tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32141457108328494202011-10-10T08:15:29.521-04:00Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the week and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. Psalm 82:3-4David Meadnoreply@blogger.comBlogger841100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-5480586801197330892011-08-09T19:19:00.002-04:002011-08-09T19:32:36.788-04:00

APRIL!!!??? That was my last post? Well, I try. I am hoping this post turns up on someone´s search for wanting to come to Ecuador to help. Maybe if I through in enough "key words" it´ll work. Maybe one of the two people who read my blog might know how to help. Or know someone who might be interested. As a pilot, most of my time is taken up with flying and related duties. I have very much

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-44831962014790376302011-04-14T20:37:00.006-04:002011-04-14T21:25:01.738-04:00

Many pilots have posts on their blogs and such that describe some of their flights. We pilots keep a record of all of our flights and usually have a little note about what was noteworthy about the flight. We call this our logbook, so when we share about our flights, it is common to title the article as I have done.I have intended to blog more frequently about my flights, but those who know me

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-43317696752360503732011-02-24T19:34:00.002-05:002011-02-24T19:40:27.926-05:00

One of the big advantages of being a pilot AND a mechanic is the ability to fix some of the things I find wrong with the airplane. Yesterday during my customary preflight inspection, I found a couple of things that would have prevented flight until they were addressed. One was a hairline crack in a piece of the nose gear and the other was a control cable that was chafing. After checking in

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-24963193621949351372011-02-23T17:59:00.003-05:002011-02-23T18:09:38.683-05:00

I have a very cool new toy!Our other camera is a very nice one, but it is too big and bulky for me to easily take with me in the airplane and snap shots. So I bought a new one with a very cool feature: it records the GPS coordinates where the picture is taken, and I can easily upload to Google Earth in the exact location of the picture!So, yesterday, I took it with me on my flight and snapped a

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-65113653916708708842011-01-11T08:58:00.002-05:002011-01-11T09:28:26.636-05:00

No, the two are not connected, fortunately!I did get to do my first operational solo flight yesterday. In fact, I did two of them. I didn´t even know that I would be flying, but Chad, my boss, told me to get my plane ready as soon as I got to work in the morning! The strip where I was headed was fogged in for a little while, so I waited it out. Then, another pilot went there first and told me

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-85910478378513000882011-01-07T16:42:00.002-05:002011-01-07T16:44:01.012-05:00

Clicking on the link below will take you to pictures of the crafts the Shuar people are trying to sell to raise funds for their self sustaining farming project.Photos and Descriptions

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-10668226804152786412011-01-03T21:39:00.002-05:002011-01-03T21:51:50.242-05:00

I got to do a little flying in the last few weeks, but not much. I got to do the first flight in "Alas 10" after the engine was changed out. That entailed going up with Fred Schmidt, my instructor and I handled the controls while he wrote down all the numbers for about an hour.I then flew some strictly training flights with Fred. We flew up some valleys to practice "Terrain Flying". That

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-72952902499217355282010-12-14T19:23:00.002-05:002010-12-14T19:34:41.360-05:00

Well, last week started my official in-country flight training time. That means that I have all my licenses and permissions to fly in Ecuador and can start getting "checked out" in the Ecuadorian air space and in the airstrips that we land in. I fly with an MAF instructor, but pretty much do all the work of preparation, flying, talking on the radio and customer interaction. He still helps me

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-43924529933658732042010-11-23T22:13:00.002-05:002010-11-23T22:17:41.414-05:00

It´s been an exciting month for us here in Shell. As the kids get settled in school and we become more adjusted to our lives here, God has really opened up so many ministry opportunities and has blessed us in so many ways. The most exciting news to share is that I have finally completed all the requirements and I have my commercial pilot´s license! It was a long and somewhat frustrating

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-5573030885948774672010-11-04T11:21:00.002-04:002010-11-04T11:24:00.654-04:00

You can see pics here from our latest trip. I´ll post a report on the trip in the next day or so.http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2097180&id=1367753955&l=a49f833ed1

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-29008651954817646762010-10-16T16:55:00.001-04:002010-10-16T16:56:48.165-04:00

