The Journey Back

Twelve days in transit and five different flights ranging from 5 to 7 hours each (how many hours of flying time?) and we are well on our way to PNG!

We began our trek back with a stopover in BC to visit with good friends--Nathan and Kim Boersema and their three kids. We also squeezed in a couple other visits with dear family/friends there. It was a wonderful, relaxing time for our family—just what we needed after weeks of organizing, packing, tying up loose ends, and saying goodbye, not to mention the rollercoaster of emotions that one goes through when leaving for an extended period of time.

Proud daddies with sons, Lucas and Caleb!


Junior Entrepreneurs at their Fruit Stand


Just to keep things exciting, we almost missed our flight from Vancouver to Honolulu (traffic jam on the way to the airport!). But the Lord was gracious and we just made it. And, more than that, the kids and I finally got to ride on one of those airport golf carts (they made Ian run to the gate). Jonathan was devastated to discover that he didn't have a window seat, (and was loudly making this known). A lovely couple from New Zealand offered their window seats to Ian and Jonathan.

Here we are. This photo cost us 5 bucks, which the owner of the birds told us after he took our photo, of course!


Our third stop along the way was the island of Guam. During the flight, Karlyn—our little legalist—questioned whether her dad should be moving around the cabin while the seatbelt sign was still on. He was a few seats back with Jonathan, but hearing Caleb cry he came to help out. As Ian was talking with me she pipes up: “dad, do you think the seatbelt sign is on for no reason?” There he stood—guilty—before an impartial judge! The rest of the flight went well as the kids were exhausted.

As we stepped out of the airport in Guam, the thick humid air instantly reminded us of Lae. We were definitely back in the tropics! Beautiful Guam (three hours East of the Philippines by plane) is also in the same time zone as PNG, so not only were we getting used to the heat and humidity, but also beginning to get over our jet lag.

We are now in Cairns, Northern Australia and we continue to slowly adjust to this time zone. No longer waking up at 3:30am in the morning! Now it’s more like 6:30am—still a little too early for one who is up in the night with a newborn, but hopefully we’ll continue to adjust!

Yesterday we enjoyed great fellowship with a group of people who have formed a ‘house’ congregation here in Mareeba which is on the highlands called the tablelands outside of Cairns. Matt and Claire Byl only moved here from WA a week ago and it was great to catch up with them and their girls too. Ian was able to lead worship and preach, and after our ‘cuppa’ (Australian for having a coffee) he shared some of our experiences these past few years and offered some food for thought on the three Cs of mission and evangelism—conviction, clarity and compassion. Afterwards we enjoyed a good hearty Australian lunch with most of the members and then headed back down to the coast through the Gilles pass—a 19 km windy trek through beautiful tropical and semi-tropical forests.

And in just a few days we’re flying on to Port Moresby (capital of PNG) for fellowship and meetings at the RCBC (Bible College) and then after more than a year we will reach LAE by Friday, the Lord willing. We are eager to continue to serve Christ there for as long as He wants us there.

We go waiting on Him. We are entering a cholera zone. They say some 100 people have already died of cholera and mostly from the Lae area. Please pray for the people of Lae and surrounding regions who are currently dealing with a cholera outbreak along with other forms of dysentery. Many are very sick, including some from our church. (For more details on this, you can go to our colleague’s blog at www.anvanderheide.blogspot.com).

Please also pray that we will all be able to resume our life and work in Lae without a lot of obstacles. We know Satan is tirelessly working to destroy whatever good has been accomplished in Lae as the Gospel of grace has gone out. We thank God that he is powerless, except for the latitude God grants him.

Finally, we look forward to updating our blog as often as we can so that we can keep sharing bits and pieces of our life and God’s work we’re involved with in Papua New Guinea.

Caleb-our chubby litle man.

Happy Birthday, Karlyn!!

Our big girl is 3!

Look at that frog cake! What a great cake, and delicious too. Thank you, Aunt Alice!

Here's the crowd who helped us celebrate!


We've been remembering her last birthday, which was celebrated in Hawaii on our way back here from Papua New Guinea! Kind of a fun place for a 2nd birthday!

At that time, we were facing so many unknowns--uncertainty about Ian's health, if and when we would be able to return to Papua New Guinea, how we, especially our kids, would adjust to this sudden and big change in their lives. And now here we are a year later. We've been richly blessed during our time here. We've even become a family of 5! And the Lord has blessed Ian's health enough that we are making plans to return to Papua New Guinea shortly. Big changes are upon us again, and the only thing that seemingly remains the same is the many unknowns we are facing once again. We don't know if Ian's health will continue to improve or if it will decline again in the tropical climate, and it will be quite a transition for our family, especially our kids, to adjust back to life in Papua New Guinea. It is easy to worry and to feel anxious, but we have to remember that in the midst of unknowns, there is One whom we do know, Who never changes, our Lord and Saviour. He is faithful, He is good and He loves us so much. And while we don't know His plans for us, we do know we're in His hands.

Caleb

We've been home from the hospital since Sunday, but here are still a couple more photos from there. If you look closely at this one, you'll see that Caleb and his cousin Jayden are learning to count already...Jayden's holding up one finger and Caleb two (or is that the peace sign?!)

Uncle Peter and cousin Liam.

Here's our little man, looking so mature and wise already as he sits in his chair (which is actually way too big for him still).

Proud big brother!

With cousin Jayden before he returned to Holland.

Welcome to the World, Caleb

We can hardly believe it was just yesterday that our little man Caleb entered our lives. We praise God for His faithfulness and this gift to our family. Here are just a few of the people he's met so far in his short little life!

After talking about and to "baby Caleb" for months, Jonathan and Karlyn finally meet him for the first time!

A cuddle with Grandma.

Meeting Aunt Kathelien, who with Uncle Jonathan and cousin Jayden leave us to return to Holland tomorrow :(. But what a blessing that he did arrive while they were still here--an answer to prayer for us. God is good.

With friend Allie Buist.

With cousins Noah and Lucas.

Summer Fun

We started off our summer celebrating the wedding of Ian's sister, Lydia and her husband Adam on June 12th. It was a beautiful day! A great time for the family to be together. Here's us!

And the siblings with the happy couple.

Then in July it was off to Killbear Park for a weekend of camping with the Wildeboers. Hours were spent at the beach and in the water, as well as hanging out at the campsite. We actually had a bear walk through our campsite in the middle of the day. Exciting! Most have to visit the "camp dump" for sightings like that, and here we had a close-up encounter. We soon heard, however, that the camp rangers had transported it further up north.

Then just this past week, we spent a few days at a cottage with my parents, as well as my brother and wife and son, who are visiting from Holland. Jonathan managed to get his share of water rides again!

Here's Ian with baby Jayden, my brother's son. Although looking a little unsure here, he really does love his Uncle Ian! Jonathan and Karlyn shower him with attention and love! Actually, we all do!


This summer has been a real blessing for us so far as we've caught up with many family and friends. And the best is yet to come...we are still eagerly awaiting the arrival of our newest family member--sometime within the next couple weeks...!

For those of you who are wondering, Ian's health continues to slowly and steadily improve and he is able to preach around more. We are hopeful that we'll be heading back to PNG in mid-September, God willing.