Stuck In Kaikan!!!

Friday November 25-Most of the long flights have been made from Georgetown. James has made the last one and now I am flying with him for a couple of short flights from Paruima to Kaikan to shuttle some people in for the youth congress this weekend.I arrived here at the airstrip in Paruima about 12:30 to wait for James to get back from Georgetown...
James arrived in Paruima with conference officials about 2:30 pm. He had had some kind of problem with the plane and had had to turn back to Georgetown and at least figure out what the problem was. It looked like it was just a flapping/fluttering tach cable and would be fine. When he arrived in Paruima the mechanical tach was not working but the digital one was so James and I took off to Kaikan, a 15 minute hop. It turned out when we arrived in Kaikan there were about 15 people needing to get to Paruima for the congress. These people had been under the impression that we were going to be making 10-15 trips on Friday. (Found out that they had been waiting on another plane to take them since Sunday, and it never showed up so they were now hoping to be on the GAMAS plane) Oh boy!!! It was now 3pm no way we could do that many. So James asked me to stay in Kaikan so he could carry more people on each trip and would pick me up on the 3rd trip. I knew then that if everything didn't go according to plan I might have to spend the night. James took off with the first load while we all watched.
As I was standing there with the group of Pathfinders and musicians waiting and chatting someone hollered at me from a small government building by the runway "Captain someone radio for you from Paruima" "Huh-Oh" I thought as I climbed the stairs to the second floor where the Icom IC78 sat on a shelf about chest height. It was the health post in Paruima with a message from James. That there had been a problem with the plane and they were trying to fix it. A little while later they radioed again that he would not be making any more trips to Kaikan on Friday. There was discussion about some people taking a "village flight" in the morning but the transmission was hard to understand. Was I expected to be on board? Was this really an "ox in the ditch", or just a significant in convince? I did get across that I wanted to talk at 7 but wasn't sure if they got 7am or 7pm. The Trapeznikov family were very hospitable and gave me a room. At 7pm we tried and tried again at make radio contact but to no avail. They must have understood AM. I only had the clothes I had on, my flight gear and my water filter/hydration pack. No extras of anything, except batteries, I had batteries for my head light. This will change for future trips. We ate some kind of Russian fry bread stuffed with mashed potatoes. Wow that was delicious. They said the name several times but I still don't remember how to pronounce it.

Friday night as I was crawling into bed I met this little friend
 next to my pillow. He didn't seem too pleased about being evicted.

Sabbath morning(November 26) Alex and I hiked back up to the building with the radio next to the runway. A few minutes after 7:00 we got ahold of someone at the health post in Paruima. They gave a little more detail. James had departed Paruima for the second trip and had turned back. Something about loosing power. James had told them to tell me to stay put and he would try to come for me on Sunday morning. That made a lot more sense. I also was able to ask them to pass a message to Laura that I would be on the radio at 7:00pm and wanted to talk to her.We had a wonderful Sabbath with the Adventist believers here in Kaikan and many who had hiked for several days to get here in hopes of a flight to Paruima. There were several guest musicians that had been invited to the congress to share their talents, but they were stuck just like me. So we got to enjoy several special numbers for church and again for AY meeting in the afternoon. Since I didn't have my Trumpet I thought I was fairly safe. But nope... Alex informed them that I play trumpet and Sergio, a trumpet player from Venezuela offered to let me use his horn. So much for just sitting back...
I finally got to talk with Laura on the radio last night at 7:00.
I am heading out to the radio now to see if I can learn more of what they have found out or have decided to do.

Using the Radio at the Clinic

It was sooo good to hear her voice. Kathryn had a hard time Sabbath morning wondering where her daddy was. Laura also gave me more of the story, and the plan. James did not have the power he thought he should have and had turned back to the runway. They had been unable to determine the cause. This AM they were to try again. If it wasn't going to be an easy fix James will take a boat ride down river to Kamarong to catch a regular scheduled flight to Georgetown to come back with 8704T which seems to be old faithful. It may be Tuesday before I get back to Paruima.

Laura said that it was looking like bad gas, and they were going to drain the tanks and put in fresh gas. We should know in a few hours if this works.

I have not heard anything from Paruima since noon. We tried to contact around 3:30pm and again at 7:00pm. Nothing. I am guessing that the fuel swap didn't help and James is on his way to Kamarong. I have had reasonably good success at contacting the school there in Paruima (DIIC or Davis Indian Industrial College) at 7:00am. We will find out.

November 27
I found out what those stuffed fry bread things are called "pa-ROOSH-ki".

This AM I was able to talk with Chris Eno about the situation. It doesn't look good... so 9113M is grounded until appropriate repairs can be made. Chris and his family will be tied up until January with the building teams that are coming to the village of Bethany. Last they knew at DIIC was that James had gone to the river this AM at 5 or 5:30 to catch a boat to Kamarong, a trip of about 5hrs. From there hopefully he can catch a flight back to Georgetown. James is planning to put 8704T, a 1960 C-182 in service until Chris can fix 9113M. It is likely that it will be Tomorrow (Tuesday the 29th) before he can come and get me.

I got to talk with Laura and Kathryn on the radio this AM too, which was nice. They are doing well.

We set up another radio appointment for 4:00pm. So I can keep up with what is happening. It is hard being isolated and not able to make communication very easily.

Alex took me out to the Bible School that is nearly finished.
We now just need Teachers.

