Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY210034A
|
00:01 As you're well aware,
00:02 we're living in unprecedented times. 00:05 Join us now for Today special program. 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Mending broken people 00:23 I want to spend my life 00:29 Removing pain 00:34 Lord, let my words 00:39 Heal a heart that hurts 00:44 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people 00:55 I want to spend my life 01:00 Mending broken people 01:15 Hello, friends. Welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:17 I'm John Lomacang, and I will say today 01:19 I have my copilot next to me. 01:23 You'll find out why. You'll find out why. 01:25 I'm Angela, I'm so glad that you decided to tune in today. 01:29 You're gonna be blessed. 01:30 We have a wonderful program, don't we, honey? 01:32 That's right. It's... 01:34 I would say it's probably very closely associated 01:36 with the three angles' messages, 01:38 flying in the midst of heaven. 01:39 I'm using all these clichés 01:40 that are connected to the program. 01:42 Yeah. Yeah. 01:43 I think we should, on that note, 01:45 I think that should just dive in 01:46 and introduce our guests. 01:47 Yeah. Yeah. 01:49 We have a great family here in front of us. 01:51 That's right. 01:52 Let me start with this wonderful family 01:54 far down on the other side of the table. 01:56 We have Yosi and Josh Fix. 02:01 Right? Just as it sounds, Fix? 02:02 Fix, yes. 02:04 And do you remember their son's names? 02:06 Oh yeah. Caleb and Isaac. 02:09 And Isaac. 02:10 Well, good to have you here today. 02:11 Good to be here. Thank you. 02:13 And you are both with AWA, I was saying... 02:16 That's correct. Good. 02:17 That means what does that stand for? 02:19 Adventist World Aviation. Something I love to do. 02:21 And we're gonna get more 02:22 into your story in just a moment, 02:24 but to our right is somebody that was a part of our family, 02:26 part of our life a little more than 18 years ago. 02:28 Yeah. When? 02:30 At the St. Louis Church. That's right. 02:32 At St. Louis Central. 02:33 Bruce, good to see you, Bruce Wilkerson. 02:35 Thank you, sir. You have a famous name of. 02:38 I know, right? 02:39 A musician by the name, Bruce Wilkerson, 02:42 I think orchestra, something to that effect. 02:44 Wow. 02:45 But tell us a little bit about you briefly? 02:47 Oh, briefly. Yeah. 02:48 Right now I'm the executive vice president 02:50 for Adventist World Aviation. 02:51 We're based in Johnson county, North Carolina. 02:56 Okay. I have served five years. 02:57 My wife and I, Monique 02:59 and I served five years in the jungles of Guyana 03:01 and a year in the Philippines. 03:02 Okay. 03:04 So now I'm the vice president for Adventist World Aviation. 03:07 We're here to introduce our missionaries and training. 03:09 Good. 03:10 And they are 18 years older than 03:12 when we saw them last? 03:13 Yes. Couple of years. 03:14 Here they are. 03:16 We haven't aged, just you have, but we're going to have 03:17 an exciting program today about aviation, 03:20 about Adventist World Aviation, the ministry of the air. 03:24 I could say that, 03:25 I think that's the way to do it. 03:27 You could get... You could far... 03:28 You could get much farther by air than you by... 03:30 can by land. 03:31 And we're gonna find out why on this program, 03:33 how you can get further by air? 03:35 That's right. 03:37 But we want to thank you for your prayers 03:38 and your financial support of 3BN 03:40 as we continue going and growing, 03:42 getting ready for the coming of Jesus. 03:44 And because we have a wonderful packed program, 03:46 pictures and testimony, 03:48 and some video to talk about this wonderful ministry 03:51 and the people that are here to represent it. 03:53 But right now we're gonna go to some music. 