After our incident and subsequent bent propeller, we had a major sprint to try and do with our truck what we normally do with the airplane. The missionaries we fly for depend on the airplane for all their groceries, ministry supplies, transportation, and emergency needs. When it was clear that the airplane would be grounded for a couple of months it was also clear that unless we could come up with a plan, the missionaries we fly for would all have to move out of their locations until the plane was fixed. One urgent problem was that just a few days earlier I had flown a visiting young couple into a tribal location so they could see their church’s missionaries. They had an international return flight to the States and due to health reasons they needed a ride in a suitable vehicle to get to the airport.
Shortly before we were “grounded” we took our truck to the shop to have the engine replaced and Brian had only just finished getting it all squared away after some less than stellar mechanic practices in the local shop. We bought our Landcruiser a little over a year ago and have slowly been working to make it suitable to safely and consistently travel overland into these locations for such a time as this. We were so thankful that God in His timing allowed us to use this tool and that it was finally capable enough to make the trip. We broke in the new engine with 620 miles of driving, 190 of it was all off road with the most difficult part being negotiated at night. It took 3 days and 35 hours of driving at an average speed of 17mph! Slow going!
It is rainy season, but the roads were all unseasonably dry. It was clear from this trip that we needed to make a couple of changes to the vehicle if we want to continue to make these trips. We had no trouble making it through the worst sections of the trail, but after some heavy rains we may be wishing we had a proper winch and dual differential locks! There is still another tribe which has a road, but we are uncertain if our vehicle would be capable of making it. We’ve been advised not to try it without an electric winch and/or a buddy vehicle.
We see it as an imperative need that the missionaries remain in their locations, and that we adapt to support them so they can keep at the task of translating God’s word into the tribal languages. We appreciate all your prayers and financial support that has made it possible for us to make the transition from flying high to flying low and slow! There are two tribal teams that are currently unable to stay in their remote locations. Thankfully, I had just flown one of them out and the other was in Manila when we had our incident so they weren’t stuck inland. Pray for them as they try to work remotely from town until we can start flying again.
[…] have it, we had damaged our airplane the day Tukid went to the hospital and were now resorting to driving via 4×4 into the tribe. Tukid and his family saw this as sad for us, but clearly God’s way of delivering the […]