4:36 today
I just came back from the radio and they confirmed that James had made it to Kamarong but could not confirm if he had made it on a flight to Georgetown. Here at the internet café in Kaikan we tried to call James but no answer. Kamarong has cell service so I am hoping that means that he is out of reach because he is on that flight.

When we finally got up to the village health post and located a key it was about 7:20 this AM. We called for DIIC but James answered from the flight base in Georgetown. "It is good to hear from you" I said, "what is the situation?"
"How is your courage?"
"Not too bad."
After an update on the situation with 9113M, and discussing what tools were possibly needed. James gave me a run down of his intended plan to fly 8704T with supplies to the church building site at Wax Creek, then stop in Paruima to drop some supplies and pick up some things for the Trapeznikov family. His plan was to be here in Kaikan after 3:00PM. 

Well the plan changed a bit and he is now on his way from Wax Creek and according to ATC in Georgetown he will arrive in Kaikan first and then a 14 minute flight back to Paruima. Whew wow! What and adventure...

A plane For Edwin to Fly

In 2015 David Gates sent out letters to about 11,000 Cessna 182 owners  asking to see if they would be interested in donating their plane to GMI for use in mission service as is typically that case very few responded to the letters but some did. One such case was a Mormon family in Wyoming. They had just purchased a Cessna 210 Centurion and had this older Cessna 182, 2668G, which they were discussing what they should do with it. One day the wife came is waving the letter and showed it to her husband. It was David’s letter. They agreed that it just might be the best option for use of the plane.

After talking with David they invited him to come and see the plane. They also wanted to make sure that this was the right organization to donate to. After a very short time they were comfortably please with David as a Christian and knew that the plane would be put to very good use. In December of 2015 David flew the plane to Illinois and then after Christmas he flew it on down to Collegedale TN. I got to be there to help welcome them back, and put the plane in the hanger next to Todd Anderson’s plane, 9113M. The next day while I was helping clean up some seat frames for Todd Anderson, David came into the hanger and spoke with me. He offered to let me use this beautiful airplane in my training, to try and finish My instrument rating. He also offered to let me stay in one of the apartments they have at the GMI offices in Collegedale. Then one morning at breakfast not long after; he asked how I would like to continue flying 2668G in Guyana. WOW!!! How cool is that!!! I continued to fly the plane for about 15 hours there in January.

At the end of January the annual inspection was due. 

A mechanic started in on the inspection in February. Given the time that had transpired since the last time the engine was overhauled they decided to pull the cylinders and really look over the engine. During the process they discovered that major components like the cam shaft and timing gears were severely worn. The crank shaft had significant scoring on the rod journals and all the lifters were beyond repair. The new cylinders have already been purchased which is the biggest expense of an overhaul usually. The mechanic is looking for good used timing gears and a good used cam shaft. It is cheaper than buying factory new parts. We are estimating that finishing the engine will cost about $8000. There are also some modifications that need to happen in order to get the most use out of the airplane.

It needs a Sportsman’s STOL kit and wing extensions.

The Sportsman’s kit is about $1500 and the Wing X is also $1500.

We can delay a little on some of the other modifications like the larger nose fork and tires, but it would be good to get those done too. They can however be done here in Guyana. Now that 9113M is here and is working hard we want to turn our focus to getting N2668G ready to go. It is needed very soon as we now have 3 pilots and soon to have a fourth within the month. Here at the flight base the phone rings frequently, people asking “when is James going to be flying next?” “Is there space for me on the next flight?” “Is James back yet?” We need this plane in the very near future. Please pray with us as we shift our focus to getting this next plane ready to serve. If you choose to help financially with this project, please let me know that the money is specifically for 2668G so it doesn’t get incorporated into the normal operating fund

First Day Of Mission Flying!!!

Wednesday, October 26, was my first day flying in the interior of Guyana. It is a thrilling feeling to realize that this is what I’ve always dreamed of doing, and now here I am actually living my dream! We had 4 stops to make; Chenepau, Paramakatoi, Monkey Mountain, and Lethem, before heading back to Ogle airport in Georgetown.

Tuesday (the 25th) James and I had started out to fly this route. James had received word that Lincoln, with his family, had arrived in the town of Lethem after traveling through Brazil. Lincoln is an Amerindian (Guyanese Native American) from Paruima who received his pilot’s training in Bolivia. He and his family needed transportation up to Georgetown where they could get supplies together to go out to Paruima, where he will be training with James on the local runways as well.

We had the plane loaded up, fueled up, and ready to go. We said a prayer, and then fired up the engine. It did not want to run well. It was coughing and sputtering at idle and then it sputtered to a stop. We tried again. James pushed up the throttle a bit, then a little more. It ran smoother, however the manifold pressure didn’t look right, then he noticed that the manifold pressure was indicating inversely of what it should. When we pushed in on the throttle the numbers went down instead of up. Eh????  He shut it down. We climbed out and walked over to the hanger where they teach aviation mechanics. Fortunately, here at Ogle airport, the aviation mechanics' school does a lot of free labor; we just have to supply the parts. James asked the instructor about the odd engine behavior. The instructor suggested doing the full run up checklist. He thought that maybe too much water had made its way past the sumps, and into the carburetor, before we had done our pre-flight check. After the run up check the odd behavior was still very much present if not worse. We watched the engine monitor and noticed that the temps for cylinder number 5 were abnormally low. Cylinder Head Temperature (CHT) was less than 200F and Exhaust Gas Temperature (EGT) was also less than 200F. Normal CHT is about 300-425F and EGT is about 1000F or maybe a little hotter. We suspected a dead cylinder. Not a happy thought. We taxied back over to the hanger. 

