A Visit From PA

Does any other state refer to their state by it's initials? If you're from Pennsylvania you pronounce PA as "P-A", not "Pennsylvania". I don't think I'm aware of any other states that do that. Odd. It just sounds right. "O-H" just doesn't sound right. Humm.

All that Pennsylvania trivia aside. We were delighted to have Randy and Shirl Pearson and two of their sons, Matt and Bob stop on their travels to spend the night with us last night. They were returning from a trip to see family and decided to stop and see us as they traveled back toward home. Randy has stayed with us before but Shirl and the boys had never been to Coshocton or MMS. The Pearson's are from our PA home church, Grace Church at Willow Valley, near Lancaster, PA. They served as missionaries with JAARS (the aviation side of Wycliffe) when their three boys were younger. Randy has recently become a welcome and vital addition to the board of MMS Aviation. It was fun to share our home community with Shirl, Matt and Bob and give them a tour of MMS Aviation "up on the hill."

Randy & Shirl, Matt & Bob

Randy is a great pilot. Anyone who can fly in Papua New Guinea for twelve years has to be a good pilot! While Keith and I were dating, Randy offered to fly me out to visit with Keith while he traveled on for an overnight meeting. Then he would pick me up on his way home. I was excited to be able to fly to see Keith. I'd never done much flying. Being one that sometimes can fight with motion sickness, I was a bit apprehensive about flying in a plane smaller than a 737. But, Keith was worth it and I never even questioned the decision. When I arrived at the single runway Smoketown Airport to meet Randy and saw the plane we were flying in, thoughts of motion sickness began to fade and claustrophobia began to surface. The four seat Cessna was just a little less "roomy" than the 737 I had flown in. But, with Randy as pilot and one of the young men from our church as co-pilot we had smooth travels and he pulled that little plane right up to the door at MMS. Way cool! It was smooth travels all the way.

After dinner and dessert last evening Shirl and Matt and I took off to see the historic Roscoe Village in our little town and to walk in the park...two of the finer aspects of Coshocton. Keith, Bob and Randy stayed back to clean up the dishes and work out something about leaping frogs on the computer.

Karen & Shirl

After a night of rest, some coffee cake and fruit salad and a tour of MMS, we sent them off on the last leg of their journey home. Visitors from "home", be it PA or CA (See! You didn't say "C-A" did you?) are always an encouragement. It's fun to share what God is doing here in Ohio and encouraging to hear what God is doing in our PA home church. So, if you're ever passing through Ohio, give us a call!