remove the scissors from the bathroom!

I really dont know what my inspiration was on this... maybe I noticed my hair was growing out from the last time any shaping was done, and i wanted to fix it. Then the stuff around my face kept getting shorter... and shorter...

...And now I have bangs.

The cello lady

Wide eyes. Noses flattened against the glass. Hiding behind walls, peeking out shyly. Waving. Singing along proudly. All are drawn in by the melodies. My fingers dance precisely across the strings, trying to keep focused on the music while smiling at these children entranced by the simple Christmas carols.

I played my cello at work this weekend. There is something about live music that kind of soothes a busy shopping day the week before Christmas, and I really enjoyed the chance to play. But more than playing, I enjoyed watching the kids' reactions. Don't get me wrong, I got a lot of compliments from the adults too. But the kids' reactions reminded me of how Christ encourages us to be like children. To not be concerned with what is right and acceptable, but to stand in awe, to draw near, and to sing along.

Thinking of Africa...

I watched the movie "Out of Africa" this weekend. Just seeing the land, the animals, the constant towering cumulus clouds... Sure, Hollywood's 198os depiction of Africa in early 1900s isn't what I experienced, but seeing the places made me miss it. Then this morning, as I was leaving my apartment on the way to work, I stopped to talk to the guy shoveling snow. It reminded me of greeting the gate guards every morning as I headed out of my neighborhood on the way to work in Kenya.

Just a couple things in the past few days that made me really grateful I got to go to such an amazing place!

moving forward...

I turned in pilot resume and application stuff for a job I really really really want. Please pray with me that the Lord will provide what HE sees is best.

Life without...

...a car
is tough, but do-able. It helps that work is less than 10 blocks away. And that my co-workers don't mind giving me rides home. And that one of my co workers lent me her yaktrax. Much better than slipping in the middle of a busy intersection. Co workers are also willing to take me grocery shopping, and let me tag along on some outings, and that sort of thing. The bus isn't a terrible option for going out during the day either.

...a camera
is really not suffering at all. And I do have a camera, its just the definition of point and shoot, as the LCD screen on the back is cracked and their is no viewfinder. I could get batteries for it, but my current computer doesn't have a card reader for this specific type of memory card. Until I get something done about it, my camera phone has been sufficing.

...sunshine
is dark. Well, we do still have some sunshine, but the sun rises at 10am and sets at 3:45. Aside from wanting to sleep in till 11 on my days off, it really doesn't bother me that much.

December sunrise on the way to work at 9:45 in the morning

1pm in December, looking south. Low sun and long shadows.

Sunset reflecting off the Chugach mountains in the East, around 3:30 in the afternoon

...warmth
is a matter of opinion. Around 17 degrees is when it starts feeling cold for me now. Ask me in a month or so, and 17 will probably sound tropical. It warmed up last week above freezing, and I was ready to go to the beach.

...friends
is tough. Yeah, I have made a few friends here, but not to the close extent that I had back in the college days. I miss the community of everyone being so close. When you wanted to talk to someone, you just walk to their dorm room across campus. Its definitely been different; an adjustment.

...roommates
is a new experience. I hope I don't get too used to living alone, because I do like having people around. But I have noticed that I talk to myself a lot more these days... maybe I should be worried about that one

...aviation
is not a permanent situation. At least I am praying that its not. several airlines up here have right seat programs that I am looking into. Maybe one of these doors will turn out to be the right one!

so its been a while... Sorry about that. Its been pretty crazy...

The biggest news is that my car died. Two weeks ago the problems started. As if there weren't any problems already! I had it taken to the shop, but they didn't get to it till a week later. When they did, they let it warm up in the shop for a few hours before working on it. And magically, when it was warm, it worked fine. Go figure. So I got it back, and it ran a grand total of 2 days before dying again. So now it is sitting in a parking lot, waiting for me to figure out what the heck I am going to do about it. So please pray for wisdom :)

Thanksgiving was fun. I was supposed to go to the Ranch, but without a car, that would be a long walk in the snow. So I stayed in town and went to a co-worker's house. Instead of the traditional American Thanksgiving, we celebrated with a mix of Scandinavian and Danish styles. Turkey? Naw, its all about the goose! The cranberry sauce was made fresh from berries that my co-workers picked this fall here in Anchorage. Of course, I took my cello and provided some dessert melodies. All in all, it was a grand day, even though I wish I could have been with my own family.

a day off

Thursday I had the day off. I had plans to go places, but my car had other plans. (more on that later) So I went out for a walk, just to get out of my apartment. For those of you who don't know anchorage, it has a pretty extensive trail system running throughout the city. In the winter, some of the trails are groomed for cross-country skiers. Not that I cross country ski... but they are also good for walking. So I ventured out to the closest trail to my apt, and these are a few of the sights that I saw. Yes, these were taken with my camera phone. Let's just say getting my camera fixed is hovering somewhere not on the list of top priorities right now.

water would splash on the branch hanging over the water, freezing on as it dripped down

A frozen spot of Campell Creek with a foot bridge in the distance

Snow covered branches hanging over Campell Creek

I love the colors in this one-the hint of yellow in the weeds and a touch of red in the trees-as Campell Creek flows by half frozen

fun weekend

probably the only weekend until Christmas time that I will have an entire weekend off, I took full advantage of it. I did a bit of cooking, and participated in my first "real" Alaskan experience.

Potter's Marsh is about a mile south of town, where the Seward highway hits the flat lands. It was formed when the Alaska railroad was built. Now it provides a sanctuary of sorts for wildlife, and a great half mile slough for skaters in the winter. There were a few holes (from gas bubbles, not thin ice!) and we figured we had 4-5 inches of ice under us. It snowed about an inch on us the 2 hours we were out there, but when I got back to my apartment, there were hardly even flurries. Not to worry though! As the night went on, the snow decided to come up here, and I am looking out at 2-3 inches on the ground.

Ken, a guy at church, is notorious for counting down the days of darkness we have left. He said today that we only have 6 weeks left of it!! And it hasn't been too horrible. Yeah sure its hard to get out of bed before the sun at 8am... and watching it get dark at around 4:30 is a little sad, but its not unbearable, and its not nearly as horrible as everyone makes it out to be. Between winter and work, I am loving life here in Alaska!

dinner friday night!

living confidently

A common question asked of me is something along the lines of "what are you doing after graduation?" It's hard for me to answer the question honestly and positively, because I am struggling to get to my feet at this point. Yes I am working, but not in a job that has anything to do with my degree. Talking with co-workers, they ask what in the world I am doing working there. As frustrating as it is, It isn't shaking me. I am done questioning whether I am in the right spot or not, because God is showing me often that this is where He wants me. How do I know? Its not like I have the dream job or anything. Should I be upset that I don't have an aviation job right now? Wouldn't God provide that for me if He really meant for me to be here? I say no.

A friend told me a couple months ago that I should not see God as a sugar daddy. Yes, he owns the cattle on a thousand hills, but He isn't in the business of delivering life on a silver platter to those who follow Him faithfully. Instead of a silver platter, he is giving me puzzle pieces, like i mentioned a while back. The most recent one happened 2 weeks ago when my parents were here. I am getting little glimpses, huge blessings, that tell me I am where He wants me.

Mom and dad came for a week to help me get some furniture and get set up in my apartment. They rented a truck so we could transport everything, hoping we would be able to find a few things for really really cheap on craigslist and such. We got ready to go garage sale-ing Saturday morning. As I sat down to look up the local garage sales (beginning of october gets to be slim pickings around these parts) I prayed that God would just provide the right stuff at decent prices.

So we set out, stop at a few sales that didn't have much, and weren't very good prices. As we were driving around, mom saw a box in the median advertising a sale. Couldn't hurt to stop and check it out, right? So we went in to look around, and everything was priced to clear out. The owner of the stuff, an 80+ year old woman, had just moved to Oregon to get away from the snow and ice. Her kids are still here, and they are selling her household of stuff. So I got: a hide-a-bed couch, a lazyboy love seat, both sides recline, 4 upholstered dining room chairs, a bookshelf, a desk, a full size bed, a hoover vacuum cleaner, and a few other odds and ends. And all of this? 90 bucks. I would say God provided much more than I needed, all in one day. We spent the rest of the week taking care of other important things like getting me stocked up on food (love costco), a few other furniture things we didnt get at the sales, and wintery goods (studs will be nice when the snow comes). It was a crazy, busy, productive, blessed week, and I am glad I got to show my parents around a little bit of Alaska.

