First Flight Back

After 8 months of not flying in our country of service, I was finally able to start flying again last week. Our organization requires multiple checks before releasing a pilot to fly after a furlough. Some of these checks include.

1.) Instrument Proficiency Check (check our proficiency flying in clouds)

2.) Flight Review (check our ability to handle the airplane in emergencies)

3.) Mountain Flying Review (to make sure we're proficient flying in confined valleys)

4.) Marginal Airstrip Check (land at one of the more difficult runways prior to flying to all other runways)

 These checks took place in one simulator flight and two airplane flights with one of our instructors on board. 

 On Friday I was released to fly operationally by myself again. I got to put all that I had just reviewed into practice as it was raining all over our island. However, it was light rain and clouds without much turbulence. The weather report from interior was encouraging, so I decided to go.

After the first hour in the clouds, I could start to see things outside.

The village I was going to had fairly nice weather and I was able to drop the translator off there.

On the return flight I had a sick patient (front center) and several other passengers, who were happy to be heading to town.

All in all it was a great first day to serve again in the interior of our island. We play a small part serving the people here, not only by providing transportation, but also making it possible for the people to hear God's Word.

Bagels

One thing I really enjoyed in America during our furlough was having bagels.  Since we cannot buy them here at the grocery store, I decided to try making my own this morning.  They weren't as intimidating as I thought!  I thought I'd share the recipe I followed, in case anyone else wants to try their hand at homemade bagels.  I'm excited to try different varieties next time.

I doubled the following recipe, which made 14 bagels
(http://allrecipes.com/recipe/220619/real-homemade-bagels/)

Who are we following?

John 10:3b-4

He calls his own sheep BY NAME and leads them out.

When he has brought out all his own,

            HE GOES ON AHEAD  OF THEM,

And his sheep follow him,

            BECAUSE THEY KNOW HIS VOICE.

From the world’s perspective, what we are doing does not make sense.  But we are not following the world.  Jesus has sacrificed all He had to win our souls.  Out of love, He paid the ransom that we needed.  So now, it only makes sense that we would follow where He leads.

The analogy of the sheep following the shepherd really stands out to me.  I don’t think I had noticed before how the shepherd is going out in front of the sheep.  The picture in my mind was usually the shepherd behind or beside the sheep…herding them in the direction he wants them to go.  But, thinking of the shepherd bravely walking in front and all the sheep following him, because they know His voice-that is such a comforting image.  We are not walking into some unknown territory or future as the leader.  Jesus is already there, in front of us, guiding us with His words of truth.  Sometimes it might feel like we are blindly walking into something…yet if we are following His leading and direction, we can be comforted to know that HE is AHEAD of us.

I want to follow my shepherd.  I trust that He knows what is best for me.  I want to know His voice well, so that when I am tempted to doubt, I can recognize His Truth and stand firm on it. 

Fun Flying

Some of you may remember that for Benji's 5th birthday Kars had the opportunity to take him along on a flight interior.

 Jozie remembers this almost on a daily basis and keeps reminding us that he wants to go on a flight with Papa for his birthday. However this year we were on the road for Jozie's birthday and so he hadn't gotten a birthday flight.

 Last week we had the opportunity to take the boys on a short flight. Jozie was thrilled to sit up front and was convinced he just needs a few more lessons before him and Benji are ready to go fly on their own.

Ready for Take-off. Jozie as co-pilot

Benji also got a chance to be co-pilot

"Ditch, Ditch, Ditch"

I wrap my hands around the controls and watch the water splash in the cabin and try to take one last deep breath before we're completely underwater. The helicopter submerges completely and rolls upside down. What was a familiar environment, is now totally unfamiliar. My vision is limited, bubbles everywhere, my inner ear is totally confused and worst of all, I feel the burning sensation of water in my sinuses.

