#doctorkiller’s engine is getting assembled!! Engine assembly is a long, tedious, and sometimes delicate process, much like cleaning an angry lion’s teeth. The crankcase and cylinders hardware is all torqued to the required specifications. Finding the proper torque specs can be difficult at times, but with enough patience, the info is there. So much of my day is digging through up to three different large manuals at a time, reading paragraphs composed by a lawyer/doctor/someone smarter than me. We take our time, and with luck, this engine will not need much attention for the next 126,000,000 engine revolutions.

Currently, I am overhauling an engine installed on an airplane called a Beechcraft Bonanza. This aircraft is owned by a ministry called “Pilots for Christ”. Their ministry focus is to offer free flights to those that are sick and are in need of transportation to and from distant clinics.

This lifesaving aircraft is a model of airplane ironically nicknamed “the doctor killer”. Back in the good old days, when doctors still smoked in the OR, they would upgrade from their slower Cessnas to a Bonanza, without upgrading their pilot skills. The results were unfortunately predictable. The Bonanza is a great airplane, and with the proper training, it is a safe and powerful tool.

Overhauling an aircraft engine is a very in-depth process and takes time. Everything is measured, and many components are sent out to specialty shops for even more thorough inspections. Airplane engines are not complex, more like lawnmowers than Lamborghinis, but unlike either of those, failure is not just an inconvenience, it’s deadly. So we measure everything and look through mountains of paperwork all in an effort to prevent failure. 

I will be posting here from time to time on the progress of this project, so check back.

above: the clearest picture of my Chevy Corsica

I am not perfect. If you know my wife she will somewhat gleefully attest to this. So not being perfect there are of course stories that I would rather not tell you, skeletons in the closest. What I write in the next few paragraphs is not to make myself appear greater, nor is it to play on your emotions, but it is a story that if you resonate to, I pray you will find help and peace.

  I once owned a $600 1993 Chevy Corsica and let me tell you it was truly a terrible car! The tires would make a terrible screeching sound as they surrendered their duties around every corner. The headlights were dim because instead of buying fancy expensive bulbs to get that cool blue headlight effect, I being poor painted my reflectors blue. Cheap. Cool. Dim. Dumb. I would weekly repaint both the wheels and tires with gloss black paint to give them that “attractive” wet tire look. I wisely installed a “fart” pipe and cut the airbox so that it could gain more horsepower; unfortunately, all that did was make it louder and give it the undesirable ability to be heard from a few miles away. I made a custom grille and installed fog lights similar to a Ford Mustang GT, unfortunately when installed on my Corsica they did not have the same stellar appearance I was hoping for. 17-year-old Bryan’s car was definitely not stylish. I write all this back story on my style less car because I was in that car when this story took place.

  The night of the story, I had just come home from work, tired and frustrated from another day in what seemed like a dead-end job. I look back at the expectations I had on myself at 17, like did I really need a job that was a lifelong career? At 17 the world is wide open to you, but as you will see later that is not how I view it. After dragging myself into the house, a fight between my parents and I somehow began. Humanity is fallen, and this is not a story to somehow blame my parents, I believe very much that I am the largest stakeholder of the blame in this story. After an intense disagreement, I went out to my car to drive to the nearest stone quarry where I have been planning to throw myself from the highest point. Wanting to commit suicide is not a destination that I arrived at in one day. It was a journey on the road of sin, rejection, self-loathing, anger, and self-pity. My story is not everyone’s story, you may have been physically hurt, sexually abused, and misused. And even though our stories may not be the same, that quest for death and escape is woven through both. I sat in that car and cried. I would have to back out of the driveway so, I put the car in “reverse”, and then terrified I would shift back into “park”. Then once again in “reverse”, then “park”. There I was backing up 3 feet at a time, spiraling out of control. I do not claim to understand the depths of the spiritual realm. But at that moment there was the presence of evil (satan or a demon) in my car. “DO IT YOU FOOL, DO IT!” The pressure to give in to the escape seemed overwhelming. Every time the presence would yell “DO IT” I would dutifully back up the car 3 ft. I was losing.

