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With Family

We're back in the States. Been at my parents' place since Thursday. We're already off to a fast pace, and I'm longing for a bit of a rest. But, seeing as I haven't seen my parents for a year and a half, we're enjoying the time with them. Tomorrow we are off to a picnic with the rest of my Pennsylvania relatives, and it's been almost five years since I've seen them.

Friday afternoon my Dad, my sons, and I went to visit a Toy Train Museum. Oh, in the morning my parents took all of us to visit the Wycliffe Bible Translators Northeast Regional office. It was good to see where my dad works, and meet some of the people he works with. While we were there my parents were presented with a certificate of appreciation for forty years of work with WBT! It was inspiring for me to see the bookshelves with all the Bibles that WBT has translated. Here Dustin and I pose in front of the shelf with seven Bibles translated into languages of Ecuador.

In the evening we went to pick up my brother and his family, and drove to Harrisburg to watch the Harrisburg Senators, a farm team, play. My sister-in-law sang the National Anthem at the game. I got a kick out of being with my two nephews and one niece, two of whom I had never met before.

We four of us went shopping on Saturday, and took advantage of Memorial Day weekend prices at the factory outlet stores nearby. That was fun, and we got some good deals on things that we badly needed for the boys. They've outgrown much of their clothing, and we were trying to make things last 'til we got here. Wow, but it was a bit overwhelming too. So many choices. But, we had to get home by the middle of the afternoon to see my grandmother who came over to spend the night. My brother and his family came over too, and we all went to a place called Shady Maple for a smorgasborg. I ate entirely too much, and it was a huge contrast to Ecuador to be in such a place. It was like an amusement park for eating food. Almost gross, really.

Today we went to church with my parents, at Paradise Bible Fellowship Church, and then just took it easy the rest of the day. What fun it was to be a part of the worship in an English service! The four of us enjoyed a walk early in the evening. We're still trying to get used to how late the sun sets. So different from Shell. And, we are in awe of the cleanliness and beauty of Lancaster County. It's just amazing!

Off To Quito

It's late. Our bags are packed, and we're off to Quito in the morning.

Departure Prep

Five more days and we'll be in the States. That's hard for me to imagine right now. It's been two years since we've been there, and I think it might all seem a bit overwhelming at first. But I am looking forward to the time with friends and family. Food in the US sounds good to me right now too. The other thing I'm looking forward to is riding my road bike. Today was my last chance to work with Dale, and get him ready to maintain the e-mail system while I'm gone. Ron helped me with some electrical work at the house today, as I wanted to get three automatic outdoor lights going. So far I feel like things are moving along the way the should be, and hopefully I won't find myself behind, and staying up late on Monday night. We drive to Quito on Tuesday.

School's Out!

The eighth grade graduation program was held last night. Two MKs graduated, Ben (HCJB) and Lori (MAF). At first I didn't think Dustin would make the program. He woke up with an upset stomach, but slogged off to school anyway. Thirty minutes later he was home again. He spent the rest of the day on the couch or in the bathroom. But, by evening he was feeling better, and decided he'd go to the program. Even though he missed the extra practice earlier in the day, he did a great job playing the recorder with the other upper grade kids.

During the program the principal, Margie Grant, presented each teacher with a gift from the school board. As a parent, former NSMS teacher, and former NSMS board member, I sure do appreciate the hard work these teachers do to make the school a great place for students. We still need an elementary middle-grades teacher for next year. Know anyone who might be interested?

The kids ended the evening singing the classic 'Shell Song'.

So, my boys have now finished with third and sixth grade. Taylor came here as a kindergarten student, Dustin as a third grader. As far as we know at this time, we'll be in Shell two more years, until Dustin finished the eighth grade. Right now they are looking at almost three months of summer, all spent in the US.

Flight Update

By 2:00 PM yesterday afternoon, Dan, Chad, and Bruce were able to take off and get some flying done. I talked to Bruce a while last night, and asked him how the weather was. He was able to get to all the places he needed to, and the strips were all dry enough to land. Last night the rain started again about 10 PM, and it's still raining now, so the pattern is repeating. Yesterday I spent some more time with Dale going over more of my job, since he'll be covering for me while I'm gone. Also, while it was raining in the morning, Chad started teaching Kevin about the airstrip directory project. Chad doesn't go on his six-month furlough until August, but they are planning ahead. Each of the planes has a small notebook with a page of information for each of the 200 or so airstrips that are in the Oriente.

The guys are still operating on their temporary licenses. We know a little more about what the problem is with our licenses being held up, but I'm not going to post that here on the web.

