King Air 200, Honduran 206, & HR

King Air
The King Air phase inspection for Gospel Carrier International continues. The guys are making good headway on the project. Most of the inspection has been completed and modification of the air-conditioning system is underway. It won't be long before the seats and interior go back in, inspection covers and access panels are screwed in place, and the cowl sections are secured around the engines.

There are four other mechanics working on the King Air while Dale and Ian organize parts and documentation at the table.

Gertjan safety-wires an engine component.

Honduran 206
Praise the Lord progress continues with the Honduran 206. While Josh and Chuck continued their work on the wings, Mike and Bob worked together to "swage" new control cables for the airplane.

Mike and Bob

Human Resources
I was working on all kinds of things today besides the daily phone and email routine: preparing my end-of-month report for the board & staff, compiling the breakdown of hours worked in the hangar over September, preparing for the SMT meeting on Thursday, working with some photographs, communicating with approved candidates, pulling the MMS Weekly Update together, and preparing to lead this Thursday's group discussion on discovering and defining the MMS vision which entails research, document creation, photocopying, and the hardest of all...thinking.

With all that going on, 4:00 PM rolled around rather fast today. I know the administrative side of ministry isn't typically what first comes to mind when thinking about reaching the lost in remote locations but let me assure you, my pounding on a keyboard here in Coshocton, Ohio does result in strategic impact around the world through our ministry with MMS Aviation. Thanks for being a part of it through your gifts and prayers.

Coshocton County Fair: September 26 - October 2

One of the biggest events in the local culture each year is the Coshocton County Fair. The fair is actually the last one on the fair circuit in Ohio each year and the fair's arrival is big news and big doings around here. Businesses shut down, all the schools close, and all conversation is geared to displays, competitions, ribbons, awards, auctions, and where to get the best deal on fair food.

The fair kicked off Friday with the tractor pull, followed by the rodeo, Saturday, concerts Sunday and Monday, demolition derby on Wednesday, and Rough Truck contest on Thursday. Zowie.

Horses, ponies, beef cows, dairy cows, bulls, goats, pigs, sheep, rams, llamas, chickens, roosters, turkeys, ducks, rabbits...you name it, if it has two legs or four legs, whether it walks or flies, the kids around here grow em and show em. Of course there are competitions for every type of vegetable and grain and flower and fruit as well. It's kind of fun to live in a farming community. You know, where 4-H and the Future Farmers of America are the biggest "gangs" around.

The fair is underway right now. Karen and I walked over to the fair grounds this evening and checked out all the exhibits and livestock. It was fun to see that several kids from MMS won ribbons with their animals. We drank fresh lemonade, ate a "Buck-Tater" from Gary's Southern Style BBQ Wagon (a baked potato loaded with butter and sour cream smothered under pulled-pork or smoked beef brisket). Totally good. Karen had her traditional Carmel Apple and I finished out the evening with a corn dog and a soft-serve cone. After livestock...the fair is all about food.It was a warm evening, we saw many people we knew, and enjoyed walking, talking, eating and holding hands when we weren't holding food. You're never too old to hold hands!

Looking down the "Midway."

Can you find Karen in the pumpkin display?

So, What Do YOU Do?

There is one struggle I have found that many missionary wives have in common (myself included!). It's during a speaking engagement while representing your ministry. It might be a dinner or a church or while you are on deputation. Suddenly the attention turns from your spouse, whom you are dutifully standing next to and being a good supportive wife, and unexpectedly someone looks straight at you and says: 'So, what do YOU do?' The answer that comes to my mind immediately is "I have no idea what all I do but it always seems to keep me extremely busy with ministry!" I've yet to give that as an answer and probably never will. But, that question is one of the reasons that I like Fridays.

