Both Jenny and I have felt Gods leading in our lives, specifically to the mission field of Venezuela, South America, for quite some time now. It is both our passion and desire to be a part of bringing God’s Word to the remote areas and to see people understand who God is. (Romans 10:14-15) With this call in mind, we have set out to prepare ourselves for service.
I have always loved aviation and felt God’s call to prepare myself for service in aviation. I attended Western Nebraska Community College and graduated with a certificate of completion in Airframe and PowerPlant mechanics and an Associate of Occupational Studies in Aviation Maintenance. I am eager to see how God is going to use me to develop an aviation program in Venezuela. Politically, Venezuela continues to be unstable and hostile towards American missionaries. In 2005, President Chavez ordered New Tribes Mission to leave all tribal areas and they complied with this order in February of 2006. MAF, the mission organization that was our primary aviation support system, left as well. So, for the last 5 years, the work in Venezuela has been left with no air support. Due to the fact that I have both American and Venezuela citizenship, I am among a very few people who are still able to fly in Venezuela as a missionary pilot.
My grandparents have been missionaries in Venezuela since 1953, and like my father before me, I was born and raised among the Yanomamö. Because of this, I already know the language and culture very well. This will be a big advantage in that it will eliminate the time usually needed to learn these things. To be safe and effective in aviation, it takes more than a proficiency in language and culture to tackle this job. I feel that Moody has one of the best aviation bush piloting programs in the world and is going to be key in getting the necessary training I need in order to serve God to the best of my ability. I am not going to have the benefit of fitting into an existing program; rather I will have to develop the program as I go along. Getting the best training available is of vital importance for the efficiency and safety of the program. Developing an aviation program in Venezuela is vital if the work of translation and church planting is going to continue to be successful.
Jenny’s parents were also missionaries in Venezuela for over 15 years. Although she cannot speak Yanomamö she does know Spanish and the Venezuelan culture. She too feels that God is going to use her in Venezuela and is eager to start our last couple years of preparation to move overseas. Jenny and I were married in May of 2009. Jenny has her nursing degree and works as a registered nurse at the local hospital. This May, she completed her bachelor’s degree in nursing. While Jenny was finishing up her schooling, I was taking online Bible classes with Moody and now will jump into the last two years of their aviation program, which begins July 2011, out in Spokane, WA. We are both excited to see what God has in store for us in Spokane. To see how God is already preparing the way for us as we go forward has been so amazing. We serve a mighty God who continues to lead us as we continue our journey in becoming missionaries.