Random Rambling

it's rained non-stop for the past twelve hours. Lucy the Macaw came to the front door yesterday morning for breakfast and said 'knock knock'. We have a car and a place to stay while we are in California--an answer to prayer. Dale and I spent two hours yesterday morning going over IT things. I was concerned that one of the potential tasks might be a bit complicated, and over the weekend came up with a solution. Yesterday morning I was able to implement that in just a few minutes. That's one more thing I don't have to worry about now. The boys have a day and a half of school left. Tonight is the eighth grade graduation. Today I'll be working with the 7/8 grade teacher to burn the yearbook CDs that the five of the kids made in their elective class. Sunday Dustin and I were able to finish our kayak trip in Tena. We had a blast, and Dustin is a natural. I'm sure he'll be buying a kayak when we get back in August. You couldn't ask for a better country than Ecuador for kayaking. Check out the photos.

Home Repair

I was feeling OK about five minutes ago. Then I read the e-mail about the house and the rent check being held by the property management company. Sounds like there is a leaky sink, broken water sprinker pipe, and some boards need to be replaced on the deck. All things I could do if I was there. But, now we have to have someone else do the work. If I'm fortunate, some friends from church do it. If not, then the property management company gets some professional to do the job and we pay the big bucks. And, we just had a bunch of work done on the well system in the past month also. Thankfully we do have a small group of friends who are looking out for us, and helping where they can.

At any rate, I was planning to just put a bit in here about how it's going, as I have been quiet the past day or so. Actually, yesterday I finished my documentation of the local area network and servers here. The binder is complete with pages of HOWTOs and installation and configuration documents. I've also included all the install CDs and other necessary files. It's good insurance in case something happens while I'm gone, or if I'm gone longer than I plan to be. I don't like being the only one with all the knowledge, but when you are a one-man IT department, it's hard for it to be any other way. With that task behind me, I can now focus on some small tasks here and there that need to be taken care of. I want to leave my desk and my workbench empty when I leave in ten days. Today I started working on a slide show to share with churches and friends.

Opinion Poll

Support for President GutiÈrrez continues to decline.

Over Radio

This morning started a bit slow. Nothing urgent on the horizon. I needed to spend an hour or so with Dale, going over network administration tasks. He'll be covering for me while I'm gone. He had already started on the inspection of HC-BLP, so we decided to get together after lunch. Then, Bruce came in and told me that Tukup (GMU missionary in Makuma) needed some technical assistance over the radio. He is going to be starting a two-week translation session tomorrow, and wanted to get the wireless network card installed in his desktop computer. He had bought the card during a recent trip to Quito. It's a bit hard to provide good tech support over the radio, but after about twenty minutes we had established the connection to the wireless access point in the translation building, about 100 yards away. Then he mentioned that he hadn't been able to connect his laptop to the desktop machine with the cross-over ethernet cable I had made him. After a few minutes of investigating, configuring, and a reboot, that was working too. I was relieved, because I really like to help Tukup, who is not the most technically savvy person in the jungle; it's sometimes hard to figure everything out when I'm in Shell and he's in Makuma. Tukup is a Viet Nam vet who has been a church planter, Bible teacher, and mentor to the Shuar indians for going on twenty years.

Other news of the day is that Kevin Borror is beginning his checkout with Darryl (Kevin on the left, Darryl on the right). He started yesterday actually. He's been here since about January, and it's not unusual for a pilot not to begin his checkout until he's been in-country about six months. He doesn't have an Ecuadorian license, but because the DAC is starting to align their licensing program with the US system, Kevin can fly left-seat with Darryl in the right seat as PIC (Pilot in Command). Currently Darryl, and the other guys with Ecuadorian licenses, have a temporary sixty-day license. This is allowing us to resume our flying at a more normal pace.

High Water

Dustin and I arrived back in Shell a few minutes after 6 PM. We stepped off the orange Riobamba bus and walked down our driveway towards the house. Our trip to Tena wasn't totally successful, but still, we were satisfied. Friday evening we ate dinner at Chuquitos, a restuarant overlooking the Rio Tena. We stacked a couple glasses and set the camera on that to take our picture. We had fun figuring that out, and playing with the angle and camera settings to get just the right photo. Afterwards we went on a walk, exploring a bit of Tena. Back in the room we watched a couple programs on TV, in English no less. The room had cable TV, air conditioner, and private bathroom with hot water. Not bad for $17 a night.

The rain started Friday evening, and it rained all night. I knew that wasn't a good thing, and could just imagine the rivers rising during the night. Saturday morning we met our guide at 9 PM, and he explained our options. I thought they might cancel the day entirely, but that wasn't the case. We chose to spend the morning session in a pool, and then spend several hours in the afternoon going down the Rio Anzu and the Rio Napo. First though, a stop at the Rios Ecuador bodega to get our kayaks and gear.

