Travel Update #6: Word from the Bush

Baby Addelyn and I are camping in the mountains for a few days with Thomas' family, (trying to "rough-it" like Daddy) :) so I headed into town to check email and found a note from Thomas with an update. Jon was sound asleep - sounds like they've had a busy few days already! Here's the word from the guys: This was written at about 4am Wednesday morning, our time - later Wednesday evening for the guys in New Guinea. 

TUESDAY AUGUST 10, 2010 - we did arrive safley in Kiari on Tuesday Evening. We had to wait a few hours for our bush flight. It was scheduled to leave Goroka at 10:00am Tuesday, but we didnt leave until nearly 1pm. We flew to Noumani and waited for a second flight with a load of supplies to be flown in. The pilot returned about 45 minutes later with all of our supplies. We then loaded up the Smith's truck and ventured out onto the bush road. It wasn't long before both Jonathan and I realized how great the need is for the airstrip at Kiari.

 The road was terrible. Many teeth-jarring legg-numbing bumps! The trip into Kiari took about 2.5 hours. Along the way we would sometimes be chased by children from the villages that we passed. They would follow the truck for quite some time, and were often close enough that we could lean out of the truck and slap hands. This "white-man" touch really made them squeal with delight! Once we arrived at Kiari we unloaded our supplies and prepared for dinner. After dinner we spent some time discussing the work plans with Randy Smith and Jeff Owens. By around 7 our bodies were shutting down and we headed to bed.

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 11, 2010 - We awoke this morning to a cool breeze blowing in the window. The room was a little cooler than I expected it to be, but I was relieved since we had left the hot weather in the States! I was very grateful for the cool temps. After a breakfast of some Australian wheat cereal, Jon and I went down to the airstrip to get our first good look at the project we came to tackle.

 From pictures the runway does not look too big.

Let me tell you...those pictures are very decieving! The runway is huge. 400 meters long and an average of 45 meters wide! Very big! Jeff and another fella who was here just before us had used the bulldozer to rip into the side of a mountain so they could extend the strip by 16 meters. Now that the mountain has been removed it is our job to remove all of the excess dirt,  install 1000 meters of posts and hog wire fencing (to keep the pigs and goats off the runway), grade the entirestrip to a 12% slope (over half is at 12%),"crown" the strip (we make the middle of the strip 20" higher than all the edges - this allows for good runoff) and install drainage throughout the strip. A lot of work for a short trip. Originally there were 2 tractors available for use on this project. However, the Skid Loader is completly down and may not be repaired for a few months, so everything is being done with the large BullDozer. Although this machine is very powerful it's size it it's biggest hinderance. It is difficult to smooth a grade with such a large machine. Jeff says that it is like driving an elephant! After spending today on that tractor I would have to say that I aggree with Jeff! After looking over the airstrip Jon headed off to preach at Chapel in the school. I went and jumped on the Dozer and began to make a mess! When Jon was finished with Chapel he came to the strip and began setting fence posts with Jeff, Matt Smith (the Smith's oldest son) and some of the national men.

We cut the day a little short and were able to attend Wednesday prayer service at Kiari Baptist Church. This was a real delight. Even though Jon and I understood VERY little of what was said and sung, It was encouraging to see that side of the ministry here in Kiari. The Lord truly has raised up a good work here to Himself. It is our prayer that we will only aid in the spread of the Gospell and the furtherance of this ministry here in Kiari.

Thanks for your continued prayers,

Jon and Thomas Rodgers

I'll probably be in town again in a day or two and see if I can find further news.

Katie

Travel Update #5: International Airport Install Team from Alabama "IAITA"

This evening Crystal and I received an email with the above collection of impressive wording in the subject line.  Seeing that the email was from Jeff Owens, who is a missionary in PNG, I realized the email must be from Thomas and Jonathan, and that Jeff must have a required subject line when his emails send. Something to do with his own mission work, perhaps?

On second glance, however, I realized that that concoction is from none other than those Rodgers brothers, whose family Alabama roots are now being heralded in the far reaches of the earth. I'm guessing they got a good night's sleep (10 hours, according to Jonathan's part of the email) and their minds are restored enough to be coming up with such names for their miniature travelling team. :)

They proudly shared that Jon made breakfast for them:  he set out the bowls spoons milk and cereal, and was toasting some bread. They also reported that Thomas "washed" the dishes. 

Mom Rodgers, you should be proud. 

It's a cool 70 degrees there and they're enjoying a nice breeze. I thought this was especially sweet of them to mention, as their families are back home in the sweltering and humid Texas or South Carolina heat. Hopefully they'll keep this in mind as they select priceless gifts to bring home to their dear wives. Cough, cough, ahem. 

anyways:

To quote from their email:

"TUESDAY AUGUST 10 -
We did arrive safley in Goroka around 5:15 local time yesterday evening. Everything went

well getting here. No major problems. Actually our flight out of Sydney was
an hour late leaving Sydney so when we arrived in Port Moresby, our 1hour 35 minute
layover was down to just a half hour. We had to still get our visas to enter
the country, get our bags, go through customs, get boarding passes and board
the plane. Getting the visas took nearly an hour so by the time we got the
bag and heaed to customs our original flight was long over due! But the Lord
was obviously in control. When we entered customs they didn't check any of
our bags and just waived us right through! So were getting ready to head to
the domestic terminal when we were directed to check in at the desk in the
international terminal. We checked in with no issue and the nice lady behind
the desk called in and found out that our plane was still at the gate! So
she hurridly check us in never charging us for any of our baggage!

