The Hoffman Family: That was then...This is now

That was then...
David's first day of kindergarten      It was a sunny day in the highlands of what was then the Territory of New Guinea. Excitement was in the air that January morning in 1969! I was five years old and it was my first day of kindergarten. I was going to ride the old blue and white double-decker bus two miles to the Aiyura 'A' School. As you can see from the picture, I wore a nice button-down shirt tucked into my shorts. I'd never wear them now, but my mom had me in some dark socks with my sneakers. It's hard to tell from the black and white photo, but that is probably a red Philadelpia Phillies cap on my head.
     I don't remember everything about my first year of school, but a few things are tucked away in my mind. The class was a combination class, made up of kindergarten and grade one. Our teacher was Miss Holsinger. (By the way, many years later Miss Holsinger attended my wedding!) I'm not sure who started school with me that year, but I think Ailsa, Rick, and Doug may have been there. Over the years quite a few people joined and left our class. Ultimately, I would leave PNG one year before I was to graduate from high school. Not being able to graduate with my PNG class is one of the biggest regrets of my life.
     The school I went to was a school for missionary kids. About 100 students from kindergarten through grade six attended the school while I was there. The school was just across the road from the JAARS hanger and the airstrip. Each day I could look out the window of the classroom and see Cessna 206 airplanes taking off and landing. Even if I couldn't look out the window, I could hear the sound of the aircraft echoing through the small valley. In the picture below you can just make out the end of the grass and dirt airstrip in the upper left-hand corner. The yellow dot marks our house, and the red line indicates the road to the school and airstrip.
     Thirty-one years later, children of Wycliffe Bible Translator missionaries still attend the school at Aiyura. However, things have changed. The school currently has an enrollment of 174, with two classes in grades 3 and 4. It is now called Ukarumpa International School - Primary Campus.

This is now...
Taylor and his classmates It is the year 2000 and Taylor is now in kindergarten. Just like his father, he is a missionary kid. Just like his father, he is going to a small school for children of missionaries. Just like his father, his classroom is across the street from an airstrip where Cessna 206 airplanes take off and land. This time the planes are MAF planes, not JAARS planes.
Including Taylor, there are four kids in his class. Curtis is the son of a doctor at the HCJB hospital in Shell. Kendra is the daughter of one of the men in the maintenance department. Israel is the son of one of the teachers at the Nate Saint school.