Hangar Work

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! I had to hunt for a big list of parts, clean, paint, rivet, build parts we didn't have...a whole bunch of stuff! It is very fun being part of a large repair station with cool tools and the ability to make a part if your stock room doesn't have one!

We have been meeting more people and having a great time talking about missions in general, JAARS and other such stuff.

We do miss our friends and family in Tampa, though. As we get settled into our routine and some of the newness wears off, we miss you all more! Thanks for all the emails. I will be answering them all and hope they keep coming! They are very encouraging.

David to Work/Kodiak Dedication

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 around, so I had better get good at it!

The staff at the hangar is very friendly and I have been having a good time getting to know the folks and learning about what I will be doing. It has been good settling into a normal routine.

I get up plenty early (by my standards) to get the kids up and ready for school. That gives me time to exercise and spend some time in the Bible before I have to be to work at 8:00. Lunch is a full hour and we are living only a couple of minute bike ride from the hangar, so going home is easy. Then back to work until 5:00. I get home and spend time with the kids until supper where we have sat down to eat as a family 6 days in a row now! New record!

This is going to be a welcome change of pace for us and is going to be very good to bond us together as a family and make up for my crazy schedule the last year and a half.

Kodiak Dedication

Today was the new president installation for JAARS as well as the Kodiak dedication ceremony for service in Papua New Guinea. It still has some work to do here before being flown over in August.

It was very enlightening listening to both ceremonies and hearing how all the people here are so focused on giving God the glory for everything and seeking his will in all areas of the work. Since being here and listening to everyone talk, the goal of Scripture translation is always at the forefront and they try very hard to keep that there and not let all the material things that we work on get in the way. It's hard to explain, but it is a pleasure to be a part of this group that is so intent on serving God in areas that could easily become distractions rather than tools - technology.

One reminder came from the daughter of Cameron Townsend, founder of JAARS, Wycliffe and SIL (all organizations for the same purpose) who was one of the speakers at the president's installation ceremony. She said: "My father was a man who, before the airplanes, before the technology, before JAARS, before Wycliffe, before SIL and before anything, was a man who was called to serve God and who loved him."

We had a great time meeting new folks from around the U.S. who are faithful supporters of JAARS who came to witness the ceremonies. God blessed with a beautiful sunny day in the midst of a week that was very rainy and overcast.

1st Day of School

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 them. It is so nice to have that here! Josh was very surprised to get a call from one of his friends from school. That never happened in Tampa.

I was able to get my tool box organized with my new tools. I took it up to the hangar and put it with the other mechanic's. I also got to see some of the planes close up. See pictures on the picasa site. (Link to the right)

Kids in School

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 center or nearby. We will not be bored here!

We had dinner tonight with a couple who are on furlough from Indonesia. It was their first term and are gearing up to go back. It was very fun getting to know them and swapping stories.

The kids are having so much fun being outside all day. They are free to ride bikes and run and be on the razors all over the center. We are having fun leaving the doors unlocked again. It is such a great community.

One of the guys who works at the hangar stopped by our apartment today on his way home from work to introduce himself. He ended up staying about a half an hour talking and getting to know me. He has been a part of JAARS now for about 14 years and has worked over in Papua New Guinea. It was so neat that he just popped in to make us feel welcome! We have had quite a few of those.

I was supposed to start work on Wed, but it looks like I will need to wait another day for administrative reasons. I have plenty to do, though, so no big deal. I have to take both kids to school tomorrow, but after that, they will be on the buses from now on.

Photos Updated.

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.

We made it to Waxhaw!

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 as many of my flight school students! God did bless with a lot of work which translated into much needed income.

He absolutely provided in every way for us. We finished packing right on time without excess stress. Our biggest trial was what to do with our dog. Long story short, we have some issues with a false accusation of an attack and so we are unable to give him away until that is resolved. My aunt and dad stepped up and offered to take care of him until it is resolved. THANKS GUYS!

Our expenses to move were minimal. Less than I expected. We had an absolutely event free drive up to North Carolina. We saw many animals that had been hit and many broken down vehicles. We realized any one of those could have been us, but our Lord protected us all the way! We also realize if one of those had been us, God still would have been in charge!

We felt very emotional as we opened up our new apartment that will be our home for the next 6 months. It is bigger than we expected. It is just too good! The folks here at JAARS are so fantastic. We hadn't even gotten out of the van when a fellow came up to introduce himself and offer to help us carry stuff in. He also invited us to his house for lunch. It was so good to have such a warm welcome!

So much more to come...stay tuned!

Almost Ready to Move!

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 easy! We only have to take our clothes and a few personal things.

My parents have offered to trade us cars for the time, so we have a minivan now that we are soon to be a 6 member family! That is a huge blessing! And since I am going to be working so close to home, we only need one car, another blessing! We are so grateful to God that he is working out the details of this time for us so nicely!

We have begun the very sad process of saying goodbye to our loved ones here. Today was our last meeting with our congregation. We got through it fairly well. My mom threw a little going away party for us and my sister and brother in law from Winter Haven were able to make it as well as my brother in law who is visiting from Dubai as well as those family members who live here in Tampa.

This is a nice warm up for us as we will only be gone 6 months this time and back for at least 4 months as we understand the process so far.

There are still a few things that need to be worked out, but we are relying on God to continue going before us as he has been so faithful so far.