Hallelujah, the Honduran 206 returned to missionary service today!
After an extended and extensive restoration process, Alas de Socorro's Cessna 206 fired up on the first try and then launched into the sky on its way back to ministry in Honduras. Piloted by missionaries George and Wes, and loaded with cargo, the airplane roared down the runway and into the Coshocton sky on a day perfect for flying.
Assembled as much with our sweat and blood over the past three years as with rivets and screws, it was a joyous moment as the airplane's landing gear left the asphalt of Runway 22. More than twenty different mechanics worked on this airplane during its time in the hangar and many maintenance skills were gained as the airplane was lovingly repaired and restored. Mike Dunkley oversaw the project and what a project it was. It seems that everyone literally had a hand in returning this airplane to service.
We praise the Lord for His working in us and through us, and in and through you, by your gifts and prayers. You truly are our partners in this ministry.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Deputation Day 15: We're Home!
We're home from our deputation trip to Pennsylvania! This is the first time we've had a chance to be back on the web since our last post.
The trip finished well. Days 12, 13, 14 were full. We made good connections, came away with two new supporters and have several folks praying about becoming involved. Thank you to everyone who had a hand in this trip through praying; hosting; giving gifts; welcoming us into their home, class, or small group; setting-up venues, trouble-shooting computers, meeting with us, and introducing us to others. We ate well and were loved on by many. We praise the Lord for the past two weeks and look forward to how He will choose to glorify Himself through it.
Tucker and Tanner were glad to see us, they didn't damage anything while we were away, we missed a dusting of snow, and the grass will soon be tall enough for the first mow of the season! The roses are leafing out, the daffodils are up, and the tulips are getting ready to flower. It's still dark, damp, and cold here but spring must be close.
On A Completely Different Note
We listened to an audio book on the way up and back: Adams vs. Jefferson chronicling the personal and political relationship between John Adams, 2nd President of the US; and Thomas Jefferson, Vice-President under Adams and then 3rd US President. What an enlightening book. It gives quite the overview of the political situation between 1776 and the Presidential election of 1800. To sum up 10 CDs...politics today is just like it was 200 years ago. All that's changed are the names and faces. We were stunned by the political parallels and realities between Washington, DC then and Washington DC, now.
That's why our hope is in Jesus Christ, NOT Washington, DC, and this just reinforces that our true citizenship is in Heaven, not here on this Earth.
What a relief.
What a hope.
What a promise!
The trip finished well. Days 12, 13, 14 were full. We made good connections, came away with two new supporters and have several folks praying about becoming involved. Thank you to everyone who had a hand in this trip through praying; hosting; giving gifts; welcoming us into their home, class, or small group; setting-up venues, trouble-shooting computers, meeting with us, and introducing us to others. We ate well and were loved on by many. We praise the Lord for the past two weeks and look forward to how He will choose to glorify Himself through it.
Tucker and Tanner were glad to see us, they didn't damage anything while we were away, we missed a dusting of snow, and the grass will soon be tall enough for the first mow of the season! The roses are leafing out, the daffodils are up, and the tulips are getting ready to flower. It's still dark, damp, and cold here but spring must be close.
On A Completely Different Note
We listened to an audio book on the way up and back: Adams vs. Jefferson chronicling the personal and political relationship between John Adams, 2nd President of the US; and Thomas Jefferson, Vice-President under Adams and then 3rd US President. What an enlightening book. It gives quite the overview of the political situation between 1776 and the Presidential election of 1800. To sum up 10 CDs...politics today is just like it was 200 years ago. All that's changed are the names and faces. We were stunned by the political parallels and realities between Washington, DC then and Washington DC, now.
That's why our hope is in Jesus Christ, NOT Washington, DC, and this just reinforces that our true citizenship is in Heaven, not here on this Earth.
What a relief.
What a hope.
What a promise!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Deputation: Day 11
We had a great day yesterday. It was sunny with a cool breeze, blue sky and warm in the sun. We spent the afternoon visiting with neighbors across the street from Karen's old house. They knew me as "Ohio Man" during Karen's and my dating days. We had a fun time together, learned they'd been praying for us as a family as part of AWANA, and talked about how God was working in each of our lives. Randy & Lori, thanks for pursuing so hard after the Lord and making us feel so welcome.
We spent the evening catching up with a previous pastor of ours and his wife. We talked gardens, trains, ministry, theology, had grilled steak for dinner and then had the privilege of choosing from five different half-gallons of Turkey Hill ice cream. Dessert turned into an ice cream smorgasbord. It'd been at least three years since we'd seen Steve and Donna and it was a sweet time of fellowship. We even talked a little about how God is working at MMS!
