A
second year of university is now behind me; it has been a busy year and has
gone by quickly. One thing I have learned about life since coming to university
is that once you think you have figured things out, everything will change.
Only God knows where I am heading and what will happen next. The only thing I
need to do is follow wherever He leads with complete trust in Him. It is all
about letting go and letting God. This year has had its ups and downs, but God
has continually blessed me by all the opportunities and experiences He has
given me.
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I accomplished two milestones in my aviation training this
year, bringing me two steps closer to the mission field. On December 11, 2013 I
flew my first solo flight, one of the most exciting experiences of my career!
And on February 28, 2014 I passed my FAA check-ride and became a certified
Private Pilot.
During
the year I have been able to connect with several mission aviation
organizations and have talked with many different missionaries. Our mission
aviation group, of which I am on the leadership team, went down to visit the
JAARS base in Waxhaw, NC. JAARS is the transportation and technology side of
Wycliffe. It is always great to be able to go down with other students who are
passionate about missions and see what God is doing around the world through
JAARS. During Global Focus Week at Liberty I met with one missionary who has
been serving with JAARS for 40 years, first as a pilot and now at their base in
NC. It was awesome to see his heart for serving God!
As a
part of the mission aviation club, I also had the exciting opportunity of
attending Sun N’ Fun in Lakeland, FL. Sun N’ Fun is the second largest airshow and
aviation expo in the world and people from all over the world come to enjoy the
daily airshow, the aviation displays, and the connection with fellow aviation
enthusiasts. I went down with a professor and two other Liberty students to
represent the mission aviation side of Liberty University as a part of IAMA,
International Association of Mission Aviation. We were hosted by MASA, Mission
Aviation Support Association. It was amazing to see churches from all over
Lakeland coming together for the week to give us a place to sleep for the week,
provide us with everything we needed, and to feed us three meals a day. It was
amazing to see what God could do at the airshow through everyone working
together.
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During the week JAARS was able to perform in the airshow
twice, telling everyone what JAARS does, presenting the gospel, and inviting
them to visit our tent. MAF dedicated a Kodiak airplane for service in
Indonesia. And many of us were able to talk to people passing through of why we
were there representing the mission side of aviation. During our time there I
had the chance to meet Steve Saint, son of Nate Saint a missionary pilot in
Ecuador until he was martyred by the Auca Indians. Nate Saint is one of my
aviation heroes and has an amazing story and being able to meet his son was
incredible! Such a wonderful man and of course his company was there with their
flying car, the Maverick. I had the chance of meeting many missionaries with
amazing stories to share and encouraging words to give. I was truly blessed by
God through the people with whom I was able to spend time.
Through
the advice of many missionary reps I have been able to talk to, I have decided
to start A&P School in August (Aviation Maintenance). The AMTS program will
take a full year to complete and I will have an associate’s degree from Liberty
and an A&P license from the FAA once I am done. After finishing I will go back into working
on my Bachelor’s degree and finish my flight training. I am looking forward to
this new step and am excited about learning aviation maintenance.
Before
starting AMTS I will be spending a busy summer away from home and Lynchburg.
After a brief time at home I will be heading to Ohio to work at Pleasant Hill
Outdoor Camp where I will be on program for one of the camps. I am looking
forward to the opportunities God will give me during my time at camp. I pray
that God will use me and the other staff to reach our campers with the love of
Christ. On July 31 I will be heading back to Lynchburg directly from camp. In
Lynchburg I will be meeting with my global team and we will begin our journey
to Brazil. Although our trip was delayed due to bad weather in Brazil, my team
and I are looking forward to serving God through our time in Brazil and seeing
what He has in store for us. I know that God does everything in His perfect
timing and I see this delay as a sign that God has greater plans for us going
in August. Because we are leaving later, if you would still like to support my
team, let me know and I can give you the information on how you can help.
Thank
you for your continued support, encouragement and prayers,
Tirzah
