"The Long Road to Guyana"

by Laura Davidson 

Several weeks ago we excitedly made our way to TN on our way to Guyana....

I wish that this letter was telling you that we had safely arrived in Guyana, but that is not the case. We are still headed to Guyana, but on the "long road".

Here's what's happening. One day not too long ago, Edwin had been shopping for airline tickets to Guyana in the morning, but hadn't purchased any. Then, that afternoon we got a message from James Ash (the director of GAMAS) which basically said, "If you haven't purchased tickets yet, don't." Apparently, the Ash family has the opportunity to spend a few months furlough here in the states. Since Edwin will be apprenticing with James Ash, it is best for us to wait and fly to Guyana when the Ash family is ready to return. 

Even though it is discouraging to be almost ready to go, and have a delay, we have heard from other missionary families, that that sort of thing is quite common. Following the Lord often requires a lot of waiting. Isaiah 40:31 says "They that wait (or trust) upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Waiting on the Lord is good for our own character development. We learn to trust His timing. The things that are most important to the Lord, are often things that we don't even think about, or that we often forget. Little things like a word spoken in season, a soul touched, a spiritual seed planted, or a sprouting faith watered; all of those things are not little at all, but are of eternal consequence! Being tools in the hands of God, to bless others, is what life on this earth is all about. May the Lord help us to see through His eyes, and never miss an opportunity to bless, touch or reach someone that the Lord has placed right in front of us. And may we learn the importance of and embrace what it says in James 4 "Look here, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.' How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog-it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, 'If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.' Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil." We feel that the Lord has called us to serve Him in Guyana, we are headed in that direction, but most importantly we must focus on serving Him each and every day. Though some days I lack the faith that I should have, I must trust the Lord's timing in all things. His timing is perfect, He knows the end from the beginning, we don't. We trust that if the Lord truly does want us to serve Him in Guyana, that He will get us there in HIS timing, not ours. And we also trust that He will make it evident to us during our six month trial period, if that is the place that He would have us serve, long term. 

Last week we had the opportunity to talk with the Eno family on Skype. They were in Guyana not too long ago, checking it out and praying about possibly moving there. The Lord willing, they will be setting up housekeeping and flight operations in the village of Bethany, in Guyana, this fall/winter. It was so inspiring and encouraging to talk with them. I am so excited about going to Guyana. Now the hard part, is waiting. I am so thankful for the network of wonderful people that the Lord has blessed us with. YOU (yes you, the one reading this) are a very important part of our team. We would not be where we are today without your love, help and prayers. Thank you SO much! Jesus our great example while he was here on earth, spent much time with his heavenly Father in prayer. Over and over again He encourages us with the importance and power of prayer, "And all things, whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." Matthew 21:22 We have decided to start a special email that we intend send out about once a month, with more specific and personal praises and prayer requests. There is power in prayer, my friends, and all too often I find myself worrying, when I should be praying and praising the Lord. If you would like to join our Prayer Team, you will find the sign-up window in the right column of our blog page.

Even with the apparent delays of several families that are headed to Guyana, and the devastating death of our friend and hard worker for the Lord, Todd Anderson; we have to trust the Lord. This quote is especially encouraging, "When we are hedged about on every side, this is the time above all others to trust in God and in the power of His Spirit. The exercise of a living faith means an increase of spiritual strength and the development of an unfaltering trust. It is thus that the soul becomes a conquering power...for the powers of heaven will come to his aid. 'Nothing shall be impossible unto you.'" CC 258.3

Guyana or bust, with a stop in TN

Guyana or bust, with a stop in TN

By Edwin Davidson

Ready to Leave?

The Offending Piece

Wow, things are happening fast now that my instrument rating is complete. We have packed up our belongings that are not going with us to Guyana, and stored them in two small sheds on my parent’s property. Thursday June 23, just before noon, we finally had our things that we were taking with us, packed and loaded in our truck.  There was only a small seat for Laura in the back next to Kathryn. We had a good bye prayer with Daddy (Bryant) and Kathilee, and hopped in the truck. At that point Daddy pointed out a puddle under the front of the truck. Oil was leaking in larger amounts than is acceptable for starting off on a long road trip. I had just fixed a leak in the oil cooler lines on Monday but apparently the fix didn’t hold. Daddy went to town to try to locate the oil line connectors for the external oil cooler. Laura and I took a closer look at our packing job, how tight everything was, and how uncomfortable the 12-13 hour trip would be. Daddy had offered a small utility trailer for us to use if needed. Because we were taking a few of Edwin’s tools, winter clothes for when we return from Guyana, etc, we were heavily loaded.  We decided that the trailer would be necessary. Daddy located the parts for the truck while in town. They had to be shipped from another store and would be at that location in an hour.

