Urim songwriting workshop: Traveling there

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Thank you all so much for your prayers during the two weeks I was with the Urim people in the East Sepik Province. As you've read from Joyce's updates, the songwriting workshop went incredibly well. What I'd like to do now is write a series of posts about different aspects of leading a village songwriting workshop. I hope you enjoy some visual glimpses of the experience, as well as hearing a few examples of the beautiful songs that came about during the workshop.

The first part of a village workshop is, of course, getting there. Those of you who have been following our news for a while have read about some of the difficult journeys I've taken to reach the destinations. By contrast, the trip out to Urim was very simple: helicopter. 


Travel days that begin with aviation usually start with an early-morning pick-up at our house in Ukarumpa, and a ride in the SIL Aviation van out to Aiyura Airstrip. So at 6 a.m. that morning, my cargo and I boarded the van and headed to the airstrip. By 8:00 I and my fellow passenger, the expatriate translator working with the Urim, were on our way. Flying in PNG is always a fantastic experience; here are some of the panoramas I enjoyed this time:

The rugged Bismarck Range, which includes Mount Wilhelm, PNG's highest point (14,793 ft.)


The Urim area is in the East Sepik Province--the same province where we lived with the Alamblak for our first few years in PNG, and also where I've traveled two other times for music workshops with the Sos Kundi people. But where my other East Sepik experiences have been in flat lowlands, this area is a series of hills and ridges:

On the ridge to the right of the village is the cell tower. I was really grateful for that tower; it's great to be able to text and talk with Joyce and the kids every day while I'm away.
We landed at a soccer field near the house where I would be living. The village residents were waiting there with a warm welcome:

Landing . . .
. . . and then waving good-bye to the helicopter.

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