There's a lot of reasons I like Fridays. It's the end of the week, I get to work with Keith at the mission, I experience the joys of being with the other missionaries and sharing in the excitement of the work being done in the hangar, and it gives me a good answer for that question that people ask! I know exactly what I do on Fridays! I process donations to the mission, issue receipts to the donors, and am the mailing list manager for MMS. I really do love working for the Lord at MMS. Some weeks receipting and mailing list management takes a lot more than Fridays and that's OK. Three other primary ministries I have is to be available to the mission and mission families at a moment's notice, to keep our home ready for guests to arrive without warning, and to assist Keith as his HR assistant in various interviews and orientations. I'm pleased to be able to meet those needs when I can.
While I was at the hangar today I thought I'd take the opportunity to show you some pictures of Keith working today. He has a pretty straight forward answer to what HE does. But, the truth is, he wears some hats you may not be aware of. I followed him around today when he left his office to catch some photos of the guys working. Generally when we take a photo of someone taking a photo we're just joking around. But, this is Keith doing what he does! Pictures are of great importance at MMS and are used for newsletters, GroundCrew, record keeping, documentation, blogs and more. Keith takes most all of those pictures. He keeps constantly appraised of what is happening and is up and down from his desk often to capture the events of the day on the hangar floor. So, this is a picture of the guys working. The guy in the pictures that's taking a picture, he's working too!Keith is a wiz at pictures. He's also quite good at PhotoShop. The picture you see here with the ugly and distracting white bottle is one he didn't want me to use. But I'll use it for an illustration about how well he does his job. That white bottle is there because he pulled it out of the picture HE was taking so it wouldn't be distracting to you (or need a PhotoShop surgical extraction!). Nearly all of the hangar photos you see in your MMS GroundCrew are taken and prepped by Keith for publication. It's a part of his job that you never see. He also proof reads and edits everyone's personal newsletters at MMS. (And, when I'm done writing this blog I'll get him to edit it for me before I post it!).

Keith and I love serving our Lord together....even if I can't always describe just exactly what I do all the time!

In the Hangar and At Home

In The Hangar
While Josh, Mike, and Chuck continue work on the Honduran 206, the rest of the guys are all over GCI's King Air 200. The wheels are back on the landing gear and the various aspects of the inspection are occurring simultaneously.

David M. and Paul inflate the nose gear.

Ian reviews a checklist while David M., Paul, and Dennis research parts in one of the King Air maintenance manuals.

Tim, up on the scissors lift, tests the electrical capacity of the "static wicks" along the trailing edge of the rudder.

Keith
My morning was spent preparing for, then leading, a two hour seminar for the group. My afternoon was divided into taking photographs, handling phone calls and emails, reviewing my notes from the presentation, and debriefing the seminar with with various MMS members. Tomorrow my focus is to write-up a summary of the interview Karen and I conducted with Gertjan & Glenda yesterday and to start preparing for the next seminar session next Thursday.

Karen
Karen's busy working on pillows for the quilt she's working on. It's great seeing her have so much fun being creative and developing new sewing/stitching skills. She'll be up at the shop tomorrow to handle receipts and manage the mailing list. It is such a blessing to be able to serve together.

Thank you for your friendship, gifts, and your prayers. Without you there, we couldn't be here!

Wednesday Night

I'm really tired this evening. So's Karen. I just returned from prayer meeting and worship team practice and we're calling it a night. The dogs have had their snacks and we're headed upstairs. Both of us could really use a good night's sleep. I bet you could, too. Let's all have a good night's sleep!

Good night!

Check-out The Progress

Yesterday I showed Josh working on the wing of the Honduran 206 and featured the arrival of the King Air. Well, if you compare the photos in yesterday's post with the photos in today's post, you'll see substantial progress on both airplanes.

Honduran 206
Since yesterday Josh has added substantial structure to the wing section. He is driving all kinds of beautiful rivets into new aluminum.

