Please pray that I’ll be able to use this license for the benefit of the maintenance team here in PNG for many years to come.

Similarly, we, as believers, are all part of One: our Saviour’s body. As part of His body, it may seem that there are more and lesser important parts in our eyes. But that isn’t true at all. All parts are needed. The body doesn’t function well when one part isn’t doing well. Sometimes there is pain in one little part, and the whole body feels it. But equally concerning is when the nerves are damaged in one part, and messages don’t get passed along. That one part might be hurt or missing and no one know.

Denitta and I have several ways to help us communicate: through snail mail, email, this blog, telephone, amateur radio, visit when we are home, or you can come visit us. We desire to be part of your lives despite the distance between us. Please don’t hesitate to contact us so we can know how the Body where you are is doing. There are no insignificant parts.

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011, P2-NTG, a Cessna 206, able to carry 6 people or about 400 kg of cargo rolled out of the hangar at New Tribes Mission Aviation’s maintenance facility in Goroka, Papua New Guinea to take a test pilot and the maintenance coordinator into the air for it’s first flight in 2 years, 4 months. During this time period, it was disassembled, striped of paint, corrosion repaired, repainted, overhauled engine and propeller installed, re-assembled with numerous other new parts and prepared for service. The uneventful flight netted a few minor discrepancies that will be easily repaired in the next day or so. For a few weeks, the NTMA team here will have 5 operational Cessnas until one of our aircraft needs its engine replaced.

These aircraft are tools to transport missionaries, their children, their groceries and mail, and sometimes the citizens they have come to serve in and out of the isolated bush locations.

These missionaries are in various stages of planting churches among these people. Some are just moving into the bush locations; others are still learning language; others are in the midst of teaching the gospel for the first time; and others are discipling believers and church leaders and translating God’s Word into their language.

Today, we celebrate 28 years of companionship, friendship, love and marriage. God couldn’t have given me a better life partner on this earth.

Tonight we celebrate another year closer to the God of Creation’s return. What have you planned for your celebration? One tradition we have here amongst the missionaries at our supply centre is to drive our motorcycles around the centre from 12 midnight until 12:15 with no mufflers. We expect about 15 motorcycles, 4-wheelers and a dune buggy in the 15 minute parade.

May God show you all the blessings He has already blessed you with this year and so astound you that every day with Him will be a great adventure. Happy and Joyous New Year! Maybe He’ll return in 2011, are you ready?

In the middle of the Papua New Guinea jungle, days travel from the nearest road, there are no firms that you could hire to do this task. But three villages broke cultural protocol by getting together to build an airstrip. Three villages assembled shovels, bush knives (machete) and flour sacks as wheelbarrows to supply the about 1600 person crew to remove all trees and stumps, level the ground and put in drainage ditches. Then they assembled several 50gal drums, filled them with water and allowed the kids to push them around on the airstrip in order to smooth it. Now, yesterday on NTMA pilot flew over to spend some time on the ground to check it out. He came back so excited about this new service point for the 3 families located within an hour’s hike of the new airstrip. 600 meters by 42 meters of flat ground that will have 2 ways in and 2 ways out in a place where missionaries had gone by helicopter only. Isn’t God good to provide just the right piece of land for this new access point. These three villages are planning one more day to finish up the few small issues remaining. Thank God with us!

I’ve been desiring to become licensed in Papua New Guinea as a Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer to allow me to be a greater assistance in the aviation maintenance department of New Tribes Mission Aviation – PNG. When I started looking into becoming licensed here, I knew that I needed to have my Canadian Aircraft Maintenance Engineer License in hand and unexpired.

In September of ’09, my Canadian Aircraft Maintenance Engineer License was to expire. So I sent in the fee and renewal application on time and waited. One morning I got up at 4am to call from Papua New Guinea to Canada to check on the status of my license. The official I spoke with indicated that since the fee was paid on time, the issuance of the renewed license was not in jeopardy and it would be in the mail soon. I was relieved to hear that, waited some more, but still no license. The summer of ’10 I had returned to Canada and called requesting information on the license. Again the same result. I returned to PNG and asked my mother to call on my behalf and the next day I got an email from her indicating that I needed a new picture. I had that taken, sent it in, my Mom received the renewed license in the mail and set it on to me.