  Then another Presence entered the car. And though this Corsica was not the splendor He’s used to, He nevertheless came to rescue His drowning child. I honestly believe that Jesus was in that car with me that night. A quieter but firmer voice drowned out the yelling simply by saying, “I love you”. I don’t know where my experience fits into systematic theology, and honestly, I don’t care. Those three words broke me. Those words had the power they did, not because I heard them from some girlfriend, family member, or world ruler, but because the Source of all Love drowned out the yelling with a whisper.

  I died that night, but now I am alive in Christ. If you are drowning, and suicide looks more and more appealing, I beg you first die to yourself, get the professional help you desperately need and follow Christ. 

Above: One of my many trophies

MAN

I am not a hunter. To those that know me, this is not a surprise. I like the concept of hunting; being alone in the woods, holding a gun, quiet, still. But I find myself quickly bored, wondering where the deer are. It seems like I can be wearing a full camo ghillie suit with every scent blocker/adder known to man, set up a decoy deer holding a Valentine card saying “be mine”, and still have less luck than a car going 50 mph with its horn blaring. 

Once my buddies asked me if I would like to go hunting. My testosterone/ego answered “of course yes” even though my inner lazy man complained, howbeit lazily, “bro just stay home and eat chips.” So the day arrived, and I honestly was excited. My buddy let me borrow his gun, an 3030-9mm-470-something. Hanging out with buddies, carrying a gun, hiking in nature, this was manly, manly, manly. I was on the crew that would drive the deer towards the other armed manly man. This was great UNTIL we reached the never-ending briar patch. You may think, “big deal wimp it was just a few briars”, and early into that day I would’ve agreed, but after several miles and severe blood loss my opinion changed. Halfway through I wearily vowed to plow through if for no other reason than to see my family once more before I succumb to the wrath of the briars.

   There is great pain in this world. Violent men in South Sudan have caused tribal warfare in that country for years. Millions are displaced from their home, over 400,000 dead, innocent people were and still are massacred. In 2020 there were an estimated 6 million people facing severe food insecurity due to the fighting, flooding, and lack of infrastructure. 

   The Light shines brightest in the darkness, and South Sudan is a place filled with pain and loss. Impassable roads, thieves, and road blockades set up by militant groups make road travel dangerous. Organizations I will not name fly to these areas to bring supplies, doctors, and the hope of the Gospel. This is no youth group mission trip; in 2020 nine aide workers got killed in South Sudan. Christ did not call us believers to walk an easy trail, and there will be briars, potholes, and men with machine guns. But He is faithful, and I pray often for the mission pilots, doctors, and the people of South Sudan.

Quick update about the end of December, January, and the beginning of February

So…. we are adding to our flight crew! Maria and I are expecting our new bundle of joy in September. Maria is sicker with the third one, and the food cravings are more intense and unpredictable which I find fun; Maria less so. Right now the baby is hungry for straight carbohydrates, and the baby gets what the baby wants! We are really excited, and let me go on public record predicting it is a boy.

Recently, an airplane that I worked on last year got picked up from MMS. The plane belongs to a ministry called “Flights for Christ”, and it will serve in Haiti. Violence and a lack of infrastructure makes travel in Haiti difficult. I installed some large bush tires and helped in the upgrading of the avionics. With those big tires, he will be able to get into some of the more neglected parts of the country and deliver medical aid to those most in need. Before he left he flew a pattern that spelled out “MMS” on a flight tracker. This is next-level nerdy and I love it!

Our “little” boy Freddie turned five in January! Sometimes I still feel like my teenage years weren’t that long ago, and then I am reminded that Freddie is now closer to 16 than I am. Maria made a Blippi cake, and if you don’t know who Blippi is, you are blessed.

Prayer

Pray for the people of South Sudan. The warfare there is brutal, and I can’t imagine the pain and hopelessness.
Pray for Maria and the children as she enjoys the ups and downs of growing a human. She is a great mother and I am grateful for our children’s sake, the roles are not reversed.

Praise

Praise for safety during our Christmas travels. Miles and miles, cries and smiles, joy and cheer, will repeat next year.
Praise that the health of the MMS staff has been restored! Covid affected some worse than others, but we praise God to all be back at work.

