Friday, October 24, 2025

MMS Aviation's 50th Anniversary Celebration

MMS's 50th Anniversary Celebration went even better than planned! Our staff, apprentice families, and volunteers worked long and hard to prepare, coordinate, and facilitate this once-in-a-lifetime, three day event.

Friday Night
Friday night we hosted a "homecoming" dinner for past graduates and staff. MMS's first graduate, Tim Tiffner, was there! It was a very emotional and encouraging night as 50 years of MMS missionaries "came home" to reconnect, tell stories, break bread together and celebrate God's goodness.

MMS graduates, families, and staff from the past 50 years gather inside Hangar C for our first ever "homecoming" meal. We're second row on the left.

Saturday
The Coshocton County community came up to our hangar facility on Saturday and, under blue sky and warm sun, enjoyed tours, airplane and helicopter rides, ate hot dogs and hamburgers, enjoyed live music, and were exposed to the width and breadth of missionary aviation right in Coshocton, Ohio.

Some of the crowd in Hangar A on Saturday morning. The hangar was like this all day!

Sunday
Sunday it rained, but a surprisingly dedicated group of folks made it into our hangar turning a wet, windy day into something much more. I had the opportunity to escort Denise Neff through the hangar. Denise is a staff writer for The Coshocton County Beacon and was intrigued by the MMS story. She shared that years ago, her father actually landed at MMS for maintenance on his airplane before continuing south to deliver critically needed supplies to Haiti. I mentioned that I thought I remembered his visit and asked if her father flew a Cessna 310 (a twin-engine Cessna). She said yes. I said, "I took a photo of your dad's airplane on our ramp!"

Denise's Dad's airplane is the maroon and white, Cessna 310 in the center of the photo. I believe I took this photo about 15 years ago. Crazy connection, huh?

Denise asked great questions, took great notes, and then wrote an EXCELLENT article about MMS and the event. Just click the hot-link to the article and you just might recognize one of the guys in the photo! 


Thank You!
Thanks for making all this possible through your ongoing friendship, love, encouragement, prayers, and financial partnership. None of this would happen without you. We may be here, but you're the reason we can stay. Granted, the MMS' 50th Anniversary celebration wasn't all work.

              

We praise God for each one of you making it possible for us to be your hands and feet in preparing people and planes for worldwide missionary service!

Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Backyard Bird Photos: Summer 2025

As we're already into October, it's probably time I post the "remainder" of my summer shots. Enjoy!

A very wet Sparrow

Male Northern Cardinal

Tit Mouse

Female and Male House Finch with Male Eastern Bluebird

Male Eastern Bluebird

Female Northern Cardinal

Humming Bird at our feeder

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Backyard Bird Photos: Spring 2025

With all the crazy weather this spring (unseasonably WET) and summer (unseasonably HOT), it's been challenging to take backyard bird photos. When I'd have time to take photos the weather would be uncooperative, and when the weather was cooperative, I didn't have the time or drive to wait on birds willing to participate. However, here are some bird shots I salvaged from spring.

Eastern Bluebird

Chipping Sparrow on Fence

Northern Cardinal

Chipping Sparrow in Tree

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Eastern Junco

I hope you enjoyed these snaps from spring. I'm working up a selection from summer. 
Stay tuned.

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Photos from the MMS Hangar

 Here are some of my hangar snapshots.

Jack is inside a Cessna 206 fuselage bucking rivets as Ben drives rivets from the outside.

Ben drives rivets to secure a belly skin to the 206 fuselage. Jack Harper is inside bucking the rivets Ben is driving. Each "cleco" in the skin is a place holder for another rivet.

Rebekah wires up a power bus as part of a missionary aircraft control panel upgrade.

Sharee bucks rivets inside the engine compartment another Cessna 206 restoration.

Sharee, Ben (in hat) and Jack discuss structural strategy as they build the engine compartment on a 206.

Two missionary Cessna 206s under restoration in Hangar B.

There's always a lot going on at MMS Aviation where we've been preparing people and airplanes for missionary service for 50 years!


Sunday, May 11, 2025

Keith & Karen's Spring 2025 Newsletter @ Bird Photos!

Hello Everyone! Here's our latest personal newsletter and, should you read both pages of the newsletter, BONUS BIRD PHOTOS! 


Chipping Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Red-Bellied Woodpecker
    
Eastern Bluebird

Northern Cardinal (female)

Carolina Chickadee