August Newsletter

August 15, 2010

We 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 Ecuador. Our shipment of goods has arrived. After some additional frustrations, all of our belongings arrived at our house in Shell with very minimal damage. God has provided for all the extra expenses and also gave us grace to have patience with the system!

God has provided us a very comfortable home here in Shell. It is ideal for our family in a good location near several of the people we have become friends with here. As an additional blessing, I was able to ask the price of rent over the phone, and the landlords didn´t know I was a foreigner until after the price had been negotiated. So we are able to pay the Ecuadorian price for the house!

Both Josh and Karina have their spots reserved at their respective schools and enrollment begins this coming week. Maggy has a possibility of some part time work teaching English at one of the local Christian elementary schools. I have been busy in the hangar as we have begun a project to change one of three engines slated for this year. My residency Visa is still in process and I am unable to submit my application for the commercial pilot´s license until the Visa is issued. We are not in a hurry for that and I am quite happy to keep busy in whatever capacity that is asked of me for the time being.

Some of the more exciting things that have been happening involve some of the local community that we have gotten to know in Shell. You might remember me talking about a young Waorani man who studied at SMAT (School of Missionary Aviation Technology) in Michigan, Menewa Nenquimo. His goal was to become the first licensed pilot and mechanic for the Waorani people so that they could have their own aviation program and not depend on outsiders for their transportation. Since then, he has obtained his mechanic´s certificate in the U.S. and is in the process of validating the license in Ecuador.

It was very special for me to be at the small family gathering where Menewa was presented his actual certificate by Tim Paulson, who sponsored part of his training. Mincaye,(one of the warriors who participated in the attack on the 5 missionaries 60years ago) along with other family members was there to celebrate this grand occasion as Menewa is the first Waorani to earn a mechanic´s certificate. Mincaye prayed during the celebration and even though I didn´t understand what he said, it was evident that he was ful lof emotion; happy and proud of his grandson.

For the moment, Menewa is unable to return to SMAT to continue his pilot´s training for many reasons. We made contact early in our arrival to Ecuador and after speaking with him; I felt it was very important that I offer to help in whatever way I can. As you may remember from my other letters, I have felt the desire to help train the indigenous in aviation as part of the ministry here, and maybe this is my first opportunity. You can pray that Menewa will be able to continue his flight training soon.

Menewa´s brother, Mincaye (grandson of Mincaye), has also become my friend. He is an independent missionary who serves his own people, based primarily in Shell. He is active in strengthening the Waorani church as well as being involved in community affairs dealing with politics and government where he is needed. He has been involved in two projects in the past to try to establish aviation programs for his people and in both cases, the Waorani were taken advantage of and were unable to maintain aviation programs. He is excited that his brother has earned his mechanic´s certificate and is encouraging him to continue in his flight training.

Mincaye also has the vision to translate the Old Testament of the Bible into his own language. They currently only have the New Testament and many Waoranis do not speak Spanish and very few speak and understand it well. I can identify with the desire for the translation, because I also have trouble understanding certain parts of the Bible in Spanish. The Bible speaks best to us in what is known as our "Heart Language", or the language we learned as a child, and he is passionate to try to identify a few young people who can be sent to Wycliffe´s Language Institute and begin the translation of the Old Testament.

We can pray that they will be able to begin soon and you can keep your ears open for opportunities to help them complete both projects as they develop.

Thank you for your interest in the work that is being accomplished with the people in Ecuador and we appreciate your prayer support, emotional encouragement and the financial gifts that make our work here possible.

We commit everything we do to God,

David, Maggy, Joni Karina, Joshua, Jonathan,Jennifer

Jesus is a Verb, not a Noun

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 want to listen to the song in Spanish, the link is here for the YouTube video. CLick for Link.

