Spokane Turbine Center

I am in Spokane, Washington, in the final week of my training at Spokane Turbine Center.  I've been learning about the PT-6 engine that's on the front of the Kodiak, about the G1000 avionics inside the cockpit, and the most fun part is they have a full motion simulator that I've been flying!  I'll try to get some pictures of me in the simulator to post.  The first week for the PT-6 course I was with four other guys, but this past week for the flying portion I've been all by myself, which is nice in some ways, since the simulator time can get pretty booked up, and it's not uncommon to have to fly the simulator in the evenings.  One of the things I was looking forward to was going hiking and camping in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.  I have a couple of free days at the end, and I had hoped to go to Glacier National Park, but alas, it's still very much winter there, and most roads are still closed.  Then I thought I might try Mt. Ranier National Park, but even there, there's still lots of snow on the ground and I didn't bring my tire chains nor my snowshoes.  Still, the sights around Spokane aren't too shabby.  With both STC and Moody Aviation right here in Spokane, the Quest factory (where the Kodiak is made) just 70 miles away in Sandpoint, Idaho, and of course the MAF headquarters not too far away in Nampa, this area has kind of become the center for mission aviation.  Who knows, maybe we'll be back here again some day long term?  I know I've been enjoying God's beautiful creation here.  I'd like it even better if I could have my family here with me!

Furlough Time

Want to know what we've been doing in the USA?  Well, since arriving in America in early January, we've gone to Disney World, visited lots of family and friends in several different states, celebrated a couple of birthdays, been fishing, and eaten lots of good food.  We've also visited lots of supporting churches which has been a joy - reconnecting with everyone.  Instead of writing too much, I'll just post some photos.

Roman turned three on February 13:

In early March, we took a trip to Florida and went to Legoland and, of course, Disney World. Drew actually liked Legoland better.  It was really fun, and perfect for kids age 2-12:



At Disney World, we scheduled Ella to be a princess for a day at the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique.  It was the highlight of Disney for her, and she got to go on her birthday:



Ella and her cousins, Cole and Addison after becoming princesses:











I definitely married "up":



Visiting my "Memaw" in Hickory:



Drew and Ella started playing soccer on Saturdays:







Drew is really into Star Wars after going on "Star Tours" at Hollywood Studios (Disney World):



Ella and I went to a "Daddy Daughter Dance" at our church recently and had a great time:





Resurrection Day, celebrating our King who lives:

Yes, We Are Alive....

....and on furlough in America for the next 6 months!  Sorry it's been a while since we've made a post.  In December I was quite ill for almost two weeks, then the kids were, then it was Christmas and then Heather became ill too with the same thing so I played mom while packing up our house for furlough, and then we left.  Our journey home wasn't just a straight shot to Raleigh, but we actually visited four different countries, though one of those we hadn't planned to visit (more on that later).  We vacationed in Singapore for a few days which was a lot of fun.  Our second leg was on to the MAF headquarters with a stop in China.  We spent a week at MAF (which was crazy cold, but a good visit), then finally made it home to Raleigh.  

China??

Yes, that's right, we made a stop in China.  OK, maybe we just changed planes there, but our passports prove that we actually visited China.  Here's why we will never, and I recommend nobody to ever, go through China again as a "stopover" to change planes.  

We used to live in China, so when we found out that our routing home would take us through Beijing, I was kind of excited.  We are adopting a child from China, and we used to be able to speak Chinese, so this would be fun, right?  Our plane from Singapore arrived at 6am, and our next flight to Seattle didn't leave until 12pm.  Six hours seemed like plenty of time to transfer.  Well, we arrived in Terminal 3, a huge facility that looked like it'd been completed for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.  It is massive.  Well, apparently they forgot to connect the tram over to Terminal 2, where our next flight left from, because in order to get over to Terminal 2, you have to get a 72 hour visa and actually get your passport stamped, get on a bus for 10 minutes or so, then go through customs again, and finally you're over ready to get on your next plane.  We had to fill out the departure/arrival cards and everything.  The crazy thing is this new Terminal 3 was huge, and we had to get on a train for quite a while just to take us to the baggage claim area, which leads me to wonder, why couldn't they link the two terminals together without forcing you to go through customs/immigration like every other airport in the free world does???  

So we finally arrived at the Terminal 2 check-in counter at 8am, two hours after our previous flight had arrived.  But we didn't have boarding passes for the next flight, and the Delta check-in counter didn't open till 9am.  When we did finally check in at 9am, they told us they couldn't find our bags (we had six checked bags), and we'd need to wait for our bags to come from the other terminal before we could proceed.  OK, three hours seemed like plenty of time to get our bags transferred, but whatever.  Well, an hour later and I was beginning to realize that doing an international transfer in Beijing was not normal for them.  Nevermind that we've done it in Tokyo, Singapore, Stockholm, without a hitch before.  By 10am they'd only found two of our bags, and by 10:30 they finally just sent us with our boarding passes to the gate.  I kept asking the Delta folks (who were very nice and helpful) what would happen to our other four bags, and I never really got an answer.  It wasn't like, "Oh, when we find them, we'll send them on ahead on the next flight."  I got the impression it was going to be, "Oh you're not here to claim them?  They will stay in China FOREVER!!! {evil laugh}"  They kept saying how we had flown from Singapore on Air China, but this was Delta, and that's why there was a problem.  Of course, in Singapore, where everything just works like clockwork (it is seriously the most efficient, time sensitive, cleanest place I've ever been, though very expensive), they indicated no problems at all, and just checked the bags to Seattle like you'd expect.  But here in China, you'd have thought we showed up with no passports or something.  

