We Survived the First Week of School!

We were supposed to arrive in New York on January 5th, but due to unfortunate weather we struggled to arrive by the 6th.  Everything started out well! 

The lovely snow

Our alarm went off in Seattle at 6 am.  We had all the bags packed, weighed and in the van ready to go.  We left the house early enough to stop for a cup of coffee on the way and even made it to the airport with time to spare.  We got checked in and our bags were checked all the way to Rochester.  I usually fly standby, but this time I had confirmed seats so I packed like I had confirmed seats.  No overnight gear would be needed because we would be in Rochester by 10pm and so would our bags.  

Our first flight left on time.  Grace was a bit wiggly but she did pretty good for her age.  We always get a bit nervous because most people don't like kids on a plane, and something always happens!  Let me tell you one story: We were trying to wrangle Grace who was squirming around.  We tried to offer all kinds of things; crackers, snacks, toys, etc.  We had a water bottle that she loves and had filled it before we got on the plane.  Well all Grace needs to do is  push a button and the "straw" flips up and she can take a drink.  Well she gets her bottle, pushes the button and the straw flips open as normal.  What wasn't normal was the pressure inside the bottle which forced a steady stream of water right between Amanda and I, between the seats, and right onto the lady sleeping behind us.  I am frantically trying to catch water that is flying through the air with not so much luck.  All we could do was laugh and the lady was very kind to us.  Haha what a surprise that would be! 

 Well we got to Chicago early and decided to get some much needed food.  While in line we saw a fight almost break out.  We ate and headed to the gate to wait where a disgruntled, drunk passenger was making a scene.  Gotta love Chicago!  It was snowing pretty heavy outside and our flight was delayed 15 minutes.  Well 15 minutes turned into hours of waiting, but finally we got on the airplane.  

We had to wait an hour for the de-ice unit to show up before we could even leave.  So, since we were near the back of the plane Grace was able to just run and play with the other kids!  After waiting one and a half hours on the plane our flight got canceled and we were deplaned.  Then we had to wait in line at customer service, but by God's grace, we were taken from the back of the line and brought to the executive customer service!  The last shall be first!  So, our flight got changed to early the next morning, so that meant a night in the airport.  We walked to the other end of the airport and found a place to rest.  The girls were able to lay down and rest, but I stayed and watched over them and the stuff!  Early the next morning we got on our plane and it actually took off!  We arrived in Rochester, but unfortunately, our bags did not.  It wasn't until 10 pm that night that our bags finally showed up, but we were in Lima and we were together!

This is our new place! (the lower half)

We started college classes last week and are excited to learn, but not so excited about the home work :)  I, Matt, am taking 4 classes: Basic Christian Counseling, Management for Christian Leaders, Cultures and Customs, and Missionary Life.  All of these classes are very interesting and in one week I have learned so much.  I am looking forward to this semester and the time I get to be with my family, learn from great teachers, and to study God's word!

This is one of the college buildings

It is so cool to see how God can use anyone to speak encouragement to us!  I have been trying to sell my truck now for a couple weeks and have had a lot of activity, but no buyers yet.  Well today I had a call on it while I was in chapel.  I called the man back and talked about the truck a bit.  He asked how the transition was to New York and we started talking about life and got on the subject of Helimission.  I told him we are using Helicopters to get the Gospel of Jesus to the most remote people on earth!  This guy ended up being a pastor at Calvary Chapel and just started encouraging me!  I'm here in New York, he is in Renton, and he was praying for me and my family right over the phone all because of Craigslist!  God is so good to us!  I haven't sold the truck and that's ok!  God is so amazing and nothing can hold him back!  He has shown us that He is in control of everything and He can even use Craigslist to bring a blessing!

We received our December financial update recently and are encouraged again to see the generosity of people!  Thank you all so much for faithfully giving!  We are not fully funded yet but every month we have seen more people partner with us!  We are currently 61% of the way to being fully funded!  That is so awesome and encouraging!  We have also got our Canadian account set up for those in Canada that would like to give.  Please click HERE, or click on our "Support" tab  and it explains how to give through that avenue.  Right now we are still in a state of preparation for the field and  it is hard to see the results of what you are giving too! We recommend clicking HERE and signing up for Helimission's newsletter.  This pamphlet is a collection of stories about what God is doing through Helimission!  It is very encouraging and helps you to see the usefulness of a helicopter in getting the gospel out!  It has been 10 years of preparation of which God has faithfully supplied all our needs through working and generous people, but now is a time where we are trusting fully in God to supply through people like you!  Thank you for your generosity and for being a part of getting the gospel to the ends of the earth!