Till next time,

(above) Dano as an MMS apprentice around 2007

Elizabeth Maddux from MMS is writing stories about what our great God is doing in the world, and below is her first one. When available I will post more. Enjoy!

February 2021

Dear Ones,                                                      

Do you have time for a story?  From time to time, we’d like to tell you stories:  Fun, true stories about airplanes, jungles, and amazing rescues.  Stories that actually involve YOU. And of course, our awe-inspiring LORD will always be the Main Character.

Once upon a recent time and only ½ a world away, there lived a people group, called Dem, deep within the jungle of Southeast Asia.  Not accessible by boat or road, the Dem people lived in great isolation, as even foot travel to their land in the interior was not a viable option.  They didn’t have a written language, which means that they had no Scripture; they had not heard the best News in all the world.  But their Maker did not forget about them.

Fast forward to about three weeks ago, January 11, 2021 to be exact. “Creator Talk” began for the Dem!  This means that starting January 11 and continuing on for the next 3 ½ months, the Dem will hear training sessions about the Good News – from Creation to the Resurrection.  How is this happening???

For the last 7 years, four missionary families have been living among the Dem, learning their language and culture.  Now they are ready to teach the Good News!  God has called and equipped them for their task in many ways, and He is using missionary aviation flights to make it possible.  Small planes and/or helicopters CAN reach this isolated group, allowing the proclamation of Jesus in one-of-the utmost ends of the earth.

And just more fun background info –  in the early 2000’s, God brought a man named Dano to MMS for apprenticeship training.  For about a decade now, Dano and his family have been living and working in Southeast Asia, keeping planes in the air for these missionaries in the interior.  God had the Dem people on His mind way back when we were still in training!

And He is using people like YOU to help reach the Dem and other people groups.  Many of you have been praying for and/or financially supporting MMS.  Thank you.  And maybe someday we will get to hear from the Dem themselves, “Thank you!”

I would love to end with a “happily ever after,” but that part hasn’t been told yet.  So I will leave you with a way you can help finish the story.  Please join with us in lifting up the Dem people at this crucial time in their history!

These prayer requests were sent to us by Dano’s wife:

We are praying that by the time the team reaches the stories of Jesus and of His crucifixion and resurrection that the Dem will be ready to receive this most precious, life changing gift.

Please pray for them to gather to hear the “Creator Talk.” Pray for distractions to be non-existent.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to open their hearts.

Pray for this team of four families as the enemy will be at work as they share the Gospel.

May their children grasp the importance of the sacrifices that they and their parents are making to impact eternity for the Dem people. 

To God be the glory!!

What am I doing here?

Rain is terrible. Yeah, yeah, farmers may say it’s important, because without it food “doesn’t grow” blah, blah. To which I ask, “have you ever ridden a motorcycle in the rain?” It’s terrible, just terrible.
A long, long, time ago when I was a teenager, a friend and I rode our unreliable motorcycles to Harrisburg, Pa to see how our tax dollars were carefully and diligently spent. The day took a surprising turn when we walked out of the restaurant to discover that it was raining, raining hard! The trip home from Harrisburg was about 45 minutes, and after 20 minutes of hugging my tank in the cold rain at 70mph, my skin started turning various colors of the rainbow. To make my attitude worse, a large man on a large motorcycle with a large windshield and a large heater, passed us by carelessly smoking a cigar, making me ponder “what am I doing here?”
This January will mark one year since I started at MMS. Various times, especially during difficult times I have wondered “what I am doing here?” For example, most of my day is spent speaking a language that almost sounds like English, but it is not. We say things like “The FAA AD on the empennage DME STC makes that plane unairworthy.” What?
Then there is the story of Randy. Randy received a life flight from Flights For Christ, one of the many missions we serve. Randy was in need of a liver and kidney transplant, and fortunately the Cleveland Clinic had him on the transplant list. Unfortunately when the time came for him to receive his transplant surgery, he was in such a weakened state that he did not believe he would be able to endure the 8 hour drive. Bringing a very sick man to a large airport in the middle of the COVID pandemic also seemed like a bad idea. Flights for Christ was able to fly Randy from a small airport to Cleveland, bringing the 8 hours of travel down to two hours and fifteen minutes. Randy received his much needed transplants two days later.

