Good food and Good Fixins'

GOOD FOOD:

Yesterday we suprised ourselves with some simple yet awesome food dishes. A few weeks ago we found some fresh blueberries at the store, and bought them with the intent on making blueberry pancakes. I try to cook breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I really enjoy the freedom of just relaxing and making some breakfast, not trying to hurry and be off to work or any other appointment. So, I made some pretty good apple/walnut/cinnamon pancakes on Saturday. But Sunday morning was the real deal. Those blueberry pancakes were some of the best we have ever eaten if I must say so myself. Not to mention it has been years since we ate such an American breakfast icon.

Then came dinner. Ahhhh yesssss...that one will go down in the record books. Also a few weeks ago when we bought the blueberries, we found some nice T-bone steaks. Three steaks for five dollars. That was a good deal we thought, and if they didn't turn out too good, we weren't out a whole lot of money. The various cuts of meat that we as Americans are used to don't exist here. They simply take the cow, chicken, pig, ect. and cut off a piece of itt. It isn't un-common to order chicken at a reasturant and get some meatless piece of the back. You asked for chicken didn't ya? They don't get the concept of cuts of beef either. New York strip, t-bone, filet mingon, rib eye, ribs, ect. don't exist, except in the larger city supermarkets...sometimes. And even then, the cows aren't corn or grain fed like those in the States. They are mostly grass fed. This gives the meat a little different flavor, but mostly a lot less fat. Now, I grilled our three steaks while Becca made corn on the cob, sauted mushrooms, peas, and baked potatoes. I could go on about how different the corn and potatoes are here, but I don't want to bore you too bad. Let's just say they were not typical either. So, our meal wasn't anything extremely elaborate, or well prepared. It was just food that we were accustomed to in the States, that we were able to find here, and it was STINKIN' GOOD!

GOOD FIXINS'

On Saturday, I also took the Bronco to the hangar to work on some various little squaks, and wash and clean it really well. Yesterday morning when I went to pull out of the driveway, my brake pedal went all the way to the floorboard. This raised an eyebrow, but I have seen worse. They pumped themselves back up and I went to do what I had planned. En-route, I heard a funny noise coming from the front left wheel. Upon inspection at the hangar, I found that one of my brake linings had come completely off, and the remenants were trapped in between the caliper and the disc making a lot of racket when I was driving. So once again I was off to Puyo today to see of they had parts, knowing that in the back of my mind they wouldn't and I would have to order them from one of the big cities in Ecuador, and wait. But...lo and behold they had brake parts at the parts store. Not only that, they had two sets to choose from, a regular set, and a fancier set. Feeling unusually gratefull that I found good car parts in the middle of the jungle for a 1994 Ford Bronco, I went ahead and splurged and bought the fancy set of brake linings. I promtly returned to the hangar and put them on, and boy that Bronco will stop on a dime now. Now, I wonder what tommorow will bring...?

What have we been up to?

As always, we have been busy these past few days. I have had some more flights this week, which is always a bonus. I have taken teachers out to the jungle, and then a few days later picked them up after they were done supervising what already exists there in the educational realm. (Here is one of the places I have been the past few days. It is called Liquino -Lee Kee No-)

Wednesday night we were all out late because of an MAF meeting. Two of our "big" bosses flew down here to have this meeting with us. The purpose was to talk about the future of the Ecuador program. With out going into specifics, let's just say it is a much more complicated world we live in, than 50 years ago when Nate Saint was flying here. Westerners aren't the only ones anymore with technical skills, and the equipment to use those skills with.

Yesterday was busy as well. Afterwork, we had some powerfull thunderstorms for several hours. The power was off and on, and finally just off. Becca was at a bible study, so Brooklyn and I just read a book in my bedroom by candle light. It was a good time. But she lasted longer than I did, as I woke up a little while later, and she was still reading her book.

Today I am not expecting much. We are VERY low on avgas, which means we are denying all flight requests at this time, except extreme emergencies. Getting avgas here is always a problem. The gas company has been telling us for the past month that "mañana" we will send you gas. Well, mañana hopefully will arrive today. The other operators on the field are also out of gas. We have about 6-7000 gallons of storage capacity, which keeps us flying for quite a while. The other operators at the airport might be lucky if their tanks hold 1000 gallons. So what usually happens is they run out long ahead of us, and come knocking at our door wanting to "borrow" gas.
Just another slithery guys found crawling across our hangar floor a few days ago. The following morning there was another one doing the same thing, which led me to think that maybe there was a nest nearby. Either way, they both got thrown into the nearby ditch and eaten by the fish.

