Philippians 4:19 says, “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory.”

Many refer to the above verse as God supplying material needs. While this is true, I would like to suggest other “needs” in the missionary and MK setting. Some say missionary kids are deprived of many things. I beg to differ. My life was rich.

When someone answers God’s call to leave home and family and go to another country to serve Him there is a need for confidence and peace of mind that the move is indeed God’s call.

Family members left behind have deep concerns and need this confidence and peace also.  Parents can be anxious for their son/daughter and wonder if they will be safe, healthy and have a fruitful ministry.  There is concern as grandparents say goodbye to grandchildren.  The fear of dangers and unknown diseases—some real, some imagined—that lurk in foreign lands come to mind as they send them off.

I was born in India to missionary parents.  They left America in 1947, to go to an unfamiliar part of the world, knowing that they would not see family for six and a half years (they ended up serving twenty years in India).  During that first term I was born, as was my brother, Billy, two years later. 

There was a need for safety from harmful things like snakes and scorpions.  In our village setting during the first term, Dad killed many poisonous snakes.  None of us were ever bitten.  The Lord woke up my Mom more than once in the middle of the night, only to find a scorpion under my bed, which she would dispose of.  My brother and I had a close encounter with a 30 foot python.  I had a scary moment with a cobra in the bathroom of a friend’s home—and the list could go on.  God’s protection was evident. 

There was a need for medical care.  Our little village of Ghatkesar had a small clinic where some medicines were available.  One night when I was two I developed a severe asthma attack.  Being an asthmatic himself, Dad immediately recognized the symptoms. It was frustrating to get the medical worker to open the clinic in the middle of the night in order to get a vial of needed medication.  We’re confident God intervened and Dad got the medicine and gave me the injection I needed.  (Who knew that his training as an Army Medic would be put to good use in this way!)  There are other providential medical provisions too numerous to mention here.

There is a need for family.  As a missionary kid, I had an abundance of missionary Aunties and Uncles.  It wasn’t until I met my relatives at age four, that I learned to discern between real Aunties and Uncles and my missionary ones.  Having cousins, however, was a new concept. To this day, I keep in touch with missionary “relatives” (though many have passed away) and I cherish my memories with them. 

I also have a special Indian Uncle and Auntie, with whom I am still in contact.  My life was and is rich.

There is a need for an education.  While home schooling is a popular option these days, those curriculums were not available in the 50s and 60s.  I received a good education in a British Boarding School for missionary children.  While the separation from my parents was not easy (it was hard for them too), I had an abundance of friends from many different countries.  It has been fun to reconnect with many of them recently, through Facebook!

Material needs were something that as a child, did not concern me.  However, God provided for my parents.  Their sending church took on their entire support for the first six years.  Following a change in pastors, it was discontinued during their first furlough.  God provided others to fill that need.  Our living conditions during the first term in India were quite primitive with no electricity or water pumped to the house.  On our first furlough, my brother and I were fascinated with light switches, flushing toilets, escalators, Christmas lights, etc.  I think we drove our Grandparents to distraction those first few weeks as we flipped light switches and turned on taps and flushed the toilet numerous times just to see the water swirl and go down!

Only as an adult did I begin to appreciate my unique childhood.  I remember on furloughs I just wanted to blend in, and not be noticed as an MK and someone different.  This is quite normal.  However, now I understand my childhood was something very special.  I’ve lived in places with exotic names, such as Ghatkesar, Bhongir, Secunderabad and Coonoor!  Not many can say they have traveled by ship multiple times from one side of the world to the other (it took a month).  We had a pet monkey and our friends had a pet hyena.  I have ridden on an elephants, camels and bicycle rickshaws and have watched snake charmers and scorpion charmers.  I’ve seen work elephants in our yard being watered from our well—something quite scary for a three year old, but memorable.  God provides unique blessings and experiences to missionary kids.  I am grateful to be an MK.

Nowadays I feel the need for good Indian food once in a while and a daily cup of chai.

