Discovering the path - part 2

It's hard to believe that 2013 is over.  At the same time, a lot has happened since this time last year.  I remember then, feeling very strongly called into missionary aviation, but still unsure what path to take get there. 

Let me continue the story... At the same MATA event that we mentioned in our last post, we also met with Doug Deming - a missionary pilot who served with JAARS in Peru for many years.  I explained to him about my interest in missionary aviation, and also about my 10 years of French study in school.  He was particularly excited about the language experience, and mentioned about how JAARS has a base in Cameroon, Africa (where French is the national language).  That conversation planted a seed in my heart that has since grown into a strong desire to serve in Cameroon. 

Doug asked about my experience as a mechanic or pilot, and when I explained that I had none, he took me over to another display - for MMS Aviation (Missionary Maintenance Service).  Check out this website to see what MMS is all about: http://www.mmsaviation.org/.  We had the opportunity to speak with Dwight Jarboe about their ministry.  The one thing that really caught our interest with this organization is their apprenticeship opportunity.  The fact that I could learn how to be a missionary airplane mechanic while at the same time making a difference in the global mission effort really appealed to us.  I wouldn't have to go back to college for another 4 years just to learn how to be a missionary pilot / mechanic.  At MMS, I could start out Day 1 working on missionary airplanes and learning everything I need to know "on the job."

After looking into several other options for how to get the training, we kept coming back to MMS.  After spending a lot of time praying about this, and seeking counsel from friends & family, we finally felt at peace that this was the path that God was directing us to take.  So in February 2013, we filled out the application to their program, and in May our application was approved and a week of evaluation was scheduled for June.  This week was an opportunity for MMS to evaluate whether I was a good fit for their program, and for me to evaluate whether we felt that MMS was indeed the place for us to serve.

In our next post, we'll share about that evaluation week (hint, it was successful).