Monday, November 13, 2006

Basking in Boise

Greetings from Boise, Idaho! Wonderful, warm Idaho, land of potatoes...

As usual things have been carrying on at a frantic pace, which means for us that things are fairly normal. For the past three weeks we have been in Boise, Idaho for standardization training with MAF US. Well at least Gary has been training, Tammy has been trying to keep the kids on track with their homeschooling, as well as enjoying her time visiting with her friend Claire. The kids have been awesome, and have enjoyed some exploring and Kaity has managed to meet up with some 'friends-of-friends'. It is a small world that we live in! Last weekend we went to the Old Idaho Penitentary, built in 1870 and used until 1973, it made us glad we didn't have to live there! The kids have all been sharing one bedroom, which has gone surprisingly well, this is just another sign that we serve a God of grace and miracles and that many prayers have been said on our behalf!

So what exactly does one do when they are here for standardization training? Well, first of all you get to spend one week in a classroom learning all about the plane you will be flying and how MAF expects you to do things. This translates into lots of homework, studying and test writing. For the next three weeks, you take all the classroom theory and turn it into practical application, learning how to land, takeoff and turn in really tiny spaces. Not so that you can be some crackpot that is off doing nutty things all the time, but to learn what you and your airplane are and aren't capable of doing. They take their forty years of experience flying this plane and give it all to you.
Setting up a low pass to make an airdrop.

Target zone for airdrop

Learning to stop quickly...and safely

We have been so blessed to be here in Boise, Idaho. God continues to amaze us as He blesses us with the opportunity to be a part of building His kingdom. It will never cease to amaze me how He is willing to take such an imperfect vessel as myself and allow me to be a part of His awesome plan for this world.

Sunday, October 29, 2006

Finally, a moment to fill you in!


To say things have been a little crazy the last few weeks would be putting it mildly. Since we last updated you we have participated in a missions conference in Three Hills, stripped and shingled the roof at Tami's parents house, packed up all our wordly belongings and put them in storage and then moved to Boise Idaho for the next four weeks. Tami commented that after 21yrs of being married we can still put all of our stuff into one bedroom and that includes all the kids stuff as well! God has graciously allowed us to be mobile and not get too encumbered with stuff...at least that is what we tell ourselves.

Since we have been in Boise I, Gary, have been hitting the books and taking ground school classes at MAF US that will help prepare me for the unique flying conditions encountered overseas. I haven't spent that much time in class and doing homework since...I don't know when! It has been great, the instructors and staff have been fantastic and I am excited about getting in the plane on Monday and starting to fly. The guys that I will get to fly with are truly some of the best in the world when it comes to flying the Cessna 206. I look forward to soaking up as much of their teaching as possible.
As far as Tami and the kids go they have been settling into the home schooling routine. We are in a two bedroom condo so the kids are sharing a room. They have been just awesome about it, we thank God daily for the amazing kids He has blessed us with.

We do have one thing that you could all pray about. My passport is on its' way to Angola, which typically isn't that big of a problem. However, something has malfunctioned at the junction and it is taking somewhat of a circuitous route to get there. To give you an idea of that route I have included where it has been and where it is as of October 29th.
October 18 Calgary
October 19 Wilmington Ohio
October 19 Toronto
October 19 Guadalhara, Mexico
October 20
Wilmington Ohio
October 20 New York, NY
October 20 Brussels, Belgium
October 23 Amsterdam, Netherlands
October 24 Mexico City
October 25 Wilmington Ohio
October 25 New York, NY
October 25 Brussels, Belgium
October 26
Amsterdam, Netherlands
October 27 Mexico City
October 28 Wilmington Ohio
October 28 New York, NY
October 29 Brussels, Belgium

Some day it will make for a really funny story, which it kind of is right now, but we really need it to get to Angola so they can take care of my work visa. Thanks for all your prayers and support we'll update you next week on how things are going and the saga of the passport. Drop us a line and tell us what you are up to, we would love to hear from you all!

