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Taylor's Teacher

Taylor's teacher just arrived in Shell. Yahoo!

Breakfast In Bed

I went home about 10 AM to get another cup of coffee. The breakfast dishes were still on the counter. I had made pancakes for myself and the bird. Yes, she eats a pancake a day and some dog food. She'll eat a banana once in a while, or some apple, but she's really not into fruit. In the wild they eat nuts and seeds for the most part. Anyway, I degress. Taylor was busy cracking an egg into a bowl, and had a bit of a mess. So I helped him clean up and crack another one. Dustin was downstairs, still in bed, and Taylor was making him breakfast in bed. Wow! The eight year old younger brother making his older brother breakfast in bed! Quite cool, I thought!

The other day Taylor was at the river with me and some Ecuadorian girls found a large tadpole. They were a bit scared of it, and soon it was about to get taken away by the current. Taylor went after it, found a jar on the river bank, and brought it home. It's been living in a plastic tub in his room, and it's been fun to watch it change into a frog.

Old Timer

I was talking with Tom·s a few days ago while we were loking at a very old picture of Nate Saint's house and hangar. He told me that Panchito (shown here sending a boy with a broken arm back home to his village in the jungle) has been working for MAF since Nate was still alive back in 1956. Panchito was about 19 years old when he started working for MAF. He's still going strong, forty-eight years later! His servant heart and his contagious laugh are noticed by all. By the way, here's a more recent photo of the MAF base, taken from the same location as that older one.

Teacher Time

I received an e-mail this morning with good news about a teacher for Dustin's class. She's booking her flights and applying for her visa. Tentatively she'll arrive in Quito on August 13 in the evening. That's the day school is scheduled to start, so I imagine she'd miss the first three or four days of school. But that's OK! We're continuing to pray for her, and for a safe and speedy arrival.

Wet Wednesday

It's time to head home this afternoon. I'm trying to wrap up a few things that I should just let go until tomorrow. Bruce is stuck out in Makuma. He was ready to load a patient somewhere else, then go pick up another before heading to Shell. He talked to Dan by radio, and they decided the weather was poor enough that he wouldn't be able to get into Shell. The weather was OK at Makuma, so that's where he headed. Not sure if he took the patient, or if he'll go get both of them in the morning. Makuma does have a clinic, but I'm sure it's not the kind of help these patients need. Fred went down to Sucua to transfer a patient up to Quito. He made it there, but with the weather being bad, he's not coming home tonight. He'll miss his family, but he'll get some good pizza or Mexican, and maybe a movie. I'm sure he'd rather be home.

Finicky Fans

I've been working on fans this week. We have a bodega (storage room) under our carport. It's a great place to store things and work on model planes. What makes it a perfect storage room is that there's a dehumidifier in there. We usually run it six hours a day. It's a great place for drying wet shoes or anything else you want to dry in less than a week. Problem is that the fan motor on the unit is going out. I really don't think I can find one in Puyo, but maybe there's one in Quito. I should know by tomorrow. Meanwhile I'm going to take the motor to someone in Puyo and see if they can re-wind it for me. That might buy me enough time to get a motor from the States.

The other fans I've been working on are CPU fans on a couple computers. I've got some older computers with PII processors. You can't easily find fans for them, so when they start going bad, I repair them. Clean them up, lube them, and put them back into service again. They're critical in this environment. It'd be nice to have the computers in air conditioned rooms, but that's not the case. So the heat, humidity, and dust do quite a number on them. I have a thermometer on the shelf where I have the two servers and firewall computer usually says eighty-three degrees during the day. It's not that warm out in the hangar, or usually even outside. It's just that the Pilots' Office traps the heat.

Got It?

I've got the flight scheduler PC up and running again. It seems to be it was SDRAM memory module. At any rate, I put a different memory module in, and it's working without all the startup errors and freezing. Plus it now has 128 MB or RAM instead of only 48 MB. What a deal! I will need to relocate the computer as well, as it's current location is way too warm. The heat doesn't help things at all.

Monday

Our program manager is acting as flight coordinator today. I'm not sure where Tom·s is. Come to think of it, I need to work some more on the flight scheduler's PC. It started acting up on Wednesday morning last week. I swapped motherboards with an identical PC that I had up in the attic for spare parts. It seemed to be working until I moved it back to his desk. Then more problems. And of course I left town on Thursday for a couple days. I need to get back to that today.

