Hey, hey ladies and gentledudes! I’ve got a BUNCH of pictures and nuggets of gold to talk to you about…so here we go!
State Side Happenings
If you saw my rantings on Facebook, then you know that I took a 24 hour bus ride back and forth to North Carolina with a pit stop in East Texas to see some of my Ukarumpa family!!! It was AMAZING to see these people on this side of the world. Let me introduce my fellow workers to you!
Mandy: We taught together at UIS from 2012-2013. I got to see her baby boy for the first time!! We had an epic drumming session.
- Mandy and I in a skit at a youth retreat in PNG
- Meeting baby Ethan in the US!!!!
The Driggers: The Driggers served as hostel parents and would feed me on Tuesday nights in exchange for homework help for the kids! They were there for me for my first intercontinental Christmas and adopted me into their family as an older sister to their kids. It was so exciting to get to visit them and I can’t wait till they return to PNG next summer!
- Taylor, me, Mary, and Sara Driggers – I got off the bus and we all matched. So we documented it. Mary is Papua New Guinean and attending college in the U.S. She will be going to the same college as Taylor, so she has been adopted into the Driggers clan, too!
- I coached the girls in softball, basketball and volleyball, taught them Pre-Calculus, and was Mary’s worship band mentor. It was AWESOME to get to see them and send them off to college!
The Reffeys: I hadn’t seen this family in a whole YEAR! They returned to the U.S. in 2013 to send Laura to college after serving in PNG for 20 years in the Scripture in Use department and as a pilot. They were another family that welcomed me into their home in PNG and made my first year there AWESOME! This week was filled with laughter. Much, much, laughter. Also singing.
- Laura and I, a reunion a year in the making!
- Here’s a link to the hilarity that ensued: Laura and Leah Read: Twitter
Even though the bus trip was INSANELY long, it was worth every minute to get to see my friends from across the world!
The PERCENTAGE POINT!
This one comes from the 24 hour bus ride! I think I was in Alabama at the time of the picture taking…maybe…
We’re getting there everyone! My last percentage point was 19% and now, we’re almost to the 1/4 mark! Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouragement. My need to return in January is heavy and it is exciting to see God at work and everyone partnering together to make it happen.
Happenings in Ukarumpa
It’s been a rough couple of weeks in Ukarumpa. First, the bridge that connects us (and the rest of our valley) to the nearest city and highlands highway, well…it fell. And it fell hard. 
Walking bridges were built….
The ruins were removed…
and new construction began!
The bridge had been in “disrepair” (read: inevitably going to fall down) for many, many years and last week it bit the dust. It is amazing how quickly the new bridge is being assembled. Things in PNG tend to move VERY slowly, but things are getting done and it is a blessing not only for Ukarumpa, but all of the other villages and people in our valley. Please pray the the construction continues to be done quickly, safely, and correctly.
Second, the Ukarumpa volunteer firefighters got to flex their muscles when dormitories at the Aiyura National High School caught fire on Monday.
Here is a statement from Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea – Facebook Page
“On Monday, 18 August 2014, there was a fire at Aiyura National High School, a PNG government school near the Ukarumpa centre where many Bible translators and support staff live and work. (The fire did not affect the Ukarumpa International School.) It destroyed a dormitory where forty-five 11th and 12th grade girls lived with their prefects (resident assistants). The girls who lived in the dorm lost nearly all of their personal belongings in the fire. Thankfully no lives were lost and the Ukarumpa volunteer fire team was able to keep the fire from spreading to other buildings on the high school campus.”
Please pray for the girls who lost their possessions and the financial strain it will be on them and the school as they begin to rebuild. Donations are being accepted for the PNG General Disaster Relief Fund, which will be used to help those affected by the fire. If you wish to donate to this fund, please give through your local Wycliffe organization via www.wycliffe.org with the details “PNG disaster relief 838452”
Thank you all so much for your prayers and interest in my ministry in Papua New Guinea! Y’all are great!! -Leah
- Click here to visit the “Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea” facebook page for more stories and happenings at my home in PNG.
- Click here for video updates on my YouTube channel
- Click here to partner with my ministry
Leah Rigsby 
Oh my goodness, what a small world! I followed a comment you left on the ahalbrooks blog (I grew up in Ukarumpa and went to high school with Amanda) and found a picture of Mandy (who is my best friend, we’ve known each other since we were 9 and 10, also growing up in Ukarumpa) and her beautiful Ethan (who I met when he was 2 months old and much less interactive, but she sends me pictures often.) And then I kept reading and saw the update about the Reffey’s – I’ve completely lost contact with them since graduation in ’03, but Michael was in my class! I knew about the Kainantu bridge collapse, from another PNG Wycliffe person’s blog, (you’re right about the “inevitably going to fall down” part) but I hadn’t seen anything on the new construction yet, so that is great.
Sorry for this being so long and so full of parentheses, but the longer I read the more connections I found and I just had to comment! 🙂