MMS serviced the plane that flew Randy earlier this year at no labor cost to Flights for Christ. From time to time I wonder what really is the point of working on these shiny flying lawnmowers. I feel God has called us here, but why? Then I hear stories like Randy’s and I am reminded, that’s what I am doing here.

Quick update about the end of October, November, and the beginning of December

Currently, at MMS I am working on tearing down, cleaning, and reassembling an engine that will serve a mission named Missionary Aeroplanes. The mission will use this engine in the foothills of Mexico to serve the first nations people of Mexico. The engine I am working on was new during the Nixon presidency in 1974. It was run once and then stored for over 40 years in a storage unit and eventually donated to Missionary Aeroplanes. The engine has a protectant oil in it that turned to tar over the decades, requiring many hours of cleaning with harsh chemicals. Working with harsh chemicals is bad, but on the plus side, my hands glow in the dark now!

After backpacking with my friends Freddie said he wanted to go camping with daddy. So the next weekend he and I hopped in our van, headed to the nearest campground, and roasted way too many marshmallows. It was a blast!

For the last two weeks in November, we were in Pennsylvania, so I could help take care of my folks; my mom had a cast on her leg, and both of them having COVID. Maria stayed at her parent’s house so she didn’t have to miss her brother’s wedding on the 28th. There is nothing that makes you love your wife more, than to be away for two weeks! I tested positive a few days before the wedding, so I, unfortunately, missed it. So far I have had almost no symptoms which is such a blessing. Freddie was a cute little greeter and handed out candy to the guest. I believe this is the first time in his life that he has given away candy:) Congratulations to Nate & Emily!!

Prayer

Pray The health of the people working at MMS. Currently, COVID is racing through MMS and is affecting some worst than others.
Pray For safe travels during this holiday season. My van is starting to make some interesting metallic noises, and the highways are always super full during the holidays.

Praise

Praise January will be one whole year that we have been at MMS. This has been a trying year, and adjusting to a new way of living has been difficult at times, but God has been faithful and we are so grateful to be here.
Praise That COVID has no caused more serious symptoms for me or my family. My parents are fully recovered and I feel decent. This disease can be a bear or a lamb, and we praise God for the strain my family and I have received was a more mild one.

Till next time,

Your life is like diet decaffeinated Coke

In a dark woods, an evil man mixed Coca-Cola and Nyquil and invented diet decaffeinated coke. Growing up I drank large quantities of the coke-like substance because I did not know better. I thought all coca-cola tasted like old, fermented mouthwash. My family drank diet decaffeinated coke out of love. They had to watch their sugar intake (the diet part), and my mom was sensitive to caffeine (the decaffeinated part).
My life all changed one day when I went to Mexico as a teenager. I remember that day almost more clearly than my wedding day. I was helping build a wall for a friend who was a missionary there. The day was hot and dry, and after working for what felt like 27 hours, he handed me an ice-cold, cane sugar, glass-bottled coca-cola! It tasted like joy, hope, and love all combined, in fact, that may be an understatement.
Life as a Christian is a lot like the two cokes; no matter how much DD coke you drink, it is never enough to compare to the real thing. I daily struggle with drinking the wrong coke. I try to be someone, making this life as amazing as possible. I daily try to be a better, funnier, healthier, more clever, most goodest person. I daily want people to tell me that I am the most amazing thing in the world. The thing is….It’s never enough.
The most freeing and joy producing truth of all time is to realize you are not good enough. In fact, you will never find lasting joy in anything. This may sound like the worst self-help ever, and that is because it is! Lasting joy is found in Christ alone! And, for a few short minutes, in ice-cold, sugar cane, glass-bottled Coca-Cola.

SAM Air recently made a trip to northern Bolivia where missionaries serve the Araona people. They brought in medical supplies, and while there were able to witness the baptism of the village chief and his entire family. MMS did extensive work to the plane they flew there on. It’s because of your support that planes can be fixed, and lives can be changed.

Mission Spotlight

Gospel Carrier International uses planes to reach Chinese immigrants living throughout the United States, and Canada. They focus on
leading conferences and will rapidly travel from one event to
another. They support ministries in need of pastoral transportation and will lead pastoral teams from China to preach at multiple
churches back to back. The planes MMS fix for GCI enable this work to continue; saving weeks of travel time per evangelistic tour.
Learn more at http://www.gcigospel.org.