We said our goodbyes and expressed our thanks to Jake & Ruth-Ann this morning, our hosts of the last six days. What a blessing they've been and continue to be in our lives. Special thanks to Maverick, their happy dog who loved to open our bedroom door and jump in bed with us. He added a wonderful new dynamic to the household.
Right now we're at the church enjoying the wireless connection before heading out for lunch with special friends/family/supporters all wrapped up in one. It'll be neat to spend time with Cameron (5) and Joelle (3), to whom we're very much Uncle Keith & Aunt Karen in the extended way that we adopt others into our lives.
Rain showers today. But what a day in Jesus!
We spent the evening catching up with a previous pastor of ours and his wife. We talked gardens, trains, ministry, theology, had grilled steak for dinner and then had the privilege of choosing from five different half-gallons of Turkey Hill ice cream. Dessert turned into an ice cream smorgasbord. It'd been at least three years since we'd seen Steve and Donna and it was a sweet time of fellowship. We even talked a little about how God is working at MMS!
We said our goodbyes and expressed our thanks to Jake & Ruth-Ann this morning, our hosts of the last six days. What a blessing they've been and continue to be in our lives. Special thanks to Maverick, their happy dog who loved to open our bedroom door and jump in bed with us. He added a wonderful new dynamic to the household.
Right now we're at the church enjoying the wireless connection before heading out for lunch with special friends/family/supporters all wrapped up in one. It'll be neat to spend time with Cameron (5) and Joelle (3), to whom we're very much Uncle Keith & Aunt Karen in the extended way that we adopt others into our lives.
Rain showers today. But what a day in Jesus!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Deputation Day: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10
Hello, Hello!
We haven't forgotten about you. However, we have been without internet access/connection for the past five days and now have a few minutes to post a quick update. First, thank you Dave Shelly and Andy Porter (MMS Aviation) for working with me over the phone to confirm that yes, my laptop is configured correctly to use this wireless connection (even though I couldn't connect) and second, thank you to Nate Murry, Grace Church @ Willow Valley's systems administrator for providing the link data necessary to access the church's wireless signal. I'm at the church now taking care of all the internet things a missionary on deputation needs to take care of in this day and age.
Karen and I are doing well. Here's a brief summary of the past few days:
Day 5: Friday, March 19
We had a great travel day for making the six hour drive to Lancaster, PA. That's pronounced: "LANC-a-sher" not "lan-CAST-er". We have been hosted by a wonderful couple who live only two minutes (by foot) from Grace. Jake and Ruth-Ann have loved us for years and are part of a small group that embraced Karen and I during our earliest dating days 7 1/2 years ago. Jake & Ruth-Ann have a Jug puppy, Maverick, who is helping us get our dog fix as we miss Tucker and Tannner.
Day 6: Saturday, March 20
We took the morning and afternoon to take care of errands we needed to run before Grace's missions conference kicked-off with a progressive dinner. What a wonderful way to share with multiple people in an intimate setting. We were hosted at the "main course" house. It was neat because all the missionaries in for the conference had dinner together before the progressive part of the meal began. It's so infrequent that the missionaries themselves get to have fellowship with each other at such events! Way to go Grace for making it happen! Janet, Ted, and Tammy...thank you for all your hard work orchestrating the meal and the evening.
Once we'd had our meal the other missionaries moved off to their respective courses of the meal which allowed each of us to address five different small groups of people during the course of the meal courses. We stayed at one house while the groups moved between appetizers, soup, salad, main meal, and dessert courses. We had a great time, made 5, fifteen minute presentations, shared with 41 different people, and made several new friends!
Day 7, Sunday, March 21
We gave two 45 minute presentations to two different Sunday School classes (the young adults first and then an Adult Bible Fellowship group). We had a great time with both, though we do have a special place in our hearts for the young adults! We had a gentleman who'd been part of the progressive dinner the night before, sit in with the young adult class. He wanted to learn more about our ministry and at the end of the class he made a pledge to support us monthly! Wahoo! Thank you, Lord. And thank you, Mark. We're so excited to have you guys as part of our team!
We were able to connect with several of our friends during the post-service pot luck (it was great to share a table with you Paul, Pat, and Yana!). Then we had dinner with Jake & Ruth-Ann and another dear friend, Patty.
Day 8, Monday, March 22
After absolutely perfect 70 degree weather over the weekend, Monday turned dark and rainy. But the weather didn't dampen the day.
