Fall Farewells
Leaves are already turning on the aspen trees. It started mid-August here in Alaska. Within a month, the entire landscape will be yellow—it’s a beautiful time of year! The golden world lasts only a few weeks, and by mid-October, the trees are bare, and snow is imminent. As the autumn leaves heralded the start of the school year, we said good-bye to some of our flight students and as they left for their respective colleges. Between our Alaska base and our Chambersburg, Pennsylvania base, we had 17 students over the summer—a record for us! Of those who had to leave in August for school, some had completed their training and passed their check rides, while others opted to finish up with a flight instructor near their college.
At Kingdom Air Corps, we celebrate flight milestones with milkshakes for everyone, and we have gone through many gallons of ice cream and milk lately! Check rides are the final test for a flight certificate—and we have concocted the famous KAC shakes over the past several weeks for Tim Borden, David Bruce, David Horning, Lucas Kropp, David Stringfellow and Seth Baker.
As they leave one by one, we’re happy for them, but it’s bittersweet! We’ve grown to know and love them. Some will return next summer season to work on another flight rating; some have applied to various missions and will be serving the Lord with airplanes in places like Papua New Guinea or here in Alaska.
Next week, it will be time for Dwayne and me to leave this beautiful Alaska setting and make our way 4,000 miles to our base in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. We will have the joy of reuniting with family and friends there. We will be at the Smoketown Mission Aviation and Technology Fair in Smoketown, PA on September 23-24. If you are in the area, come visit! Here is some information from the Friends in Aviation website:
The Smoketown Mission Aviation and Technology Fair is a family event with a missionary aviation theme. Although admission is free, there will be airplane and helicopter rides available at a reasonable cost. Many mission aviation organizations and others will have displays and interact with the families. There will be speakers at various times throughout the day and food will be available. The kids train will be there for rides.
As we move into the Fall season, we pray that each of you, as well as all of us serving with Kingdom Air Corps, will draw closer to God. Let’s spend time reading His word every day so that it becomes a habit. And as we pray for those we love, let’s also remember those we can’t seem to get along with. In addition, pray for your pastors and others in Christian service for wisdom, protection from harm, open doors of ministry, and encouragement. Finally, let’s pray for our government and others across the world so that God’s purpose will be achieved on earth.