September 1, 2010

• Flexibility (by Josh!!)

  For various reasons, this article (below) written by Josh will not be appearing in our September newsletter, so i thought, since he put such hard work into writing it (and because Josh doesnt write much and therefore what he does write should be treated like gold!) i thought you might enjoy reading it. Despite our struggles i do hope you read our posts with the knowledge that we trust the LORD to bring us into a new phase of hope and blessing, as he is already showing himself to be doing. Missionary life is by no means smooth sailing all the time – this is simply a difficult time of transition for us – which will undoubtedly be followed by a new phase of new friends, new blessings, new good things.

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  We were told 5 years ago that MAF is actually the acronym for Move Again Friend. No, we are not moving, but are learning flexibility in other just as demanding ways as others move.

  We pointed out in our last letter of friends/colleagues who have left or are leaving and in two weeks we will see the last movement of the year as our dear neighbors depart for Canada.  This has all been a lot to adjust to but one thing I was not quite prepared for was the “slack” that would need to be taken up and vacancies that would need to be filled in their absences.

  June, July and August have been stressful times for me as I have been trying to adjust to the new roles that have been asked of me.  Where as prior to our furlough I was a pilot/safety officer, I am now a pilot/operations manager/deputy program manager/ deputy ground ops/ facility maintenance guy….I can say thankfully in many ways the slow flying of our winter months has helped me cope with these added responsibilities but I always long to be in the air. 

  Taking over operations has been a handful at times, especially when my Malagasy counter part is on vacation.  I then become the sole person in the office doing flight scheduling, booking, invoicing and at times needing to fly.  August has been particularly hectic as our second pilot was asked to fill in in Chad for three weeks, while our program manager is on vacation and Matthew is packing house to head back to Canada.  That leaves me as the only expat staff in the office who can make any decision of any kind.  This has meant a barrage of questions that need answers quickly without the knowledge of what I am really answering, this while still doing the operations, piloting and coordinating the re-construction of a runway built 4 years ago.

  Thankfully the end of this season is in sight.  Patrick is back from Chad as I write this, Matthew is so kindly flying whenever I need him to and everything else, well let’s just say it’s slowly working itself out.

  I am looking forward again to this new term that we have here in Madagascar.  I look forward to the new responsibilities despite my fears of inadequacy, God is teaching me that He is sufficient and that through me He will accomplish what He needs to and that will not be based on my strengths or skills but on Him alone.    

   

  • 7:44 am
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