I never wanted to be a missionary. Why would anyone want to be a missionary and miss the easily attained comforts of the western world? I did not envy missionaries and saw mission work as drudgery in humid, filthy areas. But God indeed is the potter, and when I decided to allow Him to mold me as clay, He miraculously changed my passions, goals, and dreams.
As a young child, I longed to become a nurse. I spent lots of time in the hospital, with broken bones, and enjoyed watching the nurses. Helping people was what I wanted to do. Plus, nursing pays well, and I wanted to make as much money as possible. I thought that more money equals more happiness. As an early teen, my brother-in-law, Marius, explained the truth about this. His experiences showed me that a life goal of making money makes one miserable, and only a life of true surrender to Christ brings joy and satisfaction.
My mom suggested a business writing/careers class at our local home school co-op for my eighth-grade English class. But by the end of the summer, we had moved about 45 minutes away. Because of schedule conflicts and the commute, I considered skipping that class but decided to enroll at the last minute. It turned out to be a great experience. Not only did I gain valuable information, but I took a nursing job shadow. Following this job shadow, I realized that I disliked nursing. I decided that someday I would discover an enjoyable career.
As the next several years passed by, I wandered farther and farther from Christ. By the year 2020, my walk with Christ had almost disappeared, and I no longer wanted anything to do with Him. During this time, we moved away from Salem. We hated the city and wanted to live in a smaller town. After listing our house, we quickly received several offers. Since we didn't know where we'd be living, we moved back to an area near where I grew up in Dallas. I was happy. We stayed with some friends who had two houses on 40 acres of Oregon forest. But the offer on our house fell through, and we still couldn’t find a house to buy. What little faith I still had in God disappeared. If He was all-powerful, why couldn’t He find us a new house and sell our old one? I was yet to realize how much higher God’s plans were.
While we were living in Dallas, an old friend invited me to visit a small Adventist school in Washington. I quickly told them that I wasn’t interested. The day before they left though, I decided to go. Over that week, I revived my relationship with Christ and also heard a lot about mission aviation. I left that school inspired to serve Christ as a mission pilot, and with an invitation to go on a mission trip with the school to Honduras. Soon after this incident, we found a house, sold our old one, and moved.
That mission trip changed my life. I’d always read mission stories but Honduras was eye-opening. At the end of our evangelistic series, twelve precious souls surrendered their lives to Christ. I was hooked. Sharing Christ with others was the most rewarding thing I'd ever done.
That spring I took a discovery flight and discovered that I loved aviation. I began to feel God calling me to gain mission pilot training next year. If you have ever looked at Adventist schools, you probably know how many options there are. My parents helped me draw up guidelines of what we wanted in a school to narrow down the options. Most importantly, we wanted a school with strong Christian principles, challenging academics, and a mission aviation training school. From the beginning, we prayed for God’s guidance. My friend heard I was looking for a mission aviation school, so she mentioned Heritage Academy. My mom called Heritage Academy, and after some lengthy phone calls, she thought it might be a good option. I only knew of two other schools that offered a flight program, and we had already decided that I would not be going to those schools. I did not feel God leading me to Heritage Academy, but I applied and was accepted. Despite this, I still wasn’t sure where God wanted me to be.
About one week before leaving for Heritage Academy, God guided me. I was on a backpacking trip with Young Disciple Camp, catching up with my friend Max. I told Max my goal of going to a school with a mission aviation program. He suggested that I try Oklahoma Academy. Since I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to Heritage, and my parents and I liked Oklahoma Academy’s values better, I decided I would look into going to Oklahoma Academy.
I had a conversation with the registrar, and after it, I was certain I wanted to go except for one thing. I needed to know more about the mission aviation program and find if there was still room in it for me. The registrar said Mr. Brooks, the flight instructor, was hard to contact and at ASI. I asked God to make Mr. Brooks answer right away if OA was the school for me. I am ashamed to say I didn't think God would do it, so I was shocked when he picked up after only a few rings! I talked to him and decided that Oklahoma Academy was where God wanted me to be.
Presently I am at Oklahoma Academy writing this article. My goal is to serve Christ forever. God transformed my life. I have experienced that true satisfaction only comes from Christ. I plan to finish my training here and become a full-time mission pilot, flying for the One who changed my life and helping Him change others’ lives also. By God’s grace, I will always be ready to say, “Here I am Lord, send me."
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