A few recent pictures.....
I have one more week of flight training left. It has been a really awesome experience. The training that MAF has had the opportunity to refine over the last 50 years is very thorough and practical. It's also a ton of fun! I have never been more challenged in an airplane, and I feel like I'm learning tons of concepts.
Thanks to you who have been praying for what we should do about our four day mountain flying course coming up. This is a course where I go away for three nights to the central mountains of Idaho and practice on more challlenging airstrips there. The problem is it is right in the "red zone" of when our baby can arrive. Missing our baby's birth is not something I would ever want to happen. MAF has allowed me to sign up for the same course that is happening in June. So I will come back in June for a week (by myself) and complete the backcountry flying course. this won't delay our departure any, as our departure will be after that date anyways. We will still stay out here in Idaho to have the baby...due date is April 27th!
We have been really blessed by our friends Jason and Joselyn, Tim and Liz, (friends and fellow MAF'ers) and also the church we have been attending, who have provided us with more than we need for baby boy's short stay here in Idaho. It has been really touching to us to see people go out of their way like this to help us. It is really special to me to see the body of Christ in action like this.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Flying Action!
Today was an educational day for both Heather and I! One of the ladies here at MAF taught Heather some principles for cooking from scratch for four hours....
And one great part about that was the food they practiced cooking, Heather brought home for dinner. And it was delicious! Chicken pot pie, rolls, and (exotic) fruit salad, all made from scratch as scratch can be! She said the rolls took four hours to make, and you would not believe how many pots and pans they used for everything. Cooking overseas is going to be a new challenge!
Today was our third day of flight training and it was a gorgeous day! Gorgeous days have been in short supply around here lately. We took full advantage and got lots of practice in. We started off the day by heading to a gravel strip to practice on called Duster East.
Duster East is perched right on the edge of a plateau. We flew around it a few times to gather information about it to see if it was suitable for us to land on. After we landed, my instructor Tim pointed out something I hadn't yet thought of....that was my first airstrip landing (not at an airport)! With MAF there will surely be many more of those!
After we landed there we got out of the airplane to walk the airstrip and measure some important points for the takeoff and landing practice we were about to do. The cool morning air, the low sun and the mountains made it gorgeous!
And one great part about that was the food they practiced cooking, Heather brought home for dinner. And it was delicious! Chicken pot pie, rolls, and (exotic) fruit salad, all made from scratch as scratch can be! She said the rolls took four hours to make, and you would not believe how many pots and pans they used for everything. Cooking overseas is going to be a new challenge!
Today was our third day of flight training and it was a gorgeous day! Gorgeous days have been in short supply around here lately. We took full advantage and got lots of practice in. We started off the day by heading to a gravel strip to practice on called Duster East.
Duster East is perched right on the edge of a plateau. We flew around it a few times to gather information about it to see if it was suitable for us to land on. After we landed, my instructor Tim pointed out something I hadn't yet thought of....that was my first airstrip landing (not at an airport)! With MAF there will surely be many more of those!
Here's my instructor Tim by the plane.
Luke lands at ZX ranch
And then takes off....
A little while later, we got in the airplane and did the same thing.
It was a very fun, challenging, tiring and very educational day.
And me.
After our trip to Duster East, I had the chance to practice canyon turn-arounds and ridge crossings, another first for me! Definitely not something we did up in Michigan! After visiting a small paved airport for more practice, we went to another dirt airstrip called ZX ranch. Once again, we made a few passes to observe the airstrip and see if it was suitable to land. As we did that, my classmate Luke was on the ground with his instructor walking and measuring the airstrip. As soon as we landed, Luke and his instructor were back in their airplane and ready to do some takeoffs and landings. So as they did that, and while Tim and I walked the strip, I got some video.....
After our trip to Duster East, I had the chance to practice canyon turn-arounds and ridge crossings, another first for me! Definitely not something we did up in Michigan! After visiting a small paved airport for more practice, we went to another dirt airstrip called ZX ranch. Once again, we made a few passes to observe the airstrip and see if it was suitable to land. As we did that, my classmate Luke was on the ground with his instructor walking and measuring the airstrip. As soon as we landed, Luke and his instructor were back in their airplane and ready to do some takeoffs and landings. So as they did that, and while Tim and I walked the strip, I got some video.....
