Living In A Constant State Of Poorly Suppressed Panic

We started our journey at Cleveland airport where we unloaded twelve bags from our trailer onto a trolley. It took two people to push it into the Alaska Air ticketing area where the agents tried their best to politely avoid us.

Florida

A Logical Trip To Florida

It didn't take much imagination to see myself standing beside a smoking van on some interstate, shaking my fist at airplanes flying overhead and thinking, "Why didn't I listen to my wife?"

Being Sick

Puckered Lips & A Quivering Chest

I find myself lying on a bed in the hospital, marveling at all the amenities.

Lectures From My High Horse

Visionary Missionary

Janice accuses me of thinking like a bachelor. I reminisce about a trip I went on while I was one.

Lectures From My High Horse

Thanksgiving & Village Cows

I was a bit worried since we were already trying to be missionaries. We couldn't afford to be farmers too.

Furlough

Stuck In the In-Between

We're finding we got rid of too many things and forgot where we put everything else.

Formative Experiences

Fishing Lessons

I take my kids fishing and wax eloquent about the two main types of misery.

Raising Children

Saying Hello To Postpartum, Diapers, & Sleepless Nights

We welcome a beautiful baby girl into our family! Adi is very happy because, in her words, “Now my children will have an aunt.”

Papua New Guinea

It Was A Relief To Drive A Car That Didn’t Complain About My Driving

We return from Papua New Guinea and begin our furlough.

Papua New Guinea

We Felt A Bit Like Convicts Attempting To Escape

We leave for America but not before making an important stop in Port Moresby.

Moving

I Wish I Was Rich Enough To Burn Down The House & Start Fresh... But I'm Not.

I hate moving. Janice dreams about it.

Airplane Mechanics

Work Team Frees Mechanic Held Hostage By Airplanes

A "Global Response" team traveled from Ohio to perform the rescue using only rivet guns and wrenches.

Family Experiences

Elliot Has A Birthday Party

Elliot turned six today. He’s pretty excited about it. I was pushed into an existential crisis, just like last time he had a birthday.

Pregnancy

Another Tax Deduction

It's hard to hide a pregnancy when you live in a little compound. We're not ashamed to be pregnant but sometimes it's nice to have something you don't have to share, even if it's only information.

Cultural Expectations

A Blurry Dash Towards The End Times

"I came to the mission field to change the world but so far the only thing that has changed is myself." - Anton, Russian philosopher

Cultural Expectations

We Survived Our Bush Orientation

Every new Samaritan Aviation family goes through a “Bush Orientation” which sounds like a formal thing, but it’s not. Basically it goes something like this: the family gets flown to the bush, kicked out of the plane, and temporarily adopted by a missionary family who lives in the village.

Cultural Expectations

Dumping Money Into A Slot Machine And Hoping.

AirNiugini has many fine qualities as an airline but the thing it does best is lower your expectations.

Pets Other Than Children

Kiwi, The Green Car Alarm

A screeching Eclectus parrot teaches me a lesson about contentment.

Papua New Guinea

Phantom Potholes & Life Lessons

Elliot learns to use a drill, Adi learns life lessons, and our new espresso machine keeps our guard up all night.

Potholes

Simple Solutions Versus Wild Ambition

Mechanics without pilot licenses are a bit like penguins. We’re basically flightless birds. This is why we don’t care much about the weather. Pilots do.

Being Sick

Anyone In Their Right Minds Know That Animals Don't Use Toilets

We eat antibiotics like Tic-Tacs, we try not to curse the world, and Elliot gets new underwear.

Papua New Guinea

Village Hopping With A Floatplane In Papua New Guinea

We airdrop some electrical supplies to a bush missionary, then fly to Gavamas to pick up a missionary.

Christmas

Our First Tropical Christmas

Sweating while caroling and other strange ways to spend Christmas.

Airplanes

Airplane In A Box

Even the most stoic mechanic will leap around and shout like a spirit-filled Pentecostal if the airplane goes down when it was supposed to go up.

Haus Sik

Dying From Boredom Is Entirely Preventable

It's disheartening to have a patient heal from tuberculosis or some other horrible condition only to die from boredom a week later.