Anchorage at sunset (as seen from Pt. Woronzof)

crazy past couple of weeks

Last week, mom and dad were here. This week, I started training at my new job. Its nothing glamorous or career building, but it is work, which is better than my previous state of employment. I am working at a store that sells gourmet cookware. I am REALLY looking forward to employee benefits! I am going to have to get another job just to support my employee discount. There are some options on the horizon coming up pretty quick about flying jobs. Be praying for wisdom on those for me.

Time at home

I had a ticket home September 26th. It felt kind of weird going to the airport, and being the one actually leaving. I was always willing to drive departures into town this summer from the ranch, so I grew accustomed to the trip to the airport. As we drove up the ramp to the departures area, it slowly dawned on me that I am the one leaving, and I am not the one being left behind.
I dont know if Josh ever forgave me for my early arrival time of 5:30 in the morning. Living in Portland, he was elected to pick me up sunday morning. He was planning on going to Salem for a few days to see friends and a few other things, so it worked out perfectly that he could drive me down. Only that he had to get out of bed. I reminded him that the only sleep I got was on my 3 and a half hour flight.

Sunday after I had slept a while and recovered, I got together with Nels, one of my best friends from high school. Her family has adopted me as their own, but she is the only one who knew I would be in town. So our objective is to surprise the family with my presence. She went into the backyard ahead of me, and was talking to Ashley, her younger sister. The conversation went like this:
Nel: I brought someone to see you.
Ash: Is it Beth? No Beth is in Alaska...
Me: (walking around the corner) Wait, where am I?
Ash: BETH!!!!!!
fun times. I got to visit with little sister and Mom and Dad Strom for a little while before they left for church.

Monday I killed my cell phone. Apparently when one sits in the hot tub, then writes text messages with wet hands, enough water gets in the phone to make bad things happen. I knew better, but I did it anyways. To make matters worse, I tried to take it apart to try to dry it up. Apparently aircraft maintenance does not translate to sensitive electronics.

Tuesday We got me a new cell phone. A whole 12 hours with no phone! I am happy to report that I survived just fine. I should probably work on this addiction... That night I went out with my brother. Our birthdays are about 2 weeks apart, but we missed them, so we went out when we were both in the same place to celebrate it together.

Thursday early morning I took Grandma Betty to the airport. I haven’t necessarily known Grandma Betty as long, but I have known her daughter and son-in-law, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Charlie for most of my life. Grandma Betty was headed down to San Diego to speak at an Awana conference. I was told I could drop her off at the curb and she could check in at the curbside check in, but I wanted to make sure she got everything taken care of. When we got to the airport, they were able to give me a pass to go through security with her. She broke her hip not terribly long ago, so she had ordered a wheelchair. We got to the gate in plenty of time, so I volunteered to go find a breakfast sandwich or something for her. I was off on my way to see what I could find, and happened across a stop where several flight crews were eating. Score, I thought. If the pilots eat here, I am sure I have found a good spot. As I handed Grandma Betty her breakfast, one of the other ladies waiting for the flight said, “you get a waitress and everything? Wow!” I am glad I can help out Grandma Betty, and was able to make sure that little part of her trip went as smoothly as possible.

Thursday afternoon, I took Grandma Betty’s car to Aunt Debbie, who would be using it while she was gone. Mom went with me, and we stopped to visit for a while with Uncle Charlie. Uncle Charlie, my parents age, was in a surfing accident when he was in seminary, not too long before he was supposed to get married to Aunt Debbie. Since then, he has lived the life of a quadriplegic, using his chin to steer his wheelchair, requiring 24/7 care from nurses. He is currently in a big battle with the insurance companies, as his care is expensive. Mostly my mom was the one talking with him, but I couldn’t help but be in awe of this guy. If something half that bad happened to me, I doubt that I would make as good use of my life that he has made of his. I have never ceased to be amazed at his knowledge and application of, well, everything.

Sunday I met a lot of new faces, as well as seeing a few that I haven’t seen in a long time. Uncle Tommy was happy to see his “Air Dale” (thats what he calls me) again. Of course the younger girls (who are in high school and no longer little) mobbed me with hugs. I am so proud of all of them, how they have grown, and become their own people.

Tuesday I went out for lunch with Grandma Barb. I printed off a copy of my “DC-3 Pilot” picture to go on the wall with her grandkids. She had a couple pictures from my first solo up there, so I wanted to make sure she had a current copy. She showed me a couple paintings that she has done, something she picked up just recently. They are beautiful, makes me want to take up painting. After lunch with her, I went and visited Momma Debi for a while. Great Uncle Lauren also works with there, and he was surprised to see me in town. I framed another copy of the picture for Momma Debi, which she proudly made room for on her desk. That night I went and watched Daddy bowl with his league. He was bowling against some friends’ team, so it was fun to hang out with everyone and watch them bowl.

Wednesday was dinner with the family. As the grandkids grow up and away, we try to get as many of us together when I am in town to actually get a chance to be together for a little while. I was torn between talking to Grandma and Jackie about girl things and talking to Uncle Dan and Charlie about cars and mechanics.

Wait, Wednesday was dinner with the family? Haven’t you been doing things with family the whole two weeks? Well, Wednesday was the first time with actual blood family. The other family mentioned is family-in-love, and we are related by a blood that was shed 2000 years ago.

A few more nights with friends, and I was headed back to Anchorage Saturday afternoon.

traditions (October)

The holiday season is approaching. That means a lot of traditions are coming up, from events rooted in times beyond any of our memories, to clever ploys to keep the kids out of the presents. I like to think my birthday kicks off the holiday season, as that is usually when the stores just get out the halloween decorations. And by now some of them already have Christmas out... but that's not the point. My friend Emily asked if I wanted to carve pumpkins with her, since her sister didn't want to. I gladly agreed, but vetoed the scary movie plan. Here is my finished product:

keep praying!

Sorry for the double post, I just wanted to ask for your prayers specifically this week. I got two calls about possible jobs. One is a full time job, one is part time. If you would like more details, please email or leave a comment and i will email you.

PLEASE KEEP PRAYING ABOUT IT! I will let you know as I find out more!

quotes from the summer past

This is a small, but accurate representation of my summer. Specifically, the people I spent the summer with. (quotes from Africa are still on my other hard drive. I will get them up here someday!)

"Rainy cold days like this make me really glad I am not a moose... I would share a bed with one." ~Jason

"Want to see my fish?" (pulls fish out of pocket) ~Drew

"I dunno, that's fishier than Drew's pocket..." ~Mark

"Everyone farts, but he could kill a whole flock of moose!" ~Essary

"Having a deep fryer every day in my life? I don't need that!" ~Ruthann

"I accelerated! In a church van!" ~Josh

"Adventure-the stupid things we didn't think of!" ~Mike

"Every day is beautiful when you are over 65!" ~Helmut

(Monday morning) "My coffee is broken!" ~Ruthann

"[Liz] You are going to crash... [Lydia] you are going to fall out of the airplane without a parachute... and Ruthann? She'll be fine!" ~Anton (4 yrs old)

"If you can't get from the house to the car in high heels, it doesn't work." ~Nels

"I would not want to do the worm naked!" ~Andrew

"'If something breaks and the door comes down, it's gonna hurt in a really bad way!" ~206 Tom

"We just keep working. And if we get the swine flu, we will just have barbequed pork!" ~206 Tom

"I'm glad they taste good, cause they sure look stupid!" ~Andrew

"Therefore I like feesh!" ~Kostya

home sweet home

I have been in Oregon the past week and a half. I am staying at my parents house, trying to pack up some stuff that I want and/or need in Alaska the next few years, categorizing it as stuff i need right away, stuff i need in a few weeks when my parents fly in, and stuff i dont need for another six months. It's been quite the process, but I have had time enough that I can take it slow.

It's been good to see friends. There are a couple friends who have been with me all through high school and we have stayed friends through college. Its kinda fun hanging out with them, seeing how we have all changed, and seeing the people we have become because of that.

I go back to anchorage on Saturday. I am excited, but sad to leave my friends and family at the same time. I am really excited to take my cello back to Alaska with me. That's going to be an adventure and a half, as I have to carry it on the plane to sit in the seat next to me. Maybe I will give an inflight concert.

I will give a more detailed recap of my trip after I get back, but for now I have been too busy packing. Ok, more like too busy catching up with friends and family... you get it, don't you?

snow in the hills

I keep sitting down to write a little here, but then realize that not much is changing in my life right now. Nothing terribly exciting to report... which is good, in its own way.

On Tuesday, I woke up to snow in the mountains. The locals tell me that snow in the mountains means snow in the city isn't too far away. At church, the ladies were asking each other if they saw the mountains. Most of them commented that they were ignoring it, while I had to contain my excitement. I guess it is good that I was going to hang out with the kids who are as excited about snow as I am.