Luke lands at ZX ranch
And then takes off....
A little while later, we got in the airplane and did the same thing.
It was a very fun, challenging, tiring and very educational day.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Easiest Move Ever
Our home out here at MAF has been the apartments, that are right across the parking lot from MAF. When they moved here from Redlands, California several years ago, they built three apartment buildings that house nine apartments total. They are such a blessing to people like us who are passing through for training. We've heard plenty of stories of the way it used to be for the older MAF missionaries, and we feel pretty blessed to have this nice place to stay.
So we've been staying in a one bedroom apartment. Because of our soon to be expanding family (Baby Brother is coming!) we are moving across the lawn, to a two bedroom apartment!
There's Heather on the porch of our old place, and the building on the left is our new home. So it was literally about ten steps to move to our new place!
Here is what our old one-bedroom looks like...
Our new place looks a little too crazy right now to post a picture, since we just moved in! We're still getting settled.
So when we walk out our front door, this is what we see...
That's MAF Headquarters. Behind that building is the Hangar, and that is where I have been spending my days lately.
Elise can be a little choosy about which car or tricycle she rides....
Occasionally we build "sandcastles" but Elise stomps on them before much gets finished!
I have two more days in the maintenance shop, then begin flight training on Wednesday. I am definitely excited. A concern right now is that it has been raining an unusual amount, and all of the airstrips we use for practice are going to be muddy and soggy right now. So we are hoping and praying the rain can let up a little, enough to get to go use those airstrips!
So we've been staying in a one bedroom apartment. Because of our soon to be expanding family (Baby Brother is coming!) we are moving across the lawn, to a two bedroom apartment!
There's Heather on the porch of our old place, and the building on the left is our new home. So it was literally about ten steps to move to our new place!
Here is what our old one-bedroom looks like...
Our new place looks a little too crazy right now to post a picture, since we just moved in! We're still getting settled.
So when we walk out our front door, this is what we see...
That's MAF Headquarters. Behind that building is the Hangar, and that is where I have been spending my days lately.
Elise was feeling a little cooped up, so I took her outside to play....and brought the camera! It was definitely a little windy (we have learned that is common here.)
Of course there's always time for a timer shot.
Elise can be a little choosy about which car or tricycle she rides....
Occasionally we build "sandcastles" but Elise stomps on them before much gets finished!
I have two more days in the maintenance shop, then begin flight training on Wednesday. I am definitely excited. A concern right now is that it has been raining an unusual amount, and all of the airstrips we use for practice are going to be muddy and soggy right now. So we are hoping and praying the rain can let up a little, enough to get to go use those airstrips!
Sunday, March 20, 2011
It's hard to believe we've been in Boise for 3 weeks already! I thought I would share a few miscellaneous pics to show what we've been up to! These are in no particular order.
Elise has been looking cute with her little pony tale...or stack as I call it, up front. But she won't usually wear it for very long before she rips the rubber band out and looks like this....
The training has been really good. The instructors have a lot of knowledge and wisdom to impart. For the next two weeks we will be in the maintenance lab and hangar. On March 31, I will begin flight training!
There's this great place not far down the street called Jabbers. It is a place for families to take their kids and let them go crazy on all the cool toys while the parents catch a breather. They have a lot of fun stuff. Elise has really enjoyed the play kitchen area and the grocery store area. Here's a few pics from Jabbers.
Before she ripped out the rubber band
Elise having fun with Daddy's travel guitar.
We toured the hospital where baby brother will be born the other day. Elise had fun playing with her glasses the whole time.
Every day I have been heading across the parking lot for training at MAF. Lately we have been doing a lot of maintenance training. Here is the maintenance lab area.
Just like Spokane Turbine Center a few weeks ago, MAF has a lot of really neat "cutaways" of airplane parts so you can see inside and see what's going on. Here's a propeller hub.
The training has been really good. The instructors have a lot of knowledge and wisdom to impart. For the next two weeks we will be in the maintenance lab and hangar. On March 31, I will begin flight training!
We had a checkup the other day for Heather and Baby Brother and we are thankful that everything looks normal! Elise is getting more excited for him to come out.
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