Completion of MAF Orientation

What a fantastic two weeks of orientation! Praise the Lord for the opportunity to participate and His provision of good health for the duration of the program. No migraines, no vertigo, no illness of any kind.

Here's a picture of those of us who stayed on for the second week to include MAF staff (Gillian and Annie on the far right), the brave and valient grandparents who provided childcare (Brian & Carol, and Mars), and the kids of the missionary families involved.

Please pray for Adrian, Lindsay, Aaron, and Morgan as they prepare for service with MAF in Kenya.

Please pray for Luc, Malaina, Jalil, and Adele as they prepare for service with MAF in Uganda.

Please pray for Vicky as she prepares to marry John who is already in serving Uganda. (Vicky, I just realized I don't have an individual photo of you! 1000 apologies...Vickie is standing next to Karen in the group picture.)

We all became very well acquainted over the two week course and look forward to staying in touch with each other as God moves us to our respective areas of calling and specific fields of service. We gained loads of information about the realities and cross-cultural considerations of service in a foreign field, were challenged in ways we couldn't imagine, and we encouraged spiritually for the tasks ahead.

Please pray for us we prepare for meetings with MAF headquarters staffs in Folkestone on Monday and in Ashford on Tuesday. We'll soon be on our way to Ashford to spend the weekend with Rachel and her husband Jamie. Rachel is Personnel Manager with MAF United Kingdom. We were blessed to host Rachel in our home last summer when she came out for meetings at MMS. Our internet access may be somewhat limited over the course of the remainder of our visit. We'll post as we can and as we are able.

Thanks for checking in and staying in touch. We're blessed to have you as part of our ministry and are excited to have you visiting our blog. May God's richest blessings be upon you.

Personal Security, Packing, and Wrapping

Today was devoted to the discussion of personal security in foreign settings. We reviewed cross-cultural situations, discussed the "threat+vulnerability=risk" model, and used the "acceptance, prevention, and defense triangle" to develop personal approaches to security. We spent the afternoon watching videos of different security situations and dissected the situations to understand: how we could better approach a similar situation to avoid it and how we could better respond should we find ourselves in a similar security crisis.

It was tough to put ourselves in these difficult spots and to consider the realities of being unprepared and unaware of the risks inherent in any location Stateside or foreign. We're whipped. This has been an intense two weeks.

Packing
We'll be packing up our gear tonight as we need to be out of our rooms by breakfast time.

Wrapping
After morning sessions on communication, we'll wrap up the orientation with an evaluation session right before lunch. After lunch, we'll load our gear into Gillian's car (Lord willing, it will all fit!) and we'll be off to Ashford and onto the next stage of our trip.

We'll spend this weekend with Jamie and Rachel, move into a bed & breakfast for the week, be in meetings with MAF-UK on Monday, MAF-International on Tuesday, and then be on vacation until our return to Ohio next Saturday, July 26.

I'm unsure about internet access, so this may be the last post for a while. We'll see. Thanks for all your prayers!

Health, Safety, MELs and Ops-A's

Yeehaw. Today started with four hours of general health and safety discussions as a combined group led by Kathryn and Larry. This was followed by four hours with "just the guys" as Larry taught about MELs and Ops A's with a case study or two thrown in for good measure.

So what is an MEL? It's a Minimum Equipment List which is required for every aircraft in order to determine what "minimum equipment" needs to be functional for safe operations.

So what is an Ops-A? It's the primary organizational flight manual which covers aircraft operation within the respective MAF flight program. Luc (mechanic-Uganda), Adrian (pilot-Kenya), and I worked through several case studies to familiarize ourselves with the manuals and also to "conduct" an investigation into an an aircraft incident to better understand MAF's aircraft safety "model" and procedures.

As you've probably seen enough photos of people standing and talking or sitting and listening, here are a couple "English" scenery photos for your enjoyment.

Looking across the "lower" lake back towards the conference center.

A swan on the lower lake.

Tomorrow we focus on personal security concerns in overseas field settings.

Morning Devotion, Bugs, Bites, and Malaria

After breakfast it was Karen's and my day to lead devotions. We shared about the importance of balance in ministry, our own struggles with trying to find balance, and encouraged the group to consider silence and solitude as spiritual disciplines which might be helpful in maintaining balance as well as in pursuing a deeper relationship with God.

Bugs, Bites, And Malaria
No, we didn't get bit by bugs as part of our training, nor did we catch malaria, but we did spend a good portion of the day talking about health considerations in African field settings. Here's a snapshot of our tutor, Fiona (on the right), leading a discussion about health resources with Adrian, Lindsay, Malaina, Vicky, and Karen.