I was chatting online with a friend from Life point the other day. Her family relocated to Arizona for a year while her husband finished his doctoral work. So in addition to taking care of her husband and two daughters that are at home, she is job hunting and they are looking to get involved in their churches, just like me. I enjoy talking to her cause we are in similar situations. I was talking to her about the snow in the mountains, and my upcoming excursion outside, and she asked a question that really hit me. She asked, "What else is good in your life?" Good? I thought to myself. I thought I had already covered that and more... but her question made me realize that I don't think enough about the good things going on in my life. Sure they are coming slowly and I have to look for them, but that doesn't change the fact that they are indeed good.

So here's to remembering the good things... hopefully I will do a little better at it in the weeks to come.

finding puzzle pieces

It has been tough, the last month or so. Looking for jobs, looking for apartments. Mostly looking for direction. The direction that I am getting comes really slowly. little pieces that don't make any sense on their own. I am hoping someday they will fit together. That I can sit back and see the whole picture. But for now all I have is scattered puzzle pieces.

Even finding the pieces has been a journey.
-Back in July, I finally found a car. It was not what I was expecting, and its not glamorous by any stretch of the imagination, but it is 4 wheels and an engine that works well and will be reliable.
-Three weeks ago, I started coming into anchorage for church. I have met just a couple people my age, and am slowly starting to connect there.
-Tuesday, I got to babysit at church. On Sunday, they mentioned that the ladies Bible study is in desperate need of childcare. I know its kind of hard to plug in right away to an established church quickly. The only way I even got to talk to the lady in charge is she asked the lady standing next to me if she was available on Sunday. So what do I do? I catch her, explain that I am new but I have experience with child care at church, and am available to help. They did really need me, and were glad I was willing to step in and help out. In the process, I had an adorable 2 year old just plop down in my lap.
-Tuesday afternoon, I was connecting some of the dots with the apartment application process. I walked up to one of the offices just as the manager was getting back, and we sat down and got everything squared away, and next thing I know, I am scheduling a move in date. So I will be officially living in my own place Friday. No furniture to speak of yet, or dishes at all, but I will be in my own place.

A big part of the picture that is missing is still a job. Also, a good group of friends. I do feel lost without my college group around, knowing that I could go anywhere on campus and find someone to hang out with. With the lack of job comes a lack of direction. Should I be pursuing work in aviation right now? Or look into something else? I just dont know, and it is driving me crazy.

But in this moment, I chose to not stress about it. I am sitting out on the porch, enjoying the cool air, sunshine, and constant small airplanes flying over. As I take in the sights and sounds of anchorage, I stare at the scattered pieces of my life, wondering how in the world they are going to fit together. I guess its not about the end picture. Its about finding each piece, the struggles of finding it, and the joy it brings when it is found. Don't forget what it took to find your pieces.

When the world turns on its side...

I was moving at a pretty good pace. Hunting for jobs, check out housing, and trying to get work done on my class that I had been ignoring for 2 months. Here's what's been happening...

Monday: everything was normal.
Tuesday: I left the ranch at noon, all my stuff loaded into my car, no where to go. I finally decided to call a family that I had gone to church with when I was about 1. Turns out they have an extra bedroom at their house in Wasilla, and they let me crash there for a few days.
Friday: the family I was staying with has two daughters living in Anchorage. These amazing girls can have a guest for up to two weeks, and they invited me to stay with them while I look for a more permanent place and work. They have taken me to a few social activities in the area, and I get the feeling that it will be ok, even though I really didn't know anyone in town at the start of this.

So here I am. The way I planned it? Not in the least. Is this all God's doing? I think there would have been easier methods, but He certainly has gotten me this far. Do I have enough faith that he will work it out? Absolutely.

dangers of driving in anchorage

I have decided that its rather dangerous for pilots to drive within the city limits of anchorage. Not only do pilots tend to be horrible drivers, Anchorage provides significant aerial distractions for these drivers. Here is sample a day riding around Anchorage with a pilot.

Going into town, you come down the Glenn Highway. You may have seen airplanes flying overhead at this point, but the situation becomes increasingly dangerous the closer you get to town. Why? Because the final for one of the runways at Merrill field parallels the Glenn highway. For those of you who are not familiar with Alaska, Merrill is probably one of the busiest GA airports in the world. So, unlike driving by an old abandoned airport in the lower 48 where you aren't likely to see an airplane for miles, you are very likely to see several airplanes buzzing around the pattern.

Lucky for you, there is a plane on final. Given the previously stated fact that final on this particular day parallels the road you are traveling on, your pilot/driver immediately glues his eyes on the plane next to you. The typical pilot instantly assumes his car is an aircraft. "200 feet above the ground, flaps full." You feel the air conditioning turn on full blast as he flips the handle on the dash. If you are lucky, the cross wind will happen to be from the right. a more haphazard situation involves a left crosswind. When performing a crosswind landing, a skilled pilot puts the ailerons into the wind and applies opposite rudder. Suddenly, you realize the car is veering slightly to the left. Oh no....you realize he thinks the steering wheel is the aircraft control. Next comes the rudder correction... You are thrown back in your seat as he hits the left pedal. Naturally, if it was an airplane, you would hope your pilot is applying these control inputs... not so much in a car.

By this time you realize your driver/pilot is probably not paying one iota of attention to the traffic around you, so you start paying attention. Unfortunately for you, this is a pretty busy road, complete with stoplights. Great... the cars in front of you slow as the light turns red. "Brake... BRAKE!" You yell, to no avail. Of course he doesn't apply brakes. If a pilot locks up his brakes before he lands, he is going to end up popping a tire. An embarrassing situation at any airport, but especially at a busy place like Merrill. "LEFT RUDDER!!!!!" you finally scream as you brace yourself for impact. The car screeches to a halt, just barely missing the car in front.
"My approach wasn't that bad..." you hear the driver mumble. You wonder if he even noticed the red light.

As the flow of traffic resumes, Your driver turns his attention to the road again. But suddenly, you hear a deep rumbling. Oh no... You think again as you realize that Elmendorf Air Force Base is sending F-18s off at a regular pace. The car swerves uncontrollably as the pilot/driver tries to catch a glimpse of the fighters. "You hear that? That's what 11,000 pounds of thrust sounds like!" He shouts excitedly as you hear others honking around you. "Watch the road!" You holler. He still isn't paying any attention. Flabbergasted, you try a different approach. "FLY THE AIRPLANE!" You catch your breath as the car straigtens out and resumes travel in its own lane.

Thankfully you aren't going anywhere near Lake Hood, the float plane lake, today, or else you would REALLY be in trouble.

a prayer that covers all the bases

Thanks mom, for sending it to me, I really needed it today :)

Lord, Please Hear Our Prayers, by Tom Norvell


Father, please hear the prayers we offer.

Lord, please take away the sadness. We are hurting. We are weary. There
are days we cannot remember what joy felt like. Our hearts have been
broken. We sometimes wonder if you really care ... and if you are
really there. We are not sure how much we can bear. So, in our sadness
we pray, "Father, restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me
a willing spirit, to sustain me."

Lord, please take away the fear. There's so much happening that we
don't understand. We struggle with the uncertainty. We struggle to find
confidence. We are looking for reasons for hope. So, in our times of
fear we pray, "Father, walk with us and hold us in Your strong hands."

Lord, please take away the disappointment. Too often we've put our
trust in people; too often we watch them fail. We put our hope in
things; and things never last. With each disappointment our hearts grow
sicker as our hopes slowly seem to fade in the darkness. So, in our
disappointment we pray, "Father, help us to be faithful to You, and
never forget Your promise to be faithful in all things."

Lord, please take away the doubt. Deep in our hearts we know you care.
In the depths of our souls we know You are always near. At times our
faith is weak and our confidence is depleted. So, in times of doubt we
pray, "Father, open our eyes and open our ears."

Father, thank you for filling us with your presence.

Lord, please take away the anger. We are not by nature angry people.
But, there are times when the anger waits just beneath the surface to
erupt at just the wrong moment. We don't want that anger to take root
in our hearts. We want to let go of it and harbor no resentment. We
want to forgive. So, in our anger we prayer, "Father, forgive us as we
forgive those who have sinned against us."

Lord, please take away the hurt. The hurts ... well, they hurt. The
hurt seems to never end. Pain is all around us. Not just us, but people
all around us are crying for relief. So in our times of hurting we pray
for Your healing hand to rest upon us, and to feel Your comforting
Spirit within us, and that someday we might understand.

