Why we do what we do.

Take a look at this short video about MAF and why MAFers do what they do. 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWjgcgUPIfs&feature=youtu.be

I am getting more and more excited to go out into the mission field and work with MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) or another Christian aviation organization. I just finished reading the book Jungle Pilot by Russell T. Hitt. The book is about how MAF began and ultimately the story of how missionary pilot, Nate Saint, and four other missionaries lived their lives for the gospel and died trying to share it with a savage tribe of Indians in South America. It is such a wonderful story of how they used their gift of flying to enable the gospel to reach the unreached. 

Matthew 24:14 “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

I’m getting closer and closer to going out into the world wherever God leads me. I recently started my instrument rating training. This training will equip me to be able to fly in less than perfect weather conditions as well as to go to more places at night. In my training I focus on controlling the airplane as if I could not see anything outside and I just focus on the flight deck. 

The requirements to get an instrument rating are having 50 hours of cross-country flight time as pilot in command, 40 hours of actual or simulated instrument time, and a flight of 250 nautical miles along airways or by directed routing from an air traffic control facility. There are other minor requirements involved, but these are the basics.

I have also been looking at schools to go to for my aviation mechanics certificate. I will attend a mechanics school after I graduate next May for 1-2 years. My top choices as of now are Colorado and Alaska. I’m leaving it up to God to direct me in the way that He wants. 

Else and I at Redstone College (an aviation mechanics college) in Colorado.

Acts 20:24  However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me —the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace...  This is why we [Christians and missionaries] do what we do.

Fly with Christ,

Helen

Mountains beyond mountains!

It’s been awhile since I’ve last posted! This past semester I was so busy with school work that I did not get many opportunities to fly. I have not taken lessons since I got my pilot’s license last June (2011) but I have been accumulating cross country hours (requirement= 50 nautical miles for one leg of the journey). 

[1 nautical mile= 1.15 miles]

After school ended, I picked up the pace with getting hours and went on several flights around Kentucky. For the past two weeks I was in Colorado visiting my sister and brother in law and enjoying the mountains! I got to run 2 races there (the Color Run 5k and Bolder Boulder 10k) and hike up a “fourteener” (mountains with summits above 14,000 ft elevation). I didn’t have too much trouble with the elevation and oxygen. While I was running and hiking it was a bit tougher.

Else (sister) and I after the Color Run in Denver, CO

Else and I after the Bolder Boulder 10k in Boulder, CO

Mount Bierstadt 14,065 feet (4,287 m)- the peak on the right

The best thing I got to do was fly in the mountains! The first day I had scheduled a flight with an instructor the winds were around 30 knots which is quite dangerous when you are in the mountains. [1 knot = 1.15 mph] We ended up rescheduling for the next Friday which was a perfect clear calm day! We went for a morning flight around 9 am and headed out to the mountains. I got to fly for part of the flight as well as take pictures while my instructor flew the airplane. It was magnificent to see how big the mountains really are and how awesome God has made the different parts of the earth! I could just sit in the mountains for hours on end looking at the beauty all around me! It was neat to fly at 12,000 ft and have mountain tops above us!

Flying over the Rockies

Valleys and mountain peaks

        

We planned on going to Leadville, CO (the highest airport in the US- ~10,000ft). However, since the winds were 11 knots crosswind and gusting at 21 knots it was safer not to land. We flew up the valley and circled around Leadville and then went back and landed at Buena Vista airport (10-15 miles down the valley). We sat in the sun for about 15 minutes and just enjoyed the scenery then flew back to Denver. I loved flying in the mountains because you get to see what everything looks like from above. 

The peaks were higher than we were!

 

Amos 4:13 He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth — the Lord God Almighty is his name. 

 

View from Buena Vista airport.

Fly with Christ, 

Helen

More flying pictures!

Landing at 27K- Georgetown, KY

The bunkers we saw near Richmond, KY

One of the KY bourbon distilleries.

Spring (not so much of a) Break!

Well this past week I had spring break, but it ended up being not much of a break. I was busy everyday doing all kinds of things including projects, papers, and homework. I did get to hang out with friends, go to Marengo Caves, and run the Rodes City 10k race. 

