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
From Darwin to Dili, Timor Leste
Brisbane to Darwin leg
Overnight at the Mercure Hotel, Darwin Airport precinct
Early morning departure 5.45 am flight Darwin to Dili with AirNorth
Entrance documents for Timor Leste
Arrived Dili Airport
Airport car park, Dili
Tribute to the Timor Leste soldiers
We needed a vehicle for the week
An early lunch at Rodger’s house
Then off to the grocery store
Leader Supermerkadu
The supermerkadu is just next to the Toyota dealership
Br Jimmy Pia gets to work
With some help from Br David
Starting to wrap things up
Christmas in Dili
Shopping is finished so we head off to Maliana
Public transport Dili style
Even Burger King is here
Maliana here we come……see you at the next post
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