Dwayne, Harry, and Ben stood by the airplane, all packed to leave. They’d worked on the Piper Warrior the day before, knowing the brakes needed some attention. They’d fixed them—or so they’d thought. But a morning inspection revealed the problem persisted. Realizing they were out of time to work on them further, they threw their duffels into the car and headed south. Barring any traffic jams, they could still make it to Nazareth Community Church in Rockwell, NC where Dwayne was slated to speak at 6:30 on Wednesday night. This wonderful church, under the guidance of Pastor Mike Shoaf, had sent a large work team led by Brad and Kim Miller to Alaska last summer and had invited Dwayne to speak in November. We’d set the date on our calendars months ago. Our team arrived a few minutes early and walked into a packed church; packed, as in standing-room only! What an encouragement to us!
Dwayne shared an overview of Kingdom Air Corps’ mission—to train missionary pilots to serve around the world, carrying the gospel to the remotest places on earth, many of which can be reached only by aircraft. He talked about our Alaska base of operations, where the Rockwell team had served. He described the expanding ministry in Pennsylvania and talked of our vision for training more international pilots, who will return to their countries to minister among their own people. This is already underway in Russia, Thailand, and Africa, and we now have our eyes on the Middle East.
Church members waited after the service to meet our team, and enthusiasm for the mission work carried dozens of them to the restaurant afterwards for a late meal. This church has a serious commitment to supporting missions work both in serving and in generous giving. What a blessing they are to Kingdom Air Corps!
Here in the Pennsylvania area, a generous supporter has lent us his Cessna 150 to use in training our primary flight students—those working on their Private Pilot certificate. We currently have three students training for mission flying at our Pennsylvania base of operations at Rocktop Airport in Chambersburg. This Saturday morning as I write, Dwayne and Ben are working with Basit in the C150. Basit plans to return to Pakistan to serve the Lord there among his people.
Under Dwayne’s leadership and with the help of staff, volunteers, and supporters, the Lord’s work is prospering. As we enter Thanksgiving week, we have so much to be grateful for. Psalm 107 tells the story of God’s forgiveness and grace to all who call Him Lord. Here are a few verses, but the whole psalm is a reminder of his enduring goodness and grace to all peoples.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.