We started our morning having breakfast with Holly & Dawn, two members of Grace's Go Team (missions team) to debrief the conference and to talk in greater detail about our service with MMS. From our breakfast meeting we went straight to Aunt Barb and Uncle Bill's house for a four hour "lunch". There's nothing like a seven course ham-loaf meal! Elvin and Mary joined us to make for a very special afternoon.
We did have time for a short nap before our dinner appointment with friends from Karen's old neighborhood. It's amazing how fast three hours can fly by when you're laughing so hard.
Day 9, Tuesday, March 23
Tuesday was exciting as it was the first day we had to try and connect to the internet. The challenge was getting my computer to talk to the local network. Once the problem was solved (see paragraph 1 above) I worked on the computer up until our lunch appointment with Pastor John and his wife Sharon. It's amazing how much laughing can go on...it's so fun to laugh and in ministry, there never seems to be enough laughing.
After lunch it was back on the computer to take care of MMS stuff until we were off to hang-out with Karen's cousin and her family. It was great to spend some time with them. We'd never really had the chance to visit like that before. Thanks for letting us in, Ruth and Rob.
Day 10, Today
It was up early for a meeting at church with a staff missionary who serves in the area of spiritual formation and the contemplative disciplines within Christianity. Joy, it was such a blessing to find a kindred spirit further down a path we're just starting to walk. We look forward to a growing relationship with you.
I'll be checking MMS emails once I finish here and we'll be back on the road visiting with folks in a couple hours. We're still in need of additional financial partners and are enjoying God's work through us as we share what He's doing through MMS.
Thanks for your prayers as we continue this week of ministry in Pennsylvania. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back on the internet as we're moving to a new host house tomorrow morning. We'll finish our trip staying with Jay & Renee and plan to head back to Coshocton on Monday.
We haven't forgotten about you. However, we have been without internet access/connection for the past five days and now have a few minutes to post a quick update. First, thank you Dave Shelly and Andy Porter (MMS Aviation) for working with me over the phone to confirm that yes, my laptop is configured correctly to use this wireless connection (even though I couldn't connect) and second, thank you to Nate Murry, Grace Church @ Willow Valley's systems administrator for providing the link data necessary to access the church's wireless signal. I'm at the church now taking care of all the internet things a missionary on deputation needs to take care of in this day and age.
Karen and I are doing well. Here's a brief summary of the past few days:
Day 5: Friday, March 19
We had a great travel day for making the six hour drive to Lancaster, PA. That's pronounced: "LANC-a-sher" not "lan-CAST-er". We have been hosted by a wonderful couple who live only two minutes (by foot) from Grace. Jake and Ruth-Ann have loved us for years and are part of a small group that embraced Karen and I during our earliest dating days 7 1/2 years ago. Jake & Ruth-Ann have a Jug puppy, Maverick, who is helping us get our dog fix as we miss Tucker and Tannner.
Day 6: Saturday, March 20
We took the morning and afternoon to take care of errands we needed to run before Grace's missions conference kicked-off with a progressive dinner. What a wonderful way to share with multiple people in an intimate setting. We were hosted at the "main course" house. It was neat because all the missionaries in for the conference had dinner together before the progressive part of the meal began. It's so infrequent that the missionaries themselves get to have fellowship with each other at such events! Way to go Grace for making it happen! Janet, Ted, and Tammy...thank you for all your hard work orchestrating the meal and the evening.
Once we'd had our meal the other missionaries moved off to their respective courses of the meal which allowed each of us to address five different small groups of people during the course of the meal courses. We stayed at one house while the groups moved between appetizers, soup, salad, main meal, and dessert courses. We had a great time, made 5, fifteen minute presentations, shared with 41 different people, and made several new friends!
Day 7, Sunday, March 21
We gave two 45 minute presentations to two different Sunday School classes (the young adults first and then an Adult Bible Fellowship group). We had a great time with both, though we do have a special place in our hearts for the young adults! We had a gentleman who'd been part of the progressive dinner the night before, sit in with the young adult class. He wanted to learn more about our ministry and at the end of the class he made a pledge to support us monthly! Wahoo! Thank you, Lord. And thank you, Mark. We're so excited to have you guys as part of our team!
We were able to connect with several of our friends during the post-service pot luck (it was great to share a table with you Paul, Pat, and Yana!). Then we had dinner with Jake & Ruth-Ann and another dear friend, Patty.
Day 8, Monday, March 22
After absolutely perfect 70 degree weather over the weekend, Monday turned dark and rainy. But the weather didn't dampen the day.