We've got two planes out right now. Bruce and Fred are flying. It's a cloudy day, as usual, but the weather is right for flying. Dan is helping Curtis work on putting a prop together. It's one that was sent to the States for service and came back down the other week with the new engines. Steve is sitting here in the Pilots' Office working on a new map project.

In The Coffee

We're back home from a three day vacation at a hosteria up at 8000' near Quito. We had a great time. Right now I'm making breakfast for the family and enjoying a pot of black American coffee--something you just can't find in this country.

Saying Goodbye

Austin Mertz grew up here in Shell as an MK. He's just finished visiting and working with us for the past month. It was a great experience for him to get back to Shell and visit a place where he spent some important years of his life. Before he left, he wanted a photo of some of the people he worked with at the MAF hangar. And, once again, he says goodbye to a special place.

Huecos

The termites around here eat everything. We have piles of termite dirt in about three different places at home. They especially like plywood. They're all through my desktop here at the hangar. I can't leave books or a stack of papers laying on top of my desk for days, or they'll eat a hole right through it. We keep stack of forms on top of a set of cabinets here in the Pilots' Office. Today, Tom·s pulled one down, and it had a whole right through it, along with the guilty party!

Keep Praying

If you've been praying for teachers for the Nate Saint school, thanks! And, keep on praying. We have a lady interested in teaching grades 5/6. That's Dustin's class, the one with just three boys in it. She's from Alaska and sounds like she'll bring a lot of great experience to the school. Pray that she'll be able to rent hour house out in time, and that she'll have sufficient financial support in order to make it here within a month. It's a tall order, but no problem for the Lord!

This And That

Here are a couple images from the past few days. Sunday morning I went out to the road at 9:10 AM, as the stage race out of Puyo was to have started at ( AM. Very shortly after I got there, the pack came racing by. Man! I sure wish I had my road bike here!!

Yesterday a few guys at the military base were having a blast! I wish I could try that.

What's Going On?

What's going on here in the hangar? It's Tuesday morning and we've got two planes in the air. Bruce is out doing some regular flying and Dan is taking a plane out to the jungle with some visitors. A couple of them are visiting workers at HCJB's hospital in Shell, and a couple are here to visit with MAF staff. I usually don't think too much of it when people get to make a day trip like this, because I grew up in a very similar setting in Papua New Guinea. But for most people, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Oscar and Mateo are staying busy getting the engine put back in HC-BXB. We've got one more plane available for flying, but no pilot for it. That's not the problem we've had for the past several months!

I just finished setting up a new printer at the receptionist desk. She'll be using it to print facturas, or receipts. I'm downloading the latest kernel for the Red Hat server. I also downloaded and installed the latest version of CommuniGate Pro, as I've been experiencing some problems between that software and Red Hat 9. At first I thought my problem had been solved, but this morning I'm seeing evidence that I'm not rid of it yet. Meanwhile, I need to download some printer software for an old HP DeskJet and get that print head aligned. After that I'll be heading over to the school to connect computers and put everything back together after we rearranged the library media center.

Saturday

I was able to accomplish a lot today, as were the pilots. The weather was great today, and I checked quite a few things off of my to-do list, like moving crushed rock into ditches, painting around windows, washing the truck, and mowing the lawn. Dan, Steve, and Fred all flew today, which was really good after the bad weather yesterday. They were able to get a lot done.

At 2 PM I went over to the HCJB guest house compound with Dustin and Taylor. We played softball with many of the other missionary families, both HCJB and MAF. Tonight after dinner we went back for a big campfire, some marshmallows, and a devotional.

It was a great Saturday too, because I managed to get an unexpected ride in. I had noticed through the late morning and early afternoon many guys on road bicycles. That's very unusual for around here. Later, as we were playing softball I saw guys going by one at a time, and realized they must be having a time trial. After we finished playing, Taylor and I went up into town to watch them start. As we headed home, there were the last ten guys or so to go. When I got home I quickly changed and grabbed my bike, following them down to Puyo. I found the finish line, and talked for a bit with a man that was watching. He explained to me that this was the prologue of a weeklong stage race.

Tour de Lance

I've continued to enjoy watching the Tour de France via the Internet. I say "watching", because I've been able to get a lot of great images (www.grahamwatson.com) and even a little streaming video (Eurosport). Oh, and some live commentary on one of the big mountain top finishes. But the way I've followed most days is with live text updates from Velonews. I've got someone taping it for me back in the US, and I'll have those tapes late in August. It's going to take me a long time to get through those, as it will be hours and hours, and I don't have much time to watch TV.

