206 Transition

  One of the biggest things we have going on around here lately, is Jeyson has been learning how to fly a Cessna 206.  All of the pilots in Asas learn to fly in Cessna 172s since they are they easier to learn to fly and they are smaller - meaning they use less fuel, making training cheaper.  Once all of the basic training is over, the pilots transition over to fly the 6 seater Cessna 206s that are used in the Amazon by our mission.  Although the 206 is still a small plane, it is quite a bit bigger than the 172.  You can compare the size difference here

    

6 seater 206

4 seater 172

The training had been done by Craig, one of the experienced Jaars/Wycliffe pilots and has involved hours of "ground school", purposeful training flights, as well as trips to the Amazon on different mission trips. 

 We're very excited about the new doors this training will open!



So much progress has taken place in getting us ready for our time in the States. It's been awesome! And, for the most part, I am feeling ready rather than the overwhelmed mess I was a few weeks ago when we found out.

Here's what we've got settled so far:
- General calendar of our stay mapped out

- Tickets to the States
- Tickets to Ohio
- A car to borrow!
- Car seats organized
- Short term insurance selected
- Visa extension for Jeyson figured out
- Housesitters almost settled
- Elijah's Brazilian passport done
- And some money exchanged into dollars

Still to do:

- Try to find a crib mattress to borrow  (we only found a crib with no mattress so far)
- Decide if we're going to try to sell our car while we're gone
- Exchange more money
- Do a deep cleaning in our house...lots of purging!
- Pack up our clothes and extra stuff to make room for housesitters
- Go for routine dentist and doctor visits
- Finalize things with housesitters

There are many other items too, but I'd say we're really on track for leaving in less than two months.  We're really excited too!  We're excited about the training Jeyson will get (obviously!) but here are a few side perks that I get all excited thinking about:

- Being in the US for the 4th of July...first time in 7 years!!!  I really, really hope we get to see some fireworks!
- My sisters and I converging in Phoenix for my mom's birthday.  It will be the first time meeting my niece and nephew and for my sisters to meet Elijah.  I CANNOT wait!!!!!
- Giving Elijah baths in a real bath tub!  We don't have one here so we just do it in a bucket or shower where Elijah can't really play.  I can't wait to see all the fun he'll have!
- Seeing my parents' new house (they moved while we've been in Brazil).
- Going to a library!  Who knows, maybe they'll even be some kid's programs I can take Elijah too....dreaming here!
- Taking Elijah to some nice parks that have kids swings
- Cheddar cheese, blueberries, mushrooms, Cheerios, a HUGE Cesar salad, Thai food, and the list goes on.
- Hot water coming out of our faucet.
- Being able to flush toilet paper (tmi??)
- English
- Good customer service
- Gas station convenience stores (sounds crazy I know but I LOVE all of those coffee options!!)
- Gas prices (again, sounds crazy, but the prices in the States will seem like a bargain compared with here)
- Thanksgiving!!!
- A clothes dryer
- Hopefully doing a course to become a birth instructor/doula

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.  Don't get me wrong, I will miss Brazil and our lives here, (in fact, at first I didn't even want to go to the States), but God has warmed my heart up to the idea and I am EXCITED!

Jeyson's Trip Part 2

Here's a few final pictures of Jeyson's trip


The pig as it went on the fire

Jeyson getting painted

So well done for just using a stick!

Making a paddle with a machete

Such a great trip! Please be bring for Ruth as she heads back to Canada for cancer treatment and for the Kayapo Christian leaders!

What a Week! Part 1

Here are some more pictures of Jeyson's trip. It looks like it was quite an adventure!


This missionary in the red shirt, Ruth, is in her 70's and has been serving the Kayapo people many years. The Bible has already been translated into their language, but Ruth wanted to make a trip back to visit the tribe to see what other needs the people/small church have that missionaries could meet. These girls were just beautiful!

A larger communal cooking area.

I just loved this picture of mother and son sitting by the door of their hut as the mother picks little bugs off the son and the baby in the background. I think it captures so much love and a special bond in family that is present in every culture. I love the lighting too!

Jeyson and Craig stayed with on of the families in their home. Of course it was BYOH (bring your own hammock :)

People canoeing on the river

There was a generator and tv in one of the homes and Ruth brought the Jesus film in the local language so people could watch. They all gathered around...

One day Jeyson, Craig, and Ruth went along as the women from the home went out to chop and gather firewood. The women work really hard in the village and getting wood is only for women. Jeyson tyring to help out...

But he said the women were much better even than he was after so many years of experience!

Loading up baskets of wood

This older woman was squatting down to get her basket on...

Although Jeyson and Craig were more than willing to help carry the wood, Ruth said it would be embarrassing as it is a woman's role, so she insisted that they not carry any on the hike back to the village!

Talk about an amazingly strong woman in many ways!

In the mornings Jeyson and Criag made coffee on a little camping style stove made out of an aluminum can (made by my brother-in-law...thanks Adam!....the missionaries loved them and now want many more of them...one for each missionary!)

Food was all whatever the tribe hunted and fished. Here you can see some fresh fish being roasted on the fire. Everyone wanted some!

Jeyson's hammock...if you look close you can see the mosquito net over it, even though it apparently didn't save him too much from being eaten alive!

While there, 2 wild (hairy!) pigs and a monkey were hunted....

And cooked (after much thought I decided to not post the picture of the monkey arm/hand that Jeyson ate!)

Here everything gets thrown right on the fire, the pigs with their skin and fur and all. Jeyson said it was good though! He is very adventurous with eating and had a great time! I prefer my bacon in slices in a box, thank you very much!

Here's an afternoon that the guys went out fishing and caught piranhas. They had to get stabbed as soon as they got in the boat so they didn't hurt anything. You can't see it, but Jeyson is fishing with just a line. They ate the piranhas too and Jeyson said they were surprisingly good!

Here is one more creature they saw along the way...a spider

And to give you perspective, here's the camera lens cap next to it! Ahh!

One more batch of pictures coming soon!

Hubby is Home

Jeyson came home yesterday from an 8 day trip with/for Wycliffe. We missed him a lot, but had a great week holding down the fort.

While Elijah doesn't look too different after only a week, Jeyson does! He got some artwork in one of the villages. It's like henna, and lasts only a few weeks (or so I hope! :)

And he also got his skin painted by mosquitoes and other bug bites!!! Yikes! He put on a ton of bug spray but there was no use. Yesterday I put cream on the bug bites and started counting as I did. After I got to 60 on just PART of his leg, I quit. Jeyson says he's not itchy, so that's good, but please pray he does not come down with anything. The kind of malaria they have in these areas can't be treated preventatively...you just treat it if you do get it....which most missionaries who go into the Amazon do get at some point.

This is one of the villages they went to.

Jeyson and Criag were bringing a sweet missionary, Ruth, around to spend some time in villages where she served for years a while back. She went there to follow up with the local Christians and to see what needs they have. They spent a few days in each village. I can't wait to show you more pictures (coming soon)...it looks like such an incredible time!

Unloading the plane, including goodies that family members in one village had the plane bring to family members in another village - nuts, oil, etc. Christmas in April for them!

More pictures coming soon!!