April 2017
Dearest Friends and family
Within the next 24 hours we will start our long trip back. We will spend 2 days in Fiji and land in Tulsa May 3rd.
SOME DAYS
VEHICLE
I received, from Jason, the parts to repair the Dodge Dakota. Well, that was
a fun day. Goman was able to find a hammer puller ($190) and this morning we
got the bearing shell out of the axle housing after heating the housing up and
Goman having a go at the hammering. I had Jason send two of everything - just
in-case! Well, this was a "just in-case" case.
We tried to fit the retro bearing that has the seal attached and a larger body of bearing but it would not go in and when we tried to pull it back out we damaged the back seal. I tried to put the other new bearing in but it would not go so I did not push it. I tried the original style bearing that I do not have a seal for and it would have gone in but I really wanted to put the retro in. So I decided to check the retro bearing against the size of the smaller one and found the retro bearing is 2 mm larger than the smaller bearing. Dah! So I found a grinding wheel and after 2 hours of grinding down the inside of the axle housing and trying the damaged retro bearing until is bound up and then I would pull it back out and grind some more until I finally got it to fit into the axle housing with a minimum of force. Then I put the other "good" (just in-case) retro bearing in, put the axle back in, put the cover back on, filled it with oil and tried it out.
At 50 mph it has the same noise but it now seems to maybe
be wind noise through some of the rusted out places under the floor board and
panels. Once I got it up to 60 mph the noise was not so noticeable.
All that expense and work and the noise is still there (maybe a ghost truck).
I don't seem to know the difference between bearing noise and wind noise! Well
at least I got it driveable so we will at least have a vehicle. It might be
the pinion bearing on the diff because it has started to leak oil. So all that
for nothing (except knowledge in my brainy data bank). Oh, well, another experience
in paradise.
WEATHER
Well, we had it this month. Total rainfall - 664.5mm (26 inches). The icing
on the cake was cyclone Cook
After watching the US Navy site for a week and being told the likelihood of a cyclone forming was very low the low pressure system turned South and started building. In the next 12 -36 hours we got hit again. It was not as strong as Cyclone Pam was but it was expected built to a category 2-3 by the time it went West of us which put us in the heavy rains in the Northeast quadrant.
I spent the morning taking the solar panels down and getting
everything put away which was outside under the workshop. I got a break in the
rain so I got all the stuff off the verandah and into the container. At first
we had gusts over 40 mph and have lost 6 of our pawpaw trees which were loaded
(of course) with pawpaws.
The picture below(April 8th) shows the storm (95P) just
Northeast of our island bearing down on us.
When we went to bed on the 8th the worst of the storm hit about 3 am but the
system slowed and built up and the winds and rains lasted for at least 48 hours.
Lots of wind and lots of driving rain but we survived without any structural
damage. Winds peaked out at 60 knots and gusts up to 120 knots. My wind gauge
on the weather station outside broke spinning too fast. We had water driven
in under the tiles and wooden floor but were able to keep ahead of it with towels.
We lost most of the pawpaw trees and a lot of coconut branches down. We ended
up getting over 8.8 inches of rain (224 mm) which filled up a lake in the middle
of the island for the first time in two years and the overflow flooded several
sections of the road between us and Port Vila. It was still running across the
road two weeks after the cyclone left.
The week following the cyclone we received another 5.5 inches of rain which saw our house surrounded by water at times with water coming into the laundry.
Once the wind and rain calmed a bit I was able to get back to life! I put the solar panels back on the top of the containers, repaired the large water tank which had a broken pipe, replaced a filter for the 12v pump which supplies pressure for the house water system (the filter had not been changed in 2 years and they say it should be changed ever 3 months - what would they know?). We had no phone or internet service for a couple of days and the humidity was 95% for over a week. Of course this meant there was no drying. MUGGY!!!!
CHICKENS
We have been buying our day old stock from New Zealand but the expense meant
with food costs the guys could not make a profit so I decided to try hatching
out own from imported eggs. On April 21st our first hatchlings came out.
We had 178 eggs under hatch but hatched only about 80 chicks. It was a learning
curve for us. We found that as they hatched they shifted the remaining eggs
around and that meant many of them drowned and did not hatch. Here they are
at one week. Goman will be taking over the raising of the chicks as well as
managing the layers and the sale of the eggs from here on end.
Layers in their side of the chicken house
Before we got the eggs we had ordered the broiler feed so it would come right before the chicks hatched. As it turned out the feed was 2 weeks late coming off the wharf because the longshoremen were shifting containers of Chinese junk before shifting animal feed. I had to spend the first few days of feeding the new chicks by smashing up the layer pellets. We almost ran out of layer feed.
SONG BOOK
I did find some other corrections I should have made, didn't and now have! I
have run out of time but plan to print it first thing when I get back in Aug/Sept.
CHRISTIAN INSTITUTE OF BIBLICAL
STUDIES
I finished my class on Christian Evidence will all six students in attendance.
Face to face classes are on hold until I get back but we are going to set the
school up for extension classes hoping more people can avail themselves of the
Bible studies we are offering. The plan is to offer more of a trade school with
a little Bible on the side.
CABINETS
Goman was remodeling a house in town to supplement his income and I offered
to help him build the cabinets. The intent was he would learn how but the fact
was I built them, he did some sanding. We got them installed and the Real Estate
agent was amazed.
Goman finishing up the install on the kitchen lower cabinets
Large vanity
Small vanity
HEALTH
The VA is going to have fun with me this time. My right eye's cataract is really
starting to affect my sight. I also have a carcinoma behind my left ear that
I had to have cut out twice in 2001 and it is back. I also have a spot behind
my right ear. And I KNOW I am allergic to my own sweat! I think my kidneys are
working worse than they had been (40%). I am experiencing retention of fluids
especially in my lower extremities.
Kathy's allergies are not getting any better and they burn wood to cook with in the village and with rainy season in full swing someone is always cutting grass and the wind also seems to blow it in our direction. The nights are still hot and humid so not a real good sleep any night.
TICKETS BOOKED
We booked our tickets and will be back in Joplin, May 3rd. We have a graduation
(grandson) May 12th and a wedding (which I will perform for our 1st granddaughter)
May 13th. Both in Coker/Tuscaloosa ALA. The following week I have a day, May
17th, at the VA. If I have to have any surgeries with the VA I guess they will
have to be scheduled. After that I guess we will be helping Jason pack up and
move (since a lot of my stuff is stored at his house also).
Return ticket to Vanuatu is booked for Sept 5th but that
can be changed if we get things done sooner than later.
Thank you for your prayers - God hears!
Please pray for our travels. We are still looking for additional monthly support for the running of the Bible Institute. If you can help please do and especially remember us and the brethren here in your prayers - thank you!
God is good!!!!!!!!!
Onward and upward!
We especially want to thank all of you so much for praying for us, supporting
us and have contributed to our needs so we can do what we are doing. God bless
you! Thank you for your prayers and fellowship!
Thank you Lord for healing and providing what we need!
Grace & Peace
Tobey & Kathy Huff
Ph: +678 596-4821 (Vanuatu) We do texting.
Thank you for your prayers - God hears!
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Contributions for the Huffs, the
Bible school can be sent to:
Huffs/Bible School
c/ Mt Hope church of Christ
2830 Mt Hope Rd
Webb City MO 64870
or
Jason Huff
2730 E 24th St
Joplin MO 64804
(417) 396-9122
j13huff@yahoo.com