Snow, sunshine, and I wish it were summer!

Snow upon snow upon snow upon snow! The weather here is quite white. We keep getting more and more snow (right now there is about 2.5 feet of snow that has accumulated over the last month or two) and the temperature never manages to get above freezing. On the other side of the world... it's nice and sunny and warm. Here's a picture, courtesy of Bryan from MAF Lesotho, of what flying looks like in the summer- I wish I were there! Also, here's a link to Justin Honaker's (another MAF Lesotho pilot) blog that he just recently updated about some of the surprising things that have been going on there.

Lesotho in the summer (Courtesy of Bryan)

Lesotho in the winter

 This week we worked more on our hydraulic and landing gear projects (taking pumps apart and putting them back together) as well as our sheet metal pieces which we are beginning to rivet together. My car also died this week and so it's spending the week parked at school. The battery was not being charged and we determined that it was the alternator that was bad. I took it out and found that one of the brushes was completely severed from it's connection and that's why it wasn't charging the battery. This week I'll clean it and put it all back together and hopefully my car will go again.

Some more headlines of this week:
I was able to go to my church on Monday for a Missions committee meeting. Most of it was business oriented but I was able to see how River Terrace Church supports and connects with their missionaries. It was great to see how they are very involved in what the missionaries are doing and how they can help them as well.
At school I am also involved in the SAT- Student Advisory Team. The group of 7-8 of us collaborate on how the school can improve and we plan events that purposely involve the community of Ionia.

Now on to the good stuff!

LORD’S DAY 4 Heidelberg Catechism
9 Q. But doesn’t God do us an injustice by requiring in his law what we are unable to do?

A. No, God created human beings with the ability to keep the law. They, however, provoked by the devil, in willful disobedience, robbed themselves and all their descendants of these gifts.

~We were created to keep the law but through sin we no longer can do that. 

Gen. 1:31; Eph. 4:24
Gen. 3:13; John 8:44
Gen. 3:6
Rom. 5:12, 18, 19

10 Q. Does God permit such disobedience and rebellion to go unpunished?
A. Certainly not. God is terribly angry with the sin we are born with as well as the sins we personally commit. As a just judge, God will punish them both now and in eternity, having declared: “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.”

Ex. 34:7; Ps. 5:4-6; Nahum 1:2; Rom. 1:18; Eph. 5:6; Heb. 9:27
Gal. 3:10; Deut. 27:26

11 Q. But isn’t God also merciful?
A. God is certainly merciful, but also just. God’s justice demands that sin, committed against his supreme majesty, be punished with the supreme penalty— eternal punishment of body and soul.

Ex. 34:6-7; Ps. 103:8-9
Ex. 34:7; Deut. 7:9-11; Ps. 5:4-6; Heb. 10:30-31
Matt. 25:35-46


** For those of you who are reading my blog and following along with the Heidelberg Catechism, tell me what you think about the questions and answers or even thoughts that come to mind as you look up the verses and such. I would love to hear from you, even about the other things I write or that you might be interested in. Shoot me an email at hagg.helen@gmail.com and I'll get back to you! Thanks for reading! May God bless you.

Fly with Christ,
Helen

The Lord's Day 3

This week was long but semi fast. We are mostly working on hydraulic projects (taking pistons apart and putting them back together) and landing gear/ brakes (also taking them apart, cleaning them, and putting them together). We started a Bible study/ seminar after school on Wednesdays called the Truth Project. It's a good study and makes you think a lot. I had more questions than answers but I think those will get answered in the following seminars. We also got a new addition to the SMAT fleet- a Cessna 140 taildragger which could become a club plane that we could fly in.

Cessna 140A Taildragger SMAT club plane (photo courtesy of Matt Howieson)

Now that it's the beginning of the year, I need to start looking for jobs for after SMAT. I am trusting in God to show me the way and we do that through prayer. Here are a few prayer requests that you can just keep in your mind:
Pray for guidance on what my next step is during and after SMAT,
Pray for the gospel to go out to the nations
Pray for God's provision and great timing in everything- money, food, a husband, the mission field,
Pray for the courts to decide on our adoption,
Pray that our lives are dedicated to the LORD and the growing of His kingdom.


