GOING BY THE BOOK

At MMS we begin each day in prayer. It's an opportunity to pray for the projects in the hangar, personal needs, requests that come our way, safety and wisdom in the hangar (or administrative offices as the case may be). Once prayer time is over, the teams gather at their respective projects to begin the day. One of the current projects in Hangar C is a Phase Inspection on Gospel Carrier's (GCI) King Air (seen in the background). A question arose about a "stop bolt" - what is it, what is it's purpose in the structure of the landing gear? To help the apprentices visualize the bolt, Dennis brought out the Parts Manual and the Service Manual for the King Air and a valuable discussion and learning session began. What a privilege to be working on "live" missionary aircraft, returning them to service in the process. This King Air 200 is used by a Chinese evangelist (and evanglism team) who brings the gospel (through crusades, home meetings, etc) to Chinese living in the United States. Doing the routine maintenance and inspections on this plane (at no charge for our labor) is one of the ways we can be part of GCI's ministry.

LESSONS IN THE ROUND PEN

Sometimes you just have to go back to "basics". The "round pen" is just the right environment with an extra measure of safety and control. It is evident that Ruth-Anne loves horses. Before saddling Brenda, she brushed her until her chestnut hair glistened in the sun. This same love has kept Ruth-Anne from being an aggressive rider. Today was her "breakthrough day" after realizing that by using a little discipline now, riding would become much more relaxed and fun for both horse and rider. As the horse realizes she must do as you say, she becomes comfortable in her new role and no longer tests you (by stopping, turning to go her own direction, etc) and the ride becomes much more enjoyable even for the horse (this is how they operate in a herd setting). Ruth-Anne had a wonderful ride today, and so did Brenda. It seems our heavenly Father uses my horses often to teach me spiritual lessons. As I yield to his discipline and direction, my "ride in life" becomes smoother, easier and much more enjoyable. How thankful I am for His love and direction in life.

GOD'S SPECIAL TOUCHES

Starting out Day 5 with no electricity at home made it an extra joy to come to the office/hangar where lights, power supplies and computers are readily available once again. My special blessing of the day was the little bear you see in this photo. In the midst of everything else going on, God was adding the special touches. A friend found this bear, thought of me, and brought it to me at work today. Thank you Sandy for your thoughtfulness (even though you are also on day 5 without electricity) and letting God use you to brighten my day.


As for Dennis - during a routine wing inspection, he found a broken rib (airplane rib that is) and corrosion in the Hondoros Cessna 206. This meant the wing needed to be disassembled (a process involving the removal of lots and lots of rivets - I'd count them for you but I've already spent the last 5 hours processing inventory and I am "numbered out" for the day :-), the rest of the ribs inspected, corrosion taken care of, and new parts made. In this photo, Dennis is working on the top side of the wing while Josh handles the corrosion on the bottom side. It is a long process. Because of the broken rib and corrosion found in the first wing, the second wing was disassembled and found to be in worse shape than the first. Many extra man-hours will be spent dealing with these problems, yet Missionary Air Group will benefit from the labor we donate to their ministry because of our own faithful financial support team. When finished, this airplane will be returned to service in Hondoros to be used while their only other airplane is "grounded" for routine maintenance and will become a life-line to many missionaries and national workers.

FAMILY FUN AND POWER OUTAGES

Our week got off to a great start as we enjoyed having all our family together, in one place, again. Hiking Old Man's Cave in Logan, OH brought back lots of great memories of trips to the Caves from my early years growing up in Athens, OH. Just as we finished the last "leg" of the journey, the winds picked up, a tree branch fell right where a couple of the grandkids had been standing just moments before, and it looked like time to "evacuate the park". Who would have suspected that was the beginning of our 4 days (and still counting) without electricity. So far, no electrical service has been restored on our road. I am so thankful for the gas generator Dennis had the foresight to buy a few years ago. It generates enough electricity to power our water pump, refrigerator, and some lights. Many have had (and still have) it much worse. Even MMS was without power for 2 days. I sorted mail by the light of the open window, others stripped paint and continued installing wing tanks by the light of the open hangar doors. Alas, the computers refused to work - slowing down many functions we would have normally done on those days. It did cause me to reflect on, not only those who deal with hurricane damage on a regular basis, but those we serve through MMS in countries that do not have the facilities we have available here. May God bless each of them in a special way today.

PRAISE GOD FOR A GOOD MRI REPORT

This is last year's photo illustrating the fine care Levi, Ethan and Anna were giving me following a heart cath in April 2007, then surgery to drain a cyst below my brain. At that time, my optic nerve and my pituitary gland was pushed into my lower brain tissue causing many problems. Many miracles happened as a result of prayers on my behalf (many by people from surrounding states that I did not even know). Fast forward to this past Wednesday. Dennis and I spent the day at OSU hospital in Columbus. It was time for an MRI to see if the cyst had refilled. What joy it was when my surgeon showed me the difference in the 2 MRI's (last year's before surgery and the one taken Wednesday). Everything was as it should be. The surgeon was delighted and so were we. We praise God for leading us to the right ophthalmologists, surgeon, hospital, and His own healing power.

MECHANICS IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES

After spending most of the day working on repair station records, Dennis got a little break from paperwork at "quitting time". "The Buppsters" arrived with bicycle in tow. With their dad away, Mom and daughters were looking for help replacing the bicycle tube and tire. Shortly after this photo was taken the "crew" moved into the hangar, next to their dad's tool box, so a bicycle repair learning session could take place. Unfortunately, the tire had to be replaced (which meant another trip back to the hardware store) and the "classroom experience" was put off until today. Tonight I expect to hear there are 3 happy girls riding a repaired bicycle around the streets of Coshocton. Today is riding lesson day. We started out in the pouring rain, caught the ornery little miniature horse and proceded with a lesson in checking and cleaning hooves. I've spent my whole life with horses so it is often surprising to me how awkward some things are when kids do them for the first time. Hoof cleaning is one of those experiences. While Rocky (the miniature) is quick to cooperate with me, he determined he was going to "plant" his feet into the ground for Ruth-Anne. After a few fumbling starts, a spirit of cooperation between instructor and student (one holding the hoof, the other cleaning), all 4 hooves were done and a new horse experience was added. I wonder if that is how God feels when He asks me to do something and I fumble around. Does He wonder, "how difficult can this be"? I do know, He comes alongside, step-by-step patiently showing me the way until I, too, have learned the lesson and the next time I can confidently move ahead to the place He asks me to go.

PAINTING AND MUCKING

Yes, I know "mucking" is not an aviation term, but it sure is a part of horse ministry. Building fences, painting fences (so they last a long time), cleaning water troughs, caring for equipment, putting up hay, mucking (cleaning out) stalls, all these are necessary if you are going to work with horses. Yesterday I had a rider wanting to muck out a stall to see what it was like. Wouldn't you know it, there was nothing to "muck". Tonight was a very different story, those horses must have been having a party in one particular stall last night. While Dennis was painting, I was "mucking". God blessed me indeed with an understanding, hard working, loving husband to enable me to share my horses with others. Tonight's painting was done after a day inspecting airplanes, cataloging and sending tools out for calibration, doing the research and paperwork necessary to put the King Air in MMS' Repair Station manual, working with an apprentice on a Condition and Correction statement (detailing the work that had been done on that airplanes). Dennis, you are the best!