PCM News: Raising the Roof

24 October 2013

Raising the Roof

Dear Houston, we have a problem.

Our new plane is too big to fit in the hangar. It's getting close to the rainy season when we often get bad thunderstorms and hail which could damage our new baby.

What should we do?

Concerned aviation organisation.

White River

Of course we didn't really ask that and in reality we already knew the answer, but it was just a matter on logistics to join all the dots in order to make it happen.

There were actually two options, build a new hangar or make the existing one bigger and, as with a lot of things, money and time dictated which course we would choose.

The Kodiak had been with us for a week or two when it seems the summer rainfall pattern arrived a little too early and one day we got about 30 seconds of short, sharp hail. It did no damage but sent us into a frenzy of embalming every horizontal surface with a huge roll of bubble wrap.

Not many days after a big crane arrived and began to do what big cranes do best...

... lift things

We cut all the beams as well as pipes and wires etc and listened to the creaks and groans as strain was taken and the whole roof was raised a few metres.

After the roof was raised supporting beams were lifted into place...

...and men with beards rushed in and welded everything together.

Some of the bearded men looked a little worried for a while...

...but seemed a lot happier when it was all over.

Now our new aircraft can relax in its modified home safe from the worries of the environmental antics formulating outside.

Paul and Cathy

No comments:

Post a Comment

A short history of us

Not long after we were married we felt that God had some full time work for us overseas. This initially began with a move to Sheffield in 1992 to work for a Christian management training company. Three years later we felt the Lord's prompting that another change was imminent and this led to a move to Africa where we helped set up a youth program with the Lesotho-Durham link in the capital Maseru. An initial three year commitment turned into four after which the youth work was handed over to the nationals.

Then, after feeling God was moving us into mission flying Paul enrolled at a flying school and completed his South African commercial license with an instrument rating in December 1999.

We moved from Lesotho to White River in South Africa in June of 2003 where we now work with Mercy Air. Mercy Air was borne out of Youth with a Mission (YWAM) and is a sister, although smaller organisation to the more well known Mercy Ships. We are situated near Nelspruit and provide a service to missions and the development/aid community in the southern African region but mainly serve Mozambique.

We operate four aircraft at present - a Quest Kodiak, a Cessna 310 and two Airbus 350 helicopters which are often used for the relief flights.

When not flying Paul is responsible for flight operations and is Mercy Air's Safety Officer.

Cathy, who is a registered Nurse and Midwife works part time at Africa School of Missions which is a bible college preparing missionaries for overseas service. She teaches in their School of Health and is part of a team which visits a number of rural clinics during the week. She is also helps with the hospitality ministry that Mercy Air runs.

Matthew spent four years at Rhodes University in Grahamstown where he studied photo journalism. He has now flown the nest and is living with his wife in Durban. They have a young daughter named Isabella.