Tuesday, December 6, 2011

We have a date!

Since we last posted we have traveled across six states...some of them three times.  Towards the end of October, we left Nampa, Idaho and MAF headquarters to return to Texas to start packing our shipment.  After much shopping, sorting, packing, weighing, measuring, and itemizing, we are very close to sending our stuff off to Missouri where it will be shipped to Mozambique after we arrive.
Which clothes do I take?


Then in early November, we headed to Colorado Springs for PILAT (Program in Language Acquisition Techniques) at Mission Training International.  Although we weren't learning Portuguese, for two weeks we learned some great techniques to use to assist us in learning Portuguese once we get to Mozambique...and we even picked up a little Russian and a Vietnamese tribal language in the process.  One of the neat things about the training was that we interacted with missionaries from various organizations who are going all over the world to all kinds of work.  We met church planters, medical folks, teachers, gardeners, evangelists, and people working with the deaf...amazing how God gives us unique gifts to share His love with others!
A view from the trail near the training facility in Colorado

Now for the exciting news...after almost four years of preparation, we are projected to leave January 11th, arriving in Nampula on January 13th.  We are currently wrapping up all the details required to get ourselves ready to move.  We had our last doctor and dentist appointments, got our international driver's licenses, turned in our visa applications/police clearance letters, etc.  Now we just need to take care of the final details like getting our shipment off, selling our car, and teaching our families (and ourselves) to Skype!

Prayer requests:
  • We continue to need someone to share the shipping container with
  • Wisdom in packing for the 3 to 6 months we will be there without our shipment
  • Good time with family before we leave (and that the farewells won't be too hard)

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Seriously, you're going to land there?

Last week we completed our flight portion of standardization training with MAF.  The pinnacle was three days in the Idaho back country along the Salmon River.  Some folks that live out there have no access to home by road, only by river or air.  The U.S. Postal Service still runs a mail route by small plane.

Salmon River by Allison Ranch

Our Cabin at Allison Ranch
We stayed at a small retreat center called Allison Ranch.  The airstrip on the ranch is one of the most challenging, so I shot a video so you all could experience it.  For the non-pilot types out there, here is a comparison of a normal landing approach to that of Allison Ranch:

Normally, we fly a box pattern around an airstrip at about 1,000 ft above the runway. Being routine, and always maintaining sight of the runway, we get very good at judging our distance, altitude, and alignment with runways. When we make the final turn, we have almost one minute to make final adjustments to descend that last 500 ft of altitude and touch down where we plan, at the speed we plan, and aligned with the center of the runway.

Allison Ranch from the air.
At Allison Ranch, you can only fly the landing approach down the river valley with no view of the runway.  Since the runway is not in sight until the last few seconds, there are aiming points on the mountains to judge decent angle and speed.  When the runway comes into view, we start our turn to align with center.  When the turn is started, we are about 100 ft above the touchdown spot, and only have about 7 seconds to decide if we are at the proper speed, decent angle, and alignment with center (and that there are no deer, elk, bear, etc.. on the runway).  After that 7 seconds, it is no longer possible to turn up river and climb out.  With another 7 seconds we descend to touchdown and make sure the brakes are working (we use up that 1,400 ft of airstrip fairly quickly)!

The takeoff isn't too abnormal, but that turn to climb out down the river sure is exciting!  I also tossed in a video of a landing at Deadwood airstrip in Idaho.  It is pretty exciting landing on a 10% upslope.  A steep grade on a road is rarely more than 10% slope.  I'm the guy on the left and Jill shot the video from the back (great day for her to ride along).



Sloped runway at Deadwood

This past week we have been training on how to stay physically, emotionally, and spiritually fit in a cross cultural situation where these things become quite a challenge.  It is easy to wrap our head around the idea of not having the conveniences we are use to, but it isn't so tangible to think about how the stress of living in such a "strange" environment will affect us.  We got some good lessons on how to prevent many of the common diseases that we will be exposed to (I know Mozambique could use some more missionary Doctors - hint hint).

We have one more week of training here in Idaho, then we head back to Texas for a couple of weeks.  We haven't nailed down a specific departure date, but the Mozambique team has advised that it would be best to get there after Christmas.  That is right around the corner!!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Flight Training and Chicken Pot Pie

Last week was an exciting training week for Dave.  First, they went to a dry lake bed and tested the limits of the Cessna 206.  They practiced hitting narrow touchdown spots and seeing how fast they could get stopped.  They also practiced air drops, seeing if they could control the airplane and place the package in the drop zone...it is harder than it looks.
Air drop at the dry lake bed

Then, Dave practiced taking off and landing at sloped airstrips.  Imagine landing an airplane going up a ski slope... or taking off going down one!  On Friday, I got to go with Dave and his instructor out to the mountains where he practiced landing on airstrips that were about as wide as the landing gear.  As they were talking about the location of the airstrip from the air, I kept looking out the window thinking "where is it?".  Not only were these landing strips very narrow, they were very short.  The second one we went to had what they call a "blind approach" meaning you can't see it until you are coming in to land.
Walking the airstrip
Touching down in the zone


Here is a video of Dave doing an aborted take-off, a short field take-off, and a landing from the inside (check out the landing strip from the air!).

