Good afternoon! Garry just got back from a somewhat unexpected flight. Tim is at one of our locations and had planned to come out tomorrow. However, he hasn't been feeling the best and since he was able to finish his work today called to see if we could pick him up a day early. We were glad to do so, and he's in town now... no doubt thankful for electricity, somewhere simple to get some supper, and air conditioning!

This afternoon I had taken the boys to the badminton court across town to watch the junior national playoffs. We went in a tricycle and had planned for Garry to pick us up. However, when plans changed to do the flight we needed transportation home. We had a bit of a walk, but we found a friendly driver who delivered us to our house.

The past couple of days our yard has been a beehive of activity. We're trying to fix the flooding problem we've had by adding a bit more topsoil. A friend of Garry's is doing the work with the help of his son and his nephew. Kevin and Kaleb were outside digging, smoothing, and sweating most of the day also! We now have a much better idea of how much 12 cubic meters of dirt is as well as a very brown yard!

The days are marching by. At the end of last week my boys had a chance to do some practice games with badminton players who are here for the junior national championships! They had a blast playing lots of different people, meeting coaches, and talking badminton with different people. They have this week off school and are planning to log some time at the badminton court, watching the games.

We also met a coach and several players from the town we'll be moving to in Mindanao, our next island of service! Kevin and Kaleb have been thinking about moving and wondering if they'll be able to play badminton and what the town will be like. It was a real encouragement to them and us to meet these people and feel we have some badminton friends who will be waiting for us when we get there!

Today Garry was planning to finish up some office work and spend some time with Ben and the SIL guys who are back here in Puerto again. However, it was not meant to be. One of our missionaries contacted us just after 8:00 this morning and asked if we could do an emergency flight. Kunis, a tribal lady, is very sick and needs help quickly. The missionaries don't know how to help here, so they are sending her to a doctor in town. What a blessing to be part of the solution to this need!

This flight also allows Ben to get some extra practice at a strip down south. He's been getting lots of practice over the past week and is doing a great job at the different strips. God is bringing along a number of flights for the coming weeks, which should give Ben good opportunity to move ahead with his checkout!

We're thankful for the way God is working out our days. And even more thankful to be safe in His powerful, loving hands!

Happy Wednesday! Garry isn't flying today, so we had breakfast with our co-workers. It was good to have a long chat, and our boys watched their kids while we relaxed:)!

When we got home around mid-morning the boys got right on their school work and have nearly finished. Kaleb has been working on his hovercraft some more and it's running around the table quite nicely now. Then at lunch time we had a guy come look at our yard to give us a quote on fill. The yard floods quite badly so we're trying to raise things up a bit and it sounds like it will work out OK.

Now I'm off to some office work and maybe even a few e-mails:). A cup of coffee sounds lovely, but maybe that will have to be later this afternoon! Blessings to each of you!

It's been fun to hear the progress of the California group. The missionaries enjoyed good times of fellowship and worship with them and were blessed by their presence! Today they are all headed back to town-- some via a 45 minute flight and some 10-minutes by air then 4 1/2 hours by bus. I look forward to meeting them in town over the next couple of days!

Although this is the height of dry season in theory, the last week we've enjoyed lots of rain! Yesterday we checked out the weather satellite and saw an awful lot of bad weather forming... a low-grade typhoon, to be exact. Not a good sight when you're planning a long day of flying! However, after some hard rain in town at 6:30 and a small downpour at the remote location soon after that, things cleared up. Garry was able to fly and by 5 pm everyone was at their destination... except those who are still on the bus:).

On Saturday a friend from home arrived to volunteer at a local orphanage. We wanted her to be able to get settled, so we didn't see her until yesterday morning. She brought a lovely note and some New Bothwell and Grunthal cheese from home! Wow! The familiar taste brought tears to my eyes... there's just something about the things that you've long known and loved that is special. I know-- I'm just married into the whole community, but you all have made me feel such a part of it!

Kevin spent some time in his garden today. His tomato plants are producing amazingly well, though the fruit is still green at this point. Kaleb was busy building a hovercraft from a Styrofoam plate. He's hooked up a small motor from a remote control car and it actually moves!

Good morning! Garry is on his way home after doing a training session at one of our airstrips and picking up a passenger. They were at the same location where they left the California team on Monday, so I'm sure they enjoyed seeing how things are going.

