Heroes!

Growing up, heroes were superstar athletes like Michael Jordan or Jack Nicklaus, or they were astronauts like Neil Armstrong or our President, Ronald Reagan; you know, men and women who were heroes to millions of people.  Now that I have grown up, heroes are much different.  They are men and women who you have probably never heard of, yet they are superstars still the same.

Meet Paul Dye.  Mr. Dye is a legendary missionary pilot with New Tribes Mission.  They even made a movie about his experience escaping in a Cessna 185 in the black of night from Columbian guerilla soldiers who were keeping him hostage.  Yes, his daring escape and amazing flying skill are worthy to call him a hero, but that is not why I call him one of my heroes.  It is because of his love for the Lord and his Christian witness that he shows even when noone is looking, such as how he and his lovely wife Pat faithfully witness week in and week out to those incarcerated in a prison near their home in McNeal , AZ.

My family with Paul and Pat Dye outside the hangar at NTMA in McNeal, AZ

My family and I have just returned from a trip out west where I was able to train with Mr. Dye in the very same Cessna 185 in which he made his escape from his Columbian captors in 1985.  I now consider him and his family part of our family.

I met two other heroes while on our trip out to Arizona.  The young man in the picture below is Blake Haines.  When I was nearly finished with my training as an Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) Mechanic at Liberty University, I learned of a young man on the other side of the country who had just earned his A&P certificates and was tragically injured by breaking his neck while jumping at an indoor trampoline park.  His father is a pilot for UIM (United Indian Mission) Aviation.  That young man was Blake Haines.  I began to pray for Blake then and still do today.  I got to meet my new hero Blake when he came for a visit to the UIM Aviation hangar in Tucson where I was helping with an annual inspection of one of the mission’s Cessna 206’s.  I had been following Blake’s journey to recovery on Facebook and was continually challenged by his strength, determination and faith.

I got to talk with Blake a good bit that day and came away in awe of his attitute and Christian witness in the circumstances that he finds himself in.  Would I have this same witness?  Could I fight the way he is fighting to help free myself from the restraints of a wheelchair?  Would I have the faith?

Great to meet Blake Haines in person while at UIM Aviation in Tucson, AZ

On the other side of the age range is my new hero, Randy Spiers.  We met Mr. Spiers at Canyon del Oro Baptist Church where we visited while staying in Tucson.  Several people introduced themselves and learned that we were there continuing my training as a missionary pilot.  We were told we needed to meet Mr. Spiers, that he was a missionary for decades with Wycliffe Bible Translators.  After the service, I introduced myself to Mr. Spiers and learned that he “was” not  a missionary, but rather he continues his missionary work with Wycliffe as a consultant.  I invited him out to lunch and we spent several hours with him hearing his stories and even continued the visit at his home.

At 91-years-young, Mr. Spiers sits behind two computers powering three monitors while he is currently diligently helping to translate the Bible into the Assyrian language.  This computer savvy senior is living a life of true servitude.  Lord, if you keep me on this Earth for another 50 years, may my life continue to serve you in such as way as Mr. Spiers, my hero.

Randy Spiers behind his computers in his office

Heroes to me now come in all shapes and sizes, colors, and ages, but they all share at least one thing in common; they know the Lord, Jesus Christ as their savior and are living in a way that would bring Him honor and glory!  

We have made it to the Buckeye State!

Greetings from Coshocton, Ohio!

Thanks and praise be to God and to all of you who have been praying for and supporting us!  We have made the move to Coshocton, OH to begin this next leg of our journey as missionaries.  Lord willing, I will start in the hangar of MMS Aviation on January 5th working on mission-critical aircraft and getting the needed experience to prepare me for a foreign assignment. 

We will miss our friends and family back "home" in Virginia and North Carolina, but we rest in knowing that we are where God wants us.  We would love to have you visit and we will even give you the "nickel tour" of MMS.

Greetings From 38,000 Feet

October 25, 2014

It seems very strange to be sitting at the back of an airplane rather than at the controls.  In fact, I am as far back as you can get in seat 22C of this Airbus 319.  Elizabeth is beside me reading yet another book written by a missionary: The Hand on My Scalpel by David C. Thompson, M.D.  It is a short read that she and I both will nearly finish on this 4-hour flight from Columbus to Tucson.  Ethan and Anna are both juggling activities of reading, playing games, or just snoozing.

The flight attendant just announced that the local time in Tucson is 3 hours behind Columbus.  So this is how you get more hours in your day!  I wish it were that easy, but the words of one of my business professors from college come to mind; “Time waits for no man, woman, child, or beast.”  This was usually quoted just after a student came in late for class.