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far
side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me,
Your right hand will hold me fast.
Ps139:9-10

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

God's Provision

I am continually humbled by the way God is providing our needs through the generosity of His people. We have been so privileged to meet new friends everytime we head out on the road to share what God is doing in our lives and where He is calling us to go. This past month we were able to head up to Eaglesham, Fairview and Fox Creek in northwestern Alberta. We had travelled that route in May and were eager to reconnect and also meet new friends. The Lord graciuosly reminds us each time that what we are doing is not about us, but about Him and His kingdom. Every home where we have stayed, every person we have met, has blessed us beyond anything we could repay. God has been so good to us and we pray that we can at least return a part of that blessing to all of you.

Things are really starting to kick into high gear this week, all the planning and preparation for returning to Angola is starting to come together. As you can see by our schedule on the side of the blog we are going to be living out of suitcases until we arrive in Angola next August. This weekend we will be heading to MAF US until the end of November for some advanced flight training. Following that we'll be on Vancouver Island for christmas, back to Alberta for the new year and then off to Colorado for a two week language acquisition course.We will be returning to Alberta one last time for final packing and farewells and then off to Portugal at the end of January for language training. Wow, things are getting exciting and scary all at the same time! Please continue to pray for us, we are continually humbled and blessed by all of your love and care.

We will update you next from MAF US in Nampa Idaho.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Who's in control?

Since Gary is at a loss as to what to write this month, I thought I would step in and test my journalistic abilities. This is Tami by the way....The summer has gone by way too fast without getting as much done as I would have liked, which means that life is still normal. Some of the highlights of our summer have been summer jobs for Kaity, a life of leisure for Josh, and an all boy's adventure camp for Matt. He wondered what kind of fun would there be if no girls were there to harass!...he loved it inspite. We spent a wonderful weekend with Gary's family at a Balzer family reunion with approximately 60 of our favorite aunties, uncles,cousins and of course Grandma.
We have completed all the to-do-lists that we have procrastinated about for the past 3 years and have sold the house. We are in the process of putting anything that has sentimental value into storage boxes, packing what we think we will need
for language school and another lot for Angola and selling the rest. We still have a few big decisions that we are waiting on, like should we spend six months in Portugal or Brazil for lanuage training, spend October & November in Idaho for extra flight training for Gary, do we keep our van, or sell it, blah blah blah....Life is good, God is so good to us! I need to remember on a daily basis that He is in control and although it isn't always easy, He knows what is best and how things will come together for His honour and glory. We appreciate that you all bring us before the Lord in prayer it, really does make a difference in our lives. Balzer Reunion 2006
What a fine looking group!

Another adventure we had was heading off to the Guzoo (Three Hill's Zoo) with Tami's nephews' Jaxson and Carter to pet a Bengal Tiger cub! Who would have thought you could do that in Three Hills let alone in Angola? We thought it was pretty cool that the cub's name was Jaxson as well.

We look forward to catching up with all of you this fall. It has been a wonderful summer, see ya soon!

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?
Romans 10:14

Monday, July 03, 2006

New Challenges

It feels as though the months are slipping by quickly as we prepare to go to Portugal in January for language training. So many things to do and get in order before we leave, our level of excitement grows with each day. God continues to bless and amaze us with His provisions through all of you, thank you once again.

June took us to Saskatoon where spent a wonderful weekend sharing with family and friends. We spent an afternoon with Gary's 91 year old Grandma who regaled us with pictures and stories of her youth in Czarist and Soviet Russia. It was exciting to be able to connect with our family history a bit more as we get ready for a new adventure in the future.

We returned to Three Hills where we joined our church for its annual camp out. Good food, good fellowship and a wonderful baptismal service in the river. Also, as it regularily seems to be the case, our family grew to 11 as several teens joined us for the camp-out. What a great group of kids, they help keep the adventure in our lives. The following weekend was Kaity's graduation. Wow, what a hoot, it was a great time of again, looking at the past and dreaming about the future.

The last weekend saw us heading up to Lacombe where the church had organized a fund raiser for us. We spent Saturday doing a walk-a-thon and picnic and then sharing in the Sunday morning service. Gary has taken to throwing chocolate bars into the congregation, it's lots of fun, you should see how alert people become when chocolate starts flying.
Thanks to all you Lacombians!?