MAF Aviation Services Department
Our last sessions of the day were related to aircraft operations. Henk-Jan, Director of the Aviation Services Department gave a quick overview of the support provided by Aviation Services and introduced three of his managers: Larry, training; Geoff, quality; and Keith, maintenance. Larry and Geoff then made presentations about their respective departments.


Personal Report
Karen and I are doing fine. We're sleeping well and are still vertigo and migraine free. Today started under gray skies with the traditional British drizzle but finished well under warm sun and blue sky. We were able to get out for a short walk before dinner and captured a couple more scenery shots from the grounds. I'll try to work them in over the next couple days.

Thanks for your prayers! The connections we made today with Larry, Geoff, and Keith will serve MMS and MAF well in the future. We're so excited to see what God is going to do through this trip and the resultant relationships.

Back in Class

With the PFO over we're back in a regular cycle with tutors this week. Today, under Max's tutelage, we covered theology, eschatology, church history, missiology, and field reality in relation to MAF's flight selection policies. Max is Manager of Research and Development for MAF and jokingly refers to himself as an MAF "artifact." He was a missions pilot with MAF for twelve years and has served in various management positions since joining MAF in 1971.

Our last session of the day was hosted by Luke, who heads up MAF's Information Services division. Luke discussed MAF's intranet services and led a hands-on session related to setting up a web page on MAFspace. He maintains MAF's Op Center email and LAN. He builds hardware, writes software, designs systems, and otherwise holds everything together with his bare hands (and a hardworking staff).

We'd also like to introduce Mark & Jenny who are in the pipeline for service with us at MMS as part of the MAF engineer scholarship scheme. They'll soon have their first child. Lord willing, they'll be able to come to MMS for evaluation sometime next Spring. We enjoyed getting to know them over the first week of the orientation.

Trip to Rye

We had a good trip to Rye yesterday. You might not believe this, but just up the train tracks from Rye is a town called Ham. Go figure. Here are several snapshots from our visit to Rye:

We started our trip at Battle Train Station.

Two tourists.

On the train to Hastings to catch the train to Rye.

Outside Simon the Pieman's establishment in Rye.

Yes, we did go inside to sample a treat or two.

Cobblestone streets

Inside an English delicatessen.

Typical architecture

St. Mary's Church

Ypres Tower (built 1249)

Saturday Morning

Karen's still sleeping and I'm up with the sun this morning. Yes, the sun. There's this bright glowing ball in the sky and not a cloud to be seen. I've already enjoyed more sun this morning than I have all the previous week. It's wonderful. Maybe the rain showers that are predicted won't materialize. And even if they do...it's summer in England. It's supposed to rain. You can bet we'll have our umbrellas with us as we begin our little adventure today.

I think we've settled on visiting the town of Rye. It's just a short train ride from here and was recommended to us as a worthy day trip by several in our PFO group. The whole train thing is pretty cool. We'll take some snapshots while we're out and about.

As a final wrap to the PFO here's a shot of me with the Norwegian chocolate bar I was blessed to win as part of a cross-cultural exercise. Thanks again, Tony and Arne for making PFO such a meaningful part of our lives and ministry.

Speaking of snapshots, here's one I took yesterday afternoon right here across from the reception area.It looks rather English, eh wot?

We Passed MAF's Pre-Field Orientation!

We just came out from our PFO evaluation and feedback session. We passed! Here we are with the proof.
That means we'll be coming home on the 26th after all!

This was an amazing two days of training. We wish we could share some of experiences of the past two days, but to maintain the integrity of the program for future classes, it's best left unsaid. We can say this: as a group, we grew very close over the past forty-eight hours. It was hard to say goodbye to several of the group who were only here for the PFO. Vicky, Luc & Melaina, Adrian & Lindsay, Karen and I will be here next week for the additional organizational training.

Here's the full group from PFO (everyone but Melaina who took the photo). Members of our group came from Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Canada, and we and Vicky of course were the Americans from Coshocton, Ohio. Vicky is engaged to an MMS graduate serving in Kenya. Two of the MAF families are headed to service in Kenya and Uganda.

Tony Horsfall was one of the two tutors for the PFO. We shared about him in an earlier posting and promised a photo. Here it is. We really connected with Tony. He has such a heart for the Lord and for the missionaries under his care. Tony and his wife were church planters in Malaysia and he's authored numerous books on spiritual growth. Thank you, Tony!

Arne Nordhal was the other tutor. Arne is from Norway and founded MAF Norway. He is on the MAF International Board of Trustees and is the former President of MAF Europe. Arne is the former Secretary General/CEO of Stromme Foundation and Youth With A Mission, Norway. It was a blessing to spend 48 hours under his tutelage. Thank you, Arne!