With the students, we dove in, checking spark plugs and the cylinder compression. We checked the filter screens and drained the carburetor. EVERYTHING checked out perfect. Now what?!?!? As we were working on putting it all back in place and torquing bolts and plugs, one of the students reached up and touched an intake hose clamp…it moved. In fact it moved a lot. He also noted that another clamp was loose on the other side. Only those two clamps were loose, but we tightened all of them just to be safe. Something as simple as a hose clamp had allowed air to by-pass the carburetor and fuel. This was giving the odd readings on the manifold pressure, and a no fuel condition for cylinder number 5. We started the engine and it ran beautifully. The instructor also adjusted the idle a bit. He said that it is not uncommon for a new engine to have some issues pop up as it “wears in”, particularly in these few early hours. It was now too late in the afternoon to make the flight so we delayed until Wednesday.

Wednesday we got airborne and winged our way across the jungle. James is a great instructor; describing the processes of who you talk to on the radios at different points in the flight. Airspaces are not organized the same way as the airspaces in USA. In some ways it is easier because there are only 6-8 frequencies that are mostly used. In other ways it is more challenging in that there is little to no radar coverage. It is all based on reporting points. “Niner-1-1-3-Mike report crossing ____” “Niner-1-1-3-Mike what is your ETA at ____” It is also interesting that you need to know what all the other planes are doing in the area. IE: We have to take note that a Cessna Caravan “Tango-Kilo” just departed Paramakatoi 13 mins ago and headed for Eugene Correia (Ogle Airport) at 8,500'. Pilots are constantly relaying information for each other. If we are out of range of the main control area, but “Tango-Kilo” is in range, he forwards our flight plan information to air traffic control.

 We flew over Kaieteur Falls the world’s highest single drop waterfall, then on to Chenepau to leave some supplies for the church.

It was a little intimidating looking at the terrain coming up to meet us. As we neared Chenepau I noted mountains on the east side of the runway. We had to make the approach from the SE next to the mountain and skim the trees and try to touch down as close to the runway threshold as possible. WOW!!! Oh!! Wait, hit the brakes. Whew…. Up to this point the shortest runway I had ever used was the Dog Iron Ranch runway at Will Rodger’s birth place museum in Oklahoma. It was 1800’ and it had felt short. This was 1200’!

No time to waste. We unloaded and taxied back out and, HUMMM now to take off of this strip…
On the climb out we had to turn to avoid another mountain not far off the departure end of the runway. It was a short 15 minute hop to Paramakatoi (PK) which is nestled up even closer to the mountain. I had a hard time spotting the runway at first. At this one the mountain is on the south side with a smaller knoll almost in the approach path. Let’s just say I had to keep drying my palms as I worked my way down to set up a solid approach path; right turn to parallel the runway, then descending left turn around the knoll, and between the knoll and another hill. James said “this one is paved, careful of the ravine at the approach end.” As I surveyed the view out the front I thought “OH you mean AT the approach end. Don’t even think about touching down early…”  I was trying not to remember James Harris’ story about branches in the wheels as I skimmed over the tree tops. Touchdown!!!! Paved??? Well kinda… layers of tar and quarter sized gravel… at least the gravel isn’t going to get sucked up into the prop. PK’s runway is only 1100’, but being paved you can stop quicker. 

We off loaded a suitcase of Sabbath School felts to the church, and some clothes for distribution. Then out we rolled again. Off to Monkey Mountain, another 15 minutes or so.

This one wasn’t so bad. Again it was nestled against the mountains but nothing too crazy to have to dodge. The runway had an uphill component and… a bent up airplane parked off to the south side of the runway 2/3rds of the way down, offering a silent word of caution to the next pilot. We pulled off in the parking area and shut down the engine. Here we wanted to check on a Bible worker and leave some food supplies and some cash, as well as some Sabbath School felts for the local church. He and his wife were 
already at the airstrip with their backpacks and suit cases… eh? “We are here to get a plane ride to Georgetown. My eyes so bad I see doubles and triples, and this spot on my ear it no heal many months.” (That is the gist of what he said. I’m still trying to figure out the accents that are used here.) James was thinking that we could help him out with his ticket on one of the small commercially operated flights. As we were discussing it, another gentleman strode over and informed us that there were no further scheduled flights until Friday. We made room in the plane for the two passengers after delivering the non perishable food items to their house not too far distant.

We also had an extra can of gas. We put the gas in the wing to keep the weight somewhat forward. Otherwise the can full of gas would have ended up in the luggage compartment shifting the weight further aft. We would fly them to Lethem further south; to where there is a bus that could take them to Georgetown. We couldn’t take them to Georgetown ourselves because we already had Lincoln and his family that needed to go from Lethem to Georgetown and they were already waiting on us. We loaded up and taxied out. We made a quick check of the engine monitor and the related systems-everything was in the green. We lined up for takeoff from the 1200’ gravel uphill runway. There was that bent up airplane in the weeds again, silently reminding us…

James verbally walked me through the take off abort process, and helped me select a good go/no-go point on the runway. Off we went, easing the throttle forward so as to reduce the number of rocks and sand getting pulled into the prop. The numbers looked good well before the abort point and the 235 hp pulled us airborne. We worked our way south following Brazil’s eastern border. A direct route would have put us in Brazilian airspace, something we did not have clearance to do. Soon we were arriving in Lethem. WOW a beautiful paved runway of 3000’!!! Dirt taxi ways, but-hey I’ll take the paved runway.