Lord, take away the loneliness. There are times when loneliness almost
completely overwhelms us. We long for relationship. We long for
friendship. We long for love. We know You are always with us. We know
your love is real. But, sometimes, Lord, we need someone we can touch,
someone we can see, and someone we can feel. So, in our loneliness we
pray, "Fill us, Lord, with Your presence."

Father, thank you for restoring joy to us, for calming our fears, for
reassuring us of Your faithfulness, for opening our eyes and ears to
the certainty of You, for forgiving us of our sins, for healing us of
our hurts, and for filling us with Your presence. We love you.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer
and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And
the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7 TNIV).

---------
(c) 2009 Tom Norvel

hi again

I haven't posted in a while... To my avid fans, I apologize. There has been lots going on at the ranch. So I will give as brief a look as I can!


206 Tom

Tom Regier, an incredible aircraft mechanic, has been with us for a few weeks. He taught at A&P school for more than 30 years, and has a shop specializing in aircraft rebuilds. His most recent project was rebuilding a mooney that got sliced in half by a hangar falling on it. He has gone with MAF a few times, just to do rebuilds for them. He has been a ton of fun to work with in the hangar, and it has been amazing to watch things happen with him cracking the whip. We have a 206 that looked like a broken egg shell when he started, and a 150 that sat around as a fuselage the past few years. The 150 flew on Tuesday, and the 206 has wings and windows installed. It wont fly until at least next year though, as boxes of engine pieces are on their way to Tom's shop in california to be built.

The 150 flies!! After sitting in the hangar for so long, I am sure 402 is happy to be in the air again.

KAC summer flight ops are basically done
for 2009. Most of the pilot/mechanic types have returned home or to LeTourneau for the next year of school. That leaves me here, wondering what's next.

What's next for Liz?
The job hunt is the big thing I am working on right now. I have dropped off applications and resumes, so I am waiting to hear back from a couple of those. As I am waiting to hear back, I am making more contacts, praying that God leads me to the right job.

I have really been questioning Whether God wants me to stay in Alaska, or if it is just a Liz thing. But God keeps providing little things that tell me He really wants me here. Its going to take a lot of endurance on my part, but God will provide. He gave me a good car a few weeks ago for an incredible deal. Just yesterday, I met someone who lives in Anchorage with a guest room. She invited me to stay with her for a few weeks when I get a job to get into town and find some housing. Please pray with me that God brings me the job I need to get me through the winter and this next year. I am so thankful for what he has provided so far.

-thanks to Lydia and Drew for the pics :)-

“Hey Liz, you did this right? You need to sign it off.” Ryan told me one warm afternoon in the hangar in Nairobi.
“But I don’t want to!” I informed him adamantly.
“why not?”
“I don’t want to admit that I did that!”
“Well, part of being an A&P is taking responsibility for your own work,” he told me. Begrudgingly, i scribbled my initials in the box. He was right, I did have to take responsibility for my work. It wasn’t a deep revelation, but it was the first time I really had to sign off my own work, even though it was a simple discrepancy that anyone in the hangar could have fixed.

I enjoyed working with Ryan in Kenya. He taught me a lot about fleet maintenance and working in a third world country. When we weren’t working, he was talking about motorcycles or watching videos of motorcycles. He graduated from LeTourneau, so we had fun comparing notes on which classes we loved, which professors gave the worst tests, and life in the ghetto of Longview. He and his awesome wife picked me up at the airport when I first got there, and encouraged me throughout my time in Kenya.

I think I heard Saturday morning that something had happened to him. I found out that afternoon that there was a plane crash in Nairobi, right off the airport where I worked, less than a mile from where I lived. I put a few more pieces together, and by Saturday evening, I realized that Ryan had been in the AIM AIR plane that crashed. The official statement is here

Ryan is really beat up, but he is going to survive it. The pilot did not make it. I had met Frank while I was there, but didn’t get to know him as well as I did the guys on the hangar floor. Please pray for Frank’s wife and four kids as they work through this difficult situation. Please pray for Ryan’s recovery and his wife and kids while they are going through this.

Please pray for AIM AIR. While I was there, they were under a probationary period where they analyzed every aspect of the operation and made necessary changes to make the operation as safe as possible. The AIM AIR family is mourning the loss of a brother.

I probably worked on that plane. I spent enough time on the 206s in Nairobi that it is very likely I turned a wrench on that plane. Sometimes I wonder why God wants me doing something as important as aircraft maintenance. Wouldn’t He be better off flying himself around with the angels? He doesn’t need me. He doesn’t even need these airplanes. But he loves us sooooo much that He wants us to be a part of His work. Even though all I do is drop tools on the ground, He wants to pick them up, just so He can stand next to me. Maybe he even wrote the laws of gravity so I would be reminded that its Him pulling the tools out of my hand and throwing them at the ground.
Even though all we pilots do is try not to bend the airplane when we get close to the ground, He gives us a nice soft pillow (we call it “ground effect”) to help cushion our landing, just so he can be there next to us. He created physics so we can get above the ground, to get a different perspective of the earth. Or maybe He let us figure out the lift formula so we can routinely jump into his arms in faith. We call it aerodynamics, but we know He is holding us up, getting us where He wants us.

what a wednesday...

Yeah I know its Thursday. But the excitement happened Wednesday. I got a car!

I have been hunting on craigslist for the past two months, and I found one for a really good price. The guy was selling for 350 dollas, a 1986 Honda Prelude with a few problems. So I took a couple of friends and headed down to check it out. Because of the problems, the guy lowered his asking price to 275. I was a little apprehensive, but I knew this was a good deal, especially if the car lasts. So we took it home to the ranch, about 60 miles from where we picked it up. It made it just fine, but it was apparent that the car was old and had some problems.

The neat thing about the Ranch is that people come from all over and just bring their expertise. It so happens that a japanese auto mechanic is here for a while helping fix up the cars on the ranch. Seriously? Could it work out any better? I told him about the problems, which he fixed, and did a tune up on the engine.

We took it out for a test drive tonight, and let me tell you it was full of joy. It will be a good car to get around, and we will be able to have some good fun with it. Its not exactly my dream car, but considering the price I paid, I am not going to complain. I named it shadow, as it is dark grey in color.

Thank you Lord for the blessing of a car. I needed it! I guess it is proof that I will be staying in Alaska for at least a little while.

Getting to Camp

As I said before, camp was absolutely incredible. I, along with the rest of us here at Kindgom Air Corps, could not have been more pleased. So here is a little of what happened...

Getting there
Dwayne has a phrase that has become somewhat cliche' around here: P.W.W.P. It stands for Pilot Willing, Weather Permitting. And most pilots know that one of the big go/no go decisions is based on the weather. Friday night as we were preparing, the weather looked beautiful, so we made the flight plan to head to Palmer for gas, then directly to Fairbanks from there where we would meet up with Jim and Cathy Congdon, and go directly to camp.
5 airplanes took off from the ranch around 9am, slowest leaving first and the fastest last. Beautiful sunshine greeted us, the terrible haze we had the past few days was clearing up, and we were all excited for camp. Palmer is the closest actual town to us here at the ranch, so it was just a short hop to the gas stop. But about halfway there, an unwelcomed guest made its presence known: low clouds. We got on the ground and went into the flight service station, checking up on weather. Mountain passes we socked in, and every way we thought to go, we wouldn't be able to make it through low clouds and poor visibility. So we stayed in Palmer a few more hours than we anticipated. As soon as the weather started breaking up, we loaded up and headed out. The flight to Fairbanks would take 2-3 hours, depending on which aircraft's speed is used for calculations. We went over Wasilla, probably straight over Palin's house, and up the Parks highway.
About halfway up the highway, the Cherokee 6 (6 seater, one of the fastest in our little fleet) started losing oil pressure. Thankfully there were several airstrips along the way, and it was dropping very slowly. We in the 206 landed to help them out. It ended up just needing some oil added and was functional from then on. Dwayne instructed them to fly at a higher altitude where the air is cooler to help keep the engine oil a little cooler.

Coming out of fairbanks, the 175 was having some radio trouble. Thankfully we had a handheld radio and capability to plug the headset into the radio. That problem being solved, we made our way to Bettles, crossing the arctic circle on the way. Dwayne gave the airplane a BUMP as we went over it so everyone would know where exactly is was. And he started telling story after story after story of flying over those mountains. At several points I used the pilot isolation switch and talked to the other guys on the radio.

At Bettles, we discovered the 152 starter was broken. It can still be hand propped to start, but it isnt quite as safe an operation. Before planes had electrical systems, the hand propping method was the only way to get the birds flying. Starters really are a luxury item if you think about it that way!

We arrived at camp late enough Saturday that we just went straight to bed, ready to pick up kids Sunday and get camp started Monday.

down south...

