Birthday Wishes... and a Crazy New Year

Well... I turned 18 yesterday. Not quite sure what to think of that. 

One the one hand, I'm really excited and think it's so cool... like, I never actually thought I'd really turn 18... that's just... weird. I'm an "adult." ... yeah, the people that know me are laughing right now. I didn't think it would feel like this to be 18. Wasn't I supposed to be ... mature? Ready for adult life? ... I still feel like my age is hovering somewhere between 9 and 14. Most assuredly not 18. 

I had an awesome birthday... was awoken by my family singing happy birthday ... yeah, they actually came into my room, the brave people. And, if any of you have ever heard my family sing happy birthday... there is really no more to say. If you haven't... then, well... you are missing out. My family believes that all harmony and tune should not exist on birthdays. Therefore, the goal is to see how much we can murder the birthday song. yeah, anyway, so I woke up to that.

Then we went over to the Pac Harbour beach for breakfast, which was fun. Mum made a pumpkin pie for breakfast... hey, how many days of the year do you get pumpkin pie for breakfast? The week after Thanksgiving, and then no more pumpkin pie, which is really sad, cuz I really like pumpkin pie, so mum made me some. 

Theeennnnn, mom and I went into town and we met up with some of our friends at this awesome little Indian restaurant that I am gonna miss like crazy when we leave, because seriously, food just shouldn't be that good. So we had a wonderful lunch with Aunt Jill, Aunt Lynnie, Shekinah, Acacia, and Calli. 

Finally, my neighbor, Kaki, made us an awesome birthday curry dinner. And I ate waaaayyyy too much. Because Kaki's curry is amazing. 

Lots of wonderful people wished me happy birthday... Calli wrote me a letter that made me cry (thanks a lot, Cal); Olli posted a birthday post on his blog; Savannah sent me an ecard; my facebook wall has tons of posts on it from everywhere from Singapore to Oklahoma City to Papua New Guinea... so that was special.

Now, turning 18 is supposedly a big deal, right? I mean, this year I head off to college, moving to the US of A, kinda scary... but expected. Being the OCD control freak I am, God decided to throw a few curve balls my way this year. So this should be a rather interesting year....

See, my dad just got put in as the FSC (Field Strategy Coordinator) for the Melanesia and South Pacific fields of the Church of the Nazarene. Which means... we are moving. To Papua New Guinea. That happened kind of fast, so I'm still in a bit of shock... here I thought I had 6 months left in Fiji. BUT, I am really excited... it's one of those freak-out-one-day, excited-the-next kinds of things. 

First of all, my family and friends who are not from this part of the world need to learn a new term: PNG. Means, Papua New Guinea.

 Next, they need to pull out their old globes which they bought when we moved to Fiji, and find PNG... it's the other half of what used to be Irian Jaya and is now West Papua, right above Australia. Found it? Alright, that's our new home. And yes, it is as remote as it looks.

I'm really excited to get to spend some time around the hospital up at Kudjip. I can't wait to really get to know the missionaries up there that I have met briefly and know are awesome people. I want to learn Tok Pisin, because I just think it's the coolest language ever. I am proud that I will be part of the group of MKs that "survived Dusin" (the PNG orientation process). I am really glad that this is happening a few months before I leave for the states, so that I can be a part of it. So yeah, mostly good feelings here...

Of course, a couple sad ones: I'm gonna really miss my friends and my youth group. Because, I have the most amazing friends and my youth group is like... wow. However, with visits back, and with the wonderful world of internet (email, blog, chat, facebook), I won't be leaving them forever. And hey... part of being an MK is saying goodbye... haven't we already discussed this?

So that's what's happening in my life at the moment... I think that 2009 is gonna be one of those buckle-your-seat-belt-and-hang-on years. How exciting! Don't ever say that my God is boring!