The picture shows Mitcha compound where we will live. Our house has a red roof and is the one on the upper right hand side of the three. If you like Google Earth you can use the following co-ordinates (14 53'27.70" S 13 29'40.82" E) to find the house and look around the City of Lubango. Is that cool or what!? We'll try to give you a bit more of a tour as we write more.

Monday, May 22, 2006

Times, they be a changin'

Wow, it sure has been an exciting few weeks. We have been able to travel all over the countryside visiting family, friends and making new friends along the way. We have covered about 4000kms visiting Eaglesham, Fox Creek, Salmon Arm, Kamloops, Abbotsford, Richmond, Nanimo, Lantzville and Parksville. It has been awesome hearing the exciting things that God is doing in these places and a real privilege to be able to share about our work with MAF. Speaking of MAF, we are pretty excited about a change in plans as to where we are going to serve, MAF has asked us to return to Angola. They want us to be ready to head to Portugal for language training starting in January of '07. We now have a deadline to work towards and are excited about how God is going to bring things together.

When you think about us, could you specifically pray some of these things:

  • Pray that we will be sensitive to Gods' leading as we seek opportunities to share not only about the work in Angola, but also that we would be used to communicate Gods' message of hope for the world.
  • Pray that we will rest in His provision and timing. God has graciuosly provided 35% of our monthly support. Total monthly support required is $5700.00.
  • Pray that in this mission Gods' name will be glorified and that His kingdom will be magnified.
We are excited to be heading back to Angola, renewing old acquaintances and friendships as well as seeing what new things God has in store for us. We are eager and ready to go, it is now just a matter of following Gods' leading. Let us know if you, your church or small group is interested in hearing about MAF's ministry in Angola. We would be glad to meet with you.

More details to follow.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Chitokoloki

So far I am sure that you have been able to pronounce the names of the places that we maybe posted to in Zambia, but this one I am pretty sure has got most of you tongue tied. To help you out I am going to give you my own phonetic pronounciation- "Chee-toe-co-low-key" the emphasis is on the first syllable. Chitokoloki is a Mission Station situated in the Northwest Province of Zambia at a remote location on the Zambezi River close to both neighboring countries of Congo and Angola. There are only two modes of transport for reaching Chitokoloki; first by road and second by air. By road it is approximately 12 hrs or 650 kilometers from the capital Lusaka, a very long and tiring trip as the road condition is extremely poor.The option of travel to Chitokoloki from Lusaka by plane is much quicker and more convenient as there is a landing strip on the Mission and the flight generally takes between 2 and 3 hours. Plans are being made to base an aircraft here to serve the mission hospital. The hospital contains 283 beds divided into three wards. The newest ward contains 85 beds and is used for primary care and treatment. The second ward or "old hospital" contains 88 beds and is used for out patient, lab work, teaching and other things. The remaining 110 beds form the "colony" which is the TB and leprosy settlement. In 2004 the hospital had over 12,000 admissions and saw over 19,000 outpatients. Three community health centers are also supported from Chitokoloki. Within a one hour flight there are a total of 5 hospitals all of which have access to a landing strip. One of the clinics, Dipalata would also like to build an airstrip for better access, and have identified land for that purpose. Other clinics in the area would also be interested in air support. Although the mission station is well equipped, it is remote and would be similar to living in the Northwest Territories. Not temperature wise, but it is in its own little corner of the world. Please pray with us as the leadership of the Flying Mision decides where to base us. We are excited about the possibilities and places where we may end up. Our God is an awesome God and we look forward to serving Him wherever that may take us. When will we be departing? Well the mission would like us sometime this summer. Our support continues to come in and we are very greatful for all of you that give to and pray for us. As the support comes in our departure becomes more of a reality. Our support is in the 35% range so there is a ways to go, but we know that with all your prayers and encouragement God has it all in His control. As the school semester comes to a close this week we are going to be hitting the road, so we look forward to seeing some of you and to making new friends.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Macha

