Story from the Field.

"WHEN I LANDED in Dagi a hundred things were going through my mind. The folks in Korapun had asked if I could do two flights from Dagi to Korapun to fly in the produce and pigs needed for the big celebration. This language group of the Mek tribe was receiving their first completed translation of the Bible! And the party would be huge! As I got out of the airplane in Dagi I asked how many kilos of local cuisine they had for Korapun; they had enough for three trips! I told them I could take 380 kilos and they quickly started to help load the plane with sweet potato, corn, pigs, chickens, and some veggies I had never seen before. I noticed one man struggle as he lifted a bag of veggies into the airplane; Papuan men and women are very strong and this man should have no problem lifting the 18 kilos into the plane, (at least that’s how much the tag said the bag weighed.) I asked to weigh the bag using the fish scale we always carry in the plane. The bag came up to a hefty 32 kilos! If all the bags were like this, that meant that I was probably 100% too heavy! Even though the airstrip slopes downhill 15%, I would still be touching trees at the bottom of the hill as I tried to take off! So, with the weather moving around us quickly in the steep, tall and tight valleys, I asked the good people of Dagi to help me re-weigh all of their cargo, which took about 20 minutes. In that time, the fairly open valley system turned a nasty grey, and the clouds began their death grip on the mountains. By the time I got my plane loaded and secure, the wind had kicked up and the weather was closing in fast. I knew I could take off and immediately return to Dagi if the valleys ahead were closed with cloud. Korapun is only a total of 3 minutes away by airplane. I ACCELERATED down the Dagi airstrip quickly and leaped into the air with one passenger (alocal pastor) and the right amount of cargo. I tried to climb a little but ran into the bottom of the clouds. You don’t go into clouds in Papua because mountains are lurking everywhere. I tried to turn right to go to Korapun but that was blocked, so I circled sharply back towards Dagi, to climb above the strip through a hole, but the hole only led to more clouds. I was trapped with Dagi as my only ticket to freedom! “Lord I need help now.” Just as I made another tight turn to set up my approach to Dagi, God answered with a hole big enough to safely get to Korapun. Two long minutes later I was over the airstrip and thanking God for moving the clouds enough for me to land. Yes, I was definitely back in Papua!!"

Story From Isaac Rogers MAF pilot serving in Indonesia

I will from time to time start sharing a story from someone that is on the field. Giving you an idea what is a head for our family as we look forward to serving there ourselves, and creating stories of our own. But till then we will borrow stories from those that are already there.

Blessings

Greg & Julie Dole

Week 2 Winding Down

Well like the title of this post states we are winding down the second week of our stay here in MI. So far it has been a great trip. We have had the opportunity to share at 2 Churches the last two Sundays. And that was all that we planned before leaving MB. However while we have been in MI we have been asked to speak at a couple more churches one of which is the church Julie grew up in. Which is very exciting. I have also been very encouraged by individuals from these past two churches, that appreciated my message that I spoke. Not that I can take credit as it is the Lords work, but it has lifted my spirits knowing that I was used to touch some lives through the words God choose to speak through me. I'm still feeling however, that preaching is not my calling at least on a permanent full time basis at this time. I won't say never though, saying never can sometimes be a sure way of it coming to pass.

I should mention some of our other highlights for the trip so far. We had the chance to visit the School (SMAT) here in Ionia MI on Tuesday. Looks like it will be a good year working with some good instructors in a pretty nice facility. The course I will be involved in is a 12 month course that once completed will give me an Airframe & Power plant licence (A&P). Which will allow me to carry out basic repairs and maintenance on US registered aircraft. Which is a requirement for MAF US whom MAF Canada is planning to loan us out to.

Tuesday we also had the privilege of watching John JR (Julie's younger bother) play Basket Ball. John plays for a Christian College team from Grand Rapids. The following couple pictures were from the game.

Eager Fan did a lot of loud cheering

Ahhh

Saturday the 15th we celebrated Christmas with Julie's family. The kids had a great time of opening gifts! The best part is most of the gifts were small enough that the kids might be able to take most of them with us when we move. And then as you can see in the photos the Granger tradition of jumping in the pile of paper after words was a big hit as usual.

Johnny being a good sport letting his nephews and niece bury him in paper

Michigan

Our trip to Michigan has gone well so far. Friday we fought with some snowy and icy roads but we managed to get to Randville safely. We then had the privilege of sharing with the Randville Bible Church Sunday morning. They were a wonderful congregation, which extended a very warm welcome as they allowed us to stay in their parsonage next to the church for the weekend. Kids were excited even asked when we were moving our stuff in. Monday we had nice weather and roads for the rest of our journey to Constantine (Julie’s Parents). We have started to settle in the basement of Julie’s parent’s house. Glad that we got in yesterday as I write this blog in Wendy’s restaurant the snow is coming down pretty heavy, glad that I only need to travel a few miles back to the house once we are done our shopping and Internet work. I got the better end of the deal to, as I get to sit and utilize the Internet and enjoy some Wendy’s food while Julie her mom and the kids are out shopping. Hope they don’t forget about me and go home without me. We are planning to be in southern MI for the next 5-6weeks, if you are also in the area and would like a visit please contact us.

Thank you again for your prayer as we travel.

Blessings

Greg, Julie

Franklin, Isaac, & Jaclynn