New Kodiak and the new Trained Kodiak pilot!

Several months ago Papua program  received a New Kodiak. We were thankful that few weeks later, we were given the license to fly it.  The Maintenance Team put their hands-on to inspect the aircraft. It is always good to inspect a vessel right before we use it for our safety.

One day, I (Glenda) was at Marielle's friend's birthday party! I had parked my car on a grassy place. I don't usually check my car before I go. So this time I am about to go but one dad of my girl's classmate told me in Papuan language that I had a flat tire. How glad I am I didn't start to drive my car yet! So it is always good to check our vehicles, aircrafts or ships before going somewhere!

Above pictures were taken when we had to shower a new pilot with buckets and hoses of water (as what has been the practise)! At this time we had pilot Dave R. who did his first solo flight with Kodiak PK-MAF! This is the newest Kodiak plane we received from the States!

Dave with his wife Linda and son Ryan posed for a photo after Dave's solo flight!  They have two sons who are studying at Hillcrest International School!

We are grateful to God for giving us this new vessel and a new trained-pilot for that to further His kingdom and to help the ministry of MAF in Papua! Please do continue to Praise and Pray to our  Master Creator as we serve HIM together!

GIVE THANKS!

" Give thanks to the Lord for HE is good. His love endures forever!

The kids were having a week of vacation. This time I was molding them to be more responsible. I asked them to help do household chores.  One day, Johan baked some yummy chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter! While Marielle was washing the dishes and helped painting the hen house.

On Thanksgiving day no one from the American folks invited us for thanksgiving instead  most of them left on vacation.  However, we invited few of our friends to eat with us for thanksgiving!

Johan and Marielle had to paint these words to place on top of our table.

The table was set for our dinner!

Some candle-lighting to make the home cozy!

We invited the Henradno family, Yeti with Nikita  Marielle's Indonesian classmate at school with her dad! They are the owner of Victory Store in Sentani.

We had Leon and Lauren Dillinger with us. They have been missionaries in Irian Jaya (Papua, Indonesia) for 50 years! They mentioned that the first pilot at that time was Betty Green. The first female pilot of MAF way 1950's! How cool is that?

That was a very special day! 

We Give Thanks!

Theme: Disney Characters!

Month of November is a crazy busy month for expatriates.  Around 5 years ago, Papua was considered to be remote... but after that Papua is climbing into civilization!  Why did I say that? Do you know that Papua, Indonesia has its own fancy Mall and a  Cinema? Are we hapy about that?  Well, if you only know about Papua. That is the best perk we have living here. 

To go back to being busy, the expatriate community thrive by uniting themselves, expressing and performing their talents as a way of entertainment.  HIS International School Seniors held a concert with the theme of "Be Our Guest" in which performers were to wear Disney Characters costumes.

Viewers were also asked to wear disney costumes if they liked to.  Therefore our creative thinking activated and design a Tinker Bell costume for Marielle! Eventhough, she wasn't one of the participants we want her to feel special and be part of it! The costume is the left-over fabric of the kids poufs/seats. Here she is:

Our little Tinker Bell!

Tinker Bell with Captain Hook

Tinker bell with other Tinkers

Tinker Bell with Peter Pan

Finally, Tinker Bell is with her brother that wanted to be normal as he can be!

Why did God create mosquitoes?

Why did God create mosquitoes? 

Living in Sentani has certain things that you can't just avoid. It's full of nature. It's beauty. I must say mosquitoes are part of nature but they aren't necessarily a friend to all. Sentani is one of those places in Papua that is malarial infested area which threatens some lives. Not to mention dengue fever and other viruses caused by mosquito bites!

Waarom heeft God eigenlijk muggen geschapen?

Het leven in Sentani brengt bepaalde dingen met zich mee waar je niet omheen kunt. Prachtige natuur, heel mooi. Muggen zijn een onderdeel van de natuur, dat is waar, maar eigenlijk is er niemand echt vriend mee. Sentani ligt in een malariagebied. Malaria kan levensbedreigend zijn. En dan nog niet gesproken over dengue en andere ziektes die deze muggen verspreiden!

Based on the different bites I have had, it feels like malaria- carrying mosquitoes bite sharper than any other non-carrying ones. Don't know if you believe me!  Anyhow, because mosquitoes are not our friends here, you are allowed to be a killer! Yes!   There are many ways to kill them, namely;  by slapping them with your own hands ( can, can with other hands! ;-), electric badminton  (that's how I name it!) that would zap them to death, anti-mosquito cream or anti-nyamuk oils ( mosquito). And lastly, eradicate them (that day only!) by fogging the mosquitoes with chemicals!

