Weekend Catch-Up and TV Interview

The weekend is here and June starts on Monday. With the speed that this year is passing, Christmas will probably be next week. Unreal. The days are so full and so fast that it makes my head spin.

At MMS
At MMS, I'm still trying to catch up from being away for a week. Between what stacked up during our absence, what cropped up after I returned, and the projects and tasks already on my desk...I currently have too much job security. Ha.

I'm not complaining, far from it. I'm blessed and am just amazed at all the different ways that God is at work in MMS and through MMS: four different missionary airplanes are being maintained, modified, and/or repaired; we're developing a new format the apprenticeship program; we're looking at ways to modify our operational program to better meet the needs of the missions we serve; and as a group we're spending dedicated time each month to learn how to communicate and understand each other better (which everyone agrees is harder and more emotional than just working on airplanes!).

Specifically related to HR: three apprentices are in transition to field ministries, I'm supervising four families raising support to begin service, I'll oversee a candidate evaluation next month, and it looks like I'll soon schedule an additional candidate eval for the fall. I'm also in contact with several possible staff candidates, several pre-candidates interested in volunteering, regular volunteers, and twenty people interested in learning more about MMS.

For several months I've worked on creating a new brochure for MMS. Well, I picked the brochures up from the print shop last week and they look great! THANK YOU, TAMMY for all your hard work and dedication in helping make the brochure such a professional piece. Tammy is Karen's cousin. She is also a top-notch professional graphic designer who graciously donates her time, energy, and skills as a ministry to MMS. She's the reason the GroundCrew looks so good and why our brochures look so nice.

Tammy and I are currently working together to create a new display that MMS can use to promote its ministry at churches, conferences, air shows, and other venues.

Being interviewed by WHIZ TV, Zanesville

Oh, and I was interviewed by a regional TV station last week. WHIZ TV from Zanesville sent a crew to MMS to do a short feature for their evening news programs. The feature ran about two minutes on the 6 PM news, 1 minute on the 11 PM news, and by the time they posted it on their website, all that was left was a thirty second clip of me talking.

If you'd like to read the written copy of the article, click here.

If you'd like to watch me talk for thirty seconds...click here.

Karen's Still On Vacation
By the way, Karen's still on vacation! She extended a week to spend a week in Georgia with her sister and niece. I'm much better at being a husband than I am at housewife. Tucker, Tanner, and I look forward to Karen coming home next Wednesday.

Thanks
Thanks for visiting our blog! We greatly enjoy hearing from you and are thankful for your gifts and prayers which enable us to serve.

May Flowers and 2009's Salsa Is In The Ground

Roses
I mentioned our roses in yesterday's post and said I'd try to get a snapshot up today. When we left on our week's vacation, we didn't have one bloom on any of our three rose bushes. When I returned home on Monday they were loaded flowers. Today I was able to borrow a digital camera (Karen has ours with her down in Georgia) and actually found a moment of filtered sunlight between all the convective activity (thick, dark clouds; hot humid air) to snap a shot of our flower garden and rose trellis. Their collective aroma on our front porch is amazing...

Our side flower garden with rose trellis.
(Click on the picture to enlarge it.)

2009 Salsa
Just before we left on vacation, Karen planted our 2009 Salsa Garden! We expanded its size this year to add onions, additional pepper plants, and give everything a bit more room to grow. Ahh...now it's just a matter of keeping the neighborhood bunnies from eating everything for breakfast! It's not easy being a salsa farmer...

Looking east: The enlarged main garden of tomato and jalapeno pepper plants.

Looking west: The expanded garden featuring bell and banana pepper plants and onions.

Oh boy, do we enjoy salsa...

Back to Blogging

Hello Everyone!

Lord willing I haven't lost you over the past week of our blog break and you're checking in today as I'd said I'd be back on line!