Jacob is in the fore ground talking with me, and the Bible worker and his wife in the background

After we landed we were met by Jacob, a worker at our TV station in Lethem.

We had with us his long awaited trumpet that he was so anxious for. I don’t know the full story of how it came to be at the flight base in Georgetown, but now he has his very own trumpet. I was able to give him a few pointers on how to care for and play it, as he had only played one once. I will have another chance to work with him when he comes to Paruima in two weeks for the youth congress.

Lincoln, his wife, and their two boys, ages 6 months and 3 years, arrived and loaded up. Since Lincoln is also a pilot and needs to gain experience as a pilot in Guyana he flew the return trip. I hadn’t given much thought to the ride back. I just thought I would climb in the back seat and away we would go…

Whoever thought of putting a back window in the Cessna 182, was not thinking of tall people. I rode all the way back either resting my chin on my hands with my elbows on my knees or with the left ear of my headset on my shoulder…  (Sunday I climbed into the back seat of 8704T, the Cessna 182 that has been here working the last several years. It is 13 years older and does not have the back window. I have 3” above my head even while sitting up very straight.)

I spent the trip back either trying to nap a little or entertaining the 3 year old boy, Nathan.

We arrived in good time, and put the plane away. What adventures await with the next flight? Only God knows and He is the one that brought us here in the first place, we are here at His bidding. We have to learn to recognize His still small voice telling us how and when to go out and to come in. Pray for us as we have so much to learn.

Over the Sea by Edwin Davidson

The Last four weeks have been really short and long at the same time if that makes sense.  Short because of how busy we have been, long because it was the longest time that Laura and I have been away from Each other.

Laura departed Dunlap TN on the morning of September 18^th to drive down to Miami and fly out on the 20^th to Georgetown Guyana. They would be on the same flight as Joy Ash and their two girls. The plan was for me to join James Ash in the Cessna 182 that Todd Anderson had purchased for the work in Guyana. We thought that the plane would be ready, and we would leave really close to the same time as the ladies. Well… it didn’t happen that way. I received word that Laura and Kathryn had arrived safely in Guyana. The next morning I got a call from James…the plane is no where near ready to leave and the mechanic is going on vacation for two weeks and he says he has about 4-6 weeks worth of work to do on it when he gets back. That means that 6-8 weeks before the plane is ready to fly south!!! WHAT!?!?!?! My heart sank. My sweet heart  is in another country and I haven’t even been to that country. I took comfort knowing that she was at least with Joy Ash who has lived in Guyana for the last 10 years. I knew that Laura and Kathryn would be ok. That Wednesday afternoon James called me and said “Can you get over here to Collegedale and help us. "I Spoke with Steve Wilson (our A&P/IA mechanic and pilot from Bolivia) and he is spending time with family in Atlanta. He can be here in the morning to do the annual inspection.” I grabbed my things an stuffed them in the back of my GMC Jimmy and headed out. As soon as I got my stuff dumped in a room at the GMI quarters, I raced over to the hanger to help open up inspection panels on the plane so Steven could start with everything open. Steven worked in earnest the Thursday Morning. By Friday he had most of the inspection complete. Many things needed to be done. Darren Lea (a mechanic from AWA) and Tom Meigan came and helped resolve issues. We worked hard 10-12 hour days trying to get all the fine details ironed out and the plane ready to go. Interior panels needed to be put back on the walls and ceiling. new Vinyl lettering on the wings and pilot's door. the plane had to be weighed to get an accurate picture of the weight and balance. The next Friday we pulled the plane out of the hanger and Cas Anderson fired up the engine. It ran!!! But the oil pressure didn’t look right.

At first there was no pressure then… 150 PSI!!!??? the engine was shut down. After a bit they tried again 150 PSI again. Normal is about 30-50 PSI. Steven found the adjustment on the oil pressure regulator and got the pressure down but now there was an oil leak on the back of the oil pump which is located on the back of the engine about a 1/2” from the firewall. We closed down and got ready for Sabbath. Sabbath night Steven went to the hanger and tried til 3 am to fix the leak. Sunday am we had a dedication service with Cas and her church family. Afterward Tom and James fired up the engine, the leak was still there. Monday James and Tom pulled the engine loose to get to the pump better and also took off the propeller to make working on it easier. I ended up making a run to the Sensenich propeller shop in Gainsville GA to get new prop nuts and an o-ring. The nuts and o-ring are one time use. They got it all put together by Tuesday night, Wednesday am they tried the engine, it leaked just as bad as before. Now what?!?! After talking with and engine re-builder and the particulars of this engine they tried again and got it  mostly together by Friday afternoon. They finished up Sabbath night. Sunday morning they tried the engine again. NO LEAK!!! The cowling was buttoned up and James flew it for an hour for the first part of the break-in of the new engine. Then He took Cas and the two kids up for about 30 minutes after that. It was a clear day but the wind was something else. Turbulent remnants of the the edge of Hurricane Matthew. He set the plane down and said we would try again on Monday. Monday while we were eating breakfast we were talking about the list of things that needed to still happen before we took the plane South to Guyana. One of them being that the Transponder and the pitot/static system had to be pressure checked and certified, no problem just take it to the avionic shop at the Chattanooga airport and they would have it done, right? They were booked til Thursday…