We are on our way to Arizona to continue my flight training.  I am very excited to learn how to safely take off and land conventional-gear planes, or “taildraggers” from legendary missionary pilot, Paul Dye.  My first lesson with Mr. Dye will be tomorrow morning at the New Tribes Mission private airport, “Tribal Air”, with criss-crossing runways one of dirt and the other gravel.  The airfield and guesthouse we will be staying in is in the town of McNeal, AZ, population 238.   I plan to train with him through November 7^th and then we will drive back to Tucson where I will connect with Kevin Dunn of UIM Aviation and will get a taste of true mission flying into short strips in the mountains and canyons of Arizona and Mexico.  We will be with UIM for about 10 days.  

Image of the Sectional showing Tribal Air

 I have this euphoric sense of peace, accomplishment, and confidence coming in to this training with Temporary Airman’s Certificate in my wallet with the ink barely dry saying that I am now a Commercial Pilot.  I have a feeling that my peace will soon turn to perspiration, and my confidence shaken, but I still know that God has called me to mission aviation and with Christ all things are possible! (Phil. 4:13)

Image of a Cessna 185 "Skywagon" similar to the one I will be training in

We left Winston-Salem on Monday morning, drove to Roanoke, VA to pack up some of our belongings from storage there and then drove on up to Coshocton, OH on Tuesday to begin preparing the house there where we will be staying.  The house is great.  We have been stripping wallpaper and painting the rooms.  Have you ever stripped wallpaper?  Let’s just say that we are getting a good lesson in teamwork, patience and perseverance. 

The Wagner family owns the home.  They are a super-generous, friendly couple that live on one side of us, their youngest daughter and her family on the other side, and their oldest daughter and her family across the road.  They have already made us feel like part of the family…what a blessing!

Please pray for us while we are on this wild west adventure.  Pray for safety, for increased skills in flying, and for protection from spiritual attack from the enemy.  We praise God for all of you who are upholding us by your support and your prayers.  You are just as much a part of this as we are.  I hope to post some pictures from this trip soon.

A financial update:  we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel!  We now need just under $700 per month for me to begin to turn a wrench at MMS Aviation.  Praise God!

"Go West Young Man..."

It is quite hard to believe that this is the first week of fall.  Of course the cooler temperatures and the leaves beginning to put on their annual color show remind us that autumn is upon us.  It just seems like we packed up the U-haul in Lynchburg to take our belongings to a storage unit in Roanoke.  A lot has transpired since June 30th.  We have criss-crossed North Carolina and Virginia speaking in churches and even spoke at a church in Oshkosh, Wisconsin while we were representing MMS Aviation EAA's AirVenture, the largest celebration of aviation in the world.

MMS Aviation group at EAA's AirVenture, Oshkosh, WI

God, and you, have helped us in raising our support.  We are now well over half-way to our monthly budget.  We now need to raise just under $1,500 more per month to be able to begin our work at MMS Aviation in Coshocton, OH.  We are trusting that God will provide, so we are taking another leap of faith and will make our move to Coshocton by Thanksgiving.

My flight training here in Winston-Salem is going well and my checkride with an FAA examiner for my Commercial Pilot's License is scheduled for October 9th.  The only other endorsement that I will need is a tailwheel endorsement which will allow me to fly conventional gear aircraft, affectionately known as "taildraggers".  During a God-appointed conversation in Oshkosh with Paul Dye, a legendary missionary pilot with New Tribes Mission, he asked me of my plans and how my training was going.  Long story short, he offered to train me in his Cessna 185 in Arizona so I can get the needed endorsement!  The same man and the same plane that were the subjects of the movie, When Things Seem Impossible, the story of God's grace where Paul escaped after four days in captivity by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC Guerrillas.) We are planning to begin this training on October 27th.  Weather permitting, this training should only take a few days.

Paul Dye and the C185 in the background

After my tailwheel training, we will travel down to Tucson to join up with Kevin Dunn of UIM Aviation for me to do some mountain/canyon flying in Mexico with him.  Elizabeth, Ethan, and Anna will be with me and we plan to spend a few days ministering to the tribal people near Chihuahua, Mexico.  Being able to fly on one of UIM Aviaiton's Cessna T206 planes into the actual strips that serve the tribal people will really help prepare me for my future foreign field assignment, wherever the Lord leads.

One of UIM's Cessna 206 on a high desert strip in Mexico

Thank you for your support and your prayers!  God is building a great team around us!

