I'm Still Around

So I have not written on this blog in a year and a half...

Wow.

Hm.

So.

Uhhh.

I'm still around.

My last post was about how I had just moved to Red Lake, and commented on how I was enjoying it “so far”. That statement still stands.

I worked on the ramp for about a year, though at least I got to fly the little 182 every now and then, and in June I got checked out in the left seat of the Caravan.

<-The little 182 that I spent quite a while flying around...

most of our destinations are isolated first nation reserves with simple gravel runways.

I found a nice appartment, and found a church family. I've settled into the community and joined a small music group.

I actually, really, love it here.

So now I'm trying to leave.

This blog's description is “Wannabe Missionary, Wannabe Pilot”, and so I have begun the application process with Mission Aviation Fellowship.

One of the not so little caravans that I fly around now.

These planes are excellent for what we do; they're fast, and can carry a fair bit of freight->

Now, I'm not leaving just yet, and there's no guarantee that I ever will; so far all I've done is fill in their application form and sent my resume, not exactly ground breaking actions. But they are ice breakers.

For several years I have felt God leading me to mission aviation, it is because of this calling that I attended Prairie, it is because of this calling that I went to Thompson, it is because of this calling that I was involved in ministry in the way I was, and it is because of this calling that I moved to Red Lake. In each and every move I have seen God preparing me for this.

At Prairie God laid the base foundation, both spiritually and technically.

 

<-I got a canoe shortly after moving to Red Lake

In Thompson, God taught me humility, and He taught me how to be a witness across cultures. He taught me to be a missionary.

And in Red Lake, God expanded the technical skills I developed at Prairie, showed me their impact in isolated areas, and taught me how to use my skills in a culture not my own.

I believe that it is time for me to take concrete actions towards full time ministry, please pray with me that I would follow God's leading, wherever that may be.

Now, enjoy a small photo dump.

The view can be pretty good sometimes

I take my canoe out pretty often (when the water isn't frozen)

I got to do some training in a pretty fancy simulator (though it still had problems sometimes)

<-Caravans are pretty birds

 The Harvards came to visit last summer, and spent some time in our hangar->

I Moved Again...

So it has been a while, hasn't it?

When I left off, I was leaving Thompson for Sioux Lookout. Well, that didn't work out, so I returned to Thompson.

Then I got a new job about a month ago. I'm doing more or less the same thing as I was, but now I'm in Red Lake, Ontario. Isn't that exciting!

So far I'm really enjoying it, this town is really nice!

There's even an airplane in the middle of town!

And just outside of town there's a meteorite crater

And just past that, a Beech 18 that crashed back in the '70s!














And at work, I even get to go flying every now and then!

I like this place.




But, to my friends in Thompson, I miss you all, and I'm sorry I had to leave.

The Next Step

So... If you didn't know it, for many years now I've felt called by God to mission aviation. That's why I went to Prairie, and it's in preparation for that that I work for Perimeter Aviation in Thompson Manitoba.

And now it's time for the next step.

You see, at the moment I'm a ramp attendant; I'm not flying planes. I only marshal, clean, load and de-ice them. I learnt a lot about serving others while doing this, but I didn't spend all that time and money in college just to do this. It's time to take the next step in my career.

It's time to start flying.

Perimeter has offered me a position as First Officer (co-pilot) on the Metro III in Sioux Lookout, Ontario.

I'll be developing skills flying turbine engine aircraft into small isolated communities with small gravel strips. Skills that will be useful as a missionary.

I'm very excited to start flying again, and I'm looking forwards to moving to Sioux, but I'm also sad to leave Thompson. I honestly really enjoyed my time here.

But it's time to move on, and I look forwards to what God will be doing in my life in the future.

It's Christmas Time

Only a few more days until Christmas, excitement is building, the kids are out of school, programs are shutting down until the new year, and the shelves at stores are starting to empty.

Have you gotten your Christmas shopping done? You might want to get onto it...

Remember to remind your friends and family how much you love them, and maybe even give joy to someone who doesn't have any this time of year.

But in all this, let's not forget to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, and remember that hope came to man kind as a baby in a manger because we could not make room for him in the inn.

Merry Christmas.

On Christmas Trees

And so it's December

And the tree's been put up

Another batch of cookies,

And a new one's just begun!

 (Try singing that to the tune of "So This Is Christmas", it kinda works)

 Well, not actually, but I'll get those done sooner or later.

But hey, Christmas season is started!  And that means Christmas trees!

Thompson is the most northern place I have ever lived, and as a result, I'm still not used to how late the sun rises and how early it sets.

But Christmas trees and all the other decorations give us light during these days closest to the winter solstice.

Much like Jesus gives us light in our darkest time.

It's almost as if we were celebrating His birth or something...

The First Black Friday

So I was reading my Bible last night, and I came across something that is a propos to current events.

The passage is 2 Kings 7:17-20.

Context: the Syrians had lain seige to Samaria and there was a famine in the city. The prophet Elisha came to the king and told him that food would soon become common. Two lepers later decided to go to the Syrian camp and discovered it empty. This is where my exerpt starts up.

To paraphrase some more (If you want to know how the verses actually read, look it up), the officer whom the king had stationed at the gate that day had originally scoffed when Elisha had said that food would be abundant. When the people learnt that the Syrians had abandoned their camp with all the food, they rushed out to plunder all the food and trampled the officer to death.

Every year during black friday, store workers get trampled to death by shoppers rushing to get whatever goods it is they want. It's not funny, but at least we know it's not a new thing.

A Match

It's funny how you can know a simple truth yet not understand it.

If you spend time on the internet, then you're familiar with how supposedly "bad" 2016 has been, how the world is falling apart, and so on and so forth.

I don't want to comment on whether the world is coming to an end, I'm not here to analyze the U.S. election, and I won't wax poetic on the lives of all the celebrities who died this year. All I will say is that we've had a rough time and we're in for an interesting time over the next few years.

On a more personal side, my town is not exactly the  happiest place on earth. There is a lot of brokenness, drugs and alcohol are so often a problem, and suicide and murder seem to happen way too often for such a small town.

Sometimes it's hard to see the light. But we need to remember that a match shines brightest the darker the room. No amount of darkness can keep the match from shining, and even if it only lights up one small room, the room cannot be dark.

There will always be darkness, but when you look up at the night sky, the darkness of space cannot stop the stars from shining, the darkness has to disappear: It cannot fight, it can only get out of the way.

Are you a light? Am I a light?