From the Logbook...Easter Trip (pt. 3 of 3)

For some time now, our oldest daughters have expressed trust and faith in Jesus and they desired to be baptized.  I knew the perfect place.  It was an honor and an unforgettable memory to baptize my daughters in the heart of Borneo surrounded by 60 other believers from the local area.

After a quick and memorable baptism, we were able to get a quick family picture.  The whole experience of enjoying God's creation, and being able to top it off with my children's public profession of their faith in a living, loving, and active God will surely go down as a highlight for a long time!  God is good!

From the Logbook...Easter Trip (pt. 2 of 3)

After our Good Friday services concluded, we took a 30 minute drive to a nearby water fall.  Yes, you can drive to this village...but our 1.5 hour flight from PalangkaRaya is a 4 day drive in a 4X4 truck over CRAZY roads.  Not my idea of fun.  True to local style, everyone wanted to come.  We took two trucks and had over 50 people total.  I'll let you do the math on how many people each truck had!

We were 5 minutes into the journey to the waterfall climbing up a steep and muddy slope when we got a flat tire.  Our drivers were prepared and 15 minutes later, we had it changed and continued our journey to the water fall.

The hike to the waterfall from the road was awesome.  Thankfully the local government has made a very nice wooden walkway to access waterfall.  Otherwise, it would have been a near immpossible trail to access the waterfall.

Once we arrived at the waterfall, the fun began, and boy did that cool water feel good!  This waterfall is actually a set of three falls; we were at the largest of the three, the one in the middle.  We had a blast swimming in the pools, hiking all over the place, and generally just enjoying ourselves and our time with the people from Tumbang Olong.  This water fall has always looked amazing from the air when we fly over, but it was even more stunning up close and personal.  God's creation is amazing!!!

From the Logbook...Easter Trip (pt. 1 of 3)

For a few years now, we have been waiting for the timing to be right to make an overnight ministry trip to the village of Tumbang Olong for Easter services.  Finally, everything worked out and we were invited to take both airplanes, and all of our MAF pilots and families for Good Friday services.  It's always fun to have two airplanes, and all of my pictures for the next few days come from my photo taking colleague, Mr. Rogers.  Thanks!  In the photo above, he took a picture of me and my family flying off of his port side.  Flying floatplanes is fun!

Here is our parking spot for the night.  As float plane pilots, you never really relax, even when the airplane is parked.  You're always worried about the river level changing, a rope breaking, someone or something running into your airplane, a float being punctured, etc, etc, etc.  Thankfully, nothing happened and our airplanes were in great shape when we prepared to return home the following day.

Mr. Rogers and I both were invited to share with the local body of believers.  Mr. Rogers shared the night before and then I shared the following morning.  It was a great time to hang out with the people and see such a different lifestyle.  Our kids did great and had a blast running all over the place, being part of butchering a pig, starting a cooking fire, etc.  Life in the village is raw on many levels.

From the Logbook..."Komplikasi"

A few weeks ago already, just before I was ready to take my family on an overnight ministry trip for Easter, we received a call for a patient at a village about 45 minutes north of PalangkaRaya.  Thankfully, there was still enough time in the day to get it all accomplished.  Oftentimes, when we ask what is wrong with a patient, the medical expertise in the village is such that they don't really know, so the patient is labeled under the broad category of "komplikasi" or, complications.  I was happy we could help, because whatever complications this gentleman was encountering, it didn't look pretty and he was obviously in a lot of distress.

Shortly after getting back and sending the man on his way to the hospital, we were airborne again for a village 1.5 hours away where we were invited to minister for the Easter services.  More on that to come in a few days...

From the Logbook...Survey Trip to Tumbang Tohan (Pt. 5 of 5)

After MCB came with parts to "rescue" us while in Jujang Parit, we were soon airborne in MCD on our way home.  About 30 minutes later, MCB joined up with us and we flew the rest of the way home in a loose formation.

It's always fun to get pictures of yourself while flying.  As we were nearing home, the late afternoon light made for some fun picture opportunities as well.

Nothing like a little "wing over" to get some unique photos.  Don't worry, I would never do this with my normal passengers.  But it was a fun time with my wife to be able to have a little bit of fun with the airplane on the way home.  I love flying!!!

After this short trip to interior Borneo, we were very thankful for all the various aspects of our team that enabled it to happen.  From the teammates that watched our kids, to the policy makers of MAF that build margin into everything we do to ensure safety, to the awesome team I work with in PalangkaRaya that came and "delivered" us out of our plight in Jujang Parit, and the team members that support us financially and prayerfully, this trip would never have been considered without all of those "members of the body" in place.  Thank you to all of you who co-labor with us!