I fight the feeling of panic and remember my training. My left hand reaches for the door lever, it should be at hip height at about mid-thigh, there it is. I pull the lever and push my shoulder into the door, the door opens. Now I feel around with my left hand. Where is the frame of the helicopter?  It should be right there. There it is, I found it. Now my right hand fumbles with the seatbelt buckle. I buckle and unbuckle my seatbelt at least 5 times a day, this should be a lot easier. Finally my buckle snaps free and I pull myself out of the helicopter and kick free. I get kicked to the head and panic slightly before realizing one of my passengers must have worked their way out as well. My lungs are burning and I'm wondering why I haven't reached the surface. One more kick and I break the surface and draw a deep breath. I see my passenger doggy paddling to my left and follow him to the side of the pool.

That's right, "the side of the pool." I'm in warm water pool in Lafayette, Louisiana undergoing H.U.E.T. (Helicopter Underwater Egress Training) with 20 oil workers. "Isn't he a missionary pilot who flies airplanes?", you might ask yourself. You're completely right, we're currently on furlough and I'm doing some recurrent training. Our organization sends pilots to the HUET training in Louisiana to prepare us for a worst case scenario of where we may have to make an emergency landing in water. The best place to do this training is in Louisiana, where the University of Louisiana Lafayette does their HUET training. Their training is primarily geared towards oil workers who work on oil platforms and commute over the gulf of Mexico in helicopters. However, the helicopter simulator cockpit is almost identical to the airplanes we fly and the gulf of Mexico is similar in temperature to the water over which we fly. This makes it an ideal training ground for us.

Besides you never know who you get to rub shoulders with. "What do you do?" and "Where?" is an excellent opportunity to speak truth into the life of an oil worker who has not yet heard the gospel.

Pictures are courtesy of my friend and fellow pilot, Tim, who did the training with me and brought his camera.

Sovereign over all

Being in America and having a schedule that would be considered "insane" by most people (i.e. in the past 4 weeks we have interacted with over 40 different families or groups of people) creates unique opportunities to trust in the Sovereignty of God.  It doesn't really matter how great my organizational and communication skills are...with that many different "events" to schedule, it would be impossible for it to all work out perfectly.  And yet, God has been so faithful in helping orchestrate many of the details in a way that proves He is truly the One in charge and He is very trustworthy.

I believe many times we can't even see how God has worked or orchestrated events/timing in our lives.  However, last weekend, we caught a glimpse of His handiwork, which was SO humbling and encouraging.  I think He just might have planned it all, to remind me (trust me, I need LOTS of reminding) that He is Sovereign AND I can trust Him completely.

We were driving from northwest Oklahoma up to Colorado Springs.  The trip, without any stops, was supposed to take 8.5 hours.  We usually add at least 30 minutes for a stop every 3-4 hours, so our estimate was that it would be 10 hours.  Most of our trips have been 7 hours or less, so we anticipated the day to be long and potentially more difficult for the boys.  When we have a long drive ahead of us, our family has found the best plan is to get up super early in the morning and hit the road ASAP.  Our goal is to get a couple hours of driving under our belt before we stop for breakfast.  This usually works well with our boys, as they often fall back asleep in their carseats, creating a peaceful drive for the first several hours.  This particular day proved this plan to be true, and we had a quiet, uneventful couple hours in the van.

Another factor we were adding to this particular trip was the forecast of snow at our destination.  We were tracking the weather for the day, but unable to see when we would first encounter the snow storm on our drive.  As we drove through the panhandle of Texas, the weather was clear and mild.  But as we approached the northeast corner of New Mexico, we could see clouds in the distance.  As we drove into the winter area, we initially only saw small patches of snow alongside the road.  Of course, as we ascended into the mountains of southern CO, the amount of snow increased and eventually we were driving through big, swirly flakes.  We planned our next stop for gas and lunch, wanting to press on as far as we could before stopping.  As our tank crept toward empty, we decided to stop in Trinidad, CO.  The snow was falling fairly heavily at this point.  We bundled up in the van and made a dash into the gas station to use the restrooms.  Of course...the restrooms at that station were accessible only from the outside!  We carefully made our way around the building, stepping through snow, as wet flakes blew into our eyes.  Ten minutes later, with a full tank and empty bladders, we headed to the nearest fast food restaurant.  I was leaning toward taking our time at lunch and seeing if the weather would improve at all.  But my wise husband said we should eat quickly and continue on slowly and steadily.

