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!