Quick update about the end of August, September, and the beginning of October

In 1596 man invented the flushable toilet. In 1829 indoor plumbing was making its debut. In 1885 man invented the automobile. In 1903 the Wright brothers perfected the flying machine. In 2020 me and the other grinning idoits decided to leave all that behind and hike 24 miles on the North Fork trail in West Virginia. Its was fun, but my favorite part of the trail was the parking lot at the end. On a serious note, a “fun” hike like this is the only way for tens of millions of people to get to hospital around the world.

My mom recently had foot reconstruction surgery and is recovering at a rehab center. We recently made a quick trip to PA see her in the most 2020 way possible; by sitting in our cars and shouting at her:)

Recently I aided Tim Obarow with an annual inspection on a plane that serves in Haiti. During the inspection, we had to inspect the rivets inside of the horizontal stabilizer. No matter how much butter we applied neither of our heads fit in the two-inch hole, so Tim is pictured here teaching me how to use a small inspection camera.

Aria is a very bright girl. Recently she was exploring Newton’s 3rd law by launching straight and headfirst off the couch and into the piano bench. We all learned something that night; where Coshocton hospital is, how much medical glue cost and that Aria’s guardian angel will be busy for the next few years.

Freddie on his balance bike is my favorite Coshocton exploring buddy.

Prayer

Pray for my mom as she recovers from surgery. The surgery went well, and now comes the long road of recovery. Pray also for her doctors as they fine-tune her medicines. Recently one med is starting to cause kidney problems.
Pray for the unreached. I recently downloaded the app “Unreached of the day”. It’s a great app and a daily reminder of the reason we are here.

Praise

Praise that Aria’s eyebrow cut wasn’t worse. It’s all healed up now and only a groovy scar remains.
Praise that my passport came! Now I am ready to ship out on a rapid response trip when the need arises.
Till next time,

Bent Mufflers

I was once a bodybuilder. Let me clarify…I used to do bodywork on cars, trucks, RVs, and anything in need of several inches of body filler. I really enjoyed applying mud (what the cool kids call Bondo), sanding, and painting cars. Plus, as an additional benefit, I ended up marrying the cute secretary from the shop I worked at.
I was beating on a customer’s car with a hammer one day when I looked up to see an older lady patiently waiting to ask me a question. I was confused, being a lowly mud flinger, I thought she was lost and missed the office of the boss man. I asked if I could help, to which she replied, “Are you a mechanic?”. Though I was not technically a mechanic, I puffed out my chest, and answered in the deepest voice I could muster “Yes”. “Great” she replied, “I backed into something and bent my muffler, and am really worried it will hurt my fuel mileage”. Seeing this poor lady in distress made my inner knight-in-shining-armor ego come out, and I decided to see what I could do to help. Walking out to her car, she fussed the whole way there about her precious fuel mileage. When we arrived at the car she started laughing, and seeing my confusion said “My muffler is fine! I am Maria’s grandma, and I wanted to meet this guy that asked my granddaughter out!”
Grandma died at the end of July. The shock is still raw, and the pain is still real. Vera Jane (Janie) Martin was the healthiest most active grandma I know. Knowing her, she is up in heaven right now power walking from one mansion to another visiting with friends, and making heavenly baked goods (the more you eat the skinnier you get!) She died peacefully of a heart attack at age 74. Her funeral was beautiful: beautiful, because she is with Christ; beautiful, because as we cried for her death, we knew she was alive and power walking on the streets of gold.
We are one heartbeat away from eternity. If you are a Christ-follower, then hallelujah! If you are not, stop reading this newsletter, repent, confess, and dwell with a local body of Christians. Don’t waste a heartbeat, Janie didn’t.

Mission Spotlight

AIM Air is the aviation support branch of Africa Inland Mission
(A.I.M.). AIM Air serves the missionaries and local ministers in
the heart of the unreached people groups in sub-Saharan Africa.
AIM Air flies their fleet of 6 Cessnas (3 – 206s and 3 – 208s for you plane nerds) in Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Chad,
Central African Republic, and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Learn more and see some cool videos at aimair.org.