Well it certainly is good to chat with you all again. Our winter continues to be a little strange, we keep swinging between crazy warm weather and our typical cold all within a week. Oh well it keeps things interesting that's for sure.
We are just about through birthday season, with Gary being the last one coming up till Tammy's in October. We now have a 17, 15 and 13 year old in the house, wow time sure flies when you are having fun. And we truly are having fun, I can't think of a more enjoyable time in our lives then right now. Sometimes things get pretty nutty with all the travelling and I would be lying if I didn't say there was some friction on the road, but hey what would a trip be without asking, "Are we closer to home or there?"
One of the places that we maybe possibily based at is Macha. Macha is located in the south central part of the western part of Zambia. The main work here would be supporting setting up a communications network called Linknet. Reliable, efficient, secure communications is becoming more crucial to missions and related agencies as they work in remote areas of the world. The ability to respond to requests in hours instead of days or weeks can be the difference in saving a life physically or spiritually.
I Know it looks like it's Mukinge, but it's not.

Thanks again to all of you that are praying for and supporting us. We are reminded daily that this is something that we can't do on our own. The Lord keeps moving people to help out and your care humbles us. We are looking for a group of 31 people that would commit to praying for us once a month. If this is something that you would be interested in joining let us know. We'll be posting more details in the future. Presently we are at 35% of our financial needs thank you for your help.

Monday, February 20, 2006

Mukinge

It continues to be a real growing experience spiritually as we continue to raise support to return to Africa. My human nature continually worries about how things will all come together. How will it be possible to raise all our prayer and financial support by July of this year? At this point Tammy says that it's supposed to be bigger than what we can do so that God gets all the credit when He supplies all our needs. I'm glad that she is so in tune with God, it reminds me of where my trust is supposed to be placed. At present the Lord has taken care of about 20% of our support needs through the giving of His people. We want to thank those of you that are praying for us as well, without a solid foundation of prayer supporters our work will be in vain. We need to continually shower things in prayer so that our focus stays on glorifying God and not ourselves. We are humbled and blessed by those that have joined in supporting us in so many different ways .

One of the places that we may be posted is at a hospital in northwestern Zambia called Mukinge. The hospital was started in the early 1950's by SIM and contains a nurses training school as well as the 200 bed hospital that acts as a regional facility. We will work supporting the hospital by moving staff and supplies in and out, along with taking care of medivac flights to Mukinge and out to Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia. We would also be assisting other missions and the national church with moving their people and resources around the countryside. We are excited about the possibilities of serving here, please pray with us and the staff of the Flying Mission as they seek God's leading as to where we will be based. Just to make sure that I haven't confused people too badly. We are being loaned by our mission, which is MAF, to work with the Flying Mission in Zambia. You can check out either mission by clicking on the links in the sidebar.

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Is it winter yet?

Hello again from Three Hills,
After starting the winter with our regular blast of coldness winter seems to have taken a bit of a holiday. To say that the temperature has been mild would be a bit of an understatement. It has been up to almost 20C here in the middle of January, I can assure you that we are not complaining.


Plans for Zambia continue to come together. We have the privilege of speaking in several churches over the next few months and continue to look for new opportunities to share what God is doing in our lives. One of the most frequent questions we get asked is what will we be doing in Zambia? Probably the easiest way to answer that question is to share a little excerpt from a report that Flying Mission made when they were first looking at going into Zambia.

Many have asked what is Flying Mission’s (FM) broader vision in Zambia? As stated ... in FM’s vision statement, it is extending the Gospel of Jesus Christ, building the Kingdom of God. More specifically, FM’s role in building the Kingdom is a support service for the Evangelical community. Aviation is a supporting technology and a force multiplier. FM’s goal is to multiply the effectiveness of the Church, mission and development workers, enabling them to spend more time serving people and less time traveling on very bad roads for long distances. FM believes in proclaiming the Gospel through meeting people’s spiritual and physical needs. FM wants to provide logistical support to those that are developing communities with clean water, basic hygiene, literacy, higher standards of healthcare, better communications and ultimately leadership training within the churches. In this way FM is facilitating the work of spreading the Gospel in Zambia.

God is allowing us the privilege of taking something that we love to do and use it to build His kingdom, in this case specifically in Zambia. We are excited about how God will use us. In upcoming blogs we'll share about the possible places we could be based and how you can get involved meeting the physical and spiritual needs of people in Zambia from right here in Canada or wherever you live.