The rivets are all uniform with textbook "buck-tails" one after the other which means maximum strength and durability in the structure. The "buck-tail" of the rivet is what's left opposite the rivet head after the rivet is driven against the bucking bar. It's the pressure from the compressed and swollen rivet that holds the respective metal pieces together. It takes proper technique with both the rivet gun and with the bucking bar to create a good looking buck-tail. What is a textbook buck-tail? It's where the thickness is 1/2 the diameter of the rivet, and the width is 1 1/2 times the diameter. When you see a good one one, you know one. And Josh is driving a bunch of them.

GCI King Air
Yesterday the King Air arrived and was still on its main landing gear. Today it's pretty well "opened up" and is up on jacks. The inspection is well underway.

The King Air up on jacks in Hangar C.

Project Report

Honduran 206
While work continues on the Honduran 206, it's still slow going. One staff member was pulled from the project to oversee the phase inspections on Gospel Carrier International's (GCI) King Air 200 which arrived today. Mike, Scott G., Josh, and Chuck continue to work on the project.

Here's Josh and the wing he's repairing.

GCI King Air 200
Ian, Scott L., Gertjan, and Tim started the phase inspection process with GCI's King Air. The airplane should be here for two weeks or so.

Here's the King Air being prepared for positioning inside Hangar C.

Chad 206
The Chad 206 project is very near completion. The tip tank installations are complete and the FAA's inspection of the aircraft is currently scheduled for October 6th. Dale, David M., and Paul will assist with the King Air inspection as able.

Here's the 206 outside of Hangar A. David M. is pouring avgas into the tip tanks to check for leaks.

Human Resources
I responded to emails today, shot photos for the project photo files, opened communication with an A&P interested in volunteering with us, followed up with some prospective candidates, edited two newsletters, led a tour, met for several hours with Bob (Training Manager) and Tim (Production Manager), and handled the usual slew of phone calls.

Tuesday and Wednesday I'll be preparing for the group seminar I'm to lead on Thursday.

At Home
We're enjoying perfect weather, the dogs are fine and Karen's started her first "real" quilt. Quilting is part of the culture out here. You can't really "be" from here unless you quilt. So, in the name of cultural adaptation and relational development, Karen's embarked on this new venture. She's pretty handy. That's Pretty AND Handy. All this and Salsa too? Wahoo!

Grandpa Elvin Is In The Building

Tanner's Two Cents
Wow, were we surprised when Keith and Karen came in Thursday evening. We could smell they'd been to the China Buffet before they came up the front steps, but as they came through the front door there was Grandpa Elvin too! Wahoo! Tucker, Hope, and I went into our "Glad you're home, thanks for the visit, what did you bring us" romping routine, running around picking up things in our mouth and doing everything we could to look cute and to make him feel special...Grandpa Elvin had a gift bag in his hand...and if he hadn't already given it to Keith & Karen that could only mean whatever was in that bag WAS FOR US!!

Grandpa Elvin is a coach driver for Executive Coach out of Lancaster, PA and he was in town as the driver for a Bob Neff tour of the area. We looked around for Grandma Mary but when she didn't come right in with the rest of them we knew we could focus on Elvin and the gift bag.

Grandpa Elvin sat down on the couch and started pulling out all kinds of wonderful taste treats for us. I started out with a canine ice cream cone.

And then I helped Tucker clean up the crumbs from her cone (Tucker's in the red collar, I'm in the blue).

Then it was canine cookies, spaniel snacks, and for a few minutes it seemed like the bottomless bag! Well, all too quickly the bag did have a bottom and that was that. But boy was it wonderful while it lasted. I let Elvin scratch me for a while to let him know I appreciated his stopping by and then I went over and sat by Keith just so Keith would know I can't be bought for too long.

Tucker? After the treats came to an end she just hopped up right beside Grandpa Elvin and spent the rest of the evening there until he left. She's shameless. It's all about food for her. It's embarrassing.

Hope came over, ate what she wanted, and then went and laid down. When you're retired like she is, you call your own shots. She was glad to see Elvin. She's known him all her life.

Thanks for the goodies, Grandpa Elvin. We know Grandma Mary had a hand in this too!