03:55 What do we have, honey? Oh, yeah. 03:56 We have some wonderful music and it's by Jeff Pearls 04:01 and the title is, "The Wonder of it All." 04:04 Amen. 04:23 There's the wonder of sunset 04:28 At evening 04:33 The wondrous sunrise 04:38 I see 04:43 But the wonder of wonders 04:47 That thrills my soul 04:52 Is the wonder that 04:55 God loves me 05:02 O, the wonder of it all 05:07 The wonder of it all 05:11 Just to think that 05:15 God loves me 05:21 O, the wonder of it 05:26 All the wonder of it all 05:31 Just to think that 05:34 God loves me 05:46 There's the wonder of springtime 05:51 And harvest 05:56 The sky the stars and the sun 06:05 But the wonder of wonders 06:10 That thrills my soul 06:15 Is a wonder that's only begun 06:24 O, the wonder of it all 06:29 The wonder of it all 06:34 Just to think that 06:37 God loves me 06:44 O, the wonder of it all 06:49 The wonder of it all 06:53 Just to think that 06:57 God loves me 07:02 O, the wonder of it all 07:08 The wonder of it all 07:13 Just to think that 07:16 God loves me 07:22 Just to think that 07:26 God loves me 07:46 Thank you so much, Jeff, for that wonderful song, 07:48 the wonder of it all. 07:49 Yes. And what a smooth voice. 07:52 Oh, yeah. Very smooth. 07:53 Thinking of Jim Reeves. That's right. 07:55 The old timers will know who Jim Reeves is. 07:57 But thank you for that. 07:59 And it is a wonderful segue 08:00 because it's a wonder what God can do through lives 08:03 that are dedicated to carrying the gospel 08:05 to difficult to reach places. 08:07 And you, and I know we've been some places 08:10 around the world like in New Guinea. 08:11 There's certain places you cannot get except by plane. 08:14 Yeah. We were in New Guinea. 08:16 Yeah. And what... 08:17 You're a pilot, aren't you, honey? 08:19 Well, to some degree I'm one RC pilot, 08:22 and computer pilot. 08:24 Computer pilot, yeah. 08:25 I've flown everywhere on the computer, 08:27 but let's go ahead and dive 08:29 in to see our guests here today. 08:30 Let's do it. 08:32 Good to have you here, Bruce. Thank you. 08:33 And Josh and Yosi. 08:36 And just for those who may just be joining us, 08:40 we're talking about Adventist World Aviation. 08:42 Give us a little bit of background 08:44 on Adventist World Aviation, 08:45 kind of how long have they been around 08:47 some of the places that we could find them 08:50 working through flight? 08:52 Okay. 08:53 Well, Adventist World Aviation 08:55 was formed at the request of Bob Falkenberg, 08:57 Elder Falkenberg in 1995. 08:59 A group of people got together 09:01 and formed our organization where mission aviation 09:03 was starting to be transitioned 09:05 from the church, 09:07 sponsored to individual 09:09 independent ministry part of ASI. 09:11 The mission of Adventist World Aviation 09:14 is to spread the gospel to all parts of the world. 09:17 We're currently located in Guyana, South America. 09:20 We're located in Nicaragua where Josh and Yosi 09:23 just returned from, 09:24 and we're also located in Palawan the Philippines. 09:27 We also have projects, 09:28 of course, in North America, in Alaska and Ontario, Canada. 09:32 Hmm. Wow. 09:33 You were in Guyana, you said? Yes, ma'am. 09:35 I was there for five years with Monique, my wife, 09:38 and we spent a year in Palawan. 09:40 What were you doing for five years there? 09:42 Well, we're sharing the gospel message. 09:44 We believe in, we hope everybody 09:47 that is doing the ministry of Christ 09:48 is believes that 09:50 He's in the business of reconciling a lost world 09:52 to Himself through his Son Jesus. 09:54 And so living there, you become friends, 09:56 you become neighbors' friends, 09:58 and you build lifetime relationships. 10:00 We still have with the people in Mabaruma. 10:02 And we believe in sharing the gospel 10:04 through the experiences that God gives us. 10:06 You said it's like going home. It is. 10:08 And we'll be back there soon. In few months, yes. 10:10 In few months, yes. Wow. 10:12 Okay. 10:13 How many planes do you have in your fleet? 10:16 Well, we currently have about 25, about 25. 10:19 And that's they are in different places 10:21 in around the world, 10:22 whether it's Guyana, Nicaragua, Philippines, Alaska, Ontario, 10:25 or right here in the United States. 10:27 You have a mechanic? Yes, we... 10:30 Actually, Josh is, not just a pilot, 10:32 but he's also an aircraft mechanic. 10:33 Very good. Wow. 10:34 Oh, you see. 10:36 And just introduce us to them, 10:37 kind of, I know that we're gonna be 10:39 interviewing them in great detail, 10:41 but kind of segue into. 10:42 Okay. 10:43 How they came about a part of AWA? 10:45 Well, Josh and Yosi. 10:46 I believe they first started with AWA in 2013 or '14. 10:52 I first became acquainted, 10:54 I should say with Adventist World Aviation 10:57 and I think 2000, 2012. 10:59 Twelve? Okay. 11:01 I met the president Rick at ASI in Cincinnati. 