After 3 weeks in Kenya, my view of life was definitely different. We had been driven up to Nakuru for Africa Based Orientation with AIM. They rented 4 matatus (van-sized taxis) to bring our group up to the lodge we were to be at for 3 weeks. It was a 3 hour drive and was our family's first exposure to Africa outside of the guest house. The words that come to mind are dirty, chaos, foreign, confusing, beautiful, kind, gentle and different. Once I let go of my fear of germs, the public transportation was much more pleasant. The thought of me actually driving in this chaos is laughable. I cannot imagine myself driving here without heavily damaging vehicles. The most exciting ride I've been on was with the one of the director of ABO. Loren Fast (aptly named) drove us to church and our second Sunday we were late. Normally, it would take about 25 minutes but we made it in 13. Now, Loren grew up in Africa and drives like Mario Andretti. The kids and I loved it; Tija, not so much... I have come to love the people here. They are so kind and patient with our bumbling and fumbling of the language. If you are able to laugh at yourself, it is much more enjoyable. I find myself with a deep desire to learn the local language to be able to understand and communicate with those around me on a daily basis. Although being cautious when we were out on the town of Nakuru, I have not felt in danger. We are being trained to keep a watchful eye on our surroundings while enjoying our time out. We can hear the Muslim call to prayer several times a day here. This is new to me and a stark reminder of what we, as followers of Christ, are here to do. Although not limited to Africa, that is where we are now. We have been going to church in the slum of Nakuru at the Kaptembwa AIC. The services are in Swahili but after 3 weeks, I have an understanding of what is happening and what is coming next. The service is 2.5 hours long but the more we know about it, the shorter it seems. I am looking forward to making this home and learning from those around me when we arrive in Nairobi. | |
My friend, Scott Zibell challenged me to take note of my surroundings and write them down at 3 pivotal points; 3 days, 3 weeks and 3 months in Africa. I have been little busy but I did make some mental notes along the way; my memory is not TOTALLY shot yet. :-) The first three days in Kenya, were kind of a blur. We arrived on a Friday night and went to the Mayfield Guesthouse. Our next three days were spent eating in the dining room, randomly falling asleep during the day and letting our friends and relatives know that we were alive and well on the continent of Africa. At times, I felt like it was a dream. We had finally made it. I was able to go to the mall on Saturday to get a cell phone SIM card so I could communicate. It was definitely different driving on the left side of the road. But the reality of me actually driving on that side was lost in the moment. I was just along for the ride.
I was very thankful that all of our family was healthy and adjusting well to the time change. Thankful that the travel was relatively uneventful and that we were making friends with the fellow guests at the house. I was thankful that we didn't have to cook, clean, or do laundry during this time; blessings come in the strangest places! I had been in Zimbabwe in 1992 so it did not surprise me to see piles of garbage on the side of the road or buildings that looked half-finished and some on the verge of falling down. Or people sleeping in highway median. Although my family hadn't been exposed to this yet but it was to happen soon enough... Soooo, yeah, that was 13 months ago. I have no real excuses. Except that since then, we've finished work, packed, sold our house, watched God build our support team, been accepted by AIM, been trained to teach our kids, said good bye, been oriented, packed, said goodbye, had Christmas with family, said goodbye and moved to Africa.
