Disaster Response (edit, back)
02/10/2016
I have been interested in airplanes since I was very little. I imagined what the world looked like from above, and dreamt of when we will be in heaven and be able to fly by our own power! Since I was about 10, I wanted to work with planes and be an Aerospace engineer.
When it came time for me to go to a high school I had many options, but when I heard that my best friend was planning to go to a small school called Heritage Academy, I was intrigued. I knew some people who were already going there, and remembered that my friend who was in the Missionary Pilot program had just achieved his Instrument Rating and was going to graduate that year, I decided to visit for graduation. While there, I became acquainted with the various ministries of Heritage, such as Literature Evangelism, Video Production, Application Development, Agriculture, and the two that really interested me, Disaster Response, and the Missionary Pilot Training Program. I was convinced that this was where God wanted me to attend the next fall for my junior year. I have been very active in the disaster response program and have had the opportunity to travel to various parts of the country, training young and old alike how to be prepared for disasters. I just returned from North Carolina, where we trained young people from all over the Southern Union in disaster preparedness.
This year is my senior year and I have been privileged to have the opportunity to be a part of the Missionary Pilot training program. It has definitely been God’s work in allowing me to start this program. You see, this past summer, I told God that this was His work and if He wanted me to be in the program, I knew He would provide the funds. The aviation program is an additional $9,300 for a private license. He has blessed me greatly, because within two weeks of school starting, God provided $5,250 in donations! That’s more than enough to start the program! I am immensely grateful!
Currently, I have about 10 hours of experience, but by the time you read this article, God willing, I will have my first solo flight under my belt. God has really blessed in bringing me this far because of the things He has done at Heritage Academy. I am also excited because we have completed the runway on campus and I have the privilege of using it. It is a grass runway made possible by donations from ASI and other passionate private donors. I am very appreciative for the runway on campus, because this means I can take off and land here and advance in the training, instead of wasting an hour of precious time driving to the airport every day. Soon we plan to put top soil over the gravel and build a hangar on campus, because currently the plane has to be flown to school every morning before training begins.
God has really blessed Heritage Academy to provide this program and has blessed my progress through it. I hope that I can use this amazing skill when my training is finished to work for Him. I thank you for your support for these ministries God has entrusted to Heritage Academy. I truly see how disaster response and mission aviation go hand in hand. I want to be part of His master plan in bringing others to Him, so that at His soon coming we all can be a part of the Heavenly Kingdom.