Leveling the plane at 1000 feet, I can almost see from one end of Palau to the other. The northern tip of the biggest island hides behind lush hills, but to the south countless islands dot the sea. Palau’s islands range in size from two trees wide to 36 miles long. Water varies in color from sandy beaches to pale green reefs to deep blue in narrow channels and over the drop-offs into the wild ocean beyond. Even if it weren’t so beautiful, we’d both be thrilled to be flying again.

We cannot thank you enough for standing beside us in prayer. After a strained ankle, a coral cut requiring an ER visit and two stitches, a lost wedding ring (found / returned 5 days later!), a day of incapacitating illness and a blown truck tire, all in three weeks, it is clear we have some resistance to us being here. While in a sense opposition encourages us because it tells us the enemy is unhappy, it is knowing that you labor beside us in prayer that strengthens us to stay the course and keep moving forward. So thank you!

Through Shan (the departing pilot) and his wife Karen (the admin guru), God has been bountifully answering your prayers: our check-out in the plane took less than two weeks and administrative details required to live here just slightly longer. The last week of September, much good information was shared and relationships strengthened during meetings with PMA staff from other islands. We now press forth with a clearer understanding of our mission here, praying that God would further refine that direction and bless the work as we look to follow hard after His lead. We’d also love for Him to help us find a more permanent home here on the island. Will you join us today in requesting these things of Him?

The PMA Islander unloading outside the Angaur terminal (on the left). Beside the terminal is the airport toilet (white roof). Slick grabs the scale from inside the plane’s aft baggage door while locals unload cargo from the pick-up parked on the runway. All 6,000 feet of the WWII-era strip looks like the bit you can see in the foreground. More pictures will be available on Flickr in early November, we hope. Internet here is so slow we can’t view our Flickr site, let alone upload to it… For more of our first impressions of Palau, enjoy Donna’s blog at donnadouglass.com.