In Marengo Caves, Indiana

Another highlight of the week was flying a total of 7 hours! These flights brought me just shy of 80 hours! On Tuesday, I flew to Frankfort, down south to a little airport in the middle of Lake Cumberland, where there were horses grazing next to the runway, and then all the way back up to Clarksville (100+ nautical miles!). When I got back to the Louisville area I flew past Clarksville and circled around Henryville to see what the damage of the tornado from a few weeks ago looked like. This was the first time I had done a 100 mile cross country leg and it went great! It does however, get a bit boring and tiring when you aren’t talking with anyone and you are just going straight for 50 minutes. The weather was nice. A few clouds rolled in creating some turbulence and requiring me to stay below 2500 ft. I had flown this route in order to prepare myself for Wednesday, when I would take up a friend (Josh) from school.

Capitol building in Frankfort, KY

Wednesday rolled along and the weather was perfect for flying! Clear blue sky and nice warm temperature. You could definitely tell it was a good day for flying because when we were getting ready to take off there were 5 or 6 others doing the same thing and once we got up in the air there weren’t many quiet spots on the radio. I ended up changing the route a bit because I was tired from the day before and it would be more beneficial to do so. We flew to Frankfort then hopped over to Georgetown where we stopped for a bit. The revised route, took us east of Lexington, over and around Madison/Richmond, KY, and then back west and up to Clarksville. Originally, we were going to land at Bardstown but due to lack of time I decided not to go there. Around Richmond there was a bunker site for something, so we explored that area to see what we could find. Overall, it was a great flight. Towards the end we had some moderate turbulence. It was great to get back in the seat again and go flying.

 

            Some more flying news on my end: I have begun searching for aircraft maintenance schools to go to after I graduate from U of L next May. I will need to get my maintenance certificate in order to fly as a missionary pilot and so I will attend a school somewhere (yet to be determined) for about 2 years. During this time I will go through the mechanics program and build up flying hours and experience. God has been showing me where to go with my future studies and I continue to trust Him in where He is leading me. God has also put an opportunity in my lap to be able to learn mechanics before going to school for it. I will be working with the mechanic for Louisville Aviation over the next year on projects he does. I will get to help him with the maintenance on the airplanes and simply just learn more about how planes work and how to fix them if they don’t. This won’t be a paid job or anything like that, it is more for experience and learning and it will be beneficial for when I go to school for it. I am excited to be taking the next step towards missionary aviation! God has blessed me with this opportunity and I am following Him for His glory, not mine! I want to serve people as Christ served us ultimately with His death on the cross. In order to be right with God we need to repent of our sins, be forgiven, and put our whole trust in God, and in return we get to live eternally with Him and serve Him! How great is that!

Louisville, KY

Romans 12:2 stuck out to me today, 

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

We need to be transformed by Christ and accept the Holy Spirit, then we can discern what God has in store for us and where He is leading us.

Fly with Christ,
Helen

Night Flight Not Night Fright

Flying can be sometimes nerve-wracking and can make you anxious. At least it is sometimes like this for me, mostly because I am not very experienced yet. Usually when I got flying, as I am driving to the airport, I am a bit nervous and anxious. But when I get to the airport I am more relaxed and less nervous. These worries come because of not a lot of experience and not flying very often at the moment. However, once I get in the cockpit and simply go through the procedures on my check list I get comfortable with the task at hand and just go for it.

Runway at night. The four lights in a row on either side of the runway are the glide slope indicators (Red/White).
Click on the picture to see the lights blink to signify the direction of the runway.

