Hi from the Heide's

kids and cricket

2010-06-07T04:02:00.001-07:00

They must have put a new tower up or something - because all of the sudden our internet is working great. So I might over the next few days try and put up a few pictures that I would like to share...
First our family... Just to show you how much Joseph is growing up!!

Bryce is just growing up far too fast. He is getting really good at stuff - like picking pawpaws for me. The trees are really tall - this one isn't too bad but the other day he climbed one that is higher then the house to get a pawpaw (papaya for the Candadians).

This is Cameron's playmate - Gideon (we all call him Giddy). They get along just great in spite (maybe because of??) the one and a half year age difference. Here they are sitting together at Nine Mile Church ... maybe not such a good idea???

Every block we play a different sport. It is cricket this block. Fun for everyone - only Alan and Wayne knew the rules (and even they didn't agree :-)).

And finally to show a picture of Joseph eyeing off Cameron's food. He was really picking on him this night, trying to pinch something off his plate.

our blue eyed boys

2009-12-23T02:57:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to put in a picture of our blue-eyed boys. Joseph is still having a very rough time teething and is a full time job!! (I am not joking). Thankfully we have pretty much finished school (just reading a few books which is fun anyway) so I have the time to be there forhim. He is over his sickness though (the doctor gave him the all clear on Monday but told him to do 5 more days of the antibiotics so he is on those til the end of the week). He loves socialising and being held so he gets passed around a lot. Even Bryce has got the hang of carrying him around!!

ephelants - and new internet!!!

2009-12-23T02:44:00.000-08:00

Cameron is right into 'ephelants' at the moment. He got a lovely one for his birthday and he takes it with him everywhere -

in the shower

reading books

he plays games with it (it is carrying the piece of wood for him)

water fights (he doesn't like the mud (so he left it inside when they were washing the car) but he likes water...)

eating

and off course to bed with him

They were doing crafts the other day and he had to make an elephant. So Bryce drew it for him and Mary Susan (a girl from Mekeo we have here with us at the moment) cut it out for him and he decorated it. Cool hey??

Part of the reason I have so many photos on today is just because I can!!!! we have a new internet connection which means it is fast, it doesn't depend on the phone and we can download (and send) bigger files. Wonderful for me to send out my newsletters (as that was a REAL pain) but also for our blog. So I am really hoping that I can update it more often. Hopefully I won't bore anyone :-)

Wow this went fast!! I am so impressed!!!

a tooth lost and a tooth gained

2009-12-09T02:58:00.001-08:00

Our five year old lost his second tooth (the last one didn't count because he never saw it - it just disappeared). He was so excited he went off to show all the students and lost it somewhere out there in the grass (boy was he upset!!) thankfully due to the wonders of technology I could take a picture and send it to the tooth fairy and he still got some money under his pillow...

And our five month old got his first tooth!! can you believe it??? On the day of this photo he was crying and crying (as usual) and one of the students came over to look after him for a bit, took him to her house and put him into a billum hanging off her house beams. He loved it and slept for 3 hours!! isn't it cute?? Right now he is on antibiotics and boy is he a different child. Since the first day he took his medicine he has slept like a baby, is happy to lay on the ground and play, no longer has infected mozzie bites and is just overall a completely different baby. The doctor is thinking that maybe that infection was brewing for a while (his white blood cell count was very very high). We are hoping that this is the new Joseph...And here they all are - listening to their Dad read stories. At the moment all four children are on antibiotics. Crazy isn't it - they are all pretty miserable too - Sjaan is the worst but the others aren't much better. Hopefully it will all settle down soon. We are thankful that we went to the doctor when we did - we at least caught Cameron and Bryce before it was too severe. Sjaan has a high white blood cell count and is on stronger antibiotics.
Otherwise all is well. We are all very excited here because a couple here (third year student and first year student) just had their first baby. We have been waiting excitedly. I'll post some pictures tomorrow I think. And our phone is working again after a looooooong time - which is why I can post. God is good....

lots of news

2009-12-09T02:46:00.000-08:00

2009-11-01T03:34:00.000-08:00

Thdought you might enjoy this photo of the students (minus two) and staff (and one future staff member) of the Bible College. The whiteskin on the far left is Rev.. Alan Douma and then one next to him is Rev. Henry Versteeg. We are very much enjoying the students - at the moment I (Cheronne) am teaching a course on teaching and really enjoying it. Lots of practical teaching activities - last week they read stories (onto tapes and to the kids - see the pic. of Joel a student from Lae reading) and taught memory verses and this week they will be teaching a game to the class.

