Winter is supposed to be slow here in Alaska but for some reason we haven't been able to slow down. It was great to have Adam's folks up for the holidays, Grandparents are great baby-sitters! Adam and his Dad were able to get a lot of projects done that have been on the list for awhile and Randy was a guest on The Bluegrass Hour for a couple of weeks too. Deborah and Bonnie were a big help to Lyndy and Sabrina. It's nice to have family close by even if it was only for a short time.

The Bluegrass Hour is going great and Adam's Dad has quite a fan club. Listeners really enjoyed what Randy added to the program based on the letters that have come in. Christmas day there was a two hour "Bluegrass Christmas" that also received a lot of response. Adam and Randy shared the Christmas story and played a lot of bluegrass music and of course talked about the music and it's background. Sorry that VFCM's internet feed has been turned off, I know many of you have mentioned that you miss not being able to listen in. By the way there has been no new developments with getting it back up and running.

AWANA and Sunday School continue to go well. We had the largest crowd so far this week at AWANA. It's wonderful to hear the kids quoting scripture and knowing the answers to basic doctrine questions. Some of the kids do not attend church anywhere and it's neat to know that the parents are helping their kids learn the material.

Adam is helping with the Annual Inspection and engine change for VFCM's airplane. What started out as a simple inspection has turned into a BIG project. We found that the engine's camshaft was close to failing and with only 200 hours before overhaul it was determined that now was the time to fix it. While waiting for the rebuilt engine to get here from the "Lower 48" other items were found that needed attention; corrosion under the paint here and there, patching damage where the battery box had leaked and corroded a hole through the skin, replacing the baggage door, etc... It has been nice to have a hangar to work in although it's in Fairbanks, the hour drive each way beats working outside in the cold.

Speaking of airplanes, the latest word from Maule is that things continue to progress. The next step in certification is the landing gear and we should know by the first part of February. We hope to have a M-9 (higher gross weight) but the M-7 is a great bird too. Continue to pray that things will be finished up soon and that there are no more hold up's, also pray for patience. I don't want to look back on this and say, "if we had only waited another month". We really need to have a plane by this September, we are chomping at the bit to get out and start what God has called us to do.

One final note. Some close friends of ours that live in the "bush" had tragedy strike their family this week. One of them was in Fairbanks getting ready to travel internationally and was involved in an auto accident that took the life of his nephew. Colin was eight years old and accepted Jesus two years ago so it's kind of a bitter sweet time for the family. Pray for the Turner family.

Hopefully by now you have received the paper edition of The White Pages with our yearly picture. If you haven't, e-mail us and we will get one on the way. We are always surprised at how long it takes to get the almost 300 letters in the mail. It reminds us how grateful we are for the internet!

February was a busy month. Lyndy has been helping with the statistics for the local basketball games that are aired on the radio. It's a great way to see the games for free! We both continue to help with AWANA and our weekly commitment at the radio station. Adam had the opportunity to preach at church one Sunday as the Pastor was "outside" visiting ill family members. Adam also helped get VFCM's airplane back in the air after an extensive annual inspection and engine change. Now that their plane is flying Adam has helped fly to several villages with VFCM staff for maintenance of the remote translators. It's been great to get back in the air and see some friends scattered around here and there.

On the subject of airplanes, Maule tells us that things are still progressing. We have yet to hear how the landing gear test are going. Please continue to pray that testing will proceed quickly and that Maule will be able to start production on our plane. We really need to have it here in Alaska by this September at the latest and we may have to settle for the lighter useful load model (M7 vs. M9). Many of you have asked what our plans are for a hangar. We have several plans in the works all with varying price tags, so far we still lack sufficient funding for even the simplest shelter. Hangar construction is the major project planned for this summer, we will keep you posted.

We have on opportunity to go and visit some close friends that live in the "Bush" this month. They own an airplane and we will hitch a ride with them on a couple of their freight runs. We plan to spend five days visiting and helping with "projects". It will also be a great test run for us and how things will work when we get our plane up here. Pray for safety and a great time of fellowship.

An update on Sabrina. She is walking and almost talking, getting into everything and is a great joy to have around. It's amazing how fast she is growing and how quickly she learns. God surely is able to teach us so many things through children and it is neat to see from a new prospective the parent child relationship that is so often brought up in scriptures.

We have had the opportunity to get out of town a couple of times and visit with folks we have meet through the radio station. You ask how did we get out when we don't have the plane? Well we were able to hitch a ride to the Turner's place in their airplane on a couple of freight runs. It took two trips to get us and all of our stuff for a week out to their place. (Perfect example why we need our Maule) We were able to drive out to visit some other folks. These trips have been an opportunity for encouragement, answering questions, Spiritual growth, and continuing friendships for everyone involved. This has been especially good for us because we were feeling a little discouraged about not being able to get on with what God has called us to do.

