The pilot of the Airbus A350 – 900 aircraft on the runway at the Tullamarine international airport pushed the throttles forward and the whisper of the Rolls-Royce Trent jet engines became a subdued roar as 40 tonnes of thrust from each of the two engines accelerated the 280-tonne mass of the fully laden aircraft down the runway. Soon, the scenery outside the aircraft windows was flashing by at 260 kilometres per hour and the plane nose lifted, and my wife and I were in the air bound for Singapore 6,000 kilometres away. We were travelling to visit our son, Tim, and his wife, Kristen, and their children, Mikayla, Joshua and Chloe, living in Cambodia where they serve with the Pioneers mission.

With seven hours of flight time ahead, I pulled out a copy of Joni Eareckso