Well, that's all for the dog blog right now. Keith's looking like he wants to play catch so I gotta go play the game. It's all part of the job.

Bob Neff, Executive Coach, and MMS Aviation

Thursday morning MMS was privileged to be part of a national tour company's "mystery tour" of Coshocton and the surrounding area. A mystery tour is where the passengers sign up without knowing where or what the specific stops will be.

The trip was organized by Bob Neff Tours with transportation provided by Executive Coach of Lancaster, PA. Dwight and I greeted the 53 visitors outside the hangar at about 10:30 and split the group in two. The tour had just come from a visit to international award-winning Pearl Valley Cheese just down the road. Dwight took his group and started on the hangar floor. I took my group upstairs and started in the administrative area. Eventually we finished in Hangar C and Dwight's group finished upstairs.

It was a fun, attentive group. I always like tours because I have a captive audience for at least 45 minutes. I get to talk, they get to listen. Does it get any better than that? Seriously, it's really nice working with companies like Bob Neff and Executive coach because they're both Christian owned and seek to glorify God through their efforts in the business world.

An additional blessing was having Elvin McMichael as the coach driver. Elvin is Karen's father-in-law through her deceased husband, Darrel. It was great to see Elvin again and Tanner just may spend time tomorrow blogging about Elvin's visit to our home.

Here are some pictures from the tour.

Here I am describing the finer aspects of the Cessna 206 as a missionary workhorse.

Here's my group interacting with the maintenance team on the Chad 206 project. I'm the guy in the lower right hand corner leaning on the elevated platform directly in front of the gentleman in the white shirt.

There goes Elvin and all the mystery tour aficionados as they leave MMS heading into Coshocton for their next unknown stop (Serenity Tea House) for lunch and then on to Annin Flag (America's oldest and largest flag company).

There really is a lot to see and do in Coshocton!

Thank you Bob Neff (and thank you Executive Coach) for including MMS as part of your tour! We enjoyed the group and hope you return real soon.

No Power? No Problem. Coffee Anyone?

The remnants of Hurricane Ike hit Coshocton County hard Sunday evening. Much of the county lost all electrical power. (Some of the county is still without power.) The airport and MMS were no exception. Many of us arrived at a dark MMS on Monday morning and shortly thereafter, with estimates of a week or more before electricity could be delivered again, it was decided we'd just shut down until power was back on line. Phones didn't work, computers couldn't run, internet wasn't available, compressors couldn't provide air pressure for pneumatic tools, batteries wouldn't recharge, the hangars were dark and, without power, two of the three main hangar doors can't realistically be opened.

But by Tuesday, several of our industrious crew couldn't be away from the hangar even if there wasn't any power. The main doors to Hangar A could be opened which would provide plenty of light to perform manual work on the Chad 206. David and Gertjan came in to continue fitting the tip tanks they'd recently painted. Dave S. came in to make some repairs to the exterior of the facility. But without coffee, was any work really capable of being done? Can missions work be accomplished without coffee?

Well, through a meeting of the minds, a solution to the coffee problem was resolved. Here's the solution.

All it takes is one van, one power converter, a short ladder, a coffee maker, coffee, coffee filter and water.

The guys might not have had power in the electrical lines overhead but they came up with a practical way to utilize the available resources to accomplish the task hand. Good missionary training. Good coffee.

Here's Gertjan fitting the passenger side tip tank.
Each tank holds 15 gallons of additional fuel.

The Power Is On And We're Back At MMS

Praise the Lord power was restored to the airport and MMS yesterday evening! Everyone reported to the shop for a normal day of service this morning. However, several of the MMS families are still without power at their home.

Upstairs
My morning was spent responding to all the email that had stacked-up since Friday. Karen came up after lunch and we had the pleasure of meeting with David and Amy to review David's apprenticeship, talk about MMS, and discuss their plans for the future. David is scheduled to finish service with MMS in March. David and Amy intend to serve with United Indian Mission (UIM). UIM's aviation program is based in Tucson and helps speed the gospel from several remote bases in Mexico. Another MMS graduate family currently serves with UIM.