We started our morning having breakfast with Holly & Dawn, two members of Grace's Go Team (missions team) to debrief the conference and to talk in greater detail about our service with MMS. From our breakfast meeting we went straight to Aunt Barb and Uncle Bill's house for a four hour "lunch". There's nothing like a seven course ham-loaf meal! Elvin and Mary joined us to make for a very special afternoon.
We did have time for a short nap before our dinner appointment with friends from Karen's old neighborhood. It's amazing how fast three hours can fly by when you're laughing so hard.
Day 9, Tuesday, March 23
Tuesday was exciting as it was the first day we had to try and connect to the internet. The challenge was getting my computer to talk to the local network. Once the problem was solved (see paragraph 1 above) I worked on the computer up until our lunch appointment with Pastor John and his wife Sharon. It's amazing how much laughing can go on...it's so fun to laugh and in ministry, there never seems to be enough laughing.
After lunch it was back on the computer to take care of MMS stuff until we were off to hang-out with Karen's cousin and her family. It was great to spend some time with them. We'd never really had the chance to visit like that before. Thanks for letting us in, Ruth and Rob.
Day 10, Today
It was up early for a meeting at church with a staff missionary who serves in the area of spiritual formation and the contemplative disciplines within Christianity. Joy, it was such a blessing to find a kindred spirit further down a path we're just starting to walk. We look forward to a growing relationship with you.
I'll be checking MMS emails once I finish here and we'll be back on the road visiting with folks in a couple hours. We're still in need of additional financial partners and are enjoying God's work through us as we share what He's doing through MMS.
Thanks for your prayers as we continue this week of ministry in Pennsylvania. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back on the internet as we're moving to a new host house tomorrow morning. We'll finish our trip staying with Jay & Renee and plan to head back to Coshocton on Monday.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Deputation: Day 4
It was another classic spring day in Ohio. Believe it or not, I even broke out my short pants. Blue sky, warm sun...I like that. Rumor is it's going to be 70 degrees in Lancaster, PA, tomorrow.
Today Karen worked up at the mission taking care of her regular HR duties. I worked on our emails and deputation schedule before going up to MMS to practice the PowerPoints and do some last minute fine-tuning to the presentations. We picked up the displays (large & small), the digital projector, extra speakers, bound the portfolios, and currently have a mountain of presentation materials on our dining room table.
We plan to get up early tomorrow, finalize our packing, test out the electronics, send some hard-copy communications out, stuff our promotional packets, have some breakfast, load the car, and be on our way before noon. It looks like it'll be a great day for six hour a drive.
Karen's currently upstairs organizing clothes. At least that's what it sounds like from down here. The dogs are in their beds and we're not all that far behind them.
We'll keep you posted from the road!
Today Karen worked up at the mission taking care of her regular HR duties. I worked on our emails and deputation schedule before going up to MMS to practice the PowerPoints and do some last minute fine-tuning to the presentations. We picked up the displays (large & small), the digital projector, extra speakers, bound the portfolios, and currently have a mountain of presentation materials on our dining room table.
We plan to get up early tomorrow, finalize our packing, test out the electronics, send some hard-copy communications out, stuff our promotional packets, have some breakfast, load the car, and be on our way before noon. It looks like it'll be a great day for six hour a drive.
Karen's currently upstairs organizing clothes. At least that's what it sounds like from down here. The dogs are in their beds and we're not all that far behind them.
We'll keep you posted from the road!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Deputation: Day Three
It was a absolutely perfect spring day. Blue sky, total sun, and a warm 62 degrees. They're predicting 66 for a high tomorrow. The way the grass is greening up, I may have to mow when we get back from PA. I still think we're due for one more heavy winter storm...
River Greens Golf Course opened today. Now THAT's good news!
Karen spent the day indoors doing laundry.
I spend the day indoors finalizing my PowerPoint presentations for this weekend's missions conference.
I think the presentations are done. I know I'M done... I now have new 10 and 20 minute presentations as well as a new 11 minute video clip collection ready to roll. At least they roll along just fine on my desktop at the shop. The challenge now is to test them out on the laptop. The fact that it took me nearly 16 hours to create 40 minutes of presentation boggles my mind. Now I need to practice, practice, practice to get the timing down and work on my transitional statements. And you thought missionaries just got up there and started talking! Well, maybe some do. For most of us though, it doesn't come natural.
