Not only have the flight schedules remained steady during the last few months, but in March we also had a visit from the Flying Mission Services managing director and the Gaborone Base Supervisor. It was good to get some time with the leadership from Gaborone as we were planning to leave for the states in April.
Also in March as we planned and prepared for our trip to the states, Julie completed another term of Bible Club and was able to distribute youth Bibles, which were sent up from the Flying Mission office in Gaborone.
She was also busy helping with Sunday School at the church we attend. The last week Julie taught, there were 48 children ages 2 years to 15 years. Below is Pastor Alex blessing just some of the group that come, before they head off to Sunday school.
Colin always enjoys entertaining the children that flock to church from the local neighborhood. Before church starts, the children surround him weekly leaving no room for Julie to sit next to him.
Nicoline, Devango, Daniel and Nana continue to ride with us weekly to church. While we were gone for the month of April, other church family picked them up in our absence. They continue to grow steadily in their faith.
Also, Misheck continues to attend our church and has joined the Zimbabwean music team. He is pictured below holding the green kudu horn that he plays in the choir.
While we were traveling a number of people asked about Innara, the young Zimbabwean girl we helped with the baby named Gift. We had wished for good news to post, but about six months ago she was picked up by the police and sent back to Zimbabwe. Our hope has been to try to find her and Gift, but it has not happened to this point. Gift was one year old on January 12, and they both continue to be in our prayers.On the 30th of March we left Maun and flew to Gaborone for the night. The next morning, we departed for the states via Johannesburg to Washington D.C. arriving at 6am on April 1. We actually went back in time 10 hours. The flight from Johannesburg to D.C. is 17 hours, with a 1 hour stop in Dakar, Senegal on the west coast of the African continent. The stop is to refuel and add more passengers for the 8 hour flight over the Atlantic Ocean.
From D.C., we flew to Tampa, Florida to see family and do some things at the older 700 square foot house we own in Lakeland.
We were able to also rest up a bit from the long flight and enjoy visiting with family. We even went on a little fishing trip with family to a near by creek.
On Easter Sunday, we were able to fellowship with family and attend their local church. Through the years, we have been blessed to visit this humble and loving group of Christians. To spend Easter among family, and many of the special people attending the church regularly, was a wonderful way to be strengthened before beginning our marathon trip across the USA.
Of course, after the service there was a delicious family meal at Cousin Pat and Gerald's home.
Early on the morning of April 6th, our next stop was to Oakland, California to see Julie's sister living in the San Francisco Bay area. Her sister had been having emotional problems since November and had been placed in a hospital under county care. Not only were we able to spend a few days visiting with Julie's sister and those taking care of her, but also we were able to help secure some of her belongings. The man pictured below with Colin, had cared for Julie's sister for many years. It was good to get some brief time with him, in addition to seeing Sammy the cat Julie's sister loves so much.
Julie was also able to spend the evenings with her childhood group of friends. They were such an encouragement and support to her concerning the situation surrounding Julie's sister.
April 10th it was on to Alaska. Early on Saturday April 11, we arrived at 1:30am in Anchorage and were greeted by some of our dearest friends who live in Wasilla. It was another hour drive to their house and needless to say we were all ready for a good nights rest.When we got moving again in the morning and had a good breakfast to recharge with, our youngest son arrived. Shortly after, another long time friend drove out from Anchorage. Then Travis, the young man we had worked with here in Maun and his girl friend were the next visitors. Travis has been flying for an Anchorage based air service and spends two weeks in Bethel and the other two in Anchorage each month. We all had dinner together and visited into the night.
After church on Sunday, the same group returned along with many other close friends for a dinner gathering. There were over 24 close friends living in the area and a dinner together was a excellent way to make sure we could see everyone while in the area. We felt so loved, encouraged, and cared about by all. Unfortunately, we were so engaged in conversation that we never took any pictures!
Monday and Tuesday were set aside for medical check screenings. Most everything could be taken care of right in the heart of downtown Wasilla.
A friend loaned us a Jeep to use while on the road system of Alaska and on the morning of April 14 we woke up to a snow storm. It continued for half of the 6 hour drive to Fairbanks we did that day.
Our son Clint also drove in his car behind us, so we just took it slow and stopped for breaks along the way until the weather improved closer to Fairbanks.In Fairbanks we stayed at the home of Ron Schwab (pictured below), another long time friend. Before flying out to Galena we needed to get a postal box, go through some of our storage, and renew our driver licenses among other things.
After two full days in Fairbanks, on April 17th we flew out to Galena. Our son Clint, traveled with us to help sort, sell, and ship the last of our belongings stored there. We were going to fly out with Will, our new friend who we met here in Maun, but the weather was not good so the three of us flew out on a commercial flight.Seeing the Yukon River from the air is always so impressive and when landing in Galena, it felt like we were home after almost two years away. Our main purpose for returning to the states was to return to Galena. The people who bought our house will be selling it and they had let us store things in one of the sheds on the property in case we were to return there to live. The reality is that it would be just too costly to move back to the bush. So, we knew that even though it would always feel like home we would not be returning to live in Galena and we had to take care of the rest of our belongings there.
