Realness just got realer!!! -by Edwin

Everything has to be wrapped and sealed

WOW!!! What a whirl wind has transpired. Plans have been updated and changed and things are happening faster than we can get them written down, edited and posted. So here is the latest information of what has happened, and our best guess as to what the next few weeks will look like.  We have purchased plane tickets for Laura and Kathryn to fly from Miami Florida on September 20^th at 3:20 pm, on the same flight as Joy Ash and their two girls. (Return trip will be March 21 2017. I have a plane ticket on the same return flight, March 21 2017.) I will be helping James Ash fly 9113M (Todd’s Cessna 182) from Collegedale to Ft Lauderdale FL, to Grand Turk, to Puerto Rico, to Trinidad, and finally to Georgetown. Our exact departure date is still unknown as the finishing touches to the plane have taken longer than planned, and the plane is not quite ready yet.

Tuesday (8-30-16) we dropped our barrel of household goods in Atlanta with Laparkan Shipping. It will take most of 3 weeks by sea to get there. The word is that it will arrive there September 18 just before we do!!!!

We just found out this week that even though day time temps can be really warm in the tropics, apparently where we are going, it gets down in the low 60’s at night… We haven’t packed for that. We packed for it to be in the low 80’s at night. Laura will be flying with some checked bags so we had some of our warm blankets sent from Oklahoma for us to try to fit into our suitcases.

 

This last weekend (9-10-16) was the GMI volunteer retreat. We spent all day Sabbath at Fall Creek Falls listening to stories and testimonies from the other missionaries and volunteers, of how the Lord has been leading in many of the projects and in their personal lives.



Bye-Bye Barrel see you in 3 weeks-I Hope



 

James Ash was talking about how the work is spreading in Guyana but also reiterating the physical hindrance of the terrain. The most common flight that he does is from Paruima to Kaikan a flight of 14 min, but the only other way to get there is to hike OVER 2 DAYS through the jungle. My friends that are marathon runners would enjoy this: some really fit villagers can run it in 18 hours on minimal supplies and no luggage on their backs. James completed his single engine sea plane rating a few weeks ago, in hopes to start an amphibious program to reach villages that have water access but no runways. A number of missionaries are really feeling burned out and exhausted just from the travel to get to their posts, a sea plane will be such a blessing to them. We are praying that the Lord will be with James as he searches for the right plane to fill that spot.                        Yesterday (9-12-2016) we had a big media event with the mission TV cameras at the Collegedale airport. Pastor David Gates interviewed the pilots and introduced the planes that are launching within the next few weeks. This is the most planes that GMI has sent out at one time; the first 3 of a group of 8 donated planes, launching for mission service. Two Cessna 182's departed today (9-13-16). One is bound for Peru and the other is bound for Venezuela. The third plane is the Cessna 182 that Todd Anderson put so much time and effort into before cancer forced him to pass the baton. James and I will be flying that one down to Guyana next week, if all goes well on completion of the "squawk" list.  James purchased a new life raft, one expensive piece of equipment that we hope to never use. Joy Ash responded "I hope it rots in the bag."

I just received the email from Lightspeed that my headset has been refurbished and is in the mail back to me. Praise the Lord!

 

We are excited that our dreams and goals of going over seas as missionaries are now sooo real. It is really happening! iI has been encouraging to see how God has supplied our needs along the way.

We know He has led us this far, our faith is strengthened.

Please pray for us, as there are many challenges ahead, many things to learn, many things to unlearn. Pray for our travels, for safety and wisdom navigating our way across the Caribbean, and for Laura and Kathryn as well as the Ash family ladies. It looks like they may very well beat James and me to Guyana by about a week. Pray that our family will grow in our walk with the Lord as we share Jesus' love with the precious ones in Guyana.

 

"For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me." Psalm 31:3