We've printed up our portfolios, developed our promotional packets (complete with MMS key chains, pocket calendars, and wrench-pens), and are in the process of printing up additional copies our personal newsletter from November. Tomorrow we'll bind the portfolios, round up the display materials, test the laptop-projector-speaker connections and communications, and get ready to pack out of here on Friday.
I guess that's it for now. Thanks for checking in.
River Greens Golf Course opened today. Now THAT's good news!
Karen spent the day indoors doing laundry.
I spend the day indoors finalizing my PowerPoint presentations for this weekend's missions conference.
I think the presentations are done. I know I'M done... I now have new 10 and 20 minute presentations as well as a new 11 minute video clip collection ready to roll. At least they roll along just fine on my desktop at the shop. The challenge now is to test them out on the laptop. The fact that it took me nearly 16 hours to create 40 minutes of presentation boggles my mind. Now I need to practice, practice, practice to get the timing down and work on my transitional statements. And you thought missionaries just got up there and started talking! Well, maybe some do. For most of us though, it doesn't come natural.
We've printed up our portfolios, developed our promotional packets (complete with MMS key chains, pocket calendars, and wrench-pens), and are in the process of printing up additional copies our personal newsletter from November. Tomorrow we'll bind the portfolios, round up the display materials, test the laptop-projector-speaker connections and communications, and get ready to pack out of here on Friday.
I guess that's it for now. Thanks for checking in.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Deputation: Day 2
Well, I've spent this day with my eyeballs glued to the screen, my fingers on the keyboard, and my right hand clicking crazily on the mouse.
Today's mission was to come up with a new PowerPoint presentation featuring MMS's Rapid Response trip to Florida in support of MFI's Haiti relief airlift efforts. I think I just finished pulling it together. I was up at 5:30; enjoyed a quiet hour of devotions, prayer, and Bible study; had some breakfast, handled some email, and headed up to MMS around 8. Once at MMS I worked through a couple emails needing attention and jumped right in to pulling photos, working up a presentation concept, and ordering and organizing individual slides. While it's not complex, it is time consuming.
I took a break at 10:30 to participate in a conference call with Dwight, MMS CEO; and Tim, our Production Manager; related to MMS instituting a drug testing program. It's not that we have a drug problem at MMS, we don't. But in looking to the future possibility of working on aircraft requiring such a program, and desiring to be proactive in responding to the realities of the society in which we live and serve, the MMS Board has rightly directed that we should put a drug program in place.
The consultant/contractor we're using to set the program up needed to talk with us to finalize the draft of the program's specific policies related to how we operate. That phone call was quite enlightening as to the problematic nature of such things outside of our small mission community here at MMS. Wow. It was a very interesting 90 minutes. Lord willing, we'll have the program implemented towards the end of April.
After the phone call, Karen (who was working for the MMS accounting department today) and I went down the hill to have lunch at Subway. That was a nice break. We both enjoy a six-inch veggie sub now and then.
From there it was back to MMS, the computer screen, PowerPoint, the keyboard, and the mouse for me until just a few minutes ago. I think the initial presentation is roughed out. And I think I'm about tired out. It's 7:15 and probably a good time to call it a day, go home, kiss my wife and play with the dogs.
Thanks for checking in.
Today's mission was to come up with a new PowerPoint presentation featuring MMS's Rapid Response trip to Florida in support of MFI's Haiti relief airlift efforts. I think I just finished pulling it together. I was up at 5:30; enjoyed a quiet hour of devotions, prayer, and Bible study; had some breakfast, handled some email, and headed up to MMS around 8. Once at MMS I worked through a couple emails needing attention and jumped right in to pulling photos, working up a presentation concept, and ordering and organizing individual slides. While it's not complex, it is time consuming.
I took a break at 10:30 to participate in a conference call with Dwight, MMS CEO; and Tim, our Production Manager; related to MMS instituting a drug testing program. It's not that we have a drug problem at MMS, we don't. But in looking to the future possibility of working on aircraft requiring such a program, and desiring to be proactive in responding to the realities of the society in which we live and serve, the MMS Board has rightly directed that we should put a drug program in place.
The consultant/contractor we're using to set the program up needed to talk with us to finalize the draft of the program's specific policies related to how we operate. That phone call was quite enlightening as to the problematic nature of such things outside of our small mission community here at MMS. Wow. It was a very interesting 90 minutes. Lord willing, we'll have the program implemented towards the end of April.
After the phone call, Karen (who was working for the MMS accounting department today) and I went down the hill to have lunch at Subway. That was a nice break. We both enjoy a six-inch veggie sub now and then.