October 16, 2010 Can you pronounce Jandaiyacu? It took me awhile. Try (Hon-di-YA-ku). It is a little community of Zápora people. Although they speak the Pastaza dialect of Quichua, they are descendants of the Zápora people. Very few people remain who speak the Zápora language. It is estimated that only 5 are left.The community of Jandaiyacu is made up of about 7 families. It was

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-69420211750850293022010-09-24T08:32:00.002-04:002010-09-24T08:47:48.926-04:00

September 22, 2010 Last month, we took part in one of the most beautiful things of our lives. It was a great blessing and an honor to be invited to participate in the dedication of the whole Bible in the Shuar language.After more than 30 years of work, at last the Shuar nation has the whole Bible in their language. They had invited all of the employees and missionaries of Alas de Socorro to

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-18382582867267136192010-08-16T10:44:00.001-04:002010-08-16T10:46:28.926-04:00

August 15, 2010We have completed one of our major milestones as a family. Finally, we have arrived at our final destination of Shell, Ecuador. We moved into our new house last Saturday and have started the process of turning the house into a home. Thank you to all who donated or lent us things to put in the house to make it more comfortable.Much has happened in our second month in

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-3642794131529726182010-07-25T12:24:00.003-04:002010-07-25T12:29:28.780-04:00

This song is by a guy named Ricardo Arjona. Although I doubt he is a believer, based on the content of his other music, he really shares some deep stuff about his views of church and religion. I have enjoyed this song for awhile and have gotten around to translating the lyrics. Of course, there is some stuff that doesn´t translate really good, especially in poetry, but I did my best.If you

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-25982488764848968792010-06-19T22:31:00.002-04:002010-06-19T22:45:03.327-04:00

We have had a busy couple of days here in Shell, as we look for a house to rent. Shell is a very small town, but there is a lot of activity here as there is a military base and many transients, it seems. There seem to be many options for us, but nothing is ready for us to rent at the moment. House hunting here is very different from how we would go about it in Florida. There are no real estate

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-38161144600013919682010-06-17T22:35:00.003-04:002010-06-17T23:00:48.573-04:00

I have promised much communication this, our first week in Ecuador as a family, but I have not provided and I feel bad for that. Hopefully, this post will explain and make up for most of it!We had a safe and uneventful journey in our big white rental van from Tampa to Miami. We were able to enjoy a relaxing evening with friends who live in Miami at the hotel pool. It was an early morning up

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-8390784316296117352010-06-15T11:31:00.002-04:002010-06-17T23:06:04.518-04:00

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-59121443742522284212010-04-29T17:49:00.001-04:002010-04-29T17:51:31.216-04:00

April 26, 2010 The training is complete. We have returned from Nampa, Idaho, where David completed his standardization training for mechanic and pilot. It was a wonderful time not only to receive this excellent training, but also for us as a family.The training that Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) gave was very airplane specific. I received specialized training for maintaining and flying

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-45632329284108059092010-04-13T18:14:00.002-04:002010-04-13T18:17:53.157-04:00

Juan Baron is a missionary in Peru that I have known for many years now. We have been partnering with him and the ministry that God has entrusted him for a long time and are excited about the way God is helping him with funding the ministry. You can click here to read more about the way you can help with a self-sustaining missions project.Please pray with us that God will continue blessing this

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-73154152306340245202010-03-31T20:38:00.002-04:002010-03-31T20:41:04.040-04:00

Today the weather was finally good enough to get into the valleys and canyons to practice what they call "Terrain Flying". The idea is to safely position yourself to fly up a valley or canyon when the weather is forcing you to stay low. The idea is to always be able to turn around and return if things are not as good as expected. Plus, it is beautiful flying! Especially right after the snow we

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-46539038075699668272010-03-30T14:31:00.004-04:002010-03-30T14:37:04.824-04:00

I can't believe it's snowing today after being 62 degrees yesterday!

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-49670130950322306212010-03-19T23:33:00.002-04:002010-03-19T23:36:34.143-04:00

We borrowed some inner tubes to take up the mountain and sled down some hills, but we found another very practical use for them!

