International Shopping

Kathleen:
Joey and I both spent today Christmas shopping internationally. I, however, never left our house. I took advantage of the reasonably good internet speed this morning and began the fun of "window shopping" online. It turned out to be pretty fun and similar in a few ways to the joys of actually shopping. Like unexpectedly finding the perfect item and coming across things that brought up great memories. In the end, I found some of the items I was looking for and came across some good ideas I hadn't even thought of yet. By the time Joey got home I had our list about done. What fun!

Joey:
Christmas shopping is killing me this year. Not because it's harder to do here (which it is), but because I'm having to get it all done ahead of time and then WAIT to give the gifts. Today I had an international flight to Uganda, so I took a few minutes to visit some of the shops in the airport terminal. It was my first good opportunity to do some birthday and Christmas shopping for Kathleen.

The problem I'm having now is that I hate having a gift in hand and having to wait to give it. Almost as soon as I got home tonight I was wishing that I could just go ahead and give Kathleen her gifts--even if that meant I had to go out and find something else to give her at Christmas. Procrastination: It really is the way to go!

Happy Thanksgiving (a little late)! I hope you all had a good day celebrating with family and/or friends. I must say, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Probably because I love spending time with my family (both sides) and I love to eat good food. :) It also seems to be a holiday uncluttered by other issues. It is just about thankfulness and enjoying those blessings.

We missed being with family this year. However, we did get to talk to both families during their Stateside gatherings. In some small way it made it feel like we got to share in those get-togethers too.

Thanksgiving isn't a holiday here and Joey flew for most of the day. He did make it back in time (barely) to welcome our guests. There was a total of nine of us. It was a great time with lots of conversation, laughter, and great food. We skipped the traditional turkey and had pork instead. We did, however, have all the normal sides: mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, roles, cranberry sauce, olives, and lots of pie (mince meat, pumpkin, apple, and mango--tasted just like peach)!

Sorry no other pictures. Our camera got left that evening in the airplane by mistake. The above picture was taken the following weekend. On Thanksgiving day I attempted to make ice cream with my Kitchen Aid mixer attachment. Had to make my own Half-'n-Half with powdered milk and run the generator to get enough power, but all was looking pretty good for a positive outcome. However, after an hour, it still had not set right and then we spilled half of it trying to get the bowl off the stand. So, it didn't make it to our Thanksgiving table, but after spending some time in the freezer the remains actually turned out not too bad! We will definitely try this again!

Home Free

My heart is heavy today. Hurting for friends, loved ones, and for people I've never met who are going through difficult times right now. Some things aren't any different over here than they are back home. Sunday Joey flew a special flight returning the body of a woman back to her family to be buried. Friends just lost their father, another their mother. Pain, suffering, loss, and grief are ever present in this world.

This song struck me this morning in a new way. It speaks to the reality of pain and the truth of our hope. For those of you who are struggling right now, know that you are in our thoughts and prayers. May God grant you comfort, peace, and hope.

Home Free by Wayne Watson
I'm trying hard not to think You unkind
But Heavenly Father if You know my heart
Surely You can read my mind
Good people underneath a sea of grief
Some get up and walk away
Some will find ultimate relief

Home free eventually
At the ultimate healing
We will be home free
Home free oh I've got a feeling
At the ultimate healing
We will be home--home free

Out in the corridor we were praying for life
A mother for her baby a husband for his wife
Some days the good die young
It's sad but it's true
And while we pray for one more heartbeat
The only real comfort is with You

You know pain has little mercy
And sufferings no respecter of age
Of race or position
I know that every prayer gets answered
The hardest one to pray is slow to come
Oh Lord not mine--not mine--let Your will be done
Oh let it be

We will be home...free...eventually
I believe in that ultimate healing
We will be home
We will be free
Home Free
I believe it's more than just a feeling
'Cause at that ultimate healing
I believe at that ultimate healing
We will be home
Won't it be good to be home?
Home Free

A Nail in the Sky

Last Monday I flew the longest nonstop flight I have done since arriving in the Congo. I took 2 passengers to Buta, a town 340 miles west of Bunia. The flight itself was very uneventful...unlike the rest of the day.

I landed in Buta and immediately felt some vibrations from the nose area of the plane. I had never landed at this airstrip before and my first thought was, "Wow! This has got to be the roughest airstrip I have ever landed on." It quickly became obvious that the problem was not the airstrip. I stopped short of the parking area, but was able to taxi off the runway. When I exited the airplane, I found a completely flat nose wheel.