Heidelberg Catechism
LORD’S DAY 3
6 Q. Did God create people so wicked and perverse?
 
A. No.God created them good and in his own image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness, so that they might truly know God their creator, love him with all their heart,and live with God in eternal happiness, to praise and glorify him.

1 Gen. 1:31
2 Gen. 1:26-27
3 Eph. 4:24
4 Col. 3:10
5 Ps. 8

7 Q. Then where does this corrupt human nature come from?
A. The fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise. This fall has so poisoned our nature that we are all conceived and born in a sinful condition.

1 Gen. 3
2 Rom. 5:12, 18-19
3 Ps. 51:5

8 Q. But are we so corrupt that we are totally unable to do any good and inclined toward all evil?

A. Yes,
Unless we are born again by the Spirit of God.

Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Job 14:4; Isa. 53:6
John 3:3-5

Painting, patience, and perfection.

This week was super busy but productive! On Monday we didn't have school due to snow so I used that day to do some studying for the tests we had this week and just relaxed and got some things done. Since Tuesday was the new Monday our whole week was kind of off. Everyday seemed like another day. Here's some snap shots of the week (ps click on the picture to get the larger version):

Rainbow sunrise- God's creation is AMAZING!

16" of snow and bitter cold (-10F)!

Painting the N numbers and cross and taking of the tape.

Finished N numbers and cross

Painting the other side!

Adding our touch to the fuselage

Inspection hole cover- the world!

Finished N numbers- ps this goes out to all the Missionary Kids (MK's)- Fly with Christ!

Finished product (Left to right: Me, Sun, Rachel, and Liesl)

Some of the other things I've been working on include troubleshooting the anticollision lights (strobe light) and navigation lights on a Piper 140 (Cherokee). We found out that the strobe light bulb was broken and replaced it and put it all back together and now it works! God definitely teaches us patience in our projects. Sometimes the screws just do not want to come out because they are rusted and stuck. Frustration is definitely bad when you are working on different projects. We finished Airframe Electrical and Painting/Fabric class. The subjects we have now are Landing Gear, Sheet Metal, and I think Hydraulics is next.


God has been teaching me a lot of things lately. Here's an article that my mom passed on to me on  how we should read our Bibles. It taught me a lot of good things: we should read our bibles as it is- a personal address to us and as a conversation with the living Lord our God then we can relaly understand what God is saying to us and we can listen.

Today is the Lord's Day 2 in our trek through the Heidelberg Catechism. Join me in diving into God's word and understanding what sin is and how we are  not perfect...

Part I: MiseryLORD’S DAY 2
3 Q. How do you come to know your misery?
A. The law of God tells me.
1 Rom. 3:20; 7:7-25

4 Q. What does God’s law require of us?
A. Christ teaches us this in summary in Matthew 22:37-40:

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’This is the greatest and first commandment. “And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

1 Deut. 6:5
2 Lev. 19:18

5 Q. Can you live up to all this perfectly?
A. No. I have a natural tendency to hate God and my neighbor.

1 Rom. 3:9-20, 23; 1 John 1:8, 10
2 Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 7:23-24; 8:7; Eph. 2:1-3; Titus 3:3


BUT....... there is one who is perfect and who is sinless! Praise God for OUR Savior Jesus Christ!
If you have questions about any of this, feel free to ask me or someone at your church. Feel free to email me with anything (hagg.helen@gmail.com) even for prayer requests and such.


Fly with Christ,
Helen

Winter is HERE!

Well it's COLD and SNOWY here!
On Friday we reached -15F and for a good part of the day it was below 0F! Tomorrow the high is supposed to be 1F! It's also been snowing a ton here. We had about a foot to start off with and it snowed about 1-2 inches at night and then another 2-3 inches today and it's still going :D I wonder if we'll have school tomorrow?
However, God definitely plans things perfectly! Yesterday the weather was "warm" (20F) and it didn't snow which was perfect for the race I did. The race was the Yankee Springs Winter Challenge 10km, 25km, 50km, or 50 mi)- I did the 25km and it was THE HARDEST RACE/THING I HAVE EVER DONE!!!!

