Another day in our lives and yours! Garry did some of his flying yesterday, but was unable to take the patient home as planned. That location has had steady rain for 3 days and it was still raining yesterday. Since they use solar power for most of their needs, their batteries are as anxious for the sun to come out as they are! So the patient will wait for another opportunity, away from her friends and family.

Garry leaves for Manila tomorrow, so today we're trying to tie up loose ends. We also went out for lunch-- a breakfast meal at a little Swiss Deli and restaurant here in town. That was fun! Kevin is having another badminton lesson and Kaleb is at the hangar helping Garry right now. We are so blessed to be in such a family-friendly ministry!

One of the things we really enjoy is watching our boys try or learn something new. This past week they've been thrilling us with a number of fun things... Kevin has been learning yoyo tricks, and Kaleb is trying some of them also. Kaleb has also added some new things to his tree fort, which he tells us is quite cozy already!

The boys have also been doing some cooking... Kaleb found he loves to squeeze juice-- either tangerine or orange! He also put together some pizzas on pita bread for supper the other evening. Kevin baked an amazing batch of chocolate chip cookies on Friday when we had company for supper!

Today Garry is back in the air, taking the last of "our" missionaries back to their location. His flight got a rather late start because while running up the engine for take-off he found a fouled plug. Thankfully he was able to clean it up quickly-- or however you fix them, it was relatively quick! On his way home he'll make another flight to take home a tribal person who came to town for medical attention. This lady is expecting a baby soon and had been unable to eat for several days before coming to town. She apparently had malaria and needed blood. She is much better now and will be glad to be home again!

The boys and I are just finishing up today's school lessons. Until lunch I'll be working on office work for the program. We'll likely eat our sandwiches in the office while listening to the radio. This afternoon some ladies are stopping by to pray together, then the boys and I will go to the badminton courts to get some exercise.

Conference! I think I mentioned before how much we enjoyed our few days at a nice campground here in the Philipines. This is an annual event where all the missionaries from the three different islands get together for teaching and encouragement. We all enjoyed meeting people we hadn't met before, and seeing folks from other islands that we rarely see.

One of the very special things at this conference was a team from California. A large group came from a church there to do children's programs. They gave and gave, blessings us all! They were wonderful with the kids and had a great plan for the week. We also enjoyed getting to chat with a few of them, hearing the "God stories" of their lives and how they came to be part of this team!

We are back home and getting back into routine now... at least for a little while! Garry has been working on organizing some major projects at the hangar. He's been busy in his office lately, but I think he's hoping the end is in sight! I've been organizing things at home and getting Kevin started back on his schoolwork. Next week we'll add Kaleb's school to the mix.

For those of you who have been checking this blog and not finding anything new-- it has been a long time! I'm hoping to be back to posting at least several days a week as the next weeks and months promise to be interesting with some teams coming to work, several sets of visitors, and a travel schedule unfolding for our family!

Today we're off to the beach with our co-workers, hoping to take in some sun and maybe catch a few good waves! One of the blessings of living in the tropics is that it's never too cold for the ocean!

Have a great weekend!

No pictures, of all things! We didn't take the camera to conference, so our only photos are on Garry's phone, which is up in the air with him today! Today our missionaries are headed back to their locations.

We enjoyed conference! It was good to meet many people we hadn't met before (the boys and I more than Garry as he's met many more than we had!) and sit under some good teaching. We were encouraged and blessed by our time with the folks from NTM Philippines!

The boys were blessed by a team from California that provided an excellent children's and teens program. Kevin was even able to help pour a piece of cement for a local church! Thanks for your prayers for them-- they were answered!

Once back in Manila we were blessed with a couple of days away, a time to relax. It was wonderful and we came home ready to go back to work and normal life! Since we arrived home last Wednesday all the men have been sick, but so far I've been spared. We've also gotten some great news from my brother (he's bringing most of his family to visit!) our headquarters (help with program things) and from other friends who may also come visit!

I'll be back with photos and more news later, but thought I'd at least say hello!