OK, OK. I apologize. This would have been a fantastic format to record all of the really really cool things that God did over the past year but I just didn't. So I'm going to spend the next few paragraphs recalling just some of the highlights that happened to us. So buckle up; here we go. One verse keeps running through my head. Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Throughout the last 2+ years, my (and our) goal has been to become equipped to serve God however He saw fit...but if you were to ask for my preference, it would definitely be serving Him through aviation. I have had to check my motives often to make sure I wasn't holding on too tight and if God chose to move in another direction, I needed to be on board or be left in the dust. And just like that, God gave direction for the foreseeable future. Today we found out that I passed my Technical Evaluation and will be moving forward as an AIMAIR pilot/mechanic. I really felt the process was true. I know that my good and bad qualities were exposed correctly. The truth is, this evaluation is what they use to see if I am trainable.... Limits, they're a good thing to have. Monday, I was scheduled to have 2 flights but only got one in because of cloud ceiling limits for the airwork we were doing. Tuesday I got both flights in but started late because of cloud ceilings. Today, I only got one flight in because of wind limits of the Helio. Today was a pattern period which means you just keep doing take offs and landings with different speeds, flap settings and proximity to the runway. The maximum crosswind that the Helio can handle is 10 Knots and we were right there all morning. I'm still a little stressed at the moment; trying to settle down after the flight. When the examiner pilot says something like "wow, I don't want to fly in this wind anymore." I think I have reason to be a little amped up. Good thing is that Tija made it here safely last night and we can maybe go enjoy the day outside. After all, it is 50 and sunny. Practically balmy. And hiking usually gets out all the nervous energy. So 4 flights in the books, 2 more to go. It looks like I will have one tomorrow and one Friday morning. Then the deliberation will commence. Friday morning, I had a flight briefing about how things are to go in the coming week. Procedures to follow and a few tips on flying the Helio Courier were given. I feverishly wrote them down on my little yellow notepad and then went back to finish my last maintenance project. On Friday afternoon, I finished my last project for the maintenance portion of my T.E. I was a little sad to see it end since I was having a good time. I learned at least one thing each day. My areas of strength were shown as well as my lack of experience in others. When Dennis asked if I wanted to do some more, I said yes quickly followed by "but I'd better get to studying my procedures." I have had my nose in the Helio manual, all 247 pages of it. If you know me, you know that I'm not the fastest reader (I can hear my wife laughing at that from here). It has been quite a task to get this information stuck in my head. I was able to sit in the airplane this weekend and go through the procedures and it has help a lot. I've spent about 5 hours sitting in it and by Sunday night, I feel ready to actually fire it up and get it in the air. Here's a picture of N62JA which I'll be flying next week. I am finally excited to fly it! On Saturday evening, I though I would take a break from studying and head to church... At this point in the process, I'm a little over half way through the maintenance process. I am feeling the groove of the process and the day to day activities. Today I had one of those Tower-of-Terror episodes when they strap a willing participant into a seat, lower a safety bar, bring them up to the top of a giant tower and drop them without warning. OK, that's a little, or a lot, over dramatic. I did three projects today. The first went OK, the second was in my strongest area and I was feeling great about life in general. Then I had to do a project in my weakest area and felt the bottom drop out. Actually, it's just something that I don't have any experience in but I know I can learn it...and I believe that's the point. I've heard many times, from many sources over the past 3 years that God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called. I look forward to more equipping in the future. As a child of God, we are never really finished being sanctified and pruned to the image of Christ as we allow. I choose to see this process in the same way. The more I am pruned and equipped the more I can be used as the hands and feet of Christ to the world in need. On a separate note, I went to Walmart and got a new mattress topper in hopes of securing my first good night of rest here in the south. Here's hoping the tossing and turning is over! :-) I think they still say that at the beginning of a 5k run, right? It doesn't feel like a marathon but certainly not a sprint. The day was good; a little orientation and then some engine work. I like that I got a whole schedule for the next two weeks. I also got the Helio Courier Pilot Operating Handbook to study for the rest of my time here. That's the airplane that I will be flying next week. Lots of reading. Normal POHs are small booklets; this is a fairly large 3 ring binder. I may sleep with it under my pillow; osmosis is my friend! :-)
Well I made it to the JAARS Center in Waxhaw, NC. My friend, Scott Zibell invited me to have dinner with his friends Ted and Marieanne Crossman. They are retired AIM missionaries who were in the Congo from 1954 to 1979. Pretty amazing people with great stories of God's faithfulness. Time to get some rest. I've got a big two weeks ahead of me! Identity, it’s a hard thing to pin down in this society. Most men find it in their job while most women find it in relationships; marriage, kids, friends etc. As I prepare for my Technical Evaluation, I find myself being reminded of something I had spent a lot of time pondering and studying several years ago.
I must admit, before we chose to travel the path of missionary aviation, I found my identity in many things that I shouldn’t. I was an electrical engineer, a worship leader, an elder in our church, a small group leader, a dad, a husband, a friend. These things aren’t bad, but they aren’t where I should have found my self-worth. The fact of the matter is that because of the sacrifice of Christ, I am a child of God. In this, there is no change, no variance, only steadfast love and grace…and identity. John 1:12-13 says “ 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” And Romans 8: 14-17 says... |
Author"My goal is to give God glory in all that I do and further His Kingdom with my life." - Pete Young Archives
February 2016
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