The race was a major test of my endurance- mentally and physically. The course was brutal and traversed over hills and valleys in about a foot of snow. We ran on a single track of packed snow but it was fluffy snow so you slipped every step or you stepped into the big banks on either side. I finished in 2:50:00 and was pretty much dead at the end. But it was an awesome race in terms of seeing what you're made of. It definitely made me a lot tougher! A lot of us from the BPRC (Beautiful People Running Club) said "you suck!" to each other because we all made each other sign up for the race and run it. But without this awesome running club who supports and challenges each other we, especially I would not be running and enjoying God's creation and the talent He as given us and the runners we were made to be!

Snow in Ionia, just outside my window.

Here's a little snapshot of what we've been doing in school. We get to paint our fuselage next so we're masking off the designs/ numbers we want.

Masking off an N Number and designs (ps that's Liesl smiling in the background and Jason walking past).

This year I started something different in an effort to read my Bible more and just dive into the Bible to know God more. I'm going to attempt to share every week on this blog the parts of the Heidelberg Catechism and I encourage you to follow along and join me as we study what God's purpose is for us. You can download the Heidelberg Catechism and follow along as well. The numbers behind the text correspond to verses that are given at the end- definitely look them up as you read.

So here we go!

LORD’S DAY 1:
1 Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own,1
but belong—
body and soul,
in life and in death—2
to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.3

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,4
and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.5
He also watches over me in such a way6
that not a hair can fall from my head
without the will of my Father in heaven;7
in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.8

Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life9
and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.10

1 1 Cor. 6:19-20
2 Rom. 14:7-9
3 1 Cor. 3:23; Titus 2:14
4 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:2
5 John 8:34-36; Heb. 2:14-15; 1 John 3:1-11
6 John 6:39-40; 10:27-30; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:5
7 Matt. 10:29-31; Luke 21:16-18
8 Rom. 8:28
9 Rom. 8:15-16; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13-14
10 Rom. 8:1-17


2 Q. What must you know to live and die in the joy of this comfort?A. Three things:
first, how great my sin and misery are;1
second, how I am set free from all my sins and misery;2
third, how I am to thank God for such deliverance.3

1 Rom. 3:9-10; 1 John 1:10
2 John 17:3; Acts 4:12; 10:43
3 Matt. 5:16; Rom. 6:13; Eph. 5:8-10; 2 Tim. 2:15; 1 Pet. 2:9-10

We belong wholly to Christ through hearing the word and believing we are saved and we become God's children whom He protects fully. And our job is then to live for Him shining our light on the top of the hill and sharing this gospel! Praise God for his blessing to us!

Fly with Christ,
Helen

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 

Prayer is awesome!!

This week God has just been working in me a lot. I was a bit down, frustrated, mad, annoyed, and what not and I just prayed that God would lift my burden and just help me to trust in Him alone. I prayed that I would be able to forgive, forget, and not let this issue consume my thoughts. I was so stressed and could not even focus on studying. I prayed through my whole run in the rain and stopped at the river crossing to just take in God’s beautiful creation and pray some more. I was still a little frustrated later that night, but I could feel my spirit lifting. In the morning I woke up with a smile on my face and said, “today is going to be a good day” (which has been a common theme this week between my roommate and I). I went to school just like normal and continued to pray that God would help me to block any negative thoughts and help me to be happy. God answered my prayers for sure! My spirit was light and I was not frustrated or mad. Often when I am sad or frustrated or down I listen to By Your Side by Tenth Avenue North. The song is as if God is talking to us.. “why are you striving these days… why are you crying let me lift up your face….why are you still searching as if I’m not enough”. I think about these words every time I feel subpar. God reminds me that it is about Him and not about the little things in life! I rejoiced, praised, and thanked God for answering my prayers and through that God showed me Romans 2: 4, “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

I needed to repent of my sins and ask forgiveness and trust in God that he will make straight my path -Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.

God answered my prayers and made my heart cheerful and I thank Him for everything! Proverbs 15: 13 and 30 say just that “ A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. 30 Light in a messenger’s eyes brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.” So whenever you are down and out, pray and God will answer your prayers.

