A View from a Pilot’s
Wife
Last week I joined my husband on my first
outreach flight with Mercy Air. Watching him wear the many 'hats' of a
missionary pilot gave me a much-needed fresh perspective of who he is and how
Mercy Air seeks to serve.
From the age of 15, my husband dreamed of
becoming a missionary bush pilot to provide support for mission work in remote
locations – especially in Africa. After many years of training and preparation,
in 2012, we (and our two daughters) were thrilled to see God open the doors for
us to serve with Mercy Air in South Africa.
My husband was finally fulfilling his dream,
and as his wife, I was excited for him and proud of him. However, due to our
having small children to care for, I was unable to go along on any of the
mission outreach trips. Over the next few years it was difficult for me to understand
what he was experiencing on his trips and hard to relate to him when he came
home from a week or so away. At times my
perspective became self-focused and negative.
Last week, I finally had the opportunity, with our
two-year-old son, to go along on my first mission outreach. On this flight, we took
two Early Childhood Development educators to a very remote part of South Africa.
Once a month they spend a week training preschool teachers in this area.
As we flew to pick up our passengers, I was
impressed with my husband’s ability to not only fly the aircraft (making sense
of the many gauges, levers, switches, dials, and lights), but also his ability
to navigate our route and simultaneously communicate with the various air
traffic controllers who seem to speak a completely different language. It was multi-tasking like I’ve never seen
before!
When we landed and collected our passengers, I was
impressed with his professionalism, friendliness, helpfulness, and the obvious
respect these educators had for him.
Soon he had loaded the supplies into the twin-engine aircraft, and we
were on our way. As we approached the
tiny, dirt air-strip, he flew over checking for animals or other obstacles that
might prevent a safe landing. Satisfied that all was well, he landed
smoothly. After unloading the aircraft,
we piled into the pick-up truck and headed to the place that would be our home
for the next six days.
Over the course of the next week, I watched
my husband leave his 'pilot' hat with the airplane and don various other hats
to include his 'chauffeur' hat while transporting educators, trainers and other
and the 'Mr. Fix It' hat while making repairs during his free time at the
preschools.
Satisfied that he had done all the repairs he
could, he took off his 'Mr. Fix It' hat and just played with the kids, some of
whom knew him by name. I watched him draw pictures for the children on the
sandy ground. I saw them laugh with joy. I saw him smile with delight. He loved every moment of it.
God has been so faithful. This is what my husband always
dreamed of doing and what Mercy Air is all about; making a difference in the
lives of people in need by showing God’s love in practical ways – flying,
driving, fixing, and encouraging. I am
so proud of my husband. Getting to see
him wear all these 'hats' has given me a fresh perspective and an increasing
admiration and respect for him and for the ministry of Mercy Air.
Thank you.
Rene.
For the Mercy air team.
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