July turned out to be a busy month at Harvest Aviation. I had begun giving flight instruction to Matthew, who has the desire to be a missionary pilot. Matt has been in the apprenticeship program since early summer, and volunteering with maintenance. Matt also has a part-time job with the maintenance department of his church, and he and his wife have an infant. Matt recently made the decision to pause flight training and his volunteer time at the hanger so he can focus on building a team of supporters.
At about the same time, I was given the responsibility of helping to edit our flight training and general operations manuals. Not very glamorous work, but we need to have these manuals approved by the FAA in order to operate our flights to Belize. Therefore, I have spent many hours in front of the computer, and less time giving flight instruction in July. Brother Lawrence really understood that what we do is not as important as Who we do it for. My love for God should be my sole motivator, whether I am on the ground or in the air.
In July I did spend time in the air being trained to operate the Piper Chieftain, our twin engine aircraft which will be used for missionary flights and also charter flights.
In additon, I had the great pleasure to give Isaiah, a 16 year old MK, his first flight lesson. Isaiah lives in Kenya with his missionary family but has been visiting his grandparents locally this summer.
In conclusion, with a praise, this past week we received notice from the FAA that the edits to our flight training manual have been approved!
