Oshkosh Airshow Adventure…

One of the best things about being a missionary is all the seriously cool people you get to meet.  This week we attended one of the world’s largest air-shows hosted in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  Every organization who aims to spread the gospel via airplane was there including the organization we hope to serve with, JAARS.  It turns out there is a group of wonderful, amazing, fantastic people who love to serve missionary aviators.  This group of people, better known as MASA (Missionary Aviation Service Association), have made it their goal to provide care, support, blessing, and refreshment to missionary aviators and their families.  So, this weekend our family got to enjoy home cooked meals, cold drinks, and precious fellowship under a nice, big, shaded tent while attending the air-show.  At every meal someone or another of the MASA volunteers (especially Amanda) would come along and offer to hold Jeremiah so I (Jess) could eat.  A teenage girl volunteer (Keira) even indulged Adelina while Phil and I caught up with some friends from our old campus ministry in Arizona. (The aviation field is small, the missionary aviation field is even smaller.)

The best part of being served by MASA was the fact that we were able to spend the weekend in the home of the Seibel family.  Tom and Amy Seibel are the joyful parents of twelve children.  Watching this remarkable family in action blessed our family in profound ways. Theirs is a home full of books, music, laughter, and fun. The Seibel’s love the Lord and love to serve others.  And, if that’s not enough, THEY SING! Eleven or so years ago they began putting on little Christmas concerts for their neighbors and grandparents.  Within a few short years the number of attendees doubled, doubled, and doubled again.  They moved from their basement to a town-hall to a high school and finally to a large church auditorium where they now give a family Christmas concert to over three thousand people. At the close of every concert Tom Seibel (also a pastor and business owner) gives a clear and powerful presentation of the gospel.  All the proceeds raised at the concerts are donated and the Lord continues to expand their territory.   The best way to describe the Seibels is found in Philippians 4:8.  This is a family living a story of pure, right, true, noble, excellent, and praiseworthy worship unto our God. They are the first to admit that they are not special. They are simply thankful to a God who heals, restores, and forgives.  Just for fun, here is a link to their webpage.

http://www.seibelfamilysingers.com/index.html

As you think of us, please hold us up in prayer.  We are packing boxes now to begin a long road trip across the country with two babies.  We hope to make meaningful connections in our stops along the way.  As soon as we land in Reno all of our attention will be focused on getting Phil ready for the longest, and most involved job interview of his life so far.  Wherever we are and what ever we’re doing, we hope to be a refreshing encouragement to all.  May you be encouraged this week to love and serve by the power of God’s gracious Spirit.

ROAD TRIP!

Air show time!

She can’t help it. It’s in her DNA

Jeremiah slept through most of the air show

FIrst time in a fighter. Goose, this is Mav!

Rock climber girl!

Dinner at the Seibel home, followed by a fire-pit and acoustic worship songs. THE BEST!!

It’s Alive…

Here’s Goes Nothing!!! Yes, we have two fire extinguishes because who knows what could happen!!!

Wow, our engine actually runs!!! Amazing! We started with a hunk of an engine and now we have a 6 cylinder, 260 horsepower beast that still leaks a little bit of oil and is learning how to idle! We were able to run our engine for the first time last Thursday. It started up on the first try but it wouldn’t idle because it was getting too much fuel and the oil pressure was extremely high. We soon found out that the oil pressure relief valve had been set too high and the excess pressure was too much for the oil cooler! Whoops! We ruined the oil cooler and had to mount a new one after making sure that it was the oil pressure relief valve that had made the pressure so high.

Wait, you mean the oil cooler is not supposed to bulge out like that?!?!

Our current task is to tinker and adjust the idle mixture setting as well as the fuel pump pressure so that our engine will develop its maximum rated power! While there is a part of me that wishes our engine would have already been set perfectly and that no more adjustments need to be made, the rest of me knows that I am at school to learn how to do things well and right. And let’s be honest, how many times in “real” life does everything go as planned and without a hitch? Isn’t this similar to how God works in our lives? We learn to have faith and God shapes us when things are tough, not when everything is easy and life is grand! Thank you, Father, for the storms.

Hangin’ out with Grandma & Grandpa Dirk

Love you, Grandpa Dirk!

Powerplant Test…

I PASSED!!!

I took my Powerplant Oral and Practical Test today and I PASSED! Now, all I have to do is complete the rest of my time at SMAT and take the written test and I will be an FAA-certified Airframe & Powerplant Mechanic! Wahoo!

It was a good day and a straightforward test. The oral questions were the same ones that I have been studying in a test guide. The practical test included various inspections and using manuals to locate parts and perform basic tasks. One of the most important things to remember as a mechanic is to use the manual provided by the manufacturer. Even if I come to a place where I have done a task hundreds of times, it is still important to use the manual.

Most of the projects went very well and I was able to complete the test in 7 and 1/2 hours. I filed out a nick on a propeller, timed a magneto to an engine, performed a compression check on a cylinder, explained the operation of a turbine engine, located and explained how to set the pressure on an engine oil system, checked a fuel screen for contamination, and inspected an engine and all of its parts to see if it was airworthy. I can’t explain much more because the rest of my class will be taking the same test. They will probably be given different projects but I shouldn’t go into too much detail.