We ate our lunch while we waited for Daddy to return from town with the parts for the truck. I started working on making a trailer light adapter after lunch. Shortly, Daddy arrived with the new parts and went in to eat his lunch while I put the new parts on the truck. Wow it was hot. The outside temperature was somewhere near 97, with shade on short supply. Daddy then retrieved the trailer from the weeds and it had a FLAT tire. We parked the trailer on the driveway where we could get to all sides easily. The taillight brackets were broken or iffy, so new ones had to be fabricated and welded on. The thought also occurred to us, that the bearings should be inspected and repacked before heading out. Of the 4 bearings 2 were bad. So Daddy went off to town again, to find new bearings and seals.  I set about to fix the wiring for the trailer lights. After much trouble-shooting and rewiring, the lights finally lit up like a Christmas tree. Daddy arrived with the new bearings. While all this was happening Laura discovered that if we had left when we had planned, we would have left some cash and a check that we needed, sitting on the shelf in the room. Sometimes delays are for our own good.

The new bearings were installed, and the new tires that had been stored in the barn, were installed on the trailer as well. Next, the trailer was hooked up securely to the truck. Tarps were laid out and the larger boxes and suitcases were loaded on the trailer and the things in the truck re-positioned for better seating and mirror visibility.

Ways to entertain a toddler...

Friday morning I checked the tires all around for proper pressure and topped off the coolant reservoir tank appropriately. We started off finally, around 8:45 am. As we were driving across Arkansas I started to notice the engine temperature was rising slowly. I began to wonder if several things were contributing to the gradual temperature increase: the outside temp was running in the upper 90s, the A/C was running full blast, and the transmission was over working and heating up the radiator through the transmission cooler. We tried running in Drive instead of OverDrive and turned the A/C off for a little while. That helped, but it got hot quickly in the cabin. Temp held with the A/C back on for a while. But by the time the next gas stop came, the engine temp was creeping back up. There had to be another reason. After the truck sat for a while, using extreme care, I opened up the radiator and could not see any coolant in the radiator even though the reservoir tank was full. I topped it off with ¾ of a gallon of coolant. The engine maintained good temps the rest of the way. We arrived at about 10 pm Friday night to Laura’s parent’s home. We praise the Lord for giving us wisdom and discernment in packing, troubleshooting the vehicle, and safety on the 751 miles. Thank you all so much for your prayers for our journey

FINALLY Instrument rating Complete!!!!!

Heading out to Jones Riverside to take the exam

We did it!!!! YOU did it, the LORD did it! Edwin now has his instrument rating! Happy dance! Big sigh of relief!

Just a few weeks ago it still seemed so far off, like it might never happen. I am ashamed of how weak my faith was at times. Waiting, and waiting and waiting was the hardest part for me.

Thanks to your generous support, Edwin has been able to focus all his energies on his flight training. Thank you!

Thanks to Edwin's parents, Bryant and Joy Davidson, for the use of their airplane for these last three years and helping keep the airplane flying. They graciously provided a roof over our heads for most of the training process, and helped with keeping us fed. We couldn't have done it without them.

The weather has been quite the complication at times. The Lord provided on test day by lifting the clouds and holding the storms back. And now the summer heat has hit, we are praising the Lord that Edwin was able to take his test right when he did. We can always trust the Lords timing, even when it makes no sense to us.

Have you ever wanted something and worked for something for years? "Pleasure occurs when an intense need is satisfied." Dr. James Dobson. We have worked so hard, sacrificed so much, prayed so long for this. The happiness I felt Monday night almost rivaled our wedding day and Kathryn's birth. I cried tears of happiness. It feels like I have wings on my feet! The Lord got us through the valley and brought us to the mountain top. Our faith has been strengthened for the next valley experience that the Lord has prepared for us.

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

~Laura


What a journey these last three years have been. We moved here to Oklahoma June 2 of 2013, to complete my instrument rating. I finally took my instrument rating check-ride June 13 2016. Through many speed bumps, hurtles, employment hiccups, uncooperative weather, and uncooperative avionics, I now have the instrument rating and a total of 295 hours flight experience. We are so grateful to God for the call that started us on this path and for the faith bolstering experience it has been. We are thankful for all your prayers, encouragement, and support on our behalf as we navigated this course. The Designated Pilot Examiner said when he handed me my new certificate; “Congratulations you’ve just completed the most difficult pilot rating. It is difficult because it is hard.”

~Edwin

Where I have been taking Lessons this past year.

2 hours of questioning.

PreFlight before the practical phase of the test.

"What?! Me nervous???"

YAY!!!! Finally I have an Instrument Rating!!!!!

Couldn't have done it without my patient Laura by my side.

