Our first week or so in Papua New Guinea

Wow! What a week! Or well uh, two weeks now. Part of us feels like we just stepped (stumbled, tripped, fell..) out of the plane yesterday while part of us feels like we’ve been here some time already. For those who don’t know, we got to fly in one of NTMA’s (New Tribes Mission Aviation) Kodiak planes from Port Moresby to the highlands on Thursday, February 16th.

Since we landed, we’ve been settling into the house, met many of our neighbors and coworkers, started the E2 (language & culture) classes, met the I.T. team, and visited a local village with the medical team. The first few days, different people had arranged for us to eat at their place, which was huge for us, giving us a chance to meet different people and to just settle in without having to worry about the next meal. Katie and I are looking forward to hosting other new families (maybe yours?) in the future.

Twice a week, some of the local ladies host a market just outside of our center, giving us an opportunity to purchase their super-fresh fruits and veggies. It’s really a win-win for all of us. Yes, the fruits are delicious! Some of the sweetest pineapples I have ever eaten.

The orientation has been going well. We’ve covered the official orientation training, learned some about the culture here and touched on some language. Next week we start really diving in to the language. For the next several weeks, we’ll be in the classroom learning and also have several opportunities to head out into the villages and communities as well.

The kids are also adjusting well. There are lots of other kids here.

Already in first couple of days they were out playing with various neighbors in the field between our homes. It’s been a joy to watch them start to make new friends here.

I’m going to stop “talking” now and simply share some pictures…