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-75112925711652178282010-03-14T23:09:00.001-04:002010-03-14T23:15:06.936-04:00

The Meads are travelling again. This time it is for the training that David needs before going to Ecuador. We are at the MAF headquarters in Nampa, Idaho. It was a long trip, but without any major inconveniences. We are all getting used to the new daily routine. David is happy because after having gone awhile being inactive in aviation, that will be all he will hear about and work on for

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-66814635517664333562010-02-07T23:34:00.002-05:002010-02-07T23:37:44.015-05:00

This week I am in Soldotna, Alaska visiting Mission Aviation Repair Center, or MARC. (www.marcalaska.org) Yes, we are still headed to Ecuador in June, but the opportunity arose to accompany a friend I met in North Carolina (Mickey Duyck) to visit the mission in Alaska. Mickey is looking to possibly join them and in talking with him, I realized that MARC is conducting a portion of their

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-8662641126868914432010-01-12T17:31:00.002-05:002010-01-12T17:33:13.160-05:00

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I would like to begin the letter with the “Good News” though I have prayer requests to share with you. What I would like to highlight in this letter is the project of amending of the Statutes of ADSE, which were sent to the Ministries of Government, Police and Church and were returned early last week to Dr. Miguel Angel Puente, the lawyer in charge of the process,

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-70905434975247786942010-01-05T16:04:00.002-05:002010-01-05T16:07:07.691-05:00

January 5, 2010 Happy New Year! We trust that you have enjoyed closing out the old year as well as spending time with family and loved ones and are looking forward to new beginnings. We have enjoyed our holiday season very much as most of David’s family was in town visiting. The kids enjoyed some time off from school and we were able to spend much time together as a family for which we

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-4029560439315397892009-12-09T22:35:00.002-05:002009-12-09T22:39:46.669-05:00

Greetings again from us as we update you on the goings on in our lives and in the ministry God has entrusted to us! We have so much to be grateful for in this report! Last month we expressed some pressing needs and we have seen God provide again in such a wonderful way. First, let me report on the banquet that was held to inform others in a more personal way about our journey to Ecuador.

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-8593402811433376042009-11-14T19:59:00.002-05:002009-11-14T20:26:07.552-05:00

I want to start out saying that I am not trying to be preachy or anything. I have just had this on my heart and wanted to share my feelings openly.A couple of years ago, a dear friend of mine invited me to research a few articles he had read on the origins of some of our favorite holidays. Truthfully, it really didn't surprise me to find out that there are some deep and direct idolatrous roots

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-3173800566989945262009-11-09T21:42:00.002-05:002009-11-09T22:23:28.512-05:00

On November 6, we held a banquet to inform our friends and family in the area of what God was leading us to do in Ecuador. It was a very lovely evening!Plans leading up to the event went very smoothly. We could see God's hand at every turn as he provided for all the details. It was my first time organizing an event like that and with God's help, it went off very well. First Baptist Church of

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-18481369414121781102009-10-29T13:24:00.002-04:002009-10-29T13:25:24.783-04:00

Dear Friends and Family,October was probably one of the more exciting and eventful months for us as a family in awhile! Mostly for David, but it has impacted us as a family greatly.The happiest and most exciting news for us is that we have been officially accepted into the Alas de Socorro – Ecuador (ADSE) program! David’s trip to Ecuador was a great success as he passed both the flying and

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-85573276199160537742009-10-26T14:42:00.002-04:002009-10-26T14:53:53.026-04:00

My trip to Ecuador was a great success! I was officially accepted into the program and almost all the questions we had about moving to Ecuador have been answered!We are very excited about moving and look forward to finally being in our country of service. The people at ADSE are great and were very warm and welcoming. They made me feel right at home and I know it will be the same for Maggy and the

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-70360461504865929922009-10-03T11:09:00.002-04:002009-10-03T11:22:00.848-04:00

I´m in Quito, Ecuador now. Yesterday, I travelled from Tampa to go to Shell for the flight evaluation among other items of business for our eventual move to here.The trip was absolutely flawless. I had picked up the rental car the night before and had no difficulties with that. It is cheaper to rent a car one way and drop it off than drive a car and pay for parking at the Miami airport. Plus I am

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-63916686873193591262009-10-01T22:27:00.001-04:002009-10-01T22:29:57.130-04:00

Lots of events to report on this month! The first and most important you already should know is the birth of our new baby girl. Jennifer Katiana Mead was born on September 18 at 11:38 pm. She weighed 6 lbs and 6 oz and measured 20”. Both mommy and baby are in excellent health two weeks later and we are grateful to our Lord that he allowed a perfect term and birth. Our family really feels full now