Karen and I were blessed to enjoy the past week as guests of dear friends at their time share in Kitty Hawk, NC. Many of you may remember we were married on the Beach at Kitty Hawk back in August '02. It's always nice to go back there. This time we took our bikes which was a great way to explore and see the sights. Thanks Jack & Pat, and Jay& Rene!

From there we went up to PA for the wedding of one of Karen's nephews. They're going to make a great couple. He's a landscape engineer and she's a ballerina! It was a great wedding (outdoors, string quartet before the service, steel drum band during hors d'oeuvres, and a DJ during and after dinner. It's always so fun to get together with all the "kids" (and now their "kids") and be one of the "old" folks who still wear ties to weddings! HA! Josh, you're not an old folk even though you did wear a tie. Very stylish...

Steve & Cindy, thanks for letting us crash at your pad, feeding us, and putting up with Ralph and I while we talked politics!

On Memorial Day I drove back to Coshocton and Karen rode off to Georgia with her sister and niece. Karen will be down there through next Tuesday.

Tucker and Tanner did well during our absence and in the loving care and under the watchful eyes of their Uncle Tim and Aunt Michele. I'll soon assume cat sitting responsibilities at their house for a short time.

I returned home to find our roses in full bloom! Of course the camera is with Karen in Georgia so I don't have any pictures to share. I'll see what I can do to come up with some flower snapshots for tomorrow's post.

Thanks for checking in. Oh, here's a picture from the hangar today of Scott and Paul working on LAMP's Cessna 337. We're overhauling both engines (one of the front, one of the back) and inspecting the airframe.

Scott, Paul, and the front engine of the 337.

Thank You And A Blog Break

Thank you to every one who said prayers, sent emails, posted comments, mailed cards, and/or gave us a call in response to "In Remembrance of Hope." We appreciate your love, care, and concern in our saying good-bye to one of our dear missionary mutts. The house is a little quieter without her but Hope is still very much a part of our lives. We greatly appreciate your kindness and concerns.
Thank you for reminding us how close we are in relationship even though we're separated from many of you by so many miles. It's a joy to have you as part of our team.

Blog Break
As a heads-up, Karen and I are going to take a short blog break. I plan to be back on the blog May 26, after Memorial Day.

If you're new blog follower, this will be a great time to go hit the archives and catch up on all the older posts from Post #1, March 17, 2008. You can see and read about our mission work, church service, home projects, various trips, and all the other fun and exciting stuff that the Lord has involved us in over the past year and two months.

Enjoy the archives. We'll be back on line soon!

In Remembrance of Hope 5/24/1994 - 5/12/2009

Many of you have not heard Hope’s story and how she became a “missionary mutt”. Today I’d like to share her story with you. Hope was born for a purpose in this life. In 1994 she was born to a Labrador mother and, although I didn’t know it then, a Great Dane father! She was found by a friend of mine from nursing school who knew I wanted a puppy...it might have had something to do with dragging her to the Humane League every day at lunch break! So, she kept an eye out and found this little pup who was a bit over run by the big litter of pups she was surrounded by. My friend called me and told me about her and, sight unseen, I told my friend to bring her home to me. Full of fleas (even after my friend gave her a flea bath!) and full of love and energy at 8 weeks old we both found a special place in each other’s hearts. Her favorite place, even on the short drive to my house, was wrapped around my neck while I tried to drive!

Well, to understand the rest of Hope’s story, I must interject some of my own story. In July of 1993 I was wed to Darrel. I had one more year of nursing school to go but we decided not to wait a whole year. Little did we both know what lay just 3 months ahead. Darrel died a tragic, unexpected death in November of that same year. As I struggled through that last year of school, with the help of many good friends and a close and loving family I longed for a puppy. So, once school was done I started the search I mentioned above. So, you may begin to see, God had a very special purpose for Hope.

