We’ve been in Arizona for about two months now and we are finally beginning to feel settled. We have moved into our new home, purchased furniture and appliances, built beds, purchased vehicles and stocked our refrigerator. We can eat, sleep, work, and play. Truthfully, there was a time in the beginning that it felt so overwhelming that we weren’t sure we’d ever get here. But God is so good and so faithful and now we feel we can begin the process of falling in love with our new home, neighbors, and community.
Training is in full swing already. It was such an exciting day last month when Brian took our new Philippine pilot trainee, Ryan from Canada, for his first flight in the helicopter…the same day that he took Bruno, our new Brazilian pilot trainee, for his first flight. Bruno has waited THREE YEARS for his turn in the helicopter pilot’s seat! He persevered through many visa denials during that time. Once he finally received his visa this year, COVID came and he faced the reality that there would be no instructor here to train him! Now he is flying every day in training and we are so excited to play a part in preparing him to return to his home in Brazil to mobilize and sustain both Brazilian and Expatriat church planters!
Bailey has been working at home, organizing, unpacking, and homeschooling. It has been a fun process to unpack boxes from storage that haven’t been opened for 15-20 years! The kids have enjoyed sorting through pictures of their “old” parents and have been shocked to find that they, indeed, were kids once. We finished school the beginning of June and we are all so relieved…as I imagine so many of you were!
Our kids have been enjoying summer break and getting to know the other kids who live on the campus. This has been a hard adjustment for them as they learn to be the ones who are left behind instead of the ones who leave. We’ve already had to say goodbye to friends they’ve made here as they go to prepare for their move overseas.
Thank you for praying for us. We began this transition feeling excited but also sad and overwhelmed. The Lord has really been growing in us a deep excitement and joy in being here. We are excited for what the future will bring and for how we can continue to be a part of reaching the world with His Good News from here.
We still plan to go back to the Philippines, at some point, to retrieve our things and say goodbye. As of now, we have no indication of when that might be. Some people think the Philippines will open up international travel in the next couple of months…others say not until next year sometime. We will just wait patiently (and some days not so patiently) for that time to come!
Thank you for persevering with us through this unusual time. We appreciate all the love and prayers and we continue to pray for you all as well!