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-5497857028760564042009-09-20T21:56:00.001-04:002009-09-20T21:58:53.563-04:00

Dear Friends and Family,We would like to make this a special letter from the Mead family to announce the birth of our fourth child: Jennifer Katiana Mead. She was born at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Florida on September 18, 2009 at 11:38pm. At birth she weighed 6 lbs, 6 oz and measured 20” tall.We are very grateful to God who provided a very easy (by comparison!) and quick delivery. We were

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-75609034321098954702009-09-10T21:13:00.002-04:002009-09-10T21:33:37.183-04:00

Thanks to all of you who are praying for us. God is really doing some exciting things in our lives and the plan to go to Ecuador is really coming together.We have the dates now for me to go to Ecuador to take the evaluation. I will be leaving the 2nd of October and returning the 18th. Since our last letter, we knew we needed to rely on God for all the costs associated with this evaluation. I

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-5908720941009099092009-09-03T07:50:00.002-04:002009-09-03T07:54:29.650-04:00

September 2, 2009Dear Friends and Family,A lot has been happening with the Mead family and we want to keep you up to date on all the goings on. We have been trying to keep in touch with most everyone in one form or another, but it looks like sending out a regular news letter is going to be the most effective way to keep everyone up to date. Especially as our lives change so quickly!We want to

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-67286761847025920632009-08-31T16:09:00.003-04:002009-08-31T16:16:30.962-04:00

Maggy found an article in an Ecuadorian newspaper about this Huaorani man who is in the U.S. taking is pilot training. It was neat for us to see this, as it sums up very well why we are going to Ecuador. We will help to overcome many of the obstacles in place that keep indigenous people from being connected to the outside world.I have not verified any of the information in the article nor do I

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-47966692315563306922009-08-27T09:48:00.002-04:002009-08-27T10:00:16.438-04:00

Well, it has been quite a busy week, but no trips to the hospital for a baby, yet! Mommy and baby Jennifer seem to be doing fine, and while the baby is very active, she seems quite content to stay in her warm cozy home for a little while longer. The due date given by the doctors is Sept 20, so we are in no hurry just yet. They don't cry when they are still inside.The kids are back in school.

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-10601478332180823262009-08-18T19:15:00.002-04:002009-08-18T19:35:19.273-04:00

We have been busy settling back into Tampa life and it has been good. It is always good to get back home even though this will only be home for us for a short while longer. It has been good reconnecting with friends and family.Maggy has the kids enrolled in school and they are ready to begin next week. She has most of our household stuff transferred back to Florida life and now just waiting

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-75688021961573257102009-08-11T19:30:00.003-04:002009-08-11T19:48:27.681-04:00

Well, I looked at the airplane that is for sale here in the Tampa area that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. It is a good looking airplane inside and out and appears to be exactly what I am looking for.Additionally, it has a semi-major problem that could work out to my favor. There is a tiny crack in a place that is very hard to get to, and requires many hours of labor to make the repair. The

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-12027306212032260262009-08-10T17:57:00.003-04:002009-08-10T18:33:31.119-04:00

It was with some mixed emotion that we moved back to Tampa this week. We had such a wonderful time with the people at JAARS in North Carolina. It was such an incredible experience and we met some life long friends there, not only with the JAARS folks, but the people we met as part of our congregation.We know that we are following God's will returning to Tampa and making final preparations for

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-60227006952040521942009-07-27T12:19:00.003-04:002009-07-27T12:43:28.546-04:00

Saturday I went out to look at an airplane for sale. It was a Cessna 140, which is an older airplane, but was, and still is, a great trainer airplane. One of the best advantages is it is very inexpensive to purchase and very inexpensive to operate and maintain.I had only done research on the airplane online and other articles about it, but hadn't really seen one in person, so I took the

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-59149797110287708252009-07-23T19:04:00.002-04:002009-07-23T19:32:06.878-04:00

After much prayer and seeking God's direction, the big news this week is that we will be heading to Ecuador. I know, it seems like we came full circle, but we had much to learn on the way and we are heading there for much different reasons than when we first started out.First off is to say that we feel very privileged to have spent the last 4 months here at JAARS and have made some life-long

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-88097196243838504512009-07-11T22:06:00.002-04:002009-07-11T22:48:50.537-04:00

