Wamena to America...6 airplanes +1

Some people have heard of the travel time it takes to get from America to Papua Indonesia, but until you experience it for yourself it is difficult to truly understand.  72 hours of travel, 29 hours of flight time and 4 countries plus a two year old added to the mix and it's more fun than two parents can handle.  In all seriousness, this trip back to the U.S. was pretty great giving the credit to Gracie (& God).

As we made our trip around the world this time we tried to take a picture in between every flight, so here is our journey back home.  Thanks for looking and we are so thankful for everyone's prayers and support for us no matter what side of the world we are on.

This first picture was taken at a little strip en route from Wamena to Sentani.  No matter how many times we go out into the middle of nowhere it never gets old.  We love how beautiful the people are and how there faces light up when food/supplies are unloaded from the airplane.  It brings back the big picture of why we are there... which is just awesome.

On this particular landing, which eventually goes to a 18% grade (ish), we landed and parked at the top of the hill which was quickly followed by Gracie shouting out "AGAIN!"

Above here is Will and Gracie waiting patiently in Sentani for the first commercial airliner which would take us to Bali.  We stayed one night in Sentani which was nice for catching up with our friends that we lived and worked with for eight months.

Below here is a picture of Gracie playing with one of her best friends, Ellie, and some bubbles on base in Sentani.

From Sentani we took a flight to Bali and got to experience the international terminal for the first time.  Here is a picture of Gracie helping us check our bags to Singapore where we would spend a night in a hotel due to an 11 hour layover.

After a crazy taxi ride to and from the airport we got all our bags checked through to America where we would next see them in San Francisco.  While we waited, we ate some McDonald's which was Gracie's first time experiencing the golden arches.

From Singapore we jumped on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner which was pretty cool considering the people I know that have put in some time engineering/building etc.  It was fun to see it in person and just have a comfortable place to be for the six hours we were on it from Singapore to Tokyo.

We never got a picture of Gracie running around like a crazy head in Tokyo to get her wiggles out, but we did get this video of her saying "bye Tokyo!"  Of course we were all quite tired and running on caffeine/sugar so it made this moment all the better.

From Tokyo, Japan we were all set for a nine hour flight to San Francisco.  Gracie slept, so we were happy as we could be as parents.  It was probably the best leg of them all which was nice considering it was the longest.

Thank you Playdough! You consumed 5 hours of flight time!

Unfortunately, we did not get any pictures while on the ground in San Fran but Nan did get to catch up with her dear friend Sarah who graciously drove to the airport for 30 minutes of hugs and chatting!  From there we made it to Portland where we spent a couple nights before heading off to Idaho for some meetings at MAF Headquarters

Will breaking out his Steve Largent shirt from 2nd grade for the Super Bowl!

Fortunately, we made it to Vancouver the day before the Super Bowl so we could watch the Seahawks play with family (Dad & Mom Grant & Joanna)! 

In all seriousness, we are so thankful to be here in America to welcome our baby boy!  

Thank you again so much for reading, praying, and supporting us!

Our Furlough Video

Daddy Daughter Week

Not a lot of words, just pictures which really tell the whole story.

Everything under control

Looking for trouble in Wamena

Pit stop on our way back from Wamena.  Very windy on final, but Gracie loved it!

Another pit stop.

Getting ready to leave Sentani for Wamena

Jumping around with friends

Hey who turned off the fun?

Turning over all the rocks

Wrestling

20 minutes after mom left...930am

Showing off some sweet kicks

Flying is fun!

Stretching our legs and enjoying the magnificent view 

Lots of emotion dropping in spots like this.  It really is the end of the earth.

The craziest thing about this picture is that I didn't even adjust the color...its just this beautiful in Wamena

Mountain climbing with twins.

Mom came home...back to work for me!

Flight to Wamena

This last week we had the opportunity to go to Wamena, which is where we will be living in November.  It is just short of a mile high in the mountains and has no roads in or out.  Everything there is flown in.  We had our first MAF flight as a family which Gracie thoroughly enjoyed.

Rather than writing a bunch, the pictures will tell a good story of our trip.  We are so excited to finally have a place to lay roots and call home.

Although Gracie may appear to be scared or yawning she was absolutely excited.

Gracie looked outside for most of the two flights pointing out all the clouds to us.

This is us taking off out of Wamena which is a pretty big airport.  Not huge, but big enough to sneak in a 737.  People have houses on the airport so when the kids get a chance they love to stand behind the planes and feel the the prop wash.

Below here are some pictures of Gracie and dad stretching there legs at a village strip by the name of Kobakma.  We stopped there on the way back from Wamena.  Gracie loved exploring...

