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?!?

Birthday Flight

For B's 5th birthday (in June), he got to ride along with his Papa for the first time alone!  His younger brother has thought since that time, that it is a normal "birthday" activity to ride along on a flight with your dad (he's talked about the neighbor kids going on a flight with their dad, even though their dad isn't a pilot!).  What a special treat it was!  Some of the pictures are taken by B, as he was given the phone to "document" his birthday flight.

Before departure

I love my boys!

Co-pilot for the day
(the first thing he said when I told him he could go on a flight with Papa was,
 "I need to wear my pilot shirt!")

Ready for take-off

Special time with Papa

"One of these is not like the other.."

A little too much attention

Measuring the runway

River and clouds out the window

Snack

There are tons of pictures like this.
All the parts of the interior of the plane were documented. :)

Perspective of Papa

Backseat passengers

Papa pilot at work

Cotton candy clouds

Proud co-pilot

Team Work

What a blessing it is to be a part of a sacrificial team!  This past weekend was an excellent example of how the different parts of the Body of believers, working together to use the skills & gifts God has given them, can complete a task much bigger than a single person could accomplish alone.

A large part of our ministry here in aviation involves medical evacuations.  Often this involves the sick or injured person being evacuated from interior villages to our town for medical care. Without roads, this is often the only way that patients are able to receive the medical attention they need. However, in some more serious cases, it involves evacuation from our town out of our country to Australia, where more advanced medical care is available.

A young patient
(broken arm)

Loading a patient to come to town
(a severed artery)

Trying to get comfortable
(another broken arm)

This weekend a serious motorcycle accident occurred in our community.  After an examination by our mission doctor and nurses, it was determined that the patient needed to be evacuated to Australia.  This is not a simple process.  Although I do not know all the details, I know there is much involved in arranging a med-evac.  The insurance company of the patient needs to be called, with arrangements put in place. What will insurance cover?  What paperwork needs to be submitted & when? The cost of the flight involved in a med-evac is definitely not cheap, not to mention the medical expenses.  There is government paperwork to be completed: visa, exit/re-entry permits, etc., not only for the patient, but also for the nurses, doctors and pilots.  There is paperwork that needs to be arranged for taking an airplane out of the country and then back in again.  In addition to all the paperwork and phone calls necessary, the airplane also needs to be prepped for the special flight.  Unfortunately (but not outside of God's plan), the best airplane available for med-evacs is currently down for maintenance (the PC-12, which is faster and has a pressurized cabin).  Thankfully, another available plane was suitable for the task.  Two pilots (not including my husband) were selected to fly, as the total trip time would exceed the daily limits for an individual pilot.  Local ground crew was called upon to come into work on a Sunday, prepping the plane and then flight following during the journey.  One of the nurses and the doctor accompanied the patient in the plane, to care for her en route.

So thankful for our medical staff!

One of the capable pilots

The small role that I was honored to play was sending out a prayer request to our community here, asking for prayers on behalf of the patient and all those making decisions & jumping through the hoops to make the med-evac possible.  It was a blessing to hear of many who were praying, offering assistance and ready to give up their "day-off" in order to carry the burden of the emergency.  What a honor to be a part of this great sacrificial team!  We are praising God that the latest news on the patient is that it was not as serious as it could have been.  In time, the patient should heal completely and regain normal health!  So thankful for all God did for our little community this weekend.

A Milestone Day

Today was quite the day.  My husband spent a good portion of his childhood living in a small, mountainous village called Langda, which is in the interior of our island.  My in-laws have dedicated many years translating God's precious Word into the language of the Una people.  When our family went to visit the village last January (an hour plane ride from the town we live in), one of the main questions we were asked was: "When will K be the pilot to fly into Langda?"  They consider him to be a "son of Langda" (depending on who is talking to him, they will call him "brother" or "son").  You can sense the great pride in their son, who has trained to be a pilot and chosen to return to his homeland. At that point in time, we told them (and truly thought) it would still be several years before this milestone was reached.  It feels like a milestone for multiple reasons.  One reason is that ever since K was a little boy, traveling in and out of Langda in small airplanes with his family, he wanted to become a pilot one day.  Langda is truly the birthplace of his dream to one day be a pilot.  It is also a milestone, because the airstrip in Langda is notorious for being one of the most challenging airstrips in the mountains here.  With drop-offs on both ends of the runway, a major cliff less than a hundred meters on one side and on the other side a mountain rising another 3,000 feet, it has been compared to landing on an aircraft carrier.  Added to this is the challenge of the weather.  Weather in Langda can literally change in less than a minute.  Clear, blue skies can quickly transform into solid fog with less than 5 feet of visibility.  Clouds can be seen rolling over the mountains and creeping up the cliffs.  It is amazing thing to witness in person, but not very desirable for a pilot needing to take-off or land an airplane.  It is not uncommon for a pilot to overnight in Langda, simply because the weather did not permit him to leave.

So, despite our personal prediction of K not flying into Langda alone for several more years, TODAY was the day for him to be checked out (this means another experienced pilot flies in with him, allowing him practice taking off and landing a few times, until he feels comfortable to complete the flight on his own).  It was a success!  I really wish our family could have been there to witness the momentous occasion.  The day included a celebratory ceremony on the ground, complete with speeches and gifts.  Here are some pictures from the day.

Landga from the air

Langda with some clouds

Speeches and gifts were given by significant people

K and his check-out pilot returned with gifts
(including hand-made string bags, traditional stone axes, fresh produce and...)

....a live pig

Dinner

Prepping the bow and arrow to butcher the pig

The pilot being congratulated by Langda guys who live in town

Preparation of the meat

Photo from January when we visited Langda
(airstrip is behind the boys...the cliff is just past those buildings where darker green starts)

Walking the Langda airstrip with fog in the distance

Start of Kindergarten

This school year has been special for our family, as our oldest started Kindergarten!  Last year we did a preschool co-op with a few other families in our community.  It was a good experience for B, learning his letters & sounds, interacting with his peers and "practicing" school.  There is an American-curriculum based school in our town, whose main purpose is to teach the children of those serving on our island.  We have special connections with this school already, as Kars and his brothers all attended and graduated from the same school.  We are thankful for the opportunity to send B there, knowing he has great teachers who love their students and invest in their lives.  It certainly is a bonus that B is super excited about going to school and has enjoyed the first 3 weeks thus far.  This week he started reading simple words and his Kindergarten teacher is ecstatic!

B's desk at school

Obligatory 1st day picture
(little bro insisted in being included :)

"Can we do another picture with my sign?"
(asked a few days later...)

Fun with friends (after school)