Yesterday afternoon the power was off and it was VERY hot in my house. I was getting supper together and when I'd finished I decided to go next door and say hello to my neighbor. Zoila's husband works for a large plantation here and she and her boys are spending the summer here. Zoila is a beautiful Costa Rican woman and it's always fun to spend time with her. Anyway, I poured us each a glass of iced tea and walked next door. Imagine my surprise when I arrived and found her reading a book on prayer and praying as she read. Wow, a God-appointment! She is a catholic and explained to me that before she came to the Philippines and met some missionaries she didn't know that people actually read and study the Bible for themselves, like every day! I have no idea what the ending to this story will be, but I feel privileged to be a little part of it.

Jamie arrives tomorrow! We are so looking forward to seeing her and hearing how her time in Palawan was. I'm also planning to enjoy the coffee shop together, go shopping, and rope her into helping me teach school (I doubt that will be a hard job!).

Whenever you'd like you can order a soft drink and have it in a bag. Yes, a small plastic bag with a straw! It saves people walking off with bottles... anyway, that was just a small interesting cultural note:).

Elections are coming up here in just over a week. This has become a noisy town with constant campaigning via loudspeakers mounted on vehicles. It's not always the most peaceful time here, but we are praying that this election would be uneventful.

There was something else important I was going to post about today, but it's slipped my mind. That seems to happen a lot lately! At any rate, that having escaped me, here is a short list of things I love about living here: fresh coconut milk, great co-workers, having a cool basement in which to do school, my red wall in the living room, ordering meat to be packaged exactly how I want it (especially skinned, deboned chicken breasts for cheaper than buying the whole chicken!), the compound where we live, green trees and sunshine, and the constant flex in a flight program!

Good morning! How is your week starting? Here things are moving at a rapid clip... we spent the weekend with a pretty sick boy and started the week with two flight days. Kaleb's fever went up to 105 degrees on Friday afternoon, so we took him to the doctor. They did some basic bloodwork and said that he had a virus and it would pass with lots of rest and lots of fluids.

The rash he had got really itchy on Saturday. The soles of his feet and his hands were particularly itchy. So itchy, in fact, that he didn't sleep all night on Saturday. We tried cold water, warm water, baby oil, caladryl, Benadry.... everything we could think of. Still, we spent the night sitting with him watching TV and reading. Sunday he was still incredibly itchy. We tried another antihistamine. We asked friends and family to pray. Finally around midnight on Sunday he fell asleep and Monday morning woke up feeling much better. Monday was still a pretty slow day, but today he seems quite back to himself. Thank you, Jesus!

On a totally different note, I thought you might enjoy this sign-- can you imagine advertising that you needed a worker with "a pleasing personality"? And if that disqualified them, exactly how would you tell them?! Let alone advertising that the person has to be single and a particular height and age!

Yesterday and today the guys have been flying. Actually, yesterday Brian did his first solo operational flight on the field! Such a big step forward! He picked up some missionaries who needed to see the doctor and brought them to town.

This morning Garry and Brian went to a different location. They took someone to a city up north and picked up a translation consultant and took her to a remote location. Bailey and I have been busy monitoring the radio. To stave off boredom I've been teaching school, cooking meals, and doing the normal household stuff.

So that's life at our house!

A couple of weeks ago we went to Davao and saw this beautiful view on the way. God's creation is incredible! We love the beauty here in Mindanao!

It's nearly time to go get breakfast on the table but I wanted to quickly let you know how well the training flights have gone. Garry and Brian have put in quite a few hours in the airplane over the past week and Brian is doing really well. Garry is also feeling very comfortable in the right seat by now!

They've been to our most challenging airstrip twice this week and are planning another flight for tomorrow. All three of these flights have actually been flights for missionaries-- delivering cargo and taking a couple back to their location. These friends are getting ready for a translation check next week so we'll be doing a bit of flying for them and the consultant. Translation checking is a very important part of the process-- making sure that you haven't left out any phrases and that you are communicating well.

Kaleb has a flu right now, poor guy is pretty miserable. The flus that are going around town right now seem to pass quickly, which is encouraging.

I started this post on Easter weekend-- it's been that long since I signed on to blog. Although Easter is long over, I still wanted to post these photos. These are some of the things that remind us every day that we live in a very religious country. A

country that is full of the Bible, full of great quotes, and full of great-sounding signs. Yet the reality is that many people here have no understanding of the Bible and that the Gospel cannot be simply added to what you already believe-- it must be exchanged.

That's a lot like many of us, in fact. We want enough of God to keep our lives happy and full (we forget those promises of suffering and trials) and enough of the world to keep life interesting. God doesn't come on those terms, though. He offers Himself plus nothing. And He is enough. May we not only BELIEVE that, but experience it!

It's a quiet Sunday afternoon here and lunch is starting to smell tempting. Pork roast, brocoli, and baked potatoes are on the menu. We totally enjoy the lovely fresh vegetables we get here. The pork and chicken are also good... the beef is not exactly what we are used to. yeah... maybe the smell of lunch is getting me sidetracked from more important things!

This week Garry has a couple of flights planned-- one training flight with Brian and another to take some missionaries back to their location. Jason and Shirley are expecting a translation consultant to arrive next week to check their translation of Genesis. It's exciting to talk to

them and hear how God is growing the Church in their location. They were telling us yesterday that the believers do some trading with the closest town, selling things they grow. The unbelievers, however, are still afraid to go out of their section of the jungle.