Arrival

Today we reached our final destination in Madang. This concludes the 4 flight journey that brings us to the other side of the world into Papua New Guinea, the Land of the Unexpected.

Yesterday, we arrived in the capital of PNG, Port Moresby. It is such a stark contrast to Australia that one cannot help but notice how one simple plane ride can take you what seems a million miles away.

Before I talk about our luggage issues, I would like to say first that our flight from LA to Australia went very well. We were able to sleep for a good part of the trip which was a surprise considering the screaming baby two rows over. Thanks, V Australia, for the complimentary ear plugs. I would like to thank those who were praying for us during what can be a difficult time.

Now for the luggage. The dreaded, the unthinkable, the lost piece of luggage happened. As we stood in line for our Visa Upon Arrival Visas, we watched our bags go round and round on the carousel. After a good 25 minute wait, we finally got to the baggage area only to discover that one bag was missing. Noticing our panic, and Mary's tears, an airport representative (PNG national with a clipboard and orange vest) came over and took some information regarding our luggage. He wrote down the description, tag numbers, etc. but that was not much comfort to me as things can move very slowly here in PNG. A representative from New Tribes Mission met us at the airport and he also went over with the vest-guy all the important info. We left the baggage area only to realize that the bag that was left contained all of Bonnie and Betty's clothes. More tears.

We waited for the hotel van only a few minutes (with the NTM reps) before we were wisked away to our home for the night. We shared a delicious meal with the Suttons (NTM reps) of fresh made pizza and lukewarm sodas. The pizza really was delish!

We said our goodbyes and started the next phase of our travels: jet lag management. It was 4:30 p.m. We decided we needed to stay awake until at least 8 p.m. and then sleep as much as we wanted in order to get on the same time zone we were now occupying. So Mary and Sally and Richard went swimming (Betty and Bonnie's bathing suit was in the missing suitcase) while the rest of us sat by the pool and tried to stay awake.

I fixed myself a cup of coffee which helped me for about 30 minutes. We came back to the room and decided to get to get showered and ready for bed then play charades.

We played for around 30 minutes when we realized that there was no staying awake. We had to succomb to the need for sleep. We had made it all the way to 6:30 p.m. I was so proud.

More tomorrow as it is already 8:30 and I am the last one up...time for bed!

Sleepily,
Tracie