I told them our situation he said “get it over here and we’ll work it in today” Praise the Lord!!! It also meant we wouldn’t be flying the plane for the day like we had planned on but we would have that check done. Monday afternoon they called… “there is a leak in the static system and we are having a hard time locating it and your transponder is…dead. The transponder would be expensive if not impossible to repair due to the age of the unit, a good used one would be the next option but it would likely have the same issue soon and that would be $1000. The next option would be a new install of a much newer unit $1500 the next option was a brand new unit with the New ADS-B options that are required by 2020… $6500 we opted for the on in the middle that is a very good Garmin GTX 327 that can have the ADS-B added to it later.  They finally got it installed and the static system fixed by Wednesday. All said and done after all the work of locating and fixing the leak in the static system and the certification of both systems and the install of the new transponder $2500. We weren't sure how we were going to pay for it and have money to put gas in the plane to take it south. We prayed about what to do. The Lord provided through a donor who asked what the bill was and stated that she would cover the bill. "We need to get you boys on your way to your families." We got the plane and flew down to Cobb County airport where we were met by a rep from Stophungernow.org.

He had supplies for us to take down to Haiti with us. Thursday we spent a lot of time trying to get stuff sorted in to piles to load in the plane and load into barrels to ship later. Darren and James worked on making sure everything and every body was Instrument Current. We finally left Collegedale at 9:00 at night and flew to homestead Florida. There we picked up a full refuel and headed out across the ocean. James flew for the first bit while I slept. Just about the first crack of dawn I woke up and took control of the plane so James could sleep. This is one of the nice features about airplanes is the dual controls. You don’t have to pull over to switch drivers.

 We arrived in Port-a-Prince Haiti about 10:15.

Cleared customs and tried to contact ADRA in Haiti to deliver the food supplies to. No such luck. We tried to taxi over from the International terminal to the General Aviation ramp. We sat there for 25-30 mins with the engine turning trying to get permission to move. “9-1-1-3-Mike Hold your position” was always the response. It was like everybody was trying to move at once. Planes landing, Planes taking off, Military helicopters from the UN, Marines, Navy, and the army coming and going, an Osprey tilt-a-rotor came in. It was kinda like you see on the news.

We finally got to move over to the GA ramp and found the MAF Hanger where we could try and make contact with ADRA personel. The MAF personel were very helpful and shared their Airconditioned shipping container office with us while we worked. We took on fuel so we could make the trip to Puerto Rico as soon as ADRA was able to collect the food supplies. Finally we figured out that they were at the airport but couldn’t figure out where we were. Once that was resolved and they made it through with a van to pick up our load, James went a filed our flight plan. He was gone for quite some time while I stayed with the plane. Marshallers on the ram kept asking me

to move the plane here or there to make room for other

planes coming in. Finally a dejected looking James returned to the plane. “eAPIS has not cleared us to re-enter the US. I have tried two more times to file another eAPIS. Still nothing, all we can do is wait. It will be best if we can park over at the GA ramp to wait. Back at the MAF base we kept checking the email hoping and praying for a response from eAPIS. Eventually the time came when single engine night operations were not allowed. We were officially stuck for Sabbath. We tried to make contact with ADRA again to see if they had any suggestions. While we waited for a response a field director was on the phone. When he hung up he was almost in tears. He had 14 people in a certain valley that were in need of serious medical help. There was no runway near them. The only way to get to them was with a helicopter, and he couldn't find one that was available.
Soon they went home and closed the office. There went our method of trying to contact anybody in Haiti. Now where to sleep… with the folding seats in the back we thought that would work. As we were piling everything in the front seats with flash lights an man came out and asked what we were planning to do since they were expecting us to leave right away. We told him the story with the eAPIS. “you can’t sleep here.” He said. “come inside you can sleep on the seats in the terminal” Well that is better than nothing and might work quite well so we grabbed out backpacks and headed into the terminal. We made ourselves comfortable. I was almost out when a security guard came in yelling something in French. I started and sat up, he motioned for me to lay back down as he kept yelling and continued on around the corner. I re-positioned. About an hour or so later someone else was yelling and clapping his hands. I sat up. There was another security guard with a man in a suit. The man in the suit had an ADRA pin on his lapel. “we can’t let you sleep here when you have come to help us. Come with me.” “What happened? We lost contact with you” he said. We told him how we had been over at the MAF Flight base but they had closed for the evening. And we had no other options for internet. “You come sleep comfortable” he put us up in a hotel within walking distance to the airport.

