Oasis

Hello dear friends!

Wallets made from juice boxes

It is time for an update... These last two weeks have been wonderful! I have gotten to hang out with my cousins and family a lot and enjoy great fellowship together. I have also gotten the great opportunity of working at Oasis. Oasis is a project that is based in one of the hospitals. They are a soup kitchen as well as a educational center. Everyday they give out free tea, soup (some of the ingredients even come from the garden), and bread to patients from the hospital who walk in as well as some other people, including some inmates from the correctional institution. Apart from feeding the people they offer classes for knitting, sewing, baking, and an array of other skills that people can learn and use again. The things that the make (aprons, placemats, tablecloths, pillowcases, pottery, etc.) are sold at a shop in the mall. The profits then go back to Oasis. They also are environmentally aware. I helped make a curtain out of bottle caps and bucket tops as well as small wallets from juice boxes and mats from old plastic bags. They also give out blankets to people who need them and all-terrain wheelchairs (a plastic lawn chair with mountain bike tires- see below). They also try to teach the people as well as children about AIDS since most of them are from the hospital. A lot of the social work students from the university doing their internship with Oasis which gives them an idea of what kind of work they can do. It was an awesome experience getting to work with them and see what their ministry is about. 

All terrain wheelchair

Ps.. more pictures will come later.

Fly with Christ, 

Helen

On the road- a beautiful view of God's creation! 

The village in the mountains that I stayed at- Molumong

One of the MAF fleet that came to pick Sefiri and me up from the mountains.

More pictures will be posted when I get back to the States!

Amazingness!

Lumela! ("Hello"- pronounced Dumela)
Lesotho was amazing! I really wish I didn't have to leave. I spent the last two weeks in Lesotho, mostly in the capital city, Maseru. I got to fly with all of the pilots there and help them with their flights- mainly picking up patients and bringing them back to Maseru to get to the hospital, bringing the patients back to their villages, and transporting cargo and people who work in the clinics to different places around the mountains.
I got to spend three days in the mountains with a missionary who works with AIM (Africa Inland Mission). This was an amazing experience!I went with Sefiri, one of the guys who works at MAF and he taught me the language, to the mountains. On the way there we took the taxis and bus. This was quite a rough trip. In the taxis you are super crammed in and you have all your luggage around your lap and legs. They stop at random spots in the road and let more people in or out. Sometimes at major stops you will wait for an hour or so. There is no real schedule to things there. Halfway through we switched from a taxi to a bus (a bit more space but they keep letting ore people on and they often stand in the aisle). On our last switch over we found a taxi that would take us to Mokhotlong (the city close to where I would be staying)- a 4 hour crammed taxi ride in the mountains- which means super bumpy roads filled with huge potholes! We spent a lot of time traveling by road in the mountains (no airstrips near where we were). On the second day we drove to two villages which were right on the border (South Africa and Lesotho border). We had big bags full of clothes and blankets which we passed out to the children.
This trip was really amazing and I see God leading me towards the mission field as a pilot. The Lesotho MAF team is a great team and hopefully in the future I can return and work with them again!
Ke leboha ha holo!! (Thank you very much).

Fly with Christ!
Helen (Nthabiseng- my Sesotho name)!

ps. I will post pictures soon on this blog and on facebook.

Initial update!

Well I made it here safely and with few problems! I only had a delayed plane in Louisville to Atlanta. The rest of the flight was as smooth as possible except for the few times we encountered turbulence. :)
I spent the weekend with some of my cousins and aunt and uncle and today I am on my way to Lesotho. I'll be there for two weeks.
So far the trip is going well! I'm enjoying braai (barbeque), rugby, biltong (beef jerky but better) and a bunch of other stuff that make South Africa what it is. But unfortunately it's cold once the sun goes down (close to freezing). Now I will be going to an even colder place where there may even be snow. I'll just have to bundle up.
Well! until next time.
Fly with Christ,
Helen

Away I Go!

This time tomorrow I will be in the airport going through customs and waiting to board my plane, first to Atlanta and then to Johannesburg! 

