The Coshocton-Burlington Commute Continues

Burlington: June 5-9
I returned to Burlington, NC June 5-9 to work with Sean. I prepared material for that week's Board meeting, assisted with assorted administrative tasks, and participated in interviews with two families that are prospective candidates for the MMS/MAG pilot-mechanic training partnership.

The Coshocton/Burlington trip works out to an eight hour drive (one way) with a meal and gasoline stops thrown in. It's a relatively easy drive (no crazy interchanges, excellent roads, typically light traffic) with lots of fantastic scenery to enjoy through the mountains of West Virginia and Virginia.

Preparing packets for the MAG Board Meeting

The MAG Board meeting in session.

As I finished out the week, Sean joined me in the car for the drive back to Ohio as he had multiple meetings scheduled in and around Coshocton.

Coshocton: June 9-14
We arrived in Coshocton Sunday afternoon and arranged for Paul Jones (MAG's Guatemala Program Director) to meet us at our house for a hotdog grilling session. Paul was driving in from Indiana to spend the week in Coshocton for meetings as well.

Sean & Paul on our front porch.

Sean, Paul, and Scott Grote (MAG's Director of Aviation Maintenance) spent Monday in Akron with the director of Hospital Shalom. Hospital Shalom is the Guatemalan hospital for whom we're to provide air support. Paul will deploy to Guatemala in September to begin the many months of groundwork necessary to establish our air ambulance service in conjunction with Hospital Shalom.

Tuesday: Sean met with a local fund raising specialist who has an interest in projects related to mission aviation and providing medical services to remote peoples. Karen whipped up some awesome grilled Turkey Ruben sandwiches and three-bean salad for our lunch. (I should have taken pictures of the sandwiches.)

Wednesday: I was up at MMS with Sean as he conducted a flight consultation with Jason Maust, a prospective candidate for the MMS/MAG pilot-mechanic training partnership. Sean also conducted a Bi-annual Flight Review (BFR) for Paul.

Sean leads Jason in conducting a pre-flight inspection. 

Here they're inspecting the airplane's rudder.

Thursday: Sean, Scott, Paul, and I met with Andrew Tonn, an Ohio based photo-journalist and videographer who as a passion for the people of Rus Rus, Honduras and for our work with them. Andrew came to MMS to shoot hangar footage and conduct initial interviews related to a new video project he's undertaking. Andrew intends to follow Paul Jones to document the story of how he became a missionary pilot-mechanic and to record Paul's experiences as he opens our new field of operations in Guatemala! Is that totally cool or what? Paul is a graduate of the MMS Aviation apprenticeship program.

Andrew interviews Paul in the front hangar at MMS Aviation.

On Friday, Karen and I drove Sean into Columbus to meet with an architect from Kentucky, another friend of MAG, who has volunteered to draw up plans to improve the hospital facility. He's also assembling a team to go to Rus Rus to survey the entire air base and hospital compound!

On Saturday Karen and I returned to the Kokosing Gap Trail to ride our bikes from Howard, OH to Mt. Vernon and back. It was a wonderful day for a bike ride. Here's a snapshot from the public garden along the trail. It's a great place to park your bikes and to take a short break!

We usually park our bikes on the small bridge that joins the trail to the garden.

Flowers in bloom in the garden along the Kokosing Gap Trail.

Thanks for your continued prayers as we live in Coshocton and commute to Burlington. We look forward to God revealing His plans for our move to North Carolina.

Coshocton Flyer and Quick Update

Well, Karen's at home with Tucker and Tanner preparing our house for a showing this morning (MAYBE TODAY'S THE DAY GOD SELLS OUR HOUSE!) and I'm down in Burlington working with Sean. I'll head home Sunday.

Sean's actually coming up to Coshocton to stay with us next week for meetings and an interview/flight consultation with a prospective candidate for our training partnership with MMS Aviation. Right now there's so much going on with MAG that Sean's nearly in Coshocton as much as I'm in Burlington!

COSHOCTON FLYER
Here's our latest newsletter! YAY!

Here's the link to the above mentioned MAG 2012 Year End Summary Newsletter.

We hope you enjoy both newsletters and thank you for your continued prayers!

