Free from quarantine and back into my blessed life!

 It's FULL ON being the mom in this family! I am ecstatically happy to be home again, but oh my, it's hard to breathe! Especially now that it's school break! Sorry I've been so silent. All is well - better than well!

Visiting from across the caution tape (Seth and Marcie)

Lovely after-church visitors! (Isaac and Marcie)

I broke out at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, 14 days after arriving! Gavin looks a bit happy.

The kids had a party planned, including a chocolate, mocha and strawberry layered cake (yuck). Will said he wanted cheese pizza instead of cake. So that's how we celebrated! In typical kid fashion we never got everyone looking at the same time. And the one in front looking like a dinosaur about to attack the cake isn't even mine (but I'd take her - she's adorable). Obviously neither is the little boy on my right in front of Seth, but he might as well be on weekday afternoons! We love our friends!

And here I am comforting Marcie, who got hurt in all the silliness. The look on my face is pretty expressive. Here we go again, but it's GOOD. I love these people!!

Thanks for all the prayers that the Lord honored in getting me HOME. I couldn't be happier!

Goodbye to our dear Aunt Pam

 

When I was back in the USA for my biopsy last month I got the extra special privilege of speaking on behalf of our family at Aunt Pam's online "celebration of life" service. She died of cancer shortly after we returned to PNG in November. At the time, I was in quarantine, struggling mentally with the isolation from the community and ministry, the impossibility of staying on top of everything on the home front in a large house with lots of kids, and missing my USA family.  On top of that I had just received a concerning test result possibly indicating that I, too, had cancer. All that to say, my mental health wasn't in a good enough place to blog about the loss of Aunt Pam, but I'm more than ready now (despite being back in quarantine and once again cut off from normal life. Turns out it's a lot easier to quarantine by oneself! I get out on Wednesday.)

This is what I read, and I'm including some photos from her years of service and love to us. 

I’m Carrie Peterson Jones, speaking on behalf of the Petersons, Aunt Pam’s Lomalinda, Colombia family.

As my mom said, how do you put a lifetime into a few minutes? Aunt Pam was more of a sister to her than many biological sisters are to each other. When my parents arrived in Lomalinda in 1973, Aunt Pam took my mom under her wing at her first job in the Print Shop. After several more years I came along. Aunt Pam was the labor coach and godmother for each one of us three children, and there’s no time in our lives that wasn’t touched and blessed by the tender ferocity of her love and interest. She was present at my own children’s births. She babysat each of the Peterson grandkids at some point. She was our aunt and “Jewish godmother,” as she self-deprecatingly said about her worrying and nagging. She brought me to live with her after my baby sister was born but before Mom and Dad could return from Bogota, because she knew I was having a hard time away from family in the Children's Home. She’d visit us during our furloughs, and I remember her grilling me about my first boyfriend. She sat in the place of honor at my wedding. Every Christmas in Lomalinda was spent with her, and she was the essential and most fun guest at every birthday celebration. There was no motorcycle whose sound I rejoiced at more than hers. Here came fun and love in one intensely interesting package! She laughed the hardest at every joke, including her own, even when she botched or forgot the punch line. In fact, that just made her laugh harder!

As my brother Kenneth, or “Casey,” said, “She was the first adult who as a kid I thought was actually cool because she had Garfield and Far Side comic books at her house with a dart board and croquet set." 

The best part was that Aunt Pam and Aunt Cyn would play croquet WITH us and laugh with us at our favorite comics. I remember her giant plastic grasshopper and fake dog doodoo.

As my sister Katie said, “Aunt Pam was the first adult that was also my friend.”

Aunt Pam and Aunt Cynthia were devoted to helping with the quints. Supper and bath time were their forte. Aunt Pam could make the babies laugh like no one else with her physical antics, such as bobbling a sippy cup, and with her crazy faces as she spoon fed them all in a row. She visited us twice in Papua New Guinea, when the babies were two and three years old. We also got to live 7 months of last year on the same street as her. She would walk by and visit, and the kids frequently ran down to her house to play - yet again, with a dart board. Aunt Pam and Aunt Cyn even hosted the quints’ most recent birthday. 

Pam went to be with the Lord a week after we returned to Papua New Guinea. There’s no one in my life, outside of my own immediate family, who has loved me harder or encouraged me more. She was passionate about the Lord and unequivocal about our need to follow Him. She was an immeasurable blessing, and, as I told her, I can hardly wait to spend eternity worshiping the Lord together with her.

Sleeping Will

Seth still on oxygen. Note the swaddles lined up on the couch behind them.
Aunt Pam and Aunt Cynthia did a great assembly-line bath and bedtime routine!

Awake and swaddled Will at bedtime.