Het lijkt erop dat muggenbeten van een mug die het malaria virus bij zich draagt meer pijn doen dan een beet van een mug die het virus niet bij zich draagt. Dat is tenminste mijn eigen ervaring. Geloof me of niet. Maar goed. Omdat muggen niet tot onze vrienden behoren mogen we best een keer een moordenaar zijn! Yes! Er zijn verschillende manieren om ze te doden. Bijvoorbeeld: sla ze dood met je eigen handen (of met die van iemand anders ; ), of gebruik de elektrische tennisracket (tenminste, zo noem ik het) die ze de dood in slaat, gebruik anti-muggencreme/olie. En als laatste:  door de muggen uit te roeien met chemische rook (alleen die dag)! 

The very last option is quite hazardous to your health. You must take cover! Wear a mask, cover or take away any food items and just be "sombong" means "just be you" that moment as you try to close doors and windows and stay inside your house where smoke cannot even get in!

Deze laatste optie is gevaarlijk voor je eigen gezondheid. Je moet er even doorheen! Masker opzetten, voedsel opbergen of afdekken en terwijl je de ramen en deuren sluit en binnen blijft waar het veilig is voor de gevaarlijke rook.

By the way, have you read that book?

Have you ever seen a mouse sitting proudly on top of the cat's head?

"Why Did God Create Mosquitoes?" is a story about the sad cat who despises the pesky mosquitoes for making her friend sick and go to heaven. With the help of the smart mouse and other "annoying creatures," she realizes the value of God's creation—big and small.

Children, moms, and dads, enjoy reading!

Furlough!

The weeks of furlough had gone by fast but had been very good! We had an opportunity to visit our friends and supporters in the States. Thank to the Stevens and Revennaughs for their hospitality to us.
The Coshocton Church of the Nazarene was our big support last visit. Thank you church for your prayers and involvement to what we are doing for His kingdom!

 We enjoyed all those food, parties and invitations from CoshNaz church and family!

Got to ride this amazing car in courtesy of my friend Anne.  Glad to meet our old friends again in Ohio. 

These nephews were missing their Uncle so much that they just sit on him and snuggle him.

And lastly, we were blessed to meet our colleagues in MMS- Missionary Aviation Services. Thank you folks for your company and care for us!  Thank you for journeying with us! Hope to see you in Papua, Indonesia when the Lord wills for you to come to visit and see MAF work to help our Papuan brothers and sisters!

Can the pilots fly without the Aircraft Mechanics?

So often our eyes focus on the man who has a template of wings pinned into their neat uniforms, wearing a ray ban sunglasses, good-looking, tall and often followed by beautiful stewardess. Aha! What a cool job! I know you all can guess who they are.





In mission aviation, the description above is quite similar to our mission pilots. Give me some smiles there friend! :-)  The difference is-- there is no steward or stewardess following them. But they have great stewards that are looking after them by meticulously observing, inspecting, checking, fixing, and maintaining to keep their aircraft flying!

Below are the some photos of the Aircraft Mechanics:

 

 Inspecting the exhaust of the Cessna Caravan.

 

 

Checking if nothing is left behind before closing the wing panels.

 

Fixing the cargo pod as stones can damage this area when landing on rough airstrips.

 

Pak Rudy is putting on glue to fix the aircraft pod.

Wiping and cleaning the aircraft's engine.

 



 

Rudy adding protective strip to antenna.

 



 

With Aircraft Mechanics doing their part to make the operation safe, it will make our pilots and passengers safe also. They play an important role in mission aviation!

 



"Maayong Pasko"- Christmas in the Philippines 2013!

Christmas in the Philippines is a huge family and church celebration! You would hear Christmas songs when months ending in "ber" begin. So that would be in September onward. 

 



 

Family living abroad would save their salary to get plane tickets and bring gifts to their families and relatives.  Churches would celebrate it with special Cantatas and programs.   Children would participate in singing Christmas songs, songs about the birth of Jesus and Christmas carols.

Big companies and workplace bosses will give 13th month pays and bonuses to their staff and workers.  Usually, they end the work time with parties and giving of surprises or gifts which is really exciting!  Christmas time is seeing lots of sparkling lights on the streets, making lanterns and wrapping or giving gifts to others.

 

For the first time, we are grateful to be with my (Glenda) family spending Pasko or Christmas with them. Since we have the most allowance received in compare to my Filipino sisters and brothers, we treated them with lots of food, gifts and fun!  It is wonderful to see people happy! It is satisfying to my soul.

 

The biggest thing I am thankful for is to see my two orphan nephews. These little ones have been longing to have real parents. So we tried our best to give that to them in this limited time we have here in the Philippines.

 

The picture below shows Glenda's mother grandchildren. Four of the grandkids were not present yet.  Johan and Marielle had a blast being here. It was the most celebrated Christmas ever!  

 

Thank you Lord Jesus!