Year End--Year Start

As we prepare for New Year's Eve this evening (and look forward to watching the Rose Parade, the Rose Bowl, and several other college football bowl games tomorrow) Tucker and Tanner are nearby begging for more Herr's "Texas Pete" hot sauce flavored potato chips from the bag in my lap, fresh snow flurries are adding to the ten inches of snow already on the ground, and Karen's in the kitchen whipping up a cherry pie (complete with lattice crust) to share with friends coming over for dinner. Georgia Tech is playing USC in the Sun Bowl. Go Georgia Tech! (Sorry, Sally...ANYBODY but USC.)

Looking Back--this has been quite a year of travel, turmoil, and transition for us. The last six months have pretty much turned our lives, ministry, and faith upside down and inside out but without the tragedy, loss, and pain that so many of our friends, supporters, and prayer partners have endured these past 12 months.

Looking Forward--our house is on the market to facilitate our move to North Carolina, we "officially" start service with Missionary Air Group tomorrow and, as we head into 2013, we have far more questions about everything than we have answers about anything.

Georgia Tech just scored.

I thought I'd just insert a few photos from the past few days to share a bit of what's been going on.

 Karen whips up some home-made dog biscuits for Tucker and Tanner.

 Karen whips up a Christmas morning pineapple upside-down cake.

 Tanner opens a present.

 Tucker opens a present.

 Hanging out with Tanner Christmas morning.

 Tucker and Tanner rest after all the excitement of Christmas morning.

Karen whipped-up some apple pies for Christmas dinner dessert.

 The snow hit the day after Christmas.

The snow piles up on our deck railing.

 Wouldn't you like to buy this house and send us to North Carolina?

Karen weaves the crust for this evening's cherry pie.

Karen's cherry pie...

Thanks for your friendship, love, prayers and gifts that have sustained us for the past 16 years in ministry with MMS Aviation here in Coshocton, Ohio...and thanks for your friendship, love, prayers and gifts that will sustain us in ministry with Missionary Air Group in Burlington, North Carolina!

12-12-12 at MMS Aviation

Just thought I'd post a few pictures of what's happening in the hangar this 12th day of the 12th month in the 2012th year of our Lord.

 Andy safety-wires a component of the engine for LAMP's Lance.

 Chuck and Geoff apply masking to the rudder of the MAF 206 in preparation for shooting the color coats (red & blue) on the fuselage.

 Terry McClary works under instrument panel of the LAMP Lance.

 Ben and Bob install the baffling on the 172's new engine.

Safely up from Rus Rus, Honduras this MAG 206 waits for restoration to begin in preparation for its deployment to Guatemala.

Amazon Salt & Light's Cessna 185 awaits paperwork completion and its return to service flight.

December 8th and it's 54 Degrees Outside

December 8th and it's 54 degrees outside here in Coshocton, OH...the land of Bob Evans, Browns, Buckeyes, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The rain outside "should" be snow, but I'm not complaining. It's going to be 70 degrees in Burlington, North Carolina today. Ah, Burlington...the land of Biscuitville, Jaguars, Tar Heels, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Biscuitville

After 15 years, it's hard to believe we only have two more weeks of direct involvement with MMS. Friday, December 21st should be Karen's and my last day in the hangar as "official" MMSers. The next time we visit MMS after that (MMS is closed between Christmas Eve and New Year's day) we'll be serving as part of Missionary Air Group. We fully expect to still be working closely with MMS within our new roles inside MAG.

Apprentice Geoff Linkleter at work in the MMS paint booth

Our house hasn't sold yet, though we have had two viewings recently. The winter months in the Midwest aren't necessarily hotbeds of house sales, but we have received positive feedback from both walk throughs. We're just waiting to see how God arranges all the details.

At MMS, I'm working on preparing documentation to assist those who'll inherit my responsibilities and Karen is training another staff wife to handle her receipting duties.

Tucker and Tanner continue to be the ornery missionary mutts they've always been. They're nine years old now and like shorter walks instead of longer ones, but still greatly enjoy going off-leash to explore the open meadow up by Coshocton Airport. They're scheduled for a hair-cut next week. I'm scheduled for a haircut next week, too...but with a different "groomer."

Tanner says, "It's starting to feel a lot like Christmas!"

We're heading to PA Friday to spend time with supporters, family, friends, and visit our sending church in Lancaster where we'll touch base, answer questions, and share about our move to MAG. 

We're also visiting different local churches in the Coshocton/Zanesville/Newark areas to broaden our relationship base and, Lord willing, open some doors for future financial support opportunities.

Thanks for your prayers as we enter this time of transition! May the Lord richly bless you as we enter this special season set aside to recognize and celebrate the Greatest Gift of All!