Yesterday, Jesus refined my guitar and sharpened my senses…
He inspired me.
Paper and pencil in hand,
I aim for the song and I was unable to write.
Because to talk and write about Jesus is redundant,
It would be better to act.
Later, he told me something
That the only way to not be redundant is to speak the truth.
To say that Jesus likes that we act, not talk.
To say that Jesus is more than five letters forming a name.
To say that Jesus is a verb, not a noun.

Jesus is more than a simple and flat theory,
What are you doing, brother reading the Bible all day?
What is written there is bound in love,
Come on, go and practice it.
Jesus, my brothers, is a verb, not a noun.

Jesus is more than a luxurious temple with Baroque stylings,
He knows that all this is nothing more than rock,
The church is held in the soul in the acts that are not forgotten,
Jesus, my brothers is a verb and not a noun.

Jesus is more than making the sign of the cross,
Kneeling and making a boast,
He knows that maybe inside that your conscience burns you,
Jesus is more than a flour on the altar, savior of sins,
Jesus, my brothers is a verb, not a noun.

Jesus is more than a group of ladies
With very black consciences,
Who pretend to earn heaven with their charity club,
If you want to be an active member
You must submit to the leadership,
Your Swiss savings account and your official contacts.

Jesus acted out all of his sermons,
If you drink coffee, that´s a sin say the mormons,
They have so little to do
That they continue making every little thing up
Jesus, my brothers, is a verb, not a noun.

Jesus doesn’t understand why they applaud him in church,
They speak of honesty knowing that the tithes are a fraud,
Jesus is disgusted by the pastor who gets rich using the faith,
Jesus, my brothers is a verb, not a noun.

They baptized me when I was 2 months old
And nobody told me about it,
There was a party, piñata and nobody asked my permission,
Baptize me, Jesus, please, among friends,
I know you hate protocol, my brother.

In my neighborhood, the most religious woman was Ms. Carlota,
She spoke of love for your neighbor, but struck me a hundred times,
Since a child I began learning
That religion is no more than a method
Titled “No Thinking Allowed” because it´s all written down.

Dear sirs, do not divide the faith, borders are for countries,
In this world there are more religions than happy children,
Jesus thought,
“I´ll make myself invisible so that all of my brothers,
Stop talking so much about me and start lending a hand.”

Jesus, you are the best witness of love, I profess,
My conscience is clean so I do not confess,
Reciting 2 Our Fathers, the murderer does not revive his victim,
Jesus, my brothers, is a verb not a noun.

Jesus, don´t come down to earth, stay there above,
Everyone who thought like you now is lying on their backs,
Forgotten in some cemetery, their ideals like luggage,
They died with a smile on their lips,
Because they were verbs, not nouns.

House Hunting

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 offices here and no classified ads. The process is to drive or walk around looking for signs on houses for rent or sale. Some houses for sale are also for rent, so we called on all of those with no positive results.

After that method was exhausted, we started asking around if anyone knew someone with a house for rent. We found 3 houses that were under construction, but not quite finished that were possibilities. We will be in discussions with their owners in the next couple of days to see if we can come up with a reasonable agreement. With two of the houses, it seems the owners do not intend to finish until they have a renter in hand. This means that they will ask the future renter to finish the house and then give some credit for rental.

This seems to be a fairly standard method, and if we are able to come up with the capital, might be a very reasonable solution for us. We know God has something in mind and we have time on our side to find the right house for us. We still think that we have about a month to a month and a half left of paperwork in Quito so we are looking at about August for needing a place here in Shell.

We have had very good conversations with the ADSE leadership about guidance for what our next steps should be and what our focus should be for our time in Quito.

My residency paperwork, of course, is primary as everything else hinges on that. We hope to have all the documents to submit the package by next week. We will need prayers to have patience and to be smart about where to go and how to accomplish everything. The next step is going to be application for the commercial pilot's license.

This, as you probably already know, is the sticking point of our transition to Ecuador. The government has the right to deny my application until I have full citizenship. That may take two years or longer. We hope and pray that they will recognize the fact that I am married to an Ecuadorian as grounds for giving me the license right away.

