The following video doesn't contain any footage of our family. But it does contain footage of a missionary I have personally flown supplies to the village for him where he lives, and have had the honor of enjoying a cup of coffee with him and his wife in their kitchen. As well the pilot in the video is the pilot that is currently helping me adjust to flying safely here in Papua (my instructor pilot). This story took place only a couple weeks before I started flying here.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Friday, February 20, 2015
Finding Joy Doing the Small Things
I think that when most people climb on the plane for the first time and head to the field the expectations of doing huge and great things for God is strong. I know that for myself that was what I was hoping for because why else would God call my family here, right? Then when we actually landed and started to live among the people and get to know them I began to really notice things around me. What the people viewed as big and important things in their eyes was very different to what my North America view was. That first year of language school was so eye opening to me as I saw God allowing me to learn how to witness in a very different way. I learned about the power of a smile, the importance of always looking someone in the eye, and that I could show love by just walking into someones home and being completely comfortable even if all there was was a small rug on the floor. On saw people eyes light up when I let then take a picture with me as it seemed that I have just given them the greatest treasure around. That first year I saw a group of people who really just wanted to be noticed, cared about, and that they just wanted to be loved.
I felt like God was showing me that there is great power in the small things (not that big things don't matter) and not to stress out about trying to always tackle the large items. For you see even though He was showing me this that first year I was still stressing myself out by trying to do everything all at the same time. When I arrived here to Papua is where I finally let myself go (which is not easy for me) and follow His daily schedule and throw my list away. I found myself looking for those small things that would pop up through out the day that I could do for someone like allowing children to my berry bushes, talking with the local people who come to my door, keeping in eye on Facebook to see if any of my teammates where having a bad day. You would not believe the power of joy until you see first hand the smile on a child's face because I gave them a treat. Or when you surprise a teammate with a snack for their family and a coke to help them make it through the day. Or offering to drive someone around so they could do some shopping instead of having to walk all over the city.
So most days I find myself looking for the small things that I could do with my family, friends, and neighbors. I find pure joy out of surprising someone with a small thing that just really helped make their day better. I love going to the same stores over and over and getting to know the people and watch the small relationship grow. They start to relax around you and then start asking small questions about your children, and last week I learned that one lady actual speaks very good English even though we had just been speaking in Indonesian. I have saw my relationship with my children get stronger as well which has been a neat to have.
It makes me wonder about how many small things did I miss back home as I was rushing through the grocery store as fast as I could. And who could I have blessed by just looking them in the eye and greeting them that day. I hope that this is a lesson that I never forget because there is great power in the small things and I can share Christ's joy around my world when I slow down and really look.
I felt like God was showing me that there is great power in the small things (not that big things don't matter) and not to stress out about trying to always tackle the large items. For you see even though He was showing me this that first year I was still stressing myself out by trying to do everything all at the same time. When I arrived here to Papua is where I finally let myself go (which is not easy for me) and follow His daily schedule and throw my list away. I found myself looking for those small things that would pop up through out the day that I could do for someone like allowing children to my berry bushes, talking with the local people who come to my door, keeping in eye on Facebook to see if any of my teammates where having a bad day. You would not believe the power of joy until you see first hand the smile on a child's face because I gave them a treat. Or when you surprise a teammate with a snack for their family and a coke to help them make it through the day. Or offering to drive someone around so they could do some shopping instead of having to walk all over the city.
So most days I find myself looking for the small things that I could do with my family, friends, and neighbors. I find pure joy out of surprising someone with a small thing that just really helped make their day better. I love going to the same stores over and over and getting to know the people and watch the small relationship grow. They start to relax around you and then start asking small questions about your children, and last week I learned that one lady actual speaks very good English even though we had just been speaking in Indonesian. I have saw my relationship with my children get stronger as well which has been a neat to have.
It makes me wonder about how many small things did I miss back home as I was rushing through the grocery store as fast as I could. And who could I have blessed by just looking them in the eye and greeting them that day. I hope that this is a lesson that I never forget because there is great power in the small things and I can share Christ's joy around my world when I slow down and really look.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Monkeying Around
Today marks the 2 week point of monkeying around in the hanger. Well maybe not quite but I've been a little more grounded these past 2 weeks compared to other weeks here in Papua (pun intended). Over the course of these weeks I've had the privilege of making some good progress in my maintenance training/checkout. I started with leading my first Mini inspection on PK-MAE the Caravan which I've also done most of my flight training in, to date in Papua. This inspection went well getting the aircraft back in the air in timely fashion. Next up was helping a fellow mechanic under instruction (Luke) with his first lead role during an inspection on PK-MAF a Kodiak. Our newest plane none the less, with only 200 hrs since new, one would think myself included; "what could one possibly find broken, worn out or out of place after only 200hrs". Well it turns out that new airplanes can come with problems too, and not just minor ones either. I found the aileron autopilot cable and main control cable twisted with the cable clamps positioned in such away that made it possible for them to snag with each other. Not a good thing to have a main flight control system lock up in flight. And later in the inspection as things were getting closed up Luke noticed some strange wear on a couple main control cable pulleys in the tail area and discovered that the bracket holding the pulleys had been manufactured wrong and if left alone the pulleys would have worn through and again a main flight control system compromised. Lessons learned don't take an inspection lightly even with a new plane. Next up was helping on a Phase 4 inspection on PK-MPF which is a more detailed type of inspection for the Caravans. Today PK-MPS came in for a Mini inspection which I had the privilege of leading was well. The next few days I think there will be some odds and ends that will pass through the hanger. Mid week of the coming week I get back in the flight rooster and continue on with the flight training/checkout. Only a couple more items on the checklist and I'll have MAF approval to conduct a Caravan Mini inspection on my own. Oh ya one small but important detail, an Indonesian mechanic's licence. Which I think I should have in hand sometime in April. A quick update on some of the recent technical tasks we've been called to be apart of as we serve the Papuan People.
Blessings
Greg & Julie
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