We are back at the ranch. Camp was excellent. It was really great to hang out with the kids from last year as well as a few new ones! More later :)

almost there

We leave Saturday morning for camp, as I mentioned before, so this is the last you will be hearing from me for the next few weeks. Things are going REALLY well with prep so far!! I feel like we are more ready than we have ever been before.

The inspections class, a group of 8 students from LeTourneau, will be returning to texas tonight. They have been here for almost a month, running annuals on several of the planes as well as working on some projects. They have been a huge blessing to have around working in the hangar, and we will miss them.

In honor of their departure and our heading off to camp, we are having a big "wing fling" as Dwayne calls it. He doesnt want to call it a "wing ding" as we do not wish to curse our flying. A few of us decided that a fling would be more detrimental than a ding while in flight. Hal will be singing, and we will be doing a skit that we are planning on doing up at camp. You have probably seen it before, but here it is in case you havent...


I am playing the part of the alcoholic... and during practices, everone tells me I do a great job acting drunk. Because THATS something to be proud of.

some things to be praying about the next few weeks:

-kids at camp. Pray that they will recieve the gospel and their hearts will be changed to accept it.
-safety in travel. Old airplanes, not very experienced pilots.
-good weather. There has been A LOT of smoke and haze in the area, reducing visibility to less than 5 miles in places.
-camp staff. pray that we will stay healthy, happy, unified, rested, and anything else you can think of :)
-those who aren't here this year. We have several who cannot be here because of various reasons.


Thanks everyone, over and out until I am back!

a weekend away and prepping for camp

I flew the 152 with Mark to Lake Clark this weekend for the 4th of July. It was a really fun trip. We got off a little later than intended, but we still made it fine. Unfortunately, after landing, we realized that we had burned a lot more gas than we had anticipated. The problem has not been solved yet, but we need to figure it out soon, as that plane is going to camp. At least I got to help find the problem!

Lake Clark pass is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Glaciers clinging to the walls of rugged mountains, and incredible water falls flowing from where the glaciers were melting. The glaciers weren't quite as incredible, as they were covered in ash from mount redoubt going off a few months ago.

A big picnic was going down at the farm lodge right across the runway from the Bible camp where we were staying. it was really cool, as I have several long lost friends from the good ol homeschooling days who work there during the summer.

Also, Samaritan's Purse's Casa showed up with the crew for the picnic. They do a lot of flying for the camp, bringing kids in and out, aside from actually building the camp buildings several years back. I continue to be impressed with their organization. I spent some time that afternoon talking with some of the pilots. Jay Hibbard, who I met in Kenya, showed us around the Casa, and described a lot of the work that was done to it. Its a really sweet plane. They have put a ton of work into it, and it really shows. We came back Sunday afternoon with no problems.

This week we are hitting the camp preperations as much as we can. It is going to be great this year. We will be leaving Saturday. Here are a few of the numbers:

Kingdom Air Corps people going to camp: 20
Airplanes flying to camp: 6 or 7
number of reconditioned old sparkplugs keeping us in the air: around 60
cost for the various village kids to come to camp: free
cost for us to run camp: 10,000 dollars

We had around 40 kids come to camp last year. I saw 2 girls in my cabin accept Christ as their savior for the first time. Its not the first time these kids have heard the gospel, but it could be the first time these kids get the gospel in a way they understand.

Our theme this year is Jesus' teaching and miracles. Pray that we prepare effective messages for these kids to really get the gospel!

Provision of safety

A guy named Denny Dyvig in Nairobi, Kenya, taught me the importance of praying and praising the Lord for safety.

I told you the story of flying the 206 to Fairbanks. From the scenery described, you can pretty much tell we were in the middle of nowhere.

The next day, Friday, Dwayne had some flight seeing trips scheduled during the afternoon. Based on our proximity to the Matanuska glacier, Dwayne offers flights to volunteers at the local camps for a really low rate, just to thank them and bless them for their services. Five at a time go up for 30-45 minutes. So we go out to Hal's to meet the crew of about 15; Dwayne brings me along to entertain the rest of the group while he is flying. The first flight goes and comes back with no problems. The second flight goes off with no problems. But when Dwayne taxis up to drop them off, I notice something that seemed a little out of place. Oil was dripping all out the bottom of the cowling. The belly was covered in oil as well. In that last flight, he had lost about 5 quarts of oil, while the engine holds 12 quarts. We had to cancel the last flight and find the problem.

We found the leak and fixed it up enough to fly home. We also had 2 extra quarts of oil in the back. Not a ton of oil, but plenty enough to get home. Saturday morning, we were doing more investigation into the problem before flying the plane to Anchorage to pick up a couple guys from the airport. The flight to Anchorage went well, oil pressure and temperature were fine the whole trip.

So, why did this particular piece wait until we were doing local flights to blow? Why didn't it all come out in the middle of nowhere on the trip to Fairbanks Thursday? Why didn't it wait until we were flying in the busiest airspace in the world, flying around Anchorage? Because
GOD PROVIDES FOR SAFETY.

I hope this reminds me to thank Him for safety daily. We have had several other incidents this summer that could easily have been much worse. We had an engine fire due to a broken primer line, but that was on the ground. Cameron bent up his airplane, but he and his passenger were both safe.

Please continue to pray and thank the Lord for our safety here at Kingdom Air Corps.

Flying with Dwayne always ends up being stressful... It is a good "learning experience" but still stressful. We were going up to drop Lee off with his daughter, and Dwayne was doing a little instruction with a guy who has a little homebuilt tailwheel plane.

NOTHING beats the view... As we headed out of here, following the bright blue chickaloon river, i pointed the nose in the direction we usually fly, straight up the river.
But Dwayne wanted to show us an airplane wreck. So he pointed me in the direction of a canyon that led to a ridge much higher than our cruising altitude.
As we discussed ridge crossing theory, I pulled the nose up and climbed to a safe altitude to cross the ridge. I love flying a plane that has enough power to get up over the mountains.
We popped over a few ridges and found two airplanes and a camping party on the airstrip where Dwayne likes to land the super cub.

A little ways further was the wrecked airplane. Now its a 150 and the ground is at least 4,000 ft. Those of you who know aviation are sitting there amazed that a 150 could actually get that high. It really had problems, which caused the accident. It ran into one of the ridges we were hopping over at 8,000 or so feet. I had never seen a plane wreck in person before. It was a little sobering to see the fuselage sitting 50 feet away from the wings, which sat next to each other.

We finished that bit and went on our way. When we got up closer to Fairbanks, we started looking at an incredible spread of mountains. Lee's wife say's that its just like reading national geographic, but the pages are bigger.
We pulled up to 10,000 feet and aimed toward a low spot in the mountain range. cruising above glaciers and in between mountains, seriously? who doesnt want to be a pilot? Especially in Alaska!

Aaron flew on the way back. He was a huge help to have on the way, kind of a co-pilot in the backseat. So on the way back, I sat back and took a nap when he flew. I woke up when we got back to the Chickaloon valley. Mostly because we started pulling 60+ degree banks to soar down the canyons. And by soar down, I mean we had one wing sticking down in the canyon, and the other one out above us.

All of this really made me think of the passage in Romans 1:18-21. For all practical purposes, I am going to just copy the text here :)

18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.


God's invisible qualities are definitely visible in the scenery of Alaska. His eternal power is defined in the glaciers that slowly rip the rocks out from under them. Yet he could halt the masses of ice with just a thought. His divine nature is visible in the bright white snow contrasting with the deep blue pools of glacial waters, falling from rugged black peaks, too steep for snow to cling to them.

A day in the life of Kingdom Air Corps

Well, I have been in Alaska for two weeks now. I have settled into the routine, gotten used to doing things the Kingdom Air Corps way around here. I finally got my new computer, and it is really nice. Last week, Cameron, one of the guys up here, bent up his airplane a little bit. He got the plane for 6,000 bucks last winter. If you don't know airplanes, that is an INCREDIBLE deal. So he fixed it up over the winter and got it flying about a month ago. He has been looking for parts to fix it, and found someone with a similar plane in Palmer, about 45 minutes drive from here.

As it turns out, this lady, Jane, lost her husband and is trying to get rid of an entire garage full of airplane stuff. there is a lot of junk there, but a lot of treasures as well. Cameron told Dwayne all about this stuff, so last Saturday, about 5 guys went out to look at it. Dwayne knew that they didn't have any money, and if they decided they wanted any of it, they would have to do some fund raising.

They kind of went out on a limb of faith, because they hadnt been able to get ahold of Jane. They prayed the whole way there, but still no word. She wasn't home when they showed up. As they were heading away from her house back in to town, they were looking in each car that passed to see if they could see her. They even turned around and followed someone they thought looked like her! But they didn't end up finding her that way. So the guys went to lunch in town, and had a really good chance to pray and talk.