From there it was back to MMS, the computer screen, PowerPoint, the keyboard, and the mouse for me until just a few minutes ago. I think the initial presentation is roughed out. And I think I'm about tired out. It's 7:15 and probably a good time to call it a day, go home, kiss my wife and play with the dogs.
Thanks for checking in.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Getting Ready for our Trip to PA
I'm primarily working from home this week, though I was up at MMS tonight and will be there for part of the morning tomorrow. And now that I think of it, I'll probably be up there for a while on Thursday pulling our display material together. Karen and I are preparing for a trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. We leave this Friday to take part in a weekend missions conference at Grace Church at Willow Valley and will stay on through the 29th.
I spent the day following up on financial appeals sent out earlier, organizing new appeals, updating information, catching up on communication, and working with Karen to set appointments and coordinate calendars with current supporters, family, friends, and prospective supporters.
If everything goes as planned this week, I'll get some other appeals in the mail, develop new PowerPoint presentation or two, write some thank you notes, and wrap my head around incorporating some of the recent MMS video footage into the presentations. I also need to produce a few more ministry portfolios to have on hand.
So, if you're in the Lancaster, PA area and would like to learn more about how you can partner with us in preparing people and planes for worldwide mission service, please leave a comment or send an email so we can schedule some time together.
We look forward to returning to PA, reconnecting with everyone we can in the time we have, and sharing about our ministry with MMS Aviation.
I spent the day following up on financial appeals sent out earlier, organizing new appeals, updating information, catching up on communication, and working with Karen to set appointments and coordinate calendars with current supporters, family, friends, and prospective supporters.
If everything goes as planned this week, I'll get some other appeals in the mail, develop new PowerPoint presentation or two, write some thank you notes, and wrap my head around incorporating some of the recent MMS video footage into the presentations. I also need to produce a few more ministry portfolios to have on hand.
So, if you're in the Lancaster, PA area and would like to learn more about how you can partner with us in preparing people and planes for worldwide mission service, please leave a comment or send an email so we can schedule some time together.
We look forward to returning to PA, reconnecting with everyone we can in the time we have, and sharing about our ministry with MMS Aviation.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
The Engine's Installed in the Brazilian 206.
The engine has been installed in the Asas de Socorro Cessna 206 for ministry in Brazil. With the wings on (see previous video) and the engine in, the emphasis shifts over to completing the instrument panel and the modifications inside the fuselage. Here's the video:
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Hangar Doors Are Open!
Today was the first day in 2010 that we chose to work with the hangar doors open! We'd enjoyed 5 straight days of sunshine prior to today but the temps were still a little too cool to not need heat. It's always exciting when we can let the sun and the fresh air back into the hangar without needing jackets or parkas.
In the photo, Scott checks off conditions and corrections on the 337 engine and Dale, in the background cleans the engine of a Piper Cherokee that's in for annual inspection.
Notice the bright light pouring in the hangar from the open hangar doors!
Lord willing, tomorrow I'll be able to post another video.
Karen and I are off to prayer meeting and worship team practice!!
Oh, I was even able to prune my rose bushes yesterday!!!!
In the photo, Scott checks off conditions and corrections on the 337 engine and Dale, in the background cleans the engine of a Piper Cherokee that's in for annual inspection.
Notice the bright light pouring in the hangar from the open hangar doors!Lord willing, tomorrow I'll be able to post another video.
Karen and I are off to prayer meeting and worship team practice!!
Oh, I was even able to prune my rose bushes yesterday!!!!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Church Roller Skate Night
Sunday evening we had the fun of going to our church's roller skate night. I hadn't roller skated in 43 years, it hadn't been quite so long for Karen, but we strapped on the skates and went for it anyway. Every so often our church rents a skating rink for two hours and this was the first time we were able to take part in the activity. I lasted about an hour before I developed blisters and had to sit the last hour out.
Now that's one good looking couple!
That's okay. I didn't fall, or hurt myself, or pull anything (neither did Karen) so we felt the evening was a total success. And while Karen was skating away the second hour, I discovered the snack bar had a "special" of a hot dog and a small drink for $2.00! Oh man, pass the mustard. I had two specials in no time and even tried a "pickle-sicle" which were quite the hit with the pre-teens. A pickle-sicle (only 25 cents!) is pickle juice poured in an ice-cube tray then frozen with a small spoon in it so you can hold it like a little cube Popsicle. It wasn't bad when consumed in conjunction with a hot dog. I'd never heard of a pickle-sicle before. Have you?
Karen was pretty smooth on the hardwood.
