Good afternoon! It's been a rather crazy morning here, so I am just getting to posting now. Yesterday afternoon the boys and I went to the "Baragatan Festival" (celebrating the sea and the fact that it's the #1 natural resource in Palawan) here in Puerto Princesa. It was fun to look around at the different handcrafts and the things different municipalities specialize in. We saw beautiful pearls (the jewlery of the average Filipino here in Puerto!), amazing woodwork, some great windchimes, and all different kinds of foods. It was a fun time to mingle with the crowds and just see what's happening. (I did think it was a bit different than going to a parade or local party at home in that we often felt like part of the display, being so much whiter and taller than everyone around us!)

Garry got home from his flight early in the afternoon and brought home with him a wooden airplane for each of the boys. One of the Palawano boys makes amazing models of Cessna 185's like Garry flies. Kaleb, particularly, loves these models and has been asking for one. These days Kaleb is into drawing and writing. He loves to make up a story, have us write it down, and then copy it into a "book" he makes of stapling the pages together. He also loves being outside, either working in the yard or playing basketball. While Kevin enjoys going to town, Kaleb's preference is usually to stay home, working on one of his many projects. He also enjoys being read to, and is beginning to read by himself. Kaleb's love of learning and contagious joy add a special light to our family. He loves to make gifts for all of us and blesses us with them!

When Garry got back to the hangar he spent some time helping one of the missionaires move his plane into the hangar... this is an experimental aircraft one of the families is hoping to use for transportation. But that's another story!

We enjoyed our Friday evening at home. We had tacos for supper and then worked on different things. Garry was getting his computer set up, Kevin is writing a story, I was chatting with my mom via internet, and Kaleb was drawing pictures and writing his latest "book".

This morning I got a cell phone text that the patient we were planning to bring to the hospital yesterday is travelling by land and ocean (4 hours on the ocean and 6 in a bus, I believe-- while experiencing heart failure!) She was nearly at one of our stations where there is a hospital nearby. It didn't take very long to get the information the missionary needed so that she will be well-cared for there.

Garry and I planned to do some errands in town this morning, but were interrupted by several things... the man who's working at the hangar needed tools, someone arrived from Manila and might need a flight (but his cargo is very large-- will it fit in the airplane?) and several main streets in town were blocked off for the festival. In the end, we enjoyed a cup of coffee together and headed home!

Meanwhile, the girls who help me were cooking some "ready-made meals" for some of our missionaries. Living in a remote location it's challenging to cook sometimes, and this is one way we can bless our friends! Today we made chicken strips that can be reheated easily and got some lumpia (much like egg rolls) ready to go. (..think chicken strips made from breast and back pieces-- from taking off the skin, to deboning and cutting up the chicken, to making your own breading!) We'll also add some cookies and a loaf or two of bread to the package when we send it Monday morning. These are the kinds of things that are easy to take to for granted when they're readily available at the local supermarket. In a remote location they are a treat!

Our days are filled with opportunities... opportunities to bless others, opportunities to grow, and opportunities to be a part of what God is doing! God tells us when we reach crossroads in life we'll hear a voice behind us saying, "This is the way, walk in it". What a blessing when we choose to obey!