We went right to work sorting and stacking the day we arrived after Clint and Colin got the snow removed and storage opened. Will flew out the next day for a night and pitched right in to help. There was still a lot of snow around, and it was cold to us now that we are accustomed to a warmer climate.
Will left on Monday in his classic Stinson 108 airplane.
Friends in Galena were so awesome, and they made sure we were well taken care of with food and housing. Everyday we worked 10 to 12 hours, working through the collection of stuff we had stored. On Monday the 19th, there was a community gathering at the church we attended for years. It was a wonderful time of fellowship, and we were able to share more about the work we are doing here in Botswana through Flying Mission. Again, we were so busy being with people that we forgot to snap any pictures...Before leaving for the gathering that night though, we did snap a few shots of the items set out for the next day when we planned our yard sale. The deck of the house and the yard below, were covered with all kinds of useful items needed to live in the bush of Alaska. Colin found some campaign signs he had posted in town a few years back when Sarah Palin was running for Governor and included one in the picture.
The morning of the sale, it was sleeting a wet snow and cold. Despite the poor weather, there was a good turn out and almost everything sold. Our son was a tremendous help, and we could not have gotten everything done in the short amount of time we had allowed without him being there. The items we were keeping were sent out before the sale, and when we finished in the evening a friend had hot moose soup ready for us. At the days end, it felt like we had put closure to a chapter of our lives. We know we will be like so many others who have moved from Galena; we will be back for visits.After closing out our postal box of over 30 years on the morning of April 21, we flew from Galena and returned to Fairbanks for another two days. We still had dental appointments and another storage unit to rent before driving back south to Wasilla.
While in Fairbanks we tried to see as many friends as possible, but we just ran short of time. Our apologies to those of you we missed. We did get a full visit in with Clint, and also a wonderful Alaskan dinner of Salmon chowder and wild blueberry pie at his cabin before leaving on the 24th.
It was so comforting to see how well he is doing and the lovely girlfriend he has been spending time with over the two years we have been gone. He is also the owner of a young hunting dog, named Dulbi (after the river we have a cabin built on).
The drive back down south was beautiful. There are mountains all along the way.
Even Mount McKinley(Denali) was in clear view much of the way. The famous mountain can be seen in the background of the next picture.
We always enjoy road signs and added a this picture of a moose crossing to our collection.
In Wasilla, we got two more days to rest and get in some final visiting with our friends. Julie is pictured below with two of her closest friends that are sisters to her.
At 12:45am on April 27, it was off to Portland Oregon. We were met by our long time friend and pastor, Barry Arnold, who we stayed with for two nights while we visited our son Zach. Barry and his wife, Vicki, were missionaries in Galena and established the church we attended while living there. We greatly appreciated their hospitality and the opportunity to reflect and refresh through their fellowship.
Zach had a big building project that he was involved with at work, so our time with him was limited. We are still thankful we did get two nights together to partake in some of the highlights of his life and friends that have made the Portland area home to him.
The last stop in our fast and furious travels through the states was to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We flew all night and arrived at 10:30am on April 30. We did get a rental car and hotel for the two nights we were there, as we connected with friends and family. Below is Colin with his brother Lysle and Phil Gardella, a life long friend.
It was the first time we could be together with family since Colin's mother passed away in November of 2008...And of course, Colin had to have at least one night to get his fill of seafood.
It was back over the Atlantic Ocean on May 2 and we had to spend one night in Johannesburg before returning to Maun on May 4. We were met at the airport on our return by our co- workers and friends. What a warm home coming we received. The chief pilot was staying at our house in our absence and Colin started the next day with a flight check ride and charter. We hit the ground running, and have had little more that a short breather since....but we will fill you in on all that in the next blog.Before closing, there are two things did occur in Maun while we were gone in April that we want to mention. First, we have two more Flying Mission Services personnel added to our staff here. It is with great joy that the base here is growing, and so now Matt and Jessica Cressman have moved up from Gaborone to join in the work here.
Mixed with the joy of our new team-mates, we also returned to the sorrow and loss of our friend and company porter Robert. It is with great sadness that we learned of his sudden death on April 22. He had been hospitalized for for two weeks with a problem of swelling in his feet and fluid in his stomach. From talking with people here, his condition seemed to be improving. Pusetso, his wife, even said that he was walking around to pray for others hospitalized there. She said the day of his death, he had asked her to go home and prepare food, because he thought that he would be released shortly. While doing so, she got the call that he was gone and no one has really been able to give us a clear answer why he died.
Even though we do not understand the reason why Robert is gone, we are truly thankful for the time we had with him. He was a gentle and kind person, who took pride in the service he provided while working for Flying Mission. A Bible devotional by Henry Blackaby states, "Praise is rooted not in circumstances of the moment but in the nature and trustworthiness of God." No matter what happens we continue to trust God and know that Robert is with the Lord. Each day we give praise and are thankful for so many people the Lord has used to enrich our lives, such as Robert did.
