We can hardly believe that we have been back in Papua New Guinea for a month! So much has happened and we want to thank you for your prayers. Dear friends helped get 6 checked bags, 5 carry-ons, 1 car seat, 1 stroller and all 4 Wilsons to the airport on time! We then joined Paul’s mother, Lavon, in Dallas for the 16 hour flight across the Pacific. Our time in Brisbane was a bit rushed (thanks to several complications), but we boarded our flight to PNG and were sure glad to see our co-workers waiting for us and ready to help us on to our last flight…which left EARLY!!
Since returning we have been busy setting up our house and enjoying having Grandma here for a few weeks. Paul has returned to working in the hangar and is glad to be with the team again helping to keep our fleet flying. Recently several of our aviation co-workers have headed back to their own countries for home assignment. With them went a lot of “institutional” memories/knowledge. Please pray for our limited staff as they continue to keep the flight program running….which can only be done in the Lord’s strength.
Andrea is learning how to do life with two little ones while trying to make meals and snacks that fit into Paul’s limited diet. We have been able to find MOST of the things that we need to cook gluten, dairy, soy, corn and sugar-free. Having our local farmer’s market has really been a plus! (And Phoebe has only asked for a Happy Meal once since returning).
Thank you all for praying for us as we have made this big transition back to life here in PNG. While still present, Paul’s allergies have been manageable. And the flights with the kids went well…as well as can be. We also want to thank those who sacrifice to financially support the Lord’s work here. Life in PNG is very expensive. Food, gas and power prices have gone up while we were stateside. We were looking at having to replace our washing machine at the cost of close to $1,000. (Thankfully Paul was able to discover & remove the baby sock that it tried to eat).
New Aircraft!
You might recall that just before we left the US, Paul was able to attend a maintenance training course for the Kodiak airplane. We said in our last update, “We hope and pray to receive our first Kodiak in PNG soon.” Well just a few days before returning to PNG we got word that thanks to two anonymous donors, their large gift helped complete the purchase for one. And we just got word that it was delivered to our aviation headquarters in McNeal, Arizona!
This is such a huge answer to many prayers! Not only is the Kodiak A LOT larger than our current fleet of Cessna 206’s, but it also runs on more cost efficient Jet A fuel. What does this mean? It will cost our bush missionaries less to fly with us and to get their supplies in and out!
Please continue to pray as this Kodiak is outfitted for its life here in PNG. Once that happens it will be flown over to PNG (another prayer request)…which means lots of paperwork to get it approved. And please continue to pray for our new pilot family, Jon and Adie Leedahl, as Jon has started his in-country training on the Kodiak.
Praises:
- We made it back to PNG….all our flights were on time (or early) and we arrived with all our luggage!
- The new Kodiak for PNG and 3 new pilots too!
- Healthy & growing kids!
Prayer Requests:
- Additional finances needed to prep the Kodiak for life here in PNG.
- More support personnel here in PNG. We desperately need folks for our business office, computer department and more aviation mechanics.
- Continued adjustments as we figure out how to do life again in PNG while raising two little ones.