Palawan!

We are back in Palawan, enjoying the island that was our home for over three years and catching up with friends we haven't seen in a while. We arrived on Monday and have had a whirlwind of a week! We enjoyed a few days with Josh & Candy before they headed out, catching up a bit with them and talking through their first term before they left for home assignment.

Now our primary focus is on Jason & Jen and finishing their pilot checkout. It's been so fun to see them again and to hear all that God's been doing in their lives over the past years. They bring great gifts and a unique perspective to the aviation team here, and we are excited to work together for the next weeks.

Kevin is enjoying the unexpected pleasure of a badminton tournament this weekend. Kaleb is enjoying catching up with several friends from Palawan. And we're all doing our best to settle into life at the guesthome here in Palawan:).

Car sale

Selling a vehicle is always somewhat challenging, at least for us. And selling a vehicle in a country like this one can be even more so. Our neighbor originally asked to purchase the car, but that didn't work out in the end. When we finally put a "for sale" sign on the car, lots of people called and texted, but nobody seemed to have money. We wondered how it would all work out. But God!

While I was in the hospital with dengue, one of the nurses came to our room and asked about the car. We told her a price, and her husband came to look at it the next day. He was thrilled with the CRV and told us he wanted it. However, he said it would take a few days to get the money together. We thought we'd heard that story before:). We were shocked when he texted the next afternoon to say he was on his way with cash! Wow!

From all we could communicate, we think this couple are believers. They had been praying for a car and dreaming of getting a CRV! We saw them later and they are simply thrilled with the car. And we are so thankful that God sold the car in His good time, to His choice of person. I love that kind of thing, that assurance that God is doing things His way, in His time.

We are currently in the city,  enjoying a couple days as a family before heading to Palawan. We are so thankful for this time to reflect on all that God has done, to say our mental "goodbyes" to so much of our everyday lives, and to simply enjoy life.

Garry's back continues to improve, but he is still not functioning like normal. I also continue to get more stamina, but it apparently takes a long while to really get over dengue fever.

My Donut Friend

This is the girl I call "My Donut Friend". She can't be more than 13 years old, yet she spends her days walking the streets, selling donuts. She comes by our house several times a week, and although we don't really eat donuts, I buy a few from her. The investment is small and I know she really needs the money. Some days I have a little something extra for her-- juice, cookies, or some other small treat. Most days she is in my prayers. I often wonder about her parents, what they do and how difficult it must be to send your young child out to work so hard. Then I wonder how many children they might have and if they are responsible parents.

When we realized we were leaving I wanted to do a little something bigger for this young friend of mine. I talked to my helper, who I figured would have a better idea than I would. She said maybe a blanket or towel would be the most helpful as she is so poor. So, I made a sack of used bedding and linens. And how I enjoyed seeing her eyes light up at the gift!

God is good, and He does all things well. We have opportunities to help one another, yet sometimes those opportunities seem so very small, so insignificant. Yet when we follow God's leading, we can be assured He has something good in mind. I feel that way with this young friend: there is so little I can actually do, yet maybe I can be one small part of a chain that blesses her life. As I said goodbye to My Donut Friend, I prayed for blessing on her life, for an opportunity to truly know Jesus if she doesn't (she doesn't speak more than 10 words of English and I can't talk to her either). I prayed for food on her table and clothes to cover her. I asked God for an opportunity for schooling and honest work for her. Would you join me in these prayers for My Donut Friend?

Not boring!

Life has not gotten boring yet. In fact, some days it feels like a week has passed between morning and evening! God has been so incredibly good to us over the last while, as He always is. 

We moved out of our house here just over a week ago, sold everything that we're not shipping to Canada, Palawan, or Manila, and shipped our crates to Canada. Things have gone incredibly well, all considered. We've been staying at friend's house for the past week, finishing up stuff at our house and tying up loose ends here in Mindanao.

Tomorrow we head to the city for a few days. Before we know it we'll be in Palawan, beginning our last pilot checkout! 

Garry's back is doing much, much better. However, it doesn't look like he'll be doing much lifting or twisting for a while yet. My energy is coming back, slowly but surely. It's a little hard to gauge exactly how much energy I have because moving is a real energy drain any way you cut it.

Healing...