In order to stay current as a pilot you must fly and do at least 2 full stop landings at night within 90 days of the last time you flew at night. Tonight, that is what I did. I had never gone on a night flight solo and I hadn’t done night flying in a while, so I was a bit nervous. But when I got to the airport and got ready to take off I just took a deep breath and told myself that “I can do this”. Take off and pattern maneuvers were fine and then I started my descent. Everything went superbly! I kept a steady descent rate at -500 feet per minute and my airspeed was a constant 70 knots and everything went well. I turned on the last leg and my glide slope was just a bit high so I tweaked my pitch and got on track with the correct glide slope. It’s better to be high than to be “red over red you’re dead!” There are lights that help you see how high or low you are when approaching the runway. All white lights means too high, a red and white light means you are on glide slope (where you’re supposed to be) and all red lights mean you are too low and so you need to increase your altitude. As I got down to the ground I eased back and had a nice and smooth touchdown. I was surprised that it went so well and happy that it did. I continued practicing landings at Bowman for a while and then hopped on over to Clarksville. The interesting thing about night flying is trying to find the airport in the dark between all the other light of the city. Usually airports have a blinking white and green light that signifies where it is located so all you have to do is look in the general direction of the airport until you can spot the beacon and then fly to it. I landed a couple more times at Clarksville and got gas and then got home (Bowman) just before the tower closed. It was a great night for flying since the moon was out and the weather was perfect. After my first landing went well I knew the rest of the flight would do the same. The best thing about night flying is the view- you can see for miles and you see all the little golden lights shining that light up the city. 

Back at the hangar- wrapped up for the night.

            One thing I now know is that worrying does no good! I was nervous before my flight but I just took it one step at time and trusted in God. That’s the amazing thing about having Christ as your personal savior! He takes all your worries away no matter how small or big they are. If you trust in him fully then he will help you through the tough times and will help you overcome fears as well as anxiety. No matter what you are going through, God understands and He will help you if you rely on him. If there is no one to talk to about your worries there is always God- He will answer your prayers.

Philippians 4:6-8

Matthew 6:25-34

Trust in Christ, walk with Christ, fly with Christ, and ask Him to come into your life!

Helen

A Purpose Driven Life

What a great month it has been! God has been blessing my life as well as others abundantly and I give praise to Him for that. Just this past week my sister (Else) and her husband (Norm) came to Louisville to surprise our mom for her 50^th birthday! It was great to spend quality time with the family as a whole, back together again. Now, the house is empty once again. Else and Norm left in the middle of the week and just this morning (5am) Koos left to go back to Vietnam for a year and a half. It is so great to see God working in our lives and that He allows us to travel to many places in order to do His work! It is sad to see Koos leave but I’m so thankful that he has found a place to serve. It is also a testimony of how we should leave our plans up to God and our wishes and that we shouldn’t try and take control! Koos, like me, is super outdoorsy and we could live in a tent for a year in the middle of a jungle if we had to. But God has other plans for Koos- those being to live in the middle of a city with 6 million people! Our mission field, wherever we may be, will take us out of our comfort zones but it creates a bond between you and God that you will trust Him in any circumstance.

           

Finding out what God has in plan for you is half the battle. It is not up to us to plan where our lives are going to be and how perfect they will be. God can flip that in a second. Our lives are to follow Christ wherever He leads us. I continue to seek guidance in what I will do in my life. I believe God is calling me in to the mission field as a pilot and will work out all the kinks as I come to them. For instance where to go to mechanics school. I would love to live out west somewhere but I know that it is all in good timing and that God will take me where I need to go. The other day I got to meet a new friend, Sarah, who is interested in missionary aviation! I am so excited and thankful that God put her in my life to encourage and to share with.

            One more great thing that God is doing in my life is a GIS project. GIS (Global Information Systems) is a map making tool and I am currently taking a class to learn how to use it. I am working on a large project for MAF Lesotho where I map out all the airports, health clinics, what the terrain is like, and other factors. This will help them to see where the best place would be to put a new airstrip. God has given Koos this ability (to use GIS) to teach me so that I may be able to use this skill in the future. I enjoy all the little things God is doing in my life.

            Prayer and faith are the keys to living a life according to God’s will. Please pray for:

~ Koos as he is travelling to Vietnam as well as his ministry and teaching in Hanoi.

~ Me- guidance in where to go in the future, what to study, and to grow in my faith in the Lord.

~ Missionaries and to be missionaries- that they would put their full trust in God that He will lead them.

 

Take a moment out of your busy day to read these verses and pray about what God’s purpose is for your life.

Jeremiah 1:5-7

Psalm 57:2       

Proverbs 19:21 

Psalm139:13, 16-17 

1 Corinthians 4:12

Remember... we are the little lion and God is the big one. He is in charge, teaching us everything we need to know and leading us wherever  we need to go!

 Fly with Christ,

Helen