Now that's one good looking couple!That's okay. I didn't fall, or hurt myself, or pull anything (neither did Karen) so we felt the evening was a total success. And while Karen was skating away the second hour, I discovered the snack bar had a "special" of a hot dog and a small drink for $2.00! Oh man, pass the mustard. I had two specials in no time and even tried a "pickle-sicle" which were quite the hit with the pre-teens. A pickle-sicle (only 25 cents!) is pickle juice poured in an ice-cube tray then frozen with a small spoon in it so you can hold it like a little cube Popsicle. It wasn't bad when consumed in conjunction with a hot dog. I'd never heard of a pickle-sicle before. Have you?
Karen was pretty smooth on the hardwood.Saturday, March 6, 2010
Spring Has Sprung......
You've probably heard the old saying, "spring has sprung, the grass is riz--I wonder where the flowers is?" Well, on this rare sunny day here in winter the saying is more like, "spring has sprung, the flowers riz--I wonder where the grass is?"
Today I found a few little yellow crocus starting to pop their heads up and bloom! If that doesn't make a Midwest gal smile after a long hard winter I don't know what would.
However, here is a picture of the back yard:
You can certainly start to see the grass showing but it sure hasn't "riz"! In fact, if you get real close, it hasn't even started to THINK about it.
Our little early crocus is blooming in a protected corner where the heater vents so it has some advantages. It will take some time before the other bulbs catch up with it. Now, I firmly believe that we will see more snow before this winter is over and I don't mind. I just make sure I pass by that corner every day and enjoy God's little yellow promise of spring.
Today I found a few little yellow crocus starting to pop their heads up and bloom! If that doesn't make a Midwest gal smile after a long hard winter I don't know what would.
However, here is a picture of the back yard:
You can certainly start to see the grass showing but it sure hasn't "riz"! In fact, if you get real close, it hasn't even started to THINK about it.Our little early crocus is blooming in a protected corner where the heater vents so it has some advantages. It will take some time before the other bulbs catch up with it. Now, I firmly believe that we will see more snow before this winter is over and I don't mind. I just make sure I pass by that corner every day and enjoy God's little yellow promise of spring.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Catching Up
The sun was out today. The sky was blue today. We haven't had any new snow in four days and the snow we have had on the ground for well over a month is finally beginning to melt...down...to...nothing. There's no question Winter still has at least one or two good storms left to unleash, but right now it's just a blessing to see the sun for longer than a fleeting moment's glimpse.
At MMS, I've spent the past three day focused on writing/editing/organizing, and packaging the April GroundCrew newsletter for publication. I shot the digital files off to our graphic designer today (Hey, Tam!).
Belive it or not, I've enjoyed two technological victories at the shop this past week. Actually they both came about today. One regarding creation of PDF documents and the other with video editing. Up until today, the last several weeks have been nothing but non-stop technical defeats...
To make a long story short, over the past several months I've taken time to teach myself how to use Adobe Acrobat utilizing the old "try this and see what happens" method of discovery. It may not be the most efficient way to learn but, as long as I don't completely lose my sanity in the process, I do retain the information gained.
My goal was to develop a PDF document that could be emailed to our approved candidates, that they could complete on their computer, and then simply email back to me. Simple concept, people are doing it all over the world, but no one was doing it at MMS. As is often the case, the critical component and solution to the last remaining challenge was a simple click on the correct item on a pull-down menu...Ta Da! I have a bit more re-formatting to do on the report's text fields but the document is now in the home stretch!
On the video front this afternoon, I started to assemble the sixteen video segments I shot last week of the guys attaching the wings to the fuselage of the Brazilian 206. You may remember my steep learning curve related to my last video project and corrupted video files that are fine in every respect except they prevent Windows Movie Maker from saving the movie once all the editing is done.
I figure a large part of the problem may be that my camera records video in MOV files (Apple computer's format) and I'm trying to work in the free Microsoft movie editing program. Why? I'll tell you why--because Apple's Quick Time Pro movie editor (that costs $30) is a total waste of money. But since Windows Movie Maker (WMM) doesn't recognize MOV files, I have to convert the files into a format WMM does recognize. And I naturally figured that WMV (Windows' very own video format) would be just the thing. So with Dave Shelly's help, I downloaded a very cool, free video converter and began turning all my MOVs into WMVs. But unfortunately, due to this mystery file corruption problem, WMM won't let me save any projects where I'm working in WMV. Go figure. I experimented with other formats, codecs, and settings and after another several hours of wasted effort, settled back on AVI as my format of choice. Lord willing, I'll go in to the shop tomorrow, open up WMM, drop in all my AVI clips and, an hour or two later have another full video to upload.