Our family is going well. Joseph continues to grow really fast. He likes to be held which sometimes makes it hard work - but there is usually lots of hands to hold him! I have added some pictures of him. Ok the photos all went in the wrong order but never mind.

Cameron's Birthday

2009-09-23T04:49:00.000-07:00

Well we are back here in sunny PNG. And our little boy is now 3!!! Well we are back here in sunny PNG. And our little boy is now 3!!! As many of you know he is a little worker and is happy if he can have a hammer and some nails. So for his birthday he got a real (he calls it a 'big hammer') hammer, a box of nails, a tape measure and ear muffs (for when he works with Dad). Along with a carpenters pencil he is so happy. Measuring and banging in nails for all he is worth. We had all the students kids over for a party but what he REALLY wanted was to get back to his building. As soon as he opened his presents he said "Oh this is for my work". It keeps him so occupied - it was a wonderful idea!! His siblings are also getting right into it. Now to make sure that no holes get knocked in the floor...

I think this is the first party I have had that ALL the cake was eaten!! He had a 'Bob' builders hat cake.

Otherwise things are going ok. Joseph is still crying a lot although he has happy moments and is sleeping a reasonable amount. Not overly happy when awake. Hopefully that changes soon!! Homeschooling is going well and we are all enjoying it. The kids are really enjoying all their playmates. God has been good.

our homeschooling materials arrived!!

2009-08-10T05:31:00.000-07:00

This past week our homeschooling materials (for next year) arrived. What fun!!! When Wayne took the first (sorry they are in the wrong order again) photo they were so engrossed they didn't even realise he was taking the picture.

Joseph's Baptism

2009-08-10T05:26:00.001-07:00

26th July 2009. Our little boy was baptised. And one more photo to show how much the kids are enjoying their baby brother... (sorry can't get the photos in the right order)

our new baby!!!

2009-08-10T01:31:00.000-07:00

Here is little Joseph at 2 days old (the reason he looks so 'fat' is that he had lots of extra fluid), just at 2kgs at this point (a little over 4 pounds).

It is embarrassing how long it is since I have written on this blog. not sure if it is still worth updating but for those who don't get emails from us but would like to be updated I will quickly update you on our lives. Our little baby boy was born on the 23rd June 2009. Six weeks before his due date. He was born by emergency ceaserean after an induction which was causing stress to his anemic body. He was extremely anemic when born and was straight away given red blood cells to save his life. Then he was given a double exchange transfusion (where they take out his blood and replace it with new blood - twice). He was in intensive care nursery 3 at King Edward Memorial hospital for over a week - it was a long time before we got a decent cuddle!! (Also because he was very jaundiced and under lights for that first week). Nursery 3 is a pretty intimidating place!! Tiny tiny babies (we thought he was tiny!!) machines beeping everywhere, many nurses and doctors, screens and drips and monitors and wires everywhere - including all over our little boy... scary stuff!

After a while however one by one his attachments were taken off; first the lights, then the monitors one by one, then the drip - and then I could start feeding him!!

A week after I started feeding him we were discharged - which was amazing progress. He did really well at feeding right from the start. Everyone - including the nursing staff were very impressed. I (Cheronne) was living at Agnes Walsh housing - a 10 minute walk from the hospital (connected by an underground tunnel) so I could come in and feed him every 3 hours. After he had been totally breastfed for 48 hours and was gaining weight he was allowed to go home. It was good to be with the whole family again. We all lived in a house in Byford for one more week (til the end of the school holidays) and then came back 'home' to Albany.

A Wedding!!!

