Chapter 7
An Airplane Ride or Death!
Eventually, in April 1963, the Steinkrauses were scheduled to return to the states for their first furlough.
It was more than five years since they had seen their families in Wisconsin and Arizona. However, Dr.
Ken Pike, a renowned linguist from SIL, had planned to travel to New Guinea for a special workshop on
language development. Walt and Vonnie decided to stay in New Guinea to take advantage of the
workshops and also to develop a greater relationship with the Tifalmin peop K