Unable

It’s a good read- the 2008 transcript for New York Air Traffic Control during the emergency landing that became known as the “miracle on the Hudson.” The audio is even better.
Perhaps the highlight is the help of the controllers in presenting options to the captain who found himself suddenly controlling a massive bird with zero thrust.
However, all the options given to him were useless. The plane just couldn’t glide that far.
Teterboro Airport, LaGuardia…
His response was a simple: “Unable.” He knew how far he could go, and the Hudson River was his best choice.
It’s such a tough word for me to say when I need to. But after this week, I think I need to practice a little more.

Last weekend:
I begin working on our car. Two of the four power windows were inoperative. The driver’s door won’t open from inside. Then the driver window stopped working, so Breanna had to climb out through the passenger side to get groceries last week.

We’re hoping to go to the lake next weekend before Olivia goes back to boarding school. It’s time to get the car fixed (again)!

An e-mail comes from a Sudanese friend, Dunyi. He needs emergency help. His pregnant wife is having severe and repeated pain, and they need to get to a clinic. Also, about 30 people had died in his village from illness.

Dunyi’s life story is nothing short of amazing as he continues to press on towards his dream of becoming a Bible translator for his small and unreached people: the Kichepo. But he has limited resources, and lives over 130 miles away in an area unreachable by road during rainy season.

Sunday: Our friend KeA, needs to have his vehicle ready by Monday since he’s bringing visitors up to show them projects around Loki. A mechanic gets the dead battery changed with new acid, but when Breanna and I drive it out to leave it at the airport, it runs out of fuel. The mechanic comes and bails us out on the back of a little Chinese motorcycle. Then, when we get to our destination, I notice a funny noise and a burning smell. The idler pulley froze on one of the belts.

Monday: I ask the mechanic to come look at the pulley. I text KeA his car has another problem.
My flight to pick up some dignitaries for a church Bishop comes to an abrupt end with a blown tire at Juba, probably the gnarliest airport I go into. Fortunately MAF comes through Loki enroute to Juba on Mondays. They bring me a tire off one of our other 206s (it brought up a team of volunteers to work on the other AIM AIR house. Awesome!) I’m home by late afternoon.
AIM AIR in Nairobi arranges for the VIPs to be flown by another organization, which was good. But the pilot left them behind because they didn’t show up in time for their return flight.
The volunteers help us build up a new tire for the 206.

Tuesday: With a good tire and healthy airplane, I fly back to pick up the dignitaries and take them to Juba. I meet the Minister for the President’s Cabinet Affairs and the Ambassador to South Sudan from India. They’re happy to see me, but a little upset about having to spend the night with no change of clothes.

On the way to Juba, the engine has a minor problem, which adds to the already high workload of dealing with Juba tower.
One of our Caravan’s diverts to pick up Dunyi and his wife Martha. They arrive around 6pm. Martha has no official documents of any kind, but immigration is gracious to her and allows her into Kenya.
We send them over to see a midwife at the clinic in town. Thanks to a short termer from Germany, they now have a gently used ultrasound machine.
I check in on them when I’m done at the airport. The baby is moving fine, and is at 34 weeks.
Lab tests show she has Malaria and an iron deficiency.

Wednesday:
The flight today is a regularly scheduled “milk run” flight to South Sudan then to Arua Uganda.
I have a little maintenance to do on the airplane in the morning, write up a log book entry, try to untangle some of the purchasing finances, then I notice permissions were never received for this flight. We get our guy in Juba
rushing around to get those. I try to tell the missionary about the delay, but he’s are already at the airstrip and unreachable.
The permissions finally come in, but it’s for the wrong plane. It will have to work.
Breanna sends me an e-mail that night: Isaiah’s sick with a fever of 104.

Thursday:
I fly to Central African Republic, and have enough fuel to make it back to Loki, with one stop in South Sudan to pick up a missionary needing a lift to Loki. That was probably one of my longest legs ever, almost four hours, from one bush strip to another!

Friday:
The volunteers finish up with the other house electrical project. I meet with KeA’s guests to tell them a bit about AIM AIR and how we can possibly work together down the road.
Isaiah’s feeling better, but doesn’t want to go on a car ride while he’s sick.
It looks like our lake trip may need to be postponed. However, there are flights booked out of Loki next week, and I really want to go down to Nairobi and put Olivia back in school (she starts 11th grade) and get my Aviation Medical done. It would make sense to get both things done on the same trip. I call up another pilot begging to see if he can help me out.
Our finance person in Nairobi sends me a message that there are no drums of AvGas available in the country to buy. We are critically low on AvGas now in Loki, and it sounds like at least three weeks before we can buy more.
Breanna and I talk about vacation, and how will Dunyi and Martha get meals when we go? How much will we need to pay for them to stay in the church’s guest room and how can we find something cheaper? It wasn’t a model conversation for either of us. We’re pretty snappy when we’re tired.
She’s really looked forward to time away at the lake. I can feel her beauteous, soulful, and lovely eyes bore into me whenever I pick up my phone to answer…

Saturday:
Isaiah’s still got a fever. The trip is postponed. I’ll keep working on car window switches and modifying the wiring so they can work for a while longer.

I read Job this morning, wrote a handwritten letter to my mom, which is great therapy. I thought about the word “unable.” I need to not only use it more, but perhaps use it constantly.

Got a life and death situation? Unable. Got a broken airplane? Unable. Got a cash flow problem? Unable. Disappointed government officials? Unable. A vacation going down the drain? Unable.

Good thing God is able.

I finally wrote a blog post.
That’s better.

Let’s see what Sunday holds.