2009-03-17T04:25:00.000-07:00

I sawr huros (hundreds) ov pepol at the Buble College on Saturday. It woz Nawi and Divis (Nawai and Daiva's) wetin (wedding). It was fun. By Bryce

On Saturday it was Nawai and Daiva wedding and we shadd (shaded) Nawai and Daiva with levs (leaves). It was fun too and us ol (all) had caec (cake) too and it was at the clysrm (classroom). Bi from Sjaan.

It was a wonderful day. The ceremony was held in the classroom with extended family and many church members witnessing. They memorised their vows beautifully and afterwards we had a big feast. Most of you know how much I love little kids writing so I have put Bryce and Sjaan's stories in here for you to read. They enjoyed the day too (Nawai and Daiva are favourites with them!!) It was such a blessing to be able to witness a couple from one of our churches marry in the Lord for the first time ever that we know about. We praise Him for His work in Nawai and Daiva's life and continue to pray that He will bless their marriage and their witness to the wider community here at the Bible College and in Moresby.

haircut time!!

2009-03-11T04:59:00.000-07:00

Bryce HATES haircuts. So I asked Dorinda if she would buzz his hair for me. She bribed him with a 'surprise' (icecream) and then sat him in front of Thomas the tank engine and he did pretty well. I wish I had had the camera earlier though - he didn't cry but boy the faces he pulled!!!! He was sure she was trying to cut his ear off. Cameron got one as well - so now there are 4 little 'buzzed' boys running around 14 mile. Boy do they look cheeky!!

Once a week we are trying to have some of the students over for a meal. Last Sunday we had some students over for lunch and then Wayne taught them how to play a game of RISK - which lasted the rest of the day!!! I think they had fun though.

The Bible college opens

2009-02-24T04:03:00.000-08:00

Last night we had the opening of the Bible College. We have 18 students (2 of them are doing their third year towards a pastorate program) and it has been great to have the college a hive of activity again. They have been working in the gardens for a week already and today classes started. It is busy for the teachers this year - teaching the first year of the certificate year and then also teaching and mentoring the third year students.

It was a nice evening. After opening with singing and prayer we ate a meal together and then after a short devotion, had a prayer for the students and officially opened the year dedicating it to God and His glory.

Here are two of the new students (Joel from Lae and Jonah from East Boroko) enjoying their meal.

Back Home again!!!

2009-02-16T02:44:00.000-08:00

Wow! It sure is good to be back at my own computer again!! Someone mentioned a while ago that our blog still had us in the snow!! Blogging just didn't work in Australia which is why that was the case. Some days we would sure love to have a bit of snow here in Papua New Guinea though!! It is VERY hot here. I know I know - I'm pregnant. True but even the non-pregnant are saying it is very hot. Really.

We had a wonderful relaxing and refreshing time in Australia. What a blessing to spend Christmas and New Year with family again after 5 years!! The kids too loved having family around, going camping, doing swimming lessons at the beach... lots of fun things to enjoy.

And now it is back home. It is good to be in our 'own' house again. Good to set up our own routines again and not live out of suitcases. Good to be able to just wear shorts and t-shirts and that's it! Good to see everyone again and feel welcomed back. So we are thankful and happy to be back here. The kids too are doing well. Playing with their friends (especially Amy and Levi 't Hart) hours playing outside, catching frogs (there are literally hundreds here at the moment - little ones of all colours - even I think they are cute!), getting very very dirty, just being kids. And we have started homeschooling too which is going pretty well.

Tonight is the first night of 'lotu' (like a fellowship/service) at the Bible College. Wayne is running it tonight. This week is a work week for all the students - so they are all here but classes don't start just yet. We had one of the the new Lae couples over for dinner tonight which was nice.

So that is a quick update on our lives. Sorry - no pictures. Haven't got the camera up and running yet...

It snowed!!!

2008-10-25T04:59:00.001-07:00

Can you believe it?? We couldn't!! The kids were convinced that God sent it especially for them because they wanted to see snow before we left. I think He did - it just lasted that one day and we happened to be at Geoff and Lisa Gleasons house and they live really far north so there was quite a bit of it!
Cameron was very unimpressed and didn't want to have anything to do with it.
Wayne, Geoff, Lisa and I even managed to have a snow ball fight at 10:30 at night. It was so fun!!

Oh and I made a snow angel!!!! Check it out!!!