11:04 And we kind of started a conversation essentially 11:06 between myself as well as the staff of AWA. 11:10 I sent him an application, I think late 2014, 11:13 it kind of became official early 2015. 11:16 Great. 11:17 And, Josh, when he started with us, 11:19 he was a good, a great example. 11:20 Josh came to us with zero aviation experience. 11:22 Oh, wow. 11:24 So he on his own took flight lessons, 11:26 became a pilot. 11:28 He's a commercial rated instrument, 11:29 rated pilot or commercial license 11:30 instrument rated pilot. 11:32 He's also an aircraft and power plant mechanic. 11:35 So he can work on the aircraft, legally FAA aircraft 11:38 and fly the planes. 11:39 Wow. So there's hope for me yet? 11:41 Yes, there is. 11:42 I can transition to the real thing. 11:45 Wow, it's so good to have you here. 11:46 You did a lot of research on these two. 11:48 Yeah. This is a wonderful couple. 11:51 And we wanna know how you met. 11:52 We know that you were in Mexico, right? 11:56 And what were you do... Is that where you're from? 11:58 I'm originally from Mexico, yes. 12:00 And I came to Wildwood, 12:01 a wonderful place in 2009 and I came there first 12:06 and then he came two weeks later 12:09 and later on we met, 12:12 'cause I didn't speak any English. 12:14 So once I learned English, 12:15 we started having like the same group of friends 12:18 and we went mountain biking 12:19 and doing all of this adventure things 12:23 and, yeah, that's how come... 12:25 How we met. 12:26 And do we have any pictures from your date? 12:28 And I think we did have. 12:29 Oh, we have a picture of when we got engaged, 12:32 so we got to know each other a little in Wildwood 12:35 and later on became friends 12:37 and then initiated a courtship. 12:39 Not long after that, I think a couple of weeks, 12:41 she ended up having to go back to Mexico 12:43 because of a visa issues. 12:45 And we were separated for about 10 months there. 12:48 So she came back once she got her visa cleared 12:52 and at the second day she was back, I proposed. 12:57 Not letting her go while you were there. 12:58 Yes. Wonderful. 13:00 Yeah. Yeah. 13:01 The secret was they sang the hymn, 13:02 no turning back. 13:04 There's actually a friend of mine, 13:06 he was a Cuban descent 13:08 down there at wildwood, Jose Noriega. 13:10 And I remember when we first started dating, 13:12 he was like, Josh, you know, 13:14 when you start going down that runway, 13:16 there's a point where you, 13:17 you gotta pull back, you're gonna lift up. 13:19 So I remember that. That's right. 13:20 And that was true. And when did you get married? 13:24 2014 in January. January 7th, cold day. 13:28 Let's see, we have a picture. 13:29 We've picture of your wedding day. 13:31 Well, the picture that we have, 13:32 so funny story, we got married two times. 13:35 Oh, yeah. 13:36 One time for the judge and the immigration, 13:38 essentially small service in our church 13:41 with some family and close friends. 13:43 That's like our official wedding. 13:44 Right. They counted that way. 13:46 There you go. 13:47 What we have more is more of a, 13:48 not so much a formality, 13:50 but for the celebration of the fact, 13:51 it's more of her family that could come 13:53 once they got their visas to be able to attend. 13:55 In July 27th... 27th, yeah. 13:59 2014, the same year. Yeah. 14:01 Six months later. 14:02 Then you had two beautiful sons. 14:04 Yeah. Caleb in 2016. 14:08 And then Isaac, 2018. Yeah. 14:11 Wow, wonderful. Highly energetic. 14:12 The type... 14:14 You know, the type of thing 14:15 you do go into different parts of the world 14:17 where conditions are not as good 14:20 as it is here, you know? 14:21 'Cause we're gonna look at some pictures 14:23 where you're in the jungles and different things like that. 14:25 Those are the types of kids that you want to have. 14:28 They don't mind running through a mud pothole 14:31 or not worry or what. 14:32 Just kind of give them a bath once a day 14:34 and just send it back outside. 14:35 Well, we were in Nicaragua. 14:37 They actually were 14:38 in their trunks most of the time. 14:40 Semi-trunks. Yeah, semi-trunks. 14:41 Yeah, sorry. 14:44 Thanks for clarifying. 14:48 Some of that too, I'm sure. 14:50 You lock them in the trunk. That's fine. 14:54 But we understand, but let's kind of dive into, 14:57 I've got to find out 14:59 what made you interested in aviation at all? 15:02 Yeah. Yeah. 15:03 So I didn't really have an awful big aviation 15:07 interest starting off. 15:09 And my late teen years, 15:12 I started getting introduced to medical missionary work 15:15 and that's kinda what led me to Wildwood. 