Flying in the NCEM mission planes is an act of faith and timing.
     Not that the aircraft is unsafe or unreliable mechanically.  The window for flying is narrow considering the factors of visibility, weather and daylight hours.
     We had arrived late for our Western Region Conference in La Crete, AB.  Now we had to leave by 10:30 am before the conference was officially over, in order to fit the window of opportunity to return to Regina!  Our pilot had fueled up and done his pre-flight checks while we participated in the morning meetings.  He was back at the church, waiting for us in the lobby, while we said our good-byes.  There was a rainstorm moving in and we needed to be airborne before the rain began.
     Our flight plan retraced our originally arranged route:  to Lac La Biche for fuel and bathroom stop and then on to Regina (Lumsden) airstrip.  As we ascended above the cloud cover, we found a clear path and made good time.  We were out-flying the rainstorm, only receiving a few drops of moisture.  The weather system seemed to clear up the smoke from the forest fires, as well.  So we arrived in Lac La Biche and quickly did our business so we could continue to Regina.
     Because we had flown at about 9,500 feet for quite a period of time, we all were feeling the effects of lower oxygen levels.  Caylea and I dozed, thinking it was Gravol making us sleepy.  Walter seemed to be doing fine, paying attention to instruments and talking with Gary.  But he had noticed Gary yawing a lot, also being aware that our altitude could make us all more fatigued.  Maybe Walter hadn't felt the effects as much because the Lord protected him!
     Gary asked Walter then, if he would mind flying for a while and he would look after some paperwork.  I was totally unaware of this until I saw Gary unfolding a map of Saskatchewan and then I realized Walter was holding the controls and paying close attention to the gauges and instruments.  I began to wake up a little, realizing with the ongoing cloud cover, we weren't really flying with the visual but with the instruments!  I began to pray!
     Gary thought we should descend below the clouds as we neared Saskatoon, so Walter did so.  Unfortunately, the weather had warmed up throughout the day and the further south we flew, the more turbulent the conditions.  Walter did his best, but he had not really done much flying since the 1980's.  Even when Gary took over a few miles outside of Lumsden, it was bumpy!  Caylea and I were looking forward with eager anticipation to the feeling of solid ground.  And then I spied some landmarks that looked familiar.  Last Mountain Lake, Craven Valley...the soft-shell quonset and other outbuildings at the airstrip we had departed from. 
     "The crosswind is pretty strong, Walter!  I think I will land on the gravel road instead!"  I heard Gary declare as he circled and lined up with the grid road running through the dirt airstrip.  Gary hadn't enjoyed landing on that airstrip three days earlier - too many gopher holes!  But the grid road allowed us to land into the wind and so Gary prepared for landing.  As we flew over the valley, a farmyard nestled just below us, we all saw billowing dust and a semi-truck loaded with grain come up that very road!  Gary smoothly lifted the nose of the plane and said, "I guess we'll circle around and try that again!"  The second attempt was clear and we landed without incident.
     We taxied to the major grid road in order to turn the plane around at the intersection.  We waited for a half-ton to drive by.  I wonder what went through their minds as they saw this small plane on their roadway!  I offered a silent prayer of thanks as we pulled up near the quonset and prepared to disembark.  As Gary powered down the Cessna, he gave thanks out loud for the Lord's hand of mercy and His guidance on the flight.  All three of us Selkes said 'Amen' with great enthusiasm!
     While we quickly hauled our luggage from the back of the plane's cabin, Gary prepared for his journey back to Martensville.  He had a Westjet flight to catch the next morning for a family function in Calgary.  It was late afternoon so he needed to make that window of daylight on his final leg of the trip.  I unloaded our remaining snacks for Gary, as he had run out of his supplies.  We would be able to eat at home. 
     I didn't make any vows that I would never fly in these little planes again!  But I was glad our next trip was with Air Canada to the east coast for the next regional conference.  Looking at Caylea's expression, I think she felt the same!
     Walter, on the other hand, talked about flying, how hard it was to maintain altitude with the wind thermals, how the instrument panel worked... I was a little afraid he wanted to pursue getting his pilot's license!  I again prayed silently, "Lord, help Walter get distracted by another hobby, soon!!!"