I hadn't intended on posting again so soon, but I just got a message that I wanted to share. The next paragraph came from an email sent by Randy Smith, the missionary with whom I will be working. He is discussing the road that links us to the nearest town of any size where we can get mail, visit the bank, and buy supplies.
"The road is presently thoroughly closed. Our options for getting ourselves and supplies in and out of the bush have dwindled to the point that walking 25km to Nomane to catch a New Tribes airplane or paying SIL quite a bit of money ($380 to over $900 depending on how many of us are going and from what base the chopper is coming) are our best two options. Two days ago Brother Sailas and I flew into Nomane and walked home to Kiari. We saw first-hand the condition of the road. Two areas are especially bad and really cannot be fixed adequately without a machine of some kind. I am checking into purchasing a strong motorcycle or a four-wheeler for ferrying passengers and supplies b/t the Nomane airstrip and Kiari when the road is closed. Of course, we're still trying to get the airstrip moving ahead, but things move slowly in PNG. We are still waiting to see the new regulations that the CAA is supposed to be writing re rural airstrips."
The road has always been a challenge, but it has become more of a problem in the last year or so. I would appreciate your prayers about the situation. To get a little bit of an idea what the issue is, click here. Note especially the position of the rear passenger tire:-) This picture was taken just a few weeks ago, but the road was still passable at that point. It apparently has deteriorated even further.
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