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.