Here are the guys who spent several days flying around Mindanao together!

Not that it has anything to do with today! This morning we woke up to sunshine here in town, an encouraging thing! However, when we looked at the weather satellite picture things didn't look so good-- rain everywhere that we needed to go! A radio weather check confirmed cloudy skies and falling water. Garry kept getting ready to go anyway and we kept praying for an improvement in the weather. By the time the plane was loaded, things looked a bit better and have continued to improve. It's just after noon now, and Garry is nearly finished his flights!

This afternoon we'll pack our bags for Manila and finish up a few points of office work. We are praying Garry can get his medical issues resolved quickly. Once he has a medical again he can request a flight inspector to give him a checkride, the next step in being able to fly again.

The boys have been a big help in getting things together for our trip while I've been by the radio this morning. My helpers have also been doing some cooking so Garry has kosher foods to eat while traveling. We'll try to keep you updated on what is happening while we're on the road, but I'm not sure how often we'll be able to connect to the internet. Blessings to you, and thanks for your prayers!

Tuesday morning! Another week gone by... or more! We have had a wonderful visit with our coordinator from McNeal as well as with our flight personnel team here! It's been good to get together and talk about things as well as just enjoy being together!

Garry's trip to Mindanao did work out and they were able to accomplish most of what they went to do. The one thing that they were not able to do was the planned survey flight-- on the day of the flight the area was covered in fog and rain. However, it was a profitable and enjoyable time for Garry and Paul!

This morning Garry got a call from the people at the Philippine aviation department to let him know that he needs to return to Manila for his flight medical. One of his tests is not satisfactory and he also needs to sign some papers. He had flights planned for the next two days, but he is going to combine them tomorrow. And we'll head to Manila on Thursday morning... we're not totally sure if we'll all go or if just Garry will. We're asking God to work out the details and we'll see what He has in mind!

Good evening! Actually, it's past my bedtime, but I thought I'd write quick blog now that the house is quiet! Garry is still in Manila... his flight to the other island was canceled yesterday and again today. There was a problem with weather, and then the airlines had to cancel the flights because they needed their equipment elsewhere.

Tomorrow Garry and Paul will head back to the airport for the third day in a row! This morning they were there at 5:30 am and were pursuing options until around 1 pm. We are incredibly thankful for our guest home personnel in Manila who have made them feel welcome much longer than they anticipated being there! Tomorrow morning they'll head for the airport at 3:30 a.m. and we pray they make it to their intended destination this time! Pray with us that God will work out all the details as they had a busy 4 days planned on the other island and two of those days are already gone!

The boys and I enjoyed a day at home today. My helper has a sore neck and arm and didn't come today, so we enjoyed having the house to ourselves. The missionary story we're reading these days is really inspiring and the boys are doing a great job at school. Kaleb worked a bit with watercolors today and tried to build a paper rocket (we don't have the proper paper, so he'll try that again after we get to the store!). He's also been building some impressive forts with Lincoln Logs, but the pictures didn't turn out... maybe tomorrow!

Kevin spent hours in his garden, planting peanuts and transplanting green peppers and chives. His lettuce is doing incredibly well this time around... he's had a lot of starts, but he hasn't gotten much of a harvest until this time. The bugs are really enjoying his cucumbers, unfortunately. I suppose it's one of the hazards of organic gardening. Someone said that if you catch the bugs and mash them and put them back on the plants it will deter their relatives... but somehow he hasn't gotten that adept at bug-catching!

Our partners from Luzon arrived today! I'm looking forward to some time with them tomorrow. They are taking over a fair amount of the office work that I've been doing, for which I am very thankful! Yesterday the boys and I spent several hours with Suzy and their kids. It was good to touch base again and to talk through some things about the flight program and life here.

Happy Monday! Garry left for Manila this morning and was miraculously able to see the doctor who does flight medicals. Apparently there is a small problem with his ekg, so he'll need to repeat that here in town. After sleeping 5 nights in a row he's feeling much better than he has lately, much to our joy!

The boys and I stopped by the guest house to check our mail and say hi to our partners. It was fun to share a cup of coffee with friends on the way home! Then we did a modified school routine and now Kevin is out in his garden. His lettuce is growing amazingly well... now he's needing more seeds to start some more!

Friends gave Kaleb a cell phone this morning and he is quite thrilled with that! He texted Garry this afternoon, a first for him! Here in the Philippines most kids his age do have cell phones-- amazing!

Thursday noon! Garry is almost back from his flight and the boys are finished with school for the day! Yahoo... it's a good feeling to have the busy morning nearly behind us. We usually start our mornings with reading aloud, then breakfast and Bible memory. When we're about half done with school we take a quick break and the boys are usually "starving", so we have a quick snack. Snack time is a great time to make sure things are going OK for my helper and explain anything she doesn't understand about cooking or cleaning.

