I think it’s Saturday. That’s what the clock and calendar say. Thankfully I slept fairly well on the plane so maybe the jet lag won’t be so bad. We were still on the plane when breakfast was served at about 4 a.m. (1 p.m. Friday, Texas time). We finally landed in Brisbane, Australia about 6 a.m. Aussie Time. In Brisbane we were busy. We had to pick up our luggage, go through immigration and customs, and then check in our luggage from Brisbane to Mt. Hagen, Papua New Guinea. Australian airport check is fairly intense with lots of passport checks and photo id’s taken. Once we had all cleared that part we found our way to the top floor of the terminal and to the international check in and the Air Nuigini desk. Then back downstairs through another security check and another passport check again. Finally to the departure area and our gate. We have a short wait and then board our plane around 9:50 a.m. Aussie time. We landed in Port Moresby, PNG about 1:30 p.m. to temps in the mid 90’s with equally high humidity!! It’s very green and lush here with lots of palm trees and beautiful flowers but is a typical small country airport – it does not have air conditioning! Again, we have the multiple security checks, visa check, customs, immigration, picking up luggage and rechecking it in. We are pros at this now! Then to the crowded, hot, stuffy waiting room to wait for our final flight of this part of the trip. This flight is just an hour long but much of the country was hidden by clouds. Just before arrival we broke through the clouds to see lush, green mountains covered with trees, small gardens, meandering creeks, and paths crossing the mountain ridges. I’m so excited!! When we disembarked from the plane we had to walk to the terminal. As in many places the family members who are waiting for the passengers have to wait outside and on the other side of a fence. One of our team members is Steve. His daughter, Charity, has been here in PNG serving at the Kudjip mission for the past two years. He hasn’t seen her since she came here. As we walked to the terminal we saw her standing right next to the fence. It was a very touching moment when they first saw each other and he walked to the fence to reach through the bars to give her a hug. Once we all got our luggage we made it out the doors to the three vehicles and the missionaries waiting for us. It took a little bit of time to arrange all that luggage on the small truck bed and top of one of the cars. Then we all piled into the vehicles to make our way through the city and on the road to Kudjip……driving on the “wrong” side of the road! The drive from Mt. Hagen to Kudjip wasn’t what I expected. Not narrow curving mountains roads but a fairly straight, mostly paved road heavily traveled. There were massive potholes and areas where the pavement had washed away down to dirt or rocks. On the way we saw lots of people walking, little naked boys playing by the roadside, multiple road side fruit and vegetable stands, little tin roofed or thatch roofed houses with small gardens, lots of banana and coffee trees, and pretty tea fields. The distance is not far but the drive took nearly an hour. We finally reached Kudjip to see a large market area along one side of the road and across from that the turnoff to the Nazarene Mission Station. Entering thru the gate onto the mission compound we saw a lot of new construction going on at the hospital. Turning down a gravel road just past the hospital we passed by a few houses and turned into a driveway lined to reach the Barnabas House, our home away from home for the next 11 days. It is a nice guest house for Work & Witness teams with a large open living, dining, kitchen area and a wing off each side, each with three bedrooms with bunks and a bathroom. I think we will be quite comfortable here. Within an hour after arriving we were split up into groups of 2-4 and walked to the houses of several missionaries who hosted us for the supper meal. We then all met back together at the Barnabas House for a short orientation by Charity and our host W&W coordinator, Timothy Deuel. Everyone was so tired that some fell asleep during the orientation even though it was just 8:30 p.m. It’s an early night for all tonight.
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