Past, present and future...

Flying is starting to become more regular for me. I try to go at least once a week but last week I got rained out. So I finally got to go again today. This time I went to Bloomington, IN to practice landing and navigating to a towered airports where I have to contact the tower and get directions from them for landing. Bowman field is also a towered airport and Clarksville does not have a tower so you announce your position when you are landing or in the pattern. I recently also got a book about aviation communication which will help me become more comfortable with talking to the towers and at bigger airports like SDF (Standiford) or Lexington if I ever wanted to go there on one of my cross country flights. Eventually, I will have to go to those kinds of airports more often so it is good to get practice. Another thing that I will work on more in the near future is night flying. I plan to take some extra lessons on night flying with my instructor to get more used to it.

            On a more comical note, check out this cute video from one of my great childhood memories. (Ps. Don’t do this at home) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODZ5Maa6VnQ&noredirect=1

Fly with Christ,

Helen

Busy Beaver

It’s been already over a month since I came home which is unbelievable! I am back into the full swing of things with taking 5 classes at U of L and 1 class at Boyce College (the undergraduate division of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary). I have a busy schedule with classes and homework and getting everything done but thankfully I have a nice weekly calendar with my classes only being on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. I have not been able to fly much lately due to school work and other happenings so you can be praying for me in that way that I don’t get bogged down by the amount of homework I have to do. I pray for the strength to keep on doing well in school and not giving up. I will however be flying again on Wednesday- going on a cross country between Louisville, Frankfort, and Madison (Indiana).

A couple of weeks ago I got to go visit some awesome friends in Morehead, KY. I spent the weekend with Aaron and Jessica Mansfield. I got to share about my trip to South Africa and Lesotho on Sunday morning with one of their Sunday school groups. This was a great experience for me to be able to share what God has been doing in my life this past summer. The best part, however, was that the Mansfields live next to one of the main helicopter bases for their region. AWESOME!!! Just before I left to go back home on Sunday afternoon, Jessica and I wandered over to the house in which the pilots, paramedics, and nurses stay while on call. The company is called PHI Air Medical (Petroleum Helicopter Inc.).

PHI Air Medical Helicopter

We met the pilot, Gregg Gray and he showed us the helicopter and told us about what he does. We also found out that he was a pilot with the National Guard and so he gave me some information about that. This got me to thinking more about ways to get my training in becoming a more experienced pilot. I think after college I will look into going into the Air Force, National Guard, or another branch of the military where they would pay me to fly. This has great benefits because I would be able to get a lot of experience without getting into the deep dark pit of debt. However, there is one problem with flying for the military, my eyesight is not quite up to par to be able to fly. I may be able to get Lasik surgery but I am still contemplating all the issues with that. Please pray that whatever God’s will is that I will follow it and continue to trust in Him.

             

Well, that’s what has been happening lately on my end... 

Now, how can I pray for you? If you would like to email me to talk more about anything then send me a message at hagg.helen@gmail.com. 

I would love to hear what you have to say!

Fly with Christ,

Helen Hagg

Photos

If you would like to see pictures from my trip please visit my Facebook page (Helen Hagg). If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at hagg.helen@gmail.com.
Fly with Christ,
Helen

**If you do not have a Facebook, please visit the link on the right hand side of the page that says "Lesotho Pictures on Flickr" to see pictures from my trip. Thanks!**

Back at Home!

 Well, I’m back home in Kentucky! I had a rough flight back. I had/have a cold which made the flight a little uncomfortable. As a result of being sick at 30000 feet I can’t hear out of one ear. Hopefully as my cold goes away I will be able to hear again.           

This mission trip was quite an experience! I had a great time in Lesotho, Pretoria, KwaMhlanga, with my family, and with friends!

