July 10. It has been a very long day. We were up a few minutes after six. Got dressed and finished packing up. Ate breakfast. Had quiet time and did some reading while waiting for the hangar bus to pick us up. We were to be ready for pickup by 9:00, but it was closer to 9:30 before the bus arrived. Katherine, Jonathan, Nuanda, and Matthew were all waiting at the hangar to go into Owena as well. The schedule had been changed again to make four rounds for coffee, but plane delays and weather allowed only two rounds. We were scheduled to leave Aiyura around 11:00, but the plane was delayed an hour and a half on its first mission so didn’t even arrive back at the hangar until about that time. So we had a lot of time to accomplish other things. Graham and Sosthenes came around to help Matthew, and it was good to see them. We talked with Christopher a good while, and he tried to help us work things out for our journey to Australia. Daddy called the Cairns Eye and Laser Clinic to try to get me an appointment with one of three doctors. They said they are quite booked up, but to send information and they will see if they can fit me in. So Christopher sent them an e-mail for us with a copy of the letter of reference from Dr. Tom. He also sent one to another eye clinic which we hadn’t had a chance to call; but he gave them information about our situation. After the plane returned, it didn’t take them long to unload and then load up with the cargo of the six persons going into Owena. So we were finally off from Aiyura around noon, and back in Owena about ten minutes later. Praise the Lord for a safe trip here. Now there was lots of work to do to get repacked and ready to go back out tomorrow. It was quite cloudy and cool here. And it wasn’t long before the strong winds came up and later rain. The first thing to do was get a banana to eat. We were both really hungry. After getting the few food items put away that we had bought at the SIL store, I scrambled a couple eggs and mixed them with salt, pepper, and mayonnaise to have on sandwiches. We had nap right away as I needed to wash my hair before the afternoon was gone. By the time nap was over, the air had cooled down quite a bit so Daddy started a fire in the wood stove. I put water on to heat for washing my hair and got everything ready to do that as soon as the water was hot. Tomas, in the meantime, had come to help Daddy empty the diesel out of the new generator so we can take it to Goroka tomorrow and return it to the store Daddy bought it from. After getting my hair washed, I started in packing and repacking. A little before 4:00, I washed up kaukau and pumpkin, and put it all in a big pan to be baked in the oven while I kept busy with packing. Also put some eggs on the wood stove to boil to take with us tomorrow. Daddy turned the generator on at 5:00, and I washed a load of clothes as we needed a few things cleaned to repack. We hung them in the schoolroom for the night; and, Lord willing, they should be dry enough in the morning to pack. A few little things are hanging above the wood stove. It was about 5:30 when we finished hanging up laundry. Then supper was done, and we sat down to eat. Cleaned up the kitchen and washed dishes right after supper. The church had not met in the morning because they wanted to be ready for the plane so they met this evening. We did not go out to the meeting because there was still packing to be done. But we went out afterward for a short while to talk with people, and Daddy tried to explain to them what is going on. July 11. We were up bright and early—before 6:00. But we knew we would not be getting out of Owena at 9:00. The world was enshrouded with fog, and it was raining. Nevertheless, we got ready to go and continued to trust the Lord to open up the skies for flying. Daddy kept in touch with Peter at Aiyura, giving him regular updates on the weather situation. They were waiting for Marawaka weather to clear up too as they had six passengers to pick up there before coming to get us at Owena. With that many passengers, Daddy would not be able to take the generator to Goroka to be returned to the store for replacement, repair, or refund. We were thankful that we kept in touch with SIL as they otherwise may never have come since the weather never did open up in Marawaka. We managed to keep busy around the house and I was able to spend extra time in prayer. Our computers were already packed and waiting to go. Boxes were all packed and taped up too, and our suitcase and travel bags were packed. Mike came by to buy some things that he can sell while we’re gone—Maggi, salt, and a few bars of soap. Then he gave me a gift of K20 to help along the road. I felt very humbled and unworthy. We ate an early lunch—around 11:45. Opened up a couple taped up boxes to get out leftovers. Washed the few dishes up after lunch. By then, the clouds had gone high enough for the ridges to be clear enough for circling, and the approach was clear although a cloud wanted to sit on the mountain top right beside it. Daddy let Peter know that we were clear, but Peter said that Marawaka still wasn’t open. Around 12:30, Peter called to say that they were taxiing for takeoff to Owena. Marawaka was not opening up, and the clouds had even come back down. We hastened to get everything back in order. There was nobody around to carry our cargo up to the airstrip, and Peter wanted Matthew to have coffee there too. We figured people would come out of nowhere as soon as they heard the plane, and sure enough, they did. The trail to the airstrip was a bit slippery due to rain most of the morning; and it was slow going for me up to the top of the airstrip. But there was no hurry. He would be waiting for bags of coffee to be brought from the coffee house. I believe it was around 1:30 or so before we left Owena. We were thankful we could take the generator after all. Our pilot was Steve Geis. He is very nice, too, and I was thankful that he prayed for the trip before taking off. I also prayed, as I usually do, for a safe takeoff, flight, and landing. Praise the Lord for taking us safely to Aiyura. Once we arrived there, there was payment to make. Then Daddy made some phone calls to see about getting a ride up to Goroka, but there was nothing available. He eventually called the SIL guest house and was able to get us in there again for the night. Praise the Lord! In the meantime, Christopher worked with us to see what could be planned for a trip up to Goroka. It worked out that there would be a flight going empty in the morning. So we made a booking to get on that flight. The Lord is good. Our three boxes of food to use in Goroka were stored at the hangar; and our suitcase and two travel bags went with us to the guest house. It was 3:00 when the P2-Bus left the hangar for the guest house. The guest house was packed. There was a linguistic team there from a university in Australia, although the team members were from the US. And there was a young family from South Africa, plus a couple other guests. Daddy and I were tired when we arrived so went and lay down for a nap. At 6:15, supper was served. We sat with the young family from South Africa—Ryan and Elna and their two children—and enjoyed getting to know them. They are working in the Finnesterre Range on the Rie Coast, where they only have helicopter access, and were out for a break from their work. We sat at the table quite a while, even after eating, and chatted with them. Then we retired to our room, where I read for a while—had been reading the autobiography of Charles Finney and continued with that. When my eyes got tired, I took a break and then had a shower. Spent the rest of the evening praying although, I admit, I started dozing off a few times.
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