Jill rolling out her home made pie crust
On Monday, while Dave was practicing his instrument flying in the simulator (the airport was shut down for maintenance), I donned an apron and went to a cooking class.  We practiced cooking from scratch when you have to make do without convenience foods.  Think about how often you just open a can of tomato paste or cream of something soup for a recipe, or pop open a can of biscuits when you are cooking.  We cooked with leeks, yucca, papaya, plantain, and jicama (lots of new stuff for me) and made our own sauces, crust, and dough.  In the end (4.5 hours later), we had an awesome chicken pot pie, oatmeal rolls, and fruit salad...Yum!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Where are you again?


That has been a common question we have heard over the past few months…and not without reason, because more than once I have woken up wondering what state we were in.  After our road trip east, we have actually settled down a little.  In mid-August we began our trek to Idaho to begin what they call Standardization and Orientation Training here at MAF headquarters in Nampa, Idaho… So for those who have asked…we are in Idaho.

Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings
Now when making the 1400 mile drive from Texas to Idaho, there has to be a little fun to break up the driving.  On our second day of driving we stopped for several hours and spent some time at Mesa Verde National Park where we took a hike back in time visiting the cliff dwellings where the ancient Anasazi lived almost 1400 years ago.  We climbed ladders and ducked through tunnels to get to the dwellings and even climbed down in a kiva built by these ancient people.  Then after driving through beautiful Utah, we drove by waterfalls in Idaho called Thousand Springs, and finally arrived in Nampa.  We were privileged to stay with some wonderful folks, Greg and Micki Blair, for a few days while waiting to get into an apartment here at MAF headquarters.  Now in the apartments, we have been able to unpack our suitcases and settle in for a while.  It has been great staying with all of our wonderful friends and family, but I won’t lie, it has been nice not being someone’s “company”.
 
 
For two months Dave will be “standardized” in all things maintenance and flying.  He has already wrapped up ground school and all of his maintenance training and has just begun flying.  Since we have been fundraising, he hasn’t had the opportunity to fly, so pray that he gets back into the groove quickly and is able to learn all of the new material they are throwing at him.  MAF requires all of their pilots to wear a helmet while flying, so it was pretty exciting for Dave to get his new custom-fit helmet!  Once Standardization training is over, we will both go through Orientation training which will deal with more cultural issues. 
Dave trying on his new helmet
 
So you may be asking what I have been doing while Dave is turning a wrench or up in the air flying.  I have continued to work on our ministry support as well as our pre-departure checklist items.  Our passports are renewed, we are almost done with all of our travel immunizations, and other travel paperwork is in the works.  Please continue to pray that we will find someone to share a shipping container with to Mozambique.  We are trying to figure out exactly what we need to take with us (and calculate volume and weight) while still purchasing items we know we need to get in the States versus Africa. 

I have also been busy learning Portuguese.   I have been using Rosetta Stone for Brazilian Portuguese which I have been told is like learning British English and then coming to the United States… but if you could hear my twangy-Texas-with-a-hint-of-Spanish accent, you would know that I’m going to sound funny anyway!  We will be going through a culture/language acquisition program in Mozambique when we first arrive in January and then will work with a tutor after that, so hopefully this will just be a good start.

Boise Balloon Festival
While in Idaho, we also have been trying to enjoy the state with a little free fun on the weekend.  On Labor Day weekend we went to see a “night glow” event at the Boise Balloon Festival, where they inflated and lit up all the hot air balloons.  Muito bom.  We also did a little hiking and geocaching in the foothills of Boise (found 5 caches and 3 rattlesnakes) on our day off. 

Geocaching in the Boise Foothills
 Last weekend we helped with an MAF event called “Ride 2 Fly”.  Several motorcycle organizations and individual riders met up at MAF headquarters and drove out to an airstrip in Garden Valley, Idaho up in the mountains.  An MAF Cessna 206 (what Dave will be flying in Mozambique) also flew out there for a demonstration.  We also helped with a mock medical emergency where I got to be the snakebite victim desperately needing a medical evacuation.  While we had a fun time with it, it is important to remember that every day MAF is flying people with real medical emergencies in very remote areas almost all over the world.


Lastly, if we haven’t said it recently, thank you again for your continued prayers and support! Obrigado!

P.S.  We are transitioning from our website (www.holmesmission.com) to this blog (holmeslogbook.blogspot.com).  Feel free to subscribe by entering your email address to the right or by following the blog (click "Follow" at the top left corner).  Also we would love to see your comments!