Yeah, this is probably more like the David you are used to. It must have been an accident that I actually was posting almost every week. Now I'm back to once a month!Not for lack of events, though. Maybe that is why. I have been very busy, which is great!Following up from the last post, Jonathan is really walking a lot now. He walks about as much as he crawls, and loves to show off. Just

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-9486962341644689862009-06-08T21:37:00.002-04:002009-06-08T21:41:32.458-04:00

Well, it's official!He has taken his first steps. We thought he might have 2 weeks ago, but he wouldn't do it again, so we decided it wasn't official. Tonite, though, he took several series of 3 or more steps and once even let go of the chair without any prompting and took 2 steps to Mommy!Here are some pictures of the recreation of the act.

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-7010457376494226752009-06-05T22:10:00.003-04:002009-06-05T22:43:39.413-04:00

A lot has happened the last two weeks. The engine I have been working on is off the stand, preserved, packaged for shipping and awaiting final paperwork! It has been quite an experience and I am grateful to God for allowing me to be part of it and grateful for the amazing patience of Ray Brubaker, my supervisor, for guiding me step by step through the whole process.Work wise, I am on to other

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-14936995938290396502009-05-21T20:18:00.002-04:002009-05-21T20:34:30.505-04:00

Well, the engine is together, on the test stand and it ran for the first time today! It was a great feeling seeing that engine start right up after assembling it from its very basic components.Tomorrow we will run it some more and break it in. Then, if everything goes well and all the tests come out OK, then it will go in a box to be shipped to Cameroon!The weather has been lousy, but today was

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-46216466116274646702009-05-14T19:25:00.003-04:002009-05-14T19:45:27.713-04:00

We have two new additions to our fleet here.The first is a Piper Navajo that was stationed in the Philippines. JAARS is moving out of there (at least the aviation program) and selling the airplane. It was ferried back and arrived on Friday of last week. It took about 60 hours of flight time, according to one of the pilots. What a trip! They stopped at such places as Guam, Christmas Island,

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-54338975999050263612009-05-06T21:00:00.003-04:002009-05-06T21:10:28.124-04:00

It has been a good week of working so far. We were held up on the assembly of the engine, waiting on some parts to come in, so I was asked to assemble another tail wheel assembly again for an outside customer. This one went much faster as I am more familiar with the shop and the workings of the piece now.We will be putting together the crankcase halves tomorrow and it will start looking like an

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-30095987884947968712009-05-05T18:34:00.002-04:002009-05-05T18:45:49.924-04:00

by Debbie BurgettOne by one, the handful of Saluan men slipped quietly out of the darkness and joined Malongi around the flickering fire. There was no talking or laughing or enjoyment of each other's company. This must be kept a secret.So, just above a whisper, Malongi began the Bible lesson.Twenty years earlier, this isolated tribal village high in the Indonesian mountains had refused to have

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-25620069546741228432009-05-03T21:45:00.000-04:002009-05-03T21:59:48.461-04:00

JAARS day is like an open house, air show, meet and greet all in one. It is the best opportunity to take in a lot of what God is doing through JAARS in a single event if you can make it.There is a presentation in the morning, then the rest of the day is yours to visit the Alphabet Museum, Cardenas Museum, Hangar, and the other places that work gets done here.At the beginning of the open time,

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-25838271997303691102009-05-01T17:29:00.000-04:002009-05-01T17:51:32.726-04:00

Today we began main assembly of the engine we have been working on. It is fun to look forward to putting the engine together instead of the tedious measuring of parts that I have been doing. However, I have learned a ton about them by doing the tedious stuff, so it is a positive all around.I assembled the starter system yesterday and that was a good warm up for the engine. I have always heard of

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-58387810002618546432009-04-27T12:36:00.001-04:002009-04-27T12:46:33.025-04:00

I am continuing with the engine rebuild for the Cessna 206 in Cameroon. Last week was the painting and measuring phases with the painting complete and the measuring still going!I will probably be measuring throughout the rest of this week as well. I hope I get to start assembly by next week.We had a great day on Sat. We went to a campground that is about 15 min from here to meet up with our home

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-37121328621338484572009-04-21T18:12:00.001-04:002009-04-21T18:25:45.825-04:00

