Arriving At Yehebi

The Yehebi airstrip was built in the mid 1980s when we lived there.

We have had several communication challenges with blogging and even receiving email at Yehebi. I guess it was a pipe dream to think we could make things work out in the far corner of the jungle. Since we flew out for a few days to get errands done, I hope to post several short stories while we have internet access. Then we are not sure if we can get things working when we return to Yehebi. My posts here may be few. But for my family, friends, and students, you can read these few stories of what is happening with us. 

We arrived at Yehebi on February 9th with a huge load of cargo on a twin otter. Dale and I had seats in the back, so we took a picture. (I told you before we had a lot of shopping to do!)

Our own food, relief food for the Yehebi people, sewing machines, water tanks, and other needed supplies for the station.

Unloading one of the water tanks.

Many were waiting at the airstrip for our arrival, and all the supplies were unloaded within a few minutes. As you can see from the photo, one of the water tanks is being unloaded. That is one of the reasons we needed to get a larger plane. Those are hard to get in a smaller plane.

Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) flies in many countries helping people and missionaries in remote places.

 After many handshakes and greetings, everyone grabbed something to carry to the old mission house (built in the mid 1980s when we lived there). 

Some of our old friends followed us in to have a chat and welcome us. We laughed that we are all now “getting old.”

After chatting, my first thing was to get our bedroom clean and in order for the first night at Yehebi. In only four hours dusk would come and with no electricity, I wanted to accomplish that first. The house had been swept and the glass louvers washed before our arrival, but I needed to wash the floor, dig out sheets and pillows, and get the four-inch foam mattress on the bed. I set to work to find what I needed to sweep the floor again and wash the floor. It was an on-your-knees washing since no mop was available.

Before long, the floor was clean, and the bed was ready for sleeping. Then I dug out the Walmart bedcover and the curtains I sewed from Items purchased at Goodwill—old white shower curtains and a large bedsheet which matched the color in the spread. Made from polyester, these would be lightweight and durable. With six windows in the room, I knew we needed curtains.

This was perfect for a cheap option for our jungle bedroom. This is the same bed my father came and built for us many years ago. 

The first night was peanut butter sandwiches and a glass of water with boiled eggs and tangerines brought from Mt. Hagen.  I knew the little gas stove would not be hooked up right away, so I came in prepared.

The next several days were spent cleaning, organizing, and setting up the kitchen. Without running water or electricity this was a challenge, but buckets of water hauled up helped me get everything as clean as possible…for a house in the jungle.


(C) 2016 Carin G. LeRoy