Back On The Blog With BIG NEWS!

We had quite a summer and now that it's already almost winter it must mean we had quite a fall season, too! And as you read further down the blog, you'll have a better understanding of why we've been rather silent for a time. It's challenging to communicate in the midst of major change. And oh my...we never expected things to change so dramatically so quickly. 

Shortly after we arrived home from our six weeks in California, the Lord began a process of revelation that has only recently been clarified to the point we can share BIG NEWS!

While we've always been open to serving wherever the Lord would have us serve, we never really expected to be anywhere other than with MMS Aviation in Coshocton, Ohio.

Yet, here we are suddenly finding ourselves in the process of transitioning to service with a new ministry: Missionary Air Group (MAG) which has its headquarters in Burlington, NC. MAG provides "help and hope by air to remote people groups in the Americas." They currently administer a jungle hospital and operate a Cessna 206 in Rus Rus, Honduras and are in the process of developing a similar flight program in Guatemala.

Our house up here is for sale and we've made several trips to Burlington (about 8 hours south by car) to meet with the MAG Board of Directors, look at possible housing, and explore the area.

We'll officially be "on-loan" from MMS but will serve as headquarters' staff in Burlington under MAG's supervision. MAG is a relatively young ministry which I'll join as their "Director of Operations." Karen, with her RN and medical background, may have the opportunity to develop the role of "Medical Liaison" which would be MAG's point of contact between various medical teams and MAG's field programs.

Here is Dwight's letter explaining our partnership with MAG and our latest Coshocton Flyer providing more details as well as Tucker and Tanner's take on the situation.

Dwight's letter

Our newsletter

We greatly appreciate your continued interest and involvement with us as we walk in obedience to the Lord's leading and make this move!

Video: Aircraft Project Overview

Here's the latest video I put together about what's happening in our hangar:

Report From The Hangar!

We're currently enjoying a wonderful break from the heat and the humidity. Overnight temps are dropping into the 40's, daytime temps are topping out in the 70's and, at this point, anything below 100 percent humidity feels like a dry day. It's been a long, hot, HUMID summer in Coshocton, schools are back in session, and all our families are back from vacations and and various deputation trips.

Even with all the man-power shortage and shuffling that goes on every summer, our guys are still pushing projects toward completion.

Cessna 185

Amazon Salt & Light's Cessna 185 project is in its final stages of assembly. The airframe's nearly finished and the rigging is being finalized. The next major assembly process will be to install the floats in order to allow the 185 to use the Amazon River in Brazil for its runway.

 Jim and Jake hang the flaps on the 185.

MAG 206

Missionary Air Group's Cessna 206 is nearly completed. It should be on its way down to Honduras early next month.

 Josh begins installation of the interior of MAG's 206.

MAF 206

The restoration of MAF's Cessna 206 is in its final stages of airframe repair. Soon it will be headed into the paint booth.

 Andy and Chuck rivet a new skin on an elevator for the MAF 206.

Missions Beyond, Zenith 801

With all the major airframe components assembled, final adjustments are being made to its rigging and control surfaces in anticipation of its first flight.

 Zenith 801

GCI Cessna 310

The annual inspection on Gospel Carrier International's Cessna 310 was completed.

GCI 310

Schwartz, Cessna 172

The Cessna 172 that our personnel have access to fly has had a new instrument panel installed and is waiting for the resources to complete an upgrade to a more powerful engine.

Schwartz 172

Centralized Hardware Station
In response to staff requests, a centralized aircraft hardware station is being developed in Hangar B. Phil Maddux is overseeing the move and reorganization of all the various components necessary to hold airplanes together: nuts, bolts, washers, cotter pins, rivets of all shapes and sizes, fasteners, nut plates...

Phil organizes our aircraft hardware.

All this and there are seven more aircraft projects already on their way in!

Thanks for your gifts and prayers which enable us to prepare people and planes for worldwide mission service.

Home Safe, Closing Out Our Trip

We're Home!
The last two weeks of our CA trip became kind of crazy with appointments, meetings, and speaking engagements. It's hard to believe how fast six weeks can pass by and just as hard to comprehend we've been back in Humidity...uh, I mean Ohio...for nearly a week. I return to my full-time duties at the hangar tomorrow. Karen actually returned to her hangar responsibilities on Friday.

Our trip finished well, Tucker and Tanner were happy to see us, and I think we've finally tied up all the loose ends created by the six weeks of visits, commitments, conversations, and travel. While we weren't able to meet with everyone we'd hoped, we met with everyone we could.

Special thanks to Doug and Chris for loaning us their home and car for the duration of our visit!