"Wow this runway looks steep I wonder if dad will chase me down it."

"I'm going to casually walk down it and see what I can find" Gracie said to herself. 

"Ok time to hold dad's hand Gracie"

After Gracie tried making a run for it...

No!  You caught me again dad!

On base in Wamena

En route from Wamena

Gracie standing in front of our house in Wamena.

Mom and Gracie in Kobakma

The in flight drink service only made its way up front.  

Final MAF Papua Kodiak Pod Installation!

Dad and Gracie on Father's Day

Well it has taken a while but as of two Fridays ago MAF Papua has pods on all the Kodiaks.  Three were put on here in Sentani and I was able to be a part of two of them.  Something unique about this last pod install is it was the original Kodiak to have a pod.  Quest used it for certifying the pod with the FAA, but was then taken off so all the paperwork could go through.  Interestingly enough the pod that was on it before is on a Kodiak down the road here in Sentani with a different organization.

Having a pod on it before, there were some things about this install that made it a little easier, but on the other hand there was some reverse engineering that had to take place.  Overall it was a great experience as a mechanic as I continue to knock the rust off my skills after being out of the shop for two and a half years.

Here is another picture from the nose bowl fabrication process which was also shown in our last prayer letter.  Here I was getting ready to make it line up with the holes that were already drilled from the last pod install. 

There were several parts that needed paint, so I had some practice sharpening my painting skills.  

During a pod install it goes on and off the plane about 3 times.  Here is a picture of the pod waiting for its final install.

Here the pod is installed and waiting its return to service flight after almost 3 months on the ground.  It made the flight and everything checked out!


Enough airplane stuff Will how is the family?  Well here is a little taste of the last couple weeks...

This picture is of a bat Gracie and Nan found on the playground here on base.  The neighbor likes to shoot them at night with a bb gun for food.  This one got hit but took refuge under the covering of the playground and later fell in the morning just in time for morning play time.  Since it was still warm the yard worker took it home for food.  Everyone asks why Nan didn't take it and I tell them it's because she didn't have a recipe for bat.

This made me so happy.  We have several rats that keep us company in our ceiling here so I am always trying to lower the population.  This is one of them on a "lem tikus" board which is basically sticky cardboard.  Once the rat gets on they cannot get off.  I come along, fold it up, and dispose.  Pretty slick.  

This is a typical scene of what Gracie looks like when I walk back to the playground directly after work.  Nan says, "ok she's all yours I am going inside to start dinner."  Then she usually goes to the dry sand or pets one of the many golden retrievers on base.  Let's just say there is a certain satisfaction in being showered and in the air conditioning at the end of the day.

This past week we were assigned to Wamena and will be moving there in November.  It is up in the mountains and more central in Papua.  We will be visiting there this week and will post some pictures of our future house, etc soon.  

Goodbye Salatiga hello Papua!

It has been a long road.  Although we were really glad to be done with language school we were also sad to leave our friends there.  We are thankful for the relationships we started and continue to have there.

Our dear friends Pak Bambang and Ibu Santi...yes and Pak Bambang does have a Blazers shirt on...awesome  Great times at our last meal together in Salatiga.

Here are a couple family self portraits in front of our Salatiga house, which surprisingly only took about 10 minutes

We initially arrived here in Papua about the second week of March, Will worked for three weeks and then we all hopped on another plane back to Jakarta, which if you are not familiar with Indonesian geography its like taking a plane ride across the U.S.  It has been a couple weeks now after getting back from there and we are also sorting out our belongings that have come from both language school and America.  Mom is happy because she has her kitchen tools and dad is happy because he has his tools for work.

Although, we are still living in the same country as when we were in language school it is like a different country.  We are thankful for the MAF community here to help us adjust.  Many people here we already knew before arriving which was great, especially for Gracie.

A week or so ago we had the pleasure to go up the mountain to General MacArthurs lookout spot when WWII was going on. Tons of history there.  There are several WWII planes in Lake Sentani that guys see when they go scuba diving.  Its crazy all the untouched planes that are down there.  Makes me want to get my dive on (Will). Anyways,  no words for how beautiful it was.  Great to overlook the Sentani airport!

Up the mountain in Sentani Papua

We have been away from internet for a while except for our phones so we are going to start being a little better about keeping everyone up to date with pictures etc.  We are still trying to get in a rhythm as we await our final assignment.

Will just finished helping to get a pod on a Kodiak.  Good news it stayed on for the test flight ;)  We will get some of those pictures soon for everyone to see what it is I (Will) do here on the other side of the world.

Thank you so much to everyone for all your support through this process.  Transition is tough, and with a 1.5 year old it is even harder so thank you everyone for your prayers!