Wrestling with Kodiaks

Our first Kodiak has been flying like crazy. It was cleared to fly late last year and has been going all over the place as our pilots get training.

Recently you may have heard that the 2nd Kodiak arrived in Papua New Guinea. We praise the Lord for His provision of this wonderful aircraft — an aircraft that was designed with tribal missions in mind.

This was exciting news BUT it happened just as Paul was finishing up a very difficult helicopter inspection. A lot of maintenance needed to happen, we were down another mechanic (and you might recall that we are already short-staffed when it comes to aircraft mechanics) and Paul was having some serious health issues. A two week inspection turned into 3 1/2 weeks with lots of overtime! And you guessed it, we all were weary and a little too tired to rejoice with the arrival of our second Kodiak. We realize that we allowed our current circumstances to rob us of the joy of seeing God’s work in bringing the 2nd Kodiak.

Can you relate to this? Have you ever been suffering from ministry fatigue? Ready to give up and be done? We were about there. We headed to church one Sunday….thankful that neither one of us was “on duty” (Paul is on the speaking team and also helps with video and Andrea helps with our children’s ministry). We were able to sit back and enjoy the message from a visiting Pastor. What did he speak on? Ministry fatigue! He shared the warning signs (they looked familiar) and ways to combat it. It’s almost like Someone knew we needed to hear it! 🙂

Thankfully we knew some time of rest (and healing for Paul) would help the situation …and it has. But we are still tremendously short on mechanics and the work is only going to increase over the next months. (We currently have 5 new pilots in various stages of training). Please continue to pray for us…specifically for the mechanics as they work long hours to keep our flight program going.

Reinforcements are coming…and we remind ourselves of this frequently. Can you join us in praying for two new mechanics: Mike & Kelli Bicket and Imie & Amy Mark (from our home church, South Potomac Church). Both families would like to arrive in PNG in July/August.

And if the above was just too real for you then drop us a line and share your concerns. We would love to hear from you. We would love to know you are praying for us. You are a part of our vital team and we could not be here without your faithful prayers and the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ!

How Are The Kids?

That is the question we probably get asked most. (Mainly from grandparents). Phoebe is 4 and loves doing homeschool with Mommy. She is our social butterfly and loves to play with her “best friends.”

Joshua is 2 1/2 and such a talker. His favorite place to be is in the sand box (no matter how wet it is). They both love to find bugs, dead or alive, and PNG has plenty to offer.

While living in the land of perpetual spring causes allergy problems for Paul, it also provides an outdoor play land for our kids year round. For that, we are thankful.

Our kids bring us such joy and it’s never a dull moment with them. Sometimes it is all we can do to make it to bedtime and beg God for the strength to do it all over again tomorrow!

 

Praise & Prayer Requests

• Praise — Arrival of our 2nd Kodiak and also the return of Jon Leedahl (and family). Jon is now able to fly in PNG with his prosthetic leg!
• Praise — Paul’s back is feeling almost normal and he is able to sleep again…but still has some twinges that need to be addressed.
• Pray — Strength and unity for our aviation team.
• Pray — For wisdom as we look to sell our C-90 and some Cessnas.
• Pray —   Thanks for praying for rain. We have received a lot over these past months….We guess this is typical in an el Nino year. Sadly, many of the locals got too much rain and their newly growing gardens are still suffering. Thanks for praying!