The Next Step

Psalm 37:23 says "the steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way."  Taking steps of faith along this journey our family is on to serve as full-time missionaries reminds me of a "trust walk" team-building exercise, when I was in my church's youth group, where I was blindfolded and had to trust my buddy who would lead me through an obstacle course with only verbal commands.  We have to trust that the Lord is directing our steps and rest in the promise from God's Word in Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

 

Our next step is making a move to Winston-Salem, NC by the end of this month where I will be finalizing my primary flight training with Mission Flight Group, an organization led by former missionary pilots who train missionary pilots.  There I will earn my Commercial Pilot's Certificate as well as doing tactical flight training, learning to take-off and land from dirt, grass, and otherwise unimproved airstrips, as well as mastering emergency procedures.  My primary flight instructor will be Dan Kelly, a veteran in flight instruction who has the reputation of making grown men cry!  I hope they mean with his sense of humor!

This particular move comes with another level of faith-stretching decisions.  We have to find good homes for our two dogs, Lily and Carhartt, as we cannot take them with us.  We will be staying in a missionary house owned by Pleasant View Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, only two miles from the Smith-Reynolds Airport where I will be flying out of...what a blessing!  We will also be taking Mrs. Minnix' with us, our 97-year-old "adopted" grandmother.  Please help us pray for a smooth transition for us all.

We anticipate being in Winston-Salem two to three months.  We are praying for a mighty work from God for us to be able to then head to our post at MMS Aviation in Coshocton, OH.  I cannot begin work in the hangar as a mechanic until we have reached 100% of monthly financial goal that was set for us by MMS Aviation.  We began our partnership development (support raising) with our initial letter a little less than two months ago.  Thanks to many friends, family members, and a couple of churches so far, we are at 20% of our monthly financial need.  Praise God!  We covet your prayers in the area of support raising as well.  Everyone at MMS Aviation from the CEO down is faith supported by God's people.  Asking others to support us is a very new area for us.  We have come to understand that it is God's way of involving many people.  Our ministry is much larger than ourselves.  The aircraft that I will fly and fix are often literally lifesavers.  We are looking forward to seeing lives saved both in this world and for eternity!  Would you care to join us?

For more information about MMS Aviation or to join our team, please visit www.mmsaviation.org

-David

Trust your Instruments!

For the past several months, I (David) have been flying an airplane without being able to see what is around me.  I have been in the clouds or flying under the “foggles”…a torturous device that flight instructors have their students wear to limit their vision to just the instruments on the control panel of the airplane.  I have been training to earn my instrument rating.  


 Learning to fly by instruments and learning to read approach plates (printed or electronic charts pilots use to fly instrument procedures to keep them from flying into hard things when they are in weather conditions that limit outside visibility) is akin to learning a foreign language.  I have been studying diligently and recently passed the FAA written exam and am now ready for the oral exam and the checkride that will be administered by an FAA Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE). 

Example of an Approach Plate

Elizabeth and I flew down to Martinsville, VA the day before yesterday to meet with my DPE, Barbara Baron.  Barbara was also my DPE a couple of years ago when I earned my Private Pilot Certificate.  Barbara is a no-nonsense, practical, ultra-experienced pilot with over 14,000 hours of flight time and almost every rating available for fixed-wing aircraft.  Barbara has been flying for most of her 80+ years!  She still enjoys getting up in the sky in her biplane.   

As we were discussing what I should expect during the upcoming practical tests, Barbara said that it was her job to make sure I really new the information and could teach it to someone else, not just regurgitate the textbook answer from rote memorization.

This got me to thinking about my walk with the Lord and my knowledge of his Word.  Do I really know the information?  Do I really take it to heart?  Can I effectively teach it to someone else without giving him or her the “textbook” answer?  Do I trust it?!  

You see, in instrument flying, you have to trust the instruments.  There are vestibular and somatogravic illusions that are caused by linear acceleration when external references are unavailable or unreliable….oops, there I go with another textbook answer.  What I mean to say is that while your body and mind may be telling you one thing, the airplane is doing something else.  You should always trust your instruments. Tragically, there are many, many reports of airplane crashes where pilots did not follow this primal law. 

As a Christian, the Holy Bible is our instrument.  If we trust the Bible, we will keep our wings level and landing gear under us, if we don’t, we can fall into a deadly illusion.  Our body or mind may tell us that what we are doing is good or right, but we may just be in a graveyard spiral, out of control, but not knowing it until we become a smoking hole in the ground. 