We just could not believe how the whole world changed!! It was beautiful. Everything touched white, a whole landscape transformed in the space of a few hours. Canada is so amazing in its change of seasons; the variety in colours and textures with each new season. Each time brings a new kind of beauty. Wow! What a God we serve!

Ottawa

2008-10-15T04:57:00.001-07:00

We are so thankful we are able to experience some of the wonderful fall colours. This weekend we travelled down to Ottawa (5 hours from Toronto). The drive was just amazing with all the trees in full colour. The Buists graciously opened their home to us, even inviting us to their thanksgiving dinner. We drove back via the Algonquin park - an amazing provincial (national) park with many many beautiful tree. It was a wonderful weekend - Bryce was just disappointed we didn't see a moose!! Walking through those 'woods' as they call them here just made us go 'wow!!' at God's creation. The variation and vibrancy in colour just wowed us. Then on the way home we saw more colour - a beautiful sunset in all its splendor. What a God we serve!!!!

Canada!!!

2008-10-08T04:54:00.000-07:00

I am guessing that this will all be a bit easier in Canada so I thought I would give it a go. Here are some pictures from our trip through BC. We drove from Vancouver to Edmonton with Lana (Wayne's sister) and it was just AWESOME!!!

good bye Sox!!!

2008-07-15T05:13:00.000-07:00

Last week Friday we said Good bye to our dog. Ever since he got stuck in a tiny little hole in our gate whilst chasing something he has been in quite a bit of pain. Cameron was forever teasing him and making him cry. And now that we are going there is noone to love him and take care of him!! So we made the hard decision and put him down. Here is Sjaan saying good bye to him.

Dad and Mum's visit

2008-06-11T04:59:00.000-07:00

This doesn't seem to be working so well. I will leave it at that and try again tomorrow. Today was a good day - homeschooling went well for me (Cheronne), Wayne taught a full day today and I started teaching a course for the single girls (there is two of them) on marriage and family life. It was interesting.

Back again!

2008-06-11T04:17:00.000-07:00

Well it has been far too long since we have updated this blog. Sori tru!! Now that the phone is working and I have found an extra long phone cord so I can do this at our proper computer I will try again to keep this a little more updated. So much has happened that I am not going to try and fill you all in on it all. But a big highlight for us was Dad and Mum (Vermeulen's) visit. We had a wonderful time - and here are some pictures:

In our new house!!!

2008-03-04T03:08:00.000-08:00

Well we are in our new house - which is great!!! But unfortunately we have no phone line yet which is why there have been no new blog entries (and given the speed at which new telephone lines are generally installed here there will be no new ones for a while). The kitchen is half in - so I am still washing my dishes outside but Wayne has grouted the bathroom so at least we have an indoor toilet and bath to wash in!! It has been really good. We feel so blessed. We had a good time in Ukarumpa - we really relaxed.

We are praying that our phones can be installed soon so that we can keep in contact with everyone again. In the mean time - sorry for no new entries!!

More rain! Thank you for your prayers!!!

2008-02-07T04:20:00.000-08:00

Thanks for your prayers everyone. Here's our new home being christened by a typical wet season down pour. Yes it has finally started raining here in Moresby. Here's praying we get alot more rain in the days ahead. Our home is almost finished. Just some tiling, and plumbing to do. Our kitchen should be installed soon after we get back and telephone and power should be connected in the next month or so... well we're hoping and praying anyway. We start moving some of our stuff in tomorrow. (Very exciting!!!) We'll move in completely when we return from our holiday as Rev. 't Hart and family plan on being back by then.

On another note things will be a little quiet on this blog for the next fortnight as we take a fortnight for a little overdue R&R. We plan to spend our time in Ukarumpa, a large town in the Highlands of PNG that is home to many missionaries and Bible Translators. We're looking forward to lots of rest, quality family time, good books and catching up with a few friends there... not to mention fresh strawberries, sugar fruit (passion fruit for you Aussies) rambatan, advocados and lots more that we never eat in Port Moresby.

Rain!!!