 

This week at MMS

Check out what is going on at MMS with the link below.

http://mmsaviation.blogspot.com/2013/05/prayers-for-hoblits-mms-aviation-and-mag.html

Douglas DC-3s and a Vacation

New Mexico landscape

 

 

It was a vacation we had been looking forward for quite a while.  Several months ago we got word that there would be a reunion in late April of all the Wycliffe Bible Translators DC-3 crews (pilots and mechanics). Wycliffe/JAARS at one time operated 3 DC-3 airplanes in Bolivia, Columbia and Ecuador.

The reunion was in Farmington, New Mexico, where the Ecuador DC-3 "Chief Tariri", now in a private museum, is on display.  Around 50 of us turned up for the reunion and we had a great time of remembering those days.  Lots of stories to tell, and time to renew old friendships.

Since this was not too far from Amarillo, Texas, were Rena has an Aunt, Uncle, cousin and her husband, we included both places on our trip.  We flew to Amarillo where we stayed with Rena's cousin overnight. (Frequent flier miles made our air travel quite inexpensive.) Then thanks to her generosity of loaning us her car, we drove to Farmington, NM.

 



Rena meets her first Indian.  He didn't say much. 

 




Bernie May was a JAARS pilot who established the first DC-3 program in 1964.  He spoke to the group the first evening of the reunion.




Dwight climbs aboard an attraction at the museum, which also housed the "Chief Tariri" DC-3 which served in Ecuador.



Gene Hershey, Cindy and Eddie Lind and us standing in front of "Chief Tariri".  Others who had served on "our" Bolivia DC-3 were not able to attend.



Former crew members (who were able to attend) of the JAARS' three DC-3s

 

Winter At Our House

While Winter is not our favorite time of the year, there are some aspects that are enjoyable. We watch the various and colorful birds that arrive to eat at the feeder and are amazed at how God created these little creatures to be able to endure the cold and harsh weather. Their little feathers are all puffed up against the cold, making them look fatter than their true size. Here is a little peek in the video below.

 

 

When the temperatures drop in to the single digits and our furnace works overtime to keep us warm, we bring in firewood and get the old double barreled wood burner going (located in the basement).  Dwight describes the wood heat as a "thick heat" and it feels absolutely wonderful.  He burns the wood until we have a thick bed of coals that sends heat to the upper barrel that radiates heat for the whole house. This was our only source of heat for a number of years before the furnace was installed.

Loving the "thick heat"

Serving us for 30 years!

Because we live on a small hill, sledding is an attraction for the grandkids and friends. We posted a video of them sledding in an earlier blog, but you can see it again here.

The Shoveler at work!

Have a cozy and safe Winter from our house to yours!

Warm and cozy inside

Recent Happenings



 Just a glimpse into some work going on in the hangar.  This Cessna airplane owned by MAF Mission Aviation Fellowship, has been used in ministry in several countries - Mexico, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti. What a history for this airplane! MMS personnel are restoring it for continued use by MAF.

 

Putting the big pieces back together 

Not long after the wings were re-installed on the MAF plane, Dwight went to Venice, Florida to help conduct a governance workshop for the Board of Directors of Agape Flights.  This ministry provides a valuable purchasing and shipping service for quite a number of missionaries in the Caribbean and parts of the Bahamas.

Over the past several years, David Green, a retired CEO who lives in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, developed what he calls Values Driven Governance to help Boards better govern the organizations entrusted to them.



Workshop facilitators listen carefully, speak when necessary, and write a lot of ideas on flip charts and marker boards. A Board of Directors needs to come to its own conclusions.



He's not angry, folks, he's just concentrating!  And trying to quickly distill lots of words into a succinct phrase for the flip chart, not changing what the speaker said.

Dwight and Michael Stroh, CEO of the International Association of Missionary Aviation, assisted David with this intense three days of Board training.  The MMS Aviation Board went through a workshop like this last April and MMS will realize the benefits of better governance well into the future.  The MMS Board recognizes that Dwight's participation in these Board training workshops is another way MMS can serve the missionary aviation community.

Back at the MMS facility in Coshocton, preparation of people and planes for worldwide missionary service continues daily.

Enjoying Family

The recent holidays provided a  lot of family time. My (Rena) brother, Bill and sister-in-law, Deborah had recently returned from a 2 year commitment in India. It was great to have them here. 
The Sunday before Christmas provided a time we could all be together at one time.  So of course a family picture was in order.