David ready to be swaddled and put to bed. He always reminded me of a Smurf.

With Tracy Brander, a lifelong friend and my former teacher. Aunt Pam has David and Tracy has Gracie. David and Grace have always been greatly drawn to each other.

Again with David. I love how he's holding his hands like a little man.
He's always seems older than his years!

Wrestling Will into his pajamas! It was always a bit like WWF or UFC, getting Will dressed.

With her sister, Connie. Two-for-one volunteers were always welcomed! Connie is a teacher, so she was extra adept. The babies, left to right: Seth in the bouncy play thing, Marcie being held up by Aunt Pam, David sitting at Aunt Pam's knees, Gracie closest to the camera, and Will in Connie's arms. I remember Connie and her family coming to visit Aunt Pam in Lomalinda, Colombia, the mission center where I grew up and met Gavin (as 6-year-olds, hardly love at first sight). 

Holding Gracie while goofing off with Marcie, who was trying to get her attention.
Krista Besselman is holding Marcie. 

Another sweet one.

Marcie playing with the dolly and stroller that came all the way from the USA for her!

Seth in Aunt Pam's glasses

Gracie ended up being the one who spent the most time with Aunt Pam
and Aunt Cynthia at the end of Aunt Pam's life.

Aunt Pam chauffeuring us around (with our little friend Rachel).

The ONE photo I have of her relaxing! - and I know she was up out of that chair the moment anyone had anything that needed doing. We went to Madang for a few days, our first "vacation" with the quints.

Seth holding onto her as Will and David look for shells or stones. 

Left to right: Marcie, Aunt Pam, Seth, David, Will and Gracie, with Gavin on the far right

I can't believe how young Isaac was! Enjoying breakfast with his Aunt Pam

This photo is a metaphor for Aunt Pam's relationship of loving care and "tender ferocity" in keeping a watchful eye on us and protecting us from harm - even when we didn't appreciate it at the time! She was there from the very first moments of my own life, and at the hospital when I was in labor with and delivering Isaac, and then the last person in the room before the doctor started opening me up to get the quints out. I had asked for her when labor started and I was so uncomfortable, wanting her there to do whatever I needed (When I went into labor initially, I was given a cocktail of drugs to try to stop it. The drugs gave me that terrible feeling of wanting to rip off my own skin. The only thing that helped was Gavin scratching my back, and I thought, "Aunt Pam would be GREAT at this!"). It all happened so fast that I was in the delivery room before she could get there. I remember her smile and firm hand squeeze, just in time, and I was so relieved to know she was there. She took lots of photos of the babies being worked on and situated in their incubators. She was always our family photographer. My whole life has been recorded by her and blessed by her, and it's been such a comfort, just knowing she was there, ready to jump up and help and always, always loving us. Now it's such a comfort, just knowing she's THERE with our Savior, still loving us and no longer suffering. All glory to the Triune God for her life and love!

I'm home! (nearly)

 Hi friends,

I made it back, not without incident, but safely and so very gratefully and happily! My biggest and most important suitcase had gotten left in Kuala Lumpur despite being checked through from LAX and my verifying twice - at both the transfer desk and the gate - that the suitcases were both there and labeled correctly to go on with me to Papua New Guinea. Oh well, it followed about 40 hours behind me, thank God!

I am enjoying being so near the kids and Gavin during my quarantine. My bedroom windows look out on our house. Right now I can hear Isaac and friends laughing. I have little visits throughout the day. Today I've set up playdates, sent kids home to put on hats and sunscreen, saved Gracie's basketball from being stolen (the court is right on the side of the house where I'm quarantined), commanded them to pick up garbage they left on the driveway, told them to take their medicine, suggested that maybe feeling sick meant it was time to go eat something, and all without leaving my porch. I have a good strong voice. 😁

(I zoomed in on the following shots, hence the fuzzy quality. )

Rain or shine, the girls didn't care! It's poured rain every afternoon.

Isaac doing the happy dance with Gracie!

David was still dressed from Book Parade. He was King Arthur. So was Will. But David accessorized with a ninja hood rather than helmet, although I'm not sure why. Things fall apart when Mom is gone. 😅

Gavin has done an AMAZING job with the help of our WONDERFUL community! It really took a village, and we love this village's sacrificial servant heart in feeding and caring for these kiddos while we were separated! 

Let me tell you, doing a medical procedure/test in another country during a pandemic is no easy thing. Travel is just so tricky these days! We'd been trying to get me back for nearly 4 weeks, but I was gone for 5. It's that hard to get approvals and tickets and tests in time, plus Dallas had their Snowcopalypse while I was there.  The airport was MOBBED the day I left, I'm guessing because so many had been trapped during the storms. My heart and prayers go out to the people who STILL don't have water, and to those who were so cold for so long without power. My parents were exceptionally blessed in not losing either, I think because they live in a senior community right next to a a nursing home. My brother and sister and their families had burst pipes and were without power and water for several days, so I got to see a lot of them that last week - whenever icy roads were passable! 

