"God is good. He is light: in Him there is no darkness at all! Those who trust in Him will not be ashamed." That's my mental mantra these days. I am in a battle of the mind, a battle to believe truth and act on it. To trust God when things don't make sense. To stay in peace when life feels really crazy.

This morning I woke up to a text that the garbage men had rejected my garbage after tearing open the bags. They said I didn't sort it properly. "No segregation, no collection," is a new thing here, and they sent out a list of how to separate your garbage. Unfortunately for me, it's in Tagalog, or maybe Visaya. I asked my helper to help me and I thought I had it figured out. Apparently not.

So, Kevin and I trooped to the road to collect our garbage and try to keep it from falling out of the bags on the way in. While walking in Kevin felt something on his hand, which he shook off. It was a scorpion, which I am thrilled didn't bite him!

I had a nice talk with both our parents this morning. The boys and I also got our stuff together to go to the city tomorrow to meet Garry and so the boys can play in a badminton tournament. Just after lunch Kevin got a call that the draws were posted, so we took a look. The boys weren't listed in 2 of the 3 categories they were to play! The organizers say it's just a mistake and they'll fix it. They also promised to send an updated schedule, which they haven't done yet.

After supper the credit card company called me back about the fraud, and they say we have no recourse, we're liable. Wow. Gulp. Stink. God gave us the idea of calling our headquarters, and the office there is going to check in to it a bit more. Thank you, Jesus.

Garry's still in Manila and has had a profitable and incredibly busy time there. I'm so glad he's coming home tomorrow! He has been able to get the information he needed and we've ordered the parts for the airplane. There's still a journey ahead, but we see progress.

It's really almost comical, all that's going on. It makes me laugh. And cry. Yet in the middle of it all I'm seeing a side of God that I miss when life goes along in a more "normal" way-- whatever normal is. So, in the end it's not just OK, it's good. We will see the glory of God from each of these situations... I'm counting on it!

So, not too long ago I was posting about faith. I remember posting that I wondered where all these thoughts would take us... well, we are catching a glimpse these days!

Garry and Brian have been planning a checkout flight for Brian to one of our locations, but it had to be delayed because of poor weather and the airstrip not being ready to land on. Finally on Thursday they took off for their flight. Bailey called me an hour and half later and said that while she'd heard them landing nearly an hour before she had never gotten confirmation that they were on the ground. With our poor radio propagation that was not a totally new thing. I told her we'd give them another hour then begin looking in to it-- I figured that if there had been an accident the guys would have found a way to contact us since there is cell phone signal about an hour hike from the airstrip (I wasn't sure how long the hike was, but I knew that as their only option to make contact).

Twenty minutes later I got a cell call from Garry who said, "We're fine!" He went on to tell me that they'd had an incident --- a prop strike --- and the airplane would need a new propeller before further flying. The guys secured the airplane and hiked out to the road where they got a "Skylab" (a motorcycle with boards attached to the sides of it so it can carry more cargo or people), then continued by bus, and eventually brought a taxi home, arriving home around 11 pm. Wow, God! It was a miracle they got out the same day. We're so thankful that only the prop was damaged!

Yet there are still huge implications for the flight program here. This morning we also learned about a huge issue with credit card fraud.

Apart from those two things.... Kevin is back on the court and playing badminton like himself. The toe did heal well, though the callous is still in the process of falling off. The skin underneath is understandably tender.

Kaleb is into making movies these days and has spent hours taking photos of Lego projects and creating animations from them. It's pretty cool to see what he comes up with!

Wow, thanks for all the comments on my last couple of posts. I really enjoying knowing that there are people out there actually READING my blog. Thanks, friends!

This morning Garry and Kevin are working on changing the shocks on the car. I think that's a job Garry will be happy to have finished, and they are enjoying doing it together. Kaleb was going to help too, but at the moment I don't think there's room for him.

Yesterday we watched a movie about the power of faith and obedience. It almost makes me wonder what's around the next corner in our lives! We do know that God leads us in good paths and that he is totally trustworthy. And we know that faith pleases Him...

faith that is based on the Word and character of God.

We buy our drinking water, and it's amazing how much we go through! The other day Kaleb decided to see how many empty bottles he could hold at one time...