Pictures

Here are a couple of pics of Maddie. We are all doing great and loving getting to know the newest member of our family!

In the carseat ready for a trip to the store!

Brooklyn is an excellent big sister and has been a great help to Mommy! It is fun to see Brooklyn love on her baby sister. Maddie seems to adore Brooklyn already and is fascinated by Brooklyn's voice and facial expressions when Brooklyn talks to her.

Road trip review

Our weekend in Quito taking grandma to the airport went very well...esp. the part where we left grammy at the airport...just kidding!!! As always, it was really hard to leave grandma at the airport EARLY yesterday morning, but we had an awesome time together. We made it home to Shell late afternoon yesterday, and began the process of letting the real world sink in without a live in maid, dish washer, clothes washer, baby-sitter, cook, ect, begin.
Here we are in front of Tungurahua Volcano. It has really been spewing a lot of smoke and ash lately. The girls are standing on one of the lava flows that came down a few months ago.
We also went to the equator on Saturday. It is a really neat place, and I feel like you can get a good feel of what Ecuador is and offers while you are there. We purposely put Brooklyn in the Northern Hemisphere and Madison in the Southern Hempisphere since those are the respective hemispheres in which they were born in. We also took about a 20 minute tour of a rose farm while en-route to Quito on Friday. Ecuador exports an enormous amount of roses, and here is where they are sorting them out getting ready to box them up for shipment. All of the roses seen here were bound for Russia. Our tour guide told us that there are three main export markets, the USA, Europe, and Russia.

These were just some pretty flowers growing at the restaurant that we ate lunch at on Friday. We really enjoyed our time in the Andes these past few days. The climate is so similar to a spring or fall day in Colorado, and of course the mountains are awesome.

At work today, I was on the schedule to make a flight. I flew some college students into the jungle that are studying anthropology, as well as one of my co-workers so that he could install a radio in a nearby jungle village. On the way home, I brought back an 11month old, and a 11 year old for eye surgery. I am not sure what caused their eye problems, but it didn't look good, no pun intended. Tommorow, I am on the schedule again flying; can't wait, it is sure fun, and a great feeling to be back in the air.

Road trip...

Since the pulling of my wisdom teeth on Wednesday, I am feeling pretty good. Yesterday I was able to eat just about anything I wanted, although I had to chew carefully with each bite. It took me a while to finish my food, even Grandma ate faster than me.

Yesterday when we woke up we were greated with an unusuall sight. During the night, volcanic ash from Tungurahua had covered EVERYTHING! I would compare it to a very light dusting of snow, except, it doesn't melt when the sun comes up. Needless to say, it was very dusty yesterday, and the Ecuadorians though it very strange to see so much dust. I was telling them of the amount of dust that we have in my desert region of the USA, and how there is so much in fact that there are huge "piles" of dust also known as the Great Sands Dunes National Park. They didn't quite get it. We had a little rain over the night, so hopefully it settled things down a bit.

This morning we will be on our way to Quito. Becca's mom leaves early Sunday morning to go back home, so we wanted to give ourselves plenty of time to travel there. We should have a good day today and tommorow. It should also prove intersting as well. Our first big trip as a bigger family, in a car that hasn't quit earned it's trustworthyness. Keep us in your prayers. I'm sure that we will have some funny stories as always when we get back on Sunday.

You never know what a day may bring...

Keeping with tradition over the past few days, we have been very busy. As any parent can attest to, parenting can be an all consuming fire. With our recent addition of Madison we have definetly had our work cut out fir us, especially Becca. We have been so gratefull to have Becca's mom here helping us. True reality is going to hit next week when we get back to normal.