Thanks again for all your prayers for my testing/biopsy and for my travel and most of all for my family! I love them so much and truly rejoice to see/here how well they've done. The Lord is GOOD!

Love in Him,

Carrie

The journey I didn’t expect

Cobbling together text messages starting during my distraught 4 hours in LAX:

 I made it to the Qatar gate in plenty of time, actually. My bags were never found. They’re somewhere here in LAX. The gate agent told me to sit nearby, and they got the supervisor over to explain to me that they WOULD get the bags to me in PNG. He told me to go ahead and check in, and when I went up the gate, the agent had closed the flight WHILE I WAS TALKING TO THE SUPERVISOR. Because she was already printing the finalized manifest, the supervisor said, “Sorry, there’s nothing I can do.”

This really is like one of those dreams you can’t get out of and it feels like everything is going wrong. Sobbing In the airport and pleading with gate agents and managers. [They didn’t find the luggage until long after.]

Now they’re telling me (after 3 desk agents and 2 baggage counter visits and 1.5 hours) that I have to go back to International and get my bags released from Qatar. But there is no one WITH Qatar here. Because they only fly occasionally.

[At this point I just stopped and said out loud, “Lord, show me what to do.” At that very moment my phone rang - they had found and brought my bags to RIGHT where I was!!! I RAN with all that weight to the elevator, took it up to the check-in counter, tried to hurry through Security only to have BOTH carry-ons  inspected!!! Argh! Then RAN to the gate, praying the whole time and realizing a I am even more out of shape physically than I thought. Got on the plane, praising God, then realized I didn’t have a signal for updating everyone!! I finally got a couple of texts to send when the cell signal came back minimally, and the travel agent - with Golden Rule Travel, the BEST!! - received my test asking him to forward my itinerary to our coordinator to get new permissions.]

I took the Turkish Airways flight to Istanbul then go on to Kuala Lumpur, arriving 6 hours before the WFP flight leaves, Lord willing.

Great 13 hour flight, slept most of it, highly recommend Turkish Airways! Had to re-clear Security probably literally 2 miles away from where we disembarked, in long, long line, but no issues.

I’m in Istanbul now! Should make it to Kuala Lumpur in plenty of time, Lord willing. THANK GOD for a travel agent who loves Him and has a heart for missionary families! We never dreamed Turkish Airways would be a possibility. I barely made it, but the Lord brought my bags just in time. He is SO good. The flight was just lovely and I even had my own row. The terminal is also lovely as I wait for my next flight. He is so kind. I do not trust Him He deserves. He’s proven Himself abundantly trustworthy all the days of my life.

Please keep praying! I’ll update as there’s anything to report. 

Carrie travel update

 After a mechanical problem and a a delay, Carrie is getting on the flight that will take her to LAX and that has her bags on it. It will give her only 50 minutes to transfer to the other flight, which is quite a short time for an international transfer. They have put her in a premium seat so she can get off quickly and are going to notify the other airline for a quick transfer. If she does not get on that flight, she will have to try to come on a flight the next day, but it will cost thousands of dollars more. She needs to stay with her bags, because they have critical medications for people here in PNG. Pray for tailwinds and a quick transfer in LAX as well as graceful and understanding people.

Thank you,

Gavin

On the way home!

 I’ll be traveling for the next 60+ hours via LAX, Qatar and Malaysia. (Leaving Sunday morning our time, arriving PNG Wednesday afternoon their time.) I’m so ready to see my sweet kids and Gavin and friends, but I’ve had a very blessed month with my mom, dad, brother, sister and their families. Thanks for your prayers for all us Joneses, and please keep them coming as I quarantine in a nearby house for two weeks!

Approval! . . . and a delay.

     We're praising the Lord that Carrie's approval from the PNG government came through last night.  Unfortunately it was too late for her to get on the flight this week.  We were encouraged that at least the commercial flight next week is an option, only to find that in recent days the cost of the ticket has increased almost $4000!  Seeing that the World Food Program flight would only arrive six days later than the aforementioned commercial option, we've decided it's much more prudent and financially responsible to wait the additional days for her return.  

    For the family here, it's hard to think that she won't be back in Ukarumpa for another two weeks and then we'll have another two weeks of quarantine separation.  But, just as He always is and always proves, the Lord is more than sufficient to sustain us and help us thrive and grow even in the separation.

    Many continued thanks to all for your prayers!

In Christ,

Gavin