 

 

 

            Back row: Stephanie, Scott and Kiara Jarboe, Jen and Jason Robinson                            

Middle row: Dwight, Rena Jarboe, Mae and Bill Tarter, Bill and Deborah Tarter

Front: Javin and Chanelle Robinson

"It's been a long time since I've seen my Uncle Jason!"

Kiara laughing with Chanelle and Javin

Happy Family

 

Party hats found in the Christmas "Crackers"

Wait, the football game is almost done -then we can open gifts!

It snowed Christmas night and then again two days later. So snow play was in order.

Couldn't resist this video of our littlest granddaughter on the move this last weekend.

Second Honduras Trip - A Bit More

As I mentioned in my last blog I was in Honduras October 16-23.  The reason was to help Alas de Socorro with a major inspection of one of their planes.  The morning I left I took a few pictures of the hospital there in Ahuas, Honduras.

 I have no doubt you can read the sign, however in (my) English language version it says, "Moravian Evangelical Clinic, Ahuas".  I've referred to it as a hospital because they do surgery and house patients and do lots of "hospitally" things there, but you can call it a clinic if you like.

In two weeks they will celebrate the 82nd anniversary of the hospital.  I know that because of the date on the front of this building and some folks were talking about the celebration.

 

 The facility has electrical power 24 hours a day.  What looks like a porch roof in the center of this picture is a solar panel array.

 

 The solar panels keep eight big lead-acid batteries charged and the electricity is converted to 120 volt AC by inverters.  There are diesel powered generators that run a while each night to keep the batteries charged.

Dr. and Mrs. Benno Marx are on the hospital staff and hosted me for lunch each day.  They live in this house.  Last week Dr. Marx told me in an email they were doing appendectomies along with ever-present treatment of malaria patients.

Back at the hangar, the flight on which I'd start my trip home was waiting for weather to improve at our destination.  Enough time had been planned into the schedule that I wasn't in much danger of missing my flight back to the US.

It was a good trip.

Second Honduras Trip This Year

October 16th I got up very early, O-dark-thirty I think, and drove an hour and a half to the the Port Columbus International Airport.  It was the first leg of my journey to Ahuas, Honduras.  There I was to assist Alas de Socorro personnel with a major inspection of a Cessna model 206.  After 1,000 hours of flight time it's a really good idea to inspect a plane much more thoroughly than is done on more routine 100 hour inspection interval.

Ahuas (ah-wass) is in eastern Honduras and the two Alas de Socorro Cessnas primarily support a mission hospital there.  Alas de Socorro (Wings of Aid/Help in English) is a charitable organization chartered in Honduras with all Honduran staff and leadership. 

Most general aviation airplanes are simply referred to by their registration letters and HR-AUS, or "Uniform Sierra", was the subject of the 1,000 hour inspection.  When I arrived most of the disassembly for inspection was done.

During the week there were flights to bring seriously ill people to the hospital.  One flight took a patient on to a larger hospital better equipped to treat the patient's condition.  Here the pilot deplanes from "Juliet Whiskey" (HR-AJW) after that flight.

With the tail feathers removed, mechanic's helper, Weily, cleans minor surface corrosion from the aluminum skin.  The planes are well maintained but a 1,000 hour inspection is a good time to attend to the details.  I inspected primary structure.  Because of my structural repair experience, I helped replace a number of loose rivets and install a service kit on the horizontal stabilizer.  One day during which the mosquitoes were particularly obnoxious, we stayed indoors and I gave Alas' Director, George, a refresher course in finding regulatory and technical data on the Internet.  Especially important was how to keep up with Airworthiness Directives that identify unsafe conditions in aircraft.

George (left) was my host.  He trained as a pilot and mechanic at Moody Aviation and worked with Mission Aviation Fellowship for several years.  Wayne does quite a bit of the flying and helps George with maintenance also.  The plane behind them, "Juliet Whiskey", was refurbished at MMS Aviation a few years ago.  George, Wayne and Weily are all from the region of Honduras where they serve.

I arrived back home in Coshocton, Ohio October 23rd.  Getting home is always the best part of the trip.

