Happy Valentines Day!
St Valentine’s Day is not just a special day for us for the usual reasons. It was on 14th February 2017 that we met each other’s parents in person for the first time, and then, 2 days later, Ryan proposed with all 4 of them with us, so mid-February holds very special memories.
New Floor Please?
We’ve had some of our maintenance team in Telefomin this past week doing some essential maintenance. Our Swiss neighbours have had plastic liners put in their 2 metal tanks, to stop the leeks due to rust, and the floor at the base has had some much needed repair work. In the photo, right, Eugene & Steven, our two Traffic Officers, are pointing out some of the big ruts in the cement floor which makes pushing trolleys loaded with cargo rather tricky.
Christmas has come at last!
Last week we received our first Christmas Card in the post! IN FEBRUARY! I guess the international post from North America is working, just rather slowly. The post mark was dated 30-Nov-2020, so only just over 2 months to get here. Thank you Brownfield Baptist Church for sending us a Christmas card. Sadly nothing has come through from the UK yet, even though we are expecting a few things that were posted in November…
Helping our Neighbours
There are a few small commercial airlines who fly into Telefomin regularly. One of them had a stone unfortunately damage their Twin Otter recently. As they know we are based here full-time, they contacted our boss to ask if we had any accommodation. The transit house, which Shiv looks after, played host to 2 pilots and 4 Engineers, the latter who stayed for the whole weekend to fix the aircraft. Thankfully they were successful and the Twin Otter flew out on Monday, much to their relief.
We are here to serve the remote communities, but it’s nice to be able to help our aviation neighbours too!
Telefomin’s version of Uber…
This is Andrew, he drives one of the handful of motorbikes which putter around Telefomin these days. When we first moved here 3 years ago, there weren’t any motorbikes at all! We joke that they are Telefomin’s version of Uber as we often see passengers on the back.
PNG “Brother”
This is our “brother”, Lukas. His Mum is Mama Cathy, the lady who helps clean our house. Lukas pops round quite regularly to help out with some big jobs like cleaning out the drainage ditches in the garden and washing the outside of our house, he’s a real blessing to us!
Lukas loves to say hi to Ray the dog when he comes over. They all laugh when Shiv says Ray is like her baby, but Lukas takes his role of Ray’s Uncle, very seriously.
Telefomin Flowers
PNG ladies love their gardens. The vegetables bring life to their families and the flowers bring joy to their hearts.
I have been blessed many times with beautiful bouquets of local flowers, like these which were waiting for us when we returned home back in October.
Shiv in the Newspaper
Towards the end of last year I was interviewed for a PNG Newspaper, The National. Click on the title to go to the article.
Washing the Balus
Even when he’s on the ground and not flying, Ryan is busy.
Although Mondays are his “office” day, he doesn’t usually spend more than a few hours sitting at his desk doing paperwork and emails. His aircraft (Balus) has to have its engine washed once a week to keep it in good working order. This takes about an hour or so, with the help of our trusty Traffic Officer, Steven, pictured.
Today he also climbed up the tree next to our water tanks to chop its top off again.
Christmas Weekend Highlights
Click to see a few highlights from our Christmas weekend which we spent in our home in Telefomin with some very dear MAF PNG friends.
Last flying before Christmas…
On their last flying day before Christmas, Ryan and his fellow pilot Mathias, stopped to pose for us in front of their airplanes!
Welcome to 2021!
Wishing you a very happy new year. May 2021 be filled with laughter, good memories and lots of time with the people you love!
It is unlikely we will be able to leave PNG this year, but we look forward to hopefully visiting many of you next year.
God bless,
Ryan, Shiv & Ray the dog!
Rainbow over Telefomin
On one of my (Ryan’s) last flying days before Christmas, I was on a turn-around, having just dropped off a load of passengers in Telefomin and about to take another load out again, when I spotted this rainbow hanging over our home!
Merry Christmas from PNG!
Ryan, Shiv & Ray would like to wish you all, wherever you are in the world, peace, joy and God’s presence this Christmas time. May 2021 be filled with love and hope for you and all those you care for!
Click on the picture, left, to watch a video of our friend, Nurse Rhema, one of the local health care workers who MAF supports and we fly out of Telefomin.