More than Just a Pilot

As part of the MAF Recruiting Team I get letters and e-mails from pilots that come from all walks of life and backgrounds - airline pilots, military pilots, corporate pilots, and pilots that only fly on the weekends for fun. We all love to fly and many have flown everything from pistons to jets. I took my first airplane ride 48 years ago and still get the same feeling when those wheels leave the ground as I did back then many years ago. Those of us that fly have been given a special gift. Many that write to me each week say, they would like to use that gift for something really important in life. Some discover this much later in life than sooner !

Some of us use the airplane to make money, some of us use it for fun and adventure during our life time. MAF pilots use the airplane to change lives in over 30 countries around the world. When I was in the MAF training department, I always told my new missionary pilots that they must be some of the best pilots and mechanics to be a part of MAF but if they only came to fly for fun and adventure, than they were in the wrong place for the wrong reasons.

The airplane is a special tool to get Gods Word out to those that have not heard His name. During my many years flying overseas, I saw some of our pilots come home early saying they had landed and mastered all the very short airstrips and it was lots of fun and lots of adventure but now its boring and just a lot of hard work. So they came home looking for new adventures. We are all pushing that piece of metal through the sky, so are we doing it for adventure or do we really care about those people we put in the airplane ?

Sometimes it is a hard thing to do. They look bad, they smell, they rub pig grease all over their bodies and have bones in their noses or do not wear clothes. Do we care enough about them to change their lives for eternity. MAF pilots are some of the best pilots and mechanics doing a very technical job everyday. Their flying and maintenance is their Ministry. They take that big piece of metal and use it to change peoples lives for Christ. Yep, I have more fun and adventure than I can take in a lifetime !