Build Trip 6

Cassidy • Nov 17, 2023

Build Trip 5 was successful! While it was a bit crazy to head into the village only eight days after arriving in country, it went smoothly for the guys and smoothly for us back in Madang. Thankful that Bryan is willing to do hard things with Zach to get us into the village soon! And thankful that his wife is willing to do the hard work of life on her own here so he can go and help! Here are some pictures of the week:

Zach got to introduce Bryan to the people we love and got to reconnect with many.

Enjoying time with some of our dearest friends:

Zach and Bryan installed all of the solar panels for the office, installed the lights and outlets, and ran the wiring all back to the main brain of it all.

The only missing piece was the breaker box. So the lights work and the outlets should be functional as soon as the breaker box is installed!

The village installed the outer walls while we were gone, so those were pinned in the final places, interior walls were installed, and even some cabinets.

Also, super exciting: On November 2nd, the men broke ground on our house! Bryan got the four corner posts in the ground and was able to use those to measure for all the rest of the exterior ones.

Back at home we celebrated Halloween. Thanks to the beautiful Kerra, we did more than just our usual one-house trick-or-treating: she helped the kids make spooky themed pizzas and they watched Charlie Brown. But here are the pictures of the costumes:

A greaser, homeless man, Hawaiian girl, and mummy.

A jellyfish, ballerina, and dragon.

We got settled in to our new normal:

Homeschool for the boys.

Preschool (blanket time) for Annie:

These last 13 days back, one major project was cutting and welding the rest of the exterior posts for our new house. They cut them to size and then welded tabs on so they can be attached to cross-bracing.

This morning we said "goodbye" again to our husbands as they head back to Mawerero for another trip. 

They are hoping to finalize the plumbing and electric on the office, move internet and power over to there (the fridge and freezer), and then get as far as possible with emptying and gutting the Mitchells' old house.

So thankful for Kombuk and Bryan!

In God's kindness, the Mitchell house's electrical system worked after the earthquake and we have been able to charge power tools, use the fridge, and run the internet all 13 months since then. BUT... when the men landed today they found that that system is now dead. This is the trip where we were going to move all electrical to the office anyway, so now there is extra motivation.


Please pray for easy transitions: moving a DC fridge and freezer system, laying satellite internet cables to a new spot... sometimes it is just a matter of FINDING the piece we need among all the piles in that old house.

Please pray for good weather so items can be moved without getting wet.

Please pray for good relationships with those in the village. Zach will be hiring some people to help him, Bryan, or Kombuk.

Please pray for safety and health for them and for us back in Madang.

And please pray that we can all be joyful as we serve God and not ourselves in all of this. His plans may be different than ours and we want to wholly submit to Him.


Thank you to everyone who gives prayer, money, and encouragement to us as we work to see God's name praised in the Finisterre mountains.

Jude is 12 + Update

By Cassidy • 05 Apr, 2024
Happy birthday to Jude! Jude is the man. Quite literally. Our first born officially no longer qualifies for children’s fares on airlines or anywhere else such discounts are offered. He is certainly growing—now a towering 1,486mm (that’s 4 feet 10.5 inches for those not in the metric world). Jude does everything at full speed. He reacts quick to situations (too quick at times). And his reactions are big, be it big joy or big disappointment. He reads at blinding speeds and seems to finish a book a day. His consumption of food has started to rival his dad’s. He loves spice and lots of it — he’ll add buffalo or sriracha sauce to just about anything. He loves salt, butter, tacos, dessert, and dreaming about American fast food. Jude is a lover of people and adventure. He is quick to make friends with anyone his age, and usually leads the charge in whatever shenanigans they set their mind to. He notices when people are happy or hurting and intuitively knows how to sympathize. He has embraced life next the ocean with all the exploring, fishing, and snorkeling it has to offer. Jude is also growing in wisdom. He reads the Bible every morning and thinks deeply about eternal things. It has been so exciting to see the Lord growing Jude in his faith and repentance — especially as Jude faces the challenges of living overseas with a greater understanding of the costs. We love this buddy!

