Josh

Our first night of work

It has been two long years since I have had the opportunity to do any significant maintenance on aircraft, but finally a couple of weeks ago I was able to get my hands dirty again! It was absolutely amazing how the Lord put the pieces together for this project.

NTM owns a Cessna 180 here in the Philippines that we are planning to sell in order to supply the remaining finances needed to ship our helicopter here. We have someone in the country who is very interested in purchasing it, but there were a couple of obstacles in the way. The airplane has been in storage for over a year and was due an inspection, and there were some problems with the propeller control system that needed to be addressed before we could sell it. Our Chief Pilot here asked if I, along with two other pilots here, could take a few days to travel 8 hours north to where the airplane was being stored and perform the inspection and maintenance that needed done. We had an 8′ long propeller, a large box of parts, our luggage, and some tools, so we decided our best plan would be to hire a van with a luggage rack and a driver to take us there. As we walked up to the NTM guest house where we were to meet the driver, it seemed a little odd that the rental van waiting there did not have a luggage rack on top, especially since we specifically mentioned three times that we needed one. Our concerns were verified when we discovered that, not only was that the van they had sent, it was the only one available that day, and there was no way the propeller would fit inside.

The view from the hangar one morning.

Welcome to the Philippines! We quickly re-thought our strategy and decided to take NTM’s Isuzu L-300, a little box van that we normally use for short runs around Manila. After checking the tires and fluids, we figured out a route that would avoid areas where the L-300′s license number was prohibited on that day of the week(a traffic reduction measure), and headed out. We drove through beautiful mountains and small towns and villages for about 8 Hours, arriving at the SIL center where we would be staying just in time for supper. After a quick meal, we started in on our project. Even after being washed earlier that day by a thoughtful hangar helper, the plane looked pretty sad. It had no propeller and every opening was stuffed with foam to keep out the birds and bugs. We worked ’til about 8:30 the first night, got a decent nights sleep, and started again about 5:30 the next morning. The Lord blessed our work incredibly, and after installing the propeller we tried running it. Amazingly it started almost immediately and purred like a kitten. Thankfully the new parts fixed the propeller problem and after three 15 hour days, we were able to head home confident that it was ready for a test flight and a ferry flight to the new owner. Please pray with us that God will smooth the way for the ferry flight approval. Also pray that the sale will go through quickly as much of NTM’s work in Northern Luzon will be suspended until we have the money to ship the helicopter and get it ready for service.

Josh

Putting the wheels and brakes back together after inspection

First run, a beautiful thing

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Dear Friends and Family,
I want to share with you first hand some experiences that I have had over the past week. There are some things that I knew about living outside of the U.S. that have come into sharp (and personal) focus in the last few days. We have walked through Tropical Storm Ketsana and it’s aftermath with friends who have lost everything, and had the opportunity to help in some of the hardest hit areas.
What we are realizing is that regardless of the emergency, the rapid, professional assistance that we expect in the U.S. is simply not available. The slight training and resources that we had available were taxed to the limit as we watched a man being carried by friends through chest deep water while having a heart attack, mothers trying to hold infants above filthy flood waters and stronger young men and women wading kilometers through deep treacherous currents and debris just to find food and water for family members still trapped on top of their houses.
Even in everyday life, traffic is so thick and quality medical services spread so thin that an ambulance is simply not an option. Our desire is that we would be prepared for these situations, not only for our own safety, but in order to help others in need. Please pray for us as we consider what this preparedness should look like. We are praying about adding to our medical training and equipment as well as possibly some basic rescue equipment. We covet your prayers in this. Please also let us know if the Lord lays it on your heart to be a part of this project financially, or with counsel and advice on what direction to go with all of this.
Another related need is those who have lost much or everything in this disaster. Most of our language teachers were affected to some degree, while one (a mother of three) lost her entire house with most of the contents. They cannot afford to simply replace everything at once. It will be a slow, difficult road over years for them to recover everything. There are also a number of missionaries whose houses were full of water. They will face the burden of replacing or repairing furniture, vehicles, electronics, and many other belongings. Let us know if you would like to be a part of meeting these needs and we can help direct funds to the right places.
Thanks so much for your prayerful partnership.
In His Service,
Josh
For the Daltons
Serving with New Tribes Mission
in the Philippines.