Catch up from March 28th

Well, this is scott, and yes I know we haven't updated in a while! It has been a bit of a whirlwind in our lives lately. So I will try to catch you all up.

So, we finally left Alaska on April 3rd at 9:30am. Flew to Minneapolis, we had lunch and hung out there, and then off to Detroit and made it in there @ 11:45pm. Our good friend Dan Brown was waiting there with his warm wonderful smile and he had our Suburban cleaned and shiney! (Quite a bit different than the vehicles we left in Alaska! We washed the Swensen Burb, and in two days you couldn't even tell that we had! They apply dirt to the roads for traction and when the snow and ice start to melt it is very, very dirty for a while!)

We made it home to my mom's home in Hamburg and all of us went right to bed! I got up in the morning and went to Costco to get new tires for the Burb. I had ordered them back in January and they honored the sale. The old tires were bald, so it was definately time!

We had a wonderful time running into Rick and Kim Hulbert and had a chance to hang out with them. They happened to be at Costco and gave me a ride home. And My friend Dave VanHorn came to visit and gave me a ride back to Costco.

We decided to leave that night to head back to Ohio. We drove back and on the way had troubles with the Burb again. The engine started knocking. I gingerly made it home. I am thinking that one or two of the lifters may be stuck, so after all the work I had just done in the fall on the engine, I will take the engine apart again. So until I have time, we are down to one vehicle.

So we got a good nights sleep in Ohio, and the next day crammed into the truck and headed to Williamsburg VA. My sister had a time share condo for us, my sisters family, and my mom and Ed to stay in. We had a great time. We spent plenty of time in the pool with all of the kids. We had a great time visiting Williamsburg.

Friday morning we headed back to Ohio. Saturday I put new clutch discs in my motorcycle, and took it for a ride and the lifters on it our tapping very loudly as well. So that will have to be torn down as well!

Sunday we were back at CCT to see all of our friends and worship with them on Easter. Everyone was talking about going to family dinners. We came home and fired up the grill and did some work around the house.

Monday brought me back to the hangar at MMS to see all the guys and worship with them in the morning. It was good to be back. We finished up an annual on a Cessna 210 wich has retractable gear. Wednesday the annual was finished and two of the guys stayed late and ran it up. They tucked it back in the hangar when they were done. The next morning when we all came in there was a puddle on the floor underneath the airplane! It was hydraulic fluid! So, we had to jack the airplane back up in the air and remove the landing gear to replace o rings. It was all hands on deck to get er done!

Once back together and several gear swings later, everything looked fine. We set it back down, washed it and the owner took it for a Return To Service flight. Paul weaseled his way on board to go for the flight. This wasn't hard as the owner loves his plane and loves to fly it!

Well, Bernie, you would be proud! I road my bike into work on Thursday and Friday! I haven't really ridden in 3 years. I rode a couple of times last year and a couple the year before. So, places hurt that I have forgotten about! But I am riding with Paul and we are trying to encourage each other in getting healthier! Our family is focusing on getting healthier as well!

My friends in Alaska, it has been in the 70's the last couple of days, but there are no views of the mountains! We miss you all and are very thankful to have spent time with you and served our King with you! Don, I am drinking a coffee and thinking of you! Blessings brother!

So we have a very busy summer ahead of us.We are heading back to Alaska on May 24th to serve with CEF in there CYIA camp for ten days. We are seriously looking at serving with them in the future....more to come on that.
I am planning on finishing my Private Pilots License this summer. We will have to purge and pack things up for a move this fall. We will have to make the transition to the next place of service which is looking like it will be in Alaska.

Lela and I are on our sanctuary weekend at Doe Run Retreat Center in Warsaw Ohio. We have had a wonderful time meeting up with the owners Rick and Susan Parris and spending some very peacful time with God! We have found that it is absoloutly a necessary thing for our marraige and for our relationship with the Lord to get away from everything at least two times a year. Every time we have gone has been fruitful, renewing, and restful! I highly recommend these kind of weekends.

I have been procrastinating on getting my portion of the newsletter done (sorry Keith) so that is on the forefront for me this week.

Thank you for reading. We love you all. We are filled with a joy that can only come from a creator who loves us!

p.s. Lela is very upset. Somewhere in Anchorage, Lela lost her Bible which had her journal, and a life of notes in her Bible. If you could, please pray for a safe return. We have called every place that we can think of and no sign yet. Thanks!

p.p.s. I will try to get some pictures on the blog at the picture link on the side today.