Josh and Candy Dalton Expanding the Reach of the Gospel Through Aviation in the Philippines 2011 Summer Newsletter!
Click here to see what God is doing in Palawan! spring 2011 newsletter web
Crazy, but Peaceful
There is only one way to describe the past 5 months…CRAZY. I have had to remind myself to breathe.
Coming back from our short trip at Christmas to the states, we were met with a whirlwind of busyness that has yet to stop. Our co-workers were leaving the beginning of March and we were to take over the flight program on our island. Josh rode along on all flights with the other pilot and I took over more of the flight following. Josh began his checkout with our chief pilot which involves flying into all our tribal locations multiple times until Josh could safely do it on his own. Upon the departure of our co-workers, our workload became even more busy as we became responsible for the upkeep of the hangar, flight billing, scheduling, paying bills as well as doing all operational flights for the missionaries in the tribal locations. Josh completed his checkout at the end of April and our chief pilot family went back home. It has just continued to stay busy with our missionaries returning from or going on furlough, medical flights, supply flights, building houses, kids going to and from school, appointments, breaks, etc.
We are so excited to finally be functioning in the ministry God has trained us for, but we never dreamed it would be this busy. So even though it has been crazy, the Lord has given us peace because we know that this is where we are supposed to be. One of the tribes just had their first baptism service and when we are able to see what the Lord is doing, it makes all the craziness worth it.
We are so thankful for all of you and your support and prayers. Thank you for playing such a huge part in what the Lord is doing here in the Philippines. Please pray specifically for us, that we would continue to be strong and trust the Lord each day for what He has called us to here.
Bye Bye States
What? You may be thinking, “Didn’t they leave the states a long time ago?” Yes, yes we did. But my mind didn’t.
Have you ever lived somewhere physically, but your mind and heart lived somewhere else? You find yourself longing to be somewhere that you can’t and discontented with where you are. Well, that’s what I have found myself doing since living here. And the Lord just showed me that I need to say goodbye to the States. This is my home now. This is where God has me. This is where I am needed. If I am constantly thinking about what I left behind, I cannot function in the fullest capacity for the glory of God. Just like the runner Paul speaks of- how can I run and win while constantly looking over my shoulder? No, they don’t have Dr. Pepper, yummy cereals, “normal driving”, and the stores I recognize, but this is my home and if I have to do without Dr. Pepper and Wal-Mart, then I do. What’s that compared to what Christ gave up for me?
Now, I am not in any way saying that this is easy or that I have achieved it. But this is something that the Lord is working in me. I want to whole-heartedly serve the Lord right here where I am with no looking back. It’s a day-to-day battle, but you have to be aware that there is a battle to fight it. I would appreciate your prayers as my heart and mind daily say “Bye- Bye” to the States.
-Candy
8 Years…A Tribute to My Husband
8 years ago today, I walked the aisle and became Mrs. Joshua Dalton. It is amazing how fast time goes and then on the other hand, how many things that have happened in those 8 years. 2 children, 1 miscarriage, 1 false pregnancy, 12 moves, starting homeschooling, hundreds of hours of training, classes, language study, flying, and thousands of dollars, I can definitely say, without a shadow of a doubt, I got the prize. It says to give praise where it is due and I am giving praise today. My husband is the catch of all time. He loves the Lord with all his heart and seeks to be all he can be for God’s glory. He is an amazing leader for our family and sweet, loving daddy for our kids. He is the most romantic man I’ve ever known and loves me unconditionally and faithfully. He is wise and knows when to sympathize and when to tell me what I need to hear. He is a very smart and educated man and he has chosen to use these skills, not for his own profit, but to see God’s name proclaimed to the nations. He is an excellent pilot and mechanic and tackles each new challenge with strength and determination. He accomplishes an amazing amount of things everyday, hopping from building Lego castles to flying to helping with computer issues to answering emails to fixing the car. I am so thankful for him and the 8 years that God has given us together and I pray He will give us many more. Thank you, Jesus, for the godly man you gave me.
Palawan Pictures
A few people have wanted to see some pictures of the area we are now living so I thought I’d post a few. Now, please do not get the idea that all we do is hang out at the beach. 