In April ’10, I learned that the helicopter company down the way from us at New Tribes Mission Aviation – PNG had worked out a protocol to convert the Canadian AME license to the PNG Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer certificate(LAME). It included a letter from a previous employer stating the aircraft and engines the engineer had during his employ. In October, I was able to get a former employer to give me one such letter and my Mom received it along with my Canadian License.

Canadian AME License

Knowing that they were on their way, I had prayed that God would allow it to arrive on mail day, Thursday, November 11, 2010; the day of our New Tribes Mission Aviation Barbeque, highlight to the week of meetings and fellowship with the leadership of New Tribes Mission Aviation in McNeal, Arizona, USA. Today, the letter from, my Mom arrived with these documents safely tucked away inside. This evening we rejoice that God saw fit to answer my little prayer for encouragement that this is what He wants and tomorrow starts the application process to get this license. Please pray for this big thing, a Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer certificate to get approved in a timely manner.

... in 5 mo OCT2010

Friday, 29OCT10 the helicopter P2-NTH flew again, the pilot completing 3 takeoffs and landings, after about 5 months being out of service. Dave & Paul finished the engine installation, and Dave, Gifson and Eric finished the fuel tank installation. How good it was for all our eyes to see the weight get transferred from the skids to the rotor blades. What this means is that our team is one step closer to being able to provide service to the teams of missionaries working in the bush in locations where our airplanes cannot land. Please pray for the timing of Ray’s checkout to allow him to carry passengers. God is so good! WOO-WHO!

“Look at this nice sauce pan,” Elias said as he held up a clean polished sauce pan with its lid. If we could have heard the thoughts of the Uriay people sitting in the school room looking at that sauce pan, I am almost certain we would have heard the women and most of the men think, “That is a nice sauce pan. I wish I had a sauce pan like that.”

Elias explained how the Pharisees were just like that sauce pan. They looked really good on the outside. But when Elias lifted the lid off the pan there was a surprise inside: a big glob of poop. The men laughed a little and turned their heads in disgust as Elias bought the pan close to them. No one wanted to be near that pan when they saw what was inside!

Elias put the lid back on the pan and brought forward a bucket of water. He took some of the water and used it to wash the outside of the sauce pan. The outside still looked as clean and bright as ever. But when he opened the lid, the inside was still just as dirty and disgusting as before.

This was a bit of a new concept for the Uriay people. The few bits and pieces they had heard about Christianity all involved looking good on the outside. Many still thought they needed to stop lying, stop stealing, cut the grass around their houses, and make toilets to improve their hygiene before God would accept them and they would be able to understand God’s Word. They have developed their own “laws” which they think will make them pleasing to God.

Why is salvation by faith alone such a difficult concept for so many people? Perhaps because it requires recognizing that we are not sufficient to save ourselves through our good works. In a way, it’s kind of a reversal of the pride that led Eve to eat the fruit in the Garden of Eden. We must recognize that we are not God, instead we need his mercy and grace.  The very best we can do is to make ourselves like that sauce pan that was shiny clean on the outside, but the poop still remained on the inside. God is not interested in any of our efforts to make ourselves look good before Him, because he sees straight through it all to the junk that’s still on the inside. Please continue to pray for the Uriay people. The presentation of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is scheduled to culminate on September 9.

Our team helicopter has been sent to Australia for regular maintenance overhaul. Many flights scheduled for September can only be done by the helicopter. Pray that the work on the engine will be completed on time and that there will be no delays getting it through customs.

This letter finds Dave packing to return to PNG. His family anxiously awaits his return after time with friends and family, as they are not accustomed to being apart for so long. Denitta continues on in ministry at the office, and the kids are halfway through their first quarter of school.