As they were getting up after lunch, Cameron's cell phone rang. It was her! She was home, but would only be there for about an hour. They rushed off to her house, praying along the way. As they were going, Dwayne was praying about the money thing. A thought crept into his head about how they would afford it. He began praying that she would be willing to accept a tax receipt.

The guys showed up at her house, and had a great time talking to Jane about life, what we are doing here at Kingdom Air Corps, and the airplane stuff she had. She asked Dwayne how much he thought it was worth, and he honestly replied that it would be worth somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000 dollars. He told her that we have no money, and if we were to take it, we would have to do some fund raising to get her the money. I think he might have gotten the first two letters of the word "unless" in before she piped up, "Well, what about a tax receipt?" Dwayne, overjoyed, tried to keep his cool. "I think we could do that!" he said.

So, that is the story of how God provided 20,000 dollars worth of airplane parts to Kingdom Air Corps. It will take work to turn it into something useful, but it is a treasure to those who know how to use it.

anticipation

My computer checked into Wasilla yesterday. Which means... it should be here tomorrow morning!! I am super excited to get a computer again. It will be 2 months that I survived without my own hard drive on which to store my thoughts, memories, pictures, and hard work. And since I took so dang long ordering it, I ended up getting it for about 200 dollars cheaper. See? Laziness and procrastination do pay off sometimes :)

Tomorrow is Daddy's birthday. happy birthday Poopsie!!!

one way tickets

to say "life as of late has been hectic" would be an incredible understatement. Last you heard from me I was in Texas; without much hope of ever leaving Longview. What happened? What changed?

I blinked.

Less than a millisecond, and I suddenly find myself sitting in my parent's living room, a one way ticket to Alaska in hand. I was home for three days, barely long enough to reunite with my shoe collection, and I have to have everything I need for the summer in my big green suitcase and action packer. I think I will manage to make this trip under 50 lbs per bag though.

One way tickets are kind of scary. I am sitting here looking around at the home in which I grew up, not knowing the next time I would be here. not sure when I will see my family again. Wondering if everything that I couldnt fit into my luggage will ever make it to Alaska. I hear the phrase "leap of faith" being tossed around a lot, and I thought I understood it. But now as I stare at the piece of paper with no return date, boxes piled haparzardly in the background, I am learning a little better what it feels like to leap.

Since coming back from Africa, I have really been trying to embrace a quote from Jim Elliot: "Wherever you are- be all there." Taking from my pilot-y ways, I have concocted my own version... "I don't need a GPS to tell me where I am. All I have to do is look down at my own two feet and I will know exactly where I am supposed to be."

But there is a time when that theory doesn't work. I have become very familiar with it this year, as I pack my bags about every other weekend to haul them off somewhere new. I guess most people call this time transition. According to my aforementioned life pursuit of using the ground on which I have deemed my perch to tell me where I am, I would define transition as a cannon ball.

A cannonball?
You know, when you run full force toward the pool, pick your feet up, curl into a ball, and make the biggest splash possible.

I am going to finish these thoughts later, I gotta run out the door. Off to Alaska, cya there!

Funnies for Friday :)

In case you needed a laugh for today. I love Calvin and Hobbes.

needs or wants and an american value system

Reasons I am stuck in Texas:
sppech class...............................complete
flying..................................almost done
trying to find a way home....about to start walking

I need a car and a computer. What happened to the car and computer I had before I went to Africa? The car got sold. I loved gizmo, but I dont think she ever would have made it to Alaska. Not with her propensity to ride tow trucks. Teddy, back home, doesnt like cold weather. When it gets below 30 degrees outside, the doors freeze shut. Not to mention he is older than I am. So it is safe to assume a car would be a very useful investment for me.

Also mentioned is the computer. My old computer that I got my senior year of high school has kicked the bucket. The insides no longer function properly, so I cannot get a charge from the wall to the battery. It runs off battery power, even when plugged in. As much as I would love to MacGyver up a charger, I really don't want to blow anything up in the process. Instead of paying 300 dollars for the part my decrepit old computer needs, I decided I should probably get a new computer.

Obviously, these things cost money. Money is a little difficult when one is a recent graduate, and has plans until early august, so one cannot obtain a job. This got me thinking (as many things do) about the time I spent in Kenya. Kenyans dont have credit cards and loans. They are probably a lot better off than I am. I am already in debt enough over my 4 years at LeTourneau.

So that's where I am at. I am looking forward to a few months from now when this is all behind me. I know I will be asking myself what was worrying me so much!!

still alive, still computer-less.

I really need to order a computer. This whole computer lab thing really is lame. CJ and Autumn, my current hosts, are amazing. They dont mind me using their laptop, which is awesome. And bonus! Its a mac, so I am getting used to the way that system works. I will be spending plenty more time with one though, as soon as I buckle down and order my new computer.

Note to self: don't put off a freshman level class, required of all majors, until after you graduate. Motivation quickly approaches zero. Not that its hard at all, and I will still probably get an A. I pity those who actually put effort into the class.

The weather here is awful. If its not thunderstorms, its low clouds. If its not low clouds, its incredibly windy. And if its not windy, its thunderstorms. To top it all off, a stationary front has decided to come in and park right over our heads for the next 3 days, giving us weather so bad that the ducks are walking. I think I could have logged some of the drive into school today as actual time. Flying is going well, when it does happen. I have had several weather cancellations, and then the weather turns out really nice in the afternoons, after I am supposed to fly.

Maybe someday I will get out of Texas and get on to Alaska.

time for a real update...

not having a computer is frustrating. That leaves me to do any electronic word processing in the computer labs on campus, hardly a thought provoking environment!! So bear with me, as I try to sort out a few thoughts and make an attempt to let you know what is going on in my head and not just my life.

I walked across a stage yesterday in a timeless ritual. The president of the university handed me an empty diploma holder, and the only thought going through my head was "DONT TRIP! DONT TRIP! DONT TRIP! DONT TRIP!!!!!" Thank you Lord, I didn't trip.

I have said a lot of goodbyes in the last week. Unfortunately, I haven't left Longview yet. I have to get through commercial single engine and speech class first. Hopefully those will be done in two weeks. After that, I move on to Alaska!

Graduation automatically means transition. Coming to college was a huge transition, but at that point most people are naive enough to have no clue what life is all about. I know I didn't have a clue. I guess I wouldnt mind this transition so much if it wasn't so long. It really started back in December, when I packed everything up and moved out of my apartment in Longview. I went home... for a few weeks. I went to Africa... for a few months. Even in Africa I moved from place to place to place, never staying anywhere longer than a month, on average about 2 weeks per place. I came back to Longview, a place where I already said goodbye... for a few weeks. I am going to the ranch in Alaska... for a few months. At the end of the summer, if the Lord wills, I will be moving into Anchorage to work. Maybe then I will find a place where I can settle.

I love the thrill and adventure of travelling, moving around, seeing new places, and making new friends. But I am really tired of it. I am really looking forward to having a place I can hang pictures on the walls, put the dishes where I want them in the cabinet, stock a pantry full of food, organize a desk and calendar, and pick color themes for different rooms. Maybe by Christmas I will be able to walk in the front door and feel like I am home. Not my parents house, not my best friends house, but my home. I am beyond ready to feel a little more settled.

Beyond what I want to feel, though, is where God wants me to be. Through all the flurry of activities, the whirl of changing schedules and the strange noise deadlines make as they fly past me, I gotta try my best to remember where I am anchored. As much as I want to figure out what is best for my life and what I need, I should be seeking what God has planned for my life, and seeking what I need based on His standards, not my own.

I have come to an intersection. The street signs point in all different directions, and I can't clearly read what any of them say. From when I can first make out the intersection with the haphazard arrows, to when I am established on the next course is this period of transition. The only thing I know is that I cant go backwards. It would be like walking up the down escalator, it doesn't do any good, especially when the rest of the world is trying to go down.

graduation

T-minus 3 days. Praise the Lord, I see a light at the end of the tunnel.

bear with me, as my computer is taking a sabbatical from life. Hopefully being here at LeTourneau will encourage it to revive itself. Until then, I might not be around too much... pole.

rude awakening

I like my snooze button. Anyone who has experienced me in the morning when I am required to awake at a predetermined time has witnessed my alarm going off a significant while before that time, me flailing to shut it off, and the alarm going off again. This phenomenon is often repeated up to three times each morning. Eventually I drag my lazy self out of bed, but am not usually fully conscious for about another half hour, only after an injection of coffee or some other source of caffeine.