Father, help me to trust you completely and not rely on my own intuition.  Thank you Lord for the gift of your instrument for life, the Bible.  Help me to read, understand, and to be able to effectively share it with those around me.  Lord, I pray for the roughly 180 million people who still do not have the Scriptures in their own language.  They are flying through life with no instruments!  Father, I pray for the missionaries that are working diligently to translate, publish, and deliver your Word to these, your people.  I pray that you will tear down the strongholds in lands where your Word is not welcome.  Amen.

Dirty Diapers Anyone?

Our "adopted" grandmother.

Today I changed the diaper of our 97 year old friend (adopted grandmother) who is presently bed-ridden.  It wasn’t me that did it because nothing in the selfish me desires to do such a thing. Who would?  Changing dirty diapers when our kids were babies was a challenge in itself.  Our friend suffered a heart attack according to the doctors, and they ordered hospice for her.  She is now living with us.

Despite the dirty diapers, I can’t tell you the joy it brings me to serve our friend, to love her.  I only wish she could truly know of
how being able to do this for her has been a blessing to me. It has drawn me closer to the Lord, and that is where I want to be because I lived most of my life far, far away from Him.

For so long I wondered if Jesus’ Spirit really lived inside of me.  I wondered how I would know.  He keeps showing me!  I myself am a selfish, hard-headed (my husband and family will tell you just how hard; you ever tried cracking open a coconut?) woman.  I myself don’t have enough love in me to really love others.  And I myself certainly don’t have what it takes to want to change dirty diapers on an adult!  So, when I do think of others, love them, and humble myself, I know it is Jesus and not me. He lives inside of me!

If you ever wonder if Jesus is dead, I can vouch that He is not; He’s alive!  He lives in me and so often I ask myself “why?” Why would our Holy Savior desire to live in me?  I know it’s nothing I’ve ever done nor ever will do for that matter that makes Him want to be inside of me.  It’s just His great love and mercy spelled out as GRACE! I am overwhelmed by it, blown away, and when I get to the point that I am not then I mine as well not be living.  What good is life unless it’s lived in the manner God created it to be?

To live is to know Jesus personally and when we do, our socks will continually be knocked off by His love, a love that gave His life for ours! So what are we waiting for? Get out there and love people; knock their socks off so they can see that Jesus is alive and He is the reason we live!  Who knows maybe you will get to change some dirty diapers along the way too!    - Elizabeth

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.  John 15:13

Jesus: Hope for the Hopeless

Papau New Guinea Tribesman

We had the wonderful privilege of hosting a missionary couple in our home a week ago.  Randy and Diana Smyth were at Liberty University for Global Focus Week.  They represented New Tribes Mission, an organization that reaches unreached people groups throughout the world. It didn’t take long to see that they were actually representing Jesus Christ. 

It was an awesome week hearing of their work in Papua New Guinea (PNG).  Randy is a pilot so he and David and Ethan shared some pilot- talk.  What a privilege it was to extend hospitality to this precious couple who love people, all people, and who have given their lives to share the Gospel.  I am sure I tired them out as they spent all day talking with students and then returned to our home to be interrogated by us, me mostly it seemed.   I never tired of hearing about their work and the people of PNG.  In fact, my heart only grew an even deeper desire to go to these people in far away places and to love them right to Jesus. 

The Smyths told us that people groups in PNG are begging for missionaries to come and bring the Good News to them.  How could they not be if they have seen their neighboring tribes receive Truth and such freedom?  They desire it for themselves.  I can’t help but wonder what I as a Christian would say if I ever were to go to people such as these of PNG and they asked me why I hadn’t come sooner to tell them this life-saving Truth. Would I say that other things were more important to me or perhaps that I didn’t want to leave my luxurious life here in America? 


Would that paint a true picture of Christ for them?   How as a follower of Christ can I not desire to share what I have received from Him, salvation? Jesus came to this earth and gave His life so that all people could be saved. Wherever we are at the moment and wherever the Lord may desire to send us, sharing the Gospel remains our hearts cry.

And speaking of hearts cry, mine was crying the other night as I heard another missionary speak about the people of Thailand.  These people are Buddhists and they live in constant fear of spirits, talk about living on pins and needles!  Their time is spent on appeasing spirits.  I know it is hard for us to understand.  We don’t tend to build a beautiful little doll-like house next to our own so that the spirits will want to occupy it instead of our home.  And we don’t live our lives, at least I hope not, believing that the system we are born into in society makes us who we are for life. 

Typical Thai Spirit House

These beautiful people are chained up in lies.  They are prisoners of the devil himself.  And I almost chose to believe for myself that salvation, freedom, for them in Christ was hopeless.  Wow!  I was falling for the lie myself.  My heart was so burdened for these people wondering how they will ever get out of their slavery to deception that I fought the covers all night it seemed - tossing and turning.  When I finally pulled myself out of the battleground this morning and poured my heart out to God, He answered me through His Word! 