Here is a quick update as of the news this week. I will be going to Lesotho by myself to work with the missionaries there. My fellow travel mate will not be able to make it as she is recovering from sickness which made her unable to travel sadly. I will also not be going to work with ZUMAT due to the lack of pilots/ staff to help coordinate groups and such. However, I will be looking and getting in contact with missionaries that my family knows and working with them. I will try and keep you all updated. Feel free to send me an email and read my blog!

Fly with Christ,

Helen 

Flying with the Lord’s Air Force

        Here’s the news you’ve all been waiting for! I passed my flying exam! Now I have my official private pilot’s license! The tests consist of several phases/ exams. I had to take a written test, an oral exam, and a practical exam. The latter two I did on Thursday.

        I got to the place in Bowman field where I would meet my examiner and we went over some paperwork and then began the oral part of the exam. He had me plan a route as well as do some weight and balance and landing/ takeoff distance calculations. Together we went over those and then he asked me some questions regarding the map, emergencies, the aircraft systems, and weather. After the oral part was over I went back to the hangar by myself (on the other side of the airport) and did preflight check and then brought the plane over to where I began the test in order to pick the examiner up. He got in the plane and we went over the log books for the airplane and then we were off (well when the tower said we could!). I did a short field take off and then we departed to the North (just across the Ohio River) where I did an S-Turn, a turn around a point, and then several different types of landings at Clark County Airport.

S-Turn

Turn around a point.

  

        

We then started the cross country part of the test (I had preset a course and had to follow part of it). He made sure I was where I was supposed to be in relation to the course I set. We went to the town of LaGrange (20 miles East) and then an imaginary storm came up so I had to divert and recalculate my distance and the time that it would take to get to the new destination. After that we did stalls, slow flight, steep turns, and instrument flying (I don’t look outside- only at the instruments to see where I am). At this point we were over the Ford Car Plant and we radioed Bowman to land and they said I could land straight in! Usually you have to fly around the airport before landing but this time since we were coming directly they allowed us to go straight in. I had never done this but I managed to do it all right and had the best landing ever for me. We taxied over to Central American (where I started the test) and then went inside and he signed some forms and that was it! I had passed my checkride! We waited a little bit as the plane was filled up and then I taxied back over to the East Ts where the plane is kept. 

Bowman Field: star on left = Runway 6/ Central American (where I took the majority of the test), star on the right = Runway 24/ Louisville Aviation- where we keep the airplanes.

        God has blessed me so much with my ability to fly and it is only through Him that I am able to fly. I am working for Him in His Air Force to win the souls of the lost. Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement! Tune in later this week for a trip update before I leave.

Fly with Christ!

Helen

Moving at the Speed of Sound...

… or close to it. These past two weeks I have been so busy with flying, planning, studying, and trip planning. Since the 29^th I have completed my long cross country flight, passed my written test, and done a three hour review for my check ride. Yesterday I spent 7 hours either flying or in the hangar getting ready. On Thursday at 8:30 I will take my check ride which is the final portion of my tests to see if I get my license or not. Your prayers are very much appreciated.

I have also been working a lot on getting my travel plans together. Today I formulated my itinerary and still need to get into contact with family and friends to work out small details.

June 16-17: Flying from Louisville to Atlanta to Johannesburg, South Africa (SA). I arrive in SA at 5:00 p.m. on Friday

June 17- 20: Stay with family

June 20- July 1: Lesotho

July 1- 6: Stay with family

July 6- 15: Possibly working with ZUMAT

July 16-18: Stay with family

July18-22: Work with Harry and Joke (“Yoké”) Lukens

July 21: Celebrate my 20th birthday with Harry Lukens 

July 23: Hagg Day (Hagg Dag!) Family reunion!

July 24-25: Stay with family

July 25- 26: Flying from Johannesburg to Atlanta to Louisville. I will be back home at 10:00 am on Tuesday

May God bless you as He is doing so for me even when I am super busy.

Fly with Christ,

Helen