GOING BY AIR

Yesterday, it was "brought home" to me once again what a valuable tool the airplane can be. A 3 day trip was reduced to 1 day. 2 days of travel were reduced to 4 hours of travel. No overnight lodging was required, no gas stops, and only 1 meal. And - that's here in the United States.




Williams Cheng (Gospel Carrier Intl) graciously agreed to fly Dennis, Tim and I (in a Cessna 310 that MMS maintains for his ministry) to JAARS (support arm of Wycliffe Bible Translators) for a conference with JAARS' Chief Inspector regarding FAA Repair Station work orders and JAARS' procedures.

After a short meeting with Ken (JAARS' Chief Inspector), we went to the Parts Department to talk with the bookkeeping and receiving departments to see how their system was linked (we even got in a little "grandparent/Facebooking" conversation time). After lunch, the afternoon was spent going over Standard Operating Procedure Manuals and Repair Station work orders.

As we were leaving, Jim told me that when he became a JAARS member in 1969 there were only a few translations (it was approx 10) of the Bible in the area Wycliffe served. Now there are over 700 translations, allowing those "people groups" to hear God's Word in their "heart" language. Many people in places that could not be reached without the use of the airplane.

It was good to take a day "out of the office" to see God at work in so many ways.

MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES

July is hay making season for us. Thanks to the generosity of the friend who gives us his field and another who lends us the equipment, we are able to continue using horses for a ministry to others (something I thought I would have to give up when we went into missions over 20 years ago). After watching the weather forecast, co-ordinating schedules, and arranging vacation leave, we were ready to begin cutting hay Monday morning. As you can see, it was a beautiful, sunny, low humidity day, with a slight breeze to dry hay.

Two neighbors volunteered their help. Two friends serving here with us at MMS came to help, one brought his son for the experience (see photo of Noah transferring hay from bailer to wagon). Noah was a reminder of the days our own son has baled hay with us.

Once again, the hay has been provided for another year of ministry with the horses God has given us.

A BUSY FEW MONTHS

I knew I hadn't "blogged" for a long time, but 2 months is quite "a stretch". The month of May found us putting over 3,000 miles on our Subaru as we traveled at least every weekend, as well as mid-week on some occasions. It was a wonderful time of visiting family and support team, celebrating birthdays, etc.
One of our favorite times in June is when Adam and Melissa take their youth group to S Carolina for evangelism and discipleship training. Levi, Ethan and Anna spend that week at our house. We always have lots of fun. Here is Ethan taking his first ride on our 2 year old Haflinger, Spirit.

We took a week of vacation and spent time at Rolling Ridge Animal Park, Heini's Cheese Factory (took a tour - everyone especially enjoyed the many free samples - did you know they make chocolate fudge cheese :-), swimming, biking in the local park, McDonalds and Wendy's, and making Father's Day Gifts in the garage with Dennis (I admit I was a little nervous when I saw the table saw in operation, but was thankful for goggles and hands on protection from grandpa), and Logan, Ohio's Washboard Festival.

Our first week back from vacation, Richard and Ashley Whittemore came to MMS for their missionary candidate evaluation. Missionaries with SCORE, Richard and Ashley were accepted for apprenticeship with MMS once their support is raised. There are now 5 families raising support to begin training. We had fun getting to know Richard and Ashley when we hosted them at our house for dinner Thursday night. Our Haflinger, Brenda, was a big "hit" as Ashley spent some fun time horseback riding.

As much fun as it is to meet the new families, part of MMS is saying goodbye to those you have come to love and serve with for the past few years. David Mozombite and Gertjan Kamphorst have just passed their FAA exams and now have their A & P licenses (Airframe & Powerplant). This means they are "moving on" to other ministries to fly and/or repair airplanes for those ministries. This was a celebration dinner hosted by Gertjan & Glenda. A new experience for us, grilling your meal while you visited.

EVALUATION WEEK

This has been a busy week - payroll, dentist appointments, doctor appointments, and today a hospital appointment for a bone density scan (and it's only Wednesday). I am having a hard time staying focused - and next week I will be in an MMS audit (lots of files to get ready this week for the auditor). A bright spot this week is the family who has come from Colorado with their dream of being a missionary pilot/mechanic family. They feel MMS would be a good "fit" for their training and have come for an evaluation. Last night was our night to "host" them for dinner and we had a wonderful time getting to know them. Today, Jeremiah finishes his "in hangar" evaluation. Tomorrow, they will learn whether they have been accepted into the MMS apprenticeship program.

Asher enjoying his trip to see Spirit.

Evals are good for us also. It is a reminder of the hopes and dreams we brought with us 23 years ago when we first "checked out" MMS for our missionary training experience. God is good! For us, MMS is still a "fit" and a place to serve.

WITH AGE COMES EXPERIENCE

What do I do on a cold, rainy day off in Coshocton when the internet is "down" at home and the dogs are tracking in so much mud it's pointless to clean the house? I go to MMS.

Mary and Paul reviewing his 2008 tax records for tomorrow's tax deadline.

Dennis helping Chuck with the paperwork that comes with engine repair.

Though it seems only yesterday we were the new apprentices, in reality that was over 22 years ago. Now, we are the "old timers" (I know it's hard to believe), and can serve others through the experience we've gained over the years. Almost, makes getting older worth it.

TRAINING THE TRAINER

To be a good trainer, you must be trainable. At MMS, it seems we are always in the process of some type of "development". People skills are refined, spiritual attitudes are addressed, and this week was a time of instruction for our staff and apprentices in methods of learning and teaching. The same is true in the world of horse training. Last Friday I attended Equine Affaire in Columbus, OH to learn new training skills. Now it was time use what I learned.

Okay, Cherokee, here's how it's done.

That's not a "yield". Talk about your "stiff-necked" students!

Now we are making progress. Nice flexible "yield".

Whoops. I guess there is still a little belligerence left in this student.

Wishing you a wonderful Easter weekend as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. May I learn to joyfully "yield" to the lessons He has to teach me.

1941 TAYLORCRAFT GETS NEW GASKET

This is a very unusual photo of Dennis. He likes to get his hands dirty. He likes to work on engines. Here he is trying to keep his hands off the engine while instructing 2 LeTourneau students who are replacing a blown cylinder head gasket. It's been fun for everyone this week sharing the "beauty" of the MMS program (an apprenticeship program with a "hands on" approach, while working on "live" aircraft). The airplane they are working on is a 1941 Taylorcraft that was donated to MMS several years ago. This allows our pilots to get more hours of "tail dragger" experience, as well as more hours of less expensive flight time, preparing them for future service with other missionary organizations. Now that I've given you just a little glimpse of Dennis' day, I'm heading out to do errands.