That is so amazing to me that first of all the God of the universe hears my prayers and even wants to, and second that He answers, and third that His Word is POWER like no other.  God encouraged me as I read Esther 7.  What seems impossible in our eyes is not impossible for God.  He has defeated our enemy, Satan, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ!  All we have to do is believe the Lord, take Him at His Word and step out in faith. I know I make it sound so easy when our flesh is the largest catalyst to this.  But our flesh can be crucified with God’s help of course. It is then that God can use us ordinary people to do extraordinary things for His Kingdom.

Esther saved herself and her people, the Jews, through her trust in God.  What a picture of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, who saved us all.  I want to be like Jesus who gave of His very life - left the comforts, the security of heaven, to live amongst us and show us His love, a love so amazing that He took the punishment we so deserved.  Jesus is Hope for the people of Thailand and for all people everywhere! 

Happy Day to you all as you remember who it is that we serve and why we serve Him, the very One who came to serve us, to bring Hope to the hopeless!          - Elizabeth

Holding Short

Hold-Short Line

I taxied my friend's Cessna 172 up to the hold-short line, the line separating the taxiway from the runway that must not be crossed until you are cleared for takeoff. I looked over to my son, Ethan, sitting in the right seat and said over my headset, "Son, we can't do this. If they catch us, they will put me in jail! I do not have a pilot's license." Then I woke up. Weird dream, I thought...what did I have for dinner? I dream often, but I hardly ever remember any of the dreams by morning. This one was different. The dream about almost flying would not leave me. I thought about it daily for weeks.  Finally, I told Elizabeth about the dream and said, "Honey, I think God is trying to tell me to learn to fly." I was nervous approaching the subject with her. I did not know what she would say. You see, my brother-in-law (Elizabeth's brother) Mark was a pilot and was killed in a tragic crash of his private plane in 1999. That is another story for another day of how God can turn tragedy into triumph.  Elizabeth without hesitation said, "Go for it!"

I took my first flying lesson the very next week on a cold January day of 2011... on December 18th, seven weeks ago I graduated from Liberty University's School of Aeronautics with my FAA Mechanic Certificate with Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) ratings in hand. Of course a lot transpired during those three dots: leaving my position with Renewanation; earning my private pilot's certificate; selling our house in Roanoke, VA of 15 years and moving to Lynchburg, VA; soaking in 1900 hours of instruction in one year of A&P school; and other leaps of faith.

Two weeks ago, my family and I drove up to Coshocton, OH for a week-long evaluation with MMS Aviation. MMS, which stands for Missionary Maintenance Services, is an amazing ministry which has served over 100 organizations which utilizes aircraft. Since 1975, MMS has been preparing planes and people for worldwide missionary service. They train apprentice mechanics and offer real-world maintenance experience for those who already hold their licenses. Maintenance is performed in their three hangars in Ohio and Rapid Response teams are deployed all over the world to respond to a maintenance emergency. All maintenance is performed free of labor charges to the missions organizations. The evaluation went well and MMS invited us to join their team. After praying over the decision for a couple of days, we said YES! Below are a few pictures of my work during the technical evaluation. 

Measuring valve stems and guides

Laying out sheet metal for circuit breaker panel

Closing up the "patient" after sealing gas tanks

As I performed my work, I felt compelled to pray over the airplanes. I know that the missions organizations must be chomping at the bit to get them back in service. Aircraft are critical to missions work. Did you know that in many parts of the world, a minute of flight can save a missionary an hour of ground travel?  What can take days by foot or river, can take minutes by air.  Not to mention that sometimes ground travel is simply not an option due to terrain, terrorists, or time. For many missionaries, the airplane is the only means of transportation in and out of their village. I have learned over the last year just how critical the need is for qualified pilot/mechanics. Every mission organization that I am aware of that utilize aircraft are asking the Lord of the Harvest to send out these workers into His harvest. The ministry of MMS Aviation is crucial. I am honored and humbled that God would ask me and my family to join them.

As a missionary family we will now begin the journey of building a team of those who want to be involved in what God is doing in and through us by supporting us with their prayers and finances. Our move to Coshocton will be up to God's timing.  Until then, we will continue to live in Lynchburg while I complete my necessary flight training (currently working on my Commercial Pilot's Certificate) and building my flight hours. In aviation speak, we are holding short and ready for takeoff.

To learn more about MMS Aviation, visit www.mmsaviation.org