I know all of you are wondering what the latest is on the Maule. They hope to finish certification by August, and we still hope to take delivery before winter, this is still very tentative. The wings are done and they are certifying the fuselage now. Please continue praying for a speedy process. Another prayer concern is the cost of insurance both for the airplane and for our lot at the airport. Since Sept. 11 the aviation insurance industry has had major rate increases. We just received word that our property insurance jumped over 25% this year and it appears that "full coverage" insurance for the airplane is not financially feasible. Please pray for wisdom.

We are excited that spring is here. The river is flowing almost ice free now although there are a few reports of flooding down river it's been a relatively easy "breakup". The birds are on their way back; swans, geese, sand hill cranes and the like. Lyndy and baby are doing good, she says this is the easy part and that sometimes she even forgets that she's pregnant. We will keep you informed as to their progress. Oh, and Adam and Sabrina are OK too.

The engineer we are working with in Albany (GA) is formulating a drop test program, and that we will be doing that soon. Then we have to do a flutter test, and then we must formulate a flight test and do the flight program. We still have a little ways to go, but I will keep you informed as we progress. Please pray for favorable test results, favor with the FAA, and favor with the engineer.

With the new addition arriving in October some have asked about housing and "ground transportation". We plan to move the cabin this summer and it appears that we will not be able to put it at the airport (many factors involved) so we are looking for a city lot with water, sewer, power and phone to purchase. The loft can be extended to form a full second story allowing for more room (including a bathroom). As for the car situation we are rapidly out growing the truck and Subaru. The Subaru has a bad turbo and it appears that it is not cost effective to repair it so add that to your prayer list too please.

We are still plugging along, we have had several positive contacts with folks concerning the ministry and meeting new folks regularly. Sometimes we think things are happening so slow and that we are not having much of an outreach. Then God will show us something we didn't even know was going on and we realize how foolish we are. Thank you for your part in our lives and thank you for your prayers.

Well it's definitely summer time in Alaska. There is 24 hours of daylight and the bugs are out in full force. Matter of fact the bugs are so bad that several communities are buying Mosquito Magnets, fancy propane powered traps that claim to collapse the mosquito population in a matter of weeks. Adam went out with a friend to his bear bait station a few days ago and the bugs were so bad that the only way not to lose your mind was to wear head nets and even then if you stopped for more than a few seconds they would swarm to the point that you couldn't see where you were going and the noise was deafening. But that's Alaska in the summer time.

Speaking of Alaska in the summer time we are having a rather bad fire season up here too. To give you an idea of how bad, 31% of the total acres burned so far this season in the U.S. have been in Alaska. A few friends of ours in the bush have lost cabins and others have been threatened by the fires. Even though Alaska has had more acres burn than any other state so far we have been fortunate that most of the fires have been in unpopulated or sparsely populated areas, the fire service has let most of them burn with very little intervention.

Michael Williams, a friend from Georgia, was up to visit and help a couple of weeks ago. He and Adam got a lot done at the airport, building a work bench in the container and servicing the truck and car and generator. Michael also helped us with the VBS that our church was having each morning. There were an average of 40 kids each day and several of them talked with adults about becoming a Christian. It was encouraging to see almost 10% of the total population of Nenana attending VBS! On Friday we had a cookout for all the kids and their families, Adam and Michael cooked over 180 hot dogs and 150 hamburgers! It was a great time for the families to see what their kids had learned during the week. Pray that we will have opportunities to follow up with those who attended. Thanks Michael for all the help!

We were recently invited out to a friend's cabin for a "fly-in", we were able to drive. A group of Kitfox owners (small two place home built) from all over North America were making a flight to Alaska and arranged to stop in for a visit at their place. It was fun to see these folks and hear stories of their adventure. Adam had the opportunity to answer some of their questions about flying in Alaska and help them pick the best routes to get from here to there. While on the subject of flying; Adam had the chance to do some more flying for VFCM last week. Their construction project in Bethel is almost complete and they needed tools and extra materials brought back to Nenana. Adam also had a chance to fly a Maule not too long ago. He had to get his biannual flight review this month and we found a guy in Fairbanks that does flight instruction in Maules, what a great performing airplane! (Adam is still grinning from ear to ear) That flight let us kill two birds with one stone. Adam is current for another two years and he also logged some Maule time that chips away at the type training required for insurance when we get our Maule. Speaking of our Maule the factory now says that they hope to have the certification complete by Thanksgiving. Please continue to pray for speed in this whole process, we really need to get our airplane up here soon! Also pray for patience during this time of waiting.

We won't be building a hangar this summer. There is not enough time to finish something before winter even if we had the finances. We still plan to move the cabin to a city lot we anticipate purchasing with personal money. That will give us a lot more stability in living arrangements down the road and it won't be dependent on the good will of the city like living at the airport would. We will have city water and sewer with power and phone which alleviates some of the concerns for the airport lot.

We have had an answer to prayer! We have been given an '89 diesel 4X4 Suburban, the catch is it's in North Carolina. We are trying to figure out how to get Adam down there so he can drive the nine days back to Alaska before the end of summer. The cost of the trip is far less than buying something comparable up here.