ADSE really needs another pilot flying as one of the MAF pilots is going on furlough next week and then is being transferred to another assignment. We depend only on the Lord to invervene in this case if it is his will for me to be flying right away. We will probably know something more next week.

We will return to Quito either tomorrow afternoon or Monday morning to be ready for a full week of dealing with government agencies for these two issues. Thanks for your prayers for us and the encouragement you show by your posts and comments! They really mean a lot.

Pardon my lack of communication this week.

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 with a nice breakfast and then off to the airport. As anyone who has travelled through Miami knows, you officially arrive in South America at the airport. We were told by the airline that it was required to have our bags wrapped in plastic for protection. At $12 each times 8 bags, I was a bit upset, but realized that if we were the only ones who didn't do it, our bags would be a target. So instead of telling them what I felt, I just aquiessed and had it done.

Other than that, there were no hickups along the whole trip and all the kids did very well for the whole flight. Our layover in Caracas was pleasant as I was able to enjoy some "authentic" Venezelan arepas and a cold Malta!

Our flight to Quito was deleyed a half hour, but no sweat. We all arrived safely in Quito and had several people, ADSE staff and Maggy's family, waiting for us to take us to our temporary house in Quito. Out of our 8 bags checked, only 5 made it, but another showed up the next day. As of now, we are still waiting on the other two. We have the bulk of what we need, but Maggy and I both are short most of our clothes. We have enough to get by, and the most important items arrived. After all the travelling I've done, this is the first time I've ever lost a bag, so I figure I'm due! God knows where they are and when they will get here.

We got a good start the morning after our arrival on getting our paperwork started. We have the list of items needed for my residency package submittal, which is the priority. Everything else pretty much hangs on that. We hope to have everything gathered and submitted by the end of next week. From there, we are told that it should take 20 to 30 days for approval and receipt of the Resident Visa.

The kids were able to obtain their "Cedulas", which are their official Ecuadorin ID cards. Everything one does in Ecuador requires showing your "Cedula", so this was a big step. We were quite surpised at the organization and speed this was accomplished. When we walked in to the Department, there was this huge line. We got through the line in about 20 minutes and were sent to another area. Our number was called after about 10 minutes and a total of an hour and a half had elapsed from walking in to walking out with all 4 kids registered and new cards in hand! That is a far cry from how I remember things working when my parents did the same for us in Venezuela! In fact, in the 13 years we were there, I never actually received my hard copy.

We arrived in Shell today to start looking for a house and to speak with the ADSE leadership to coordinate time lines, schedules and expectations. We plan to be here until Sunday afternoon or Monday morning. The ride down was a good one and the kids enjoyed it. Both older kids like Shell and we already met with a few families with kids their age for them to start connecting. Praise God for the work he has done in their hearts to make them so flexible!

As far as the communication issue: I am unable to connect my laptop to the internet connection at the house we are staying. That is a big deal, becuase most of our stuff is run off software on my laptop, and I don't want to be messing with the configuration of someone else's computer and loading a bunch of software on it. We have been working on getting my laptop connected to the existing internet connection and hope to have that working soon. This especially affects the Magic Jack phone that we hap hoped to be using to update everyone on our trip. That also affects our Skype, because the computer we are using doesn't have that and as I mentioned, I don't want to be loading software on someone else's computer.

The other issue is our lack of uploading pictures. This arrangement also prohibits us from loading our pictures into our albums until we can hook my computer up directly to the internet.

Thanks for your patience with us and I hope this brings you up to date and I will be posting more especially after we return from Shell and have things more lined up.

Our Last Letter from Tampa

April Newsletter

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 the turbo-charged Cessna Utility 206 Stationair. It is a 6 person (1 pilot and 5 passenger) airplane that is being used worldwide for challenging “bush” style flying. It carries a very heavy load flying reasonably fast. It can take off and land in very short distances and is rugged to be efficient to operate and maintain in these very challenging conditions. In short, it is about the perfect airplane for this type of flying!

