Sunday, August 14, 2016

Providences by Laura Davidson

Guyana. Guyana, Guyana!!!

We have been talking about and planning to go to Guyana for so long, it seems. There have been so many possible scenarios of how and when we would get there.

Now it seems so close and like the Lord has given us a glimpse of how He is going to get us there!

I am SO excited!!! I am still holding my breath though, as the Lord rarely shows us His full plan. Details may change, but I want to share with you what is happening.

James Ash, director of GAMAS and senior pilot, has invited Edwin to help him fly 9113M from the US, down to Guyana!!! This is HUGE! This is exciting! It will be a wonderful and educational experience for Edwin. Meanwhile, I am trying not to get nervous as Edwin talks about researching the best life raft to take. That is a huge expanse of water to be flying over!

9113M is the Cessna 182 that Todd Anderson purchased and had been preparing; rebuilding the engine, adding soft-field landing gear, and many other things to get it ready for service in Guyana. There is still much that needs to be finished up and signed off, I am sure Edwin will be writing about those details in the coming weeks. The Ash family is on furlough and after some rest and relaxation, James and Edwin will tackle getting 9113M ready, in full force! They hope to have it ready to fly for sure, by the end of September.

So, Edwin has a ride to Guyana. What about Kathryn and me?

James Ash's wife, Joy, and daughters, Jenna and Julianna, are flying commercially from Miami, FL to Georgetown, Guyana, on the 20th of Sep. They are happy to have us join them. The Ash family has been living in Guyana now for 8 years. I am so relieved that I will be able to fly with someone who has had so much experience! Praise the Lord!

Now it just so happens that some dear friends from the Dunlap area are moving to Florida. They requested that my dad drive one of their "extra" cars down for them. "There is no hurry, just as long as you get it down to us in the next few months." Ding! The light bulb went on. My dad told them "Laura and Kathryn are needing a ride to the Miami airport to fly out on the 20th". They were glad to let us take the car all the way to Miami and for my dad to deliver it to them after Sep 20. Praise the Lord!!! My way is paid to Miami! I won't have to rent a car and drive from Dunlap to Miami all by myself. And I will have my very own Daddy with us! It sounds too good to be true!

What about a place to sleep the night before we fly out? No problem. One of my uncles lives about three hours from the Miami airport. He is happy to have us spend the night at his place. Hooray for the added bonus blessing of getting to see my Uncle Lavern! And we don't have to pay for a motel!

So I have a free ride to the Miami airport. There is just one catch though. In order to fly with Joy, Jenna and Julianna on Sep 20, we have to buy tickets, and, in order to buy tickets, we have to have money. We didn't have the $800. needed to buy tickets. I had faith that the Lord would provide, and He did.

A dear family whom I hadn't seen or talked to since I was about 6 years old, is giving us $800. for airfare!

I am in shock, but not really surprised. When something is the Lord's will, He fits together the pieces of the puzzle so well. His biddings are enablings. God's timing is perfect. Even if details change, it will still be perfect, because everything that God does is perfect.

"This is what the Lord says- your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: 'I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is good for you and leads you along the paths you should follow.'" Isaiah 48:17

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Mechanical Miracle! byEdwin

Crack at the seam
the crack is between the two sticks
This post is a bit late, but it bears telling as it is encouraging to see how God is working. As we stated earlier, we had had some trouble with over heating in our GMC Jimmy on the way from Oklahoma to Dunlap TN, back in June. We had been able to top off the radiator and keep driving the remaining 5-6 hours. After we arrived here in Dunlap we continued to have over heating issues. I wondered if the radiator cap was getting weak since the fluid levels would drop on the radiator without using coolant from the radiator reservoir. Sometimes it would leave a small puddle on the ground after the engine was turned off. Finally I got a hold of a radiator pressure tester that my father-in-law had, and checked the radiator cap. It held pressure within range... so then I checked the coolant system for pressure. It would not even hold 4 psi. It is supposed to hold at least 16 psi. There was a lot of hissing coming from the driver's side of the radiator. I could hear it coming from the space between the radiator and the front cross member. When I finally got the radiator out, there was a crack in the plastic end cap 4" long right along the seam where the cap is crimped on to the radiator. The crack extends up from the midpoint effectively disabling the upper half of the radiator. A new radiator has been installed and the Jimmy is running fine. Looking back it is a wonder that I was able to top off the radiator and drive the remaining 5-6 hours without any further incident, no coolant had run out when i poured it in, and I had filled it clear up. It didn't leave us stranded 50 miles out of Bucksnort TN. Praise the Lord for His watching out for us. We weren't stuck on the side of the road for Sabbath.