With all the colds and flus we've been having recently we decided to try to eat more fruit for a while. Mangosteen is supposed to be incredible for your immune system (a rather interesting looking fruit, don't you think?), so we've been eating LOTS of them along with watermelon, bananas, and ponkan.

We are basically finished with school for the year-- yeah, that would be last year for most of you:)! The only thing still in process is Kevin's novel that he is doing the final edit on. I'm pretty proud of the boys... they've both done an excellent job! We are excited to have a few weeks off.

Kevin's toe is healing nicely, though not quite as quickly as the doctor had predicted. She said he's be playing badminton again by now, but he is still walking quite slowly. Some friends said maybe in another week he'll be back to normal.

Happy Tuesday! It's already Tuesday afternoon here, and we've had quite the beginning to our week. Yesterday in the early afternoon the guys were working in the yard and Kevin slipped on a sharp rock. To make a long story short, he is now the proud wearer of 3 stitches on the bottom of his big toe. We are so incredibly thankful for a great hospital here in town and for the good care they provide.

The other day Kaleb decided to measure Kevin to see if he's grown any. Apparently Kevin is slowing down-- no noticeable difference in the last month. Kaleb, however, is trying hard to catch up to his big brother and has gained a bit over the past month.

This morning early I got a text from my helper to say she's sick. Hopefully she gets to feeling better by tomorrow-- both for her sake and mine! The pile of dishes I'd saved was quite large, to say the least. After getting things a bit organized for the day Kevin and I sat down to breakfast (Kaleb was still sleeping!), only to find the cereal was spoiled. It's a dry mix I make with oatmeal, powdered milk, and chocolate drink mix. I mixed a large batch yesterday, and apparently the oatmeal was bad. Stink! On to option 2-- toast. Which I burnt. From there a day can only improve.

Tomorrow some of our friends are arriving in Malaybalay! We are so excited to have Dave & Abby and their 4 children back in town and on our team. We first met Dave & Abby when we came to Mindanao the first time in 2005 and always enjoy spending time with them. Their servant hearts are such a blessing on a support team!

The past couple of weeks we've been doing a lot of driving back and forth to Cagayan. We as an aviation program are selling an airplane to a man there and it's required several trips. Garry has really enjoyed meeting this gentleman and getting to know him a bit. The sale of the airplane is a HUGE blessing to us and an answer to many prayers as it means the helicopter for northern Luzon can now be shipped from McNeal to here. Yeah, God!

Kaleb continues to make and fly model airplanes-- this last one he designed himself. Amazingly, it flies. He's enjoying it.

Garry and I have been reading and thinking a lot about faith lately. Without faith it's impossible to please God, no matter how amazing our talents or abilities. No matter how clear God's leading in our lives, we won't see fruit for our investment if we don't continue in faith. Faith is a challenging, sobering, and exciting concept. And an even more exciting way to live!

The nature of our ministry and work here is changing as more pilots begin serving. Garry's job is progressively more management and training: it's less hands-on flying and maintenance. As we pass on what God has taught us, we see these new families starting out in a good place. It's so neat to see God's work, yet harder to share as it involves so many people's lives in a different way than when we were running a flight program ourselves.

Good morning! I'm sitting at a hotel diner to get some internet and connect with you again. Just a few moments ago some helicopter flew over, which has been happening often in the past several days. They look a little intimidating, and it makes me wonder what's going on around us. In fact, we know that there are many battles being fought around us, battles that we often are not aware of. Battles in the invisible world for our hearts and minds. Battles in prayer. May we stand strong in the TRUTH, kept by the Spirit of God!

Garry is trying to catch up in his office and working with Brian and some projects these days. Last week they flew our C180 to Cagayan to show it to a prospective buyer. We are thrilled that he is very interested in our airplane and has made an offer! Pray that the sale goes through quickly so that the helicopter can be shipped from Arizona soon. Garry's main responsibility these days is teaching and training our 6 pilot families. He enjoys passing on the technical experience he has gained over the years as well as encouraging them in faith.

Kevin has been enjoying mountain bike riding, a sport that is much

dirtier than I had known before he started. He loves the thrill of speed and the challenges.