Quick update about the end of June, July, and beginning of August

The plane I have been working on is finished! All the physical work is done on the Bearhawk, and now all that is left to do is a full week of paperwork for my team leader Jenny. This plane was such a great learning opportunity. It flew to MMS held together by bubblegum and prayer, and after a complete overhaul inside and out, is leaving as basically a new aircraft. Thanks to all those that support us that made it possible to get this plane flying and serving in Haiti again. Keep posted on Facebook, I want to see if I can get a ride!

One of the nice things about living close to MMS is having family lunches. Recently a cropduster entertained us at lunchtime.

On July 4th weekend we camped at my parent’s house. It was a lot of fun catching crawdads, playing games, and eating dirt (that was mostly Aria). Aria consumes her body weight in dirt monthly which isn’t great, but it does make our food bill less.

We were blessed to have many different visitors so far this summer. Pictured is Maria’s sister Diana & her husband Jesse, and Maria’s brother Charles and his wife Abby.

My daughter is my little study buddy/ studying chief distractor. Pictured is her sitting on my book and cheesing it at the camera. Studying takes up about 10 hours a week and having a cute distraction from time to time makes it more durable.

Prayer
Pray for the David and Janie Martin family as they mourn the loss of Janie.
Pray for my mom ‘s foot. My mom has a disease called Charcot foot, and her bones are slowly wasting away. She will be having reconstructive surgery soon, so please pray everything goes well.
Pray that my new passport comes in the mail sometime before the rapture. Borders are still closed, but I want to be ready when we are needed in another country.

Praise
Praise: For the miles and miles of safe travel that we have had over the last three months. Our 200k mile van runs like a top, and so far only bathroom breaks make trips into PA longer.
Till next time,

Fallen, But Hopefully Not Falling

Safety wire is Biblical. Safety wire is a metal wire that aviation mechanics use to secure anything in need of securing. Think of it as the elastic waist in pants, it’s there, just in case, to prevent a disaster. Safety wire is Biblical because in Genesis 3 God says ”cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;” Safety wire is sharper than you can imagine. You are probably imagining chainsaws with tiger and shark teeth, but trust me, it’s sharper than that. When used by a rookie, safety wire tends to stick into your finger/eyes/cheeks/gray matter in a heartbeat.
Recently during a nice warm day, I crawled to the back of a fabric-covered aircraft to do some safety wiring. What makes that difficult, is that fabric aircraft skin will damage if weight is applied, and the structure under the fabric consists of small metal tubes in all directions. The best way I can describe what I was crawling into was a Pre-school jungle gym, wrapped in expensive tissue paper. This was not an easy job, but at least I got it done right.. on the third try.
Safety wire serves a very useful purpose. Without safety wire in place, oil filters, turnbuckles, bolts, and nuts could loosen and fall off. Parts falling off seems to make pilots whiny, and mechanics get annoyed at whiny pilots. By purposely safety wiring that turnbuckle right, the plane will be able to serve for a long time with minimal safety concerns. A safe, reliable plane makes it possible to deliver food and medical aid to orphanages in Haiti where it serves. Medical supplies at the right time will save a life. God doesn’t demand us to be special, just faithful (John 15:4). Faithful – I guess like safety wire.

Speaking of faithful, the yellow plane below was a large project that left MMS in May. This project has been an ongoing for a few years at various locations, and ministry partners. MMS was able to assist in getting this plane flying by installing a new engine, propeller, and avionics. This plane will serve the missionaries working with the Yanomami tribe in South America which have been without air support for over ten years.

Mission Spotlight

Missionary Air Group or MAG serves the Miskito people of Gracias a Dios, Honduras. The lack of quality roads in this area makes rapid travel by land almost impossible. The roads there are often dirt
that frequently washout due to heavy rain leaving the 100k plus
people with little options for medical transportation. MAG flies a Cessna air ambulance and operates a hospital to help save lives in the region. MMS is currently doing a major rebuild on one of their Cessna 206 air ambulances.

Quick update about the end of April, May, and beginning of June

MMS was shut down all of April due to Covid 19, in an effort to comply with the governor’s stay at home order. I was going nuts towards the end, and could not wait to get back to work. Finally, the 1st workday of May arrived, and back to work we went.

