Josh and Candy Dalton Expanding the Reach of the Gospel Through Aviation in the Philippines 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.
Basketball Philippines style!
Last night I went with some a few other missionaries and some of the guards from our apartment building to play some basketball. Most of the guards speak very little english, so it was some great Tagalog time as we divided up into teams and tried to figure out if we were playing man-on-man or zone defense. I think the score was 4-2 when I was guarding one of guards. He was bent over driving in to the basket and as he came up I leaned over to block the shot. His shoulder came up squarely into my glasses, shattering a lens and driving pieces of it into my eyebrow. Like any head wound, it bled like crazy so I spent the next hour and a half warming the bench wit ha handkerchief pressed to my head trying to stop the flow of blood. After we got home at about 11:30, a friend helped clean it up and get some wound closure strips on it. It seems to be healing nicely, but that was definitely not the ending I was expecting to the ball game!
An Adventure Buying Car Parts
These are a few of the "bills" I was handed
A few days ago I decided to go with a friend to buy a new power steering pump and window actuator for the car we had just bought. It seems so simple, and I had been to this part of town before with another missionary. A busy and fascinating area, the street is lined on both sides with vendors selling parts – car parts, truck parts, motorcycle parts, new parts, used parts, high quality parts fake parts – ok, I know I sound like Dr. Seuss but you get the idea. We arrived about 2:00 in the afternoon and immediately found someone who said he could get us the power steering pump and also a part for a window actuator that I needed. We parked on the side of the street in front of a little hole-in-the-wall shop, and a couple of guys quickly began removing the old pump and working on the window actuator. I felt pretty safe when we arrived because I noticed a policeman standing a few yards away obviously keeping an eye on things, but the situation changed rapidly once he walked around the corner. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by men claiming “Sir! You are missing screws from your fender flares!”, “Sir! You need new door seals!”, “Sir, your shocks are bad, I can give you a bargain on a new set!”. Not only was the sheer volume of it overwhelming, but it was all in Tagalog. I made the mistake of allowing one man to replace a few screws that actually were missing, and despite my best efforts, the rest descended in force. After a few minutes of “fixing” my car, they all assailed me again, this time with their “bills”. Written on the backs of candy wrappers, and even on the back of receipts taken from my own car, they claimed I owed them from $10 to $30 for a few minutes of “work” and a few cents worth of screws or rubber pieces, most of which were unnecessary or totally wrong. I began to realize what was happening when the normal friendly haggling over price led only to raised voices, angry looks and more aggressive attempts to “get paid for their work”. By that time it was getting dark, the genuine mechanic was not yet finished with my power steering pump, and we were outnumbered 2 to 10 by angry men intent on taking us for everything they could. I tried to pay the few who I knew had actually done legitimate work, and each time I pulled a bill from my pocket, a dozen frantic hands snatched it away, actually tearing a few of them as they fought over them. I finally pulled the last of the bills I had with me from my pocket, told them that was all I had and that they needed to divide those bills up among themselves, and so they moved on down the street fighting among themselves over the bills I had passed out. It turned out to be an expensive power steering pump by the time I paid off all of the swindlers, but I learned a lot from the experience, and gained about 5 hours of the most intense Tagalog exposure I have had yet. I was thankful to leave poorer but with my skin intact, and thankful too that this experience, like any of it’s kind, was because of a few greedy men in an otherwise incredibly kind and generous culture.
A Resurrection Sunday Update
As our Resurrection Sunday comes to a close, we pray you each have a blessed day remembering the sacrifice of our Savior. This past week, holy week, has brought some of the most unique and intense culture experiences and awareness that we have yet seen. Check back soon for my story about buying car parts last week, but more importantly the events that occur here each year during holy week have opened our eyes to some of the core spiritual values of the people we are here to reach. Over the weekend there were very few cars on the roads but the sidewalks were crowded with people – barefoot people, all walking to a church in penance. People known as flagellants could be seen whipping their own backs as they walked. Others carry crosses. In a few locations the most devoted will have someone nail their hands and feet to a cross and hang there crucified ’til they can bear it no more and ask to be taken down. They will do this year after year believing that in some way this will atone for their sins. It is heart wrenching to see so many so familiar with the passion of Christ and yet so far from comprehending it’s significance that they will actually seek to emulate his perfect sacrifice. Pray that God will speed our progress in the language and better enable us to communicate the truth of His word to those around us who are so close and yet so very far from comprehending the true meaning of Resurrection Sunday. May you have a wonderful day of remembering all that He has done, is doing and will do through eternity for you.
“Kaya Kinuha ko si Hesus…”
I was practicing my tagalog on Friday with one of the gardeners at our apartment building. We were talking about various subjects, then he started talking about a missionary who used to talk to him sometimes. He told me how the missionary taught him that we can not work hard enough to get into the kingdom of God, and that Jesus was the only way we could be saved. Then he said “So I took Jesus because he did all of the work for me.” I then asked where he went to church and he said that he was Catholic. It seems that God has done a work in his heart, but no one was there to disciple and teach him farther. It was difficult for me because he speaks about as much english as I speak tagalog, and that is not much! There is so much that I would like to be able to share with him, but I do not yet have the language ability to do it. Pray for me and the other missionaries living here that we will be able to disciple him farther as our language ability progresses, and that Jose will remain open to learning and growing in Christ.
Josh
For the first time in two years!
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
Maligayang Pasko
This has been certainly the most unique and probably the most stressful Christmas season of our lives. The Christmas season here begins in September and lasts through New Years Day, and there are many new traditions and expectations to learn in order to not offend. It is a season of giving, but many have little joy in giving because it seen as an obligation. Just as in the States, Christmas here has been robbed of it’s true meaning and become almost a bondage of traditions and customs. More than any other Christmas season, we are so thankful for our Savior who gave his all out of love, not obligation, and for each of you who have given so much and so lovingly to us. Please pray with us that during this season we will be able to bring the joy of Christ-like giving to those around us, and that His light will shine through us for His Glory. – Josh