There are actually not any not clean, nice beaches near where we live. The closest one is about 45 minutes away, which is closer than we’ve ever lived to a beach. It is a very beautiful place and we are very blessed to live here!
House hunting on Palawan!
We arrived on Palawan Thursday evening and started looking at houses for rent on Friday. We love being here and are enjoying getting to know our new ministry partners as they help us learn our way around a new city. Please pray with us that God would lead us clearly to the place he has for us. It seems that most of the houses available to rent are in need of a lot of repair, and we are praying for a house that will not require too much repair work so that we can move more quickly into full-time ministry. Check out the link below to see our full summer newsletter!
Moving
It is not much of a title, but it is really all we can think about right now. I am sitting here in the floor of our apartment watching a swarm of movers wrap our belongings in cardboard and load them in a truck to be shipped to Palawan. Our days have been full of text messages, phone calls, emails, errands, packing, hauling loads of stuff back and forth between our apartment and the guesthouse, and a bewildering array of other things. This move is one of the most unique and stressful moves we have ever made, but we are so excited to finally be full-time in the flight program here. Please pray that our Nissan Patrol will sell in the next week, and that the Lord would lead us to the house he has for us on Palawan. Stay tuned for more updates soon as we count down to the day we fly to Palawan…
Breaking news!!!
We learned last week that a final(as final as anything is in ministry!) decision has been made concerning which region of the Philippines we will be assigned to and when we will begin that assignment. We have been asked to step out of language school a few months early in order to move to Palawan and begin assisting in the flight program there. The pilot who is currently on Palawan needs to go home on furlough next spring, and I will need to get my Philippine Pilot and Mechanic licenses, get current in a Cessna 185 again, and go through the field checkout process as well as a host of other duties and things that I need to learn about operating our flight program there. In order for all of this to happen, we will be moving to Palawan sometime in July. This is considerably sooner than we originally thought, and we are still getting our minds around the fact that we are finally beginning the ministry that we have prepared for for so long. We are excited to begin serving our fellow missionaries, but there is much yet to be done before we get there. We will have to send all of our belongings as well as our vehicle to Palawan by ship, find a new house and get it ready to live in, as well as trying to prepare for the $5000-$8000 that we have been told it may cost for my pilot’s license and field checkout in the aircraft. Please pray for us through this transition time:
- That we will be able to make the best of our last few weeks of formal Tagalog study
- That our Nissan Patrol will sell quickly(see “A tale of two Cars” for more details)
- That God would provide the additional funds that we will need for moving and my flight expenses
- That God will continue to work out all of the details through this transition time.
We are thankful for all of you and the part that you play in our ministry.
The Daltons
A Tale of Two Cars
In January we excitedly began searching for a vehicle here in Manila. We had a pretty specific set of criteria based on our limited experience here and our need for a vehicle to use in ministry. We were looking for a diesel 4×4 Automatic transmission SUV that would seat as many people or haul as much cargo as possible. We narrowed down our option to two models: An older, imported 80 series land cruiser, or a nissan Patrol. After a few weeks of looking, we found what seemed to be an excellent buy, a 1990 model imported Nissan Patrol that met all of our criteria for under $5000 Dollars! I checked it out as thoroughly as I could, and found a few repairs that were needed. Adding it all up, I figured we would come out with the vehicle in excellent condition for about $8000, which is exactly what we had budgeted for a vehicle. We had almost completed all of the repairs when I found something I was completely not expecting – Rust! I had looked all of the usual places – the frame, wheel wells, body panels, and it seemed to be a remarkable clean truck for it’s age. I just never thought to look under the carpet inside. One day I was cleaning and happened to lift a corner of the carpet up, and there it was. The more carpet I pulled up, the more rust I found. Feeling almost sick, I talked to my mechanic friend here. He seems to feel that the damage is easily repairable, and I would have been comfortable with repairing it except that we are moving in a few short months to Palawan where even canned goods rust from all the salt in the air. Reluctantly we put it back up for sale and almost immediately the Lord brought along a Land Cruiser in good condition for a price we could afford. The problem is that we still have the Patrol and we really need to sell it before we move to Palawan. Please pray with us that the Lord will send a buyer soon, and also that he will provide the finances for shipping our belonging and vehicle to Palawan as well as for my flight checkout starting in October.