The Master Puzzler

When the Lord puts all the pieces of the time puzzle together, things fall into place before you even know what’s coming. I’m laying this newsletter out like a timeline, to hopefully communicate the workings of a Master Puzzler.

For several years some close friends and I have done a ladies’ weekend in May. This year, about six months ahead, we pushed it from Memorial weekend to the last weekend in May. Fast forward to Friday, May 1: I drove three hours to Jefferson City to see one of my sisters and decided to stop at Vital Records for Gideon’s birth certificate. Google said they closed at 4; I walked in at 3:15 to lights off and a sign: “If you’re here after 3pm for a birth certificate, ring this bell.” A man came out: “I’m sorry, we actually close at 3… Oh never mind, I’m not doing anything, I’ll just get it for you. I’ll even turn the lights on!” I didn’t even know how much it would matter.

Monday, May 4, missionary friends messaged: they had extra seats on a flight into Haiti, 17 days away, May 21. We didn’t have Gideon’s passport. We could apply in person for urgent travel, but only within two weeks of departure. That Thursday I got onto the appointment system first thing: one Friday opening, 9:30 am, at a facility 5.5 hours away. I booked it, ran for road snacks, and we hit the road at 3:30 am with a manila envelope of documents. The appointment was a breeze, and Hot Springs National Park was around the corner, so at six weeks old Gideon hiked his first mountain (or rather, I hiked it with Gideon in tow). A week later the passport arrived!

Meanwhile, a friend I’d invited to our church’s women’s conference asked if her sister, Kali, could come instead, and the Lord moved beautifully for many women there. We learned some of HFAM’s Canadian team would be in Bombard the same week, so we’d get to meet people integral to the work. On the 18th we drove to Virginia so the other kids could stay with Gigi and Papa and Jon’s siblings, while Jon, Gideon and I flew VA → FL → Haiti. We got back just in time for the weekend with my girlfriends, the one we’d moved six months earlier.

During our short trip to Bombard I was busy. Right away I was met with “While you are here, can you…”, which is exactly what I like to hear. I worked on medical equipment, helped rescue a 5-ton army dump truck, and worked on maintenance items for the Cessna 207s. Being useful and solving problems is about as fulfilling as it gets.

Medical equipment was a new adventure: oxygen concentrators and bottle fillers that weren’t working correctly. My electrical knowledge was stretched, and I’ll be taking a basic class on circuit boards, components and some programming. The dump truck will be instrumental for the upcoming runway extension.

I’ve been flying as much as I can, in both airplanes and helicopters. Hope From Above only has airplanes right now, but we are praying about working toward a helicopter. It would be a great addition to the fleet and the ministry’s capabilities.

Being serious, this is not a small thing. I’ve been getting experience with Robinson helicopters here in Missouri. Two would fit right in: the R44, a four-place piston helicopter (about $500K), and the R66, a five-place turbine (about $1.3 million). God is not broke.