A Pastor's Heart: Carlos Reports from Rus Rus, Honduras

Carlos Paz, Missionary Air Group's Director of Pastoral Ministries, is currently down in Honduras as part of a four week outreach. After preaching at churches in the cities of La Ceiba & Puerta Limpera, he arrived at our remote base in Rus Rus and is sending periodic reports from the village. This is his most recent report:

Carlos Paz in Rus Rus

The drought in the region has now stretched to seven weeks. Things are so dry. The land is desperate for rain. Rice, a staple food, cannot be planted. Generally, rice is well planted by this time of the year. But not this year. There is no planting in sight due to such dry and hard ground. Pray that we will receive strong showers soon.

During weekdays I play baseball with the elementary school children in the village. They are getting quite good. We start at ten o'clock exercising, reviewing the rules, practicing some rudimentary plays, and just playing a game until someone is ahead and finish around eleven o'clock. The two teachers like it because it is a controlled learning experience. Besides, the kids love hanging out with me. I love them back.

The hospital compound water tower

Our one horse-power water pump is dying. Consequently, three of four times during the week many people meet at the hospital compound to move water by buckets to the water purification system one hundred feet away. We pump water to the surface of the well, fill 5 gallon buckets, and then carry the buckets one by one until we fill a 250 gallon purification container. Once the water moves through the purification system, we can can fill our buckets with water that's safe for drinking and cooking. We need a new pump--a two-horsepower pump strong enough to push the water up to our water tower which then feeds the purification system by gravity.

Most days after we move water we hold literacy classes on the porch of the home where I stay. We have anywhere from four to six women show up who are persevering and greatly improving in their skills. This takes much practice and repetition. Soon we will have covered the whole alphabet and will do more forming of syllables and reading of whole words.

Sharing in the special music during worship

Yesterday's Sunday service was very well attended. I was one of two pastors in the village and I led both congregations in celebrating the Day of Pentecost, preaching from Acts, Chapter 1 and 2. I shared in special music and dedicated a baby that had been named after me. People listened well and seemed to take serious interest in the event and the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church.

I'm glad to report that despite some difficult situations, God continues to give me strength and to hold me close. The solitude available here in Rus Rus provides a wonderful opportunity to seek and sense His presence. There are moments when I miss my family very much. It can be hard being so many miles apart--separated for several weeks at a time, but the opportunity to share God's love to this village, to be the provider of Christ's compassion to this group of people so in need of help and hope, is one my family and I readily embrace.

Please pray for Carlos as he wraps up his latest trip to Honduras and returns to Stateside responsibilities with us at Missionary Air Group.

Back from Burlington, Moveless in Coshocton

Wearing Out The Road Between Burlington, North Carolina and Coshocton, Ohio
Karen and I recently returned from another week working at MAG's headquarters in Burlington, North Carolina. While we wait for our house to sell (six months and counting!) we've felt/and continue to feel it's important for us to be in Burlington at least one week a month for direct interaction with Sean Donnelly (MAG President), board members, and office volunteers.While we're able to stay involved working remotely from Coshocton, OH on our computers, there's nothing like actually being there in the office with Sean. The hard part is always having to leave there at the end of the week.
                                        

This trip I prepared documents for MAG's board meeting. Karen followed up with medical contacts, vendors, and ministries that Sean and Dr. Crissman (one of MAG's board members) interacted with as part of the Technical Exchange for Christian Healthcare (TECH) Conference they'd just attended. We also spent quite a bit of time talking with Sean about mission vision, role definitions, administrative concepts, and operational procedures.

Sean leads us through a multiphase vision for Hospital Rus Rus.

 Karen and Sean debrief the TECH Conference.

 Karen and MAG's new ECG machine donated to us at the TECH Conference.

Preparing materials for the MAG board meeting.

Sean's scheduled to arrive in Coshocton tomorrow (Saturday) evening after attending the IAMA Conference this past week in Michigan and making a presentation in Columbus, OH Saturday afternoon. We have the privilege of hosting him in our home through Monday. We'll probably set dates for our June trip to Burlington while he's here. 

Yesterday's Impromptu MAG Staff Meeting in Coshocton

Scott Grote, MAG Director of Aviation Maintenance, is back in town from two weeks at our hospital air base in Honduras and Paul Jones, our Guatemala Program Director, is back from a year of language study in Costa Rica. The three of us were able to meet here in town yesterday for breakfast and ministry discussions.

Scott, Paul, and Keith at Jerry's Family Restaurant

The Newsletter is Coming! The Newsletter is Coming!

Yes, our latest Coshocton Flyer newsletter is under development. Stay tuned. Lord willing, we'll have it produced and mailed before the end of the month!