Sunday we went to Charlotte to visit another home fellowship group. We had a great day getting to know each other and discussing God's greatness and ministering to each other and praying for one another. They are a couple about our age with an 11 year old daughter. She and Karina hit it right off and they even got along with Josh!We ended up staying until the evening with them. We are thankful to

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-62871149010690795962009-04-18T16:08:00.000-04:002009-04-18T16:29:27.773-04:00

We finished the 100 hour inspection of the helicopter Friday afternoon. It required some more work above and beyond just the inspection, so I was kept busy through the end of the week.My next assignment starting Monday will be to rebuild an entire engine for a Cessna 206. That will challenging and exciting. When it is all finished, we will run it on a test stand and make sure it works perfectly

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-27683965774238844602009-04-14T20:15:00.000-04:002009-04-14T20:26:08.956-04:00

Work continues to go well.Today I finished up my tail wheel assembly for the Helio Courier. More hand made parts, fitting them to other hand made parts and resizing to fit. It is a lot of fun!After finishing that, my next assignment was to help with a (yuck!) helicopter. Just kidding. Helicopters aren't my favorite vehicle, but any training I can get is good! I was helping with a 100 hour

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-54475393157793695312009-04-12T16:13:00.001-04:002009-04-12T16:26:45.824-04:00

Friday afternoon, we got a call from Michael saying that he planned on being in our neck of the woods while taking the girls home from Spring Break. So we got to spend a lovely evening with Michael, Deb and the girls. The girls stayed the night and Michael and Deb came back in the morning to pick them up. After taking a few pics, they left for home again. It was a very nice surprise for us and

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-34512583713299622902009-04-08T21:35:00.000-04:002009-04-08T21:44:41.272-04:00

Here are some pics of the JAARS hangar with some of the airplanes in it. Helio Couriers, R-44, Kodiak, etc.Today work got more interesting. I have been washing and waxing an airplane getting it ready for an airshow this summer. Not very exciting, but at least I was touching a real airplane! Today I was given an assignment to rebuild a tailwheel section of a Helio. It really got me into the work!

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-7943065205597661452009-04-04T18:19:00.000-04:002009-04-04T18:47:10.045-04:00

I got the call Thursday mid morning that all the administrative process had been approved for me to go to work at the hangar. I received my orientation and was put to work right away...washing airplanes! Hey, no complaints. I was very happy to just be around airplanes and if that meant washing them, fine with me! I know it won't be my last time. Where I will be flying there is plenty of mud to go

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-81083225806873220462009-04-01T17:18:00.000-04:002009-04-01T17:24:54.473-04:00

Both kids had a great 1st day of school. I didn't work today, so I was able to take both of them and walk them in and get them settled a little bit.Both met many friends and are very excited to be here where many of their school friends live right on the center.Josh lost no time in making friends. As soon as he got home, he got a call from one of the boys and spent the whole afternoon out with

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-57573641728480858912009-03-31T21:00:00.001-04:002009-03-31T21:07:45.326-04:00

We got both Joshua and Karina enrolled in school. They both start tomorrow. They seem like very nice schools and the staff at both were very friendly and warm.Karina gets a real kick out of the southern accents and we tease her that she will be talking like that soon. We are so happy that both of them are excited and happy to be here. Every day we learn of more neat things to do either on

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-47876725300777064442009-03-29T17:57:00.000-04:002009-03-29T17:58:32.759-04:00

I have updated the photos on the Picasa site. Link to the right. I have taken photos of the apartment and some other photos of the site.We are looking forward to getting the kids enrolled in school tomorrow and getting some administration stuff done.

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-33836279846134772542009-03-28T14:46:00.000-04:002009-03-28T14:56:56.730-04:00

God is so good. I could go on for awhile telling all the wonderful things he has done for us just in the last two weeks! For now, I will stick to the major highlights.We had quite a hectic time our last few weeks in Tampa. I was hoping for a little reprieve from my school full time/work full time schedule once school was finished. It turned out I was just as busy with packing and finalizing

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-61636898704962624852009-03-22T21:37:00.000-04:002009-03-22T21:58:44.488-04:00

A lot has happened since the last post. School is finally over! I have both mechanic's certificates now: airframe and powerplant. It is so nice to be done with that phase!We are finishing up the packing as we prepare for the move to Waxhaw, NC on Friday, the 27th. Since JAARS housing has provided us with a FULLY FURNISHED apartment including linens and dishes, our move is going to be relatively