The River Trail

We have less than 4 weeks left in Ionia! My, how the time flies. We look forward to the future but we are really going to miss this place. We have started a new Sunday morning tradition. We usually bake some muffins or a sweet loaf of bread on Saturday night. After the kids wake up, we get them dressed and then go for a walk on a trail along the Grand River. Adelina munches on snacks and we enjoy the beauty and peace of God’s creation. The first time we walked was on Father’s Day and we saw two deer on the trail. There are always rabbits, birds, butterflies, and even a few black squirrels. It is a wonderful time for us to spend as a family.

As we wrap up our time here in Ionia, please pray that…

1. We finish well at school
2. Make the most of the relationships that we have built with our neighbors
3. Have fun packing and getting ready to move
4. Have safe travels as we visit friends, family, and churches on our way back to Reno

Daddy’s loves this dress!

Adelina is teaching Jeremiah how to hear his own heartbeat!

Yeah, I’m cute!

Everything In Its Place…

Now it REALLY looks like an engine!

Every piece, every part of an engine has a specific part to play, a role to fulfill. The cylinders contain combustion, fins allow for cooling, oil passageways allow for lubrication, pistons and connecting rods transfer power to rotate the crankshaft, the camshaft raises the lifters which open the valves to allow for air to come in and exhaust to go out, etc… We are almost done assembling the engine and it is getting more and more exciting. We should have it running this week!!! It is amazing how many different parts there are and how vital each part is to another. If one part fails to do its job, it can cause a cylinder to stop working or the engine to fail altogether.

The time spent assembling the engine has allowed me to reflect on this dynamic in the body of Christ. Every disciple must play their part and get involved or else the body will not work as it should. It is basic math. A 6-cylinder engine running on only 2 cylinders will not be as efficient as one running on all 6 cylinders. The body of Christ won’t be effective until every person is doing their part!

As I thought about this issue that is as old as the first church in Corinth (and it is even older I’m sure), I came to the realization that it is not my job to make others do their job! And I found such freedom in this fact! I am not their master. God is! I am to fulfill MY job. And, along the way, I should encourage others, set a good example, and possibly provide some correction but I am not responsible for what they choose to do and how they choose to live.

The beautiful thing is that God is working and perfecting His bride. He is doing it in His timing and by His process. I can see this in my own life. There have been things that people have tried to teach me or change in me, but it wasn’t until God worked in me, softened my heart, and revealed my sin/error that I desired to change. Amazing! God will work, God will act, God will perfect because He is Lord and He is good.

I await with joyous excitement to see the day when the Lord will return and perfect His bride completely, once and for all. For now, I will be responsible for myself and simply rejoice when I see myself, my family, and other people in the body of Christ fulfill their calling from God. Amen!

Super Decathlon

I had the wonderful privilege of doing my first Aerobatic flight. I wanted to do this to gain some more tailwheel experience in a different type of aircraft as well as learn what it is like to fly upside down. I believe that I will be a better pilot if I know how my aircraft will maneuver in all sorts of conditions (whether meterorological or self-imposed). I had a great time and you can see a video of this by clicking HERE!

Beat the heat with a Slip N Slide

The SUPER Swing

Dragonfly!!!

Preparation…

The Engine is coming together!!!

Preparation is the key to success! We have almost finished assembling our engine and it has been incredibly rewarding to see it come back together. There have been a few things that we have had to do more than once (i.e. we assembled the connecting rods three times when we learned about a service bulletin that required us to lubricate the threads and then learned that our particular connecting rods were exempt from the service bulletin) As I griped about having to “do it all over again”, I had the realization, “I would rather make sure that I do everything in my power to do it right the first time, because it would be even worse to assemble everything, have the engine not work, and then have to take it apart all over again!!!”

As I had this thought, it reminded me of the time that we have spent here in Ionia in preparation to serve as missionaries. I used to think, “Why do I need to get my A & P? That is just wasted time when I could be on the mission field!!!” But, I know that it was better for me to have worked at Summit, it was better that I was able to attend Seminary, and it was better that I spent a year in Ionia acquiring my A & P license and having God teach/discipline/grow my family and I. His ways truly are perfect! I can see how god has and is preparing us to be successful as missionaries. What good would it be if we had rushed to get on the mission field only to be sent back early because we weren’t ready or prepared.

Yeah for Daddy!!!

My friend quoted a famous scholar who’s name escapes me, but here is what I remember. “Jesus spent 30 years preparing for his ministry and then spent approximately 3 years ministering. I spent 4 years at Seminary and have been in ministry for over 30 years. When I look at Christ’s effectiveness as compared with my own, it is clear that there is no comparison.”

I do not know how long our preparation will last, but I am content to submit to His will and wait until He says that we are ready! To God be the glory!

Fun hike on the river before church!