January 2023

above: It’s not gold but she’s happy.

Christmas travel woes

Several thousand years ago a newlywed couple made a cross-country trip to their ancestral land. Today we like many others, make a similar trip. This is the story of our 2022 road trip up to PA.
Our journey and the aforementioned trip by Mary and Joesph had many similarities. For one, we both traveled many miles to spend Christmas in our ancestral lands. Both they and our children received gifts, even though gold seems like a slightly better gift than what our children got! Both of our trips required many potty breaks (this is of course speculation, but we have three children, and Mary was great with child…). Both of our trips involved paying taxes (I forgot till December to pay my property taxes), and both of our transportation involved gas, theirs producing it, and ours consuming it.
There are, of course, differences in our travel stories. For one, their trip ended in one of the two most important events in human history (the other being the death and resurrection of Jesus). While for us, we just drove through a few states at 70mph with climate control and a radio. But our trip was not without event.
It all started at the beginning of our Christmas journey to PA and I, being a foolish man, embraced my inner Ebenezer and purchased Sheetz’s 88-octane gas. It was only $2.49 a gallon, and in the days of $6 milk and $5 eggs, every dollar helps. I have used this gas before and then mysteriously started having car problems, but my frugal-biased brain decided that there was no way that my new car problems could be cheap gas related.
After filling up my tank to the brim with this discount fuel, I had a wave of pride in just how frugal I was. Some men feel pride in something they built, I feel pride in how much money I can save. My pride continued for the first 200 miles of our trip, but then my van started to hiccup. That hiccup turned into a full-on dry heave, leaving my imagination to envision Joseph dragging a dry-heaving donkey to Bethlehem. I decided that fixing my van in a parking lot somewhere as my family froze, was not a great option, so I decided to spur the dry-heaving donkey harder. It seemed less sickly at 75mph and above, so that is where I kept it. I hoped that if the van engine were to fail, that it would be glorious with pistons exploding out of the hood on their way to orbit. But my faithful donkey got us safely to PA.

After arrival at my parent’s house, and more importantly my dad’s warm shop, I opened the hood and pouted. But with help from my mechanic nephew Jayden, we were soon able to mend the sickly beast of burden. All it took was two coils and knuckle skin, both of which are replaceable.

Christmas travel can be eventful, but we are so grateful for Christmas and the opportunity to remember the birth and sacrifice of Jesus. And I am also grateful my donkey has cruise control.

Missionary Air Group update.

Since the last newsletter, I have been progressing well in my flight training here at Missionary Air Group, or MAG for short. Right now I am training for my private pilot license which I will probably have by the next newsletter. Then after that, I will start instrument training so I can play airplane peek-a-boo in the clouds.

My primary flight instructor is Alan Brooks, a retired corporate pilot with more hours in jets than I have hours in breathing. He has farming origins so he is so down to earth, even in a not down-to-earth job (dad joke…😊 sorry). He is really patient even as I struggle with fundamentally simple things. It’s like having an Olympic runner teaching an adult with short legs how to jog. But I am improving, and I would appreciate your prayers for continued learning ability.

In the above photo, you can see the Cessna 172 that I fly. Its tail number is N381MG, a number that I need to repeat after every radio transmission. This number is burned deep into my brain at this point. I may forget my anniversary, but I will never forget N381MG. Watch the video below of me performing a mock engine failure landing. This was my first one and it was fun!! My instructor claims my engine off landings are better than my engine on landings and I should start flying gliders😊.

Here is a quick update about the end of Nov, Dec, and the beginning of Jan.

Christmas is a fantastic time to reconnect with family and friends. At this point, I have come to the realization that in the view of my parents (in-laws included), my sole purpose is to connect grandparent with grandchild. Just kidding, I know that they love me too, but the grandchildren are cute and little, something I am less of. We had a great time this Christmas with my family, and Maria’s. We went to a cabin with Maria’s family over New Year’s Weekend. One highlight was at the stroke of midnight on Dec 31st, Maria, I, and a bunch of other family members scurried across the ice like jumbo penguins and jumped into the mountain-spring-fed river. It felt amazing, even though I think only now my toes are defrosting.

Our new church is High Falls Mennonite Church in Robbins, NC. We feel welcomed here and it feels like a solid church. Thank you for praying for us, especially for the prayer request of finding a new church.

We live at Siloam Missionary Homes in Snow Camp, NC. Siloam was started by a couple that wanted to supply affordable housing for missionaries. They offer a beautiful library, “Wreck” center, gym, food pantry, campground, farmette, and multiple playgrounds. Below you can see a video I made giving a tour of Siloam. Unfortunately, when we were up in PA, Siloam lost power during that crazy winter storm for about two days. When we came home and first opened the fridge door, we were greeted with a smell that was a cross between a cow’s breath and fermented refried beans. After intense Clorox use, our fridge now smells swimming pool fresh.

Pray for me as I continue flight training. There is a real chance that by the next newsletter, I will be a privately licensed pilot. I don’t know when my test will be yet, but I would appreciate prayers during the month of February, as I will be getting really close (including possibly taking my test then).
Pray that God will make it clear where we are to go next. We are still looking at possibly joining AIM Air in Kenya, but we are open to wherever God wants us.
Praise that we were able to find a Church. Having a solid church is so important, and we believe that we found one at High Falls.
Praise that we had a safe trip up to PA and back for the holidays. Our old donkey is doing great (most days), and I am so grateful it didn’t keel over on the highway. Till next time,