(insert from Katie - as far as I can tell, so far they have not had to pay 
any checked baggage fees on the trip.) 

We then quickly walked out of the international terminal and began running to the
domestic terminal. We ran nearly the entire way through 2 security points
and all the way to the plane (a lot farther than it sounds!) with the locals
and all the airport workers cheering us on our way! Our one concern was that
we went so fast that our bags wouldn't make it on the flight. When we
arrived in Goroka we stepped off of the plane to a cool 70 degree temprature and
I saw both of our bags sitting on the luggage cart beside the plane! The
Lord truly is good. 

We fly out this morning (Tuesday in PNG, Monday evening in the States) 
to Noumani and then drive over to Kiari.

The Skid Loader (one of the two pieces of heavy equipment the brothers planned to use) 

is completely down and will not be usable at all during this trip. 

Please pray that we will accomplish as much as possible over the next few weeks."

Also, the guys mentioned that their flight to Neumani today is their "rundown" flight - 

you know, the type of plane where you board and ask "is that duct tape?" :) 

We all appreciate your prayers for their safety! 

Travel Update #4

At 5 am this morning I thought my cell phone alarm was going off, so I hit "snooze". Two minutes later I got a voicemail alert! I had accidentally (and very sleepily) sent Thomas to voicemail. :( I desperately tried to call him back really fast, but my phone choked on that incredible 11-digit number. Poor little phone.

According to Thomas' voicemail, they arrived safely in Goroka, "have a few stories to tell", took some photos and video. Their luggage arrived safely, too. It was about 7pm for them and they were getting ready to get some sleep. They'll stay overnight (It's Monday night for them there) and then go on with their travelling Tuesday morning - which will be late Monday afternoon/evening for us stateside.

Travel Update #3

Thomas and Jonathan made it safely to Sydney. I received an email from the Sydney airport via text messaging on my phone during evening church. I'm loving technology! At this moment it's early Monday afternoon for the brothers, and they should be just arriving in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Just two more flights to go: to Goroka, PNG, and then on to Lea (Lei? I'm still not sure, despite some research, how to spell the name of that village!) Sunday is ending for me here in Greenville, and nearing a close for Crystal in Texas- but the guys are out there somewhere probably thinking about lunch. And probably wishing they could just stay on the ground for awhile. 24+hours in the air must get old at some point!

Travel Update #2 - from the brothers

Saturday Sunset - San Francisco, CA   (11:30pm Eastern Time)    :)

By the time most of you read this it will be Sunday midday. For us globetrotters however, it will be late Sunday night or early Monday morning! I am writing this from Gate 97 in the San Francisco International Airport, awaiting the long flight to Sydney, Australia. Our flight is scheduled to leave late Saturday night local time (about 2am Eastern time) and arrive in Sydney at 6:25 am Monday August 9 (Sunday the 8th 4:25 PM EST - about the time you all are heading to church). It will be a long flight but that will give us plenty of time to listen a "few" of Pastor Minnick's sermons from the Romans series! From Sydney we continue on to Port Moresby and then to Goroka, PNG, and then one last flight to Noumani, PNG. 

From there we will drive into the bush to Kiari. Please keep us in prayer as we travel - we won't arrive at Kiari until your Monday mid-day, if all goes well. 

The flights to this point have been fairly eventless. We fit all of our luggage into our small carry ons, and one big shared suitcase. This suitcase was to weigh under 40 lbs so it could make it on the Air Nuigini flights - and it came in at 38.5lbs! Through a glitch at the Austin airport, we were not required to pay the checked baggage fee - a small blessing from the Lord. We are praying for smooth flying in the hours to come. I wanted to take this chance to thank all of you who have been praying for us. To borrow the words of John Newton out of context -We know that it is the Lord who has brought us safe this far. Your prayers are very much a part of what has been accomplished to this point and what will be accomplished in the coming weeks.

Thanks again for your support in this endeavor.

Thomas and Jonathan

This is our plane, where we will spend (and partly skip!) Sunday: 

Travel Update #1

On the eve of The Big Trip, it's amazing to see how the Lord has provided this far and opened the doors for this adventure. What was just an idea a few months ago is now an astonishing reality! It would take countless hours to describe how the Lord has effortlessly eliminated challenges along the way. Each shadow of a hindrance has brought a lesson for our families, but then strengthened our faith as we've seen God work and provide! We're so grateful for the prayers and support of friends, family, and even strangers - folks who don't get to see the New Guinea mountains or see the faces of the natives and missionaries that will find so much benefit from the airstrips. We know that you will share in a rich reward from the Lord as He has used you, His people, to accomplish His work far, far away.
Despite a small glitch or two, both brothers are safely in Texas and preparing to start the long journey together tomorrow. They will be in the air for more than 24 hours over the next few days as they catch several flights to their final destination, which is now Kiari, Papua New Guinea. They will assist with the runway work already in progress in the village of Kiari, and IF they're able to complete the airstrip there within the next few weeks, they will travel to Aibai with the equipment to begin work at that location as originally planned.

There is a repair needed on the wheel bearings on one of the tractors, which will need to be completed before Thomas and Jonathan can begin work at Kiari. Please be praying for safe travel and journey mercies, for provision and wisdom for the equipment repair, and since I have a bit of a connection to one of them - pray for the gals back home keeping the kiddos. It's a little lonely in Mr. Rodgers' neighborhood 'bout now. :)

Trip Updates

Trip updates will be posted here. Please check back!!