we’re so thankful for that! It really is such a miracle when all the body parts are there and seemingly working as they should. We praise and thank our Awesome God for this too. It is also incredible to know that He also already has a plan for this child--we do not need to worry about anything. We also did ask the question, is it a boy or girl?! And got a clear answer! So, now we know…anyone out there want to guess?! You’ve got a 50/50 chance!
So here I am at 20 weeks…I feel kind of funny putting a photo of myself on here, but I’m sure there are at least some women out there who are curious about how big I’m getting!