We finally got to our gate around 11am, but still no sign of our missing four bags.  At this point I was already calculating in my head what everything was worth, how much we would be reimbursed, etc., because we'd probably never see those bags again if we got on that plane and the bags weren't in the baggage hold.  Finally, as we began to board, the Delta agent that was actually very kind and helpful told me that they'd found our bags!!  "Really??"  I said to him.  "HIGH FIVE!!!" and he did give me a high five.  We began to board, and I thought the drama was over.  Someone would need to stay back and confirm that those were indeed our bags (???) while they retagged them (apparently the tags from Singapore weren't good enough), so I stayed behind while Heather and the kids boarded the 767.  It took a while for everyone to board, and as the line dwindled down and I was getting anxious since our bags still weren't showing up, an agent with a walkie-talkie came up to me and said, "Sir, they found a lighter in one of your bags.  Can they open it and take it out?"  Seemed odd since I didn't remember packing a lighter, but I was like, "Of course, take it out, just please get our bags on the plane." Thankfully they did bring up three of the bags, re-tagged them, and so now just one bag that's a problem.  

At this point almost everyone is on the plane, and I'm beginning to wonder if I was going to get left behind.

A couple minutes later, the same agent came up to me again and said, "Sir, they said it's not a lighter, but a GUN."  
"A gun?!?!  There's no way that's my bag!"
"Yes, they said it's a gun in your bag."

I was beginning to think I was going to be on Locked Up Abroad and be stuck in a Chinese prison for a year.  Is this really happening??

But then, he got word it's not a gun, but he couldn't describe it in English (this is where remembering some Chinese would have helped, but alas, there's only room in my brain for one foreign language).  I implored him, just tell security to open up my bag, that there was definitely no gun in there.  He said that he wasn't sure the bag would make it on the plane, but still he seemed to indicate that it couldn't just come on the next flight.  So I got on the plane, literally the last passenger on board, as they closed the door behind me, still not knowing if we'd ever see that last bag again (hey, 5 out of 6 isn't bad, especially after we were thinking 2 out of 6).

When we arrived in Seattle, we were relieved to see all SIX of our bags dropping out on the baggage carousel!  As we opened up the one suspect bag, guess what we found on top?

This:







Six hours in China, got our passports stamped and entered China, but it was by far the most stressful and unpleasant part of our 8 flight, 10 day journey home for furlough.  It did not make me miss China.

I didn't have a camera the whole time, since I sold my camera in Indonesia, but here are just a few of the kiddos since we arrived home.  Ella and Roman let Drew paint their faces like superheroes one day, probably because they had just watched Spiderman that morning:









Be looking for us while we are in the USA, coming to a church near you soon!

Our decision to adopt

How did we come to the decision to adopt?  Well, that is such a hard question to answer here in this space.  I could do a much better job if I could just share my heart over a warm cup of hot chocolate!

Tripp and I have the typical husband/wife adoption story in that I wanted to adopt long before he did.  For the last year God has been gently nudging me and making it clear to me that adoption was going to play a role in the story of our lives.  And after much prayer together and apart, God brought Tripp to that same realization.   

When I started to think about everything that has brought us to this point of wanting to adopt, every single thought started with loss and ended with life.

It is the beautiful tapestry that is woven throughout Scripture and yet remains such a mystery to me.  How can loss or death lead to life?  Our ultimate example is Christ and the life he lived which lead him to Calvary.  John 12:25-26 says: Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also.  If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.  Jesus invites us to follow him, to die with him, to hate our lives with him and by doing so we live out the gospel message before the world and come to find that good life, that joy-filled life, that forever life we've been longing for.  

God has been lovingly teaching and revealing these truths to me for some time now - and not just in the losses I've had in my life, but through my marriage to Tripp, through mothering my three precious kids, and by living in a culture that is not my own.   

Psalm 39:4 says: O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am.  This life is so short and I want to live this life I've been given to do one thing - honor Him.  And the only way I can do that is follow Him to the cross.

So what does this have to do with adoption?  Well, I recently read a post by Rachel Jankovic that really resonates with my heart and expresses our heart for wanting to adopt.  Here's what she says:

"Christian mothers carry their children in hostile territory. When you are in public with them, you are standing with, and defending, the objects of cultural dislike. You are publicly testifying that you value what God values, and that you refuse to value what the world values. You stand with the defenseless and in front of the needy. You represent everything that our culture hates, because you represent laying down your life for another—and laying down your life for another represents the gospel."

