Update from the Timor Leste Mission, Maliana (December 2016)

Blessings from Maliana, reporting on my first time to the new mission in Timor Leste. In early December 2016, I undertook my first visit to the new Timor Leste Missionaries of the Poor mission which is currently based in Maliana, roughly four hours drive south west of Dili. The trip to Dili from Brisbane entailed, a flight to Darwin, followed by an overnight stay in Darwin, then a very early flight (5.45 am departure) from Darwin arriving in Dili at 6.30 am local time. Because of the opportunity to spend the morning in Dili, it was a great chance to do some shopping and buy some supplies for the brothers and their community, in addition to purchasing food for the very remote Saburai community, found in the mountains south of Maliana, (this community also contains a leper colony).

So, this post gives you an idea of my travels to Dili and what Dili looks like. For the next post, I will look at Maliana and will make a visit to the Saburai area.

P.S. Just some travel advice for people contemplating visiting the missions at Timor Leste or Indonesia. Since this was my first visit to Timor Leste, I decided to renew all my vaccinations, so before departure I made a visit to my GP and had all my vaccinations updated, including the latest precautions against mosquito borne infections. This visit to the GP for vaccine updates, etc. was also necessary for our future visits to the Indonesian mission in Labuan Bajo, Flores.

I will see you again soon for the next post.

God bless you

Trevor and Tina