Foothill Christian Fellowship, Meadow Vista
Our return to Foothill Christian Fellowship, Sunday morning August 19th, was a wonderful blessing. We were warmly welcomed by our brothers and sisters, encouraged by their excitement over our work with MMS, and enjoyed the opportunity to share with the congregation. It was fun to reconnect with friends and church staff and to spend time talking after the service with several individuals interested in learning more about mission aviation and MMS' apprenticeship program. Special thanks to the Bickford family for picking up the reigns of Kans-4-Keith!

First Baptist Church, Grass Valley
That evening we were privileged to participate in First Baptist Church's College/Career gathering over at Bob & Cindy's house. We had a blast getting to know the young men and women that were there, shared about our ministry, and fielded some very insightful questions about ministry and missions.

Calvary Bible Church, Grass Valley
In a sense, our trip really started July 17th at Calvary Bible Church, my sending church in California, and then wrapped up there on August 26th as we participated in their Gather and Grill event after worship. It provided a great time to mingle, make some final connections, and say our goodbyes with many of our friends, supporters, and prayer partners. We spent the 27th preparing and packing for our trip home, and then drove to Sacramento Airport in the wee hours the morning of the 28th for a 5:30 AM departure (thank you United Airlines for canceling the flights with reasonable departure times).  While we arrived in Columbus safely, on time, without incident, and with our baggage...I do remember the days when airline staff were actually friendly and helpful. But then maybe that's expecting too much in 2012.

Tenth Wedding Anniversary
One of the major historical areas in that part of the country is the Empire Mine in Grass Valley. Preserved as Empire Mine State Historical Park, the Empire played a huge role in the hard rock gold mining history of California. There are over 320 miles of mine shafts that run nearly two miles deep under Grass Valley. The grounds of the mine are beautiful and, on the day of our Tenth Anniversary, they were celebrating "Miner's Picnic" a day of activities, food, vendors, music, period costumes, and mine related re-enactments.

It was a fun and unique way to celebrate our special day. The weather was perfect, the grounds were gorgeous, and Karen and I enjoyed each other as much as we ever had in our ten years together. She's quite the gal...

Karen in her dream car during Miner's Picnic.

 Here I am trying to strike it rich by panning for gold in the gold panning trough.

$3 worth of gold flake...please keep sending your prayers and your support...it doesn't look like we'll be "retiring" anytime soon on the gold I panned.

A view of a small part of the grounds...the walkway along the front of the "club house" lawn.

We finished up the day at the historic Holbrooke Hotel, Restaurant, and Saloon in downtown Grass Valley, where we enjoyed a fantastic dinner and overnighted in one of their wonderful period rooms (The Lyman Gilmore Room). The hotel was started in 1851, has had two US Presidents as guests, and is a landmark of California's Gold Rush history.

Holbrooke Hotel, Grass Valley, CA

Lyman Gilmore was a local aviation pioneer who claimed to have flown his steam powered aircraft before the Wright Brothers made their flight in Kitty Hawk. Unfortunately for Lyman, there were no witnesses for his flight. We were surprised by the room as the desk clerk picked that room for us without knowing our association with aviation, or that we'd been married in Kitty Hawk.

Thank You
As Karen and I enter our second decade of marriage and work toward our 16th year of ministry with MMS Aviation, we just want to thank each one of you who've played a role in our lives and in our ministry. May God's blessings be upon you as we continue to submit to His transforming work in our lives and rejoice that He's weaved your lives into ours!

Thursday In The Sierras

Fire Season
Not everyone everywhere has a "fire season." Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall...sure, those are seasons. There's the dry season and then there's the wet season...but in California there is fire season. And we're in the thick of it out here in the Sierra Foothills. The last few days, along with 100 degree temps, the smoke from several wild fires in the region filled the valley. Some of the fires are started by lightning, some are started by people (innocent and suspicious)...but the question isn't IF there will be fires, the questions are: how many fires will there be, which direction will they move, and how large will they become...

From Google Images

Cribbage Season

No, there really isn't a Cribbage Season (that I'm aware of) but Karen and I have continued our Cribbage Tournament...and she's beaten me ten games to five. Ouch. She has also accomplished a very rare event in that she "double-skunked" me...and then hit me the next day with a standard "skunk." I can't remember ever being double-skunked...though my Dad did skunk me several times when he was teaching me how to play the game 1000 years ago...

Here are the final peg positions. 

In the photo, Karen's peg are red. Mine are blue. My front peg is 61 points behind. There are only 121 points to the game. Finishing more 60 points or more behind is a double-skunk. Finishing anywhere from 30-59 points behind is a regular skunk. Anybody want to sit in for me for a few games?