After a good night’s rest we tried again to file the eAPIS to Puerto Rico. They accepted it this time to the airport on the east end instead of the west end of the island. We had to cross the boundary at 4:00 pm. I was able to give a brief report over Skype to our church in Owasso Oklahoma for Sabbath School before we left the hotel. We re-positioned our things in the plane and made sure that all was in order. Several Church members in Puerto Rico had collected food goods that needed to come back to Haiti and were waiting on us. While we waited for our time to depart Haiti we talked with several of the MAF operators and learned more of the situation. How badly we want to just stay and help with the med-evacs and food drops that needed to happen. We could have stayed and worked for 6 months. The need is so great. Our time to depart came and we left Haiti to Puerto Rico. We were considering staying in Haiti for a couple of days but when we got to Puerto Rico James received word from Guyana that several of our missionaries out in the bush were running short on supplies and would be out by the time we would be arriving in Guyana Monday night. We had time to just make the one run on Sunday. Early Sunday morning we made our way to a church member’s house and a church community services building and picked up food goods and bottled water, about 200lbs worth. The gentleman we were staying with took us to Sam’s and loaded us up with another 300lbs. We had a full load. We loaded the plane and verified that we had been accepted both on the outgoing and incoming eApis so we wouldn’t be stuck again.  This time the run was uneventful and we made good time. Back to Puerto Rico we went. Early Monday morning we loaded up our things in the plane and took off for Grenada about 5.5 hours out and a good fuel stop. Looking at the GPS it was going to be tight to make the fuel stop and get to Georgetown. Guyana Civil aviation does not allow Night operations with a single engine aircraft. After the one hour fuel stop we climbed up to altitude and looked at the ETA. Not good. It was showing about an hour after sundown… now what? We started praying for tail winds. So far we had been bucking head winds the whole way. Still the head winds persisted. How were we going to make it in time? I looked at my watch 3:30?? James looked at his watch. I kept the course lined up while He started to scribble down some numbers. The numbers didn’t add up. He did the math again, same answer. He took the controls while I fiddled with the GPS. AH-HA that was the problem the GPS was set to Atlantic Time which was an hour ahead. Guyana in on Atlantic Time but only when Daylight savings is not in effect… once I had the time corrected it showed the ETA to be right at Sundown, whew!!! We were going to make it! We landed right on time with the sun just dropping behind the horizon. We cleared customs and looked for a place to park. There was space next to 8704T, the other plane in the fleet. It is so nice to hug Laura and Kathryn again.

Georgetown Guyana

As James put it the adventure is only beginning for our little family here in Guyana. Please continue to Pray with us for the ministry here in Guyana and also for Haiti as the struggles for survival are only beginning.

Culture Shock by Laura Davidson- September 22 2016

As I scrub the shower with familiar Lysol cleaner, I could imagine that I was in the states, but the loud kettle drum band practice from the high school across behind the house, bursting through the glass slat window, reminds me that I am in fact in Guyana.

I hear a small aircraft flying over the house. My heart leaps and dies all in the same beat. Edwin will be arriving in a small aircraft, but Edwin is not in that aircraft, not today. It's so hard not knowing when Edwin will arrive. I miss him so much! My heart feels like I have been here in Guyana for months, but we only just arrived day before yesterday.

On Tuesday, my Dad, Kathryn and I arrived at the Miami airport, we finally found a parking spot on the roof of the parking garage. Sweat immediately started dripping from our faces as we got my luggage ready and address tags put on. My Daddy got a text from James Ash, but it was too bright for him to read it. I got a call from Edwin, my phone was so hot it was uncomfortable to hold it up to my ear. "James is trying to get ahold of your Dad," Edwin told me, "Joy accidentally took her Moms computer instead of her own. James wants you to get the laptop that she has so that your Dad can bring it back up to James at Collegedale."
"Ok, I will see if we can do that." I told Edwin.

My Dad and I were trying to figure out how to transport three large 50lb suitcases, two carry on size suitcases  a large back pack, a small backpack and the car seat in its gate check bag. We were struggling. "Where are you headed?" An airport employee asked. "We are flying Caribbean Airlines." We told him.
He kindly told us that we were headed to the wrong elevator and that we were at the wrong end of the airport. "You can get back in your car and drive over there, or you can go to the terminal and walk, but it's a good half mile!"

The biggest snafu was that the car seat was almost impossible to get in and out of the gate check bag and hard to get in and out of the car. I opted for walking, which turned out ok, but ended up taking a lot longer then expected. Thankfully there was a friendly TSA worker that was headed that way, who happily helped with our luggage and answered our questions.

Miami has moving walkways which was convenient. Kathryn had been walking along with her little back pack on, like a little trouper. She even bravely tried to get on and off of the moving walkways on her own, but by the second one she lost her balance and fell. Big tears ensued. I carried her the rest of the way.

Several times along our way, we heard over the loud speakers. "Joy Ash, Joy Ash, please pick up the closest service phone for an important message."

The ticketing area for Caribbean Airlines was empty, the plane was already starting the boarding process. My heart sank. At least I didn't have to wait in line! The ticket agent said with surprise, "You are returning March 21?"
"Yes Ma'am"
"Do you have a visa?"
"No ma'am, I am planning to apply for one once I get there."
"Just a minute," the lady said as she walked away. "The country doesn't let you stay that long."
My heart sank "Lord, please work a miracle!" I whispered.
Meanwhile Kathryn was asking for raisins.
The ticketing agent returned, and without saying anything, continued processing my checked bags. Praise the Lord!
There was an elderly employee looking over the younger ticketing agents shoulder and leaning against the counter, she started mumbling and complaining about something. Finally she spoke up, "you have too much to carry on, AND the baby, that's too much, you can't handle all that."
"I will be ok." I said, trying to sound confident. I had already asked for a gate pass for my Dad so he could help me get to my gate, they had said it wasn't an option.
The elderly lady was still mumbling, "But what if there is an emergency, you have too much stuff there to carry, AND the baby, she can't handle it all." She said, trying to convince the younger lady.
They both looked at me.
"Well, what are my options?" I asked.
"You can check one of your carry ons."
"Would it cost me extra?"
"No"
"Ok, yes please, check this one please!"
Praise the Lord, one less thing to juggle. They had already checked the car seat as well.
With the paper work all done and Kathryn sitting on the remaining carry on suitcase, happily eating her raisins and being pulled by her Dado (my Dad) we rushed in the direction the lady told us we needed to go. And then we saw it. The horrendous line for security. It was time to tell my Daddy goodbye, so hard!!! "I will stay right here for an hour so I can receive the laptop, if you can get it from Joy." He said.
We entered the line waving to my Dad several times. I called Edwin crying that I was afraid I was missing my flight. He helped me calm down and reminded me that I really did still have an hour before the plane was scheduled to take off. There was a gale force rain storm blowing outside complete with thunder and lightning. I prayed that the storm would delay the flight if need be.

