It is written, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles” (Isa. 40:31).
As our plane circled the soggy landing strip, I scanned the perimeter for any signs of life. I wondered if the message I’d sent of our arrival had been received and understood. David and Cindy White had told us before they left on furlough that the Gogodala people would welcome us warmly. Still, I imagined our family sitting beside the grass strip in the rain for hours with our thousand pounds of cargo piled high waiting for someone to come along and help us.

The Lord had been good to allow us the privilege of being the first missionary passengers on this brand new mission plane operated by Adventist Aviation Services. At a time when domestic PNG flights were being scaled back and no flights landed in Balimo on a consistent basis, we had been concerned about how to get ourselves and our stuff to our destination. Now, providentially, two fine Christian pilots were flying us in a private plane big enough for our supplies, which normally would have had to be sent separately on a cargo ship.

On our second pass around the airfield, I peered out the rain-streaked window and noticed a white truck moving along the muddy road below. Suddenly, emotion overtook me and tears welled up in my eyes. Behind the truck was a stream of people not just walking but running toward the airport. By the time we landed, two more trucks had arrived, and a crowd of people had gathered beside the airstrip to welcome us. These were our people, the ones God had called us to work with. After a beautiful ceremony in which they presented us with leis, they sang us a song specially written for the occasion. “Welcome home to Balimo, our friends from Michigan.”

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