S O L O

In the life of a pilot, there are some highlights to remember. You’ll forever remember the first time you sat in the pilot’s seat, the first time you flew the plane without an instructor- your first “solo”, the time you passed the exams, the first time your certificate came in the mail, the pie shops that are tucked away in mountains, the time you saw a rainbow form around the propeller, all the breathtaking beauties that can only be seen from the plane, the first time you had a passenger with you, the first time you instructed someone on how to fly a plane, your first job flying, and many more.

It seems like since we’ve moved here we get to celebrate “firsts” all over. The first time Josh went on a ride-along into the interior of Papua, the time he flew animals instead of people, the first time he landed on a grass strip in Indonesia, the first (and hopefully only) time he took Indonesian certification tests, the first time he talked to passengers, and his first solo from Sentani, and many more that are unmentioned or undiscovered.

Last week we celebrated a “first”. Josh flew to a jungle strip by himself! This was the result of months of training. Word flew around cell phones, and a group was greeting him when he pulled up with his passengers. This is a unique celebration, as are many solo flights. Some might get the shirt off their back cut off, signed, and posted on a wall where everyone can see this exciting accomplishment. Well, at Yajasi in Indonesia, clothing can’t just be bought at the local Wal-Mart, so they “celebrate” a little differently. Everyone gathers around with buckets full of “celebration water”, personal water bottles, cups of water, and cameras. Once the pilot steps out of the plane (after being forewarned and leaving behind phones, cameras, and other important items) he is greeted with “celebration water”. There were buckets, cups, bottles, old paint cans, and a water hose. It was all smiles by the parked planes to celebrate the end of hard day of work with rejoicing with their newest “solo-ed” pilot.

I was told that he would be soaked, so I asked if should bring an extra shirt. So I brought an extra t-shirt and a towel. I didn't realize that the towel I grabbed was a small hand towel! I also was unaware of how soaked he would actually be! Needless to say the neither the t-shirt nor the towel were used! :) Enjoy the photos!

Josh in the village his first time as the only pilot.


Returning to Sentani.


He's here!


Filling up the buckets.


Here's some friends that came to support Josh. Baby Esther brought her parents :)


Let...


the soaking...


begin!


Totally soaked but soooooo happy!


I wanted to say how proud I was of him, and I got a BIG wet hug and someone sprayed me with the waterhose!


Here's a towel to dry off with :)




Another pilot congratulating Josh on a job well done.


Hooray! Way to go, Josh!

Happy New Year!

We have been apart of one party after another these past few weeks. It has been really different than our holiday experience last year. Last year we were on our way to the beach Christmas day and returned just in time to ring in the new year on our friend's rooftop.

Christmas Day:
This year we had two fantastic meals. We had lunch with some really good friends. This was the first time I had ever tried sweet potato casserole. My grandma always made it, but I just had never tried it. It was yummy- like dessert with your main meal! For dinner we headed to the dorm that our friends run. We had turkey and HAM!!! with friends that we were in Bandung with and some new ones too. It was sooooo yummy. We had a great time visiting and playing Wii.





For the next week, we recovered. I had something really attack my body. I went from having a normal appetite to none at all. When I did eat, it wasn't much. My body was just extremely run down and exausted. We tested for malaria, but it came back negative with my white blood cell count really high. The nurse said that means that I was fighting some sort of infection and put me on an antibiotic. Praise the Lord, a few days later my appetite is back and my energy level is increasting.

New Year's Eve:
We spent New Year's Eve with two families. One lives in the interior village, and the other hopes to go interior when a new family comes available to partner with them. We had great discussions about what they do in their village, the progress that's being made with their language work, saw pictures of their house, and it ended with an invitation to come and stay in their village with them. (Very Cool!)

We drove the less than 10 minute drive from one side of town to the hill the school is on to watch the fireworks. Indonesians live by "rubber time" or "flexible time" because they started popping off fireworks 20 minutes before midnight! Driving through town felt like we were in a warzone. Fireworks going off over the street, in the street, on the street when you pass by. The remains of fireworks were all over the city. We made it to the school just in time to watch the fireworks go up in smoke. Literally, after about 10 minutes of fireworks all over the city the entire sky was FULL of smoke! You could barely see some fireworks going off unless they were colored. It was soooo exciting. We were in t-shirts and shorts with friends ringing in the new year together. We went home around 12:30, but the neighborhood party continued until atleast 3 AM. Fireworks, music, laughter, and homemade pipebombs making huge, deep booming noises made this night unforgettable. I can only imagine what next year will be like!

Housing Update:
In recent posts I've asked for prayer about long-term housing options. We had our name on a house of a family that had to return home due to their son's sickness. Another family, who had their name on another house, was on the list in front of us. Within a few days, God unfolded events that allowed us to move from third to first on the list. The family announced that they would not be returning due to health reasons. Family #2 announced that they were going through with contract negotiations on the other house. Family #3 (the Harrington's) became Family #1- the only family on the list. So, the next step is to talk with the landlord and attempt to negotiate a fair, reasonable rental price for the house. Please pray with us that a rental price can be negotiated that is within our set budget. This house is literally right down the street from the curret place we're living, so it should be relatively easy to move :) (I hope!)