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Unexpected Disappointment
Sunday, March 19 - The International Rescue & Relief team are headed for the U.S., and only a handful of volunteers remain at the mission compound. Finally Daniel's flight training can get going in earnest. Translating for the IRR team was OK, but flying is his real dream!
Many flights need to be made - medical evacuations, transporting lay workers and hauling needed supplies to remote villages.
Daniel is ecstatic - flying six hours back and forth to remote jungle and savannah airstrips in one day! Bob teaches Daniel a variety of mission piloting techniques, including turning around in a tight canyon without losing altitude. "You fly into the canyon, then give it power and raise the nose, like doing a wheelie" Daniel says. "Next you turn quickly, flip around, and next thing you know you're headed back in the opposite direction, using only about 100 feet of airspace!"
The following day they continue flying, but the plane feels sluggish during take-off. Bob cleans the spark plugs and checks things over. Sometimes the plane has full power, other times it doesn't. And the engine seems to be losing oil.
Back at the mission base, Bob does a thorough inspection. He discovers the engine is worn out, and needs to be replaced before it can safely fly to the short jungle airstrips again. It may be months before funds become available for a new engine. Meanwhile, folks needing medical help are dying. Bob feels so frustrated and helpless.
Daniel feels frustrated and disappointed as well - he's been looking forward to several months of intense flight training. But that's real life in the mission field - adapting to unexpected changes!
Camped out in the upper level of this storage
building at the AMA mission compound,
Daniel's room has a tent, hammock and a rickety ladder to get down to the ground level. He has plenty of ventilation, and the night breezes feel good after a hot day working outside.
Using an old door, Daniel sets up a makeshift desk to do his work. With electricity and his notebook computer, Daniel continues his ground school flight training, using a DVD course borrowed from Bob Norton.
He also does video editing, using what he learned from the videographers with whom he worked a few days previously. He even tapes a self-interview about youth and mission in life, which you can watch here.
Student missionary Corrie Sample stays to continue
helping with medical needs.
So she waters plants, does secretarial work for Bob Norton and spends weeks sanding rusty beams, window frames and doors at the IRR cafeteria construction project.
By the end of each long, hot, sweaty day of sanding rusty metal, Corrie is ready for a cool, refreshing shower.
Grrrrrr. Nothing to be scared about. Just
another strange
Smile! Jesus Loves You!
See the smiley
face on this squash pie Corrie baked?She writes: This is
the attitude I hope to keep always.
Life can be frustrating, but if you turn the
frustrations into learning opportunities, with God’s help,
you can keep a smile always!
This is an admirable, valuable trait about Corrie - no matter what kinds of challenges life throws at her, she always looks at the positive side. And she loves serving others in the mission field!
After the IRR group left, Corrie had a grass-roof open-sided hut, known as a Churuata all to herself. So she fixed it up all tidy and comfortable. If you look carefully, you can see it's already been invaded by some jungle animals - stuffed, of course! Click here for Corrie's adventure page.
Bucklee and Shannon Eller are hoping to adopt baby José, whose mother is mentally unstable. She often abandoned this adorable boy in the jungle or by the river.
Bucklee, you really should set the correct date on your camera! Eventually the
grandmother decides to keep him,
But they enjoy being "parents" for several months Click here to read more.
Another task for Daniel is to take pictures - in this case to illustrate how God has been leading the Davis Indians in establishing Maurak village at this particular location, pictures of village leaders and of some of the old-timers who remember the first white missionaries who came to the area.
This is Main Street in Maurak, the Pemón village
established after Chief Francisco received visions about 90 years
ago, instructing him to build at this location.
Chief Francisco specified that the first structure to be built must be a church, at the end of the street, overlooking the village. The original primitive structure is long gone, and the current building is too small. So a new, larger house of worship is being constructed around the old one.
Francisco's daughter, now an old grandmother, clearly remembers the early white missionaries who taught her people. Alfred & Betty Cott, who followed Elder Davis, were her teachers. This grandma also received special dreams, confirming the fact that God is using the Adventist Medical Aviation program, symbolized as a spring of clear, pure water to satisfy the spiritual thirst of her native Pemón people. Click here for the full story.
Maurak village leaders intervened when the Army General was determined to close down the mission base.
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