When You Show a Man a Mammogram

I did end up having a lovely day on Thursday with lots of time with my kindle. The best part of the day was hearing that everything was fine with all my tests. I didn't even need the biopsy that was scheduled which saved me lots of stress, pain, and money. It was great news!

When I got home, I did my best to explain exactly what the doctor did and said to my husband. I used all the medical terms I knew and showed him the pictures from the mammogram that the doctor gave me to give my doctor back in PNG.

After holding each image to the light in the window and examining them carefully. My husband gave the x-rays back to me with one in each hand and his right arm outstretched and said, "This one is bigger than that one." Yeah. Thank you, Husband, for that mature and professional response to this situation.

Anyway, we spent the rest of the day shopping and doing other fun stuff to celebrate as a family and the second best news of the day is that I got these Sketchers Shape-Up tennis shoes for THIRTY DOLLARS!!!

They were originally $170!! I know... it is a miracle! I forgot to pack any tennis shoes when we came to PNG almost 2 years ago, so for almost two years I have been doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred in flip-flops (enter lecture from my athletic trainer sister...sorry Mel!) But all the tennis shoes in PNG are really cheaply made and also very expensive, so I just kept working out in flip- flops. Well, all that ends now!! Sure they are so pink that my eyeballs are almost bleeding, but what is a little retinal hemorrhaging (see how good I am with the medical terms??) when you save $140!!! Anyway, we had a great day as family which was much needed and much appreciated!

here we are happily shopping in our "civilian" clothes

swimming at "The Lagoon"

girls playing at "Muddies" a free water park and playground for kids

Overall it was a great day, and we are so thankful for the many prayers and encouraging words for our family during this time. It meant the world to us to have so much love and support in what could have been a very scary time! We are praising the Lord for good results, a great family trip, and for allowing us to go back to PNG and back into Hewa as planned!

Solitude

Our family has been crammed into tiny spaces together since we left our home in Hewa. And even though we are having lots of fun in Australia, this small space in the guesthouse is feeling smaller and smaller every day. I love my kids, but they are starting to drive me a little crazy.

But I have learned two very valuable lessons during this break. The first is that sometimes in the tribe my kids tell me they are bored. And I feel guilty. But we went to the mall, bought them each a new toy, took them to McDonalds, and then we went swimming in the pool all in one day and they still told me they were bored. So from now on I will no longer feel guilty when I hear those words...no matter where we are.

Tomorrow I go for all my medical tests, and I have to admit that I am really looking forward to it. It might as well be a spa day for me. My husband is going to drop me off at the hospital and take the kids to do fun stuff in the city. And I am going to sit in the waiting room quietly reading my kindle and hope that they get behind an hour... or two. It is going to be wonderful. And sure I will have an appointment with this contraption instead of a masseuse, but honestly it will be worth to just get a little quiet time by myself.

So, the second very valuable lesson I have learned is that the thing I miss the most... crave the deepest since we moved into this ministry is not food, or modern conveniences. It is simple peace and quiet. Precious solitude. And it may be a very weird way to get it. But I am going to be thankful for it nonetheless.

Down Under

We are in Australia! Our plans for a three week break in Goroka then a two week break in Wewak for Conference, very quickly changed to two weeks in Goroka, two in Australia and one in Wewak.

We all had some medical appointments with our New Tribes doctor in Goroka, and after my appointment he told me I would have to go to Australia to have some further tests on a lump in my breast.

I seriously considered not writing about this, because it just seemed weird to talk about my boob on the internet, but I have talked about everything else awkward and embarrassing so why not, right?

Also, it is just the nature of the missionary life to have to tell embarrassing details of your life just so people won't think you are carelessly spending money. I saw a post on twitter about a missionary who removed the signature thingy from his ipad, so supporters wouldn't know he had one. This is kinda like that. I feel like I have to tell the world about what is going on under my brassiere so no one will think we are just partying it up in Australia for no reason. I mean I am gonna party it up here, but I was forced to by a doctor, so it is ok.

This is the biggest party I plan on attending...

Anyway, we've already had lots of fun looking at just a few of the sights of civilization. Yesterday, we hadn't seen a traffic light in almost two years, and my kids asked me, "What is that?" at the first one we came too.

Also, watching my four year old get on the "moving stairs" as she called them was quite hilarious. It looked a little something like this...

Anyway, so we are here in Australia recklessly spending your money simply following a doctor's orders. We are not really too concerned as the doctor said it really doesn't look like cancer, but we just need to be smart about getting it checked out.  But, in between appointments I am going to visit Target and eat food that I did not cook (or dig out of the ground and then cook). Thank you for understanding.