Just a few days before Matt proposed to me, we headed off for the start of our trip. We went to Madang with the Mission Aviation Fellowship Conference. This is their yearly gathering of all the staff in PNG to fellowship, worship together, relax, and renew friendships. I was so blessed to be able to go. I was on call Thursday night, but finished my rounds quickly Friday morning. Then I rushed to the airport. There, I boarded the twin otter plane to fly down with a group. It was a beautiful flight over the valleys of PNG. We even passed Mt. Wilhelm, the tallest peak in the country. Finally we arrived to balmy, beautiful Madang. We stayed at Jais Aben, a resort hotel. During the 3 1/2 day retreat, we enjoyed meals together, wonderful worship-led by other missionaries, amazing views of the ocean, and great teaching. Pastor Phil came up from Cairns to lead us for the retreat. I was able to meet about 75 new people. That was really nice to meet and get to know more of the MAF family around PNG. We also were able to snorkel (well sort of, we had a storm and it was pretty muddy, but still fun). Swim, play games, and just rest. It was a wonderful time, and we hope they will do retreat there again next year!