I am still working on a plane that serves in Haiti. We are getting so close to completion that I can almost hear the engine roaring, or maybe that’s the bad tuna I ate.

With Covid downtime, we explored our local hiking spots. Salt Fork State Park is beautiful, where we enjoyed hiking and Aria enjoyed eating sand and small rocks.

One of the best restaurants ever, is East Main Kitchen. But with Covid, no inside eating was allowed, and it was a cold day…. Minivan picnic to the rescue! I don’t care who you are minivans are one of the marvels of modern society.

My folks made the quest from Pa to Oh this month. We enjoyed their company and God blessed us with some beautiful days and great memories.

Aria turned one in May. Her cake was loaded with wildflowers, macarons, and sugar, lots of sugar. We are blessed to call her our daughter, and can’t believe she is a year old!

When restrictions lessened, we went to the cabin with our friends. It was great seeing them again, and we had a fantastic time playing games and eating too much.

Prayer

Pray that we will sense God’s direction for us after MMS and MAG. That is a long time away, but time flies (not a pilot pun)!
Pray for the unreached. I have been listening to the “1040” podcast and am reminded again of how desperate the need is.

Praise

Praise: Aria burned her hands, but the burns were not too severe. Her blisters are almost healed, and she doesn’t seem to mind them much.
Praise: We are back to work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never been happier to go to work in my life.

Till next time,

Stinky Diapers, The Sun, COVID-19

Children stink. As anyone that has ever raised a smaller version of themselves will tell you, children cry, stink, sleep, and are happy equal parts in one day. It is a constant balancing act to keep any one of those verbs/adjectives from overpowering the others. Sometimes if they are happy and stinky its best just to let them be. That being said, children are also a huge blessing! They keep us humble and make us better. A few days ago, mid-morning my 4 yr old son asked me when the sun was going to come out. I said that the sun was already shining, but we couldn’t see it because of the clouds. I could see the gears turning in his head, and then in his little high pitched voice answered “the sun is out even when we can’t see it? Oh, that’s cool!”
Right now it seems impossible to see the other side of this dark cloud. All of us do not know what the future looks like right now. Voices are telling us what to believe or not believe about the virus, and about the future. We are confused and buying way too much toilet paper (this newsletter is paper, you’re welcome)!
Planes fly into clouds all the time and rarely have any problems. During most of the flights you have taken in your life, the plane flew through clouds. Planes have instruments that guide the pilots even when they can’t see anything. In fact, when you are in a cloud your senses become useless. Your gut is telling you that the plane is going up, when in reality it is descending. Your gut is telling you are flying straight and level, when you are turning to the left. An untrained pilot flying into a cloud, will on average lose control of their aircraft in 178 seconds.
The Bible is our instrument to guide us through this cloud; we know the One who made it! We have confidence that we will see Him on the other side of this cloud, because the Son is always there. We were never promised tomorrow (James 4:13-16), but God promises to be good and faithful.
Unreached people groups may not get Covid-19, but they have crop failures (economy), and deaths from diarrhea (health) and can probably relate well to us right now. However we have the Bible, we have salvation paid for by Jesus, and WE HAVE HOPE! This is not to downplay the very real impacts this virus will have on our lives, not at all. But pray and weep for those that have no hope, that have no instrument, and do not know the Son.

Mission Spotlight

Missionary Flights International or MFI serves various missions in Haiti, the DR, and the Bahamas. They fly WW2-era DC3s with new turboprop engines. With these planes, they can get into some of the roughest strips, with tons of supplies, food, or anything else the missions may need. We are currently inspecting one of their engines for airworthiness at MMS Aviation.

Prayer

Pray for my family and me as the leader of the house. The next few weeks, and months are scary and the future is uncertain.
Pray for the safety of healthcare personnel, my sister Bonnie in particular.
Pray for the people dying alone during this crisis; and family members that can’t be beside their loved ones in the last hours

Praise

Praise that Freddie broke through a plate glass coffee table, scrambled scared amidst the broken shards of glass, and only received a few small cuts.
Praise that we found a faith family that we can plug into at Crosspointe Mennonite Church.