From the Logbook...Christmas in Naan (pt. 5)

Before we left the village of Naan and returned to PalangkaRaya, we took a quick 20 minute flight to an even more isolated village called Jujang Parit to check in with a pastor and his family that serve there.  He seemed surprised to see us and it was great to spend a few minutes catching up.

The river in Jujang was pretty full with a strong current.  It made the takeoff and landing easier due to the amount of water that covered many of the underwater obstacles.  Thanks to Isaac Rogers for letting me use all of his pictures to show what we were able to accomplish during our Christmas trip.

From the Logbook...Christmas in Naan (pt. 4)

Finally, after setting up a small sound system, getting the generator going, and having a quick dinner, we were ready for service to start.  The two guys on my sides above are pastors that serve in Naan and upriver in a village called Tohan.

A large amount of the community turned out and the church building was soon packed.  I'm not sure how many people were there, but it makes being 6 foot 3 inches tall kind of hard!

Here is the exterior of the small church building.  People were spilling out onto the porch and stairs for church service.  It was a pleasure to be able to serve this community in a simple, yet very powerful way.  Thanks for your prayers!

From the Logbook...Christmas in Naan (pt. 3)

Interior trips like the one we took to Naan always amaze me as I learn a little deeper how people really live interior.  Above, the days rice is being steamed over a wood fire.

In the house we stayed at, this was the kitchen.  The food was very simple yet delicious.  We ate fish, deer, veggies, wild pork, and of course rice.

We had many times where we just relaxed on the floating porch and drank coffee.  It was a great way to hear some awesome stories.

Here is what my bedroom looked like.  I was grateful to have a small pad to lay on.

And finally, here is what our lodging looked like from the river bank.  It was a paradigm shift to sleep, eat, and live on a floating house for a day.  River life in interior Borneo never ceases to amaze me.

From the Logbook...Christmas in Naan (pt. 2)

Merry CHRISTmas!!!

Before we took canoes from our airplane dock down to the village of Tubang Naan (see post below), we had to cool off after unloading all of our gear from the airplanes to the canoes.  Nothing like jumping off of the airplane wing into the refreshing river to take care of that!

Here is Abet Nego strutting his stuff as he goes airborne off of the airplane wing into the river.  Hoo Raa!

We had a super refreshing time as a team in Naan.  I serve alongside and amazing crew of Indonesians, whom without, we couldn't be here.

From the Logbook...Christmas in Naan (pt.1)

The first week of December we were invited as an MAF team to provide a Christmas service in the village on Tubang Naan.  We had been planning that service for weeks and we were able to take both airplanes and all of our Indonesian staff with us to serve together.  Check out that small rooster tail coming off of the right float above as I come around the corner on the river.  Watch out for the log in the river!  Flying float planes is fun!

After we arrived with a lot of gear and both airplanes, we took two small canoes and traveled about 10 minutes downstream to the village of Naan.  More pictures of our time in the village to follow...

From the Logbook...Overhead, #2 for Landing

I met our other airplane coincidentally at an interior location a few weeks ago.  It's always fun to see our other plane interior during the course of a day, each of us flying our own and very different route.  Note all of the wood in the river.  Heavy rains do a good job of washing dry season's accumulated junk from the edge of the river right into the middle of the river.  It can make landing challenging.

Wildlife at the Dock

This little guy was seen slithering along the handrail at our float plane base recently.  We've also had a large troop of macaque monkeys hanging around.  They are a little quicker and smarter than the snake, and I've not succeeded yet in getting a picture, even though they were only 5-20 feet away.  I'll keep trying though and post a picture as soon as I get a good one.  

A Different Kind of Birthday

Last week we held an informal "party" for all of our staff and the family members that could make it in order to celebrate the 50th birthday of one of our airplanes...PK-MCD.  Since leaving the factory in Wichita, Kansas 50 years ago in 1962, MCD has flown on floats and wheels, and lived on the Indonesian islands of Kalimantan and Papua.  This Cessna 185 has accumulated almost 24,000 flight hours and countless landings.  We even had  a cake made and found some special candles.

Of course, whenever we have a get together at our location, it is usually a good excuse to goof around a little bit.  We have plenty in our lives to worry and stress about, so we try to take advantage of the lighter moments and make sure we laugh together.  The cake was pretty good by the way.

From the Logbook...Chased by Rain

While taking a Swedish group from the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) to a remote area of Borneo, I once again got the privilege of flying over a previously unknown area to me.  The terrain was beautiful and the rain stayed at my six the whole time.  I love being able to watch the rain while I'm flying; it always gives such a unique perspective.