By the way, there are GREAT things going on up at MMS. Absolutely GREAT things. Challenging, to be sure, but absolutely GREAT things are happening organizationally, technically, and relationally. God is at work transforming people, policies, procedures, and planes.
Around town the streets and most of the sidewalks are clear again. It'd been nearly two weeks since I'd been able to get out for a walk with Tanner. With the melting snow and the lengthening days, Tanner and I've been out for an evening walk three days in a row now. Oh man, that 45-60 minute walk every day is really important to both of us. It's even important to Karen.
Speaking of Karen, we're having a date night tomorrow. We're going halfway across town to try a newly relocated and expanded pizza place. It used to be over at 5-Points intersection but has since refurbished and moved into the old Burger King by the old Wal-Mart building. After that, we're heading over to Triple Locks Theater (by Roscoe Village here in Coshocton) for opening night of the Footlight Players 2010 season. The play is called "Moonlight and Magnolias" and is a comedy set around an emergency rewrite of the script for "Gone With The Wind."
Well, that's probably enough prose for one evening. Lord willing, I'll be able to post another MMS video for your weekend viewing pleasure.
At MMS, I've spent the past three day focused on writing/editing/organizing, and packaging the April GroundCrew newsletter for publication. I shot the digital files off to our graphic designer today (Hey, Tam!).
Belive it or not, I've enjoyed two technological victories at the shop this past week. Actually they both came about today. One regarding creation of PDF documents and the other with video editing. Up until today, the last several weeks have been nothing but non-stop technical defeats...
To make a long story short, over the past several months I've taken time to teach myself how to use Adobe Acrobat utilizing the old "try this and see what happens" method of discovery. It may not be the most efficient way to learn but, as long as I don't completely lose my sanity in the process, I do retain the information gained.
My goal was to develop a PDF document that could be emailed to our approved candidates, that they could complete on their computer, and then simply email back to me. Simple concept, people are doing it all over the world, but no one was doing it at MMS. As is often the case, the critical component and solution to the last remaining challenge was a simple click on the correct item on a pull-down menu...Ta Da! I have a bit more re-formatting to do on the report's text fields but the document is now in the home stretch!
On the video front this afternoon, I started to assemble the sixteen video segments I shot last week of the guys attaching the wings to the fuselage of the Brazilian 206. You may remember my steep learning curve related to my last video project and corrupted video files that are fine in every respect except they prevent Windows Movie Maker from saving the movie once all the editing is done.
I figure a large part of the problem may be that my camera records video in MOV files (Apple computer's format) and I'm trying to work in the free Microsoft movie editing program. Why? I'll tell you why--because Apple's Quick Time Pro movie editor (that costs $30) is a total waste of money. But since Windows Movie Maker (WMM) doesn't recognize MOV files, I have to convert the files into a format WMM does recognize. And I naturally figured that WMV (Windows' very own video format) would be just the thing. So with Dave Shelly's help, I downloaded a very cool, free video converter and began turning all my MOVs into WMVs. But unfortunately, due to this mystery file corruption problem, WMM won't let me save any projects where I'm working in WMV. Go figure. I experimented with other formats, codecs, and settings and after another several hours of wasted effort, settled back on AVI as my format of choice. Lord willing, I'll go in to the shop tomorrow, open up WMM, drop in all my AVI clips and, an hour or two later have another full video to upload.
By the way, there are GREAT things going on up at MMS. Absolutely GREAT things. Challenging, to be sure, but absolutely GREAT things are happening organizationally, technically, and relationally. God is at work transforming people, policies, procedures, and planes.
Around town the streets and most of the sidewalks are clear again. It'd been nearly two weeks since I'd been able to get out for a walk with Tanner. With the melting snow and the lengthening days, Tanner and I've been out for an evening walk three days in a row now. Oh man, that 45-60 minute walk every day is really important to both of us. It's even important to Karen.
Speaking of Karen, we're having a date night tomorrow. We're going halfway across town to try a newly relocated and expanded pizza place. It used to be over at 5-Points intersection but has since refurbished and moved into the old Burger King by the old Wal-Mart building. After that, we're heading over to Triple Locks Theater (by Roscoe Village here in Coshocton) for opening night of the Footlight Players 2010 season. The play is called "Moonlight and Magnolias" and is a comedy set around an emergency rewrite of the script for "Gone With The Wind."
Well, that's probably enough prose for one evening. Lord willing, I'll be able to post another MMS video for your weekend viewing pleasure.
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