Galuma and Wawato are pillars of our church group in Kewa, the village where we live. Wawato retired two years ago from teaching in the public school. She is physically handicapped, so her husband, Galuma, travelled to Port Moresby to take care of the necessary paperwork so she could receive her pension. The pension was long in coming, and Galuma had to remain in the city for a year. Wawato became ill and was referred to the hospital in Port Moresby.

From time to time, we would see Galuma on our visits to Port Moresby. His cheerfulness always lifted our spirits. But we and many others missed having our dear friends in the village. Shortly before our furlough, Wawato’s pension finally came, and she recovered her health. She and Galuma were anxious to get back to village life.

When we returned from furlough, we were surprised to learn that Galuma and Wawato were still in Port Moresby. We went to visit them and found them looking haggard and sad. Their return travel tickets that were supposed to be provided them had not come, and the officer who was to sign the check for the tickets had been removed from office. Laurie and I offered them a ride with us on the mission plane when we returned to the village.

After the flight to Balimo and the dinghy ride up the river to Kewa, I noticed a change in Galuma and Wawato. The look of weakness was replaced with a look of confidence and strength. I’ll never forget the reunion on the bank of the river where family and friends tearfully hugged and kissed each other after being apart for so long. I think it was a foretaste of the great reunion in heaven.

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