Good morning! Still no updated photos... for some reason all the pictures from the hangar that showed Garry won't download on to my computer. Go figure!

Garry and Ben finished work on the airplane on Tuesday and finished the paperwork on Wednesday. Ben couldn't get a flight home yesterday, so he left this morning with the paperwork in hand. Joel plans to meet Ben at the airport in Manila and deliver the paperwork to the appropriate offices. We are praying that it is quickly approved... which would be a miracle since we aren't turning it in until Friday afternoon and Monday is a holiday here. But, we serve a God of miracles.

We are very excited that the boys have found a badminton trainer, we think. A friend was going to come train them, but then he got sore eyes. Maybe tomorrow.

Another week of school done! This marks the end of our first quarter-- yeah! We are so happy to hit this milestone!

Today I wrote a quick e-mail update, so no blogging for me. If you don't get our updates and you'd like to, just comment or e-mail me!

Just a quick note-- I think Garry is flying the airplane as I post. At least I hope so!

Garry and Ben continue to work hard at the airport. The new engine is in place and they are hoping to run it today. Yesterday they ran into some small snags, but overall it's gone remarkably well. I think Josh is sending some parts from Palawan that they need. Thankfully we have a courier here that is reasonable and delivers things throughout the Philippines in a day or two.

The guys have been pulling some rather long days, and it's reminded me of one of my weaknesses-- I think a decent meal fixes most things. So, the longer they work the harder I try to get something decent on the table in the evening. By the time Garry gets home, though, he's more tired than hungry. Still, I think it has to help something... my conscience if nothing else!

This afternoon I went to town to get some cash from the ATM machine and pick up a few things. I took a trike to my first stop and walked a block or so to the bank from there. After going through the whole ATM routine with your PIN, choosing an account, etc, the machine was out of cash. So i went to a second machine a few more blocks up the street. It was off-line. The third machine, a couple more blocks down the road, was also out of cash. By then I had nearly walked home. I got in a trike anyway, because I needed to pick up water from the water purification place. I had planned to pick up a few veggies, but since the ATMs haven't been working for a few days, I was totally out of cash. There's always tomorrow.

I'm really thankful that Kevin is feeling better today. It's been simply amazing how often he's been sick since we moved here last year. Thankfully none of the rest of us seem to be getting this cold.

We're back to school today, and I've actually enjoyed the routine of it. I love teaching the boys and seeing them learn different things. I love knowing what they're doing and seeing them grow. Kevin has been writing a fair amount of poetry lately, neat poems that express truth about God and life. What a joy to read what he's written!

Some days I think I'd like to do something really remarkable. Something that matters, that's noteworthy. Partially because I'd like to feel good about doing something useful: partially because it would make a good blog post...

Today I was reminded that we never know what we're doing, really. A friend of Kevin's texted me for advice this morning. His chest hurts, and he doesn't even smoke. What can he do? Really, I think he just wanted someone to care... but I offered my limited advice anyway. This is the friend that told Kevin he respects him for living differently, but he isn't sure he wants to make any changes in his life. His friends are afraid to come play badminton with Kevin because this guy has told them there will be no dirty language when Kevin is around and they're not sure they can hold their tongues. When Kevin says he is different because of God his friend tells him he isn't ready to talk about that yet. So we wait. We sow seeds. We offer friendship. And today I remembered that this, too, is important. Not a great blog, but important.

Ben arrived yesterday and he and Garry are at the hangar today. They were hoping to mount the engine today, I think.

Kevin came home sick yesterday-- he has yet another nasty cold.

Today I thought I'd post a few photos of some of our friends in one of the remote locations. These folks are from one of our locations that has a strong church. The church has its own leadership and is reaching out to new areas. The missionaries who currently live there are mostly involved in developing materials and doing translation-- they are the helpers, not the leaders! What a work of God!

Garry took both Kevin and Kaleb to the hangar today. Yesterday Garry and Kevin got a lot done and it sounds like today is going well also. Changing the engine on an airplane is just a lot of work.... work which the guys enjoy doing together! At the end of the week one of our other pilots will come to help finish up the project and help on the paperwork. It will be fun to touch base with him also!

I'm home alone for the whole day, something that seldom happens. And I'm enjoying every moment of it! I had a long list of things I wanted to do, but I doubt I'll finish them. Someone once told me that when I start a "to do" list I have no common sense... it might just be true.

Lately I've been "living" in the Psalms, reading through so many prayers of people who are simply pouring out their hearts to God. It brings me back to truth in a new way, that in the midst of suffering there is truth, love, and justice. What we see with our eyes and experience in our lives is not the whole story-- God is bent on redemption and He will do it. He is building His church, growing us into the people we need to be. We can rest in Him, in His total provision, ultimate justice, and limitless grace. We must stand against sin, but we must not be discouraged when things are not resolved in our timeframe.

The container arrived and was unloaded quite uneventfully yesterday afternoon. This morning Kevin and Garry are working on the airplane, getting things ready to install the engine. Garry had been waiting for some paint for the engine mounts, and that also arrived this weekend. So now it looks like all the important pieces for getting the airplane flying again are here!