Build Trip 10

By Cassidy • 11 Mar, 2024
Thank you for praying for trip 9. The team from Countryside in TX were able to do so much! It was not only productive, but spiritually encouraging to have those guys visit and help.

Build Trip 9 - Countryside Team

By Cassidy • 06 Feb, 2024
Thank you to all who had prayed for the last build trip! With the three guys from Orland, the floor, frame, and roof were finished on our new house:

Oliver is Ten!

By Cassidy • 21 Jan, 2024
Double digits for this guy! Oliver brings so much laughter and beauty to our lives. He is the family funny man, with so many jokes, humorous anecdotes, and a contagious laugh. He also takes after his grandpa Bruce with his love of art, music, film, and all things beautiful. He is learning to play the piano, edit photos, and loves to draw and color. And while reading is not his favorite, he loves a good story. He enjoys people and becomes fast friends with whomever is around, whether we're in a city or jungle. He loves junk food, knives, screaming at the top of his lungs, pestering his sister, climbing trees, swimming in the ocean, and finding new ways to be Jude's best friend and worst enemy (Tom Sawyer would be proud of this kid). We're proud of him too. His actual birthday was low-key since his dad was on a building trip with friends from Orland, but he did want to go to Eden with the Twombly family:

Update and Build Trip 8 - Orland Team

By Cassidy • 10 Jan, 2024
The last build trip was a success, thank you to all of you who prayed and asked us about it! Bryan, Zach, and Kombuk were able to completely demolish the second house, which was their primary goal. In addition, they were able to store and organize the building materials and household items, and they were able to finish all the girding beams and floor joists on our new home. Starting with the solar panels on the roof:

Build Trip 7

By Cassidy • 06 Dec, 2023
The day before Thanksgiving, Zach, Bryan, and Kombuk returned - thank you for praying! This morning they all left again for the 7th trip. So here is an update on trip 6, what we have been up to in the interim, and what they hope to do on trip 7. On build trip 6, Bryan finished all the posts for our new house:

Annie's Two!

By Cassidy • 24 Nov, 2023
This little girl is two years old today! She is a joy to our family and it was so fun to celebrate her. She loves jumping and singing and dancing... she loves her baby sister, and loves her brothers a ton, and misses her mom and dad if we are more than 15 feet away. We are living on the base with the Twombly family, so you will hear about them in her birthday video. Here are some pictures of the birthday girl this week. Drinking a kulau (coconut water):

Return to Madang and Build Trip 5

By Cassidy • 30 Oct, 2023
Hello from Madang! It has been a bit of a whirlwind this past week. Our last flight from Port Moresby to Madang was canceled, so we spent the night at the "Shady Rest" hotel. That is its actual name. :) It was fine and the restaurant was delicious and it was all paid for by Air Niugini, so that was nice. Monday we arrived in Madang and were welcomed by the sweet and awesome and lovely Twomblys (Bryan, Kerra, and their three kids). The week has been full of unpacking suitcases, unpacking our boxes here, setting up the kitchen and homeschool spaces, and cooking. A lot of cooking. Plus, we have had lots of good time with Bryan and Kerra; and our boys have played with theirs at pretty much every opportunity.

Two Months with Ellie

By Cassidy • 03 Sep, 2023
It has been a busy and good two months adjusting to life as a family of six. We love little Ellie and the unique things she brings to the Cann Clan. For a family that has a long history of baldness during the baby years, Ellie is rocking in the hair department. She also wins for having taken the longest to sleep through the night... not a record we were hoping for but a record nonetheless. She loves ceiling fans - we haven't had a baby who didn't. And we think she loves us too. She almost never spits up, which is cool. Looking forward to getting to know here more and more as she grows. We have been home much during weekday mornings because these boys started school:

Ellie Paton

By Cassidy • 26 Jul, 2023
On June 29, we welcomed Ellie Paton into our family. At 7lbs 1oz and 19.75 inches, she was our littlest one yet, but she beats out her siblings in the hair department. Pregnancy and labor was certainly more exciting this time around. Ellie was breech, transverse, and vertex (flipping between these three several times) in her last two weeks in utero, and her entrance into the world was more exciting than her siblings'! Here are some pictures and some more commentary:
More Posts
Share by: