Lots of changes!

I have been very lazy about posting updates here. Since joining Facebook, I have mostly just updated that site, neglecting this one. So for those who haven't caved in to join Facebook, here is our latest news!

We have been praying and waiting for God's leading on our next step once I finish maintenance school. We have had several opportunities, but we wanted to be sure that we were following God in our path.

We have accepted an invitation from JAARS to serve a 6 month maintenance internship in Waxhaw, NC. I have felt very strongly that I need to have more hands on training after finishing school before going overseas as Pilot/Mechanic and this is the perfect opportunity to be trained by very experienced people on the airplanes I will most likely by flying/maintaining once reaching a field assignment.

Although we have very strong ties with some MAF staff and originally had set out to join with them, both Maggy and I feel God's leading to join JAARS. We are both passionate about Bible translation work and serving with JAARS puts us in direct support of those who are doing that work.

We plan on leaving Tampa the last week in March to start work in NC the first of April. There is still so much to be done and many details to work out, but God is in control of it all.

Additionally, I passed my checkride for Multi-Engine Instructor today! Not one of the more difficult ratings, but a milestone never the less.

Class ends Feb 19th and that can't come soon enough! I will be busy the next few weeks trying to wrap up all the loose ends in school to have the mechanics certificates soon after graduating. God has provided tremendously emotionally and financially for us through this time. Words cannot express all that has happened since starting down this path.

We are doing very well as a family. Josh and Karina are doing very well in school and both are supportive of our move. Josh more so than Karina right now. Little Jonathan is growing too fast! He never is still and is a delight to have around.

Maggy is getting the typical morning sickness with the new one. She will most likely be delivering in NC.

More news as it happens! Lots will be changing soon so we will post more often.

6th and Final Term!

I have reached 6th term at my school for my mechanic's certificate. Graduation date is just around the corner! (Feb 19th). I will be off of school for 2 weeks from the 24th to the 5th of January, then it will only be another month and a half!

We are very excited to have a reasonable schedule again. God has been faithful to bring us through this time together and it will be very rewarding to be finished with this chapter.

My plans for the time being will be to stay at CAMS flight as a flight instructor part time and also to work in the maintenance shop part time to get some valuable hands on experience.

We are still waiting to see which direction God will be leading us in regard to who we will be serving with. Our applications are in process with both MAF and JAARS/Wycliffe.

The family is doing fine and all the kids are healthy and happy. We are enjoying immensely having the baby around!

Check Maggy's blog for more pictures.

Been Busy!

I have been extremely busy the last several weeks. I was afraid that when the time changed, I would see a decrease in my workload since we have less daylight and I am only able to work after 3:00pm. Turns out, the same God who put us on this path is also in charge of my workload as well. I have almost doubled my workload after the time change! Praise his NAME!

The holidays are coming up and I am looking forward to some much needed time off to spend with the family.

All is well, thanks to God.

More Ratings

I passed my multi-engine rating on Friday of last week. Now I am certified to fly airplanes with two fans!

Our flight school purchased a twin engine airplane like the one pictured above and gave us instructors a great deal on getting our ratings so we could teach in it.

I still have to get my instructor's rating in it. That shouldn't take long, though. I will be able to increase my student base with being able to instruct in this airplane.

I also went over 200 hours of instruction given last week. That is a decent milestone.

All is well here. Kids are great and life is grand!

JAARS Day!

October 4 was JAARS day at the JAARS center in Waxhaw, NC. Maggy and I really wanted to go to visit, but we weren't sure if we would be able to make it. Flying was out of the question and driving was not attractive as an option because it was about a 10 hour drive.

We decided that we would try to make it and it worked out great. We drove up Friday night and arrived Sat morning in time to look around a little and have breakfast in the neatest restaraunt.

The tour started at 10:00 and we spent a lot of time visiting the places and talking with the staff. One of the highlights of the trip was the Alphabet museum. We could have spent hours there! It was fascinating to see the origins of the alphabets throughout the world.

We got a lot of our questions answered about how JAARS operates and the application process. Overall it was a very nice trip. I will try to post photos later on today.

We still have not made a firm decision on which way we will be going. For now, we are applying to both MAF and JAARS to see if either of them will have us. We still have some time. We are depending on God's guidance in the matter.

Mead News

Sorry, no picture this time.

It looks like the MAF maintenance internship in Idaho is not going to happen. Due to budget cuts, that program has been shelved for the time being. So we have something new to pray about! We will see what God's leading is for our future after my school ends in February. For the time being, I have a fairly secure job as flight instructor where I am working now part time.

We will probably go ahead and apply directly to the mission to see if we will be accepted to the summer candidacy program in 2009. I still would like to get some work in between in maintenace to sharpen my skills, but we will see.

School is 2/3 over for me. I started fifth term of six today. It looks like we will be kept busy with projects, so that is very good news.

Family is well and the kids are doing well in school. The baby is growing and his disposition has changed much. He smiles and laughs almost all day now and only gets a little fussy at meal time and when his diaper needs to be changed.

Cessna 400

Today I had a unique privelege of flying a Cessna 400. This airplane is the fastest production fixed gear airplane in the world. Cessna claims it will cruise at 235 knots at altitude. Although we never made it higher than 3500 ft today, it is by far the fastest airplane I have had the pleasure of controlling!

All else is going well. The kids are great and growing. The clock is ticking for A&P school to be finished in February.

More news as it happens.