Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Well it has been a LONG time since I wrote a blog... but now that I'm on vacation I have some time!
Here's a little recap of what we have been doing in school:
Aircraft weight and balance
Fluid lines and fittings
Welding
Covering aircraft parts (wings, fuselage, ailerons) with fabric (used in light aircraft as the skin)
Painting
Electrical projects (building electrical circuits that do things (turn on lights, horns, switches, etc)
Generators (tear apart and put back together)
Landing gear (removal, dis/re-assembly, and putting it back in the plane)
FAA General Written exams (an exam over everything we have learned in the last 3 months)
I also fixed my fuel pump/filter and muffler in my car.

It's definitely winter in Ionia. When I left we had at least 6 inches of snow and it was freezing, icy and rainy. On the way down I stopped in Louisville and then continued on the next day with the cats to Johnson City, Tennessee (our new home) where it was 60 degrees and sunny.

Some fun events we got to do to "advertise" SMAT a little more were having a float in the annual Christmas parade down main street (we decorated the helicopter on a trailer with Christmas lights and had people dressed up as stars and the kids had little red cardboard airplanes. We also had a manger scene on our trailer. Over the past few months we've had the opportunity to perform mini music concerts in the town. We have an abundance of musicians and we all use our talent to glorify God. Liesl (in top left corner left of me in the picture below) and I are eventually going to do a duet of Jesu Joy of man's desiring with organ and viola. Also everyday we have Bible study right after lunch and on Wednesdays we have "Worship Wednesday" where we sing hymns or songs and have a testimony or video or something just glorifying God (in the picture below you can see some of the students playing).

It is such a wonderful group of students at SMAT. We get to grow and learn from each other and just have fun. Over the past few weeks we have been having dinner together with about 7 of us. It is such a wonderful time of fellowship- whether we are in class, fixing planes or cars, snowmobiling, snow ball fighting, or just eating lunch. God has given us all the blessing of being able to go to this school.

Now I leave you with this GOOD news:

Luke 2:9-14

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened,  but the angel reassured them. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!  The Savior -- yes, the Messiah, the Lord -- has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!"  Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others -- the armies of heaven -- praising God:  "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors. "

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and may God bless you all!
Fly with Christ,
Helen