David & Amy (L) and me and Karen (R).

In The Hangar
Work continues on the Chad 206 and the MAG 206 projects.

Here's a shot of Scott G. fabricating a new aluminum floor panel
for the fuselage of the MAG 206.

Tomorrow I hope to have a story and photo of missionary ingenuity related to working at the hangar without power...

MMS Still Without Power/Ron Wayner Visit

Powerless at MMS
We're now completing day two of the MMS shut-down due to no electricity. Yet, there are several people up there working in the available light doing what they can without power or compressed air. Ian is removing paint from the MAG 206 vertical stabilizer, Ian's family is working hard to re-landscape the area beneath the main MMS sign in front of the mission, Mike is using the lunch room to sign in parts, Gertjan and David are finalizing the fit of the freshly painted tip tanks for the Chad 206, and Dave is up there making repairs to the exterior of the facility. Lord willing power will soon be restored so our full crew can get back up there and get back to work.

Ron Wayner Visit
Ron & Barbara Wayner founded Mercy Air in South Africa about 17 years ago. MMS' and my relationship with Ron and Barbara goes back about ten years. MMS has since sent several graduates into service with them. Ron and Barbara are currently wrapping up a Stateside trip prior to returning to Africa to pioneer a new aviation work in Mozombique.

Barbara wasn't able to make the trip down from Michigan, but Ron flew in to fellowship with us and to bring us up to date on Mecy Air's work. It was great to see and talk with Ron again. Karen and I met him at the Coshocton Airport and went over to Bob and Lisa's for lunch and fellowship. Bob is MMS's Training Manager and Lisa is MMS's Coordinator of Ladies' Ministry. They had never met Ron before and we had a wonderful 2 1/2 hours of fellowship talking extensively about mission operations, candidate evaluation, training and the ongoing relationship between our two ministries.

From left to right: Bob, Ron, me, and Lisa. Karen took the snapshot.

Ron and Barbara are scheduled to return to South Africa on September 30th prior to making final preparations to move to Mozombique to develop this new remote base for Mercy Air. They figure it will take at least two years to build the landing strip, the hangar, a flight operations program, and to develop the relationships necessary to turn the base over to younger missionary families to run as part of Mercy Air.

Mercy Air is one of the more than eighty mission aviation organizations we serve, and have served since MMS was founded thirty-five years ago. Thank you for your prayers and gifts which make our service to Mercy Air possible.

Hurricane Ike Visits Coshocton

It's hard to believe a hurricane making landfall in Texas can impact our lives here in Coshocton, Ohio, but it did. Hurricane Ike roared through Coshocton for about four hours yesterday evening with little to no rain but still packing a windy punch. In Coshocton County, more than 7,000 homes and businesses are without power. If you'd like to see pictures, click here.

We're fine at home, though about 1/4 of the city of Coshocton is without power. Trees are down, some businesses and homes are damaged, schools are closed. Many of the homes and businesses that do have power, don't have phones that work...

In an interesting complication based on a correct decision, most of the regional "contract" linemen held in reserve for such emergency situations in Ohio have been sent to Texas to help restore power down there. So estimates of a week or more are being given for most local power outages and the regular linemen are out there working hard without back-up.

MMS is closed as well as there's no power up at the airport. It's amazing how life changes when the electricity stops...

Video of the MAG 206 Project

Here's some video of the dramatic nature of the MAG 206 restoration project.




Thanks for your prayers for this airplane to literally come together!

All Hands On Deck

MMS was recently made aware of the critical need to have the MAG 206 project back on the field in the shortest possible time. Tim, our Production Manager, has responded by moving all available staff and apprentices on the project and dedicating Hangar B to the airplane's completion.

Right now Mike (the team leader), Chuck, Ian, and Josh are on the project. You can see them in the photo. Josh is working on the wing in the foreground, Chuck is working on the other wing, and Ian is working on the vertical stabilizer in the center of the hangar.