This afternoon promises to be a bit slower. I plan finish a list of e-mails that need written and have coffee with a friend. The boys have badminton class today, but it's been moved to a court close to our house, which is a huge blessing! Garry will clean up the airplane and finish his paperwork before heading home later this afternoon. He also needs to get some things in order to get his flight medical next week.

Neva arrived in town last evening and is back here working at our house. The bedrooms look much better after having been dusted and we're getting food ready for Garry's trip that's to begin next Monday. He will have to take most of his food with him since he won't be able to eat meals served in our guest homes or at restaurants... quite a big change, getting off gluten, eggs, & soy!

Funny... it's Wednesday and I'm finally back to blogging! Garry is once more up in the air, bringing two families to town. Both families are facing some major health concerns and we pray that they can be resolved quickly and easily!

Last Thursday morning we got Garry's blood test results from January 8th back! His thyroid levels were pretty messed up, so the doctor ordered more tests. Thankfully the repeat tests look reasonable. The doc says we need to check again in a couple of months, but for now things look OK.

The boys organized their bedroom a bit this morning. The badminton trophies were fun to look at again, and even demanded that their picture be taken. So here they are still enjoying the victory of a couple months ago!

Ben and Suzy joined us for lunch yesterday and we had a good chat. We're all looking forward to a visit from our coordinator in Arizona. He will be arriving next week and going directly to another island with Garry. When they get back we'll have some time together as a team!

Neva texted me yesterday to let me know she's sick. I'm glad she's home this time, with her family taking good care of her! Just living takes a lot of time and energy, and I'm sure missing the time and energy she puts into life here at our house. We pray she has a good rest and recovers quickly!

Wednesday again... wow! The days keep zipping by at an alarming rate! Garry did a quick flight on Monday and is in the air again today. He was also able to get fuel this week, which a major accomplishment as av-gas is sold nearly as soon as it arrives in town. He is thankful to have enough for several months of flying now!

Many of you have asked how Garry is doing health-wise. That's a rather hard question to answer becuase each day is so different, but overall he seems to be functioning at about 75% of his normal self. While that may not sound great, it's far better than he was doing!

The boys and I have been busy doing each day's schooling and planning for next year. We've been enjoying a good book together each morning and love having a semi-normal routine! When they are finished with school they've been busy in the yard. Kaleb is digging a "well"... it only takes a hole of a foot deep to get to water here. (No wonder we feel like we live in a swamp sometimes!) Kevin is making some new garden beds for green peppers and tomatoes... a sun or shade issue, I believe!

Neva, my helper, is at home with her parents this week. Her brother had a motorcycle accident a couple of weeks ago and now her mom has pneumonia so she wanted to go visit and take some medicine home. The $12 it cost for her mom's perscription was totally out of reach for her family so they were very thankful to have help with the medication. We pray she has a great time at home and it's a nice break for her. Belle is here helping me in the house, which is a blessing!

Garry took Ben up north with him today! They had great weather for flying and were able to spend some time at the location, walking the airstrip and discussing it. I think it was a good start!

We're thankful to have Ben and Suzy here and enjoyed having them for lunch yesterday. I've been looking for healthy food options and recently heard that native chickens are hormone-free and cheap. It sounded like a winning combination so I bought several. We baked some for lunch yesterday only to find out they were rather tough, stringy, and strong-tasting. Coincidence or is that how native chickens taste? We've yet to find out! I'll know it was really bad if Harts turn down our next lunch invitation:)! Despite the chicken fiasco, I enjoyed the chance to reconnect with Suzy a bit (we were neighbors for nearly 2 years in Arizona!) and get to know their two children a bit better.

Yesterday we also cleaned up the last of Kaleb's inventions in the living room. I think next week we'll put the Christmas tree away... we've enjoyed the lights many evening and so have been reluctant to pack it back up for another year. But alas, I think it's time now:)

The boys have been working hard at school this week and are actually finished a bit early-- what a nice feeling! Kevin is headed out to his garden now. He is planting lettuce directly into his beds instead of transplanting it this time, and so far it seems to be working very well. Kaleb is busy looking for rubber bands for ammunition.

Kaleb has lost several teeth recently and is trying to get his new ones. This is a rather short-lived time in a boy's life-- this time of missing teeth, so thought I'd post a picture! Yesterday he cut his head while working with weights at badminton training. We were thankful it wasn't any worse and that he didn't need stitches. Actually, it's neither deep nor long!