Here are a few things I learned from the parts of my trip:

Lesotho/ MAF- I learned a lot about what is like to be a missionary pilot. What they do every day and how they run their program. I learned that there are several ways you can serve as a missionary pilot. In Lesotho, the missionaries fly out every day to the mountains to pick up people (doctors, nurses, patients, people who work at the clinic) as well as deliver supplies (food, blankets, etc.) I was also able to visit MAF South Africa. Their mission flying is a lot different than in Lesotho. They do not fly every day, but rather they take longer trips to neighboring countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, Chad, Uganda, Namibia, and Botswana. When they plan flights the pilots will often be in these countries for a long period of time flying teams of people into different areas or flying them out if it becomes unsafe. They also deliver supplies when in need (for instance currently in Tanzania where there is a famine).

Oasis- Hospital Learning/ Care Center- Oasis was a great learning experience as well. I learned that as outsiders/ foreigners we need to teach the locals to do things themselves and then let them run the show. We can teach them sewing, cooking, baking, and using things thrown away to make new things. But once they learn these skills we need to step back. The greatest gift is teaching- the teaching of the gospel and of skills that the people can use to support themselves- not money.

MCDC/ Mukhanyo- The community needs the love of Christ and the best thing to do is to start a relationship with them by visiting them, sharing the gospel, and caring for them. This will encourage them to trust in you and to create a bond between the two. The kids also need love. A lot of them are orphans or have tough living conditions and family problems- but all they want is for someone to care for them and to be the strong foundation that they can build their life on (Christ).

Children playing at Mukhanyo Christian Academy (MCA)

This trip has been an amazing journey. I am in the process of organizing my pictures and they will be up shortly on my facebook so that you can follow along visually with what I have been writing.

Thank you all for supporting me on my trip and for reading my blog. Continue to share the gospel and share what God has been doing in your life!

Fly with Christ,

Helen

A Week in KwaMhlanga ("Kwa Ma Shlanga")

Greetings again!
I spent this week in KwaMhlanga (see phonetics above) which is a region about 45 minutes from Pretoria, where my family is involved. I stayed at MCDC (Mukhanyo Community Development Center) with Harry and Joke ("Yo Ke") Lukens. MCDC is also connected to the Mukhanyo Theological school. My parents are involved in MCA- Mukhanyo Christian Academy which is a pre/ primary school for children in preschool, grade 1, and grade 2. Harry and Joke are missionaries from the Netherlands and do a variety of things around the region. Joke is a nurse and often works with the children at the day care centers and checks up on them to see how they are. Harry does a number of things and is on the MCDC board. I had the opportunity of going around to different people's houses with him to check up on them. Most of the people we visit are HIV/AIDS and/ or TB patients and they check to see that they are taking their medicine and how they are improving or declining in health. On Tuesday I helped Joke at one of the daycare centers. There were about 20 or so children that she did not have on file. Joke is working on creating healthcare files for each of the children. She checks their weight and height and she also asks them about their family history. I helped weigh and measure the children and keep two youngsters entertained as they got a hold of my camera!

Luka and Felicia

On Wednesday (20th) I went with two FDP (Family Development Program) workers around the community in Thembalethu. We walked to 10 or so patient's houses to check in on them. Another place we visited was Nakakela. This place is a hospice for HIV/AIDS patients. On Monday night, Harry and I visited a young lady who had AIDS. She was taking some medication but she was weak, skinny, and she couldn't walk much. We told her that if she though that she could survive and that she really tried that she would gain her strength back. A day or so later she was at Nakakela getting good care and she told Harry that she wanted to live! What a gift from God. However, she need something way more important than medicine still. She needs the gospel. She did not know what the Bible was and so I hope that in the future she will be able to receive one or that the nurses will tell her the gospel. Please pray that she regains her strength physically and begins to grow spiritually.

It was very interesting to learn about everything that MCDC as well as other organizations/ community care centers are doing for their community and how they are all coming together to share the love of Christ and to spread the gospel through their relationships.
Fly with Christ,
Helen

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!