I have discovered the last week of my life to closely parallel my morning habits. As you can mostly tell from previous blog entries, I was in Africa for almost 3 months. Maybe that time period represents a good night’s sleep. Maybe even a few pleasant dreams as I saw the way aviation works on the mission field; played with all sorts of fantastic animals; and relaxed at the beach. A few not so pleasant dreams as I trudged through the streets of Kibera; looked into the eyes of a child orphaned by aides; drove past camps of people displaced by the election violence last year. Before I knew it, my alarm started going off: I was getting on a plane to go home.

As is my habit, I flailed. I blindly sleepily reached for the button to turn off my alarm so I could return to the dream world. Of course, I am not getting any quality sleep at this point, I am just dozing back into the world I remember of Africa. I spent my first full day in the states alone, trying to adjust to being in America. Mostly I spent the day pining away after the people I left in Africa. But the reality is that I am done with that part of my life. Alan said it well: “Wherever you are, be all there.” I have to stop hitting the snooze button, I have to stop pretending I can go back.

Lucky for me, I haven’t ever needed a friend to come in with a bucket of cold water to wake me up. Unfortunately for this phase of life, I think I do. This morning I flew for the first time in 6 months. 6 months of not flying is a lot of time when you have only been flying for 3 years. I felt very overwhelmed, not knowing if I could really do it. After that, I went to visit professors under whom I am taking classes this semester. I have a ton of work I have to do to catch up. All the work and the flying hit me like a cold bucket of water in the early morning. Not a pleasant way to wake up, but I know its time to wake up and face the day.

I would love to go back to bed, to curl up and pretend I don’t have to do all of this. But let’s face it, my bed is kind of wet now. I can get up and face the responsibility, or I can curl up and ignore the fact that I am soaked. Either way, I can’t hit the snooze button. I can’t go back to Africa right now. I have to be in the present; I have to be here to finish what I started. It’s time to find some caffeine.

you gotta travel halfway around the world...

it took me three months of living in Nairobi to learn a few things...

1. I dont really like Dr. Pepper as much as I used to
2. American foods are incredibly over processed, gross, and FULLLLLLLLLL of things that are really bad for you.
3. Fruit and juice just isnt the same here. Fruit was picked before it got anywhere near ripe, and juice is glorified water.
4. I need to pay a lot more attention to what I spend money on.
5. I really need to work on my driving skills.
6. being in school is awful. I dont know how I sat through 4 years of classes.
7. I like getting up in the morning when I have somewhere to go, a schedule to keep.
8. Being an adult in the real world isn't going to be as bad as I thought. Sure beats homework...
9. As Amanda said, there are good people everywhere. But it does take time to get to know them.
10. I need to figure out who I am in order for people to get to know me.

There are many more that I will discover as I go along the next few weeks, but this is just a start.

I am back in the states, and severely jet lagged. I am going to try to take the next few days pretty easy, and take time to process everything. Just wanted to make sure everyone knows I am safe!

Goodnight!

only a few more days...

coast=awesome. I had a great time, it was so relaxing. Will write more later, but wanted to let everyone know I am still alive!! t-minus 4 days till my departure...

over and out

last week in the hangar and Kenyan infusion

This is my last week working in the hangar. Wow, my trip has gone so fast. I knew it would. But it is still hard to believe. On Monday, most of the staff found out that this is my last week. The chai schedule for Friday reads: kwaheri for Liz Vande Walle. (for those of you who don't know swahili, that means goodbye) Upon reading that, several of the Kenyans I work with in the hangar dedicated a song to me with a chorus that says something along the lines of "I wish there was some way I could convince you to stay another day."

Tuesday, Beth treated several of us to pizza inn. Tuesday is buy one get one free, and we went last week with Grace buying. I felt very honored to go with them, for pizza is not cheap for them. When Beth ordered pizzas, she got the biggest size possible. I have been sharing the calories of cinnamon rolls with them the past few weeks, so she wanted a little payback. As we were leaving, Linda, the other missionary, leaned over to me and said, "I hope you realize how loved you are." Its true. These people love me so much. I really don't deserve it.

Yesterday I got to go on a flight. Unfortunately the plane has the controls removed from the right side so I did not actually get to fly, but I still got off the ground. It was only a 45 minute flight, but it was an incredible breath of fresh air. I walked through the hangar right after chai with 4 bars on my shoulders, head held high. Several Kenyans saluted me, and others were just proud to call me captain. Again, I felt very loved by these people.

As much as they hate it, most of them have accepted the fact that I am leaving. But the only way they are ok with it is that they are convinced I am coming back. They tell me to come back as a pilot, which is my main plan! I dont want to be a mechanic the rest of my life... Even the missionaries are trying to figure out how long it will take me to come back. I am leaving it to the Lord's leading, but I get the feeling that it may be back here.

The hangar has been super busy this week. All three caravans were in, about 4 206s, the 210, and the DC-3 were down for maintenance. I would say they were all in the hangar, but they didn't all fit. The DC-3 takes half the hangar, and the caravans took most of the rest of the space. So I worked outside a bit this week, which was nice. Sunshine is always a little bit of a bonus.

on the non-work side of things...

Kate (roommate) and I have had an awesome week. On Saturday, we walked to Nakumatt, the Kenyan version of Walmart. After grocery shopping and picking out paint for the dining room, we hit up the mosaii market for some fun African stuff. Over the weekend we got the dining room and the living room painted, and it looks awesome. We have had a lot of fun cooking and enjoying our house this week. I am really going to miss her when I leave.

Ok, should PROBABLY go back to work now... A week and a half till I head home. I say goodbye to everyone at the hangar tomorrow, but I will say goodbye to the AIM AIR people next week on Thursday. Saturday through Wednesday I will be in Mombasa (read: beach!!!) Then Easter weekend, then back to the states. I can't believe its over already, but I am looking forward to coming back someday.

house help and ministry opportunities

In America, someone who has someone else do their laundry and dishes is considered very rich. In some parts of the world, this person is considered lazy. In other parts of the world, like Kenya, this person is considered generous. It really has taken me a long time to get used to the idea of house help. Growing up in an American culture, I assume anyone with house help is rich. So to be a missionary, someone who is there to serve the people, why on earth would they want to put forth such an extravagant display of wealth?

You have to take a step back and put it into a cultural perspective. In Kenya, the unemployment rate is somewhere in the neighborhood of 35%. Those who do work usually don't make enough money for the average American to consider survivable. So many AIM missionaries hire house help, because it helps everyone. If the house helper didn't work for a missionary, she wouldn't have that income at all. Kenyans see people who do not have house help when they can afford it as greedy.

In addition to ministering to the locals, it allows this house helper to be a part of the missionary's ministry. One of my friends here loves to tell her house helper what she has been doing in her ministry. She always finishes by saying, "without you, I would not be able to do this." The house helper is just as much a part of my friend's ministry as she is.

After realizing this, I decided that house help isn't such a bad idea, if it is culturally acceptable. Yes, I do feel spoiled to have someone wash my dishes and do my laundry. I guess that is one more thing I will have to adjust to when I get back to the states :) only 2 and a half weeks!

a day in the life-Nairobi

There aren't too many places in the world where you can see safari wildlife within the city limits. So when Faith suggested we go to the animal orphanage on Saturday, I figured life couldn't get much better than that. But, being a typical African, none of us had cars, so we used the favored method of transportation around here--the imfamous matatus. Now, Matatus arent too bad if you are African. No one tries to charge you exorbitantly, and they generally dont give you any hassle or special attention due to your skin color. For me, its a completely different story. But Faith knows the system, so I felt confident riding with her and her friend Eunice.

First stop of the day was back at Faith's place. As is tradition with African culture, she showed me her home and we took chai and a bread-like snack of our choice. Her place is in an area called Rondai. It took about 30 minutes to get there on the Matatu, so it is quite a ways out. She told me that it takes her an hour and a half in the morning to get to work because of all the traffic. She leaves before I am usually out of bed...

We got out and she and Eunice led the way into a shack village, around one corner after another, ducking under clothes lines, walking past mothers washing old plastic dishes, and children playing. As usual, most of the children stared in awe at my white skin. "They don't see too many mzungus around here, do they?" I asked Faith. We stopped at a door near the end of the corrugated aluminum line, and Faith opened the door.

Her entire house, the space that she shares with a friend, is smaller than the office at my house. There is a double bed pushed into one corner, with enough room for a small TV and a pile of dishes at its foot. There was a small table with two stools, as well as a few other accessories on the other side of the room.

