March 16, 2000

My knee surgery was successful. The problem was that the cartilage under the kneecap was torn. He went in using arthoscopy and smoothed out the cartilage. It should be better in 6 weeks. I also went to the physical therapist three times and he gave me excercizes to do. I've had less pain than I expected, and the PT said that my knee was doing better than normal after this sort of surgery. I think that is due to your prayers - thank you.

On Doctor's orders I'm taking one more week off before going back to teaching. During this week I'll be resting my knee, but also doing correspondence and hopefully my taxes from both the US and PNG.

I had a great time in Australia. I saw some of the tourist sites in the Cairns area. We went to a rainforest habitat and I got to pet a koala and had a big ostrich-like bird (cassowary) try to eat out of my lap. It was also my first time seeing a beautiful tropical beach like the ones you see on postcards and cruise commericals.

We shopped until we were didn't want to see another store. (Most malls had wheelchairs, so I got to experience looking really handicapped)

One day we did the popular tourist attraction of going to the town of Kuranda. There is a skyrail that takes you there. It's like a ski lift only much longer and the appeal is that you can look down at the rainforest. We could see the different trees and look through in some places to the vegetation on the forest floor. We saw some birds too, and the view of the hills and the ocean in the distance was great. There were a few stops on the way with guided tours and education about the rainforest. Kuranda itself was rather disappointing unless you wanted to spend the money to go to birdworld or the butterfly sanctuary. We just went shopping and every store was the same - Australian tourist junk. How many stuffed koalas does one tourist need? But the ride back was great. It was on a renovated train. The track was built by hand in the 1800s and the views were amazing. The best part was the Barron Falls. Because they just had a cyclone with a lot of rain, there was as much water going over it as Niagra Falls. It was a very full day, but I really enjoyed it.

It was strange going back to a more developed country for the first time since coming to PNG, but I think that it was good to get a foretaste of it before the shock of coming home in July 2001.

I have more good news - we have a principal for next year at the primary school. One of the recently arrived High School teachers named Mark Mason has administrative experience and has agreed to the position. It may be difficult since he won't have much experience in the culture here, but I think that he will do a good job and I will enjoy working under him. We're still in need of a few classroom teachers, but I know that God will provide them even though we don't see the way.

Thank you for your prayers and support during this time,

Kimberly

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens" - Psalm 68:19