Connections … and Reconnections

2011

Both previous times in southeast Asia had surprise endings. In 2011, we left Papua New Guinea (PNG) by medivac to Singapore when Julie’s pelvis was broken. Cynthia Ow, the nurse on the medivac, stayed up all night taking care of Julie and making sure she was okay.  Her care did not end there. She returned to the hospital the next morning with a cell phone for Jon (so he and Julie could keep in contact). Julie noticed the cross around Cynthia’s neck, and Cynthia confirmed that she is a Christian. After we were released, she met with us again for breakfast before we flew home.

She and Julie have been Facebook friends ever since.

2019

On our way home from West Timor, we stopped two nights in Singapore and stayed with Cynthia. It was wonderful! We met Cynthia’s family and just enjoyed each other’s company. We revisited Tangs Department Store and the Botanical Gardens, and Cynthia met up with us to see some new places. Now we hope she can come visit us here—and stay a few weeks so we can show her around and have more time together.

2014

In 2014, Julie’s mom was hospitalized with heart and breathing issues. Just weeks after arriving, Julie needed to get home to her mom. Jon planned to stay in PNG and continue working. For three weeks, it was impossible to get flights out of PNG, and it takes five flights on four airlines to get home. When a seat finally opened up, Julie booked the other four flights with an 18-hour layover in New Zealand. David and Christine Foris, a couple from Wycliffe NZ, heard about her traveling alone and made contact. They picked her up at the Auckland airport at midnight, gave her a comfy bed, fed her (three meals), took her sightseeing, and returned her to the airport late in the evening. Seven weeks later, they did the same for Jon. We were so grateful.

2019

So, on our way to West Timor we stopped in New Zealand and overnighted with Christine. (David was away with their son.) It was so nice to spend more time getting to know Christine and her Cousin Nancy who was visiting. We learned that David and Christine were part of Wycliffe Mexico Branch and were the translators of the Chinantec New Testament (published in 1986). How rich our lives are because of meeting these amazing people! Again, our hearts overflow with gratitude.