A Whole Month Without a Post

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 like Joshua, the terrible twos have started very early!

We had a joint birthday party with Jonathan and Karina. She actually wanted it that way. I think Maggy has posted the pics on her facebook. I will get them on Picasa soon.

I have been busy and enjoying myself at work. I was out of the engine shop doing inspections and general maintenance on a couple of airplanes. It is rewarding work addressing various maintenance issues and resolving them more and more on my own. I am getting very comfortable working on the airplanes, which is kinda scary, because now is really when I could end up making a mistake! Not really, though. The senior guys here are very careful to inspect the work and make sure everything is done right.

I was allowed to go on a "return to service" flight last week in one of the Helios. That was a treat. They always fly an airplane on sort of a test flight anytime major work has been done on it. It was especially rewarding since I had been a significant part of most of the work that had been done on it. The flight came back with no findings.

Two weeks ago, I finally was able to make a soccer game. Every Sunday, a group of people get together to play soccer in a field across the street from our apartment. I have been wanting to go over to play, but our Sunday activities usually run late into the evening, so I haven't had a chance. But two weeks ago I did. Since I have been exercising and getting back into shape, I thought I wouldn't have any problem on the field. Unfortunately, about 5 minutes into the game, I planted my foot and injured my knee. I was able to walk it off and continued playing since I wasn't in too much pain, but the next day, I couldn't move it!

I took that whole week easy and the following week was able to start my usual exercise routine and by now, I have no more pain. Thanks to God for a quick recovery and no permanent damage. My family has a history of knee problems and so far, I am the only one who has been exempt from any serious problems.

We went up to Boone, NC last weekend to watch Jed and Charissa do their insane 100 mile mountain bicycle race. We arrived in time to see them cross the finish line and then spent the rest of the day with them. The mountains were so beautiful! We went to a summer camp facility with them after the race and went down this awesome zip line into a very refreshing lake. Even though we were in the mountains, it was still hot! Again, those pictures coming soon to Picasa.

Thanks Jed and Charissa for inviting us up! We had a great time. It was nice to get out and see more of the country.

This week finds me back in the engine shop. There is another Cessna 206 in need of an overhauled engine, so I am back at work doing that. This 206 is the one that is based here and used for training. It needs to be ready to go by August, which doesn't give us much time. Usually, the pace is not that urgent here, so it will be fun to see how things go when the pace is picked up a bit.

Maggy and I are pretty certain that God has revealed to us his will for our next step after the Technical Evaluation in October. We feel that he is leading us to go to Ecuador sort of independently to volunteer with MAF-Ecuador and sort of get a better feel for what God is doing through them there. I know that is quite a far cry from our original feeling of serving with JAARS in Africa, or where ever, but we have spent considerable time in prayer and discussion about it. We felt that he wouldn't show us our next step until much later, but we both were impressed with the idea at the same time and all the doors seem to be opening in that direction. This will initially be a short term move for us, but may develop into longer term service. We will be sending out an official newsletter with much more detail in the next week.

We will be relying on God fully to work out the details and finances for the move. We are confident that by following his will, he will work things out for himself, just as he always does. Proverbs 16:1-4 has been inspirational to me over the last several weeks as we commited our plans to him. "To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue. All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. The Lord works out everything for his own ends - even the wicked for a day of disaster."

Maggy's dad offered to bring the kids and her up to NJ for 2 weeks, so they left early this morning by train. The kids were doubly excited. Not only had they been asking God to go up to NJ, but they got to go by train! Karina was packed and ready to go on Tuesday and kept counting down the days and thanking God every day.

The kids have seen God at work so much in our lives. We have been keeping closer track of what we ask God for and being very specific in our requests. And we try very hard to thank him when he gives us what we ask for - which has been a lot! As we acknowledge him in all our ways, he gives us more clarity in the path he has chosen for us. Another Proverb put into action. Proverbs 3:5-6.

You know how Jesus said that unless you receive the kingdom of God like a child, you will not enter it? We are seeing more and more why he said that as the faith of our children grows faster than ours. I am almost at the point that if I want something, I just ask my kids to pray for it! There is no greater joy to a parent than to see his child accept the kingdom of God.

Well, I am a bachelor for a couple of weeks now, which gives me plenty of time to work on our move to Ecuador. There is so much to do and I am grateful to keep busy. Maybe I'll even post a couple more times this month!