Irrigation System Maintenance and Fawn Season

I've been privileged to play the role of "Irrigation Detective" during our stay here. Irrigation is a way of life in California, especially during the summer if you want anything green in your yard. Automated, underground sprinkler systems are issued with birth certificates out in this part of the country. Our host's home incorporates most types of standard irrigation utilizing pop-ups, vertical stand, and assorted drip lines to support a wide variety of greenery, grass, bushes, plants, and shrubs. As I've monitored the system's migration from station-to-station, I've been blessed to discover several drip lines that were more like gush lines due to structural failure of their various heads (rated in gallons per hour/spray angles/drip rates, etc).

Reconnecting wiring to reactivate one of the front yard irrigation stations after making repairs.

Here's a fawn enjoying the fruits of the front yard irrigation.

Appointment Season

Our calendar is rather full as we head into our last ten days in Grass Valley. So far this week we've had seven appointments to include meetings with the Elders and the Missions Committee of our sending church, Calvary Bible, with another appointment this evening with a young couple that's supported us for several years. This Sunday we're blessed to share with the congregation of Foothill Christian Fellowship in the morning and then with First Baptist's College/Career group in the evening.

Thank you to each of you who are praying for us during this six week trip. Deputation is always a challenging mix of encouragement, stress, exhaustion, and fun as we share what God's doing in our lives with those who already know us, have just met us, or will soon meet us through God's grace.

In between appointments, I'm handling my MMS office responsibilities and fine-tuning PowerPoint presentations and video clips to share.

 We are definitely missing those Missionary Mutts!

Hot Hot Hot In The High Sierras

We're in our third consecutive day of 100+ degree weather up here (2,500 feet up in the foothills of the High Sierra Mountains in California). Hard to believe, but true, with three more days predicted to reach 99 degrees. This is rather unusual for the Sierra Foothills...Karen and I are thankful for air-conditioning and the low humidity. It may be 100+ but with a humidity level of only 14%...it's bearable to sit in the shade (of 100 foot tall Pine, Black Oak, and Cedar trees) and read a book. In Ohio...you wouldn't DARE go outside in temps like this because you'd drown.

This wraps up our fourth week of visiting with friends, supporters, prayer partners, churches, committees, Bible study groups, and sharing our ministry with prospective partners. The next two weeks are rather structured right up to our return to Sacramento Airport on the 27th--for our early AM return to Ohio on the 28th. Six weeks is a long time in one sense and yet not near enough time in another.

Our photos from the portrait session with Sue McCarley turned out fantastic! Here are some of the portraits from our time together at Empire Mine State Historic Park (about five minutes from where we're blessed to be living).

 

Click HERE to visit Sue's website to see more of her excellent work. Sue just won several ribbons for her photography at the Nevada County Fair.

Sue, (and Scarlet, Sue's photographic assistant) thanks again for making that afternoon at the mine so special!

Into August, San Francisco, Alcatraz, and Jelly Bellies

The past week has flown by. Appointments, Bible studies, church visits and even a whirlwind tour of San Francisco!

Two friends of ours in the Sacramento area offered to take us into San Francisco for an overnight look-see. We drove down to their place Thursday evening and on Friday morning, headed out to The City from the north to enter over the Golden Gate Bridge. While I'd been to San Francisco probably 40 years ago, neither Karen nor I had ever been over the Golden Gate.

When we arrived in Sacramento Thursday evening, it was 98 degrees. When we arrived in San Francisco Friday morning it was 55 degrees, cold, foggy, and windy. THAT was a contrast. Most of the folks in town were dressed as if it were December instead of August. We were glad we packed long pants and sweatshirts. The sun did come out mid-day, but it still didn't warm up much.

As we neared the approach to the Golden Gate, all traffic stopped. All the inbound lanes became a parking lot and no traffic appeared on the outbound side of the roadway. We sat there for nearly a half hour, eventually learning later (from the tour bus driver) that the authorities had closed the bridge because someone had decided to climb one of the bridge's towers and the authorities were getting the climber down. All in a days work in San Francisco, I guess.

We were also treated to tour Alcatraz Island and then, on the way home, we stopped to tour the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield. Thanks Chuck and Barbara for being such wonderful hosts!

 The Golden Gate Bridge!

 Alcatraz cruise and tour departure dock.

Alcatraz Island

 Inside "D Block" at Alcatraz

 The view of San Francisco from Alcatraz Island.

Here we are with Chuck and Barbara inside Boudin's Bakery on Pier 39. We're eating clam chowder served in bowls of Boudin's famous sourdough bread.

 California Sea Lions are a major attraction at Pier 39.

 Driving down Lombard Street in San Francisco.

 Waiting for a tour inside the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield, CA.