15:17 And while I was there 15:18 I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. 15:20 I was 18, I guess, by that point. 15:22 And I wasn't sure for sure 15:24 what I wanted to put my back into 15:26 and learn and do for God. 15:27 I want to do something for God. 15:29 But while there I was working in maintenance, 15:31 I was a work scholarship student 15:32 for their six-month medical missionary course, 15:35 the college of health evangelism they call it. 15:37 And so while working there, 15:39 I was working in maintenance 15:40 and one of my coworkers was a guy named 15:43 Arthur from Germany 15:45 and he was getting flight train, 15:46 going to the mission field and 15:48 really enthusiastic about it. 15:49 That's just kind of guy he is, 15:50 but he was excited about aviation. 15:52 And he said, Josh, 15:53 there's a big need in the mission field 15:54 for pilots that something, 15:56 I'd never been to the mission field 15:57 and just read stories. 15:58 But he said, it's an ongoing need 16:00 and it's easy to get planes, 16:01 but it's hard to get people to fly them. 16:03 So that's why he felt the burden. 16:05 He wanted to put his weight into that. 16:06 So he was all excited and we worked away. 16:08 Well, that's interesting, 16:10 but not, I was really interested 16:11 in at the point. 16:13 But once he got his private pilot's license, 16:14 he had to build hours to work 16:16 towards his commercial license. 16:18 So once he got his private, 16:19 he called me and said, Josh, you wanna go some place? 16:21 I gotta build some hours. Let's go some place flying. 16:23 I remember I was working 16:25 in the health food store at that time 16:26 and I was on the phone with him. 16:27 He said, Where do you want to go? 16:29 It was coming close to Thanksgiving. 16:30 So I asked him if he could fly me home 16:32 for Thanksgiving, 16:33 which is about to Kentucky, yeah. 16:34 So this is from Wildwood, 16:36 Georgia around Chattanooga area. 16:37 Yeah. 16:38 So it take about maybe about five hours 16:40 to get home typically. 16:42 But in a small plane took up two and a half hours. 16:45 So he's like, you know, 16:47 he planned it all out and make a real special. 16:49 He said, we'll get up early in the morning. 16:50 We'll see the sunrise, 16:51 we'll get your home by the morning 16:53 and to the little airport. 16:54 So we got up, you know, crack a dawn 16:55 and flew out of Collegedale airport there. 16:57 Yes. And I enrolled paper 140. 17:00 Okay. And landed there. 17:03 But in flight, I got the full feel of, 17:05 the full experience 17:07 grabbed the yoke and everything. 17:08 And it was kind of intimidating, 17:09 but I just thought how neat it was to be 17:11 able to be at another location, you know, on our schedule in 17:15 an expedient amount of time. 17:17 So we flew there real quickly. 17:19 And I just thought to myself, 17:20 if there's a need for people to do this, 17:22 I'm willing to do this for God. 17:25 Amen. 17:26 So that's kind of where the interest sprang from. 17:29 Oh, my. That's exciting. 17:31 And you had no interest in aviation whatsoever. 17:34 Nothing prior. 17:35 No previous real experience to count. 17:37 Nobody in my family did aviation at all. 17:39 So it was bare bones from scratch. 17:42 Not even computer piloting? 17:44 I think I played a couple of games, 17:45 you know, that's what I did. 17:47 But now, how did the Lord provide for that? 17:49 'Cause I know there... 17:51 As I'm looking at, you know, 17:52 'cause when you talk about pilot's license 17:54 and getting all that kind of training, 17:55 that could be pretty steep and expensive. 17:57 Yeah. Oh. yeah. 17:59 Because God opened the way. 18:00 So at that point I had no idea, 18:02 you know, I had nothing to reference it to 18:04 'cause I had no previous experience. 18:06 I didn't know how expensive it was, 18:07 but I knew it probably wasn't cheap. 18:09 I didn't have money to do really anything 18:11 as far as training goes, 18:13 but Arthur told me, he's like, you know, 18:14 God really opened door for me to do this. 18:16 I know that it's His will, 18:17 He can open the doors for you too. 18:19 That's right. Amen. 18:20 And it wasn't in the same way for him that 18:21 it was for me that God open the doors and, 18:25 you know, God leads people different ways, 18:27 but eventually God opened the same doors 18:29 and maybe a few additional ones 18:31 for me that He did for my friend Arthur. 