An overextended reach while working in the hangar went almost unnoticed except for a slight tingle in my lower back. I shrugged it off and kept working. The next morning the tingle had become a white-hot pain so piercing that I canceled my days activities in favor of an ice pack and heating pad. Lying flat on my back or sitting bolt upright were the only positions that offered any …
Fuel For the Fire
While on a medical/evangelistic outreach in a rural area in the western highlands of Guatemala Robin and I were hosted for 5 days by a local family. Their home was modest with basic appointments like a wood burning cook stove and running water, in that you had to run outside to bring the water in by bucket. Sheets hung over cords became our haven-of-rest for the next week. The outreach …
The Positive Power of Planes
Central American road systems are strikingly limited when compared to the intricate systems that crisscross any-city USA. Stopping the flow of traffic between cities is often used to voice political or civil discontent with government policies. When this occurs, movement between cities and municipalities is impossible. Worse yet, you could find yourself trapped in a miles long line of vehicles unable to move for hours. On the 15th of …
Critical to Safe Flight!
During the return leg of a missionary transport flight, a failure light (L VAC) illuminated on the warning panel of the aircraft I was flying. It indicated that the left vacuum pump (VP) had failed. Briefly explained, the vacuum system keeps gyro instruments spinning to provide accurate attitude readings during flight. Because they are critical to safe flight, two are designed into this aircraft, a primary and backup. As an …
Starting The Day
Nearing the two-decade mark as missionaries, Chuck & Robin have learned to never expect the routine, and above all, seek God’s wisdom daily by reading and meditating on His Word. In missionary life, there are very few days that could be called “routine.” Stacks of paperwork demand attention daily, as does a to-do list that never seems to get any shorter. The plan formulated yesterday may well be obsolete before …
Site Survey Coban
About the middle of August, Chuck & Robin (C&R), SGSP Aviation Ministries International directors spent a morning talking with local pilots trying to get a feel for this 50ft wide by 3300ft long airstrip. The strip has a 3deg upslope with a pretty good kick at one end. Most pilots will opt to land uphill and takeoff downhill as seen in the photo however, given the right wind conditions a …
Too Much of a Good Thing!?!?
In 1968, when I was 8 years old, my family lived in San Antonio, Texas. My elementary school was a short 15-minute walk from our back door. Or if one or several things captured my attention along the way, that walk could take near an hour. But on my Schwinn Stingray, with banana seat and high-rise handlebars, I could cover that distance in an instant. One day a school chum …
Ministering Confidence and Creativity
Robin recognized nearly 15 years ago that work, survival, and family expectations, leave girls and women in rural communities with few options. We began to formulate ministry outreaches that would teach practical sewing skills while touching hearts and minds and opening the door to the Gospel of salvation. Often these classes serve as an outlet (valuable me time) for the marginalized Mayen youth in the western highlands of Guatemala. Once …
Struck Down But…Well Nearly!
Safe on the ground after back-to-back ministry support flights, Robin and I carefully rolled open four of the 30-ft tall hangar doors, each weighing 400lbs. With the hangar open, we broke a sweat wrestling a 3600 lb. aircraft into position by hand. After a moment to catch our breath, we began to clean, check, inventory, refuel, and cover the aircraft. This is all part of the post-flight routine, so that …
A Funny Thing Happened…..
Santiago is just fourteen nautical miles, as the crow fly’s, from Quetzaltenango and Serving God by Serving His People (SGSP) Aviation Ministries mission base. It is one of several municipalities that dot the shore of Lago Atitlan, I’m told each is named after an Apostle from the Bible, (Santiago is James in English). Robin and I took to the sky’s climbing up to 10,500 ft., to clear the ridge between …