The Journey Begins

Our first couple days of "candidacy" are over! We've had several introductory classes and briefly overviewed the many different programs MAF has all over the world. Our assignment is still up in the air; we will have our first committee meeting this coming Wednesday, where we will talk about possible assignments.

At this point, we're sort of leaning towards the MAF program in Lesotho (pronounced Le-soo-too). MAF seriously considers any bias we may have toward a particular area or program, and while they can't promise we will be assigned there, they do try and work with us if we feel called to a certain area. The program in Lesotho is based mainly around medical work. About 80% of the flying there is medical related. They also support a program called the Flying Doctor Service. Basically what that means is, I would support several small clinics in remote areas with transportation of doctors, nurses, medical supplies, and provide "air ambulance" services. Joy and I feel that this would be a great fit for us because of her medical background being a nurse, among other things.

A little about Lesotho:

This little country is about the size of Maryland and sits smack dab in the middle of South Africa. Although the traditional language is not English, most people speak it, and MAF does not require any language training to be assigned here. The climate is very temperate; the lowest spot in the country sits well above 4,000 feet, providing moderate temperatures in the summer, and even snow in the winter months. The people of Lesotho are poor, and up to half (maybe even more) are said to be infected with the HIV/AIDS virus, making medical support critical in this country.

Although this is NOT our assigned area (and may not be), we are considering a request to the board for an assignment here. We are still very open to an assignment anywhere we may be needed, we just feel particularly interested in the program in Lesotho.

Continue to pray for us as we will be in classes all this week, and will have our first committee meeting on Wednesday afternoon. Pray for wisdom of the board to place us where we will be most effective for the kingdom of God!

P.S. Do to circumstances in Vancouver, we ended up driving our "back up" car down here (the ugly one with 260,000 miles on it!). The other one runs great, we just ran into trouble at the licensing office and couldn't get it registered in time to drive it down here. Unfortunately, our back up car has no air conditioning, and Nampa is much like Spokane in the summer (or Death Valley for that matter), it's stinkin' hot! It's pretty much desert here. The only thing that really grows down here is wheat. The rest is blowing dirt and dust, along with incredible blue skies and a sun that is relentless. No worries though, it's all part of God's plan in preparing us for what lies ahead!