CHAPTER 24

The joys and setbacks of missionary life in Kupang

We were very fortunate to have an excellent doctor in Kupang. Very early after our arrival we needed one for our children, and the Stephens suggested their doctor, Te Su Han, an ethnic Chinese and officer in the Police Force, one of three doctors in Kupang. When he experienced racial discrimination he changed his name to Tedjasudhana, a Javanese sounding name. In no time we became good friends with him and his wife Lilian.

In August 1970 Han gave us all a mighty shock. Alison had been to see him with a lump in her breast, and he advised her to go to Darwin without delay to have the lump removed. "One cannot be too careful with these lumps. If they are malignant, they grow very fast".

She was booked on the first flight to Darwin via Dili. There followed a couple of anxious weeks for us in Kupang. She couldn't phone us nor send any messages to us, so we were greatly surprised and overjoyed, when one day she just appeared in the doorway, with the good news that the lump had been removed and that it had been benign. I realised how much we were in God's hands, particularly in a place which had few medical facilities. We thanked God for his continued protection.

Our staff had been absolutely marvellous during Alison's absence. The household continued its routine, except that our children missed out on their English school in the afternoon. But they did not seem to mind!

About a month before Christmas 1970 our luggage finally arrived. We could hardly believe it. We went straight to Tenau, Kupang's harbour, but when we saw the wharfies unloading our things, we received a terrible shock. They brought things to shore almost item by item, not packed at all. Grace Bros. had assured us that they would pack all things into water-tight containers, but instead we saw the Persian rugs, kitchen items, even the baby's bath, walking ashore on the wharfies' backs. We were glad to be on hand to watch things, for many items could have just disappeared. As it was when we started unpacking, quite a few items were missing. But that did not dampen our joy. It was really like Christmas for everyone. Long forgotten things were unpacked. We now even had a fridge, which

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