Once we had what we needed we loaded the kayaks into a camioneta and headed off to Archidona. We headed north out of Tena, on the road to Quito, and about forty minutes later arrived at our destination. Along the way we crossed the Rio Misajualli, and Tarquino, our guide, couldn't believe how high the water was. "Perfect for rafting," he said. But, I was thinking, not so perfect for a couple of beginners in kayaks.

We had a productive time practicing in the pool at the Cuevas de JumandÌ. The main attraction here is a cave system with three main branches. The stream of water coming out of the cave entrance has been dammed up, creating a swimming pool. In addition, there are several slides, a couple of them very fast and fun! After we practiced exiting the kayak while it was upside down, we learned how to use the paddle, and then a couple different turns. Then it was time for lunch. After lunch Dustin and I took a few minutes to explore the cave entrance It was dark, and we had no lights. I had heard that there were some lights farther back, but after edging my way back in the dark for about 100', still seeing nothing, I figured I'd better stop. That seemed like an especially good idea after I sensed a bat flying by my head! Dustin wasn't too keen on the idea of a dark cave, and he waited back by the entrance. The water was high in the cave, and up past my knees. I suppose normally it would be lower than that. At any rate, I'd like to go back and do some exploring with a light and spare batteries. Maybe a guide, too.

After loading up the truck again, we headed back to Tena, and then kept going, to Puerto Napo. It was here that we realized our kayaking was over for the day. The river was high, and moving very quickly. I had been on that part of the river back in January on a rafting trip, so I knew just how high it really was. It was so fast that I thought if we were on the river, we'd have a really hard time stopping at the takeout. The water wasn't very rough, but still, not as calm as I would have liked. We decided to wait, and we'll go back to Tena again next weekend for our trip down the river. We're not excited about the bus ride again, but we are looking forward to more kayaking.

Life In Ecuador

A bit of life here. I woke up, and went to make a pot of coffee this morning. I knew I was out of filters, but when I reached in the cupboard, there was a new stack. And, the right size! Last time I bought filters in Quito, they were too large, as I couldn't find any of the 8-cup filters anywhere. So, I've been cutting a filter down every morning as I make coffee. I was really surprised when Ellyn told me she bought the new 8-cup filters in Shell! That's really amazing, and would have been unheard of four years ago.

To save some time later this afternoon, I ran down to the bus station in Puyo this morning. A Flota Pelileo bus leaves at 2:45 PM, and I wanted to confirm that and buy tickets. It will cost Dustin and me $5 for the three hour ride to Tena. Oh, and twenty-five cents each to ride a local bus from our house to the bus station. Travel here is quite easy and cheap. I've come to like that.

As I was driving back home, I was following an old dump truck. It would never have passed any sort of DMV test back in the States. There are many like that. We drive around the corner, and a plastic Coke bottle and lid is flung out the window. Littering here is so common. You could throw out a whole bag of trash in front of a police car, and it would be OK. Such a shame.

Lucy has found a way to get up on a phone line that I'd rather keep her off of. She's done a bit of damage to it in the past, so I trimmed tree branches so she couldn't get up there. Yesterday I realized she had found a way to get up there again. She first gets on a power line (from the generator on the MAF base and mostly unused) and then hangs from one foot to reach down and grab the phone line with her beak. But, once she does that, she can't get down off the line. She doesn't fly. Yesterday she got off somehow, and I just missed seeing it. I can't believe she slipped, because she's so sure-footed. And, I really don't think she dropped off on purpose--she knows she can't fly, and the line is a good twenty feet high. Silly bird. Now I need to go trim the tree some more. Maybe I can rig a line somewhere else for her to hang out on.

Tena Trip

I wasn't feeling so good over the past week, ever since coming back from Quito last Tuesday. Yesterday and today I took the worm and ameba meds. I'm feeling a bit strange from them, but by Thursday I should be doing much better. Dustin is going to take some tonight and tomorrow. Guess we're trying to get cleaned up before coming to the States! I never know quite where these critters come from, but we eat at places in Shell that could be suspect, and I know the water I brush my teeth with isn't the cleanest. Yes, I could brush my teeth with pure water, but that seems like to much of a pain.

Friday Dustin and I are busing over to Tena where we'll have a day-long kayak lesson on Saturday. It's our birthday present to him, and he's turning twelve this month. He's been wanting to learn how to kayak for quite a while. Several months ago I discovered that Ecuador is actually quite a hot spot for kayakers. I've only been to Tena once, and I enjoyed that visit, so I'm really looking forward to going again.