The maintenance training consisted of overall operation of all the systems on the airplane. We were also taught common trouble areas, how to troubleshoot and identify these and how to repair them. We spent quite a bit of time also putting this into practice as we performed much of what we were taught on training components and real airplanes. One of the fun projects we did was to replace a horizontal stabilizer (the back small wing) on one of the airplanes. It was challenging and fun. One bonus for me is that one of the maintenance instructors was a pilot and mechanic in Venezuela and had flown me around as a kid. We had fun talking of the good times in Venezuela, much to the boredom of the other trainee! (Sorry, Nathan!)

The flight training was equally incredible. They definitely ensure that the candidates are prepared for all types of challenging flying. The training consisted of a broad array of flight such as flying at different speeds and airplane configurations; cross country navigation at different altitudes (that river looks a lot different from 2000 feet than it does from 5000 feet!); terrain flying (flying over/through mountains and valleys); emergency procedures; but most of the training focused on short field take-offs and landings.

The last 2 days of training consisted of flying to the “back country” of Idaho and practicing on a variety of very short and challenging airstrips carved out of the Salmon River valley floor. We actually spent 2 days flying the entire time BELOW the ridge tops, in a tight valley turning around seemingly scraping the wings on the sides of the mountains! The instructions for some of the approaches were very different from normal flying in Florida! Since the runway could not be seen for most of the approach, the instructor pilot would say: “Ok, fly to that rock, then turn and fly to that tree, then turn to line up with the runway…then you have about 1 and ½ seconds to decide of you are going to land or go around!”

While it was very intimidating at first, by the end of the second day, I began to feel more confident. While I know I would never be completely “relaxed” in that environment, I am confident. It requires constant alertness and awareness of the environment and to be able to make very quick decisions. I really can’t say enough about the whole training process. The instructors really poured themselves out to us to ensure we have the tools we need to safely fly these missions for the Lord.

One thing that I want to share is the non-technical training that I have received. 3 years ago when we first set out on this venture, I thought I was ready right then to go and was slightly annoyed that I had to wait so long to go through all the technical training. I thought that the need was for airplanes and pilots to fly them. But it’s not about the airplanes. It’s about the people. The airplane is just a tool to reach the people. God has shown me that although he has called us to serve in aviation, that aviation is not the end goal. It is a means to touch people’s lives in a way that will be an inroad to complete the primary task: make disciples of all nations, teaching them all the things Jesus has taught us!

We had numerous opportunities to see the sights and enjoy ourselves as a family as well. Thank you to the Tremperts who lent us their Suburban! We were able to drive to the mountains just about every week to see the sights or enjoy an activity. We enjoyed a super deal on snow skiing, so David, Karina and Josh went skiing. We went tubing as well as just letting the kids play in the snow. The last couple of weekends were really nice and we drove to the mountains and just got out to climb hills and such.

Both Karina and Josh made friends right away in school. They lived very near to us so they were over to the house quite a bit. Jonathan had the little sand box right out front, so he kept busy playing there. The other family there for the training had kids similar in ages, so we were able to enjoy each other’s company quite a bit.

We met many neat people there in Idaho and are grateful to God for allowing our time there to be such a rich experience. We are thankful to all those who made it a great time and count our blessings that we met new, life-long friends through the process!

The kids get out of school here in Tampa on the 10^th of June and we travel to Ecuador on the 14^th. In that time, we will be taking every advantage to share the vision that God has given us to raise awareness, establish our team and recruit those who would commit to praying for us and the ministry in Ecuador. We have several speaking engagements lined up, but if you have a Sunday School class or other group who would like to hear more, please let us know!

We commit everything we do to God,

David, Maggy, Joni Karina, Joshua, Jonathan, Jennifer

Helping out Juan Baron

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 effort and that Juan and his family will be able to start the project very soon.