Amazingly, the nearest restaurant had an indoor playground!  The boys climbed around on it while we ordered our food.  We ate quickly and headed back to our seats in the van.  The next leg of the trip was slower.  Our van, shaped like a box, has a windshield that almost goes up at a 90 degree angle from the ground.  We discovered quickly that this does not work well when driving through snow and ice.  Our windshield wipers collected ice at an amazing rate, which would not allow them to clear our windshield at all.  We pulled over multiple times for K to scrape the ice away and improve visibility drastically, if only for the next 5 minutes!  We were amazed at the multiple cars that sped past us, with completely clear windshields and visibly much less stress than we were experiencing in our van!  We slowly continued, stopping as needed to clear the windshield and wipers.

Approximately 30 minutes after our lunch break, after multiple short stops to regain our vision, the van stuttered.  Uh oh.  We pressed on a little farther and then the engine died completely.  We coasted to the shoulder off the road.  Miraculously (and here was the first instance of our recognizing the Sovereign One in this story), we were at the end of an entrance ramp for an exit off the interstate.  I checked my phone (yay for smart phones with internet!) and found there were 2 gas stations at that exit!  K called my dad and they discussed the problem.  Determining it was possibly moisture in the gas lines that had frozen in the below-zero temps, K headed back to the gas station on foot to buy some "Heet".  Only gone 10 minutes, he returned with 2 bottles and dumped them in our gas tank (later I found out that not every gas station carries this product...which is yet another sign of God caring for our every need).  We waited a bit for it to work and started the van again.  Yay!  It was running.  We continued down the road.  Five minutes later, the engine died again...we coasted to the shoulder again.  We waited another 10 minutes and then restarted the van.  This time we made it almost 10 minutes down the road.  Then, the engine died again!  Hmm, we began wondering if there might be another problem?  K did some research online, while I texted friends and family to be praying.  I noticed that it was not snowing anymore.  By this point we were approaching a small city and began to look into car shops.  As it was Saturday (and Saturday before Easter), almost all of them were closed.  We recruited my dad to do some research and locate a shop that was open.  We restarted the van and continued down the road.  By then, we were anticipating when the next "engine quit" would happen, so we watched for an exit with a gas station.  Most of the exits seemed to only be to residential neighborhoods, so we continued.  Amazingly, the van didn't quit and we drove for over 15 minutes before seeing an exit with a gas station.  We pulled into the station and left the van running.  K got on the phone and called the people at our destination for the day.  He explained our situation and asked if they thought we should look for a car shop in the city we are in OR if we should continue to try and make it to their place.  Would their be a car shop/mechanic nearby if we had another problem and couldn't get there?  They said to keep coming (at that point we were 45 minutes away).  The van continued to run while we sat in the gas station, passing the 25 minute mark since the last engine quit.  We prayed it was just moisture in the line and that it was resolved now.  I bought a few groceries at the gas station, so we wouldn't have to make another stop for the day. We continued on.  Miraculously, we made it the rest of the way without any more problems!  The weather had cleared, so not only was the van running normally, we could also see out of the windshield without stopping to knock off ice!  We pulled into our destination 12 hours after we had left that morning.

