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VSAT Installation Training

Here are just a few shots from the past week.

Mounting the dish on the pole

Installing the outdoor electronics

Installing cable ends (with the proper tool, unlike when I was in Sumatra)

Classroom discussion

Posted by David at 02:38 PM

Familiar Sound

The last two mornings I've almost thought I was back in Shell. Yesterday walking to class, and today while checking e-mail, I heard a turbo-charged Cessna 206 taking off. My first thought was to wonder who was flying, but of course here I wouldn't have any idea. The only thing I could be sure of was that they were MAF aircraft. I miss living right across the street from the airport in Shell, and watching the military and civilian planes come and go.

Posted by David at 06:41 PM

Fuel Economy

I drove over a thousand miles in the past two days. Over twelve hours on the road yesterday, and about six today. I'm driving my little '91 Toyota Tercel with 176,000 miles on it. We kept it while in Ecuador, and I'm glad we did. Actually, we sold it to Ellyn's brother for $1 and then he gave it back to us as a gift! He drove it for a while, and kept it in great shape for me. It's burning a bit of oil these days, but apparently it's not burning as much gas--I averaged 43 miles per gallon on the way down here! I tried to drive the speed limit, which meant I kept it between 60 and 70 mph, even when the limit was 75 mph. The limit in Oregon is 55 mph, so in that state I drove the slowest. In Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada, most drivers are going at the speed limit or a little above. In California, most drivers are going anywhere from 10 to 20 mph above the limit. People are not happy with gas prices being so high, but it seems to me that most Californians on the road really don't care. If they did, they'd slow down and get better gas mileage. So, if you're barreling down a California highway in your SUV, and you see a little Tercel in front of you, please don't run me over as you go flying by!

Posted by David at 11:44 PM

Training Trip

I'm in Redlands for the week. I'm here for a VSAT installer training. A VSAT is a satellite earth station. It's what HCJB and MAF use in Shell to get Internet connectivity. It's what MAF used in Sumatra to provide voice and Internet connectivity after the tsunami. I didn't do much of the technical part of the install when I was in Meulaboh. This week I'll learn all about that, and I'm really looking forward to it. Things like this are why I was ready to leave Ecuador. I liked my job there, and a person is still needed there to do the IT work. But, I was feeling like I needed to learn some new things, expand my horizons, and grow professionally in ways that I couldn't do there.

Posted by David at 11:37 PM

Progress Report

We continue to see progress in our fund-raising efforts. For those who haven't checked in with us for a while, I'll bring you up to speed. We've spent the last five years working with MAF as short term staff. During that time we've been supported by family, friends, and church, who give monthly to MAF on our behalf. The short term staff are expected to raise a smaller amount than the career staff. In July we joined MAF as career staff. My next assignment is to work in the Information Technology department in the US headquarters (currently in Redlands, CA, and on schedule to be re-located to Nampa, Idaho in summer 2006).

However, before I can begin that assignment, we must find more people and churches who will support us on a monthly basis, because as career staff we now need to raise that higher monthly amount. We started this task in early August and at that time were at about 56% of our goal. We also must raise a one-time amount, which will pay for our moving expenses to Idaho, some training for me, and a notebook computer which I'll use on the job. We can testify that the Lord is faithful, and he is supplying those needs, as we watch the numbers increase. We still need more people and churches to join our ministry partnership team and are praying for the Lord to provide. Please pray with us, and if you feel that God wants you to join our ministry team, send us an e-mail.

Posted by David at 08:23 AM

School Prayer

Dustin has made several new friends at his school. That doesn't surprise me, as he's never had trouble reaching out to talk to people he doesn't know. He told me a couple days ago that they are all relatively new Christians, and that they had invited him to pray at the flag pole on Wednesday morning at 7 AM. I offered to take him early, but he couldn't bear the thought of getting up that much earlier. I dropped him off at 7:30, and there were still some kids praying at the pole. As I pulled out of the lot, I didn't see him, but he later told me he did pray at the pole with them. It was encouraging to me to see those kids praying, to learn that Dustin had joined them, but most of all, that Dustin is found some fellow Believers at school.

Posted by David at 08:14 AM

Air Show

On Sunday, after going to church and Sunday school, we headed over to the Mountain Home Air Force base to watch the Thunderbirds fly. I had never seen that in person before, and we enjoyed every minute of it. We didn't have enough time to look at all the planes on display, but we did get there in time for the Thunderbirds, and that was what we wanted.

Posted by David at 08:12 AM

Football Player

We have a football player in our house. Taylor has taken up tackle football this fall. He's playing on a team in the Boise Noon Optimist Football program. I had no idea this was something he's interested in, but when he heard about this youth football program, he said he'd like to participate. His team got off to a bit of a rocky start, with their coach first coach resigning. But fortunately a few dads have stepped in and are coaching. The team is a bit small, with only seventeen boys. Twenty-two is a more normal number. Last week was the first game, and it was exciting to watch. The boys did well despite the coaching change, which included play changes. Taylor's team lost, but not by much. We're headed to Emmett tomorrow for the next game.

Posted by David at 09:07 PM

MAF Ground Breaking

It's been a week now since the ground breaking ceremony for the new MAF hangar at the Nampa Airport. Ellyn and I found out about it at the last minute, and made sure we were there. There was a good sized crowd there to witness the event. Local Christian business men and women, pastors, members of the Idaho Friends of MAF, and others were there for this special occasion. Kevin Swanson, the MAF president, and Nampa mayor Tom Dale addressed the crowd. Six men, representing MAF, the local community, local churches, and the missionaries who fly in MAF planes, turned over earth to mark the beginning of construction. Afterwards we all ate
barbequed ribs, baked potatoes, salad, and cake, all courtesy of the Idaho Friends of MAF.

Posted by David at 07:59 PM