The unexpected – Few things happen in life the way we plan. Sometimes things can go really bad. Recently my wife and I were headed to Florida for Sun N Fun to be part of the team representing MAF. We also had plans to visit friends along the way. Headed south, from Michigan, that first day we were looking forward to warmer weather and a trip we knew we would enjoy. Just on the south edge of Lexington, Kentucky roads were good and traffic not to heavy. Another hour or so we would stop for the night. I woke to the sound of tires squealing and the edge of the highway approaching rapidly. We were headed down off the road at highway speed and nothing ahead looked very inviting. Sherry had swerved, surprised by what was in front of her and we were already experiencing a significant change in plans.

God did protect us and watched over us. We didn’t walk away unhurt but we were able to be dragged away as I like to put it. We ended upside down and hanging from our seat belts. We spent five days at the University of Kentucky hospital. Sherry now has a plate and nine screws in her left wrist along with an air cast for her broken right ankle and foot. That’s the price the driver pays for having something to hold on to. I got knocked around pretty good and spent the rest of that day mostly unconscious.

All that to say the last several weeks are not what we had in our plans. We have had to focus on healing, doctor’s visits, and caring for broken and bruised parts. Where was God in all this? He was right there watching over us the entire time. One of the first things Sherry remembers is the man who was one of the first on the scene. He was off-duty or retired police or EMT. He knew what to do and what not to do. We were well cared for at the hospital, even got to share the same room, and God had people in place to meet every need we had. In a place where we knew no one, we had visitors, even flowers. We experienced being taken care of by God and His family, our family.

Walking with God is not just trusting Him for the things we know. It is more about trusting Him for the things we don’t know. How do you react when life doesn’t just throw you a curve ball, it smacks you in the chin because you can’t duck fast enough. The process of preparing for missions will probably include a few curve balls. God simply wants us to trust Him. It is reacting by turning to God and saying God I need you. Help me with the changes, and help me to trust You for everything.

Pilots and Debt

As a recruiter for MAF I get the same question over and over and a very important one too! After all the education and flight training to become a Missionary Pilot, how do I pay off all of this debt to be able to go and serve the Lord on the mission field ? I wish MAF had enough money to pay off every one's debt to get you into MAF right away ! But as we all know that Aviation is about the most expensive thing we can do ! I have been a pilot with MAF for over 35 years now and when I came in I was just back from Viet Nam and the military paid for all of my higher education and all my flight training. I left college debt free. Not all of us are in the same place. I have no great words of wisdom to give you but I have seen during the last 35 years the ways the Lord makes it all happen and no story is the same. Each of our MAF pilots could tell you a different story on how the Lord gave them the money to pay off their training debt. I feel the money part is the easy part for the Lord to do and provide - The hard part is to find his children that are willing to give up all and serve Him. Becoming a MAF pilot is a long process. When you get older like me you will look back and see, it was not so much about finding the money to pay off the debt but the process and growing in your relationship with the Lord that He used to build your faith and trust in Him. Our relationship with the Lord is really more important than getting to the field and flying that airplane. But - guess what - when you have that relationship, the money comes in and you are flying everyday in some of the most remote places on earth. I have no idea on how God will provide what you need to get here. But I have seen 35 years of Him making it happen. Capt Hook

Does Dramatic = Radical?

Recently, I received an email from someone considering a change in his career. He said he was increasingly discontent with his comfortable life and the status quo. He and his wife feel God may be moving them to live out their faith in a more radical way. Could MAF be the way God would use them?

When he said they had an increasing disdain for comfortable living, I thought, "Have we got the place for you! Come right on down!" But, at the same time, I was following a discussion on Radical Christianity on two blogs. (see below)

What is radical?
Is living on the edge of the jungle to fly in support of national pastors, missionaries and needy villagers radical?
Is living in an urban community to show Christ's love radical?
Is working in a ministry for less pay than I could make elsewhere radical?
Is 'living a quiet life, minding my own affair and working with my hands' (I Thessalonians 4:11) radical?
Is raising prayer and financial support radical?

The dramatic kind of radical is sometimes easier than the day-to-day, faithful kind of radical, particularly for someone with an adventurous streak.

No doubt God 'calls' (another discussion for another day) some people to lead lives that look quite different from the normal American life. It is a step of faith and even radical to move out of our comfort zone and give up normal expectations. MAF certainly needs people called to serve in this way.

But, for each of us, our call must be deeply rooted and growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because even lives that seem radical become daily in between the dramatic. And it is here that our love shines and our faithfulness witnesses to those around us of the hope we have in Jesus Christ. And THAT is truly RADICAL.


Sky Jethani: Redefining Radical

Demythologizing "Radical" Christianity

Change

Have you ever heard the saying that goes something like this: The only thing you can count on never changing is that things will always change? Just today two more candidates are beginning some of those changes as they enter the Technical Evaluation (TE) at MAF headquarters. Their life from here on out will be full of changes, some of which are, living on support, travelling a lot, selling houses and other possessions, moving, learning new languages and cultures, meeting hundreds of new people, moving again, meeting yet more people, and all the while trying to maintain somewhat of a 'normal' family life. Pray for those that transition from 'home life' to 'missionary life' and all that goes into that transition. There is one thing we can truly count on not changing, and that's the Love, Care, Protection, and Provision from our faithful Lord, among many other things that HE alone can provide for us. Life is a journey, sometimes with many turns, but with Christ it's quite an adventure and worth the ride!

High Performance AC & a Servant's Heart.

Last Thursday I visited Liberty University again. I usually try to attend their monthly LAMP meetings (Liberty Aviation Missions Potentials) which start at 6pm on the first Thursday of each month. This time I arrived early wanting to talk to someone concerning putting an MAF 206 on lease back at LU.

I started on campus and had a wonderful talk with Mr. Ernie Rogers, the person who pretty much got the whole Liberty Aviation program going and who is now the Assistant Dean for Academics. Since the program has grown so big it has been split into Academics and Operations (as well as a third division of an Aviation Maintenance Training school). He suggested I speak with Mr. John Marselus, the Assistant Dean for Operations, whose office is at the airport.

A short 10 minutes later I was sitting in Mr. Marselus' office beginning to broach the subject when he was informed of a LU Seminole declaring an emergency and landing. So he invited me to accompany him down to the ramp to see what happened.

Come to find out Alex (a student I know) was on his Multi-engine Checkride. The Designated Examiner was actually a good friend and former MAFer, Tim, who shut down one of the engines to do single engine operations. Unfortunately after multiple tries the engine would not restart so they cut the checkride short and landed uneventfully. It was good to see Tim again even though the circumstances were not the best and everyone was thankful for a safe outcome to a potentially dangerous situation.

After a few minutes on the ramp we went back upstairs, and I did get to talk to Mr. Marselus about the 206. We are currently looking at various options and all involved hope this will work out as a 206 will be a positive addition to the LU Fleet.

Later that evening I attended the monthly LAMP meeting and got to hear two students (Rick Warner and Tracey Baker) share about their spring break ministry trips to Trinidad and India respectively. It's a real joy to be working with so many students who aren't waiting to get to the mission field to begin doing ministry! And that heart is shown in so many who are preparing to be missionary pilots.

It was said to me by recruiters back when I was in training and it is still true today: If you're not serving here, you won't be serving there. Just because you move to a different country won't make you a missionary. It's really a matter of the heart.

So my question to you is: If you're thinking about Missionary Aviation - what's your heart attitude and where are you currently serving the Lord?

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.