It's Saturday afternoon. Already! This week has flown as we have packed suitcases, made arrangements for our house and dog while we're gone, and tied up loose ends for the aviation program. If you've ever left your house empty and a pet at home for 8-12 weeks, you know some of what we're facing in making plans. That our helper needs employment while we're gone is both a blessing and a challenge. It's been somewhere close to crazy in my estimation!

Garry was able to do some flying with Joel, though they weren't able to complete the flights they were trying to do together. Weather delayed them by two days, which isn't that unusual here. Their time at the hangar proved profitable anyway, and they accomplished what they needed to do.

We have a car! We are so excited that Garry's dad was able to find the perfect van for us... well, actually I think God found it, but Dad did the looking. As things begin to fall into place for our week in Canada, it's getting more exciting to go.

Kevin was pretty disappointed when the tournament he planned to enter was postponed to the weekend after we leave Canada. We know God has good plans in that as well. It was interesting to me because tournament dates are often changed here, and it often frustrates me because we make travel plans according to the dates they give, then their dates change and our plans are already made. (We try to plan our ministry travel to take in a tournament when possible.) This was a good reminder that life just happens, no matter where you live!

I was thinking about this blog today and the fact that soon I will need to at least create a new subtitle. After all, we are moving out of hands-on "missionary piloting"  and into training and other other aspects of mission aviation. If you have an idea for a subtitle, share it!

The other thing I've been thinking about is whether I will blog through our transition to life in North America. After all, most of my readers call North America home. However, given our history I'm pretty sure this transition will have plenty of interesting moments.

This week we got the suitcases out and started putting things in them. A week in Manila, a week in Manitoba, a few days on the road, and six weeks in Arizona make for some pretty interesting packing. I'm trying to think about how cold Manitoba will be, but I can't quite fathom it from this side of the world.

We were serious about packing for a few hours yesterday, between school and some other more normal things that needed attended to. Today Garry went flying with Joel, but something malfunctioned on the airplane and they had to come home before they made it to their destination. Thankfully, they got the airplane fixed, but by then the weather wasn't workable to complete the flight. So, they cleaned out the fueling system at the hangar. Tomorrow they'll head to the hangar and try the flight again:).

It's Saturday evening and we've just finished a great week of meetings. Our time with our Philippine Aviation team was amazing. Three of our families are on furlough, but the remaining five families had a great time together. God gave us ideas and wisdom as we discussed what needs to happen in the flight program over the next months. It was so encouraging to meet together and see how each person on the team has great gifts to offer the team.

We enjoyed great fellowship, good food, and profitable discussions together. Some friends took care of the kids for us while we met, which was a huge blessing. The effort they put into creating crafts and planning fun things for the kids was amazing. Our guesthome prepared snacks and lunches for us every day and suppers several evenings. So many people invested in these meetings, and we saw God do many things through the time together. Thank you, Jesus!

While we were in meetings the boys did school and spent time with friends. Kaleb took a nasty spill on his bicycle early this week, so he's had to slow down a bit. Thankfully it's healing well and he's running around more or less normally now.

We're moving! But between now and then, we're doing a lot of traveling. By the time we start to settle down in Manitoba in September we'll have crossed the ocean three times, closed up our house in Mindanao, spent a month in Palawan, and spent a couple of weeks in another guesthome here in the Philippines. That feels like a long list for less than 7 months. It's no wonder my head is spinning.

Two weeks from today we'll head to Manila, then a week later we'll be on our way to Manitoba and Arizona. But first, this week we get to enjoy several days of meetings with our aviation team! We are so blessed by our team, so thankful for the way they're all growing into the flight program here in the Philippines. It's amazing to invest in lives and see fruit growing!

One of the main goals of our meetings this week is to pass on most of our responsibilities to other people on our team. While they are already doing an incredible amount, Garry is still responsible for many things. He's hoping to change that over the course of this week!

The boys are staying busy with school, though they'll have a bit of a break while we're in meetings. Stay tuned for an update at the end of the week!

Garry is headed to the hangar this morning with a couple of the guys to finish up an inpsection. He's enjoying getting his hands dirty this week and interacting with the guys at the hangar instead spending so many hours at this desk. It's funny how life is, how things change-- a few years ago I couldn't have imagined that days at the hangar would be the minority for Garry. Yet here we are. And God is good, His grace is sufficient, and His ways are good.  Have you pondered today the fact that we are children of the Most High God? Amazing. Humbling. Comforting. Blessed. Peaceful. Secure.

This blog has been somewhat mundane of late, primarily because so many things are going on that have been (and are) in the planning stages. I'm working on a newsletter, but until I get that out, I really don't want to share our latest plans on the blog. So, maybe I should go write that newsletter!

It's been a relaxing Sunday at our house, which is a very good thing in my mind. It was raining when we woke up and rained most of the day.  We listened to some great music by David Crowder Band then a message on Faith. The speaker explained how faith is based on truth & thinking, not on blindly following a mystical feeling. In fact, if we search for truth, we'll find faith. Ponder that a moment-- God's truth is the best explanation of the world we live in and how things happen. Never thought of it quite like that.

This is one of Kaleb's first photos for the week-- our friendly Scout. He's turning out to be a very good, loyal dog. He really wants to please us and learns quickly, at least the things we've tried to teach him!

Tomorrow the guys are starting a 100-hour inspection on the airplane, so Garry's going to get his hands greasy again. He's looking forward to being back at the hangar and spending time with the guys out there.

Life here at home will be about the same... school, cooking, cleaning.

It's Thursday, and nobody took any photos while we were away! I can hardly believe it! Kaleb's art teacher assigned him to take some pictures every day this week, so maybe that will help my blog. Here's hoping!

My friend Missy in spending tonight in the tribe... lucky lady:). I found out last evening that this will be her second visit to a tribe, though she said the first visit wasn't very "tribal"! Going to visit a tribal work always makes me feel like I am home at some level... which comes from having moved into a tribe when I was about 6 weeks old. It made me smile to realize that she may be feeling in a tribe about like I felt my first time on a farm, in a big mall, or going to Chi-Chi's restaurant: out of place.

While we were away I was thinking a bit about my blog. I remembered how I started this blog to prove, once and for all, that my life was much like yours, that we as missionary families face life much like anybody else. Looking for some feedback here-- do you think our lives are more similar or more different since you started reading this blog? Thanks for commenting or sending me a quick note on that one!

Kevin drove a good part of the way home yesterday, and did a good job of it, if I'm allowed to say that.

And, I'm beating that cold!