Snow, Snow, Snow

Well it was quite a blizzard. We received about 10-12 inches of snow. Some areas in the county got as much as 14 inches. On Friday many of our "necessities" began to shut down. The first to stop was the Internet service, followed by the phone service and shortly before bedtime, it was the power. We dug out the candles and flashlights and eventually cuddled under blankets for warmth (our heat source is electric). The power came on around 4:30 AM (6 hours off) on Saturday and the Internet was mostly restored today (Sunday). Though sometimes it shuts down. We still lack phone service. Many in the county are still without power so we feel quite blessed.

Let there be light Jason clears our driveway

Jen and Jason and the grandkids came over in his Dad's truck with the snow blade attached. Also in the truck was a much appreciated load of firewood for our basement woodburner. Now we will have a backup source of heat should the power go out again.

Chanelle carries in firewood

Javin does his part too

Haiti Relief

MMS had sent 3 men, Josh, Ian and Chuck to help MFI on their DC-3 airplanes. MFI is and has been extremely busy with their Haiti Relief flying. One of our men, Josh Adelsberger has been posting their activities daily on his blog. For pictures and details you can click on his blog here.

You Know You Are Iin Texas When....

We have been in Texas since Tuesday. After our time in Longview we made our way to Amarillo via some rural areas. We even found a rest area with some unique features.

It wasn't the brake.

I removed the left front wheel to give better access to the brake caliper. Even though the symptom of jerking as the car moved didn't seem to indicate a dragging brake, I couldn't attribute it to anything else at the time. (Please be aware I didn't get under the car at any time.) Well, it wasn't the brake. It was a broken spring. The surfaces indicated by the arrows in the picture below used to be a seamless part of the coil spring. Rena went online and found two accounts of the same left front spring breakage on this model of car.
If you're curious, the jerking as the car moved was caused by the (lower) broken end of the spring in contact with the inside corner of the tire tread. Surprisingly, the tire had no significant damage. By the time Rena took these pictures, I'd rotated the spring out of the way so the car can be moved without damaging the tire. No mechanical correction happens until Monday, so we'll enjoy the rest of today, worship our Lord with others tomorrow, and Monday will have enough troubles of its own.

Need your prayers

We are on our way to LeTourneau University in Longview,TX for their missions week. The first leg of our trip went well and we are now in Bowling Green, KY at Dwight's parents home. This morning, however, we were not able to drive the car - something wrong with the front left brake on the car. Dwight needs wisdom to know if he should try to fix it himself or wait for a shop to open on Monday. We will be able to borrow a car to visit a church in the next county tomorrow, but need a way to get to TX by Tuesday afternoon! We would appreciate your prayers.

Rena

MFI and Haiti Relief

MMS has partnered with Missionary Flights International for many years, helping with maintenance on their DC-3s. Their webpage is www.missionaryflights.org This video clip gives a good picture of what is going on right now. MMS will be sending help soon. Please pray for stamina for the MFI pilots, mechanics and all the volunteers who are helping.