N2668G

Lifters might as well be coarse sand paper.

A damaged rod journal from debris in the oil.

I spoke with the mechanic last week who is working on 2668G, the Cessna 182 that I flew for the month of January in Collegedale TN. This plane was donated to GMI around Christmas time, and is being prepped to go to Guyana. They got the new cylinders back. While they were cleaning everything up and inspecting everything before it goes back together, they found BAD NEWS. Because the engine had been sitting for much of its life it had developed corrosion on the camshaft and lifters. The corrosion made the surfaces rough and increased the wear in the engine significantly. The particles that came off were then circulated in the engine oil causing damage to the crankshaft. This means that a thorough tear-down, inspection and rebuild of the engine is required. Fortunately the cylinders, which are the expensive parts in an overhaul, are already purchased. Yesterday David Gates was at the hanger and talked with the mechanic and gave him the go-ahead to complete the overhaul.

Clarification: this is not the plane that I am using in Oklahoma to finish my IFR training. that one is a Cessna 172 that looks similar but is smaller. N4192F seems to be working just fine. I flew with the instructor yesterday and spoke with the Examiner and they feel that I will be ready for the test with just a few more mock exams.

The Cessna 172 that I am training in.

Casualty of WAR!!!

Every war has casualties. Even spiritual battles have physical casualties. Each soldier has their orders. Each has a job to do. It takes each one doing his or her part, working as a team within each fighter group or battalion, each giving it their all, pressing towards the mark. It is keenly felt when a soldier is taken out. It leaves a hole in the ranks, a role that has to be filled. Who will fill that hole? Who will pick up the standard from the fallen?

Not unlike physical war, families are not only hurt but torn apart, suddenly and without warning, leaving holes in hearts and emotions. Hurting deep down more than a person can know possible. It can happen to anyone, any family whether you are in the trenches, on the water, in the air, or on the bleachers.  This Great Controversy has no civilian casualties; all are soldiers whether they decide to be active or passive in this conflict. You can die just as easily sitting in the bleachers as you can in the fight.

Fortunately our King has fought in the trenches; He set an example of how it is done. He laid His life down that we may live eternally with Him. He died to expose the depths of the evil that Satan brought into the universe. Jesus’ life was cut short by this war. Now He calls to each of us,”Whom shall I send, and who will go for US? (Isaiah 6:8)

The King of Kings and Lord of Lords says “be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life” Rev 2:10

Todd Anderson with his family, had chosen to be active in this fight. They were a much needed part of the team. Todd’s fight is over, but it is not over for the rest of his family. They need prayer and comfort and encouragement like never before. I encourage you, to read his widow’s recent post http://www.athomewithmillieandsam.com/2016/04/i-am-widow.html

Cas Anderson posted the following information;

"We are holding a memorial service to celebrate Todd's love, life, and legacy in Tacoma, Washington at Tacoma Central SDA Church on Sunday, May 1 at 11 am. All whose lives were touched by this wonderful man are invited to join us.

Additionally, because my inbox is filling up asking me, the address to send cards is;
Cas Anderson
c/o Jenn Kilgore
PO Box 176 
Brewster WA 98812”

For Todd, this fight is over. To him, he will have a short nap. He went to sleep gripped with the pain of cancer and treatment to wake up on that bright and glorious morning when the trumpet of God will sound, piercing the ground, arousing the dead from their slumber never more to sleep the sleep of death, without pain and suffering.

Let us run this race, let us fight this fight, let us say “Here am I, send me”.

