1314 Maurice Sonny Clavel Rd
Wauchula, FL 33873

Photo taken at the Bok Tower Gardens, Lake Wales Florida

The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the Word of our God stands forever.  Isaiah 40:8 NKJV

One of my responsibilities is to make contact with individuals who are interested in joining Harvest. Mike Burch, one of our board members, let me know of a young man and his fiancé who had inquired about our mission and are currently living in Louisville Kentucky. Darla and I were going to Louisville at the end of July  to see our youngest son and family (read grandaughter),  so we made arrangements to meet with Austin and Destiny over coffee in Louisville Kentucky. The timing was perfect to meet in person within days of their inquiry. During our visit, Destiny shared about one of the missions of their church was rescuing and supporting sex traffic victims in Belize. What a coincidence! Is God up to something here?  I asked for the contact information of the person in charge so that Harvest Aviation could offer future assistance with this mission. As a result of our meeting, Austin and Destiny are praying about their next steps after their wedding in October, and Harvest may have be able to serve a need for this mission.

Another young man interested in the mission of Harvest, Yadiel Rios has been visiting and volunteering with Harvest since early March. Yadiel had served with the United States military, but now lives locally, is married and has three young children. He has all his pilot ratings, including certified flight instructor in both single engine and multi engine land and sea airplanes. He is eager to help out at Harvest in any way, whether in the shop or in the air. Yadiel has been joining us for Friday prayer and he is seeking God  about his future plans in mission aviation. We are excited to see where God leads him!  I look forward to working beside Yadiel in the coming days, no matter how long he is led to be with us.

Yadiel Rios is seeking God about his future plans in mission aviation.

Matt and JoLynn Brimson along with their toddler Maya are now living in their camper Mondays through Wednesdays in the Wauchula area.  Matt is excited for the Archer to soon be in the air so he can continue his training.  He has been a great help in the shop as we complete the Archer inspection and repairs. JoLynn is working on creating curriculum for youth programs at Harvest.  We welcomed Matt and JoLynn with a visit and to see all the renovations Matt did to make the camper home.  We brought ice cream to celebrate!

The Harvest Board of Directors met in July. We are required to be Part 135 in order to make our mission flights. In addition, we will have the ability to fly for profit with our public charter entity, Peace River Aviation, donating the profits back to Harvest. Because we are so close to earning our part 135 Certificate, we have had other organizations request to buy shares. There was a long discussion about this at the July board meeting. One really exciting possibility is having one of these companies manage the charter business while we concentrate on the mission’s wing. Also, another Christian organization is interested in buying in, as they received the same mandate from the FAA as Harvest. We are really praying for opportunities to be a blessing to other like-minded mission aviation groups. The Harvest board and staff have perservered several years to reach conformity with the FAA, and if can we help other aviation missions then they can start serving too.

 Please continue to pray for the sale of the "gifted plane", the Cessna 401

Also in July, one more piece of the puzzle fell into place for Harvest to return to flights. Rick Harsche, a fellow pilot and friend of Harvest Aviation, was approved by the FAA to be the check airman for our organization. A check airman is a pilot employed by the company and specifically authorized by the FAA to conduct initial and recurrent Part 135 checkrides. What this means in practice is that we will no longer have to wait for the FAA to schedule flight checks for our pilots. The check ride for Brian Smith and future pilots will be a much simpler and timely process. Brian Smith will be taking the flight portion of his check ride on August 16th. The ability to schedule or reschedule a check ride in a matter of days instead of weeks or months is golden. I will also have to add that it is slightly less intimidating to fly with a designated airman, as they have the privilege to stop the assessment, give any needed corrective instruction, then resume the check ride. I have experienced this before, and the check ride is definitely less stressful. The standards are completely the same, but without the “one strike and you’re out” process.  Rick's approval as a check airman is a real gift from God. Future Harvest pilots will benefit from Rick’s achievement.

• Praise God for our week in Kentucky and the quality time we had with our youngest granddaughter
• Praise God for the young men expressing interest in working with or training at Harvest.  Pray for these young men to  get clear guidance from our Heavenly Father
• Praise God for the new Harvest check airman, Rick Hersche, and for Harvest Chief Pilot, Brian Smith's check ride appointment.  Pray Brian will fly confidently on August 16th, and pass the check ride
• Praise God I passed my bienniel flight physical, making me qualified  to fly as an instructor/pilot for another two years

Please Pray for:

• A permanent camping spot near the airport for Matt and JoLynn
• The maintenance papers recently submitted to the FAA to be reviewed by the FAA very soon, and  deemed satisfactory
• Harvest staff meeting on August 24th
• Comfort for our chief mechanic, Andres. His mother passed away in Columbia in July
• Harvest leadership to grab hold of where God is leading and which  missions organizations He wants us to support
• The sale of the Cessna 401 and the Seneca
• Completion of the paperwork for the repairs and inspection of the Archer Trainer, Lord willing I will be flying with students again before our next newsletter!
   

If you would like to join our monthly  team of financial supporters, or give a one-time gift, you can click here, use the QR code at the right, or you can send a check to:

Harvest Aviation

1314 Maurice Sonny Clavel Rd
Wauchula, FL 33873

We are thankful for your friendship, and we are humbled by your financial gifts and prayer support.

Our mailing address:

1123 Bamboo Lane

Bowling Green, FL 33834