So during the last year we were secretly involved in a covert operation to join Samaritan Aviation as an aircraft mechanic family. It was covert because I wasn’t really broadcasting it. What if the distinguished folks at Samaritan Aviation said no, after all? That would be kind of embarrassing to make a big deal about it and then get turned away. Although really our operation wasn’t all that secret because we were telling people during face-to-face conversations about our intentions. Chances are some of you reading this already knew we were in the application process.

The good news is that we’ve been officially accepted onto the team at Samaritan Aviation!

We’re excited, nervous, and excited. So, in other words, we’re 2/3 excited and 1/3 nervous. But let’s not get lost in math equations.

I’ve subtly referenced Samaritan Aviation in several previous posts and newsletters but in case you aren’t familiar with them, here’s a video that I think sums it all up rather well…

Isn’t that awesome!? We’re excited to be part of this organization!

I’m going to try and answer a few of your likely questions….

Where is Papua New Guinea? Right above Australia. It shares an island with Indonesia. Indonesia is on the west side of the island, PNG is on the right. We will be stationed in Wewak (see map below) near the Sepik river.

What will our role be with Samaritan Aviation? Well, we really don’t know exactly what our lives will look like, honestly. My job is a little more defined as I will be serving as a aircraft mechanic (in PNG we are referred to as “engineers”) to help keep the fleet of planes flying. Janice’s role is a little more fuzzy but of course she will still be an awesome full time mother and will likely be using her gift of hospitality as a way to encourage and meet other woman and mothers. We will be involved as a family with Samaritan’s hospital ministry as well. Also, occasionally we’ll have the opportunity to fly to aid stations and help administer vaccines and medications to villages. One thing I’m confident of is that God has things for us to do and those things will become evident as we adjust to the culture and begin serving.

When will we be moving to Papua New Guinea? We are planning on moving to Papua New Guinea (PNG) after we graduate from MMS Aviation, once we raise more support, and after everything is in order (house cleaned, possessions packed or sold, paperwork in order). We are praying that all that will happen by September, 2022.

Are we done at MMS Aviation? No. Not yet. My tests for my FAA mechanic’s certificate, along with my Airframe and Powerplant ratings, will be happening in either late February or early March of 2022, Lord willing. Once I have passed my tests and am an A&P mechanic, our MMS apprenticeship is considered officially done. Of course, MMS Aviation doesn’t care if I stay longer while we raise additional support and get ready to move to PNG. They appreciate the help in the hangar. Our plans will be to stay working in the hangar at MMS as much as we can until we’re ready to board the airplane for PNG.

Will we have to raise more support? Yes. I tried not to think about this one too much but the reality is that mission service is expensive. It takes money to do this. A lot of our support goes to traveling expenses for furloughs, health insurance, visas, etc. Our target support level is $90,000 per year which comes out to $7,500 per month. We’re already have 60% of that quota raised because we already raised funds for our MMS apprenticeship.

How do I start financially supporting your mission service at Samaritan Aviation? Click here for a support link!

If we are supporting your family at MMS Aviation, when should we switch our support to Samaritan Aviation? If you are already supporting us at MMS Aviation, please don’t switch your support until we’re officially done at MMS in March.

We’ll be traveling to California for a week to participate in cultural and team building training with two other families that are on-boarding at Samaritan. Pray for us as we look forward to a big change in scenery this year!