Washington Slept Here

Yesterday morning a pilot friend, John, who has an airstrip near Coshocton called me.  He asked if if a friend of his who was delivering a plane to an airshow in Fort Wayne, Indiana could put it in the MMS hangar for a night.  It is a rather rare World War II era P-51-C Mustang fighter plane painted in the colors of a Tuskegee Airmen squadron.  Fortunately there was space available so I told John we'd be happy to hangar the plane.



Getting fuel on the ramp between the MMS hangars

The weather was a bit rainy yesterday afternoon, but between showers the P-51 was fueled for today's departure.  I'd called my daughter, Jen, thinking it would be a chance for Chanelle and Javin to connect with a bit of history, and invited them to come see the plane. 




Jen, Chanelle, Jason and Javin with the P-51-C

After a few pictures were taken it started raining again and Jason helped the pilot and me push the fighter into the hangar.  The pilot, who is an airline pilot in his day job, invited me into the cockpit for a picture.  Even though I was pretty wet, I didn't decline the offer.



My left hand is on the throttle, right hand on the (joy) stick, and my index finger on the trigger.

After the fog lifted this morning it was perfect weather for flying and the Mustang headed west.



Towed out of the hangar into the bright sunlight

This P-51-C travels with an exhibit honoring the Tuskegee Airmen and their service in World War II.  You can learn more about the exhibit at http://www.redtail.org/.  Without success I went online to find out if this particular plane had actually been flown by the Tuskegee airmen.  Regardless, it represents a significant bit of history and it was fun to have hosted it last night.

As I (Rena who has an afternoon break) sit in the shade of the MASA (Missionary Aviation Support Association) tent, there is a constant stream of airplane traffic overhead. AirVenture, Oshkosh is the busiest airport in the world for one week in July every year. Demonstrations, exhibitors, stunt fliers is the order of the day. People are here from all over the world.
The community of missionary aviation gathers during this time as well, to aquaint the world of missionary aviation, recruit and witness to those who come through our tents. A lot of networking also happens between the missions as we work for the common goal of reaching the lost for Christ.

Dwight and Rena, Ryan, Chuck and Jim

The banner in front of the tent goes up

We discovered a DC-3 that came through our hanger some years ago. MMS facilitated getting it changed from Canadian registry to US registry with some modifications. We learned it had carreid some famous passengers - the Queen of England and Sir Winston Churchill. AND the "famous" Dwight Jarboe's signature is in the logbook! Ha!

Dwight talks with an inquirer

While I was typing, the Good Year Blimp flew over the tent - so I've included this too!

A Different Bird

There are a lot of different aircraft used in support of missionary work and many of them are designed with short take-off and land (STOL) capability.  Most are manufactured by established aircraft companies; however, one came to MMS Aviation recently that is classified as an amateur built aircraft.  It is a Zenith CH-801 and is supplied to the builder in kit form.  The plane is a four-seater and has a 185 horsepower engine.

This drawing is from the Zenith website, highlights the plane's features, and shows what the airplane looks like.

This plane's airframe and engine were assembled by missionary, Ethan Shields, and volunteers at a shop in Louisiana.  It was brought to MMS for installation of the electrical and radio systems.  The airplane's components will be painted here before its final assembly.

The fuselage is unloaded into MMS' Hangar A

Ethan will use the Zenith in Mexico to get to isolated villages.  Until it is finished, MMS mechanics will assist Ethan with the work.

The plane was designed to be sturdy and easy to build.

Ethan discusses an engine matter with an unidentified MMS mechanic.

This is the 100th Christian missionary/ministry organization MMS Aviation has served. I guess we'll have to have an extra-special celebration when it's completed.

First Visit to Grandma's House

Our family with Rena's parents. (Jason, Jen's husband was not present)

After four and a half months of hospitalization due to perforations in her small intestine, our granddaughter was dismissed from Nationwide Children's Hospital after surgery to reconnect her intestine, and went home with her parents March 17th.  The following weekend, Scott, Stephanie and Kiara Bell Jarboe visited us

The three cousins

Hello Aunt Jen

Javin meets Kiara for the first time

Such a little princess!