By the time 2012 rolled around, life was pretty settled. I was enjoying my work and had many opportunities to travel; I was involved at church and had a good network of friends there. Then late that year a couple from our church - Ken and Erica Mathews - announced that they were going out as missionaries to work with MAF. At their farewell service, Ken spoke about the work of MAF and I felt an intense burning in my spirit that I should be following. The dream of being a pilot and Mum's suggestion about flying for MAF bubbled to the surface. I asked Ken whether it would be possible for someone with a private pilot's license to get involved in short term mission trips, his response was, 'You'd need at least a CPL' (i.e. commercial pilot's license). That put a dampener on that idea, but the sense stayed with me.
In early 2013 the research institution where I was working went through a major restructure and change of direction. There was significant upheaval throughout the organisation, with various research teams being transferred to universities. The group of 11 that I was part of saw five people leave. Out of those who were left, I drew the short straw of the acting team leader role, even though I too was in negotiations to move to another research institution. What a joke.
Except it wasn't a joke. 9 months of uncertainty took its toll on my mental state. Eventually things got sorted out and I ended up moving to another team within the same organisation. But God taught me many things during that time, not least of which was that I had been holding on too tightly to my job. I finally came to the point where I could say regarding it, 'The Lord gave, and if the Lord wants to take away, blessed be the name of the Lord.'
There was no doubt in my mind that God had given me this job. The sequence of events were one 'coincidence' after another. I acknowledged this in my journal at the time, that if He now wanted to take it away, it was only because He had something better in mind.
Fast forward with me to early 2016. I was on a work trip in Melbourne, Australia and was lying in bed reflecting on my life. I had one more mortgage payment to make on my house. What would I do with all the extra cash that would be available to me? I knew I needed to use it for God's glory, but how? What was my life all about anyway? Why had God blessed me with so many talents and opportunities? I was using them individually, but surely He had a plan that would see them combined. And what about the dream of being a pilot, and the burning I felt in my spirit when Ken spoke about MAF?
Then the Holy Spirit challenged me about I'd been telling people for years, 'Once I pay off the mortgage, I can get back into flying.' Was I prepared to follow through with that?
What if I was able to get a CPL... what else did MAF want in their pilots?
I sat up and reached for my computer. 'MAF pilots', I typed into Google. As I read through the list of qualifications for pilots, I was able to check off every box in the list. I felt my spirit soaring as I could finally see, for the first time ever, how everything in my life fitted together:
- CPL with 200 hours flight time, 100 hours pilot-in-command, 10 hours night flying experience (all of these are needed for a CPL issue anyway)
- Single engine instrument rating
Ok, let's assume I can get those. What else?
- Agree with MAF's vision, purpose and values (no problem there)
- Committed Christian (absolutely)
- Willingness to live and work in basic conditions (no problem given the amount of hiking I do - we call it 'tramping' in NZ)
- Good physical fitness (I enjoy mountain biking, ran a marathon in 2015, and play badminton for the Hutt Valley division 4 reps team. So it's a 'yes' to that)
- Experience travelling and/or living overseas and in other cultures desirable (another yes; lived in the UK and USA for a year each, and travelled to over 30 different countries, including Kenya and Nepal)
- A one-year or equivalent Bible college qualification
I think the last point kind of clinched it for me. I started praying. 'Ok, Lord, You've got my attention. Thank You for showing me Your plan and how literally everything in my life fits together for becoming an MAF pilot. I get that my intellect will be used in doing mental arithmetic on the fly - sorry about the pun. And I'm sure the musical abilities You've given me will fit in with missions work. But where does being a research scientist fit in?'
He answered me straight away. It's for the money.
Instantly a weight lifted from my shoulders. All that angst from the previous year; I needn't have worried. A good paying job, to fund the rest of my flight training for CPL, instrument rating, and whatever else might be needed.
The next thing I Googled was the Kapiti aero club. According to their website, they offer flight training up to CPL and even C-cat instructor ratings. Of course, I would have to get up to speed again at private pilot's license level before embarking on CPL training. It was 11 years since I had last flown any kind of powered aircraft. I wasn't sure how much I would remember. But there was only one way to find out.
Next: The preparation
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