More Pilots Flying

Yesterday Richard, one of the national employees took a trip up to Quito and back on the bus. He took up paperwork, and returned with the pilots' temporary licenses. Dave, the program manager, just took off a few minutes ago. We're still praying for permanent licenses, but for now we can fly at least another sixty days.

Shell Day

Today was a Shell day. Still is, in fact. What's a Shell day, you ask? That's what I call a day in Shell where it rains more than it doesn't rain. That's a lot of rain, isn't it? Some Shell days are cool enough for me to get out a sweatshirt. That doesn't happen very often, maybe a handful of times in a year. It really doesn't get cold in Shell, but sometimes that dampness from the rain can get right inside you. Don't get me wrong--I love the rainy weather in Shell. I'm really going to miss it when we leave. When we leave for good, and when we leave for two months this summer. I especially will miss the nights when our family is feeling all cosy in our house, and the rain is pounding on the roof. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, in case you're a new reader. We get over twenty feet of rain a year here! And I love every inch of it!

We Keep Waiting

Here's the latest on the licensing situation:
Late yesterday we received word from Civil Aviation (DAC) that they would be granting us 60-day temporary licenses both for pilots and mechanics. This is good news, albeit not as good as we were hoping for as the possibility was there for them to grant permanent licenses. We're in the process of getting the paperwork done for our pilots and mechanics to be back on the line by sometime tomorrow.

Obviously, Civil Aviation authorities still have some agenda in mind with regard to our future operations. We still have two new pilots and one new mechanic (who has been waiting for more than a year now for a license) that haven't received licenses and won't be considered until this "problem" is resolved. Thanks for all your prayers and please keep us before the throne.

Flight Schedule

This is what Bruce's flights look like today in 'Alas de Socorro 09', or HC-BMO. We've still got just Bruce and Chad flying out of Shell. Daniel out of Quito, and as of Friday, also Mike. Today is the day we find out from the DAC whether they will give everyone 60-day temporary licenses or permanent ones.

#1 S ñ CPZ ñ IWI ñ S(1.1)
     /----á5CMP    /-----á2o3CMP*Seg™n la lista
     /-----------------á2CMP*Seg™n la lista
     (40Gal. 818Lbs.)
#2 S ñ CPZ ñ ATS ñ SCL ñ S(1.1)
     /---á3CMP /------------------á3CMP* Seg™n la lista
     /---------------á2CMP /------á2CMP* Seg™n la lista
     (40Gal. 818Lbs.)
#3 S ñ MSH ñ SCL ñ S(1.3)
     /---á5CMP /------á2CMP* Seg™n la lista
     /-------------------á3CMP* Seg™n la lista
     (45Gal. 788Lbs.)
#4 S ñ MSH ñ IWI ñ S(1.3)
      /---á4+1CMP/AA /----á5CMP* Seg™n la lista
     (45Gal. 788Lbs.)

We Rest On Thee

This weekend the MAF staff had a mini-conference. A pastor from one of Mike and Joan Ross's supporting churches came down for a visit and to encourage it. We met at a great restaurant/hostal in Puyo yesterday, participating in several teaching sessions in the morning. In the afternoon we had a despedida, or farewell, for the Hendrickson and Ross families. The Hendricksons are short-term, like we are. Krissy is Taylor's teacher, and I know he'll remember her for the rest of his life. They have really bonded. Thinking back on it, I still have a picture, and fond memories, of Miss Morrison, my fourth grade teacher at Aiyura 'A' School in Papua New Guinea. The Ross family is moving on to Oaxaca, Mexico, to work with the short-handed MAF-affiliate program there. Both families will be sorely missed.

Today we had a worship time in English, and then a final teaching session. How wonderful it is to sing with others in English. One of the hymns we sang was 'We Rest On Thee'. That was the song that Nate Saint and the other four martyrs sang, sort of like their theme song. It is also the theme song for the Nate Saint Memorial School. We sang the song as we sat in the living/dining room of the HCJB guest house in Shell. That building was the original HCJB hospital in Shell, and Nate Saint played a major part in the planning and building. Such history! If only I can have just a bit of the faith that man must have had. What an example he was, and it's inspiring to serve in this place.

We rest on Thee, our shield and our defender!
We go not forth alone against the foe;
Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee and in Thy name we go.
Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee and in Thy name we go.

We rest on Thee, our shield and our defender!
Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise;
When passing through the gates of pearly splendour,
Victors we rest with Thee through endless days.
When passing through the gates of pearly splendour,
Victors we rest with Thee through endless days.