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-37510335555257489412009-02-15T12:45:00.001-05:002009-02-15T12:52:06.176-05:00

On Friday I passed my "Power Plant" practical exam. I now only have one more written exam and one more practical exam to complete my mechanic's license. I have those scheduled for early next week.Feb 19th is my graduation date and it is coming up fast! We are excited as a family to be moving on to the next step soon. We are making preparations to move to Waxhaw, NC at the end of march. There is

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-778506948377647592009-01-31T22:52:00.000-05:002009-01-31T23:08:47.286-05:00

I have been very lazy about posting updates here. Since joining Facebook, I have mostly just updated that site, neglecting this one. So for those who haven't caved in to join Facebook, here is our latest news!We have been praying and waiting for God's leading on our next step once I finish maintenance school. We have had several opportunities, but we wanted to be sure that we were following

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-55007680202065083872008-12-16T16:48:00.000-05:002008-12-16T16:54:51.156-05:00

I have reached 6th term at my school for my mechanic's certificate. Graduation date is just around the corner! (Feb 19th). I will be off of school for 2 weeks from the 24th to the 5th of January, then it will only be another month and a half!We are very excited to have a reasonable schedule again. God has been faithful to bring us through this time together and it will be very rewarding to be

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-18093903824934543582008-11-20T15:25:00.000-05:002008-11-20T15:28:26.322-05:00

I have been extremely busy the last several weeks. I was afraid that when the time changed, I would see a decrease in my workload since we have less daylight and I am only able to work after 3:00pm. Turns out, the same God who put us on this path is also in charge of my workload as well. I have almost doubled my workload after the time change! Praise his NAME!The holidays are coming up and I

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-41978816487156672232008-10-21T20:05:00.000-04:002008-10-21T20:12:17.930-04:00

I passed my multi-engine rating on Friday of last week. Now I am certified to fly airplanes with two fans!Our flight school purchased a twin engine airplane like the one pictured above and gave us instructors a great deal on getting our ratings so we could teach in it.I still have to get my instructor's rating in it. That shouldn't take long, though. I will be able to increase my student base

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-71974458420246528652008-10-08T15:15:00.000-04:002008-10-08T21:56:24.211-04:00

October 4 was JAARS day at the JAARS center in Waxhaw, NC. Maggy and I really wanted to go to visit, but we weren't sure if we would be able to make it. Flying was out of the question and driving was not attractive as an option because it was about a 10 hour drive.We decided that we would try to make it and it worked out great. We drove up Friday night and arrived Sat morning in time to look

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-27076264929389479752008-09-26T20:42:00.000-04:002008-09-26T20:48:16.237-04:00

Sorry, no picture this time.It looks like the MAF maintenance internship in Idaho is not going to happen. Due to budget cuts, that program has been shelved for the time being. So we have something new to pray about! We will see what God's leading is for our future after my school ends in February. For the time being, I have a fairly secure job as flight instructor where I am working now part

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-9887684738207597962008-09-22T20:29:00.000-04:002008-09-22T20:35:16.289-04:00

Today I had a unique privelege of flying a Cessna 400. This airplane is the fastest production fixed gear airplane in the world. Cessna claims it will cruise at 235 knots at altitude. Although we never made it higher than 3500 ft today, it is by far the fastest airplane I have had the pleasure of controlling!All else is going well. The kids are great and growing. The clock is ticking for A&P

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-38722398910410314692008-08-13T19:41:00.000-04:002008-08-13T20:02:22.575-04:00

Last week Maggy and I had the honor and the privilege of becoming some of the first passengers in a Quest Kodiak. The Kodiak is a purpose built airplane to replace the aging fleet of regular aviation gas burning airplanes currently on the field. The Kodiak carries much more than the airplanes they will replace and use Jet fuel which is much more available around the world in addition to being

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-31988018560694020032008-06-28T20:41:00.001-04:002008-12-09T22:59:48.060-05:00

Jonathan and Mommy returned home on Thursday. We were happy to get them home and settled in. Both are doing very well. Mommy was able to get some much needed rest as Jonathan went to the kids' VBS performance. Everyone was very suprised to see the baby out and about so soon, but he took it all in stride. David's brother's kids are still in town and Josh and Karina are having a wonderful time with