You may wonder where her name came from. I’m sure you’ve guessed by now. One Bible verse that God kept bringing to me in that time of great sorrow after Darrel died was Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. Was there any better way to remind me of the hope the Lord had planned for me than to name this exuberant, soft, unconditionally loving little bundle of joy “Hope”? Her joy often made me smile when there were no smiles in my heart. Her nudge to come under my arm when I cried so many tears was a constant reminder of the love the Lord had for me that never went away, even when I couldn’t seem to feel it. Hope was the reason to get up in the mornings and get something to eat. Hope was the reason to jump in the car, even if I didn’t feel like it and go for long walks in the park beside the water her happiness and joy spreading contagiously to me. You see, God knew I needed hope and He gave me Hope.

In those days and years of struggle Hope and I never knew what the Lord had planned for our future. We just believed that He was true to His word and so whatever it was, it was good! As I worked (and I DO mean worked!) through the next 5 years of grieving and growing in the Refiner’s fire, I reached a point I felt I could move on with life. But, God was not done refining me yet. Five months later my Mother was diagnosed with Leukemia that would take her life in 3 short months. She was my best friend, the one who showed me that God was a personal God. The God I could pray to and who would answer my prayers and care for me, even in the most difficult circumstances. She lived that out in a way that was genuine in her own life and that I could emulate. But, God did not leave me in hopelessness. There was hope and in her big, loving, tangible, furry way Hope reminded me of that every day. God had a purpose for Hope in my life.

By 2001 God had done a lot of work growing me up and had heightened my understanding of Him. My wrestling with God’s sovereignty had settled into a deep understanding and acceptance. God brought very important friends and family into my life in those years to hold me up when I couldn’t stand on my own and all the time, there was Hope reminding me of God’s tender care for me, that there was hope, that God had a plan for me and it was good.

Perhaps you could think that once I had come to a place of acceptance, that God’s work thru Hope was finished. It wasn’t.

In 2001 my good friend Renee met and told me about a fellow named Keith she had met at MMS Aviation while she and Jay were visiting their cousins Herb and Rosie and their two children, Jenna and Jed. Not only did she tell me about him, she gave me a copy of his most recent newsletters. Well, though not much for being “set up”, this fellow was obviously serious about his faith in the Lord, and judging from the back of his newsletters (always written by his dog Napa about she and her companion dog, Toby) he liked dogs and had a good sense of humor! Good things in my mind. But, how does a conservative young woman make the first contact with some guy she’s never met???? Hummm. Hope! Hope could email to Napa. Did you know that Hope and Napa emailed for 3 solid weeks, every day, before Keith and I ever even talked to each other? What a pair of loving dogs caring so well for their masters! And, well, you know the rest of that story.

So, August 25 of 2002 Hope became a “missionary mutt” by marriage. Sight unseen she accepted two new Cocker Spaniels into her life as well as a new master, a new house and a new neighborhood. She adjusted to not sleeping on the bed with me and sometimes spending weeks at home as Keith and I traveled. In her special way she shared her food, shared her bed, shared her master, shared her house and, once again, reminded us of the hope we have in the Lord if we trust Him only and wait on His plan to prosper us. If we wait on Him he will see us through the Refiner’s fire. He gives us hope and a future...and here is how Jeremiah 29:11 continues through verses 12 & 13: “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Last evening we had to say goodbye to my faithful friend of 15 years. Hope has gone on now to whatever God has planned for His special animal creations beyond this earth. She has been God’s tangible touch in my life. God’s special reminder to me that hope never dies when our hope is in the Lord. Thank you Lord for Hope.

I'll miss you Hoper-Dog!

May 10, 2009

My Dad Goes Shopping On The Internet

Karen and I had a good weekend. The weather was nice, the neighborhood was quiet, and we were able to accomplish several projects around the house, in the yard, and in the garage. Speaking of yard work, you may remember my lament about not being able to find Jalapeno flavored sunflower seeds to split and spit while I mow and work in the yard. Click here to read the related post.

