Good afternoon! We have had a busy week, enjoying visiting several tribal locations and our missionary friends there. It has been awesome having my brother and his family here!

This is a tribal lady and I, the lady I mentioned in December 05 that we did not think would survive into 2006. And here she is, still alive though not healthy. One of the fun things about visiting this location was having the missionaries there point out different ones who would not be alive were it not for emergency medical flights. And there were many!

Today we are off to the beach! We're hoping for some small waves and beautiful sunshine. We are so privileged to live here and be part of what God is doing... and having family here for a week is an incredible added blessing!

Good morning! Despite our best-laid plans, they seem to change! We were supposed to leave for a remote location yesterday morning, but we had a hitch with our paperwork. So, we spent the morning at the airport and ended up back home for lunch! Today we're trying again... and I need to get some breakfast and get on the road, so I'll run now and let you know how it went when we return!

Good morning! Well, actually it's almost afternoon! We had a wonderful day with my brother and his family yesterday. The younger ones enjoyed a little "swimming" in a blow-up pool yesterday and we adults mostly just talked... and talked, and talked! It's so much fun to see them again! And their kids are adorable... Elena almost fell asleep on her plate at dinner, and Emmanuel wasn't far behind. We did eat at 6 PM, but guess that is 4 AM where they're from. Wow! Poor thing...

Today Garry is back in the air. We are enjoying a game of Risk and watching the kids be inventive and have fun! We're having company for lunch and then hoping for a relaxing afternoon! Tomorrow we're off to visit some of our friends in remote locations. Although Garry has been everywhere, the rest of our family hasn't spent much time in the locations.

Family is a blessing from God, a tie that doesn't end. If your family is close by, count your blessings! If they are far away, say a special prayer for them today and try to stay in touch-- it's worth it!

Good morning... I'm here a bit early (or late on your side of the world!) but wanted to check in quickly before our day gets going. My brother and his family arrive today. Yeah! We can't wait to see them! We're also saying goodbye to Jason this morning, and Garry is scheduled to have his annual flight check ride. It promises to be a fun, busy day!

A few more things that have happened lately...

When Garry came home from Manila, one of the special treats he brought us was 2 quarts of "fresh" milk. Not exactly fresh like the wonderful fresh milk we sometimes have from the farms at home, but much fresher than the long-lasting milk we buy in Palwan. You know, the stuff that looks like milk but can sit on the shelf, unrefrigerated, for months or maybe years? What fun to enjoy a bowl of cereal with real milk, share some chocolate milk, and just savor the flavor.

Since we work with folks from the US, the SuperBowl is a major event. Here in the Philippines the live game began at 7:30 a.m. on Monday morning and lasted till nearly noon. While we didn't watch the whole game, the guys went to the party for the last quarter and enjoyed the company and fun breakfast food they served!

Hello again! The days have been passing us by more quickly than we could keep up with them! The patient Garry brought out is much better now and is scheduled to return home at the beginning of next week. We were amazed by the generosity of people in donating blood, by the great care she got from the doctors, and by the paperwork involved in the process. Pray with us that she will continue to heal and that she will one day hear The Great Story and spend eternity with us all!

Jason is in town this week, packing up their house and making a shipment of their things back to the US. It's been good to see him, but I've missed Jen. We are thrilled about what God is doing in their lives, but it is still hard to say goodbye. Pray with us for God's clear leading in their lives and that He would make their paths straight as they move into a new chapter.

Garry is flying today, taking some visitors to one of the locations to spend several hours. I'm sure he'll enjoy the visit as well! Kevin, Kaleb, and I are trying to get the house in slightly better order. They are also planning to go to the hangar this afternoon to help Garry wash the airplane. Garry has a checkride scheduled for Monday, the same day my brother and his family arrive!

Blessings to each of you!

The past few days have been crazy, so it's taken me a while to get back to my story! On the way to take Garry to the airport the next morning we made a quick stop at the hospital to check on the patient and make sure it would be OK for Garry to make his trip. She was beginning to regain consciousness, which was a good sign, so Garry headed to Manila.

Once in Manila Garry headed to the medical part of the aviation offices. When he was almost finished with what he needed to do, he was told the last doctor he needed to see wouldn't be in her office until Monday-- how would this one work out?! Very unexpectedly, he later found out that she was going to stop by the office for a few minutes later in the afternoon, though not to see patients. Garry sat in the office for several hours until she came, and was glad that she took care of him that afternoon! Not to mention the boys and I, who were thrilled that he would come home as planned!

On Friday Garry was able to spend time with a few different people, discussing business and being encouraged in what God is doing here in the Philippines and in the lives of people. Saturday he was home again, rather against all odds!

While Garry was gone the boys and I enjoyed an afternoon at the orphanage we mentioned before. We also played some badminton, read books, and played some board games. I didn't, however, get a lot of office work done!

Saturday was my birthday and I thought I'd post a few photos... I'm trying to teach these men how to use the camera! The best thing about my birthday was having Garry home... and I got very spoiled by all three of my men!

Maybe tomorrow I'll get back here to let you know what's happening with the patient Garry brought out and what is happening this week...

Some things become rather routine in our lives, and sometimes things happen that are totally new-- like yesterday's adventure! We had a plenty interesting morning getting Garry ready to leave and taking him to the airport. We'd just arrived home when we got a text that Garry was checked in and enjoying reading a book-- what a nice feeling! Not 5 minutes later we got another call-- the patient who had been out for help had arrived home and collapsed. The missionaries were asking for an emergency flight to take her to a larger town. Garry checked with the airline, asked for his suitcase to be returned to him and headed to the hangar to get ready to make a flight the other direction!

Soon he was in the air, heading south to pick up a very sick lady. He arrived at his destination, loaded the patient and those accompanying here, and brought them back to town where she is receiving excellent medical care. Unfortunately, she is very, very sick and the doctors have been unable to diagnose her illness. Pray for "Lube" as she comes to mind.

As we've been passing messages via radio to the missionaries still in a remote location we've learned many things. Like the fact that if you need blood here, you may have to find your own donors. While the blood bank has a list of potential donors and blood types, it is your job to contact these people and arrange for them to give blood. Once blood has been donated it is also your job to pick it up and transport it to the hospital. The generosity of folks on the blood donor list and slight acquaintances has been amazing!

We spent a while this afternoon at the travel agency, arranging tickets for Garry to try to get to Manila tomorrow. What story will next unfold?!