Kaleb has been busy building balsa wood models. He made a new model airplane that flies and a little hover craft that hovers when connected to a 9 v. battery. Kaleb turned 11 while we were in Palawan and next time I'll post some pictures of his special day.

I'm so glad to be home and settling back into life at home! I love cooking our own meals and having our school space to teach. I enjoy having things in cupboards instead of suitcases as they have been over the past weeks. However, I could do without some other things-- the hundreds of mosquitos that have been breeding while we were gone, the gecko that is apparently addicted to processed food and keeps eating through the packages of crackers and candy in the pantry, the freezer that is almost back to its normal smell after being turned off while we were gone, having no internet, and the pile of papers that are still gracing my desk.

Yes, God is at work here in amazing ways. We see it. We know it and experience it. We are thrilled to be a part of it. Yet some days we are reminded that we live in a fallen world far from family and many of our friends.

Good morning from Mindanao! Yes, we're home again! We arrived last Tuesday and have been busy getting settled back in, enjoying our regional conference, touching base with Brian & Bailey, and cleaning out the freezer the went off while we were gone.

Our regional conference was great! We enjoyed getting to know some of the families that we've barely met and also hearing what God is doing in different locations. We were reminded to pray earnestly for God's work. We were encouraged by the fact that the trials we face and "light and momentary" and the reward is always bigger than the cost in God's economy. Kevin jumped in to help with the younger kids. Kaleb enjoyed some new friends. Wow, God!

Garry is back at the hangar this morning and I'm headed downstairs to look through our school stuff so we can get started this morning. Kevin got a bad cold which seems to have traveled to his chest. He's been resting and trying some home remedies, which seem to be working. Kaleb is busily learning about animation.

Yes, it's good to be home. My internet is incredibly slow, so I'll keep this short and won't even try a photo. Hopefully next time...

Good morning! How are things going for you? Here in Manila life is somewhat hectic-- this huge city always feels a bit like that for me. The traffic is incredible and there are more people than you can believe could occupy such a small area. Garry has been pretty busy at the government aviation offices, but we've also taken some time to take the boys to badminton and do a few fun things. We have another week here, but our schedule is quickly filling up.

The work at the government offices has been pretty complicated. They are going through some major changes and many things are very unclear at this point. We are praying that God directs the guys to the people who can help them accomplish the paperwork that they need to get done-- getting our new pilots mechanic licenses and also renewing the certification on our airplanes.

We're really enjoying our time with the 4 aviation families that are here. God is doing neat things in our team as we seek Him. We love the spirit on our team-- the desire to work together to bless the field through aviation and whatever other means we can.

The boys have been trying to do some school, but every time we travel I'm reminded how hard it is to fill your mind with information while experiencing life in a different context, living out of suitcases, and being out of routine. They've been playing quite a bit of badminton and have had some amazing opportunities in that. Kevin also had an interesting conversation with a doctor at the chiropractor's office-- the man was telling Kevin how all religions are the same, the Bible is unbelievable, etc. Kevin's answer-- "What do you have to say about the power of God to change lives?"

Happy Birthday, Kaleb! It's been fun to be back in Palawan and we're enjoying celebrating Kaleb's birthday here... and no, no photos yet!

It's wonderful to be back at our old home... yet it has its moments. There are so many things we want to do, and yet each one has a bit of the old and a bit of new involved in it. Garry's been at the hangar a bit with Ben and they've had lots of time plan and brain storm besides "business" meetings as couples. Well, we have accomplished a lot-- and we have enjoyed catching up on one another's lives!

Kaleb is enjoying playing with Ty. Kevin is enjoying seeing his badminton friends a little, though he hasn't gotten many good games yet. Kevin's trainer is mostly the same, but he's busy. We had dinner last night with friends that worked in a remote location when we lived here-- and now they're settled here in town and we're visiting. I am looking forward to getting together with my Palawan prayer partner tomorrow. I'm anticipating coffee with a couple of friends. Lots of places still look the same, but there are a lot of new places also. Thursday evening we plan to have dinner at our old house, where good friends now live. "...You gotta face the clouds to find the silver linin'..." Yes, life often feels a bit like that.