Good evening-- or morning-- to you! We are incredibly thankful to say that Garry has had two good days in a row. In fact, he looks better than I've seen him in weeks, so we think we are seeing the end of this sickness! He just has one more day of antibiotics to go and then another couple of weeks on other gastritis medication.

Garry has had some difficult days this week, and even worse nights. Our primary doctor is out of town, so we had to contact another doctor. This doctor believes Garry may have celiac disease and has recommended that he go off anything containing gluten for at least two weeks. In just a couple of days he seems to feel better, so we'll definitely continue to stick with the diet.

Badminton doesn't really have anything to do with this post, but I thought I'd post a couple of photos of the boys playing anyway:).

Our plan right now is to head home on Sunday and complete the inspection. We're thankful for a couple of guys that are coming to help! When that is complete Garry is hoping he'll be able to do a couple of flights before Christmas.

I'm hoping to get back to posting more often when we get home and hopefully get into a semi-normal routine!

Good morning! This will be quick as I'm headed to the aiport again, but I wanted to post a quick update. Garry found a great doctor in Manila who ran a huge number of tests. They found a nasty bacteria in his stomach and are giving him two different antibiotics for that as well as treating his gastritis. He has finished 4 days of antibiotics and has 6 more to go. Medication has traditionally made him feel pretty awful, and this time is no different.

Many of you have prayed for us, sent encouraging words, and offered helpful advice. Thank you! You cannot imagine how blessed we feel to be part of a team that is standing with us through this difficult time. We are learning new things about faith and grace as we walk through Garry's illness. We are also seeing our Loving Father give us good gifts wrapped in unexpected packages. Thanks for being part of the journey!

Garry is actually at our guest house in Manila by himself right now, where they are taking good care of him. The boys and I came to Palawan for a major badminton tournament. Those of you who have kids in a sports community may imagine what this meant to them, so we decided to get them here. They really enjoyed their play time and came home with 2 tropies and 2 medals for their categories! It was a good time with our friends here as well.

This morning we head back to Manila if I can rouse them from their sleep! We've all been missing Garry, though it's only been a couple of days. The doctor recommended that we stay in the city for at least another week, and we are doing our best to follow orders:). Our airplane needs an annual, which includes an inspection, so we are trying to figure out the best way to make that happen!

Good morning! We are leaving for Manila in about an hour, but thought I'd take this opportunity to blog a quick update. Some of Garry's symptoms have subsided, but he isn't regaining energy the way he should, so we are going to a tropical disease specialist in Manila. We'll try to update this page as we can while we're gone!

I thought you might enjoy a couple more photos of how high the water got a couple of days ago!The rains have stopped now... or there is a break in them! A super typhoon is headed for the Philippines, which usually means rain for Palawan! However, for now our yard is dry, maybe due in part to some drainage measures we've taken.

It's often amazing what your kids do. Kevin has surprised us by becoming an excellent barrista. He makes a lovely latte or cappuccino! The other morning he brought me an especially beautiful cup of brew!

Good morning! It's raining here... actually, they say it will continue to rain for several days! The yard is looking rather flooded, and water is seeping into the laundry room. Thankfully the rest of the house is slightly higher than the laundry room.

Flooding is somewhat common here because the area is not properly drained. In fact, few parts of the city have good drainage, due in part to the fact that we are so close to sea level here!

Garry is doing somewhat better, although something still isn't right. He started on a new 5-day treatment yesterday and we'll see what comes of that. We appreciate your continued prayers for healing, wisdom, and strength. The up-side is that since he can't do strenuous work he's getting caught up on some office work that's been waiting for his attention!

Kevin has been enjoying some great badminton lately. He has a great partner for the upcoming tournament and the two of them have been spending a lot of time practicing. He really enjoys his time at the court! His garden is also doing well... or it was, before today's flooding.

Kaleb has been enthralled with remote-control things since he was about 4 years old. His fascination continues and he's been busy trying to fix a remote control truck some friends gave us recently. He's also been playing some badminton and working on art projects.

Good afternoon! How are things at your house today? It's a beautiful rainy afternoon here-- a great day for working in the office! The boys are out at the hangar helping Garry clean and load the airplane. Then they are supposed to go to badminton class. While they're at class Garry and I are off to the doctor's office again.

Garry was able to complete a short flight this morning, bringing a language consultant back to town after he spent some time with our tribal team up north. Tomorrow Garry will take one of our missionaries home and bring another couple to town. We had to cancel flights for another language check.

This process is reminding us again that life is really about God-- about trusting Him and seeing Him accomplish His purposes. About truly believing that what He does is good, regardless of how it looks to us.

Well, I'm off to the doctor-- have a great day!

We spent this morning running around to doctor's office and laboratories. While nobody has figured out anything conclusive, the consensus is that if the current round of antibiotics don't provide help Garry will have to go to Manila for more tests. We are hoping the antibiotics help-- besides the fact that we'd like to see Garry better there are a lot of flights scheduled and we'd like to be able to complete them. Pray with us for healing and God's clear leading.

Here is a cool video of landing at one of our airstrips. My brother made it when he was here to visit last February. Thanks, Jonathan! Enjoy!

Good morning! Another trip to the doctor has brought us to a new idea and another set of meds. Garry started a round of antibiotics yesterday and is back in the air again today. The doctor suspects an internal infection and possibly typhoid. Garry has a long flight day, so we're praying for extra strength to finish what needs done!

We're thankful we received the papers we were waiting for! Our representative in Manila made two or three trips to the office (a big time investment because of traffic and the location of the offices!) and received the papers late yesterday morning. Thanks, Rich!

Today Garry's taking one of our tribal teams back home. They've been out for a while and are very happy to be going home! Later today he'll head up north and pick up a language consultant and take him to his next location to continue doing language checks. Consultants are helpful to our missionaries in letting them know where they're at and how they can best study to improve their language skills.

Garry took this picture of a man with his new oven. This is a pretty complex oven, though made from mostly local materials. Some of the missionaries are teaching the tribal folks to make them so they can bake and cook without using a lot of wood or charcoal. It's really quite ingenious. Kevin would love to make one, if we were just settled for a bit longer!

Wow, another week has flown by!

Garry has been to Manila and is home again. He's finished his ice-cream therapy and while it did provide some temporary relief, he still isn't feeling the best. Now we're on a routine with doctors and bloodwork. Pray with us that we can get a clear diagnosis, good treatment, and for a fast recovery. The doctor suspects that it is malaria rearing its ugly head again, but he doesn't want to do a treatment until he finds out what kind of malaria we're dealing with.

On another note, we are anxiously awaiting some paperwork in order to fly again. Some of our missionaries friends took a bus for 6 hours and then hiked for a couple of hours to get home this morning... a big difference from a 50-minute flight! We are praying that the papers come through soon, though it could be as long as a week before they are finished.

These are some of the children Garry spent a little time with on one of his last flights. Aren't they adorable?! Children just like yours and mine whose eternity depends on hearing the Good News. Children who get hungry and thirsty and tired. Who love to play. Children with imaginations, dreams, and fears. Children.

One of my helpers was able to purchase some land a few weeks ago. It's been fun to see her excited about clearing the land, getting posts for the house, and getting a fence up. She and her husband and daughter currently live with relatives, in a small one-room house off the kitchen. While they enjoy their extended family they are really looking forward to having their own place!