We have spent the weekend in Hoskins now, and it has really been encouraging to see how God has gone before us and prepared the way. He has used people and situations to remind us of His presence through difficult situations. During our travel, we were so thankful that security checks were simple and that we made it safely to the gate with all our children. On our flight to New Zealand,(14 hours) we were thankful that they moved us to seating where bassinets were available for both Eve and Olivia to sleep in. They were able to sleep for several hours and Melissa and I were able to rest without holding them. The meals on board made traveling easier and Zoe and Caleb were able to sleep too. It was nice to have children's movies for the older ones to watch.
We made all of our connections, international security checks were easy, our luggage was not lost or damaged, and we were only delayed on one occasion and that was only for a 1/2 hour.
On the flight into PNG, vetran missionaries were seated close to us and helped with entry paperwork. They also walked us through customs and immigration, which only took 10 minutes, helped us gather our bags and check them to our final destination. They also walked us through the gate, bought us water, read a book to our kids, and visited until we departed. This was an amazing blessing because our patience with our kids had begun to dwindle!
Upon landing in Hoskins, several missionaries met us and loaded our bags on the trucks back to the mission center. It was really good to see some familiar faces! Our travel time since leaving NH totaled about 39 hours!
Since we have been here, meals have been prepared for us, food has been brought to us, and the center store was opened so that we could buy whatever was not already in our apartment. Our apartment was cleaned and set up; the beds were made, there was food and drink in the fridge, and fresh fruit on the counter. In our apartment there is plenty of space for the family, a ceiling fan in every room, and a toilet, tub and shower!
We really have so much to be thankful for, and we've only just begun!
God truly has done many things to encourge us along. The missionary team living on center here has been very hosptitable and helpful; their sensitivity and assistance has been great.
The other day Jonathan went to visit this man, Frank, and learn about how he makes a living. These things on the ground are coconuts which Frank harvests, cuts into pieces, and puts them on top of this big oven to smoke until the coconut is completely dry. Once the coconut is dry he bags up the pieces and sells the bags in town. They call it copra and about a 50 lb. bag might yield him $20.00. It is a lot of work for little pay.
