Well, we have been requested to do a “Day in the life” type
blog posting.
In trying to collect pictures for this blog we quickly concluded
that the delayed writing of this post is a great example of what often makes a
typical day…
So, without ANY MORE delay here is the first installment of
a day in the life of the Larson family in Ukarumpa!
We have a very nice oven, particularly for PNG. Most ovens here are tiny but this one was imported
by the former owners of our house in 2007 and it is large enough for me to make
6 loaves of bread in one go! However, not long before we left on furlough in
2014 the thermal coupler needed to be replaced. Since it is not a typical oven
for this country the part had to be ordered from Australia and ended up getting
installed after we left.
We returned to PNG right before the departments shut-down
for Christmas holiday (all the departments in Ukarumpa close for 2 weeks for
Christmas and New Year, including the CAM (Construction And Maintenance)
department which helps us when our appliances don’t work.
About a week after out arrival I realized that though our
stove-top could be manually lit, the oven would not stay lit. This realization
came after I mixed up two pans of banana bread and then couldn’t bake them. So I went across to our friends’ house with
pans in hand begging to use their oven.
When the departments opened I had the appliance man come and
inspect our oven. He repaired one
component and we thought that was the end of it. The time came for me to bake a
birthday cake for a friend and as mine wasn’t yet fixed I baked it in their
oven.
The CAM man came again and thought he fixed it.
I proceeded
to bake 4 loaves of bread.
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| Prep for bread making...plus a pineapple. Because we have pineapples in our garden. |
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| Kneading on the floor because the counter is too high |
Unbeknownst to me, the pilot light turned off after 20 minutes. We had partially cooked loaves of bread and couldn’t get the oven to relight once it was hot.
Genius, outside-the-box thinker of a husband that I have, we
finished cooking one loaf by making French toast, and steamed a second loaf on
the stovetop. The others we left in the
warm oven and they cooked just enough to eat.
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| French toast! |
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| Steamed bread |
Another week goes by as Evan tries to fix the oven. Then we
call the CAM man again. Several hours and several trips back and forth from CAM
to our house later it was found that there was both a broken regulator valve at
our propane tanks and the thermostat on the oven needed adjusting.
End result? A month back in PNG I have a working oven! … Almost. It was working fine over the weekend but today
when I needed to make a cake for a birthday and dessert for Bible Study
tomorrow, things did not go as planned…
Today reminded me of this book that the boys have where
every page went back and forth starting with either “Fortunately…” or “Unfortunately”.
Fortunately, the oven was working this morning so I went
walking to visit a friend and then go to the store…
Unfortunately, Evan had to go out on a rescue so I had to
get home early to pick up Julien from school and didn’t get to the store….
Fortunately, a friend gave me a ride and we all went to the
store to get supplies for cake making…
Unfortunately, the oven stopped working partly through
cooking. Checked all the usual subjects, out of gas? Nope. And attempted to relight the oven to no avail…
Fortunately, I was able to run next door with the half
cooked cake and finish it in a friend’s oven before Liam needed to be picked up…
Unfortunately, as I was walking out the door with the piping
hot cake, the pan slipped, burned my arm slightly which caused me to startle
and drop the pan. Cake was tipped out all over the floor.
Fortunately, I can try to make another Wednesday for Sandra’s
daughter…
Unfortunately, I still need to figure out what I am doing
for dessert tomorrow…
Fortunately, I can be grateful the stovetop still works and
eventually we will have a working oven (which is especially good as we have no
microwave) because we have both expatriate and national people who work in the
various departments helping us with the things we don’t know how to do. In the same way we work to help others with
the tasks they do not know how to do.
2 comments:
Thanks! I will pray for a completely working oven! Loved the story!
Oven was serviced again by CAM guy. Currently functioning properly :) Teaches us to live in the moment; enjoy a working oven while we have it because tomorrow, you never know...
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