2008-02-05T02:45:00.000-08:00

Sunday night we were talking (again) about the need for rain. Our gardens badly need rain and someone had told Wayne during the week that the wet season was over and it was now dry season. Except that we haven’t really had a wet season yet!! We had driven to Ekoro that day and the road that was mud a few weeks ago was rock hard and everything was dry. So we were saying that we needed to pray for rain and after the meal we especially prayed for rain. We had finished dinner rather early for a change so as soon as we had prayed Wayne said “I’m going outside to enjoy the beautiful weather”. So we all followed him outside and as soon as we had reached the bottom step it started raining!! I am not kidding!! Our kids were dancing in the light drizzle shouting “God saw we wanted rain and He sent it for us!!!” We looked at the sky, closed a few car windows and wondered if it would REALLY rain. Then we heard the shhhhhhhh that you hear when it rains really heavily far away and it gets louder and louder as it approaches you. So we all rushed up to the verandah and watched as it absolutely poured!!! Sjaan folded her hands and closed her eyes and said “Dear Lord Thank you so much for sending this rain so we can just enjoy the beautiful rain you sent. In Jesus name Amen”. And the next day when the guys went out to plant the 3 huge bags of kaukau lip (sweet potato cuttings) that we had taken down from Ekoro, the ground wasn’t half as hard as it has been and their job was made somewhat easier. God is good isn’t He???

Guess who's walking?

2008-01-31T05:00:00.000-08:00

He's a bit tottery yet but doing pretty well!!!

And here are the other two - dressed up for a 'surprise'. Bryce has this terrible habit of doing the 'silly camera smile' lately. I couldn't catch him 'normal' so this will have to do :-)

Sunday School Workshop

2008-01-31T04:52:00.000-08:00

We just finished running a Sunday school workshop for the Sunday school teachers from all the different churches. It was an extremely busy time for us – we were preparing the lessons and then running them full time… but it was also a lot of fun and very beneficial for the ladies I think. Some former students came to help us teach which was a real blessing and shows us how the bible college teaching is benefiting us too!!

They all came on Sunday night – we had a fellowship night where Wayne did a devotion and we did some singing, then taught all day Monday, had a games and song sharing session on Monday night and then on Tuesday morning we invited a bunch of kids from Nine Mile and we taught them so the teachers could see a lesson in action. Then after a lunch together they all got to practice some of what they had learnt by teaching the kids a game, song or activity. To top it all off the kids went and swam in the river close to our house (and because they don’t have water in Nine Mile settlement this was a real treat for them!!) while we finished off with the teachers, discussing what they would do this year in their various churches
Leslie (from Nine Mile) teaching the children the 'Hokey Pokey'.

Wayne teaching the kids a game outside.

Bryce's Birthday

2008-01-25T04:04:00.001-08:00

Bryce had a great birthday. Complete with a Noah's Ark cake (thanks Wayne and Justin for all your help in the decorating of it :-)) and LOTS of friends - he really had a good day.

He had to invite ALL his friends - so we had some expat friends from town, some neighbours and some students (living and working at the college at the moment) who all came and joined in the fun. That huge Noah's Ark cake disappeared in no time!!

Working Hard!!

2008-01-21T02:12:00.000-08:00

Took some photos of our family working on our leach drain today. It has been a lot of fun just getting out there and doing things in 'our' back yard. Our gardens are getting there, our chooks are doing well and our house is at the painting stage!! (they start tomorrow). We have 3 weeks to get the house finished!!

Sjaan and Cameron really tried hard to help (see next photo for evidence of Cameron working hard) but Bryce thought it was more fun to pull faces at the camera.

It is hard to describe how busy it is for us at the moment. Today was a typical day. Wayne was trying hard to catch up on finances in the office while at the same time supervise 2 different work teams (one working on Bible College grounds, the other on our house). I went to town to drop off some people going to market to sell vegies and eggplant at a local store plus do a grocery run for the store we run here (it feeds the people working here and the students when classes are running). We have had quite a few groups come through lately - there is always something going on here! Makes life interesting - but busy too!!

