Week 18 - AZ Good as it Gets
Last week Davis wrote about our work and relationships in Tucson, Arizona being funneled all the way down to Kevin and Linda - a pair of extremely generous servant minded individuals who consistently give to their community and never ask for anything in return. Kevin and Linda quickly became some of our best friends on the road, and that opportunity never would have happened had we not knocked on the Hanger door at United Indian Missions Aviation (UIM).
United Indian Missions
UIM Aviation is a missionary pilot organization that, “provides logistical support to missionaries, pastors, and medical personnel who are ministering to the isolated tribal people of Mexico”. By airlifting people and supplies into the remote mountainous regions of Mexico, hours and hours are saved and many more opportunities become possible. We heard about their mission while in the Navajo nation and when we rolled into Tucson we decided to swing by their hanger and see if they - or anyone they knew - could use a helping hand. Bryon Brock, the director at UIM, loved the concept of the LOST Bus and although he was not ready for us then asked if we would be willing to come back in a week and help with a few projects. We were happy to agree to those terms and Bryon went out of his way to personally reach out to his vast network of nonprofits and churches in the area that might want our help in the meantime - a generous action that began the “funnel” and ultimately led us to our friends Kevin and Linda.
Linda generously sharing her sucker with Elfy
A week later we rolled back up to the UIM Aviation hangar. Where this time they were ready with a list of projects that we could help assist with. The list included installing a shower door, fixing their hot water heater, modifying cabinets to include shelves and drawers, painting a door and its surrounding trim, a few custodial duties, and assisting in some of the airplane maintenance (in just the areas we were qualified of course). We managed to knock out their list of to-do’s in three days, but as usual the best parts were less about the work and more about the people.
Taking care of buisness
Through many shared meals and opportunities working alongside the team, we got to learn more about their lives, their families, and their work. One of the mechanics, Tony, shared with us a WILD story of an airplane extraction after a rough landing that left the rig flightless. Tony brought to life the image of slowly inching a truck and trailer up narrow mountain roads to bring it as close to the village as possible, making switch back turns that left a trailer wheel or two suspended over the ledge no matter how wide you tried to take it, disassembling the plane to manageable pieces and moving them down to the trailer, and then making the necessary bribes / cautiously sneaking through the Mexican states before eventually making it back to America. It seemed more like a special operations mission than another day in the life of an airplane mechanic missionary. Tony also taught us so much about the details of what they do, for example why do they fly the unique Cessna 206? Because the turbo allows the plane to fly at high altitudes in the rugged Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico, and the 206 is also remarkably slow which allows them to land on the short airstrips on the mountain tops. In fact the team does everything they can to slow up the 206 - in their unique situation more drag is a good thing.
As our time in Tucson came to a close we began making our rounds and saying our goodbyes to all the good folks we had come to get to know: Bryon, Tony, and the rest of the team at UIM, the good folks at Tucson Mountain Baptist Church, and of course Kevin and Linda.
So long to our friends
As we prepared to make the drive up to Phoenix we had one final commitment to see to in Tucson. Last week while at the massive Tucson gem show we met an extremely crafty family of 13 that were running two booths. We enjoyed talking with them and learned that they had ties back to the great state of South Carolina - the patriarch of the family even got his masters degree at Clemson! After a few minutes of chatting they invited us to their house church that would be meeting on Wednesday night of the next week. We have gotten into the habit of saying yes to as much as possible, so of course we accepted their invitation. It was a wonderful full circle moment to close our time in Tucson - a Gem of a city.
Treated to an impromptu concert after supper
In Phoenix we were jumping with excitement to attend the Waste Management Open thanks to our friends Amber and Brock who provided tickets for the Thursday round. If you are like me and have not heard of the Waste Management Open I encourage you to watch this video which shows the atmosphere at the 16th hole appropriately coined, “The loudest hole on earth”.
Friday we got the opportunity for another full circle moment. We were asked by our good friends at Cornerstone Ranch (See Blog #10) if we would be interested in writing valentines day cards to any of the Ranchers. Of course we were excited to jump on such an opportunity, our time at cornerstone was probably the most life giving week on the bus, and you already know our policy on saying “yes”, so we made sure to write a handwritten card to every rancher.
Whole Lotta Love
Saturday morning we woke up at 5:00am and headed back to the waste management open where this time we would be volunteering at concessions at the famously loud and rambunctious 16th hole. It was a fast paced day of work as we tried frantically to keep up with the appetite (mainly for beer) of the spectators. We were relieved of our duties at 1:00pm and got to join in on the fun at the 16th for the rest of the day.
Davis hard at work. He challenges anybody to try and poor a beer faster than him.
They are VERY good at managing the waste on hole 16
Josh is NOT playing around… he is watching a round
We hoped to continue the theme of sports in Phoenix for the weekend by watching the superbowl outside the stadium. Unfortunately as we pulled into a Del Taco two miles from the stadium we realized our compressor (which provides air for our brake system) was not recharging. No breaks is no bueno for us so we jumped out of superbowl mode and into problem solving mode. The problem itself was very easy to identify once the hood was popped - a missing pulley and accompanying belt which powers the compressor. Finding new parts to fix the problem was a bit harder - especially on the evening of super bowl Sunday. Luckily, Davis was able to find the right pulley and belt first thing Monday morning without having to order anything (which would have left us stuck in a Del Taco parking lot until the parts came in).
Trying to track down the right size belt during the super bowl
Got to catch a few minutes of the game with these guys
The Del Taco that become home for the night
With the problem solved spirits are high and I am so thankful to have Davis’s mechanical knowledge onboard. Check back in next week as we will be serving outside of San Diego alongside some more of the Compton clan - provided that there are no more hiccups.