Hi, We are sending this quick update to let you know that we have arrived safely in Papua New Guinea. Our travels were uneventful, just the way we like them to be. We made the easiest transfer that we ever have at LAX. Our departing flight was in the same terminal as the flight we had arrived on so we simply had to walk between the two gates. Our flight from Auckland to Brisbane was delayed for a few hours, but Air New Zealand provided food vouchers for everyone on the delayed flight. We enjoyed a couple of days poking around Auckland. Pat even found some "beach glass" to add to her collection. The highlight of our time in Brisbane with our friends was seeing a koala in the wild on a walk near their home. Settling back into life here takes time as there are a lot of adjustments that need to be made. It is overwhelming at times. The 18 months that we were in Canada was the longest we had been away from PNG in a decade. There are many new people to meet and new routines and realities to discover. We are taking a few days to unpack and set up house. Taking our time travelling over means we are pretty much adjusted to the time change. We are, however, still acclimatizing to being at a higher elevation. We are enjoying catching up with people. It took us two hours to shop at the grocery store yesterday with all of the visiting we were doing. Once the house is set up the next step is settling back into our ministries. I (Joe) will be in a meeting today learning more about exactly what I will be doing. It is easy to take on too much too soon. We need to guard against that. Stepping back into our ministries is a process that takes time as well. Pray that we would be patient with ourselves as we need time to settle. We appreciate your prayers and support. Thanks for partnering with us to see churches established in PNG. Love, Joe & Pat
