Farewell to a friend...

...though not forever. Today I (Nathan) watched Ryan get loaded into a Cessna Citation jet for the trip to South Africa. He will be there for a few months to get stable and then the hope is to take him to the States closer to family. Almost everyone from the hangar was down at customs to wish him farewell, and they even let the ambulance stop outside the gate and they opened the doors so we could all see him before he left. It was a sweet time, but a sad one, as we say goodbye for now to a good friend.

On Monday, we went down and recovered the aircraft from the Kenya Police Air Wing hangar. It was an emotional time for me, as this was the first time that I saw it. I drove about four loads back to our hangar, where we now have the airplane arranged as best we can. So much of it is missing, whether due to fire or thievery we don't know. The entire back of the hangar has the awful smell of fire and death, and I don't think I will ever get that smell from my mind ever again. It is truly, truly amazing that Ryan even survived the accident. God must have some amazing reasons for sparing him. To look at that wreckage every day is going to be a long reminder to me...I will never, ever forget what happened.

Today, I got to lead the Wednesday version of chai time, our usual prayer time here in the hangar. Obviously, there are a lot of things I could talk about, considering the situation and all. I chose to speak about rest. The Bible talks a lot about rest, mostly in the OT referring to the rest that the Israelites would have once they settled in the promise land. There is also a lot of references to death where the term used is "rest" (referring to Christians going to be in heaven). And of course, there are plenty of Scriptures where "rest" is meaning the fact that God holds us in His hands. The latter two where were I focused today. We all know that Frank is now resting with his Lord. We take comfort in that...but we also have sadness and confusion in our minds because we are human. This is where we, as Christians, must rest in the knowledge that God is holding us in His hands...it is a shame that it takes a situation like this for us to really realize that. This whole thought process helped me a lot on Saturday night. I was having a really hard time even wanting to go to sleep...I watched Hidalgo courtesy of Kenyan TV, and then I spent a long time reading my Bible in the bathroom (the only room where I could turn on a light and not wake someone up). I went through Psalms, Isaiah, Hebrews, and lots of other passages that talk about resting and waiting on the Lord. This really has been a help for me during the past few days. We know that God truly is in control, even when we have no idea what the future holds. Our lives are in His hands and we can have the confidence that if we rest in Him, His will is going to be accomplished. We must wait patiently for Him; for He is the Lord.

Please go to the AIM AIR webpage here. They have begun some funds to help with Frank's family and Ryan's recovery. Please think about how you can be a part of helping the Toews family and also with Ryan's long recovery. They have also done a really good job with this web page; it is a reminder of Frank's love for the Lord.

Blessings to all...we love you.