This afternoon Ben and Suzy hope to move their things into their new house and we plan to help them. Then we'll have them and anyone else who is helping move for supper... I'm thinking scalloped potatoes and ham, but we'll see what really happens:).

Last week Rita and I enjoyed coffee at this little restaurant that is built out over the bay. Rita always encourages me back to God and His calling and plan-- a great friend! She and her husband are heading back to Norway next month and will leave a big hole in our lives.

Yesterday the boys spent the better part of the day at the regional badminton competition. Since they're not enrolled in a local school they couldn't join the competition, but that didn't stop them from watching the games and enjoying time with their friends. there.

We've been praying for our badminton friends, that God would allow us as a family a chance to speak truth into their lives. Yesterday Kevin had such an opportunity when one of his friends said he's been reading "The Heavenly Man". Fred, who's 15, commented that he didn't know God still does stuff today, but since reading that book he has a new direction and passion for life. Pray with us for Fred and for wisdom for Kevin as he interacts with these kids.

Here is a picture of some of the boys' badminton friends. Fred is in the light red shirt in this picture. Aldrin, who's kneeling behind the rest of the group, is recovering from some major health problems after a suspected stroke earlier this year. Arnold, on the far left, is the one who pulled Kaleb out of the river when he got tired of swimming at our new year's party.

It's Monday again... at least here it is already:). Most of you are probably sleeping because it's the middle of the night for most of our friends!

Here's a fun picture of fueling last week when we had 2 planes coming and going from the hangar.

The team from California that's building a clinic at one of our locations arrived yesterday. Garry and Kevin went to the hangar to help them get weighed up and their luggage sorted out.

This morning Garry got an early start and the people are all at their remote location. Now Garry is sitting about 15 minutes from his destination with a fully loaded airplane, waiting for the weather to clear. Loading plywood and other bulky items required time and lots of tying down, so he's hoping he can make it to his destination and drop off the load. Otherwise he'll have to unload everything today and load it back in the airplane again on Wednesday... a while ago he had a load that had been into and out of the airplane 3 times, but we're hoping not to repeat that scene!

The ham turned out great on Friday... a good recipe to make again. Cooking at our house has seen some major changes as we've eliminated gluten and soy from our diet. This is Kevin after helping me make some of our flour mixes.... amazing all the things you have to put together to replace wheat! Actually, he was having a bit of fun with the flour also:)!

Kevin forgot to get his reading glasses out of Garry's backpack after taking them to the hangar on Friday, so school has given him a bit of a headache today. I didn't realize what a help the glasses actually are.... so it's a learning experience though his head isn't very comfortable. On the other hand, school was slightly shorter on account of it and he's outside enjoying digging in his dirt!

Good morning! How's your day going? Things here are sunny and warm after an early morning rain shower. It seems an odd time of year to be having rainy weather, but it's a welcome change!
Today we're having a friend over for lunch. I decided to try a glazed ham... I've been making my own ham for a while now, but I haven't ever tried to glaze it. Here's hoping it turns out OK:)!

We've been getting our exercise at the badminton court recently. Kevin is getting more and more competitive... actually, I think we're all getting better! It's fun to go see our friends, great exercise, and a nice way to relax. On the left is a picture of an outing we had with our badminton friends-- this is just the kids!

Garry is working today on some airstrip recommendations for another island. I never cease to be amazed at the scope of what we're involved in... Garry has to know so many different technical things as well as relate to many different people.

I keep getting started on the pile in my office only to be diverted before I make much progress. Maybe today will be different:)!

It's been a while. A lot has happened in the past week, so maybe I'll blog through it a bit randomly over the next couple of days. Garry and Ben enjoyed having the SIL guys here. It's been good to work in the hangar together and get to know one another. It's also been interesting to learn a bit about how each program operates. It was also fun to have a bigger airplane in our hangar for a week!


The team arrived as planned last Saturday and they were all able to reach their destination that day. Kevin was a big help at the hangar that day, and Kaleb and I enjoyed our time at home, coordinating things from the office! Garry actually picked them all up again today, and tomorrow they'll head back to Korea-- quite a busy week! I'm looking forward to hearing how their time interior went!

Garry has been using a company's airstrip some this past week and they have approached us about doing some flying for them. We are asking God to direct in regards to that-- is this what God is doing or is it a detour?

It's been really hot and dry for the past week or so, but today we unexpectedly have had some rain. It's been great to have things cool down a bit, hear the thunder, and enjoy a breeze!