SMAT has been such a blessing to me. My class is full of Christ seeking people all with a gung ho spirit to spread the gospel. It is so refreshing to be in a school where we read the Bible every day, discuss it, and even bring it up in class when talking about simple things. In our Publications and Regulations class we were talking about some of the regulations and one of my classmates brought up Proverbs and how it related to the situation! Wow! That is so cool. We take talking freely about Christ for granted and yet even in schools you can’t do what we do at SMAT. It just energizes me to be more excited and want to share about what God is doing through me and through my fellow classmates. 

Stay tuned for blogs about what my next step will be in flying and after I am done with SMAT and where God is leading me (ps I’m still staying tuned too to hear what God has in plan for me). And stay tuned for more updates on classes and what we are studying next, and an update on our adoption process.

Here's a few of my favorite songs that I haven been listening a lot to lately. Listen and enjoy!

Scandal of Grace 

Tears of the Saints 

Kings and Queens 

 

 

Fly with Christ,

Helen

Finally an update!

Lots of things have been happening in the past few weeks!! 

Maintenance hangar with all the projects/ planes we work on.

Work area

Other half of the lab. The classroom is at the far right corner.

The multimeter that I soldered together from scratch!

 

CLASSES update: 

In Electricity class we learned how solder and made multimeters by attaching all the components to the PC circuit boards and learned how to troubleshoot circuits. Today we had our final for electricity and I think it went well and are moving on to rules and regulations.

Troubleshooting circuits and seeing how they work.

Safety wiring

We finished Math, Safety & Ground Operations, and moved on to complete Physics as well. We are now are into Cleaning and Corrosion class and Tools & Hardware class. In cleaning class we are in groups and working on different cleaning projects. My group is working on a rusted old landing gear from a PT19 military training plane. We spent a day cleaning it with soap and water, another day taking the tire and wheel off, another day for beat blasting and wire brushing off the rust from the nuts, bolts and the strut, cleaning off paint, priming it, and now we are almost done painting it.

Being fancy for the banquet.

Some of the other projects we have been working on include, de-riveting (taking out the rivets) on damaged plane wings and cleaning airplanes to get ready for our banquet. The banquet was for all the sponsors of SMAT and those who are connected and support the school. A few of us students served at the banquet as tour guides, and clean up crew so we go to dress up and be fancy.

In hardware class we’ve been working on have been identifying nuts, bolts, cables, rivets, and much more. Some of the fun things we get to do is safety wiring, crimping cables, and installing helicoils.

 

 

FLYING update:

SMAT planes all lined up

Fying with Caleb

A week or two ago I got checked out with Benz Aviation and now am able to fly in their plane and so I can take it up when I go flying. I also got to fly in one of the SMAT planes. Caleb, one of the other A&P students who is a pilot, wanted to practice some instrument approaches and so I flew as his safety pilot along with 2 other students who just came along for the ride (and to reduce the cost). It was neat to fly in the SMAT plane- it is a regular Cessna 172 but they add a missionary checklist box that helps you to go through the procedures methodically and safely. In the next few weeks/ month I will explore the area more, do a night flight or two, and get up to date on instrument flying. Tomorrow I’m flying to Grand Haven which is right on the lake.

 

FIXING update:

So I noticed my coolant was leaking in my car about a week ago. I checked the fluid level and noticed it was a little low, so I added new fluid. By the next day everything I had poured in was on the ground (at least ½ a bottle). Hmmm. Something is wrong here. I asked around and some of the guys in my class thought it might be the water pump that was bad. Since I’m a mechanic student, I figured it would be a good experience to try and fix it myself. So I called up AAA and got my car towed to school so I could fix it there and use any tools that I might need. I ordered the parts (water pump, gasket, and radiator hose), and with the help of some knowledgeable friends we got it fixed! Now it does not leak anymore! This was the first major project I have ever done and was a neat experience to learn how things work and how to fix them.

School is going great even when it’s long, tiring, and tough. But God provides us strength and energy every day.  

Fly with Christ,

Helen