Our trip to Veifa'a

2008-01-17T03:10:00.000-08:00

Well, we just got back from a trip to Veifa’a. We dubbed the road a road of 4 seasons (actually it has 5) – first a season of potholes, then smooth bitumen, then corrugated gravel, then corrugated gravel with many speed bumps, then a muddy 4WD section with all sorts. We were expecting it to take us about 4 hours. Wayne and Sjaan had prayed for the road to be smooth – and God answered our prayer!!! The usually bumpiest bit (corrugated – which is the longest and worst) was being worked on by all these graders and we had half of the road with no bumps. So it was a good trip. (not sure whether Justin would agree – he sat in the back with the kids and did a marvellous job of amusing them!!!)
Once we got there we found they weren’t actually expecting us (the preaching roster hadn’t quite got into the right hands yet) but it was ok. There was a bride price on and we got to hear the beating of the drums which shows that they are now officially married (like an advertisement in the newspaper). We had a fairly quiet evening and then went to bed in the house that they have for us to stay in there. Well in the middle of the night (they had warned us) a HUGE storm came - a big strong wind, lots of rain – Cameron was getting wet in his bed so we took him into ours which didn’t work so well so we didn’t get much sleep for the rest of the night. It was very noisy!! The next morning we could see all the damage – some people lost their roof on their house (they just tie it back on in the morning), many beetlenut trees had fallen down, the washroom next door to the church had fallen over, trees had fallen over the road and gardens were being ruined from the rain. But the people just accept it as if it is normal and go about repairing what they can and accepting what they can’t. It was a bit more quiet a weekend in Veifa’a then we usually experience but it was still nice to be there again and worship with the brothers and sisters there. I spoke to one lady today who had come back to church after a long absence and she was glad she had come back and felt blessed to have heard the Word today. It is encouraging to hear that and it does make all those bumps worthwhile J.

Justin the Plumber

2008-01-17T03:05:00.000-08:00

Well for those of you who know Justin I thought I would post a picture of him hard at work. For those of you who don't know him he is from Australia and has come out here to help out (read do all) with the plumbing in our house. He's doing a great job - and has just agreed to stay for a few extra days to hopefully finish it all as well as see a bit more of Moresby. We are VERY thankful for his work, knowledge and helpfulness and have really enjoyed having him over too.

Twins!!! - Wayne and Cheronne

2008-01-05T03:58:00.001-08:00

Sjaan and little Wayne Bryce and little Wayne

Today we went to visit our name sakes in Nine Mile settlement. A lady in Nine Mile Church had been expecting a baby for what seemed like a long time - and was well over due when she finally had it - and she had two!! (She had no idea she was having twins!!!) She had one boy and one girl and named them Wayne and Cheronne. Well, Wayne was awake so we got to give him a cuddle but Cheronne was sleeping (off course!!! :-)).

Good bye Dean, Natalie and Clive

2008-01-04T05:41:00.001-08:00

Last night Sjaan came up to me with a very woebegone look on her face and said “Mum we have a problem. Uncle Dean is a REALLY good story reader and now he is gone and can’t read us stories any more!!!” So Mum had to read one (and endure comments about how good a story reader Uncle Dean is!!!)

Dean reading stories to Sjaan and Bryce

We really enjoyed having Dean and Nat over – and were sad to say Good bye. Thanks guys for being such great guests!!! And Clive – it was great to get to know you too. Cameron is missing you already!!!

Bryce, Clive and Sjaan

New Years Eve Celebrations

2008-01-04T05:10:00.000-08:00

We celebrated New Years Eve with a bunch of friends at Chris and Tine’s house (friends of ours), coming home early (10pm) to put kids to bed and welcome the New Year in here at home. It was a lovely night – we are so thankful for good friends here in Moresby to share time with. The next day they all came over here to swim in ‘our’ river – and a whole bunch of us floated down the river to a point close to our property where we could get out and walk home. Lots of fun!!!!

We have a blog!!!

2007-12-29T02:55:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone

Well this is what comes from having a computer guru come and visit!!!! Natalie Huizinga is visiting us with her husband and son and she has just helped us set up a blog. So here goes!!!

Here is a picture of our recent trip to Beregoro with the above mentioned visitors.

Dinner at 'our house' and getting stuck in the mud on the way ... lots of fun!!!

Ok this is the trial... we'll see how it goes...