The line proved to be much faster moving then it had first appeared. We made it through security with Kathryn happily eating her raisins. No complications other then "Oh no, raisin!!!" As Kathryn grabbed for a dropped raisin just as we were trying to gingerly walk through the metal detector. The TSA worker only smiled as I apologized.

Soon we we had our shoes back on and we were heading to gate J10. After a much needed bathroom stop, we arrived to our gate and saw that maybe half of the passengers had already boarded. Glancing around quickly I could tell that Joy and her girls were not in sight.

I called Edwin to tell him we had made it to our gate, but Joy must have already boarded. "When you enter the plane, ask a flight attendant where Joy Ash is sitting so you can get the laptop from her and hand it to an airport employee to take to your Dad." Oh no, Kathryn was barefoot, where were her shoes! Big sigh of relief, they were only a few feet behind us in line. As I was getting Kathryn's shoes back on, I heard my name. I whirled around and there was Joy and her girls!!!! I gave her a big hug and we both said, "I am SO glad to see you!" She had been worried that I wouldn't make the flight. They had been in a nearby restaurant, that's why I hadn't seen them when I first came up. But it seemed like a miracle that she had appeared!

"Do you know about the laptop mix up?" I quickly asked Joy.
"Yes," she said hanging her head, "I accidentally got my Mom's laptop instead of mine."
"Well we have been talking to James and he wants you to give your Mom's laptop to my Dad who is waiting for it at security. My Dad will take it back to TN and give it James, so he can get it back to your Mom!!!" I said as fast as I could. Joy immediately went into high gear, "But I don't want to miss this flight!!" She said.
"No, hand the laptop to a TSA worker and tell them to take it to David Dence, security knows he is waiting for it."
"Watch the girls." Joy said as she ran
toward security.
After proper introductions were made between the little girls, I called my Daddy and told him Joy was headed his way with the laptop. "Hang on, here she comes now!" He said.

The rain had delayed the loading of the luggage onto our aircraft, so the personal weren't in any hurry and where happy to wait until Joy returned. We didn't have long to wait and soon we were all safely in our seats on the airplane. Kathryn and I had been talking about flying on the airplane all day, so she was very excited to crawl up in her seat and proudly buckle her seat belt herself! We called a few family members to tell them one last goodbye before my phone would be put on hold for the next six months.

We had an uneventful flight. Kathryn had napped in the car on the

way to the airport, so she wasn't inclined to nap in the airplane. She enjoyed looking out the window and eating fishy crackers. There were little islands below us, most of the times I looked out the window. The blue water was to pretty!

We enjoyed a pretty sunset, then after dark we landed in Port of Spain, in Trinidad/Tobago. I was sad that it was dark, we were not able to see a thing except a few lights right before we landed. It was a short lay over and we stayed on the aircraft. Soon we were ready to take the short flight over to Georgetown Guyana. There were not a lot of passengers, so Jenna and Julianna were able to sit with us. The Girls enjoyed plying during our flight.

At about 9:30 pm we arrived safely in Georgetown Guyana. We exited the back of the plane, walked down the stairs and across the Tarmac to the small terminal building. We stopped to snap a few pictures, so were last in line at customs. Kathryn had been such a good little traveler all day, but about the time it was our turn at the window, she didn't want to be confined or constrained any more. I tried to answer the ladies questions while Kathryn was having a tantrum. Thankfully the customs personnel were understanding and were happy with my answers and let me through! Praise the Lord!

Miracle of miracles, all of our luggage and all of the Ash's luggage arrived safe and sound, though a little damp from their proximity to the gale force rain that they had encountered in Miami.

We had several carts full of luggage. After one last check point we made our way out of the building with two personnel helping push our carts of luggage. "Did James say anything to you about who was picking us up from the airport?" Joy had asked me earlier. No, he hadn't. "James told me that he would ask someone with a pick up to come pick us up." Joy continued, "I sure hope he didn't forget."

"I sure hope he's here!" Joy said as we made our way across the small porte cochere and into the relatively small and dark parking lot. Praise the Lord, there were church members Marvin and his wife Catherine waiting for us in their pick up truck. "We are so happy to see you!" Joy said "Thank you SO much for coming to pick us up."

It took Marvin some time to mound our belongings into the bed of his pick up and get it all securely tied down. After joy paid the two personnel that had helped with our luggage, the five of us piled into the back seat of the pick up. Kathryn thought it was grand to get to sit on Mommy's lap. It was so different having the driver on the right side of the vehicle and driving on the left side of the road! At one point I looked up and just about panicked seeing the "driver" with both hands on the cell phone, then I remembered that that was the passenger sitting on the left side! The roads were quite rough. We had a 45 min ride to where we would be spending the night.

