It is only the beginning of February, but 2015 has already
had its share of highs and lows.
On January 1st we flew (ok, Dave flew) the 206 to South Africa for a new paint job. January is an
iffy month for flying because of the rainy season, so we weren’t sure we would
make the long flight in one day, but after dodging some rain storms, we made it
that afternoon. When we arrived, Dave
went to deal with the customs officials while I went to rent the car. Almost three hours later, Dave still hadn’t
come out and I was beginning to get worried.
The police decided to do a ramp check where they check all of the pilot’s
and plane’s documents to make sure everything is up to date and in order. Also, we had transported some personal items
for a missionary that had left Mozambique and returned to South Africa, and the
officials wanted to make sure everything was legitimate so they detained some
of the items. Fortunately, the next
morning, the missionary was able to come by the airport with all the necessary
paperwork and everything worked out.
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| 6CE getting prepped for its paint job |
The last time we had gone to South Africa I had gone to a
doctor about a problem with my ear and he recommended getting an MRI done to
make sure there wasn’t a growth damaging the nerve. Since Dave was coming back down to South
Africa, it seemed like a good opportunity to have this done since waiting six
months until we return to the U.S. was not recommended. Fortunately, there is no tumor (and I now have some cool pictures of my brain), however, I am
still uncertain what is causing the problem.
Shortly after we got back, we had plans to show the JESUS film
in our yard for our neighborhood and hand out stockings of goodies. Friends and family had sent the stockings
along with Portuguese New Testaments, toothbrushes, soap, candy canes, some
small toys, and school supplies to stuff them with. Unfortunately, there was a delay in the
postal system and the boxes made it just after Christmas, so we had to wait until
after we returned from our trip. We picked
out a night to show the film, however, the rains started and it rained
for several days straight, so we got rained out.
With the rains came flooding to the south of us which knocked out
several bridges on THE north/south road, and left the entire northern part of
the country without power.
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| Stuffing stockings |
We have now been without power for over three weeks and we
are so thankful to have a generator. It
has allowed us to keep our fridge cold, our water pump working, and given us
the ability to cook fairly normally.
Twice it has broken down and we were without the proper parts to fix it,
but Dave is amazing and has kept it going!
The generator has brought with it increased neighborhood
interactions. Each night when we have it
running, we have about 10 phones from our neighbors plugged in. We are still not sure when the power will come back.
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| Isac and Torino bringing neighborhood phones to be charged |
After heavy rains the termites (from the big dirt mounds)
come out and they are attracted to light.
Because we were one of the few houses running security lights at night
on our street, the termites arrived in droves.
Early the next morning, about 10 of our neighbors were knocking on the
gate asking if they could collect the termites (a delicacy after the wings are
removed and they are fried). It was a
win-win, because you could not take a step without stepping on termites.
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| Invasion of the termites |
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| The white things on the ground are wings... |
After the rains subsided, the generator also allowed us to
show the JESUS film (in Makua, the local language). After two weeks without power I think a movie
night was pretty special. Several kids
had been asking us every day when we would show it since they knew were going to
do it earlier. About 20 people came into
our yard and there was a small crowd that watched from the street. Afterwards, we handed out the goodies and
explained that even though it was late, we wanted to wish them a “Merry
Christmas” (Feliz Natal). The rest of the stockings will go to the kids
in our church and the Bibles to the teens and adults who don’t have one. Thanks to all who bought the items and helped ship them here... we know they were really appreciated!
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| Handing out stockings after the movie |
Some of the biggest news came on the 30th of January... After 7 months
of being grounded (and a year and a half after officially starting the process)
we have received our Air Operator’s Certificate. With a lot of hard work from many folks and a
lot of prayer and relationship building, this was a huge obstacle to overcome in getting
fully operational in Mozambique again.
We still have many steps to go to become Ambassador Aviation (our business
name in Mozambique), but without this certificate, the process was stalled.
Dave was able to fly the first flight since being grounded, a flight for MozMed
team to Gurue, although the circumstances were unfortunate. A baby was brought to Nampula for surgery,
however, the baby died from an infection and the mother wanted to return to her village
for the funeral.
In the midst of these challenges and victories in Mozambique, both Dave
and I have experienced recent loss back in the United States as well and discovered how hard it is to be
so far away from family during these times.
Dave’s grandmother passed away just before Christmas and my uncle died
unexpectedly last week. Our hearts ached
to be with family and to share in the celebrations of their lives. We are thankful our families are understanding and we send them our love from the other side of the world.
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| Common waxbill |
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| We see chameleons quite often, but I still can't help but stop for a picture |
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| If you come visit us we will take you to some cool places... |
