Thank you for praying for our safe arrival! It was definitely the longest and probably most eventful trip we have ever taken as a family. Throughout the whole trip we encountered many stressful situations. BUT, GOD undertook for us each and every time and provided a means for us to continue on our journey. Here are just a few examples:
1. Even though we were not going to be able to fly out of Goroka on schedule because of an all night rain and poor visibility, the Lord opened a window of time for us to take off from the airport and get above the dense fog that was settling in.
2. Three hours later, we landed on an isolated airstrip in Vanimo. Even though we had called and prearranged for a rental taxi to meet us at the airport to take us to the border crossing, there was none to be found. After calling the taxi manager and explaining the situation to him, he apologized for renting all the vehicles out and offered his personal vehicle for us to use.
3. After waiting for two hours at the border in the hot sun for our second prearranged taxi that never showed up, we had the border guards call a local person who had a taxi service that they recommended. He seemed eager enough to take us wherever we wanted to go so we squeezed into his little car. The language barrier became a stressful thing when we realized he wasn't understanding where we wanted him to take us. In the end, I pointed down the road and said the name of the town we were supposed to be going to. He nodded his head excitedly and sped away weaving in and out of traffic on those narrow mountain passes. Two hours later, when we arrived at our town, I gave him the street name, which ironically, I found out later just meant literally "left hand turn". After we realized he was never going to find the street, I was able to find a phone to call the guesthouse, and they sent someone over right away to pick us up. When they saw our driver and our car…all they said, was "Wow! You guys alright?" :)
4. We spent two nights at the mission house in Sentani. We were thankful for English speakers, Christian fellowship, and some good AC to help us acclimate to the tropical heat and recoup from the stressful situation.
5. We left the mission house to board our plane, and while we were waiting at our gate, the guesthouse caretaker suddenly showed up with an extra suitcase we had left behind by mistake.
6. We got off the flight for a brief stretch in the Bali airport. When we got back on the airplane and were getting ready to taxi out onto the runway the announcer got on the radio and said there was something wrong with the plane and we were going to have to find another plane to our destination. We were glad to get off the airplane of course, but found that there was only one airplane that would leave in time to make the next part of our International connection. There were less than a dozen seats left on that airplane and lots of people trying to get those seats. After trying to explain my situation in English and not getting very far, an AOG missionary spoke up for us in Indonesian, and pleaded that we be allowed to get on the airplane. Those in charge agreed to let us on. We never saw this man again, but were grateful that God used him to help us meet our next connection. This all happened in less than 15 minutes, and I thought...surely, they will never get our luggage organized so that we can check it in for our International flight, but to our amazement...our luggage was all there waiting for us at baggage claim when we arrived.
7. After reaching Jakarta, we thought we were through the worst part of it all. We had no idea the stress we would find when walking up to the customs counter we were told that we were in the country illegally and would not be allowed to board the plane. Even though we had passed through the customs counter properly at the border crossing, they had not stamped our passports with the proper stamp. So as far as the officers in Jakarta were concerned, we were there illegally. They held us in customs for over an hour as they called people to validate our story. Finally after sufficient proof was found they stamped our passports. The customs official, seeing our urgency, had called ahead and asked the plane to wait for us. What a nervous time that was for all of us. (Oh, I almost forgot - in the middle of it all - Jessica was wiggling on her molar and it suddenly fell out, with no bathroom in the vicinity.)
8. We arrived and checked into our free hotel in Singapore at 12 midnight and were up at 4am for our next flight to Chicago. Even though it was a short rest, it was much needed for our next part - an 18 hour flight.
9. When we arrived in Chicago our connecting flight had been cancelled due to a malfunction of the airplane, however, eventually, they were able to route another plane to us and we were able to make it to Columbus, with all our bags!
Thank you for your prayers for us. We could clearly see the Lord at work in each of the situations we experienced. As we went through each step of the adventure, what a joy it was to be able to rest in the Lord to take care of us. The kids all did well for the most part on the long trip. Logan didn't have much trouble with ear pain so that was an answer to prayer as well.
We have enjoyed being reunited with our family, and hope to start getting out to visit friends soon. With the combination of bad weather, sickness, and jet lag, we were pretty much housebound the first couple of weeks. Now we are starting to venture out---check out our
http://www.jansmajournal.com/ in the coming days for some recent pictures.
Sincerely,
Philip, Kristi, Jessica, Karina, Logan and Olivia Jansma
Daddy - hurry up, I am cold!
Logan learning to play like Beethoven.
Interacting with Dino the Dinosaur.
So am I positively charged?
These sinks are WAY to cool!.
Learning to fly my own hot air balloon.
Daddy, you didn't tell me it was THIS high!