The MAG 206 fuselage is in the back of the photo. The fuselage on the right is the Moody 182 project. Starting next week, Scott G. and Scott L. are shifting from the 182 over to assist with the MAG 206 as well. Bob, Dennis, and even Dwight are standing by available to lend their skilled hands whenever and wherever they can be of benefit.

It looked like things were really coming together on the project up until Monday when serious corrosion was discovered in both wings of the airplane. Now both wings need to be disassembled and repaired before they can be attached to the airframe. Here's a photo of the corrosion on one of the nose ribs from one of the wings.

The aluminum is so soft you can push your finger through it. That's not good.

The pressure is on, we're short handed, and GCI's King Air is due to come in on the 22nd to have some repairs made, some modifications installed, and to undergo a phase inspection.

Please pray for our hangar crew as they are stretched thin and doing the best they can with the resources they have.

Team Change Interviews

Karen and I had the pleasure of getting together with Scott and Lela for about an hour and a half this afternoon. Scott and Lela have five boys, have been at MMS for a year now and will probably serve with us for another year in their preparation for field service. They have a high level of interest in Alaska as a mission field.

Scott is a "trainee" mechanic at MMS. That's in contrast to an "apprentice" mechanic. Apprentice mechanics are working toward gaining the experience they need to qualify to take their FAA exams to receive their airframe and powerplant (A&P) certificate. A trainee mechanic already holds an A&P and comes to MMS for our Advanced Training program.

Scott & Lela (L) and me and Karen (R).

We met today as part of the "team change" process at MMS. Every six months, based on their ministry start date, apprentice and trainee mechanics change from one maintenance team to another. Right now MMS has three maintenance teams. This helps vary the experience gained by our mechanics, provides the opportunity to serve under varied leadership styles, and exposes them to different maintenance approaches.

Part of that team change is an interview with me and Karen. Approximately every six months (ideally on or about their actual date of team change) we check with them to find out how they're doing, how they're adapting, discuss their perceptions of MMS at this point of their service, address concerns, provide encouragement and answer any questions they have. It's a great time to chat, laugh, take notes, and yet cover some rather serious components and realities of mission service at MMS and beyond. Their feedback helps us better prepare people and our feedback, Lord willing, helps them be better prepared!

Next Wednesday we're scheduled to interview David & Amy, and the following Wednesday we'll interview Gertjan and Glenda.

Thank you for your gifts and prayers which allow us to serve in this way.

Do Blessings Come in Dozens?

Does God send blessings in groups of 12 and in different shapes, sizes, and flavors? I would say so. And I've included the photo to prove it. There are as many ways as you can imagine to support the mission effort. A long-time friend of MMS surprised us with dozens of little blessings today (blessings as long as you're not a nutritionist, a doctor reading a cholesterol count, or on a diet).

One minute you just casually mention to the Lord how good a donut would taste right about now (just talking with Him, not really praying for an answer) and the next minute God delivers beyond imagination. Day-old or out of date doesn't matter much when it comes to such things in our hangar, or probably any other hangar, but is God good or what? Nothing like couple hundred donuts to make a missionary's day.

It's the small things in life...

Saturday's Project and Salsa Report on Monday

The Handrail Project Is A Success
With Tanner's supervision and guidance, I was able to install the handrail on our front steps Saturday! Along those lines, a big THANK YOU is in order for "Uncle Tim" who stopped by the job site at a very opportune moment to provide some critically needed wisdom and the physical leverage necessary to meet an unforeseen installation challenge.

Here's Tanner watching over the drilling process and providing encouragement.

Here we are enjoying a "job well-done" moment.

Salsa Report
But better than surviving the handrail project, Tanner and I returned inside to find 26 (that's TWENTY-SIX) pints of Karen's Side Street Salsa happily resting on the kitchen counter. Five of those being Karen's new Sarah Palin Salsa (extra kick and bite). Add in the 18 pints from the previous salsa session and that's 44 (FORTY-FOUR) pints of salsa. Five and a half gallons of salsa...Ahhhhhhh.

