Overdue update and the scoop on what's up!

....And the word of the year is.....BUSY!
School has kept me busy, busy, busy! I have been in and out, here and there, and trying to get things done. Finally I have a break! This week is spring break so I have some extra time to get things done or at least do them at a slower pace and not worry about them too much! So the last time I posted it was about being accepted into SMAT! And I gave an overview of the last 5 years. Well this week I get to visit SMAT!! I know what you may think: you already decided you are going to SMAT and you didn't go see the campus first?? My answer is yes. I trust God that He will provide for me and that means trusting in Him in everything. For me seeing a campus or the buildings is not a must, but getting to know the people there is definitely helpful and seeing what the classes are like gives me a better idea of what to expect. I know God is sending me to SMAT because they are a school whose goal is to serve the Lord and equip missionaries to go out into the field! On Wednesday, I will either fly or drive up to Ionia, MI depending on the weather. I intend to spend the afternoon at SMAT in one of the classes and then look at apartments and the city after that. I will most likely stay with one of students overnight and then drive back on Thursday. I am excited to meet new people there and see what it is like.

Ok... here's a flying update:

Dominique and I

A couple weeks ago I went on a LONG cross country trip with my friend Dominque who is a pilot based out of KJVY. He picked me up at Bowman airport and then we started our flight. A lot of things went wrong on this trip but it was a valuable lesson in learning how to handle situations and know what to do better for next time. First, we had to wait awhile before getting our clearance for our first leg of the flight. For some reason it was not entered in the computer correctly or something happened when it was transferred. But we finally got off the ground and flew to Columbus, IN. Taking off was gray and dreary and the clouds were low but as soon as we got above them at about 4000 ft MSL it was the most gorgeous sight I have ever seen especially in a Cessna 172. The entire sky was bright blue above and around us and below us was a fluffy, thick carpet of white clouds for as far as the eye could see! WOW! God's creation is amazing!

Beautiful blue sky around and clouds beneath.

Ice on the strut and wheel.

On our descent to land at Columbus we encountered some icing which was a first for both of us. You can see it in the picture on the tire and wing strut. We quickly descended to get out of the clouds and landed safely. At Columbus we ate lunch as "Hangar 5" a restaurant on the airport while the plane was thawing out in a hangar. Our trip then took us west to Terre Haute, IN and south all the way to Owensboro (~100 mile leg). From Owensboro we flew back to Bowman and Dominque dropped me off and flew back to KJVY. The whole trip was 4.6 hours (engine running time) and a lot of fun! God creation was evident in our flight especially when we saw a double/ circular rainbow following us with the plane's shadow in the middle of it!

Circular rainbow with the shadow of our plane!

 
Since then, I have not flown as much mainly due to flights being canceled due to weather or other things, but I am continuing with training and such. I am 1.4 hours away from being signed off in the Piper Arrow (10 hours total needed), which means I can fly the plane solo. I have to have 250 hours before I can take the checkride (official test to get my official commercial license) and so far I have 170. I'll try and finish before I move to Michigan.

With that my summer plans come into play. I am done with school on April 29th (my Dad's birthday!) and then will go on a trip with some friends to Tampa, FL for a fun vacation at the beach and on May 11th I will graduate!After that I have the rest of may and half of June to fly and work on getting hours which I will try to do with other pilots in order to split the cost in half! On June 18th my parents and I will jump on a plane to the Netherlands and from there on to South Africa! They will come back to the States on the 16th of July but I will spend an extra week in Lesotho visiting the missionaries there and come back on July 26th. After that I have most of August to finish up flying requirements and move out! What an exciting time that God has blessed us with!

Later this week I'll update you on my trip and extra things that pop up here and there.

Flooded Ohio River after the weather cleared up on our long flight.

So until next time,
Fly with Christ,
Helen