Hi Everyone,
It finally quit raining and we've started into a very late dry season, I thought when we'd had two sunny days in a row.
I was wrong, because every day it continues raining, which makes for muddy strips. Many have lots of water standing on them, which is very wearing when I have to splash down a dozen times or so.
We've been making progress taking medical help into the villages, as our plan from the beginning has been to help the ailing before their sickness becomes life threatening and they have to go to a hospital. At times I've thought we'd never make this goal. However, the head of various health departments have been replaced by people who want to work with us to help the Indians, so I'm able to fly doctors into the villages now.
People in a small village collected these bags of clothes to send to another village in need.
When there are many sick in a village they call Celso, our radio operator and flight coordinator, asking that he please send a doctor. 
Then we ask around among those doctors willing to go until one agrees. He'll tell me, "I'll go tomorrow." Well, when tomorrow comes he says, "I can't go until I get some medicines, perhaps tomorrow." And so it goes, day after day, sometimes for weeks, until some doctor has meds and is ready. Then I fly him out to the village who called for help. Whether I stay to bring the doctor home depends on how far away the village is, and how many patients need care. Sometimes I leave him in the village for a couple days.
For two weeks we have been trying to find someone to go out to three different villages, so maybe this is the week someone will be ready to go. Maybe tomorrow? It is not easy to get anything done in this culture. This is just one example of the frustrations I deal with on a daily basis.
(The picture at right is of a med team I took to the village of Uricima.)
Another ongoing frustration concerns a yearling horse. It hangs around the buildings and tries to get under the porch when it is raining. The problem with this sociable fellow is that when I taxi the airplane onto the runway he runs out in front of me, and when I am landing he also runs onto the strip. We can't have that, so I talked to the owners. They came and collected their horse, and I thought we were through dealing with it. Well, not quite, because the next day he showed up again. I chased him away, but the next day he returned. So, we informed his owners and they came after him, and then the next day . . . well, you get the idea.
This went on for months, and finally I'd had enough. Celso and I told the owners that if they couldn't keep their horse off the runway they would have to sell him to us. So they did. Celso took him and tied him up. His kids were going to have a lot of fun with their new pet. However, the following day the ex-owners returned to claim their horse, even though they had signed papers and received money in payment. So, the horse went back to them. The next day it was on the airstrip again! I was more than frustrated by this point. Celso and I trekked over to talk once more with the owners. They came and took the horse home, but he likes our place better, and next day was back. I got on my bike and chased it half way up the mountain. We'll see if he is back tomorrow. Frustration can be a part of every day—it's just the way things are.
Bob & Neiba Norton
P.S. If you would like to see some short video clips of the AMA plane landing and taking off from some of the challenging airstrips, click here, or you may also go to www.YouTube.com and type in the video search box: enorton25.