Updates: God's Time and Tragedy
March has proved to be a beautiful month here in Oklahoma. The warm weather has helped the trees to bud out, and everything is changing into a fresh green, which is a welcome change from the dull brown of winter. We're still working on the airplanes' annuals due to having a very busy month of other school events. Thank you all for your prayers for the maintenance. We were able to find a local welder who welded the crack in our fuel tank free of charge. The rest of this school year will probably not hold too many flight days. While not being able to fly as much as I'd like, we will be involved actively in ministry. One week will be spent on a chorale trip through the East Coast, where we will be sharing Christ's love through music. Then, the Junior class will be headed out to spend three weeks sharing Christ through the Sanctuary with Messiah's Mansion (Messiah's Mansion is a full-scale model of the tabernacle built by Moses). As I experience some of these setbacks, I'm encouraged by the words of Isaiah 40:31. Although I'd like to make more progress, it's God's program and time, so I must continue to trust in God. I've committed myself and my training to Him, and I can trust that He will finish the work He has started in me. In a sense, it's like the difference between finding your way in a dense forest vs. an aerial view. I'm the one on the ground, who just sees delays as setbacks and roadblocks. God looks down from above and sees those delays as valuable moments for character development and other things He wants to do in my life. This is the beautiful part of working with God. When I choose to dedicate my life to Him, I can trust that everything that happens to me is for my good.
I think this would be a good segway into the other topic I'd like to share about this month. Some of you may have heard about the Philipines Adventist Medical Aviation Services (PAMAS) helicopter that crashed offshore of Palawan on March 1. This came as a blow to our team at Oklahoma Academy. Some of our students were good friends with the pilot and nurse. Also, these were our fellow workers in the mission aviation field. Rather than be a discouragement, this event has propelled and carried us to new levels of dedication to become missionaries. The devil might have taken out two of our missionary friends, but let us push forward and fill the shoes of those two young missionaries with hundreds of more missionaries. There is so much need where they served, and I think they'd be thrilled if they knew that their sacrifice brought more people to dedicate their lives in service to Jesus and others. While we may never understand why God allowed them to crash that day, we can find comfort that God is working out everything for our good and we can trust the One who sees the end from the beginning.
Spring break also was a great chance to take a breather from school, and recharge. I also had the opportunity to share our vision of using aviation to reach the unreached with my church family in Stayton, Oregon, as well as connect with some of our support team. I'd like to thank the members of our support team for the time they took to come out and support me and our mission. If you think you're church would enjoy a sermon on missions, faith, and the amazing things that God has been doing, please contact me. Thanks to all of you who are supporting me with your prayers and funds. I am so thankful that we can work together to take the gospel to the world. Your sacrificial giving of time and resources is making a positive difference in this world for God. Please let me know if I could pray for you in any way. Keep trusting Jesus!
In Service Together,
Micah
Prayer Requests:
Continued prayers for the graduated missionaries.
Continued prayers that our aircraft maintenance will be completed soon.
Prayers for our upcoming Chorale and Sanctuary trips.
Prayers for my summer ministry with Alaska Camps (more about this next month!).
Prayers that God will provide us with more trainers.
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