Speaking of normal, you'll never guess what I got to do today. Unfortunatly, I still haven't had any flights this week, so it's not flight related. We recieved an email a few days ago letting us know that there would be a dentist couple coming down to Shell to give a few days of FREE dental treatment to those interested. They are from Ohio and spend about half of the year traveling the world doing medical work. This will be their 16th year coming to Ecuador. They had already spent the past few weeks giving free clinics in the Quito area for Compassion International. This morning they arrived in Shell and my family was one of the first on the list to be seen today. We all 3 (Madison doesn't have teeth yet for those who were wondering) checked out fine, but he did mention to me that I should probably get my wisdom teeth out. I said "I know, my hometown dentist told me the same thing." But then he said "I can do it right now." I was a liitle shocked by that statement! But I knew I have been putting off the inevitable, so this afternoon, after we ate lunch with him and his wife, he took out my two lower wisdom teeth. He jusy numbed me up real good, and yanked those two suckers out. Did I say they were huge! So, needless to say, my mouth is still numb, and I won't be flying until next week now. I also forgot to mention that they set up shop in our hanngar. We just ran them an air hose and they went to town. They took a picture of me on the "operating" table, which I will be sure to post when I get it. Can't say that when I left for work this morning that I thought I would be coming home with 2 fewer teeth. The irony of this lifestyle never ceases to amaze me!

Madison at 1 Week Old

Checking things out.

Madison resting on Mommy's shoulder.

A Week Later...

Has it really been a week already?! We've been a bit busy this past week, adjusting to a completely different life! I know many of you were probably hoping for more news from us this past week...all I can say is that when it's a choice between sleep and blogging, sleep will always win out!!

Maddie is doing great. She is a great baby and does what babies do best - eats, sleeps, and fills her diaper! She is quite regular :-) She obviously doesn't sleep through the night yet but she does give me a few hours between feedings.

Brooklyn is adjusting to the new addition. She likes to give Madison kisses and seems interested in "helping" when I change diapers or dress Madison. It is hard as a Mommy to not be able to be available to Brooklyn whenever she needs me but it is good for Brooklyn to learn patience and how to share me with her baby sister. I try to have a few special times alone with Brooklyn when Madison is sleeping. Of course, right now, Brooklyn is so busy being spoiled rotten by her Grammy that she doesn't seem to mind that I'm not available at every moment. In fact, the other evening when I was trying to have a special moment alone with Brooklyn she spent the whole time telling me that I was sitting in "Bunny's" chair - for some reason Brooklyn can't quite pronounce "Grammy", so she calls her "Bunny".

I am so grateful to have my mom here to help out. There is nothing like having my Mommy around to take care of me. I'm a tad emotional and hormonal (wonder why?) and I'm grateful that she is around to make things so easy and stress-free. She cooks, cleans, does laundry and dishes, and plays with Brooklyn. It will be a rude awakening when she leaves!

I am finally starting to feel human again. My back was pretty messed up there for a while but it seems to be getting better. I am almost walking normal again! I'm enjoying being able to get around and feeling more energetic everyday, despite the lack of sleep. It is unbelievable what pregnancy does to the body...ugh!

Tonight the other missionary ladies in Shell threw a baby shower for Madison and I. It was a great time. I am reminded of what a blessing it is to work with such awesome people. I was so blessed by their love, understanding and support - it does make being so far away from "home" at this time much easier. God used church this morning and the baby shower this evening to encourage me - both in our calling to reach the people of Ecuador for Christ and in my own personal calling as a mother to raise my girls in Spirit and Truth. There is no higher calling and I am humbled all over again that God has entrusted not one but two beautiful little lives to my care and guidance. What a huge responsibility! But praise the Lord that I don't even have to rely on my own strength to do it. God is good.

--Becca

Released from captivity?

In Tuesday's blog I briefly mentioned the car accident that one of my fellow co-workers wives was involved in. That is when the saga began. Ecuadorian law basically states that those involved in auto accidents (i.e. drivers from ALL autos involved) must be placed in jail until all insurance companies have resolved their issues, and all injured persons are released from the hospital.

Despite our best efforts, my co-workers wife was placed in jail Tuesday afternoon, and was there until this afternoon, 2 nights in the clanker. I don't know all of the details at this point, but the good thing is that she can be at home tonite with her family. This family already has enough on their plate right now as they prepare for a move to Venezuela in the next month; and then for this to happen has been stressfull I am sure.

