Bits and Bites....

* The big news is that the kids have returned to school after four weeks of holidays... I already miss sleeping in...
* I forgot something funny/not so funny that happened when we were in Bokinidini. One morning Christiaan complained about his earmolds so we took a look. Turns out, cockroaches like silicon... who knew?
* Last Friday the guy who had disrespected me came to the door to ask Hugo's forgiveness. I made myself scarce as I have no desire to speak with this fellow... Then he asked Hugo if he would buy some bananas. So we did. They are so green that I have little hope they will ever ripen... But we felt that if he made the effort to come and ask forgiveness, then we need to accept it.
* Our road, which we had such hope would be repaired, has begun to return to its original state... sigh...
* A couple who has lived in the interior and in Jayapura for 42 years working with the people, had their home and storage building located interior, burn to the ground this week. They were in the house and it was early morning when he noticed that one of the rooms was glowing... Their chimney had caught fire. It took a mere 15 minutes and everything had burnt down and they were left with their passports, camera, and laptops and of course, the clothes on their back. What a blessing that he was already up and noticed the fire! Look here to see a photo...
* Our amphibious floatplane had a problem with its relatively new engine so we are waiting for a loaner to arrive. First there was an issue with customs and now none of the airlines wants to transport it out here! Ugghhh... This plane provides so much service to the churches in the southern area of Papua including the Korowai area.
* This is an interesting website about trips to Papua...
We've heard from a friend who lives with the Korowai that there have been a number of staged "first contact" situations. This friend has lived with the Korowai for a number of years and laughs when he sees the photos...
* A while ago already there was a plane with a bunch of Aussies on board, 5 people I believe, which landed in one of the Southern city's of our island. The pilot had radioed the tower and asked about getting visitor permits upon landing and was told that that is not possible there but just to land and they would sort things out. (At least this is the pilots side of the story) When you land in Jakarta or Bali, you simply buy a visitors visa in the airport. You cannot do this here in Papua. You must come already being the holder of a visa. So these Aussies were arrested and have been in prison ever since. Just last week they were sentenced in court. The pilot received 3 years and the passengers each received 2 years and the plane is confiscated and they are all fined heavily. They are allowed to work during the day and each day that they work counts against their time in prison. As you can imagine, this is an incredibly difficut time for those folks. Our family based there has been trying to encourage them as well as witness to them. This is just another example of how careful we must all be when travelling to new places. Never forget that you are a visitor and that you must adhere to the laws of the land no matter what you think about those laws.