So, what do you do when you have a flat airplane tire in the middle of nowhere? Enlist help. Thankfully, there were several people around who were eager to assist me. In a matter of minutes the group of 10-15 and I raised the plane off its flat nose wheel (by sitting two men on the tail) and pushed the plane to the parking area.

Next came the repair attempts. I found a can of emergency tire repair goo in the airplane's toolkit. While I applied that, I sent someone into town to look for an air pump. Half an hour later they returned with a bicycle tire pump. The pump worked, but the repair goo did not.

Plan B: Since this obviously could not be the first flat tire in the middle of nowhere in the history of MAF, I called another pilot on the radio for advice. (This, of course, involved yelling and repeating myself several times as the distance made the connection very poor.) The best option was to take the tire off, see if the tube could be patched, and then probably spend the night in Buta if I couldn't finish the repair in time to make it to my next destination.

Thankfully, the Congolese men who were helping me were very resourceful. One had a strip of rubber from an old tire tube that we could use as a patch. Another had a hacksaw blade that we could use to prepare the patch and roughen the areas to be glued together. A third person hopped on a motorcycle and went into town to buy tire patch glue.

It took a few hours, but eventually I was able to get the tire repaired, inflated, and reinstalled. Although hot and tired, I quickly loaded my passengers, took off, and arrived at my final destination just before sunset.

What a day!

Change

Welcome to our new blog site! As with most things in life, change has occurred. Sorry for the delay in posting the following posts. We really are still alive here in Congo. :)

"There will be no survivors!"

Since we arrived in Congo we have been in a constant battle. It has required us to be attentive, vigilant, inventive, and persistent. Our enemy is small in size, but has amazing powers. He has the ability to strike silently or wake you from the deepest sleep. He can fain death, disappear into thin air right before your eyes, and he knows exactly where to find the chink in your armor. The wounds he inflicts start as annoying spots but can cause a sickness that if not treated can lead to death.

Fear not, we are armed! All entry ways are locked down promptly at dusk. We wear protective gear after dark and never leave home without our comrade in arms, DEET. My favorite weapon of all masquerades as a tennis racket, but contains an electrical current that easily puts an end to any battle.

For some time the enemy has been able to successfully invade our fortress of rest severely disrupting our sleep. However, after mending all possible weak points, laying down a layer of poisonous mist, and treating our protective shield with Anti-Enemy we have won the victory! Be gone defeated mosquito!

First Flight

Today I had my first flight by myself as a missionary pilot! Here's how it went...

8:00am-Departed Bunia for Dungu with 2 passengers from a medical relief organization
8:30am-Received call on the radio canceling flight to next destination (Doko)
9:15am-Arrived in Dungu
9:45am-Departed Dungu for Isiro with 2 passengers
10:45am-Arrived in Isiro
11:00am-Not enough fuel at the airport to refuel, wait 45 minutes for more fuel to arrive from town
11:30am-Received phone call requesting a flight to Doko to fly a sick person to the hospital in Isiro--must leave 5 passengers waiting in Isiro
12:00pm-Departed Isiro for Doko-ate lunch on the way
1:00pm-Arrived in Doko
1:10pm-Passengers have brought more baggage than the plane can carry--one bag must be left behind
1:25pm-Departed for Isiro
2:25pm-Arrived in Isiro
2:30pm-Refueled the airplane again
3:00pm-Departed for Bunia with 5 passengers--including a Bible translator
4:20pm-Arrived in Bunia
5:00pm-Went home happy :-)

(The above pictures: Friends help with a wet congratulations...somewhat of a tradition in MAF.)

Locked Out

I was sure the keys were in my suitcase. I could even picture myself putting them in. However, as I sat on our porch digging through my luggage they were nowhere to be found.

Joey and I had just spent a week in Kampala, Uganda, helping with a maintenance inspection on the Cessna 206. Well, Joey helped and I went along to keep him company. Our time there turned out a little differently than we had expected. The day after we arrived riots broke out downtown and continued for a couple days. The guys were able to make it safely out to the airport each day, but we (our hostess and I) stayed at home. Otherwise, it was a good week. We enjoyed seeing our Uganda Based co-workers and I was able to pick up a few things I can't get in Bunia.

The morning of our return to Congo, Joey and I came back on different planes. He continued flying for the rest of the day and I went home. We had originally thought we would be coming home together. So, unfortunately, the keys were with Joey flying over Congo, not with me sitting on our porch. Thankfully, I had my lunch with me and a good book!