After chai, we headed back into town to the game park. Faith had never seen a lion or a hyena before, so seeing both of those animals was a huge treat for her. My favorite part was the cheetahs. We were standing watching one of the cats, and a keeper came up. Faith started talking to him in rapid-fire swahili. Before I knew what in the world was going on, she told me to follow her as she ducked around behind the fence toward the gate, following the keeper. Next thing I know, we are in the cheetah cage, petting the cheetah. It acted just like a big cat, purring and licking my arm. I think it was there at a young age, so it is very tame. The lions and other animals were cool to see, but nothing beats petting a cheetah.

That afternoon, we planned on going to Bomas of Kenya, a place where different tribes come and show their native dances. It was really cool to see the different dances and the ways the different tribes dress.

All in all, it was a great day with Faith. I really enjoyed spending a day in the city with a local Kenyan.

another week

moved this weekend, and am really excited about the new place!! I will have to put pictures up when Kate is finished painting.

On sunday, Jose (missionary from Honduras) and family took me to the ostrich farm. Thats right, Ostrich. Its about an hours drive out of town, but it was really fun and a great place. Ostrich meat is pretty amazing!! There was opportunity to ride an ostrich, but when the ugly thing was staring at me with its mouth open, growling, I decided against it.

As I was sitting in church, I was thinking about cultures and coming home. As much as I dislike parts of the American culture, it is what I know. I grew up with it, I know how it works, and how to work it. But the past two months I have been learning about Kenyan culture, specifically Nairobian culture. As unfamiliar and different as it is, I have been learning to exist within it. I dont begin to understand how it works, but I have grown accustomed to it. Or at least accustomed to not understanding it.

I started considering how I am going to have to re-adapt to Texas American culture, then back to Oregon American culture, then Alaskan culture all in about two months time. Then the Revelation really hit me. I don't belong to this world; I don't belong to these cultures. I have to work within them and adapt to them, but its just a temporary visit on a much bigger, eternal scale. I think people who do not understand cultures have a lot harder time with this concept. They like their culture; they are comfortable with it. But it is not going to last. Are you comfortable with your world? Who's world are you really living in?

I realized more than ever that I am simply visiting this planet for a short while (what is the average American lifespan?), preparing to go home.

more pictures

lake naivasha (animals and stuff): http://picasaweb.google.com/wind.rider.05/AfricaNaivasha?authkey=Gv1sRgCLjV8oX2mJaNew#

up country: http://picasaweb.google.com/wind.rider.05/UpCountryWest?authkey=Gv1sRgCIuamaOKzo7y7gE

moving again

Well all, its time for my last move until I leave. Kind of sad to think about... my new roommate is a new full term gal with the on field media team. Should be fun!! I will live with her for 3 weeks before heading back to the states. Am I really going home already? I dont know how I feel about that...

After moving on Saturday, Jose, one of the missionaries here, has invited me to go to the ostrich farm with his family. I am sure the pictures will be highly amusing for all of you...

pics from the past weekend at lake Naivasha are in the process, I will give you the link soon. also... I will get you a pic of me flying the DC-3 soon too!

up country weekend part 3 (of 3)

Saturday morning, I woke up at 6 in the morning. Remember how I said everything can be heard in the house since there is no ceiling? That is the cause for my early morning wake up call. Rosemary was praying. Not going to lie, it is pretty cool to hear an African Mami praying for her friends who have come so far to see the childrens. It was quite a blessing to start the day.

After breakfast and tea, we hoofed it over to the orphanage, which really isn’t that far away. The kids were playing at the small compound, and were excited to see us. They know Rosemary, and they were excited to see the mzungus. Angie and I already had our cameras out, and the kids rushed to get in the pictures. It was IMPOSSIBLE to get candid shots, because the kids were so curious to see themselves.

Rosemary gave us a tour of the small compound. They have one classroom, an office, and a stand alone kitchen. Andy by kitchen, I mean 4 sheets of corrugated metal, about waist high, tied to branches in the corner, with another sheet of metal on top to make the roof. It works though, especially since they use an actual fire to cook.

After some time there, we went to the beach. Although it was not an ocean beach like I am accustomed to, it was pretty incredible. The view was great, but the most interesting part was the people fishing. They had these huge nets far into the lake, and about 15 people per net pulling them in slowly. From what we could see, they hadn’t caught anything. I imagine the net is pretty similar to the ones they used in Jesus’ time. In fact, the methods probably are very similar.

At that point, Angie and I had decided that we wanted to go out on the lake in a boat. Seriously, who gets to go on a boat on Lake Victoria? I knew it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I wanted to go for it. So Rosemary talked to several boaters, and finally found us a ride. I was marginally concerned, but was confident in my swimming skills. The snails kept me from a true desire to swim, but I knew I could save my own life.

Angie and I emphasized that we did NOT want a three hour tour. As we were cruising around, I looked down and noticed a small fountain of lake water coming into the boat. Thankfully, they would bail the water out every once in a while, so it wasn’t like we were going to sink or anything. Just a little leak. No biggie. I did not point it out to Angie until we were safely near the shore.

We then hiked back to the orphanage at high noon. I think I might have inhaled an entire colony of flies. We only had to ask for directions once, and found our way back from there. Luckily Patrick, one of the guys who works at the orphanage, was with us and able to lead us, or else we would be really lost.

The children had a presentation ready for us. They sang about how grateful they are to us for visiting, and to ask for our prayers. They don’t have parents, and who is left to care for them? The guardians they stay with make them work. They are the first ones up, the last ones to bed.

After the presentation, they played a little while before it was time for lunch. They serve the littlest first, all the way up. The bowls were full, but they were mostly full of maize. Rosemary and staff would love it if they were full of beans, but beans are expensive. The maize at least fills there tummies, even if it has no nutritional value. They don’t even have silverware to eat with, just their hands.

I noticed one thing while we were there. These kids don’t really smile. I saw a couple of half smiles, but mostly when they were posing for pictures. They weren’t genuinely joyful. When I got home from the trip, I saw the kids of the family I was staying with that were perfectly healthy, fed, and happy. The orphans did nothing to deserve losing their parents to aides. They did nothing to have the innocence of childhood ripped from them.

I took a few more pictures before we said our goodbyes and went for our own lunch of African food. We didn’t leave till 1 or 1:30, so our lunch was even later. That afternoon we relaxed before heading into town around 4pm. Rosemary needed to get the next weeks worth of food for the kids. I think she expected Angie and me to have money that would feed the kids for the whole week. I hate that they think just because my skin is white, I can make money appear in my pocket.

I understand that food is a huge need, but there was another need that I saw. Patrick, basically the director of the orphanage, has to walk everywhere. When a child is sick, he has to care the kid all the way into town, which is at least 10 km. He has to walk to take care of food, and they have to bring water up from the village on foot. A bike would take so many burdens off of him. A bike that costs around 80 USD. I bought Patrick a bike that afternoon. Food is important, yes, but the bicycle provides a service that will enable Patrick to work so much more efficiently and effectively. Sort of like the way I want to use airplanes.

Wherever we stopped in the village, a group of kids would gather and stare at Angie and me. I knew they were going to be curious, but I didn’t anticipate how unsettling it is to have a group of kids just standing there staring, giggling behind my back. As we walked home, a crowd of about 50 gathered behind us, and started singing. I have no idea what they were saying, nor do I really want to know. All I know is that it has something to do with white people. They didn’t even leave when we walked into the house. We had to ask someone at the house to tell them to leave. I was frustrated with being on display.

That evening, Rosemary had a long meeting with the small staff in the living room. They were talking in Swahili, so I heard everything through the ceiling and didn’t understand a bit of it. I went out to greet them and explain why I felt the need to buy the bike. So I was able to do a small part to meet their needs.

We prepared to leave at 8 the next morning. We were packed back in the car at the mzungu 8, not the African 8. We were told that it would only take 6-7 hours, and we would be home in 4 hours from Kisumu. Africans aren’t very good at predicting time.

We stopped to see Betty’s grandmother before even leaving the village. That visit took a half hour. Again, the crowds of kids gathered. Betty also loves fish, and the fish from the village are much cheaper than in Nairobi, so we stopped to pick some up for her.

Now lets think about the fish for a second. Unlike in America where the fish is nicely packaged and preserved in ice, these little sunbaked sardines smell wretched. Thankfully, they went in the trunk. Angie and I prayed our stuff would not smell like fish as the scent wafted through the car.

Finally we got on the road, and stopped again a ways out of Kisumu to visit more people. The African way of life… so between the visits, we killed an hour. Oh well… In Kisumu, we picked up some full sized Tilapia, having a similar scent to the aforementioned miniatures.

All in all, we were on the road for 11 hours, including visits. I don’t know how that trip could be made in less than 10 hours.