Big news

Over the last few months I have been waiting to hear from MAF International regarding my placement and start date. A couple of weeks ago I was told that there are a number of issues which mean that the April 2019 flight standardisation course has been cancelled, meaning that everything would be pushed out to at least October 2019. This affects not just me, but pretty much every other new pilot joining the organisation.

However, I have just been informed in the last few days that MAF International is considering me for a junior flight instructor position at their flight training centre in Mareeba, Australia (about an hour's drive inland from Cairns).

I will travel to Mareeba for some assessments from 21-25 January to see whether they think I would be suitable for the role. If those go well, MAF will arrange for me to gain an instructor's rating at their flight training centre (8-week course, likely in the first half of 2019) and aim to start working later in the year. I would then be involved in training brand new pilots to be able to fly for MAF in the future.

I'm still a bit stunned that MAF are considering me for this - it's not something that many people would be given the opportunity to do. But I'm also really excited about the possibilities that this would give me for serving within MAF, not just immediately but also further down the track (once I go to the field, I could potentially be involved as a check pilot or training pilot there, rather than just a standard line pilot).

This opportunity has God's fingerprints all over it:

• Given the delay until at least October, I had started looking into doing an instructor rating at the aero club. However that was going to be a delicate balancing act between time, money and sanity. I was also concerned that I might lose my focus for MAF. This opportunity alleviates all of those concerns.
• It would mean that I would be within the MAF system a lot sooner than otherwise, so if things change and a field position becomes available, I'll already be there.
• I wasn't sure how I was going to cope being thrown in the deep end in terms of moving somewhere like PNG, having to adapt to a new culture, language, climate, living standards, and job all at once. Moving to Mareeba first for a year or two would help to spread that transition.

As far as I can see, it's all win-win-win-win! The only downside (if you can call it that) is that I would likely be bonded at the flight training centre for a couple of years. But that's neither here nor there - it may not be a long delay compared to when I would start otherwise, and as I said it would help the transition, so I really don't mind.

I am incredibly thankful for how God is working things out in ways that far surpass the plans I was coming up with! I don't know where this will lead - there are many possibilities that having an instructor rating could open up. But I do know that with God directing it, it's going to be amazing!