It's Not All About Airplanes

Remembering Dad, M. Brown Jarboe

My father, Marvin Brown Jarboe, Sr., finished the earthly part of his life today.  Until he had a massive stroke last Wednesday morning, he enjoyed reasonably good health and an ability to interact with family and friends.  He was unloading the clean dishes from the dishwasher for Mom when the stroke occurred.

Dad was born June 4, 1916 and the Great (economic) Depression and World War II were formative events in his life.  However, I believe his strong personal Christian faith, reinforced by his parents, siblings, and extended family, was the primary influence on his life.

At Mom's and Dad's fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration their children and spouses as well as all the grandchildren posed for pictures.  (There's a serious version of this one somewhere.)

Mom's birthday in September, shortly before their 65th wedding anniversary November 17, 2010.

Dad was a wonderful grandpa.  He adored his five granddaughters and one grandson as much as they did him.  In 1979 Mom and Dad traveled to Cochabamba, Bolivia to meet our daughter, their first grandchild.

Jennifer Lynn (Jen) gets acquainted with her Grandpa Jarboe.

Our son, Scott, met Grandpa after we returned from Bolivia in 1981.

Just so things don't stay the same, he had one great-granddaughter and four great-grandsons.

Chanelle Robinson, Jen's eldest, delights Great-grandpa.(1999)

Javin, Chanelle's little brother, shares Great-grandpa's enthusiasm for old John Deere tractors.

A couple months after Dad's 94th birthday, I took this picture at a family reunion of Dad and Javin.  He looked pretty well for an old man, didn't he?

Our Purpose - To Spread God's Word

When I saw this 10 minute video of a mission airplane delivering God's Word, I just had to share it with you.  The absolute joy and excitement these dear believers express will warm your hearts and inspire you to continue to pray for missionaries everywhere. It also inspires us look ahead to what airplanes that are sent to MMS Aviation do, after they leave our facilities in Ohio.
~ Rena

A Short Trip South

Last Saturday morning Rena and I headed for my parents' home in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  The seven and a half hour drive began in almost blinding snow but after about forty-five minutes we were on dry roads and enjoyed good weather the rest of the week end.

February 12, 2011 near Coshocton, Ohio

The reason for the trip was to attend a church service Sunday evening at which my youngest brother, Frank, would be ordained as a minister.  Frank is known among reenactors of the American Revolutionary War era as Parson John.  His wife, Carol, portrays Maggie Delaney, Parson John's indentured servant.  A good introduction to their participation in living history is the About Us page of their web site.  This has become their full-time work and ordination adds another dimension to Parson John as historian and minister.

Parson John tells how he came to faith in Christ.

(He used a strange futuristic device to strengthen his voice.)

It was a special evening.  A couple pastors whose ministries helped Frank grow in his faith were there and spoke.  A number of reenactors also attended dressed in 18th Century apparel.  Frank's pastor, Tim Harris, brought an excellent message he prepared for just one person; and, even though it was for Frank, Tim let the rest of us listen. 

My family: Pam, Eric, Dad, Frank, Mom, me, Marvin

The family assembled for a group picture following the service.  Marvin and I look distracted from the picture taking and a bit amused in this shot, but it's the best picture on our camera.  (The picture is honest--no Photoshop hypocrisy here.)

Rena and I returned home to Coshocton on Monday, Valentines Day.

Heat

Over twenty eight years ago when we built and moved into our house we opted to heat our home with wood. Dwight built a double barrel wood burner from a kit and we were nice and warm. Located in the basement, the wood burner produces plenty of heat for the whole house. (The upper barrel provides more area for heat transfer.)

Time to add more wood to the double barrel woodburner

Some years later we added a geothermal heat pump. We were offered 1/2 price from a dealer who wanted to make us his guinea pig project. This also enabled us to add air filtering capabilities and cool air for the summers. We hadn't planned to burn wood this winter, but with the failure of the blower motor on the heat pump, we were scrambling to find firewood to keep the house warm. It took a week for the motor to arrive and Dwight picked it up at the dealer last evening.  Everything is working fine now.


Installing the new motor



Hangar and Home

Yesterday was a beautiful winter day with lots of sunshine and temperatures a little above freezing.  It gave Ian a chance to check out the replacement fuel pump on the Cessna 206 headed for Brazil.  If you look closely you'll see hoses (just below the windshield) from the engine compartment into the cabin for test gauges to indicate fuel pressures during the engine run.  The test gauges and hoses will be removed before the plane is flown.

This afternoon Jason, our son-in-law, brought Javin by to show us what they picked up from the taxidermist today.  This fox squirrel is Javin's very first wild game harvest so Jason had it mounted on this wall plaque.  He got the squirrel in October but the taxidermist has had plenty of work.  Javin got his deer in late November and I believe a spring turkey season is next on our hunters' schedule.