Wings 4 Christ

Remember that huge blessing we received a while back? Well, at long last, the parts arrived that were missing, everything is put together and yesterday was the great day of reckoning. Travis and Roy took the airplane out of the building, and into the fresh air to see what happens when it is actually started up. They were not ready to take off since they were only testing it, so one person acted as an anchor while the other one drove the airplane around and around the field. It had plenty of power, and the anchor person discovered a new and improved way to get plenty of exercise! I guess it is a bit hard to keep that plane on the ground, but the person in the seat cannot hear the yelling and screaming from the anchor person…I will leave that one to your imagination. But, just try to picture one grinning pilot, and one frantic anchor and you will have it about right.
The good news is that this airplane was not meant just to give missionaries plenty of exercise; it was meant to aid them in winning souls to Christ. So with this in mind, Michael and Travis have started writing bible studies for the Karen villagers, power points are being put together and students are being prepared for active duty in the jungle mission fields. Many visits to the powers that be have been made, and permission to start an aviation ministry has been granted. Yesterday, this new ministry was named “Wings 4 Christ”. Everyone is eager to see our plane get off the ground. (Especially the anchor person)
Already a landing strip has begun to emerge here, with enthusiastic students helping with their hoes, shovels, and machetes. Seeing an airplane up close and personal is like a dream come true for most of the students. They never thought that they would get so close to a plane before, and many announcements have had to be made to keep eager students away from the plane. They love to sit in the seat and push it back and forth in the building where it is housed.
The one thing remaining before the plane can be put to good use is proper training at a Thai flight school. We are hoping that this will be accomplished sometime soon, but in the mean time we are working on developing relationships with villagers in areas where the plane can be useful. Either this week or next, we are planning our first evangelistic tour with all of our IMM students participating. They will be hiking from village to village, doing evangelistic programs, simple health ministry, singing, and developing relationships with the different villages. We thought at first that we would take only 4 or 5 students on this first trip, but all of the students really want to go, so we changed our plans somewhat to include them all.
Please keep this new project in your prayers…especially the anchor person!