In an unexpected response to that blog, one of the families at church delivered a bag of Jalapeno flavored sunflower seeds to me. They offered to pick-up additional bags for me as needed. It seems they drive past a store that sells them on the way to and from work in a different county. I was, and am blessed by their generosity. Thank you Troy and Michele!

My dad, out in California, tried to find the seeds in a store near him but wasn't able to do so. Being the internet savvy guy he is, he located a vendor that sold the seeds on-line and, without any warning, ordered some to be shipped to me.

Consequently, I was completely surprised to find a rather large box on our front porch from a candy supplier in California. I opened the big box and found two smaller BOXES of David's Jalapeno flavored sunflower seeds! That's twelve bags in a box for a total of 24 bags of sunflower seeds! That's a lot of sunflower seeds. When I called my Dad to thank him, he was as surprised I was as he thought he'd ordered two BAGS of seeds to be sent, not two BOXES...we had a good laugh and I hope you did too!

Here I am with my two boxes, 24 bags, of Jalapeno flavored sunflower seeds!

Eat. Spit. Be Happy.

Annual Inspection of GCI's 310 is Completed

Tim has spent the past two weeks performing the annual inspection on Gospel Carrier International's Cessna 310. Assisted by Gary, one of our regular MMS volunteers, the annual inspection went smoothly and quickly. It's always encouraging to have a missionary aircraft fly in for maintenance and to return it to service in rapid fashion.

Tim inspects the right engine of the Cessna 310.

Tim inspects the main landing gear.

This afternoon, Gary and Tim washed the airplane as the finishing touch.

We're blessed to have Gary's mechanical assistance for several weeks in the spring of each year. Gary is a certificated A&P. Gary and his wife, Arlene, are retired and spend their time traveling between mission aviation agencies such as JAARS in North Carolina; MFI and Harvest Aviation in Florida, and MMS where they lend a hand as needed and as able.

Karen and I were blessed to host Gary and Arlene, and Tim and Michele for dinner earlier in the week.

Interior Design--Moody 182 Style

Interior design is a bit different when considered in the general aviation context. While standard interior components and interior "kits" can be ordered "stock" for each aircraft type, each aircraft is a bit different so none of the "stock" components fit fresh out of the box.

"Fitting" all the plastic interior panels is a painstaking process of measuring, cutting, filing, abrading, drilling, shaping, heating, molding, sometimes gluing, and always praying. In the Cessna 182, Ian is currently fitting twenty different plastic interior pieces of all shapes and sizes.

But getting it to fit is only part of the process. Once everything fits, then it all has to be removed again and then prepped and painted to match the airplane's color scheme. Once it's painted, THEN it may finally be ready for installation...IF all the measuring, cutting, filing, abrading, drilling, shaping, heating, molding, and gluing has been done right...in answer to fervent missionary prayer!

Ian uses a Dremel tool to modify one of the interior pieces.

While Ian is on his knees fitting the interior, Mike is on the floor panels finalizing the installation of the landing gear.

Some days it can be cramped and uncomfortable working on missionary airplanes, but cramped or not, uncomfortable as it may be, it's still Kingdom work! Thank you for making our Kingdom work possible through your gifts and prayers.

An Art Linkletter Moment

On Friday while I was at the hangar working on receipting I was happy to take part in the celebration with the guys as David passed the senior apprentice wrench to Gertjan. David's wife, Amy, came with their 3 children to celebrate as well. While all the excitement of cake and ice cream was happening around us I had a little chat with David's two oldest children Isaiah and Lily.

Johan, Isaiah, Lily & Marielle

I was telling Lily how pretty her shirt was. She had painted a pretty pink flower on it. It really was a nice accomplishment for a 5 year old. As she shared with me about the shirt, her little mind wandered to further conversation. She told me how much she liked those little flowers with the things that stick out all over them and you can blow on them and they go all over (I'm paraphrasing as best I can without hand motions, facial expressions and additional sounds!).

