Blue Skys always seem to follow the worst storms

It is now Saturday morning and the effects of Thursday's tornado and strong winds is a memory. Yesterday as we cleaned up the mess in the tent at SUN N FUN, I wondered how everything would get back to normal, or at least how long it would take. I was amazed how quickly life seemed to return to normal. The day was beautiful, blue sky, gentle breeze, temperature about 77 and people out enjoying a sunny Florida day. Except for some debris from trees that had yet to be picked up, you would hardly have known what happened the day before. We have had the opportunity to talk with many people as they pass through our booth area and share what God is doing through the ministry of MAF. We also can invite those daring enough to try and fly into one of our most challenging airstrips. We have a flight simulator that was donated to MAF and the airstrip was added to the Microsoft simulator software so the people get to actually try and land on this airstrip in Kalimantan. Some are remarkably successful. As a recruiting department, we want to share the love of Christ to the people who visit us and represent HIM well to those who don't know HIM. We also want to encourage those who may be desiring to do the minstry of missionary aviation by sharing what God is doing now in MAF and how they can be involved. It is a great mix of evangelization and counseling. Please pray for us while we are here.

Tornados and Sun N Fun do not mix well

Wow, what a day. The MAF recruiting team is here in Florida at the annual Sun N Fun event in Lakeland. Today was a bit more exciting than we needed it to be. Around 12:30 we had the experience of holding down our tent as a huge storm came through with high winds. There could even have been a tornado near by as several of the vendor's tents were mangled and so far about 40 aircraft damaged. Some of the aircraft right next to our tent were flipped over.

Several missionary aviation missions are here to talk with people and expose the aviation public to what we do around the world. The Lord protected all of us as no one was injured. One of the missions however did have substantial damage to one of their helio aircraft. Please be praying as there have been several vendors who have lost a lot as their aircraft were severely damaged in the storm. In a day or two I will post some of the pictures of what happened here at Sun N Fun.

Emphasis on more than Pilots

Recently I went to two of the same missions conferences that I went to last year (Liberty University and Missions Fest Lancaster) but with a different emphasis on my part. I have no problem getting pilots and mechanics to stop by my booth – our very name attracts them! But few who walk by know that MAF is also looking for teachers (and computer specialists and administrators and folks with business and finance skills too).

So to remedy that situation I changed my display board to focus more on teachers by covering my main MAF logo with a sign that said "TEACHERS" and that seemed to have the desired result! At Liberty I talked with many Education majors but two in particular come to mind. Interestingly they are both named Kim and one wants to do her student teaching at a missionary school overseas while the other wants to come teach with MAF after she graduates. Would you join me in praying for the Kims as they seek God’s leading for their future? Thanks!

My time at Missions Fest Lancaster (www.missionsfestlancaster.org) was also quite beneficial as to contacts with teachers. In fact one fellow I spoke with had been a teacher and left that profession to pursue aviation. In our talks I explained what MAF’s requirements are for not only our mechanics and pilot/mechanics, but for teachers as well. After our discussions he committed to praying which direction God would have him go in order to serve Him better.

I have quite a few more trips planned this spring and while most are aviation focused, a few will be specifically looking for teachers. So if you know a teacher who is interested in serving the Lord teaching Missionary kids, (or anyone else who will meet our various needs) please have them contact me (bbehal@maf.org) or our Teacher recruiter – Crissie Rask (crask@maf.org). Thanks! (Can you tell we have a high need for teachers this year?)

And if you get the chance, come visit us at the many places we'll be. Just check the calendar on our main recruiting page - www.mafrecruiting.org!

El Dorado, KS (KEQA)

February 26th - Plans are coming together for the last weekend in February. For those of you who would like to meet, ask questions, or just talk, I will be at the airport, KEQA, on Saturday 2-26 from about 9am to 4pm. I plan to be in the area arriving on Friday and leaving Monday for Salinas, KS.

El Dorado, KEQA is about 30 miles east of Wichita, KS. If Saturday doesn't work but you would like to meet email me at jlemmon@maf.org and we can try and set up a different time.

John

New presentation on "How to Join MAF!"

Check out this link for a "Steps into MAF" presentation.
http://prezi.com/oszw0m8q16vr/how-to-join-maf/

Post Schooling - in the "Debt Gap"

When recently asked what should be some of the priorities in life as one continues to prepare for service as a mission aviator after formal schooling is done, here was my answer.
One of the main things you can do is just to continue to work out your routines, (especially in any move after school) for your special get-a-way time with God each day. As you well know that on the mission field and life in general there are always so many things to do that our time gets eaten up if we don’t prioritize our time with God. As you re-establish your routines in a new job, new living place, new church, you’ll be challenged to prioritize your time wisely. Start right away with a God moment routine that is meaningful to you. Not as part of a to-do list, but as a necessity to life, just like you prioritize eating food to stay alive. This is an esencial part of staying healthy spiritually on the mission field as well as at home. Can you feed yourself spiritually and stay strong? Going to a foreign language church will not do it for you! Very few churches in your own mother tough can do that for you. We all need more regular nutrition than once a week. I would also seek out other peers, or even mentors spiritually to meet with once a week. That may be at work, or connected to a local church, but make it intentional and a priority. You’ve worked very hard on the technical at school, now is the time to learn how to live that out in a more normal living situation of work and life. That’s your next “homework” assignment!

How’s that for a sermon? Stay connected to God and you won’t lose the vision/passion He has placed in your heart!!! You're needed on the field so don't let life roots settle too deep! See you at the MAF front door soon! :-)

Praises in the New Year!

It's been great to see God's hand at work these past couple of weeks. Where do I start?

On Jan 20th we had the joy of ushering 10 couples and 1 single gal into MAF service. This is one of the largest ever January candidate classes in MAF history, so we are so grateful to the Lord for sending us these co-laborers in Kingdom building through MAF. Welcome on board you all!! Recruitment must be paying off!

Secondly, as my wife and I were tending our booth at Mission ConneXion NW in Portland this past weekend, we met up with a gal who is dating a young man who is wanting to go with Heli Mission as a helicopter mission pilot and had many questions about calling, God's leading, etc. My wife had such a similar story that it really resonated with her and was a connection only God could have made for this young lady. God's timing is perfect, and he does bring others into our lives at just the right time. As a friend once said, God is never late, but also rarely early! It's perfect and brings us joy!

Also, at the Mission ConneXion event LaNnae and I won the two day get-a-way drawing for mission representatives attending. LaNnae had just said during the week leading up to this event that we should plan a get-a-way, so I had looked for some places and had not yet found one, and then we won one! Again, God's timing is perfect and brings us much joy!

Many students we talk with get frustrated at the slow progress towards the goal of serving as a mission aviator or MAFer, often frustrated with debt, or the money to pay for flights, etc. In the bigger picture, we often see that these delays for what ever reason are often, but not always, times that God needs to build into us the character, the patience, the endurance, that we will eventually need to serve Him well. Rushing ahead w0uld shortcut our growth and leave us wanting or lacking on the field. Maturity is also a virtue for missionary service. Let God have His way with you, even in the timing of all that's ahead for you.

We love sharing our story with anyone, and are thrilled at how He uses us to encourage and give perspective, and in the process is still at work in our own lives. What a great God we serve!