The ironic thing about this, is my co-worker (the husband) actually spent 10 days in jail after he was involved in an auto accident right after they got to Ecuador a few years ago. So now for stories sake, they can both tell their grandkids some day about how they both were in Ecuadorian jail because of auto accidents. Despite the craziness of how this sounds, and perhaps the absurdity of this Ecuadorian law, God can, and does, use all things to His glory.

The apostle Paul gave us a good example on how to conduct ourselves when we are in jail. (Not that most of us plan on being in jail.) This has also been a good reminder to us as to the extreme nature of our calling, and the situations that happen sometimes, and the raw faith that must be ready "in and out of season" to share our great news. Thanks again for your continued prayers not only for us, but those we work hand in hand with as well.

From the logbook...

I had a great time in the cockpit today. I had my longest flight, and my most stops up to this point flying solo. My first stop was to the village of Makuma. I was carring HCJB World Radio folks to another village, but first we had to pick up one of their co-workers that lives in the jungle. When I landed in Makuma, our HCJB passenger was waiting as were numerous others wanting to get a flight with us. I was able to put 2 little kids on board with us plus the HCJB'er and we were off to our next stop of Taisha.

Taisha is another military base out in the jungle. The HCJB crew that I was hauling had to do some business related to a water project with some folks in Taisha. I knew before I left Shell that I would be waiting a bit in Taisha while the HCJB'ers did what they had to do, but 4 hours later when I was firing up to leave was a little longer than I anticipated. When I did call Shell via radio before departing, I learned of another emergency patient that I could get in the nearby village of Cangaime. I was already planning on going back to Makuma to drop off the one HCJB'er, and also put on a waiting patient there as well. I determined that the patient in Cangaime was in worse shape than the one in Makuma if I didn't have room for all of them so I set off for the 5 minute flight to Cangaime.

Taisha and Cangaime were both new strips for me today. Taisha was very long and didn't pose any problem for landing or taking off. Cangaime was a bit different. I still got in and out of there very safely, but if is more the type of strip that we fly into, 200 ft. cliff dropping down into the river at one end, the other end rising sharply into terrain; it was a fun time. The patient that I picked up in Cangaime was an 11 month old girl that had had diarea for the past 10 days. This can pose a serious health threat to any age group, so that is the reason I went there to bring that little girl out for sure today so she wouldn't have to wait another day or two.

Finally, I was back in route to Makuma. Again the flight was only about 5 minutes, and upon landing I unloaded the HCJB guy and ran some calculations. I had to determine that with the two remaining HCJB'ers, my patient and mom from Cangaime, the necessary fuel to get to Shell, and the cargo I was bringing back, if I still had enough room to put on the waiting patient in Makuma. Sure enough I did, and I loaded them up as well. This time it was a young girl who had broken her collarbone, along with her dad going along with her. So, all seven of us filled my 6 seats and 25 minutes later we were back in Shell.

Today was a sneak peak at what my everyday life will be like flying as I get checked out into more of the jungle. I had been flying a lot of out and backs, but as I gain experience they are turning me loose to do more flights where there may be 5 of more stops before I return to Shell, not incluiding the stops that come up from emergencies.

On a family note, we are all doing well, especially Becca and baby. I think Brooklyn is getting more and more used to the idea of being knocked off her throne as the only child as well. Thanks for all of your prayers in all that we do. They truely do sustain us and help us to keep on keepin' on. (Did I mention it was stinkin' hot today!?)

Another day in the life...

Today I had a flight full of doctors. I flew back out to Montalvo taking two doctors, who were "replacing" two that were already there. So I flew out the 2 doctors that were leaving and brought them back to Shell. Very non-eventfull flight, just the way we like them.

After my flight, things slowed down for me at the hangar. I went on our water run this afternoon with my mother-in-law, Vicki, which was fun. Every week MAF takes a trailer and fills plastic jugs for drinking water at a potable spring for the missionary community.

When I returned to the hangar, I was greated by an auto accident in front of the hangar. One of my co-workers wives was t-boned as she turned into the mission school. It seems that everyone is ok, but there is a lot of red-tape to work through now. Please pray for the Shaylor's as they work through this process. They already have a lot on their plate right now as they prepare to move to Venezuela in the next month and a half to serve there.

Becca and baby Madison continue to do awesome! Vicki is definetly a huge help as Becca hasn't had to think about cooking, cleaning, ect.