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-58096521707554713192008-06-24T18:54:00.001-04:002008-12-09T22:59:48.418-05:00

We are proud to announce the birth of Jonathan Daniel Mead, born at 8:56am today on June 24, 2008. Weighing in at 7lbs 14 ounces and standing (laying) 21 inches, he is the champ of the day!He has brown hair with blond highlights and blue eyes.Maggy started having strong contractions at 3:30 this morning and we started to the hospital at 4:30. We arrived just in time for her to have the epidural

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-28552590034287631512008-06-22T19:14:00.001-04:002008-06-22T19:28:10.076-04:00

David's school situation reached a low two weeks ago. Dealing with some of the issues with the interaction with the instructors became very frustrating and we looked into transferring to another school. There was at least one very attractive alterntative and we started planning to make the transfer. But after thinking and praying about it, it became evident that God's will was for David to

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-60790992618534786882008-06-05T20:39:00.000-04:002008-12-09T22:59:48.645-05:00

Well, I have not been faithful in updating but I have a very good reason. I have been very busy with flying and with school. Last week I set a new personal record and logged 24 flight hours in a single week! And I didn't pay for a single hour of it! In fact, I got paid for most of it; how exciting.Above photo is a picture of my flight instructor, Pete Crawford, who signed me off for CFI. I am so

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-49844035468057792312008-05-20T22:05:00.000-04:002008-05-20T22:10:04.132-04:00

One of the requirements to apply to MAF as a pilot/mechanic is to have 400 hours logged flight time. Today, I officially passed that mark! Praise God!Since passing my CFI checkride, I did get the job at the flight school where I trained. They are a bit slow right now and have not picked up any new students yet. However, a friend of mine who is also a pilot is trying to get his commercial

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-21922724134944890812008-05-07T22:08:00.000-04:002008-05-07T22:14:34.196-04:00

Praise God! After 5+ months of studying and preparation, I have passed my Certified Flight Instructor's practical exam. I could not have done it without God's help. There were many times I felt that I just couldn't comprehend the material and commit it to memory, but God gave me the ability after asking him.I am able to start instructing right away. I have a couple of students who are ready

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-8733133753776751062008-05-06T20:08:00.000-04:002008-12-09T22:59:48.877-05:00

We had been invited to the wedding of one of the Trempert kids, Craig and since David hadn't seen them in a very long time and Maggy and the kids had never met them, we decided to make the trip. Everything worked out well for the trip.The flights were messed up, as usual and we were rerouted with less than a good chance of making it to Nampa, Idaho as planned on Friday. We wound up with standby

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-59289154688691176912008-05-01T20:57:00.000-04:002008-12-09T22:59:49.071-05:00

Here is a random picture of TamaTama, Venezuela where David grew up. I don't know when it was taken, but I copied it off of another MK (Missionary Kid)'s website. Thanks, Jonathan!

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-55655448226333035602008-04-30T23:47:00.000-04:002008-04-30T23:52:11.848-04:00

Well, David took his oral and practical test today for his Certified Flight Instructor certificate. He passed the oral portion which was the most challenging to study for but hit a snag on the practical test. He has to retake the remaining practical portion next Tuesday.All in all it is a positive thing as the most difficult part of the test is over. Fortunately, the examiner agreed to waive

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-26239766762277634212008-04-27T20:06:00.000-04:002008-04-27T20:10:57.346-04:00

Things seem to be coasting along fine for us right now. Maggy had some abnormal contractions last week, but we found out that they were due to dehydration on her part. She has been chugging water and feeling much better. Due date is July 5.This coming Wednesday David has his Flight Instructor practical test. He has been preparing for this for over 5 months and is finally ready, thanks to God.

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3214145710832849420.post-61598831831672417462008-04-14T21:27:00.000-04:002008-12-09T22:59:49.361-05:00

Sorry that I have been so silent. After returning from Ecuador, we hit the ground running and have been very busy. And after we got caught back up, we got sick.Maggy got the flu a little over a week ago. She visited the doctor and was told that it shouldn't hurt the baby, and after several days in bed, she started recovering. Then I got it. I was in bed for 4 days. Fortunately, I only missed a

David Meadnoreply@blogger.com0