PNG Easter Conference Trip - Day 1: "Comings and Goings!"

As we’re paused here in Brisbane, Australia, awaiting our flight to Papua New Guinea, I can’t believe all the farewells and hellos of this last month.

During a dinner honouring our outgoing director (Don and Kathryn Mansfield) and welcoming our new director for the Pacific Islands (Justin O’Malley and his wife Heather), I had yet again another gall stone attack.  It resulted in a 5-day hospital stay and farewelling a toxic gall bladder.  It was my first surgery, and Dan’s first experience as the support person.  (He, of course, has been the patient many times...so this was a complete exchange of roles.)  All is well.  New Director, new team (the Islands have been merged with the New Zealand ministry), an empty space in my body (and a loss of 10 lbs. that I’m trying to keep off.)

We also sent our passports off to Wellington (New Zealand’s capital) to the PNG High Commission to get our entry visas placed in them.  After months of supplying Papua New Guinea with info, and a packet of money, we found out (by chance) that the High Commission in Wellington was waiting for our passports.  We were uninformed.  We also were about to embark on this trip to PNG for the student Easter Conference.  We telephoned to see if we could just enter the country as usual with a visitor’s visa.  We were THEN informed that we were already in their system and if we entered as a “visitor,” our long-term visa would be canceled and we’d have to begin all over again.  SO, we said good-bye to our passports for a few days, and paid for a courier to return them to us.  We greeted our passports last night at 6:30pm.  (We left for the airport at 3:30am.)  That was cutting it close...which caused much prayer and “funny tummys.”

In all this business of change, adapting to new circumstances, etc., I’m hanging my hat on the truth that God doesn’t change.  He’s the same kind, sovereign, powerful, faithful Father that He’s always been...and He wins over all the darkness and uncertainty of life.