Preparing for Technical Evaluations

To prepare for our two weeks with MAF, Pete went to Georgia and spent 3 days flying with his favorite flight instructor Gene Gawthrop. The video below shows them going into High Valley, a private airport just north of Dahlonega. Pete's dad also rode along one day on a flight into the mountains.

Pete and Gene on the last day of flying

Pete and Dad after returning to WDR from a trip to North Carolina

A New Adventure

Pete and I have had such an amazing few months. In our last post, I shared with y'all the major milestones that we have undergone over the past several months. As I write this note, Pete is in Georgia preparing with his old flight instructor for our MAF Evaluations next week. Yes, you did read that correctly - NEXT WEEK we will be in Nampa, ID for two weeks of MAF flight and maintenance evaluations! I can barely contain myself and have already begun packing/planning.
But our evaluation at MAF is not my main reason for posting today. As many of you may already know, Pete and I have encountered yet another major milestone in our life together - we are expecting! Little baby Greenbean is due in January of 2011 and we could not be more excited for his/her arrival! I have officially begun my second trimester and am looking forward to the day when I can feel the Greenbean moving around (and start to actually show)! I have added some of our first pictures of the Greenbean so you can all see how adorable he/she is already. We'll keep you posted on Greenbean's growth and progress (as well as ours as we prepare for parenthood).
Thanks for your prayers and support!

A Look Back

Throughout our lives, both Pete and I can see how God has guided our steps and provided in many ways. It is always fun for us to take a look back and see the amazing things the Lord has done! As we sit less than one week away from Pete's graduation, I cannot help but take a look back.

Currently Pete is sitting next to me, studying feverishly for his finals. Within the next week he will take three finals, interview for a job at LETU with the Dean for the School of Aeronautical Science, go on a second interview with the VP of Academic Affairs at LETU, and GRADUATE!!! Looking back, it is only the Lord's doing that Pete was able to complete his education at LeTourneau University. When Pete and I got married (after my graduation from UGA, but only 2 years into Pete's time at LETU) we were advised that I should apply for a job at LETU. Not only did the Admissions Counselor job at LETU fit my passion for youth and higher education, but it also offered us the ability for Pete to attend LETU tuition-free after I had been working for a year. For the past two years, we have only had to pay for Pete's books and course/lab fees - PRAISE GOD! This is one of the hugest ways that God has allowed Pete and I to continue on our path to MAF and mission work!

Along with LETU's tuition break, the Lord is providing financially through your support - to date we have received many contributions for paying off Pete's college debt for his flight training (not paid for by tuition benefits). PRAISE GOD for your prayers, support, and love!

Not only has the Lord provided for Pete's education, but He has also helped us in paying off some of that debt that strangely accumulates upon graduation/getting married. Through word-of-mouth referrals to many of our friends in town, we have saved over $2000 in rent. (3 1/2 free months of rent!) Once again - it is amazing to see how God has provided and clearly continues to show His faithfulness as we pursue His call in our lives.

While His financial provision is certainly one great aspect of this look back, I also can't help but remember (as we come up on our 3rd anniversary) how God has grown us together and in Him throughout the last three years. We have grown from two independent and stubborn singles to a couple who takes time to spend with the Lord and with one another daily. We have learned a lot about communication, sacrifice, and grown in our love for one another. I can't imagine how I ever lived without Pete and his amazing friendship and love.

In these three years our family has also added a member - our wonderful little "Anselbear". This adorable cocker spaniel has added fun and excitement to our lives and given us countless hours of entertainment.

Yet another way that the Lord has provided is through the amazing friends we have made. About two years ago, a mission family from MAF came to work at LETU at the same time Pete began part-time flight instructing. Through our friendship and similar passion for flight and reaching unreached people groups, Pete and I have learned a great deal about life overseas as a mission aviation family and enjoy stories from the Ash's time in Indonesia. Again - PRAISE GOD for this amazing relationship and encouragement!

Lastly, Pete and I were asked to attend the annual EAA Airshow in Oshkosh, WI. The theme of last year was "Fly 4 Life" and hundreds of missionaries and other humanitarian relief organizations came together to show the world of general aviation how flight makes a significant impact in human life overseas! Being representatives for LETU at the show, we had the opportunity to meet, mingle, and do life with some of the organizations that we were interested in joining. This was a time when the Lord gave us confirmation about our desire to work with MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship). We thoroughly enjoyed all of the people we met, including those who had never even thought of flight being used to reach others for Christ! PRAISE GOD for His confirmation and the opportunities to share His love with others!