After the past week, especially after the past two days, Karen and I plan to do a bit of sightseeing in the local area tomorrow. We can use the break. Thanks for praying for us and making it possible for us to serve through your generous support.

Pre-Field Orientation

Thank you for your prayers. This has been most challenging. We head into the final 12-hour session of the PFO this morning. Everyone in the group is getting to know each other and themselves much better, which isn't always an easy process.

Please continue to pray for: Mark & Jenny, Andrew, Luc & Melaina, Bruce, Adrian & Lindsay, Carolyne, Mark, Vickie, and Karen and me.

Praise the Lord for another day without vertigo (me) and without migraines (Karen)!

Fatten The Calf

We're on break before the evening meal and heading into the PFO portion of the orientation. PFO meaning Pre-Field Orientation. No one knows what it really entails other than it's supposed to be challenging, tiring, stressful and at least 48 hours long...they promise us we'll live through it but if we don't...Tim and Michele, please take good care of our dogs...

But the Ashburnham kitchen staff are fattening us up for the kill, so to speak. Look at this from lunch!They call it "Bakewell Tart" and then you eat it like this. Covered in HEAVY cream. Oh man....and it was only one of two desserts offered. Throw in "bangers" for breakfast, "biscuits" for morning tea, "cakes" for afternoon tea and more double desserts for supper, and there you have it: we've gained "half a stone."

But really this orientation isn't about food. Graham, Senior Finance Manager for the Africa Region, led us in several of the most interesting financial sessions we'd ever sat through. We now have a full understanding of all the "management" roles that fall under the "finance" heading and have a grasp of their financial structure from board level to field program.

Tony spent the afternoon with us discussing spiritual aspects of service and transitional considerations related to cross-cultural adaptation. We'll have a photo of Tony up before too much longer as he's assisting with the PFO. He's also led our morning devotions. Tony serves as MAF's Pastoral "Carer" and visits each field program once every year to minister to the missionaries. Although we're here for the purposes of MMS, God is using the things that Tony has shared to minister to our hearts as well. Praise the Lord!

Living in A Foreign Field

The majority of today's orientation sessions dealt with the challenges faced when living overseas and were led by Annet using small group exercises, PowerPoint, hand-outs, and interactive activities. A broad range of subjects were covered all geared toward facilitating successful cross cultural adaptation and an effective transition into a team environment overseas. Real life on a foreign field was dissected and discussed on multiple levels. It was a time to hear the hard facts and ask the tough questions. The sessions were very helpful, well handled and well led. In short, "brilliant"!

Teresa wrapped the afternoon session up by speaking on the organisational structure of the programme manuals and had us work with different manuals to locate specific questions related to their flight programmes in Uganda and Kenya. Karen, Malaina, Luc, Mark, and I found nine of the ten correct answers.

On a completely different note: What does the "bin man" do? What time does your "postie" come around? Have your children had all their "jabs"? What is the specialty of a "solicitor"? And is taking a nap the same as taking a "nappie"?

By the way, I'm not sure what my blog schedule will be Wednesday/Thursday as we'll be going to 12 hour days as part of the Pre-Field Orientation portion. It's all rather hush-hush so we have no idea what we're headed into.

Thanks for praying for us!!

MAF Orientation Begins

We just finished day one of the two week Facts 'N Friction course and it was a full day (like every day will be for the next two weeks.

First off was an introduction and "ice breaker" led by Annie, MAF's Learning & Development Manager, along with Gillian, MAF's Recruitment Administrator with help from Kathryn, the Office Administrator. From left to right in the photo: Gillian, Annie, and Kathryn.

Following sessions were led by current joint Chief Executive and Regional Director for the Africa Region of MAF International by Chris Lukkien. Chris helped everyone understand the vision and purpose of MAF as well as the basic organizational structure through lecture as well as practical exercises. Here we are critiquing one group's attempt to recreate MAF's somewhat complex organizational structure from memory.

Another practical and fun exercise was recreating the structure and composition of the nine specific flight programs within the Africa region. Here are Andy and Mark & Jenny working together to match the ten elements within each flight program to each of the nine respective countries. Andy and Mark & Jenny are in the pipeline for service with MMS. We expect Andy to start at MMS this Fall. Mark & Jenny could start late in 2009.

Here I am with Mark, who has recently joined MAF in the new role of Youth Manager. Mark is responsible for developing a vision for mission in the upcoming generations and planting the seeds which will result in financial fruit to carry MAF into the future described with MAF as developing "people, prayer, and pounds." I've greatly enjoyed talking with Mark as his full-time position is directly related to the seminar I just led at MMS...connecting with the younger generations.