Introducing....

On Saturday, October 7 at 6:00 a.m. (about 35 minutes after we arrived at the hospital) Madison Elizabeth made her entrance into the world.

She weighed 8 pounds 9 ounces and was 21 inches long. She's beautiful! The labor and delivery went without a hitch - thank you for your prayers! Our experience in the hospital was actually better than what we had in the US when Brooklyn was born. We felt blessed by the care of both our missionary doctor and the Ecuadorian nursing staff...and paid $163 for the whole thing!

Now we are adjusting to life as a family of 4.

From the logbook...

Finally I have found a chance (and a reason) to post a blog. Since Friday of last week, I have been battling what appears to be a severe sinus infection. I missed half a day Tuesday, and all of yesterday from work. I went to the doctor on Tuesday afternoon and have been on some good drugs ever since. They definetly seem to be working as I was able to be back at work today, feeling almost 100%.

Fortunately, I was able to get airborne today. This morning after the weather finally cooperated, I made the first flight out of the hangar around 11:00 to do a post maintenance flight in Alas 12. Everything checked out fine, and soon after Alas 12 was flying operationaly with my boss Dan.

A bit after I returned from lunch, I was notified that when Dan and Alas 12 got back from their current flight, I would be taking it back into the jungle to pick up an emergency medical patient. It was into a strip called Montalvo. Montalvo is about 45 minutes from Shell, and I had never been there. The military actually has a small base there, therefore the strip is actually "nice." In order to get out there, I was dodging clouds for a while, and finally I just had to accept the inevetable and go IFR, or enter the clouds instead of flying around them. I was only in the clouds for about 15 minutes when I broke out and flew the remaining 10 minutes or so into Montalvo. Soon after our arrival, my patient arrived being towed by her dad. The patient was a 6 year old girl who broke her arm. Nothing life threatening by any means. What made things bad was that she broke that same arm only 4 months ago, and recently, she fell on it, re-injuring it, and breaking the bone in a few new places. Therefore her fracture was requiring special assistance that only a hospital could provide, not the overworked jungle doctor.

So, we were quickly airborne after the little girl and her dad were put onboard, and we were back on our way to Shell. The flight back was uneventful, and after we landed I helped the dad and his little girl find a cab to the hospital.

As always, it is great to be back in the air flying operationaly. I don't know if I will be flying tommorow, but I wish Becca would just have her baby. Tommorow between 8-5 would be a real convenient time for me. I'll be sure to let her know! :) That way I can be home for the weekend and finally get my jungle of a yard tamed!

Good Weekend

It was a good weekend. Sean was able to be home with us instead of working on the Bronco for the first time in 3 weeks. It was great - we did a whole lot of nothing! I was hoping to go into labor but no such luck. I've had contractions off and on but nothing serious so....guess we just keep waiting. It is still about a week and a half early so I shouldn't be expecting anything. But I'm ready. My wonderful husband makes fun of my gimpy waddle. Not only do I waddle but I have an added "hitch in my get along" because of a pinched sciatic nerve. I do look ridiculous and it takes me ages to walk from one point to the next! I have to laugh at myself but it will be a lot funnier when I'm back to "normal" and can look back at how spasmatic and lumbering (yes, both of those at once) my walk has become. Right now it just hurts to move.

So far so good with the Bronco! Have I mentioned how proud I am of my husband for fixing that thing? We drove it around quite a bit over the weekend and never had a problem. We're still leery to proclaim it completely fixed but we're feeling more and more like we can trust it to get us around. It is a great vehicle and we enjoy driving around in it...although it is a bit difficult for me to get up into at the moment.

Sean continues to fight a headache. It might have something to do with the way the poor guy has to sleep lately. He gets about 10 inches of the bed if he's lucky. I'm pretty sure that my fortress of pillows is causing him to sleep in some weird, contorted positions. I think he might also get cold at night. I have the fan going, the window open, and I tend to throw all the blankets off of the bed in an effort to stay cool. And, of course, I'm up a lot during the night, making a big racket just trying to roll myself out of the bed to go to the bathroom. He's sweet and just endures it - he doesn't dare complain! Yup, I think we're both ready for this pregnancy stage to be done with...not that the next stage of having a newborn in the house won't be without its challenges.....

-- Becca