Saint Kristin

Today is our anniversary. Time does fly when you are having fun. Has it been 10 years?! I have to admit, I am the luckiest guy in the world to have some one in my life like Kristin. When God put us together I knew to my core that she was the one for me. So on this special day of our tenth year, Kristin is officially a saint! After all she does have to put up with 3 kids ! (I know we only have 2, but I'm including myself in that number),Happy anniversary Princess, I love you!!

Baby Ryan is 4!! How'd that happen?

Recently my son Ryan celebrated his 4Th birthday. I remember when we would all call him baby Ryan. Now that baby boy that came into the world Nov 17 4 years ago is 4! He brings me so much joy, that kid has many girls wrapped around his little finger, he has that little smile that is hard to resist. I pray that God gives me wisdom to bring these boys into the world has Godly men, nothing would be more of an accomplishment. These kids are growing like weeds!!
I don't know who had more fun with his toys, Ryan or me. I must say, they were a hit. They got up this morning and rushed to the new toys.
Zach has a new trick, he will come to me and pull me along and ask, "You want to play?".
Ryan will grab me by the hand and point to what he wants to play with. How can I resist.
On the king Air front, I hear that the plane has moved out of the prep hanger into the paint hanger. We have decided to replace one windshield due to a crack that was causing the windshield heat not to work. I've heard nothing but positve stuff so far, hopefully we will have the plane back soon.

Flying for Jesus, an adventure.

Ah...yes, how time flys when your having fun. The family and I went to the drum circle Zach a and Ryan had a great time, Zach got a new drum, what were we thinking!
On Wednesday I flew to Haiti & the D.R. We are back to flying the Cessna 414 while the King Air is in the paint shop.
The 414 got another new engine and I got to put it through it paces. So I filed for an altitude of 22,000' figuring I would take advantage of a tail wind of 32 knots which would put us at a nice ground speed of 225 knots!
With an airplane fully loaded (I mean fully loaded...with 2 doors , and regular cargo) off we went.
The climb was no problem until we got to 21,500' when we got into thin cloud layer. I noticed that we were picking up some ice. I told John my co-pilot to ask Miami for higher altitude, figuring I could climb out of it into colder air where ice would not stick. In my attempt to climb the ice got worse to the point were the plane started to shudder, due to lack of lift; just as John was asking for higher I was saying LOWER, ASK FOR LOWER! The plane had accumulated so much ice that we could not hold altitude. As soon as we got into warmer air we blew all the ice of and continued on our merry way.
Honestly folks, where else can you get this kind of excitement, and serve Jesus! I love flying for God. And for my supporters in this ministry I love you too. Stay tuned for more flying adventures.

I love my boys!

There is one thing I must say. I love my kids! I am so proud of them and their accomplishments. Their accomplishments may not be what the world may consider to be much, but to me its a lot.

Ryan's little smile melts my heart, I love to look at him straight in the eyes, I drown in his love, and feel so compelled to pick him up and hug him. It breaks my heart to See him fall and get hurt, I would throw myself under him if I could.

Zachary is getting so big now. where did that little boy that doctors told me would have a 50% chance of walking go!? Now I have to run to catch up to him. Zach's laughs make my day. I swear each day that I hear that boy laugh it adds a day to my life.

God has so richly blessed me with these two boys. They make me see the world in ways that I would never other wise. We are all students to each other, they learn from me, I learn from them, and the heavenly Father teaches us all something new.

You want to hear something strange? I don't know how to act around "normal" kids. Kids that walk and talk are strange to me.

I love my kids so much! I would shout it from the roof tops. So if you ask me how my kids are doing ,I'll tell you "just great!" I mean it , they are just great! I don't know about you, but I'm blessed beyond belief.

The Crucible.

Whew, what a week! I feel like I've just walked through fire. ( No, I don't have athletes foot). God has once again saved our bacon! He is in complete control. Here's why. Earlier in the week Kristin and I were planning to fly up to S. Carolina to visit some friends, so Jeff steps up and offers to fly for me because Wednesdays flight got pushed back a day making Friday my return day; the day Kristin wanted to fly.

Thursday afternoon Kristin really needed my help and had I flown to Haiti Kristin would have had to deal with an ugly situation all by herself. The weather turned bad anyway for our flight up to S.C. and I was able to be home where I was needed. God had worked wonders in our family's life. The prayers of all the people that heard of what had happened were felt ( thank you!!!).

It is times like these that remind me that we all go through a little purifying from time to time. Like gold or steel it is put through the fire to refine it, to purify it; making all the imperfections bubble to the top where they can be scraped off. I've found the blast furnace that is life is always there to turn up the heat when it is least convenient. The only way I have to get through this fire is to keep my eyes on Christ. Every breath that I expelled had a prayer on it.

I need to be Christ-like now, and forgive the people that did this, I now that the people involved were looking out for the best and I am glad that we have people like them. I must forgive.

Kingair pilot ~ at last!

Yes, yes, yes! The long awaited Kingair has finally arrived! On Oct 5th the plane arrived, and we could hardly believe it. After so many false starts, the plane finally made it to our hanger!

Now, the first impression of this plane is not a good one. The paint has a lot to be desired, and thier are not seats except for the two pilots. She is what I call a "sleeper". Does anyone remember when a friend would have an old beat up car that looked terrible on the out side, but on the inside it would have the best stereo? And when you would look under the hood it would have a totally kickin' engine that would totally rip up the road? Well that is how the King air is. The avionics are top notch (radios for you non-flyers) the engines have been over hauled and have fresh hot sections. Kickin'!

I had the privilege of having the first flight. Our king air instructor Jim Lewis flew with me as FO (first officer). We arrived at the hanger at 6am and by the time we got all ready we climbed in.
Now one has to keep this in perspective. Its dark, and every thing we do is by flash light, Jim gets into the air plane by climbing up the little ladder and settles in. I go up, unhook the ladder from the side of the airplane and now their seems to be not enough room to get the ladder in. So here I am banging and clanging poor Jim in the head with this metal ladder that somehow must fit in the back of the cockpit. After 15 minutes we get it figured out (I know what your thinking: stupid pilots!). The plane is a lot faster than the 182 mph Caravan - the kingair will zip along at 260mph, not too shabby.

As with any thing, it still has some bugs to be worked out. But, how grateful we are to have this plane. God yet again has provided! His grace never seems to end, and not just with this plane, but with everything. If I've learned anything about stepping out in faith, its this: don't worry, God has everything under control. Jas 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for your Lord your God is with you wherever you go" How awesome is that!

"Two weeks"

Wait. The mention of the word brings up visions of time gone wrong. Everything is in slow motion. A point in time seems light years away, and one seems to feel like they are growing cobb webs........."Two weeks". That is what we are being told as we await the arrival of our Kingair A-B90. I don't mean to be impatient, but it seems that every time we think the plane is going to show up........(Ringggg) "Hi, sorry the plane as another issue" Don't miss understand, I want the plane to be fixed before it gets here. I suppose that I sound like a little kid at the ice cream store; you know, jumping up and down with anticipation.
I can't wait for the day when we can carry a larger load, and get there and back in a decent amount of time. Looking back I must say I'm spoiled. I remember flying the same route in an Aztec, let me tell you at 130kts it takes a little time to get there.
Then again it never was about speed, it was about meeting the missionaries; getting out of the plane and your comfort level, and shaking their hand while looking at them square in the eye. Then it slaps you in the face why we do this. Ever thing matters, words, actions and the things you bring become God's tools for His kingdom. At time like these I feel a glow, and I thank the Father for using me...little me. God is sooo good!! Two weeks, yeah, I can wait.