Not only that, but there may be enough tomatoes left on the vines for one last batch this season. There is no salsa anxiety at 368 McClain.

Friday in the Hangar, Saturday at Home

Friday In The Hangar
Friday wrapped-up in the hangar with all kinds of activity. Ian worked on the Asas 206 headed to Brazil; Chuck pushed ahead with MAG 206 headed to Honduras; Dale, Gertjan, and David prepared the tip tanks for the MAF 206 to be painted that will ultimately end up in South Africa; and Scott G., Scott L., and Josh put their efforts into the Moody 182 headed to Spokane, WA. While that was going on Tim handled repairs on a couple local aircraft and Mike was down in Florida doing a special electronics job for Missionary Flights International.

On the admin side I was writing the minutes from Thursday's SMT meeting, preparing for next week's staff meeting, handling some recruiting, and studying for a presentation I'm to assist with later this month. Karen was in taking care of her part of the receipting responsibilities for MMS and managing the organizational mailing list. Bob was preparing new chapter tests he'll soon administer to apprentices. Dwight was overseeing activity in the hangar and preparing for next week's board meeting. Here are some photos from the hangar:

Chuck fabriciates a control surface for the MAG 206.

Scott G. and Scott L. use a pnuematic press to remove a pin from the landing gear actuator

for the Moody 182.

Josh and Dennis measure the "warp" of the 182 wing that Josh is repairing.

Saturday At Home
Well, I lost all track of time and didn't blog last night because after dinner I was slicing and dicing and hopping and chopping all the peppers and onions FOR THE NEXT BATCH OF SALSA! That's right, it's another SALSA SATURDAY. Last night's prep session took longer than we thought because 1) it looks like we might get three batches out of the latest harvest so I had to chop six cups of everything, 2) the onions were blinding in their intensity so my eyes were clamped shut for that whole process, and 3) the beautiful "banana" peppers I chopped up turned out to be "hot" peppers not mellow and flavorful peppers.

Consequently Karen made a late evening pepper run only to discover there aren't ANY banana peppers in town between the three markets and SUPER Wal-Mart. We had to settle for green peppers which we usually don't put in the salsa. Oh well, we will make some jars of X-treme Salsa using the Jalepenos AND the hot peppers. Yee-haw.

While Karen's cooking that all up, I'll be outside installing the second handrail. A couple weeks ago I installed the first rail on our porch steps. This second one will go on the front steps leading to our porch. Wish me luck. Better than that, please pray for me. Home owner projects are not my strong suit, if you get my drift.

Coshocton From the Air

I thought you might like to see Coshocton from the air. Here's a shot that includes the central portion of town. The view is looking east, the river in the foreground is the Muskingum which is formed by the meeting of the Tuscarawas and Walhonding rivers just off the photo to the left.The airport is a few miles north of town. The black arrow indicates where we live. Population is around 11,000 and dropping. As of the latest figures for July, the unemployment rate in Coshocton is 10.2%. It's a pretty, main street town, but at this time the economic opportunities are very, very limited. Coshocton city and county leadership is working hard to change that.

We hope you'll make plans to come out for a visit, tour MMS with us, enjoy real Coshoctonian hospitality, and get a taste of what the Midwest is all about.

Karen Did A Great Job: Work at MMS Continues

Karen's First Blog Post
Hey, don't you think Karen did a great job with her first blog posting? If you missed yesterday's report on our weekend in PA you need to scroll down and check it out. It was a great weekend, a great wedding, and Karen covered it all. She took the photos and she wrote the blog. Outstanding.

Note: I am still trying to remember the many other times we've danced together. I know we've done it, I just can't quite pull the specific time, place, and event details together yet...until I do, she just walks around with this "I am so right on this one" look. It's not a bad look. It's not like she's gloating...she's just confident. And me? I'm over 50 so memory isn't exactly my strongest suit. She's a good gal. Maybe I'll just let her think she's right...