Davidson’s Guyana trip Q & A

By Laura Davidson April 19, 2016 The biggest news is, WE SOLD OUR TRAVEL TRAILER!!!! Thank you so much for your prayers. The Lord sent a buyer for which we are very thankful! We are currently staying with Edwin’s parents in Owasso OK. We are working to sort through and pack our stuff. Edwin moved the plane to a paved runway on Friday. With all of this rain we have been getting, it is making the grass air strip soft.  When Edwin flew last Tuesday he realized that if he didn’t get the plane moved, it could result in the plane not being able to be used until the rains let up and things dry out. There are still a lot of things that we don’t know the answers to, but I thought I would answer our most frequently asked questions: Question: “So when are you leaving for Guyana?” Answer: We are hoping to have a date soon. As soon as Edwin passes his Instrument Rating Check-ride, then we will buy tickets. Question: “How long will you be gone?” Answer: We will be in Guyana for a six month trial period with plans to return on a more permanent basis. Question: “Are you going to be working with a ministry, or going on your own?” Answer: We have the privilege of working with Gospel Ministries International, David Gates ministry. GMI has clinics, schools, aviation programs as well as TV and radio stations in many countries around the world. Visit their website for more information about the amazing work that GMI is doing. gospelministry.org Question: “Were will you be living in Guyana?” Answer: I wish we knew the answer to that. All we know is that we will be living near the Ash family, wherever they happen to be at the time. It may be Georgetown, Paruima, Bethany….We will just have to wait and see. Question: “What will Edwin be doing in Guyana?” Answer: Edwin will be apprenticing under James Ash who is the head pilot for Gospel Ministries international, in Guyana, also known as Guyana Adventist Ministries and Services, (GAMAS). James Ash flies supplies to the missionaries in the interior, and transports people with serious health concerns back to Georgetown to be treated. Edwin will be doing a lot of ground work for James. When there is space available on a flight, Edwin will go along to learn the ropes of being a mission pilot in Guyana. Question: “Laura, what will you be doing while you are in Guyana?” Answer: I will be a homemaker. Edwin needs me to keep the home and have clean clothes for him to wear and meals ready! Kathryn also needs me in these formative years, to teach her to be an obedient and cheerful worker for Jesus. I am looking forward to doing friendship evangelism and helping out wherever I can. Joy Ash has graciously offered for me to use her washer while we are living close to them. From what I understand, most everyone in the interior does their laundry in the creek. I am hoping to have an oven and stove and running water! I have been advised to take whatever kitchen items I “have” to have, like knives, can opener, nonstick skillet etc. There are also many food items that are not available or are prohibitively expensive in Guyana, like nutritional yeast flakes, gluten flour, seeds, nuts, TVP etc. I am hoping to take some of those items, but I am really hoping to learn to cook and enjoy the local foods. Everything that is for sale in Georgetown is of poor quality and costs more than the same item in the US. We are taking all the clothes, linens, shoes and boots that we will need. Several people have advised, “Don’t take very much stuff”  “Pretend that you are going on a camping trip.” Oh boy, they must not have seen our truck when we pack to go camping! Ha ha, I am a heavy weight camper for sure. It feels more like I am undertaking the impossible feat of being nonexistent while still living. It certainly is a character developing task, for which I am thankful. I continually pray for strength and wisdom as we pack and prepare. When I am tempted to freak out about all the things I think I NEED, I stop and remind myself of the five things that I truly DO need: food, water, shelter, air and the most needful, HOPE.  "But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them 'With man this is impossible; But with God all things are possible.'" (Matthew 19:26)

March 19, 2016

A lot has been happening; we just want to get you up to date. We also want to clear up any confusion that our last blog post may have caused (by the title being about plans changing.) We ARE still going to Guyana. The things that DID change are:

·        * That the Anderson family has been delayed in their return to Guyana, while Todd is going through cancer treatment.

·        * That we would be staying in TN for a few weeks for flight training in the 182, rather than heading straight back to OK after Christmas.

·       *  That the suggested lodging arrangements are up in the air for our arrival in Guyana.

January was a flurry of activity learning to fly the Cessna 182. It was a little surprising to me how different it was from the Cessna 172 of the same year that I have been flying for most of my instrument training. A little heavier and a lot more horse power makes for a different beast. But I did learn to fly it and received my high performance endorsement and I am now checked out in the Cessna 182, which is the primary work horse of GAMAS. An upper respiratory bug slowed me down for almost a week. By the end of January all requirements had been met to satisfy the FAA. A few more flights with an instructor are all that are left to be signed off to take the Oral and practical Exams. Skill wise I am almost there, a little more practice is needed. 2668G was due for the annual inspection at the end of January and it was decided that the engine should have a Top Overhaul. They pulled the cylinders off to work them over and also to take a good look at the other internals of the engine before it goes to Guyana. This process would take most of the month of Feb with the plane leaving for Guyana the 2^nd or 3^rd of March. Well, there have been difficulties in getting the parts to complete the engine work so it is still in TN waiting on parts.  Laura and I decided that it was a good time to head back to Oklahoma and wrap up some projects and sell our travel trailer that we have been living in for the past 2.5 years. The travel trailer sold last week. Praise the Lord!!!

Through a series of events my dad’s plane (the 172) is back in service again. I am working with a local instructor here in Oklahoma that I have flown with a good bit in the past. Hopefully my instrument rating will be finished shortly. Please pray that everything goes smoothly.

On a sad note Laura’s Grandpoppy, Joel Everett, has passed away. He was almost 94. We went to TN for the services held on March 6. We ask for prayers for all of our family at this time. We must remember that this earth if not our home and that we have the hope in the resurrection at the Trumpet of the Lord.

On a happier note our friend Todd Anderson who is fighting cancer has started treatments in Seattle with really good prognosis you can follow his progress on their blog at: http://www.athomewithmillieandsam.com/