We were thankful that we had made it.  But the reality of how God had protected us and provided for us didn't fully sink in until later that evening.  A friend in the area, knowing some of what we'd been through, sent us a link to a news article.  The interstate that we had been traveling on had been closed near the location we had stopped for lunch!  Although I never saw an exact time of when it closed, it seemed that it was within an hour or two of us passing through.  The reason for closure was the weather and multiple accidents (we thought back to the many cars speeding past us, seemingly comfortable in the snow and ice).  I recalled my instinct to stay and wait it out a bit, but how wise it had been for K to recommend we continue slowly.  God protected us from getting stuck and from being in an accident.  He orchestrated the exact location our van would initially quit (within 5 minute walking distance of a gas station carrying the product we needed!).  Although it was frustrating to keep having to pull off to the side to clear our windshield, we might not ever know how the timing of those stops/the vehicles that passed us, etc. protected us from going off the side of the road or being in an accident with another vehicle.  God's hand over the entire day is very evident to me, a great reminder that I can trust in His Sovereignty.

The view just coming into the snow-area

The view when we needed to clean ice off the windshield wipers

The van after engine quit #2

At our final destination, lots of snow to play in!

Easter sunrise, full of hope

J's first time to sled and he LOVES it!

B's first time to sled, also. 

He's thrilled!

So fun!

Another sledder enjoying himself!

Visitors that came within 5 feet of our cottage

Beautiful view of Pikes Peak

His Way

God sent me on, when I would stay

('Twas cool within the wood);

I did not know the reason why.

I heard a boulder crashing by

'Cross the path where I had stood.

He had me stay when I would go;

"Your will be done," I said.

They found one day at early dawn,

Across the path I would have gone, 

A serpent with a mangled head.

I ask no more the reason why,

Although I may not see

The path ahead, His way I go;

For though I know not, He does know,

And He will choose safe paths for me.

[From Sunday School Times, March 30 in "Streams in the Desert"]

Things we see out our window

In this post I thought I'd share some of the photos I've taken out our window from our house in South East Asia.

This is not a typical view, but one day in June 2014, this is what we saw.

Unfortunately the cause of the smoke was a fellow expat's home going up in flames!  We praise God the people all got out safely, but a few families lost their homes and most of their belongings in less than 2 hours. 

Note the fire truck, which showed up eventually, but quickly ran out of water (no fire hydrants here) and really could not do anything to help stop the fire of the mostly wooden houses.

One day this truck was our entertainment for a while...

The truck had gotten stuck in front of our lower gate and it took a second truck to pull it out
(after multiple unsuccessful tries with a chain that snapped)

We are blessed to live in a year-round warm climate!
This is one of the ways I help the boys (and neighbor kids) cool off!

Can you spot the girl in the tree?

One of our neighbors climbed straight up this TALL small tree to get the "fruit" off the top.  The fruit is pinang, also known as betel nut.  It is chewed by many of the locals as a mild stimulant with some harmful health effects.

We've seen quite a few interested insects around our house.
This one was a beetle with antenna about 7 inches long!

The smoke in our backyard is not from fire, but rather the "fogger."  In an attempt to reduce the mosquito population in our yard, we occasionally fog with medicine to kill them.

We have several resident geckos in our house.  These two live near the front window
and they fight a lot!  In this picture one of them had the other's neck in his mouth.
I guess it's a prime "residential" spot for geckos, with the bright light at night that attracts many insects. 

We were so excited when our road was repaved!

It was fascinating to watch the process.  This guy had a can with holes in the bottom that he'd
swing back and forth across the road with hot tar streaming out the bottom.  I'm sure
there is a machine that does this on US road construction projects,
but here most things are done manually. 

This post wouldn't be complete without pictures of puppies, the favorite part of our yard!

This boy LOVES puppies!

The beginning of furlough

At the risk of being embarrassed (well, who I am joking, I am embarrassed)...I thought I would share a story from my week.

First...a brief update is necessary, as I see our last blog post was in October!  Well, we have been quite busy since October...we moved back into our house after extensive renovations (roof and kitchen replaced-WOOHOO!)....then we prepared for an even bigger "move", as we returned to the USA for our first furlough.  We made that BIG trip 2 days before Christmas.  Um, maybe that wasn't the best planning, but it made a big difference in price.  And price is a big factor when you are buying 4 tickets to literally the other side of the world.  I digress...

