March 2022

Above: Cozy even on a cold day at the zoo.

Hurry up and wait

I am a patient man… HA! If you know me at all, you know how ridiculous that statement is! I am about as patient as a Spanish bull when a bright crimson cloak is waved in front of him by a half-crazed bullfighter. I am on what can best be described as an uphill battle to daily attempt to remove some of the “bull” part of my character and replace it with more of the “sit in front of cracker barrel and play checkers” character. Currently, I am more bovine than geriatric.
Recently on a beautiful and warm winter day, the Martin family made a pilgrimage to the local-ish zoo. Our desire to visit the zoo was elevated because this was probably going to be the last time we got to use our fancy-schmancy zoo membership. In the year 2021, we bought an annual pass to the Columbus Zoo as a fun activity for us to do with visiting guests. Being a frugal cheapskate by nature, I wanted to get every dollar worth we could out of the membership, even if it meant dragging our uninterested children past the same banana-munching, poo-flinging monkeys for the 100th time.

8:30 am. The day started slowly. First was breakfast, which is always a big production. I fried the eggs and made the pancakes, and Maria helped the children stay on task of shoveling food into their often-talking mouths. After the feeding process was complete, next came the packing up and leaving process. Maria is talented in knowing just the right amount of stuff to take to entertain, nourish, hydrate, and clothe our growing family. But packing takes time..
10:30 am. Finally on the road!!
10:32 am. Had to go home and get a forgotten thingy.
10:36 am. Finally on the road!!
12:45 pm. After stopping at a local Subway, we finally arrive at the desire destination. We remove the children from the car, and hustle into the zoo at a fast-walking pace, until…. We had to stop and feed the baby.
1:10 pm After feeding the baby, and again feeding child 1 and child 2, we finally made our way to the tree-swinging, banana munchers.

The whole day was slow, and it took us till 8:30 pm to get home again. Did I have fun? Of course, I did! Spending time as a family is always a win, but I am not gonna lie, my patience was getting strengthened that day. I sometimes get so narrowly focused on the destination, that I forget to enjoy the journey. Sometimes we think that life is like flying on a budget airline; cramped, stinky, you got some guy sleeping and drooling on your shoulder, and all you want to do is arrive somewhere/anywhere else. But life is like flying first class, where the journey itself is to be enjoyed and cherished, and not just the destination.
So here we are cherishing the journey God is taking us on. We know what we think the destination is in the next several years, and the years after that, but we do not know for certain. It seems that at times God shows only one step at a time. Which is hard, even for a patient man like me.

Currently at MMS

Currently, I am working on a blue and white Maule M5 owned and operated by “Flights for Christ”. Flights for Christ serves as a lifeline for missionaries deep in the bush of Haiti. Now more than ever aviation is needed in Haiti, as it allows for easier travel, even during unrest. Flights for Christ operates two different aircraft, one is the Maule I am working on, and the other is an aircraft named “Airvan”. Honestly, the Airvan is the closest thing there is to a minivan with wings, a sliding door, and all. Flights for Christ operates this “minivan of the sky” to transport supplies to Haiti, and then they will fly deeper into the bush with the Maule.

The Maule is in for an annual inspection, and I am getting the opportunity to pretend to lead this project. I say pretend to lead, because legally I can not yet inspect an aircraft and deem it airworthy. So, I have been assigned a “helper” who is actually a fully licensed, 20+ years experience mechanic named Chris Jutte. He is the one who is actually inspecting the aircraft, but for the sake of learning, he is allowing me to act like I am. I feel a little like a two-year-old carrying a bag of foam cups, and everyone is telling me how strong I am. But Chris is kind and patient and is helping me feel comfortable in the role of leading. The project is going well, but we found quite a bit of work, so you might see this in the next newsletter too!

Here is a quick update about the end of Jan, Feb, and the beginning of Mar.

We have had the winter-est winter in many moons. We have enjoyed many lovely snowstorms of 8 plus inches out here in Ohio. I was happy to spend a lot of time in the snow with the children this year as this may be the last real winter the children will have for a while.

My long-suffering wife expressed her intense displeasure in our kitchen floor through much weeping and gnashing of teeth. Our old floor was falling apart and was mostly held together with prayer and duct tape. I being a sensitive and caring husband only waited a year till I heroically approached our landlord, much in the same spirit as queen Esther, and asked if they would buy us new floor. They obliged, and I wasn’t put to death. So, Maria has a new and well-deserved floor. She puts up with a lot, and this token of comfort makes her heart and our feet happy.

Freddie turned 6! We had a big old party for him including a homemade, and may I add super durable, piñata. Freddie is all into science, and so we tried to do a simultaneous 6 two-liter coke bottle / mento experiment. It was an epic failure, but Freddie had fun, so I guess that’s a win. Freddie is a good little dude, but he is struggling with making friends. We are always with a new group or in a different state, and I am starting to see how much this affects Freddie. So please pray for him as we will have several moves here in the next few years.

Evelyn is growing like a weed! She is healthy and strong, and she is on track to have her cleft palate surgery in June. The doctors are happy with her development, and we will not need to go for another doctor visit till April, praise the Lord 🤲! She has a lot of fluid in her ears, so the doctors are planning to install ear tubes at the same time as the rest of the surgery. Ear tubes are just small tubes installed in the eardrum and is the second most common surgery in children. She is a cute and happy baby despite all this, with a quick smile and happy demeanor. Honestly, if all babies were this easy, maybe a dozen wouldn’t be so bad….

Pray for our little ones. We travel often and often have busy weekends, like everyone does. But I am starting to see more and more that traveling often tends to wear them down.

Pray that God will give them grace with each other and an ability to quickly connect with others.

Pray for me as I continue leading this inspection. It’s a big project, and I am enjoying the challenge, and hopefully we will get it back to serving the people of Haiti sooner rather than later!

Praise that Evelyn is doing so well, and that she will not need to go to the doctor nearly as often. Frequent, distant, doctor visits can be a big burden, and less of them the better!

Till next time,