Life in Arizona

We made it to Arizona! But since we still haven't made it out to the official sign at the entrance to take a family picture and show you, we haven't created a blog post to tell you we are here. Logical right?? I know, not really. Since we don't have a picture by the "NTM Aviation" sign, we thought we'd do a post with lots of other pictures showing you what we've been up to since we've been here.

Orientation

Part of orientation was like... or rather was ... drinking out of a fire hose!

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Kids at home

Tarantula in the bug cage!

Our wonderful yard!

A little search and rescue

The kids have been adjusting very well. They seem to really like it here and have tons of fun watching the planes and helicopters fly over the house. They have even had the opportunity to each take a ride in NTMA's new R66 helicopter! When they are not playing in our large grass yard, they are over at the playground which we can see from our kitchen window. While we have greatly missed Spokane's beautiful seasons, we are thankful for the weather here that has allowed us to have so much outside time!

Flight

The boys love daddy's new helmet almost as much as he does!

This was supposed to be a posed picture... too slow! Can't stop to smile too long or we might miss daddy flying by!

Part of our nine month internship is flight training for Frank. There are about 40 flights he will complete in order to get him flying "like a New Tribes pilot". He has only 3 flights remaining! Many of the flights have been pretty intense but it is great preparation for the field - and Frank has enjoyed the challenges. For Jacklyn and the kids, it is only a two minute walk from our house to the airport hangar to watch him practice. Or, on days when they can't go, they often see him fly right over the house! It has been such a joy to watch and be a part of his flight training in that way. The boys have absolutely loved it!

A Day in the Life of a Missionary Pilot -
3 day Long Cross-Country (aka, Flight Trip)

​Last month, Frank went on a three day trip to some mountain airstrips in western New Mexico. The purpose of the trip was to simulate “typical” missionary flying overseas. Frank and his classmate were given many simulations which involved organizing missionaries, supplies and planning fuel as they flew to very remote airstrips. Clearly, it's critical that you have enough fuel. However, the more unnecessary fuel you bring, the less weight you are able to carry as you serve the missionaries. And just as God often steps in and adjusts our plans, their instructor introduced "unexpected" events (such as medical emergencies and poor weather) along the way to keep them quick on their feet. It was a very challenging, instructive and memorable trip - a great investment toward preparing for missionary aviation overseas!

Hover your mouse over the pictures below for captions!

We start flying early before the wind picks up in the mountains!

With all our simulated passengers and cargo on board, we're ready to go!

To get the missionaries to the church plants, we navigate through mountains via aviation charts, mathematical calculations and terrain.

Landing at a simulated tribal church planting location.

Upon learning of a simulated medical emergency, I have to plan a new route. After calculating fuel and finding it insufficient, it will require a stop at a tribe where I have some jerry cans stashed.

This is actually my first time refueling an aircraft with jerry cans but it's very common on mission field.

So many things here have been wonderful and we are thankful to the Lord for where we are at this year. At the same time, we have had some "not so fun" things come our way and we have been fighting discouragement at times. Would you pray with us that we can press on and look to the Lord for the strength that only He can give? Thank you! Your prayers mean so much to us.

Here are a few additional ways you can be praying:

Praise:

• God has helped us through the transitions and the kids have settled wonderfully!
• We have felt very blessed to be only three hours away from Jacklyn's family and we have been able to take advantage of the opportunity to spend great time with them before we leave the country.
• Frank's flight training is going great!

Prayer:

• Pray that Frank finishes strong in his final three flights! (For clarification: We are still expecting to be here through May as originally planned, but Frank will now be shifting his responsibilities to the maintenance shop full time. Here, he will support our missionaries overseas as he gains additional experience in maintenance.)
  
• Pray for wisdom as we discuss with leadership where God would have us serve.
• Pray that we would honor the Lord as we look ahead to finances in the next year and that He would begin preparing the hearts of more teammates to jump on board with us!
  
• Please continue to pray for wisdom as we strive to shepherd our boys well.