Settling in at Ukarumpa

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Opa and Joyce
Koki, the beloved bird
Our house in Ukarumpa
We've been back home in Ukarumpa for ten days now, and we're loving
being in the highlands of Papua New Guinea again. We love our home, and
it's been wonderful to unpack and settle in to our own place again. On
our first day back, we reconnected with good friends, like Opa, our
Papua New Guinean mother/grandmother. Many of you have heard her story
and will be glad to know that she is doing well; the Aiyura Valley
(where Ukarumpa is located, and where Opa lives) has enjoyed a
relatively peaceful year while we've been away.

The kids have been loving their time in Ukarumpa. They're on school
break for the next few weeks, and that means plenty of time to spend
with friends. James has been especially busy getting together with his
best friends. Joyce and I have enjoyed seeing how quickly those
friendships pick up where they left off. Cameron and Will are having a
great time caring for our pet bird, Koki--a sulfur-crested cockatoo,
native to PNG.

I'm diving right in, learning my new role--Director for Language
Services (DLS). It's meant a lot of meetings, getting caught up on
what's been happening in the last year. I love the team of people I get
to work with, and I'm looking forward to working with them and
contributing to the direction of the work we're all committed to here.
I'm grateful that my predecessor is still in Ukarumpa for the next few
weeks, and for the excellent job he did as DLS during the last year. He
and I have had really good times working through this transition. I'll
be writing a lot more in the near future about what the new job entails.

But just as I'm learning a new role, I'm heading out to the Solomon
Islands to attend the Festival of Pacific Arts, which connects me to my
other continuing job as ethnomusicologist. Tomorrow I fly to Port
Moresby and meet up with another PNG Arts Team member, and then on
Sunday we'll go together to Honiara, Solomon Islands, to attend the
Festival. I'll write more about the Festival (with pictures) as I'm
there (if I have internet access) or soon after I return to Ukarumpa.
Thank you for your prayers for all of us in our return journey to PNG.
It's quite an experience traveling back here, and we had a great time.

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