Yes, we are healing! Thank you, Jesus! Just after my last post Garry injured his back somehow, and he's also on the road to recovery. I don't think we've ever moved out of a house both injured/ill before! It's been quite the experience. So many amazing friends have done so many amazing things to get us moved out of our house and basically ready to leave Mindanao. Wow, God! Wow, team!

It's been quite an interesting couple of weeks, and when I have a bit more energy I'll try to post about it... the friends we've been saying goodbye to, the things we've experienced, the way God has brought things together over the past week.

I'm also going to post a quick update on our "pray" page-- check it out if you haven't yet.

We are blessed in every way that matters.

Home again!

Well, actually I was the only one gone. I just spent 3 nights in the hospital, being treated originally for leptospirosis then having the diagnosis changed dengue fever. Both are nasty illnesses, and I was so incredibly thankful for the great baptist hospital in town with competent doctors and nurses. Friends blessed us with a lot of support and help. It was quite an experience, all the same!

I was so thankful to come home yesterday, to eat dinner as a family and to simply be with Garry and the boys. Illness has a way of boiling life down to the basics, doesn't it? I thought I'd share some beauty along the national highway here, since hospital photos aren't very exciting:).

Our partners are also sick, so Garry is planning to do a flight for Joel tomorrow. In between caring for me and the boys he's been busy packing, selling the car, and doing the most urgent things for the Safety Department and flight program here.

Anyway, the doctor ordered at least a week of rest and my energy is really low, so I'll close for now. I just wanted to let you know what's been going on.

Glad it's Friday!

I can hardly believe it's already Friday, but I'm quite thankful that it is! Another busy week is done, and we have accomplished the things we were meant to do this week, as far as we know. Which is NOT at all the same as having accomplished all we planned or hoped to do!

One of the blessings of our life that has been so full of moving is that the four of us in our family are best friends. We simply love being together. And I wonder sometimes if we had all been more comfortable more often if we would have gone our own separate ways more, if I would have missed the amazing relationship I have with my husband and my sons. Strange how often our deepest desires are answered by a road we never could have imagined! Speaking of hanging out, here are a couple photos of a normal evening at our house-- a game and a snack. Do you think Kevin needs help in understanding what a reasonable amount of peanut butter for one banana is?!

The other day I heard someone yelling at my door-- much more polite than knocking in this country, likely because so many places don't have a door! At any rate, I opened the door to find three girls. They asked if they could sing for me, then proceeded to do a great job on a contemporary song. Meanwhile, one of them handed me a slip of paper saying they are from the local music school and are raising money to help underprivileged kids get music lessons. Neat. I gave a donation. I wondered how many of our kids have gone door to door singing in hopes of getting lessons. I wondered if they'd be willing to. I wondered what it would be like to need to. Later in the week I met the same girls singing in a  coffee shop, once more raising money for lessons.

We did our small sale this week, and I was so thankful for a couple of teenage girls who helped me! They speak the language and were a huge blessing to me! Not many people came, but most of our things are gone. We priced in the hopes of blessing some of the more needy people in town. I hope we accomplished our goal. I think we did.

Checkout Complete!

On Thursday Garry & Joel completed both the airstrip checkout at the airstrip that's been worked on and Joel's checkout at this location! This is another step in completing the things we need to finish before we head to Palawan and eventually Canada. It is amazing to think about all the people who were involved in getting this airstrip back to working order-- over 200 people worked on the airstrip, Dave & Joel drove in by land to check it out, Albert organized the work... and the list goes on an on!

Dave was the guy on the ground for the first couple of flights, making sure the airstrip was clear and the weather was good. He went in on his motorcycle, and the guys brought him and his bike out... the tires had to come on the second flight out:).

When Garry was done flying for the week we did a lot of sorting... if you empty everything out of your house, it's amazing how many things are there! We are planning a small sale this coming week, so we're gathering things for that, piling things up to pack for Canada, and sorting through what we'll need for Palawan, Manila, and Arizona.

Last night some friends invited us for a hotdog roast. It was fun to reconnect a bit. They're also headed home next year to help their kids settle in North America, so they're feeling with us as we uproot and prepare to leave. Their son Richard and Kevin are good friends, and the boys are trying to log lots of hours before they say goodbye, and this was another opportunity to do so.