Okay we're all booked for travelling to Menapi for this Bible Dedication. I thought it might be helpful for you to see what we're doing.
Ukarumpa and Menapi are maybe 100 miles apart. But there are no roads. So the only access is via fixed wing plane to an airstrip and then from there a helicopter shuttle. OR you can travel commercially fixed wing and then take a boat. Since our only boat is in Alotau, we are flying into Alotau and then taking the boat.
Roads: - the roads are anywhere from paved full of potholes to dirt and possibly you find out half way through they are washed out.
Seas: - this time of year VERY choppy and gauranteed to make you sick (-;
So... here is the plan:
We (a van of 12 people) drive 2 hours to Goroka on mostly paved roads, curvy and typical third world main highway type road.
From there we all hop a commercial airline plane and fly 1.5 hours to Port Moresby.
From there we change planes and go to Alotau (2 hours or so)
From alotau we get picked up and drive the road to the centre. REst for the day.
From there the women and children take a fixed wing aircraft to the other side of the country while us men take a boat 7 hours across choppy seas, around the cape. There WAS a road straight from ALotau to the other side of the cape, but it washed out. That road would have taken us an hour to drive, and saved us 7 hours on a boat.
From there, the ladies take a helicopter over to Menapi, and the men go another 7 hours on the boat. (the boat is more affordable and we know the captain, so we're going to save money and also to keep him company)
After we arrive, we'll celebrate and have a ceremony and sleep on the hard ground or possibly a village house floor, and then the next day get back on the boat and travel back.
So, travel wise, we're looking at a VERY long route to get to this location, which I hear is gorgeous.
Me and my friend are of two minds on this.
He keeps saying "it's great adventure, we'll get sick, it'll be GREAT"
I keep thinking "oh boy, 15 hours of seasickness is gonna put me in a great mood to sleep on the dirt. I'm gonna be too tired to enjoy the ceremony."
So here's how you can pray:
-calm seas, good travelling, that I'll have a good attitude. It's an adventure and like any adventure, you need to have a good attitude.
Personally I wouldn't blame anyone who called me crazy. Because of all the travel we're paying a handsome sum to do this too. So that's a possible double whammy on my attitude. Each time I'm bending over the side of the boat I have to think "yup I'm paying for this." hehehe.
-good attitude (yes I listed that twice)
-safety
-an excellent celebration (I'd really like to have this been a memorable occasion for the entire family)
-energy
-skill - I'm going to be in charge of video documenting the event. A tricky task because I'll need batteries and won't have any way to charge them, so I'll have to conserve my power and use it wisely.
-finances - it would be nice to have this trip paid for before we get on the boat.
Thank you all so much, and if you ever want to come visit us, give us plenty of notice so we can plan an adventure for when you're here!!! A dedication is the celebration of the fruition of a team effort. As we travel there, it's like we're taking you all with us. I'm going to have a video to show you, it should be a GREAT time!