Weather, Pilots, and Planes

Yes, I'm still here in Shell. The week started off with some dry, sunny, and beautiful days. Then, yesterday, the rain and clouds came back. I was surprised how quickly I had become used to the unusual weather, and how much I enjoyed it. I think I've adjusted to the cloudy and rainy whether in Shell, but it's nice to have a change once in a while.

Despite the poor weather here in Shell, the pilots were able to get some flying done, as the weather was good in the jungle. Fred, Bruce, Dan, and Steve are all flying now. That is, they are flying in Shell. We've also got two pilots in Sucua and one in Quito. In addition, Dave, the program manager, flies several times a week. In addition, we are now able to fly three planes out of Shell, as the new engine has been installed in HC-BXK. The mechanics are now working on getting the engine put back in HC-BXB. Besides the engine, they have a lot of other things to put back together after the major inspection, so it's going to be another week at least until that plane is flying.

The weather is poor again today in Shell, and also in the jungle. No planes flying just yet. There are many indians waiting for flights back into the jungle, so it would be nice to see the weather improve.

Teachers Needed!

We are still in need of a kindergarten and a 5/6 teacher at the school. We're down to a month before the start of school. It's a matter of great concern for us, and we're praying for the Lord to supply. Please pray with us.

California Classic

The weather is simply gorgeous today! What I'd call a California Classic day--blue sky and sunshine. Well, we do have some clouds, but for a place that's normally very cloudy, I hardly notice them. And, it's cool too. Very refreshing. Ellyn took the boys to the pool in Puyo this afternoon.

Give It All You've Got

I was awakened Sunday morning by a knock at the door. I like to sleep in on Sunday, so I was a bit bothered to have to get up before the alarm sounded. It was Beatrice and a young girl, about ten years old. I know Beatrice because she's been at our door many times before. Trish, who lived in the house before we moved in, helped her on occasion with medicines and doctor bills. Beatrice lives in Puyo, and as far as I can find out, the rest of her family including her teenage children, live in Quito. She first came to us for help when she needed tuition money for one of her kids. The next time was when she was sick. It's hard to know when people come to your door whether they really need help, or are just trying to take advantage of you. Either way, to them we look like the rich gringo. In many ways, we are. At some point I had her teenage son work several days for us to earn some money for his mom. He had come asking for help when she was very sick and needed medicine and rent money. Another time when he came, I drove him in to Puyo and bought the meds myself at the pharmacy and took them to the house for her. At any rate, Beatrice looked well yesterday, but it was the young girl who had been sick. She'd been in the hospital and Beatrice was explaining how that and the medicines had used up most of her money. She was looking for money to pay the rent. I'm so richly blessed. How can I say no to someone who really needs help. I went back in, took a look at how much we had to live on 'til the next pay day, and figured out how much I could give her. It wasn't as much as she needed, but she was grateful for any help she could get.

Later, in the afternoon, Taylor asked if I would ride my bike to Puyo with him, and then bring a taxi back to Shell. That sounded OK, and like a good way to do something together. So instead of a taxi, we asked Ellyn to come get us in an MAF van. She thought that sounded good, and did we want to get something to eat while we were in Puyo? So in the end, Dustin rode with us, and we ate at the Chinese restaurant. It's five miles, and much of it down hill, so we didn't have to work too hard at it. Still, the boys were hot and tired by the time we met Ellyn. After our food was at the table, and while we ate, several different beggars came to our table looking for change and food. They seem to do that more at the chinese restaurant more than any other. Don't know if it's because the place is accessible, or if they just like chinese. So we gave some change and more change. One very old lady with a felt fedora and high top basketball shoes practically cried for some of our food. How can you say no? How can you even enjoy eating when someone so much worse off just wants a bit of food to fill their stomach? Taylor had two big pieces of fish, which he'd never finish on his own, so we gave her one of them. Another man came along near the end of our meal, but he didn't want the fried veggies that we had left. So we gave him some change.

Bald Head

I think I almost went bald today. I had to change the network address for the computers on the local area network. It wasn't too hard to do on the workstations, but it got a little involved when it came to the Red Hat server. I ran into a problem I couldn't figure out. Finally after many hours, during which I felt like pulling my hair out, I finally got everything going again this afternoon just before 5 PM. I like that. Now I don't have to think about it all weekend. I really like that!

Here are a few photos from earlier this week. On the way up to Quito I stopped with the Swansons and we rode the terabita across the Pastaza river. Fun! Only a buck. On the way back I took this photo of Rio Negro. This is at the end of the dirt section coming down from BaÒos and from this point we're fifteen miles from Shell.