There are so many amazing ways that God has provided and encouraged us the last several years and we cannot wait to testify to more of the goodness of our Lord in the years to come! Thank you for being a part of how God continues to bless us and share His plan for our lives.

The Beginning of the End

5 years in East Texas. Let's be honest, this isn't a tropical paradise; it's not a paradise in any way unless you're a pine tree. It is, however, a great place to build relationships with some of the people that we cherish the most. Those people, especially in the last two years, have helped us through tough times financially, been excited about steps we've taken towards the mission field, and have spent so much time encouraging us and praying for us.

In less than 2 months I'll graduate and my collegiate saga will come to an end. Finally! Not that it's been that bad, but it has taken a while. You can't learn to fly airplanes overnight I suppose. Not to mention figure out how to fix them after they break.

On April 21'st I will begin 4 days of testing so I can become a certified Airframe & Powerplant mechanic (A&P). If anything has ever stressed me out, this is it. 4 days of bending sheet metal and safety wiring. 4 days of remembering things that I learned 5 years ago. Everyone keeps telling me "it's not as bad as it seems" but as far as I'm concerned right now, it is. Thankfully I have some good friends who will be taking the same tests so we have spent a lot of time studying together, but still, can you ever really be prepared for something like this? Perhaps it's the overachiever in me that wants to do so well, but it seems like I could spend another 5 years preparing for this.

Here's the exciting part though, once I have my A&P we meet every requirement for MAF! All that's left is to get our debt low enough, pass our technical evaluations, and we're off!. The closer we get, the more excited we get.

Now please, hear me out on this. Airplanes are fun. But our desire to go overseas has nothing to do with airplanes or achievements or obligations. All we desire to do is share the love of Christ that has been shared with us through countless people in our lives. Airplanes are a great way to meet people's needs in a practical way. They can go where you can't go in cars or on boat. They can save people months and years of traveling by foot. But here's the most important thing; they can allow relationships to be built, and through those relationships the love and never-ending pursuit of Christ can be shared with people who God is madly in love with.

Thanks for your continued prayer and support. Our prayer for you is that you will see how God is pursuing you in real and tangible ways every single day.

Go meet someone's needs today.

And so it begins...

While Pete's semester is beginning and the first quizzes and assignments are distributed, I find myself in the midst of preview central. The two largest previews of the year have just concluded and our annual scholarship competition weekend is just around the corner.

January 21-22 brought Engineering and Science students to the LETU campus for a great time of team competition and intensive rotation demonstrations of the many concentrations that LETU has to offer in the School of Engineering and Engineering Technology. STEM (Engineering) Preview is always an exciting event and makes for a great event to start out the Spring semester.

Aviation Preview occurred the weekend after STEM Preview. We had a huge number of future pilots, mechanics, air traffic controlers, etc on campus for Aviation Preview. This year was the first year that we have hosted the main preview events at the new Abbott Aviation Center and it was GREAT! While the weather did not cooperate (we were not able to put all of the previewers in a flight due to the low ceilings) we did have simulator times set up and tours of the new aircraft system labs for the prospective students!

Aviation Preview happens during an amazing week on campus - Missions Emphasis Week. During MEW, LETU hosts missionaries of all kinds onto campus for sessions about the mission work each is committed to. While such organizations as AIM Air, MAF, JAARS, NTM, MMS, etc are on campus LETU students have the chance to learn about the groups and the specific mission/passion of each. It is always a time that Pete and I look forward to - especially this year because we had made so many great friends at Fly 4 Life in Oshkosh. Our aviation previewers also had the chance to mingle with representatives of these organizations while they were on campus. Altogether, this was a preview not to miss!

As I write this, the Admissions Office is gearing up for yet another preview event - Heritage Scholarship Competition. This is an invitation only event for our top-level prospective students and provides them the opportunity to earn one of ten amazing scholarships worth the cost of tuition for the first year (and up to 3 years after)! The next two weeks will be full and tiring, but I know it will all be worth it as I meet more prospective students on campus and help them and their families as they make the college decision.

Pete and I covet your prayers as we tackle this final semester of his schooling and another full semester in the Admissions office.