Good News!

The TE is officially over and I passed!  The next step for us to serve with AIM-Air will be for me to complete a mentoring program here at JAARS sometime in the near future before I can go on to the Technical Orientation.  We will know more about that in the coming weeks.  For now we are resting and preparing to drive back to MN once the roads become passable.  Currently there is a winter storm dumping snow, sleet, ice and rain on this whole region so we are staying put in Waxhaw for another day.

Thank you so much for praying for us these past few weeks and especially this last week.  It was a stressful time for all of us.  God is good and has seen us through this phase of the process and we thank Him for the clear direction He has given us regarding the next phase.

Intro to the Helio Courier

Over the past few days I have been studying the Pilot's Operating Handbook and was hoping to take my first flight in it this morning.  Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate and I have another day to keep on studying!  Here are some pictures of N61JA, the Helio I will be flying over the next few days.

Slats are one of the many features of the Helio that set it apart from other aircraft in STOL (Short TakeOff and Landing) performance.  They automatically deploy once a certain angle of attack is attained and help sustain lift to much slower speeds than a conventional wing.

From Ironton to Waxhaw

We left Ironton early Monday morning and made our way to Manchester, TN, where we met up with Nathan and Ruth who happened to be there for a missions conference at their home church.  They let their church know we were coming through who then put us up in a very nice hotel for the night.  Thank you Temple Baptist Church!

One amazing thing about this journey we are on - people have been incredibly kind and generous.  I cannot put into words how humbling this is and how this affirms God is watching over us and is taking care of us.

This morning we left Manchester and made our way to Waxhaw, NC.  The following picture does not do the scene justice.  We drove through the morning fog in the TN mountains along some very still lakes.

Sunset from our front door at the apartment where we are staying at JAARS in Waxhaw, NC.

More on our time in Ironton

Here are a few more pictures from our time in Ironton.

Can you find the airplane?  This departure required a turn to the right through an "escape" route to clear terrain and trees.

Hard at work...

At Elephant Rocks State Park

We met Nathan and Ruth Cain and their son Jeriah.  Nathan has been doing his flight training with Lionel at CWW in preparation for mission aviation.

Miriam and Jeriah

Ms Sara cooked up a breakfast for us at 6:30am before we departed Ironton on Monday.

Profound

I saw this quote today on IAMA's website and have been pondering it's profundity (is that a word?)...

"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light."     -John Keith Falconer