Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Summer's Shaping Up

Summer in Spokane is lovely! Some days are quite warm (some might think it's really hot) and many days are cool. Everything is green. People are enjoying the outdoors, and walking around the neighborhood has become an relationship-building experience. Lots of friends are camping, and we are looking forward to doing some of that later this summer also. We are also planning a quick trip to Manitoba to visit family and friends next month. Yes, summer is shaping up beautifully.

We are finding a different rhythm working at an aviation school, a rhythm that is mostly energizing and constantly on the move in a somewhat repetitive manner. With the complexity of maintenance and flight training, summer is just two weeks without students. One week is prep for the coming semester and the other week is instructors'  vacation week. This week one of Garry's main goals is to prepare a training session for in-service, training staff to use the new SMS software we have! While his presentation will not be long, it is challenging to know what is most important to share first and how to implement a complex program in the simplest possible way.

Since my last post we have been busy with end-of-year events and gatherings. Somehow I had forgotten how many events there were. And this year there are extra things going on as we celebrate (and cry over) Cec's retirement as the head of Moody Aviation. Plus, we know more people, some of whom have kids graduating and some of Kaleb's friends have planned special things for the end of the year. All in all, it has been an event-laden few weeks, and we have a few more to attend. Each event has provided good opportunities to celebrate, invest, enjoy, and learn. And now, I am ready for the part of summer that includes BBQs in the back yard, bike rides, iced tea with friends, and picking what I hope will grow in the small garden we planted.

I am also looking forward to getting caught up on office work, particularly with some of the things I help Garry with at Moody. Garry is enjoying setting up the software for the most part, and that process is opening many great conversations with staff and students. As we look to the future, we are excited about the potential this software has to help mission aviators be safer and more effective in what God is calling them to. 

Soon I should be able to blog a bit more... there is lots going on for Kevin and Kaleb, but I'll share that in another post.