We arrived in beautiful, COLD Chicago 2 days before Christmas.  We had a whirlwind trip seeing family over the holidays (jet lag is nothing to mess with, then add a 3-year-old with jet lag AND transition/culture shock...uh yeah, it was painful).  At the beginning of January, we arrived at our current location, thankfully a place a little warmer (our poor bodies are adjusting to winter after 3 years of none).  We have been here for 6 weeks, for training and preparing for our LONG road trip across the country.

So now that you are caught up...let me zoom in to one day last week.

Let me set the stage.  I have 2 very active boys.  As any parent of young, active boys will tell you: Shopping alone is a LUXURY!  Ha...that was an understatement.  So, here I was, with one planned day...and it was the only day, when I knew I would be able to go clothes shopping alone.  The kids were scheduled to be in a morning daycare class and it was the only morning they would be in class that I didn't have a doctor or dentist appointment scheduled.

I had some returns (from online shopping) to take to a specific store, which was in the nearest outlet mall to us.  I planned out my departure time, with an hour's drive one way, so that I would arrive at opening time and give myself the most amount of time possible.  Of course, that meant only 1 hour of shopping (since the drive was 1 hour back), BUT I will take what I can get!  I was excited and feeling joyful as I drove up.  I enjoyed the quiet drive, with time to think and listen to music without any little voices in the backseat.

I arrived a little early and was able to look up the location of the stores to plan out my hour the best I could.  I opened my purse....and my heart sank.  WHERE WAS MY WALLET???  I emptied my entire purse.  Nope, it wasn't there.  I couldn't believe it!  That morning, despite my usual re-check of all the essentials on the way out the door, I had switched bags at the last minute and yeah..my wallet hadn't made the transfer.  I felt foolish.  So annoyed that this ONE time I could shop alone, I wouldn't even be able to buy anything!  I wondered if this was God's way of ensuring I didn't spend too much. haha, I wouldn't be spending anything! :)

I was able to complete my return (because I hadn't forgotten THAT in the transfer!) and felt like the trip wasn't a complete waste of time/gas.

I could share multiple stories about shopping in the last month and a half back in America...the land of everything.  Stories of being completely overwhelmed with all the choices [or smells] and walking back out the store without anything in hand. Stories of children fussing and fighting the whole way through the store (while inside a "special" kid cart, aren't those supposed to help with kids??)...or the time J almost choked on a peppermint ["Don't EVER give your child hard candy" said the website I checked about swallowing a peppermint whole] or when J fell asleep, folded over in the shopping cart seat while I walked around enjoying the quietest shopping trip (with children) ever!  But, despite the not-so-fun stories I could share, there have been many blessings mixed in.  It is amazing to go shopping at ONE store for all the groceries (and more!) that I have on my list!  It's so nice to be able to buy tortillas, spaghetti sauce and ricotta cheese (all things I make from scratch in our home normally).  There are so many more options for dinner, many of which are SO much easier!  We have all enjoyed the options of yummy fruits that we normally can't get: cherries, strawberries, cuties, grapes, grapefruit, blueberries, cantaloupe, yum!  One of the boys' favorite "American foods" has been apple cinnamon instant oatmeal...which I'm pretty thankful is such a simple breakfast option.  And then there is thrift store shopping.  It has been incredible to find practically new clothes (especially compared to my sun-bleached, stretched out clothes!) at great prices.  I could spend hours in a thrift stores (without kids that is...). :)

So, there's a small taste of the beginning of our furlough (although it hasn't all been shopping and eating, HA!).  Pretty soon we will have the joy of sharing meals with many of you as we travel across the country and back.  Looking forward to it!

How many options of spaghetti sauce do you need?!?