In The Hangar at MMS

It looks like the Chad 206 is in the home stretch. Both wing-tip fuel tanks have been fitted and the FAA is scheduled to inspect the plane later this month. The tanks still need to be painted and then installed, the airplane still needs to be test flown, and Dale's hard at work organizing the paperwork documenting the project. The general rule of thumb is, unless the paperwork weighs as much as the airplane, the paperwork isn't completed.

Here's a picture of David, Dale, and Gertjan discussing installation of the right tip tank.

The tanks are in the foreground of the picture.

Moody's 182 project continues to move forward. Now that the float restoration project is completed, Josh has moved over the start the wing repairs on the 182. Scott G. continues to work on the fuselage repairs.

Here's Josh fitting a new leading edge skin on the wing. He's inspecting
the internal fit of the new skin. The straps are used to pull the skin into place for a test fit.

The MAG 206 for Honduras is entering an important phase. Mike is actually down in Florida on Rapid Response doing some avionics work for Missionary Flights International. Scott L. and Chuck are keeping the project moving forward in Mike's absence.

On a completely different note, we are really enjoying some wonderful weather right now.

I thought I'd throw this last photo in free of charge. It shows the Kodiak (L)
and the Chad 206 project (R) together outside Hangar A just before
the Kodiak departed last Friday. Enjoy!

Lookout! Karen's finally blogging!

Well, would you believe it? Keith finally sent me an invitation to blog! He let Tanner blog before he sent an invitation for ME to blog.....maybe once you read this issue you'll understand why. :o)

We've been traveling in PA this past weekend. This is the season of weddings in the Shrom family. My nieces and nephews are quickly finding their life mates. They all came into the world pretty close together, I suppose it's only right they should all get married at once too. Matt and Lina beat everyone to the alter (including me and Keith!!!) in 2001.Last Fall Chris and Shree tied the knot (they were so busy helping behind the scenes this weekend that I didn't even catch a picture of them!). This past spring Ryan and Audra walked the wedding aisle, in July Nathan and Lena were married and next May Brandon and Laura are planning their wedding day (sorry but I didn't get a good shot of Brandon and Laura at the wedding either!). It's a fun time of getting to know our new family members and seeing our nieces and nephews grow up and start homes of their own.

At the church on Sunday afternoon we participated in Luke and Abbey's ceremony officiated by Pastor King. We're so happy to welcome Luke into the family. After the ceremony we headed into the historical church library for hors d'oeuvers which Shree had prepared. They were delicious! But, there was more to come as we headed to my brother and sister-in-law's for the reception. (Luke and Abbey are both chefs in Philadelphia so you can just imagine how good the food was for the reception!)

We walked through the garden arbor to share a place under the big white tent which glowed with soft lights as dinner settled into full stomachs and setting sun. From the tent you could see the bonfire flames reaching to the star lit sky. At a distance the younger crowd played volleyball under the flood lights. In the tent we listened to music from the 50s on up and chatted among the many folks we knew. As Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" filled the tent Keith could wait no longer and he asked me to dance!

If you don't realize the significance of that let me tell you that neither Keith nor I do much dancing. In fact, this was the first time we have ever danced as husband and wife (Keith is standing here insisting that it's NOT the first time we've ever danced but he can't tell me WHEN we did IF we did and I KNOW we didn't!). It was delightful to dance under the twinkling lights gazing into the eyes of my loving husband. How blessed I am!

What I have experienced for 6 years now in my marriage with Keith, I can only pray for for each of my nieces and nephews as they enter a life of marriage. Marriage is so good when you both look to God and lay selfishness aside. If there is one thing I could share with each of my nieces and nephews as they get married it would be that the only reason Keith and I can gaze lovingly and with joy into each other's eyes is because we both gaze into the eyes of our Heavenly Father first.

If you want to see more pictures from the wedding click here then click on or search for "Karen Dodson".