"How is the crime in Georgetown?" Joy asked, hoping for a good report. "It's funny that you should ask that," Catherine said.
"Why, what happened!!!" Joy asked, all ears!
"We were robbed at gun point last night."
"Oh that's terrible, are you all ok? Was your daughter with you?"
"Thankfully our daughter was with her grandparents. Marvin and I were on the sea wall, it was after dark. Two men kept passing us. I told Marvin that I didn't feel safe and that we should leave."
"But just then they came up to us, pulled out their guns and said don't move or we will shoot." Marvin took up the story. "We didn't have a choice, they took everything."
"Even my wedding ring!" Said Catherine.
"Oh I am SO sorry that's terrible." We were all saying at once.
"It's ok, I still have my husband." Catherine said.

"Watch out!" Joy shouted.
Right in the middle of the street was a bull slowly chasing a cow across the road.
"Welcome to Guyana!" Marvin said cheerfully as he stomped on the break and safely swerved around the bovine.
I enjoyed trying to absorb as much as I could out the windows. Mostly what I saw was poorly lit, well barred homes.

"What's that, what's happening?" Jenna and Julianna both asked at once. "It's ok, just be very quite." Joy told them. Up ahead was a traffic stop, a police man (I hoped they were police and not thugs!) with a long rifle stood on each side of the road. We slowed to a stop. I stared straight ahead as they peered in the Windows. Marvin said "Good evening." They returned the greeting and let us go. I turned to see two police stopping the oncoming traffic as well, it looked like it was quite backed up. I was thankful that we were not delayed.
"What were they doing? Why were they doing that?" The girls asked.
"It's ok, they do it just because they can." Their mother responded.
"Were they board? So they decided to do that"
"Maybe."

Marvin let Joy use his borrowed phone, to call James to let him know we had made it safely. Then Marvin kindly stopped at the side of the road briefly to make the phone a wifi hot spot and set up my phone so I could call Edwin on messenger.
A disheveled man walked close to the car. "Who's that?" The girls whimpered. "It's ok," Joy soothed, "it just looks like a retarded man, he is just begging."

Soon we were bumping down the road again. It was so good to see Edwin on messenger and let him know we were ok. The call was lost and I continued our conversation by typing, but the road was so rough that it made typing just about impossible. All to soon we were safely at our destination and I had to tell Edwin goodbye.

The apartment that we are staying in is at the Davis Indian Adventist Hospital. I was surprised to see amenities like a fridge with freezer, washer and dryer, carpet in the bedroom and even an instant hot water device in the shower. It took a while to get all our luggage in the house, everyone showered and bedded down for the night. Joy and the girls had been traveling for almost 24 hours. We were all happy to sleep in in the morning. The unfamiliar jungle sounds startled me awake. What a racket!

Some one, and we are still not sure who, left some fresh fruit and almond milk for us in the fridge, for our breakfast! Praise the Lord!

We needed water, and food, the AC fixed, propane, a new door knob, another fan, a frying pan, wifi and SIM card for Joys phone.... We all headed downtown in the Ash's van.
"It's not safe to have your phone out while you are in town, once you are in the stores you can take your phone out. It's not safe to take a back pack or large purse of any kind, because you will have to leave it at the bag bay at the store and they will relieve you of all your valuables. It's not safe to drive with your purse or any valuables in the front seat, they will just reach in and take it....." As Joy filled me in, I was left wide eyed, speechless, and I must admit, a little terrified!

Our first stop was the Adventist Book Center! How lovely, it was quite a nice establishment. I met one of the pastors and several other church members there. Our next stop was the hardware store. We had to park a little ways away from it and walk. There was a flat bed truck filled with humongous sacks of rice. "That's a lot of rice!" Jenna said. "Semi truck!" Kathryn said.
The streets are dirty and noisy with street peddlers pressed up against closed store fronts.

The hardware store had an amazing verity of goods. Pretty much everything a hardware store in the US would have, plus just about everything a dollar store would have. Rows of dishes and kitchen supplies. An area with silk flowers, vases and other pretties. If the price tag says $1,000. It's only $5.00 in US money.  Before buying a light bulb, Joy took it to the electronics counter so they could check to make sure it worked. Before buying a fan, an employee took it out of its box and put it together enough so that it could be plugged in to make sure it would run. Joy wanted to buy a leaf rake for the yard, they had rakes, but no handles for them.

When Joy had made her final selections, an employee at a counter added up her purchases on her computer and gave Joy a scrap of paper with her total scribbled on it, but kept the good.  We stood in line at a glassed in booth, the girl there received Joy's cash. We stood in another line and at that counter they bagged up our items and handed them to us. At the fourth line a man checked our receipt and let us go. If we had left a bag at the bag bay, we would have had to wait in that line as well. Cas Anderson wasn't kidding when she told me that you have to stand in line a bunch of times for anything you do in Guyana!

Kathryn was crashing so Joy graciously took us back to the house so I could put Kathryn down for a nap while she continued our errands. Jenna and Julianna crawled into their bed saying  "We're sleepy too!"  All four of us slept until almost five pm. It felt good to catch up on sleep.

It's so different being in the minority in a country. To feel like a sore thumb and a target. It gives me an appreciation for people of other lands making their home in the US. "So this is what it feels like to be floundering around in some one else's culture, to be the outsider." I said to myself.
I have a lot to learn, and even though I may never learn to love the city, I know that soon I will feel right at home here in Guyana. I can't wait to head to the interior when Edwin gets here!