Later sessions were led by Julie, the MAF HR Manager (my opposite number). It was so refreshing to hear Julie address similar topics in MAF's orientation that I regularly address in our own orientations at MMS. I look forward to working closer with Julie and Annie, Gillian, and Kathryn as members of her department. It's really fun to finally put faces with the people with whom I've been emailing for several years.

Karen and I are doing well, no vertigo, no migraines and we're now scheduled to go eat, so we'll catch you tomorrow. Thanks for your prayers!

Sunday At Ashburnham

We slept great last night and woke up refreshed. It appears as if coming a day early really helped us make the time zone transition a bit smoother. We very much feel on schedule with the actual local time.

Hey, the food here at the center is great. Actually, my breakfast looked a lot like the one I had at Gatwick. Scrambled eggs and mushrooms! But since this wasn't "vegetarian" I also had several wonderful slabs of English bacon; which, to an American, is more like Canadian bacon. There you go, three nationalities in one sentence about food! Hash browns, croissants, jam, juice, cold cereal, yogurt, coffee and tea were also available in abundance. Speaking of food and adjusting to the local time zone, we returned to our room and proceeded to sleep through lunch!

Last night we stayed in Patmos Lodge. Today we'll move to Ashburn House to join the other MAF personnel who arrive this afternoon. Here's a shot of St. Peter's Church which is on the grounds.

The past few hours we've been in the West Room Library where I found a 77% wireless signal. I'm afraid we had a few strange looks cast our way as Karen followed me through the hallways of the main building with the laptop open searching for the strongest wireless signal as I mumbled, "4 percent, 17 percent, no signal 20 percent, 60 percent...turn right...enter THAT room..." which turned out to be the library. I'm sure there's already stories beginning to circulate about the crazy American in the Indiana Jones Fedora...please pray.

But we're on line (for now) and will continue to blog as we have the opportunity and the signal.

From the library we overlook the main entrance to the estate, the stone bridge over the pond, and the room is just like you'd imagine a library would look in an English estate house. It's rained all morning but stopped a few minutes ago. Here's Karen enjoying a good book and a great view.

All the personnel from MAF UK and MAF International should arrive over the next few hours. Karen and I look forward to meeting everyone and starting the orientation course tomorrow.

We don't have the camera with us right now so we'll upload some photos later or in tomorrow's posting.

Have a great day and stay tuned.

Safe Arrival and Uneventful Travel

Praise the Lord we've actually made it to Ashburnham with everything we started out with. The flight from Cleveland was only 2/3 full so Karen and I were blessed by the additional room in our row. We didn't get much sleep during the 7 1/2 hour flight, but the flight itself was fine.

We arrived safely at Gatwick at 6:22 AM local time and made it through immigration in about thirty minutes. From there we picked up our bags, rode the shuttle train to the South Terminal where we had breakfast at "Joe's". Karen had French Toast made of "Bloom" bread and a very large "regular" cup of Twining's Classic English Tea. I had the Vegetarian Breakfast: eggs scrambled on toast with grilled tomatoes, grilled Portabella mushrooms and a cup of "Americano" coffee which was wonderfully thick and a frothy rich, rich brown in color. The prices were very reasonable at first glance, but then we remembered we have to double every price because of the exchange rate between the dollar and the pound. So, French Toast and scrambled eggs ended up costing over $25. Not a complaint, just a reality we need to remember.

After breakfast we found our way around the terminal to where the trains were, purchased our tickets, found the right platform, called ahead to reserve a taxi at Battle Station (our end destination) and caught the right train. We did have something of a hitch in our comprehension of the train schedules and platform marquis which caused us to miss the immediate connection, but once we learned the system we caught the next "right" train 34 minutes later.

Ashburnham Place is only a few minutes from Battle Station. An interesting component of driving, besides driving on the left instead of the right, is that many two-way streets are only one car wide. It's like driving at a high rate of speed down an ally blind curves lined with bushes, or parked cars, or buildings. I'd experienced that before on my trip over in 2001, but Karen found it all rather thrilling. We had a great taxi driver who enjoyed his job and did it well.

The photographs are of me waiting to catch the train outbound from Gatwick, the main hall at Ashburnham Place, and Karen on the steps in front of the main hall.

We look forward to staying in touch as we move through this trip. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to blog, but we'll blog as often as we can.

Thanks for your prayers! We're well and trying to stay awake so we can adjust to the five hour time difference before the MAF orientation classes begin Monday morning.