Kaleb is busy tweaking his last balsa wood airplane, and I'm sitting here typing, obviously. I need to get my day arranged... well, what's left of it. Do you have days where it is just hard to get going and then when you finally do something it seems to turn out wrong and have to be corrected? If so, you can feel with me today.

This is our week of school since its' a great opportunity for the boys to work with Garry. That means it's my week to finish a lot of things that have been waiting for my attention... really. And I was hoping to blog some of our latest inspiring and funny happenings.

The container is on its way to the hangar today! It arrived in the closest port yesterday and is headed here by truck right now! This is a real answer to prayer-- we thought from the time the container left the USA that today would be the very first possible day for it to arrive here. And it is on the road, a real answer to prayer!

On a funny side note, when the trucking company called they asked Garry if he needed strippers to help unload. When he said that would be helpful she asked if they needed to be dressed in a particular way... made me laugh. Then at the tournament Kevin's partner excused himself because he was "going into the toilet". Language is a funny thing.

We spent the weekend in the city at a badminton tournament. Both boys did really well, though they didn't win this time. We also had good opportunities to connect with different people. We pray our lives are a witness in this environment... our language is limited, but our lives are not! We also enjoyed the time away from our normal lives and responsibilities, time to be together as a family and just enjoy one another's company.

Monday just after noon, and I'm sure hoping someone will soon make lunch. I think we're doing fried egg sandwiches, which is one of Kaleb's favorites... and cooks very quickly! And I'm guessing I'm the one designated to get it on the table.

Last week Garry got a good start on the inspection and this week I think Brian is finishing that up. Garry is starting to get things organized for the engine change. He had hoped to get to the hangar quite early today, but his few minutes of e-mails ended up taking longer than expected. When he left for the hangar I got the feeling he was actually trying to escape from the office!

The boys and I are finishing up a bit of school before we take a week break... can't believe it's been 6 week already since we started. We are taking our break now because this weekend we're taking the boys to a badminton tournament so it's good timing to take a break. Also, next week the boys are going to help Garry with the engine install, I think.

Did I tell you the helicopter container has arrived? Our broker says it should be out of customs this week! We pray it is so.

And still no photos, cause the camera got left somewhere. I mean, I think we'll get it, but it isn't here at our house to download the photos. Update on Monday-- got photos and I'm uploading them to this post!

Garry and Kaleb are at the hangar today, cleaning things up and starting the airframe inspection that we need to do for our annual. Both the boys are quite proficient at removing and replacing inspection plates and it's always great time with their dad. So today is Kaleb's day of fun... and actually a lot of hard work!

I didn't post much about the trip in to the remote location or the flight out, but everything went really, really well. The prop was at the airport in the city when the guys got there and they got it loaded quite quickly. The drive in was wonderfully uneventful and some men met them at the end of the road to help carry stuff in. Hiking the prop in was quite a feat, but they did it! The tribal guys hiked it in as they are much better at hiking heavy loads down steep, slippery trails than our guys are. Tuesday afternoon the guys were able to install the prop and check things on the airplane out, so Wednesday morning they were ready to go.

It rained really hard in the middle of the night, which was a bit of a faith-tester as a wet airstrip is not the best for taking off. But Wednesday morning the weather was perfect and all the final checks and run-ups on the engine went perfectly. In fact, all the way back to home base Garry had no reason to be concerned. Brian and Kevin had a good ride back, though the prop was pretty rough on Brian's car top, which I think is in need of some repairs now.

Thursday morning Garry and Dave took the prop off and loaded it back in the box that was still on the top of Brian's car. Brian took it to the city and it should have arrived back in Palawan today. So thus is the story of our adventure this week... and when I get my photos maybe I'll just add them to this post.

Garry and the airplane are home! He, Brian, and Kevin went to pick up the airplane yesterday and after giving it a thorough check over felt food about ferrying it to our home base for further repairs. They borrowed a prop from our other airplane for this flight.... now we're waiting for our parts to arrive here in a container.

And Kevin is home too, for that matter.

I'm hoping someone took some great photos. But for now, just this quick update.... Good night all!

Tuesday here now. Where does the time go?! Garry finished his week in Palawan and accomplished the things he went there to do. He had good flights with both the guys as well as spending a lot of time just talking with them about the program there and some of the issues they're facing.

Here at home we finished school for the week, which was a very nice thing. We also started a really fun read-aloud. On Friday I went to the city to pick up Garry and enjoyed the ride with a friend who needed to go to the city also. The hours in the car sped by-- first talking to Lynne then to Garry on the way home!

The weekend was sort of a blur. Monday we spent getting Garry and Kevin ready to go. That's right, Kevin went with Garry to pick up the airplane! They left around 4 am this morning and arrived at their destination sometime around 3:30. Apparently they were able to install the new prop and run the engine a bit before the rain came late this afternoon.

This afternoon Kaleb and I went to Bailey's for a while. It was good to catch up a bit.... and eat her cookies and drink her coffee! We had anticipated that this program in Mindanao would be slow for a while, but all of us in the flight program have been plenty busy. Which means it's extra good to take the time to talk about everything and nothing.

Tomorrow morning Garry hopes to fly home! Kevin will ride back in the car with Brian, since he can't go in the airplane this time. And hopefully they'll bring some really good photos...