The Mennonite Flyer

Field Trip, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

This morning, I made 6 short flights with a group of elementary students and their teachers from a local Mennonite school as part of a field trip for them.  It was a lot of fun to see and hear the reactions from some of the kids. I could tell that for many of them, what they were seeing was really altering their paradigm of what the world should look like. This was the first time in any type of aircraft for many of them. Thankfully, we had great weather and very little wind.

Fright Instruction.

Downtown Denver from 9000ft., originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

I still have the privilege of flying with a few flight students, and today found us flying north into Denver's busy airspace. This was the first time that my student had penetrated this class of airspace and he had a great time...as did I. We landed at an airport in north Denver (KBJC), had lunch overlooking the runway, and then flew 2 hours south back home. By afternoon, the smooth air of Winter had been replaced by the turbulent air of Spring and Summer due to convection, or the heating of the earth's surface. After a long flight of bumping along as a flight instructor, I begin to get a little green from just sitting while my lunch is tossed around my stomach. Thankfully, everything stayed where it was supposed to be, and I regained my land legs shortly after coming back down to earth.  When I am the one flying and manipulating the controls, I NEVER feel sick, but as a spectator I get a bit queasy sometimes, although it has never ended in losing my cookies.

Borneo Bound

For the last several months, we have not known the exact location of where we will live and serve after language school.  This morning, we heard that leadership decided to send us to Kalimantan.  It is the bigger island, in the upper middle of the photo.  We will probably be living in the town of Tarakan (see yellow pin).  The other yellow pins are the other locations of where MAF serves in Indonesia.  We will be arriving at the end of July into the town of Salatiga, also marked by a yellow pin which is on the island of Java.  We are excited to have received our assignment now, although it will still be over a year until we get there.

Right now, we are trusting God to bring in the remaining 19% support for our monthly needs, and 68% support of our one time amount.  We also need our visas to be approved before that time in order to leave for Indonesia.  Everything is turned in, we are just waiting for approval, which last we heard was taking between 3-4 months.  Thanks to all of you who are joining us in prayer through this process.

Delicate Arch

Arches Nat'l Park, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

A week ago today, my family and I hiked 3 miles to see the famous Delicate Arch in Arches National Park. It is worth the hike and my little people did great. They made it the whole way there and back without hardly a complaint. Due to it's "celebrity" status, there were a lot of people already there enjoying the view, as we did for about 30 minutes. The person under the arch is not one of us, I just included him here to get a sense of scale. The arch is very large.

On a MAF note...We will be heading north in a few hours to spend the night in Buena Vista, Colorado in order to speak at a church tomorrow. We will be sharing in both the morning and evening services. Thank you for those of you who have been praying for us as we raise our support in order to serve in Indonesia . For those of you who do not know, we are a little over 80% of our monthly giving (thank you everyone), and praying to have the rest wrapped up in the next few weeks. Currently, we are making plans to leave for Indonesia in the middle of July. We still have a LOT to accomplish before that, but so far, things are really falling together.

Black and White Sunrise

Sunrise Barnscape, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

On our way to Moab last weekend, I captured this scene just as the sun was coming up. Upon arriving in Moab a few hours later, we were glad to have left the snow country behind for the warmer sandstone desert. I have been driving by this barn next the the highway since I was a boy, and I finally had the time to pull over and get a picture. We were only 20 minutes into a long days drive at that point, and upon pulling over Brooklyn and Madison asked if we were already at our camping site. Unfortunately no, which led to the famous arrival question for the next 5 hours.

Moab Trip

Colorado River Campsite, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

Our time this past weekend in Moab, Utah was great! Some of the landscapes in that area truly do leave you breathless and in awe of our Creator. It was a great time of relaxing and being with family. We all slept well in the tent and in the back of the car since we were usually tired from hiking all day and traveling to various sites in the Moab area. I don't know that I have ever met anyone that has truly seen this part of the world and regretted it. The huge rock formations, giant cliffs, and breathtaking canyons make you feel really small. As Becca posted on her blog, I did take a lot of pictures, and enjoyed every minute of it. Some of the best ones of the whole trip can be found by clicking here.

Camping Trip

Wolf Creek Snow Machine, originally uploaded by Cielo Azul Images.

While looking at the snowy picture above may leave you wondering if we are going camping in the snow...the answer is no. However, tomorrow we will drive over the nearby Continental Divide, still buried in snow, and continue heading west into Southeastern Utah, where this very snow is now feeding the Colorado River and all it's tributaries. We will make camp somewhere in the Moab area, and take 4 days to explore the area's national parks and local wonders of creation. Our oldest two girls are ecstatic to say the least, and mom and dad are feeling similar. The weather forecast looks great, and we are hoping to enjoy a totally different landscape that is already free of winters grip. Of course, stay tuned next week for more pictures and stories.

Until then, let us remember our awesome Prince of Peace, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorned it's shame, and then rose again and sat down at the right hand of the Father. Thank you Jesus for your indescribable gift of salvation. Happy Resurrection weekend everyone!