When I acknowledged her statement by saying "ah, yes, aren't dandelions pretty!" She gave me that look that made me realize that in her mind dandelions were little yellow flowers and not at all what she was talking about. So, I quickly turned the conversation back to the 'little flowers with the things that stick out all over them and you can blow on them and they go all over the place'.

I said, "Isn't it fun to blow on them and then watch the seeds fly all over!" Again her look said more than words and I could tell that "seeds" seemed wrong to her. By this time Isaiah (8 years old) had perked up his ears and had gained interest in the conversation. I thought this would be a fun teaching moment so I proceeded to explain that all those little things that fly off are seeds and that God made them that way so we could have lots and lots of pretty yellow flowers (keep your adult thoughts of those "pretty yellow flowers" to yourself now!).

I don't think I've recently had two children that were so focused on what I was saying. They asked a couple of questions to make sure they had understood me properly and that I wasn't pulling their leg. Here is where the story gets funny. Let me try and reconstruct it:

Isaiah and Lily: "You mean those are seeds?"
Me: "Yes!"
Isaiah: "I've never known that. How did you learn that?"
Me: "I learned it so long ago that I don't remember where I learned it."
Lily: "When you were a girl?"
Me: "Yes ."
Isaiah: "Maybe on Google?"
Me, laughing a bit: "No, not on Google. Probably my Mother told me or something."
Isaiah: "Oh, they probably didn't have Google then."
Me: "No, they didn't."
Lily: "You mean way back when you were just a LITTLE girl?"
Me: "Yep."
Isaiah: "So, you mean a really long, LONG time ago."
Me (wishing every adult in the room was listening to this conversation just now): Yes, a really, REALLY long time ago." ;o)

The conversation ended on that note. They had learned something new about God's creation and I had gotten really, REALLY old!

Now come on. Could Art Linkletter really have done any better than that??? The only thing better would have been a video but I hope my memory has served me well enough to give you a smile as big as mine was at that special moment.

By the way, you may remember us talking about David and Amy coming home recently with their newly adopted Ethiopian son, Asher. Here is a photo of the rest of the family.

Amy, Asher & David

He's a delightful little boy and is adjusting so well to his new home. I don't know where he could have found a more loving family.

The other two children in the first photo are Gertjan and Glenda's children. As a note of interest,the members of these two MMS families represent the countries of Holland, Philippines, Peru, USA and Ethiopia! How's that for international!

Cake & Ice Cream!

One of the fun hangar traditions at MMS is that we have cake and ice cream to celebrate an apprentice finishing their time of service. The event is also marked by the passing of the Senior Apprentice "baton" or wrench, to the next apprentice to finish the program.

Today we were blessed to celebrate David's completion of service and witnessed the passing of the wrench, and Senior Apprentice title, to Gertjan.

David is originally from Peru, is married to Amy, and they have three children. The most recent is two year old Asher, whom they brought home from Ethiopia last month! David plans to take the written exams for his A&P certificate next week and then take the oral and practical exams May 12th. David and Amy have been accepted for service with South America Mission's Bolivian flight program. To learn more about them you can visit their blog by clicking here.

Gertjan, MMS' new Senior Apprentice, will only hold the title for a short while as he too just completed service! Gertjan will take his written exams for his A&P certificate later this month and his oral and practical in June. Gertjan, Glenda, Johan, and Mariella, are preparing for technical evaluation with Mission Aviation Fellowship this summer. You can visit their blog here.

Here are some photos from the celebration:

David (and Asher) pass the wrench, and title of Senior Apprentice, to Gertjan.

Karen assists David (and Asher) with cutting the cake.

Bob and Ian assist as primary ice cream scoopers.
Lilly, David's daughter, looks on.

Some of the group as assembled in the lunch room
enjoying the cake and ice cream

Thanks for helping us prepare David for missionary service in Bolivia through your gifts and prayers. It was a fun afternoon. We hope the photos have helped you enjoy this special missionary event in a very personal way. MMS is helping expand God's kingdom. It's great to have you as part of the vision!