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I want you to please take a good look at the picture. What do you see? Do you see the Red Sea, a Midian Army encampment or maybe a Babylonian blast furnace? What do those things have in common with this UH-1H Huey helicopter? They are all objects which God used to demonstrate His provision and absolute authority through miraculous works.
Moses and the children of Israel witnessed God’s power as they were seemingly trapped against the Red Sea with Pharaoh’s army closing in behind. Gideon was the recipient of God’s provision as he stood on a hill with his 300 men and looked down at a Midianite army of thousands they were preparing to attack. Likewise, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego experienced God’s miraculous provision at the door of the furnace that incinerated their guards. No less a miracle then these is the provision of this helicopter to our work in Talamanca. And not just any helicopter, but the very type that I had dreamed of for our work in Costa Rica but was too afraid to ask for.
I want to give testimony to what God has done in the past 9 months, but first some background. Most of you know that I have been praying, dreaming and occasionally pleading for a helicopter since 1993. Since my first hike in the jungle, I’ve felt like it was one of the most important tools we could have towards advancing our work. In 2003, I began buying and assembling a small 2-place kit helicopter. It was relatively cheap to purchase and operate as helicopters go. The idea was to build it cheap and learn to fly it cheap. At the time I figured that a helicopter of any size would be an improvement over hiking and would greatly impact our ability to minister. In trying to keep ministry the main focus, we never had enough extra money or time to continue purchasing the parts we needed or assembling them. Finally we had to let go of the only method of acquiring a helicopter that our meager budget might permit. However, we did not cease to pray.
Then last May, 2007, we heard of a Huey that was being auctioned off in Miami. It wasn’t flying and needed some repair and we didn’t have much money, but I made a bid believing that if we won the bid God would supply the funds. Many of you responded to my newsletter informing you of the bid with messages of encouragement, prayers and donations. We did not receive enough money to cover the bid I had made, but we didn’t win the bid either.
During this time, we began two new areas of ministry. As part of our attempt to meet some of the needs of the Indians with the intent being to demonstrate God’s love, we began putting in wells to provide clean water and building bridges at strategic river crossings. The ability to provide those things for the remote Indian villages depends totally on the use of a helicopter. God continued to bring people across my path who continued to encourage me in the quest for a helicopter by reinforcing my belief in the necessity of one and aiding in the search.
After completing the first bridge this past October, I came home to find a message from Samaritan Air, a ministry based in Jupiter, Florida. The principle of which, Brian Parker, had found my contact information on our web site. We had several conversations during November and December which led to a meeting in Florida early in December. He offered to help with my flight training at his business, Blue Hole Helicopters. In fact while we were in Florida, he had the instructor at Blue Hole, Matt Holeton, give me a little flight. I was anxious to get back to Costa Rica so I didn’t give a lot of thought to training any time soon. After all, we didn’t have a helicopter.
However after Christmas, I felt impressed upon for some reason to accept his offer. I called Matt and told him when I’d be in Florida. By mid-January I found myself in Pahokee with Daisy and the boys, in a small hotel room. The blessing of which I was about to discover. Matt is married with two sons, coincidentally about the same ages as my two boys. His family was living in a camper near the airport. When Daisy and Kristy weren’t homeschooling the boys and Matt and I weren’t flying, we were spending time together. Matt told me that He and Kristy had dedicated their life to missions in 1993 and for some reason the doors had never opened for them to serve. They had decided when they went home to Louisiana for Christmas, they would not return. He confessed to me that God had told him to come back to Florida to train me and that was the reason he was still in Pahokee.
Also while we were there, God brought a great many new friends into our lives from the body of Christ. We were blessed to be able to share with the good people of 1st Methodist Church in Pahokee. They truly embraced us with the love of Christ and blessed us with their generosity. Likewise, the Good Shepherd Church of God invited us to a missions conference they were holding during our time there. We were received once again with generous open arms. The young lady who took the picture at the top of this letter is a member there and her husband works at the airport where Blue Hole Helicopters is based.
On February 22, I took my check ride and received my private pilot helicopter certificate. It was a blessing, but not nearly so great a one as the friendship that was developed during those six weeks between Matt and myself, and really his family and mine.
Also during those six weeks, Samaritan Air took delivery of the UH-1H you see pictured on the front. It was completely rebuilt and outfitted, all the way down to the new-car ( or in this case new helicopter ) smell. They even patched the bullet holes it had received during the Vietnam War. The only thing was, Samaritan Air didn’t know what they were going to use the helicopter for when they purchased it. Brian simply felt led to buy a Huey.
Here is where we begin to see God weaving together His tapestry. Agua Viva is a ministry in need of a helicopter. Samaritan Air has a helicopter in need of a ministry. Matt has a desire and a talent, but is in need of a tool and a place to use it. God is good, marvelously, miraculously good.
Now you must be saying to yourself, God gave us a helicopter, something to do with it, a place to do it in and someone to over-see the operation. So what can I do? As you know, until we get to heaven, we never reach the place where we can dust off our hands, stick them in our pockets and say “there’s nothing left to do”.
Besides our normal ministry efforts and expenses, we have before us the need for a base of operations for the helicopter and living quarters for Matt and his family. We have begun the addition of living space in our current facility. This is going to eliminate for all practical purposes the space we had available for teams. So we have also begun the construction of another building to alleviate that problem. That brings us to our third project that requires some urgency, the building of a hanger, landing pad and fuel facilities.
I have no doubt that God is going to meet those needs. I do not know by whose hands or by how many, but He is going to meet them. I can not wait to see how it happens. Like Moses, Gideon and those three Hebrew boys, when God puts you in a tough place, an impossible place or sets an impossible task before you, the joy is seeing how He is going to get you out. The blessing of deliverance only comes, when you are in a place of needing deliverance.
Thank you for your help, your support and your prayers over the years. I thank God for you and pray that you will continue to allow God to work in your life. Jesus wants to take you by the hand and walk you through an impossible place. |
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