This is why Tripp and I have chosen to open our lives, hearts, and home to the fatherless - because we want to value what God values:

He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow.  Deuteronomy 10:18a

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling.  God sets the lonely in families.  Psalm 68: 5-6a

Because we want to lay down our lives for another:

Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. 

Psalm 82:3:

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27

And through this death to our desires, our time, our wants, and our plans for our family, we find the ultimate life and in return can give life to one of the least of these, to our little Xiao Li (pronounced Shao Lee).  Several of you have asked if we already know who Xiao Li is and the answer is no, not yet.  We decided that during this time of waiting, instead of calling her "our child", or "little sister Flythe", we'd call her Xiao Li.  We hope to find out who she is in the spring/summer.

So while people may wonder why we would want to have another child through adoption and go through all the stresses of filling out tons of paperwork, disrupting the peaceful flow of our home (it's really not peace-filled all the time anyways), going through all the logistics of getting her into Indonesia and then back to the States again to get her US citizenship, we know that this life is not our own and that what we do here on this earth will count for all eternity.  

We know this journey will not be without its own heartaches, pains, and hurts, but it is so worth it to be able to go down this road of loss so that we might truly live.

Below is a video I found several months ago that I haven't been able to get out of my mind.  Watch it and you will be changed.  

Xiao Li

As we were hanging up the kids' stockings Ella sweetly looked up at me and said, "momma, we gotta put one up for Xiao Li!"  Who is Xiao Li, you ask?  Well, she is one of the least of these.  She is the one who was left abandoned at the market.  She is the one who feverishly shovels soup into her mouth because she's unknowingly trying to put off the hunger pangs for just a little bit longer.  She is the one who cries in the middle of the night and no one responds to her heartfelt pleas for love.   She is the one who can't hold back the tears as she sees another one of her friends leave and never return, wishing she could do the same. She is the little girl God placed in our hearts some time ago but hasn't yet placed in our hands.  We don't know what her story is yet but we hope to find out this time next year.
                                                     
                                                            *                  *                   *

Tripp, the kids and I are SO excited to share with you that we are hoping to adopt a little girl from China next year, whom we are affectionately calling Xiao Li.  It feels so good to be typing these words right now and so scary at the same time.  I know this next year will be filled with amazing moments: finding out who Xiao Li is, being able to look at her picture and gaze into her eyes from afar.  And this next year will be filled with rock bottom moments as well: having to wait and wait and then wait some more until we can meet her and hold her and love on her.  My hope is to document our adoption journey on the blog so that others might be encouraged and ultimately so that our little girl will be able to look back and read about this love story  God has written on our hearts.....for her!

So where are we in the process?  Well, we are almost done with our home study.  Our caseworker came last week to visit us and we had a couple of days full of questions about our family and looking around our home to make sure it's a safe environment for our new little girl.  I liken our home study visit to a mini marriage retreat.  We basically spent the better part of a day talking about our marriage - our strengths, weaknesses, how we met, what attracted us to each other, etc.  Putting into words how you feel about someone is so good for the soul and a reminder of all the reasons why I love Tripp  and the family God has blessed us with.  Our caseworker is awesome!  She is also an island dweller living in Micronesia on the island of Pohnpei.  My kids absolutely adored her which made our home study experience even better.  I know the home study visit can be a little nerve wracking, not knowing what to expect, but it was truly a joy-filled time.  We still have a few more forms to fill out to complete our home study, which need to have a US notary, so we'll be waiting to get those when we return home on furlough in January.

So that's just a glimpse into our lives and what's going on with us.  There is so much more to tell and one day soon I will share more about how we came to this decision to adopt.

The Orphan's Prayer

Each night before I go to bed

I fold my hands and bow my head

Praying for a family and the day she will come for me

I ask God to watch over my friends at the orphanage,

The place that I call home

Wishing we find families and rooms of our very own.

I finish my prayers and climb into bed

Hoping that God heard what I said.

My prayers usually turn out to be my dreams at night

Hoping she will be standing there when I wake to the morning light.

One very special morning, I will hear their call,

I jump out of bed and run down the hall!

Is it her, Is it her, is that why they’ve called my name?

Running I hear them shout “It’s her, it’s her, she finally came!”

Have all my prayers been answered, have all my dreams come true

There she is in front of me, Oh Mama! Oh Mama!! Is it really you?

“Yes, it is my darling, I’ve come to take you home,”

“I will love, protect and cherish and you will never be alone.“

Mama looks at me so differently a look so new to me,

She touches me so gently, just as I dreamed it would be.

As I look into her eyes I watch them fill with water,

She embraces me and whispers, “I love you so my daughter”.

She takes my hand and I hold it tight,

I will never let it go, I hold with all my might.

Hand in hand we walk together,

No one needs to speak; we know this is forever.

And through our journey when we finally meet each other,

She will have found her dream and I will have found my mother.

by Nancy Kaywork