Back In Shell

Dustin and I pulled into Shell about 6:15 PM today. We had a van full of things for Shell. Carpets, lights, and fans for the Grants' new place. A propellor for a Cessna 206. A new laser printer and paper for our office in Shell. Some mail and parcels for the MAF staff. A box of fresh veggies for Ellyn. And some braces on Dustin's lower teeth. We had taken the Swansons to Quito on Monday so they could fly out on Tuesday morning. We had then arrived at the dentist at 10:30 AM thinking we each had an appointment. Turns out there was a mixup with dates and the appointments were for today. They couldn't change it if they wanted to, as the orthodontist wasn't even in town. So we found a room at the GMU guest house and passed the day reading, napping, and going to see a movie together. We ended with Chinese food and more reading. I enjoyed hanging out with Dustin. We did see the dentist and orthdontist this morning, and after loading the van, hit the road. This evening I've been trying to catch up on e-mail, and also spent some time catching up on the latest events of the Tour de France.

Blue Sky Morning

As I woke this morning, I noticed two things. I wasn't in a sleeping bag, and the sky outside the window was blue. I love waking up to see blue sky. In California, the sky is 100% blue all summer. Here, if I see blue out my window, I now that I'm just seeing a blue patch, and that most of the rest of the sky is cloudy. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind the clouds and rain here. But there is something about the blue that is refreshing.

It's the end of the weekend, and I'm getting ready to head up to Quito. A week ago an MAF board member came to visit the program in Shell. Tomorrow I take him back up to Quito, as well as Dustin. Both Dustin and I have dentist appointments Tuesday morning, and then we'll head back to Shell in the afternoon. We escape riding on the bus this time, and we'll take an MAF van instead. I'll play tour guide tomorrow on the way up to Quito.

I've felt crummy all weekend--some sort of head cold. I hope I'm doing better in the morning. If not, I'll make it, but it won't be fun. Started feeling it come on Friday night as Taylor and I went to bed. We slept out in the loft I made for the boys in the rafters of the car port. It wasn't too bad, but I didn't sleep too well. That usually happens when I sleep out of a bed the first night. It gets better from there. I should try it more often. I told him I'd do it since Ellyn was up in Quito. Anyway, he really enjoyed it, since he had been asking me for quite a while to do that. We had been to a Fourth of July gathering of MAF folks earlier in the evening. Lots of hamburgers and hot dogs and dessert. No fireworks, but a few firecrackers.

I think I forgot to mention last week that Steve Dunbar finally got his Ecuadorian pilot license. It's only good for six months, and then will have to be re-newed. Actually, that's to be the case for all the guys with this situation we find ourselves in with the department of civil aviation and foreign pilots' licenses. We also got two engines, tires, a propellor, and other assorted parts on Friday morning. That's really good news, as both HC-BXB and HC-BXK have been on the ground for a month or more, waiting for new engines.

Which Bus Was That?

Back in May Ellyn and Dustin were going to Quito on the bus. I bought them a ticket on bus #35, but changed it to a bus leaving at a later time when I saw that bus #35 was a run-down looking bus. Wednesday Ellyn got tickets again, this time for herself and two other friends going to Quito for the weekend. When I got home, she asked me if the bad bus was #34, because she had tickets for that bus. I told her that I thought it was bus #35, but couldn't really remember. This morning we were all out in front of the MAF base waiting for the 9 AM bus out of Puyo. About 9:10 it rolled up, and it looked old and run down, but it was bus #34. I thought I'd made a mistake in trying to recall which bus I didn't want her to travel on. Turns out that when I took a look back in this web log, it was bus #35 that she didn't travel on last time. So now we know to avoid buses #35 and #34!

Thursday Afternoon

I'm still here! Things are going well with my new server now that we're in production. I've been working on several small issues, and one by one have been able to check things off. I've focused on this transition for a month now, and I'm ready for a bit of a break from it.

It's been rainy today, and we were able to only get one flight off the ground. We'll pray for better weather tomorrow, because there's always a lot of work to do. And, I'm sure there are people who need to get in for medical reasons.

E-mail Servers

It's just about that time. Time to call it a day. Well, that is, if you are looking at a clock. I've made the switch from using my old e-smith mail server to the Red Hat linux server using CommuniGate Pro. I was going to write a bit more about my day, but Taylor showed up needing a Playstation adapter fixed. Bruce just helped us with the repair, and now I need to go over and help Reinaldo Bernal with his computer. More later.