18:34 So I initially started looking 18:38 for training in Michigan 18:40 and I was up there doing training for a while. 18:42 It was awful cold. 18:43 I was by myself, 18:44 living in a little apartment there. 18:46 And I started wondering 18:47 if there was better options back home. 18:49 So I checked out a closer airport 18:52 to where my mom lived down in Kentucky. 18:54 I found options were cheaper, construction was cheaper. 18:57 And I started thinking, 18:58 'cause at that point I was doing gutters to pay 19:00 for my housing as well as some flight train. 19:04 So I wanted to get actually in the business of aviation 19:07 to really learn it 19:08 'cause I was learning gutters in the same way 19:09 I was trying to fly 19:11 and I'd get all into aviation and really get a background. 19:13 What do you mean gutters? Oh, yeah. 19:15 Gutter installation, rain gutters. 19:16 Okay. Got you. Rain gutters. 19:18 Okay. Rain gutters. 19:19 Great boss, great people. 19:21 I was working for up in the Detroit Metro area, 19:24 but it wasn't, they would want to get into. 19:25 Right. 19:26 You gonna spend time learning this 19:28 and then it pays the bills, 19:29 but not really want to do is lifelong goal. 19:31 So we went and called back home 19:33 and asked about a job at a small airport 19:36 and talked to the airport manager 19:38 and he said, 19:39 well, it's funny you should call. 19:40 We have a guy who's a line, the line guy, 19:42 our line service technician or refueler essentially that 19:45 just broke his hand and we might be 19:48 looking for somebody here in near future. 19:50 So it kind of gave me a little glimmer of hope 19:52 and that was basically 19:54 all I had and I moved back home 19:55 within a month of that, for that job. 19:58 And I interviewed at the airport 20:01 once I got there and there wasn't work just yet. 20:03 The airport managers say once business picks up a little bit, 20:06 we'll give you a call. 20:07 So at that point I was like, well, what do I for now. 20:10 So I was just kind of tooling my thumbs 20:11 for a couple of weeks, 20:13 but then a fellow church member, 20:15 he's a contractor. 20:16 He had just built a house. 20:18 And in the fall of that year, it was, this was summer. 20:22 But a house, that same house got a tree 20:24 that fell on top of it. 20:25 And so the guy who built it, 20:27 my friend got the insurance job 20:28 to repair the house and he needed some help. 20:31 So he invited me to help him. 20:33 And that provided a work to the day that 20:36 I started work at the airport. 20:37 Wow. The Lord provide. 20:39 I hadn't had any word back from the airport, 20:41 you know, about that job. 20:42 And I was like scrambling, checking out options, 20:44 calling people, 20:45 I'm trying to figure out what to do. 20:47 And then one day I got two voicemails 20:49 and I didn't have good cell reception 20:51 where I was at. 20:52 So I climbed up on the roof of this house, 20:54 you know, trying to get these voicemails. 20:55 And it was two, one was from the airport saying 20:57 if you want a job show up on Monday. 20:59 And the other one was from just the day that 21:01 she got her visa to come to the States. 21:04 So after a while of waiting and, you know, 21:07 and really bite my nails, I had two good news. 21:09 Things happen in one instance. 21:12 And you also had bad news too, with your parents, right? 21:15 Yeah. 21:18 Looking around out the airport story. 21:19 You know, I got the job at the airport 21:21 and through that job, 21:22 I was able to get free instruction 21:26 from instructors that I made friends with. 21:28 I was able to use the aircraft 21:29 and just pay for the price of the fuel, 21:31 which cuts the price at about third of the price 21:34 you usually had to pay. 21:35 It's awesome. 21:36 So those two things, that's kind of how I was 21:38 able to get the flight training. 21:40 And I was able to get my maintenance licenses 21:42 through the apprenticeship. 21:45 You go to a school and pay 20, 50,000 for that, 21:48 but I got paid to do it. 21:49 God blessing. Wow. 21:51 He got paid to do it. That's a blessing. 21:52 What a blessing? See. 21:54 the thing about what we're hearing is the Lord 21:56 sees where you're headed 21:57 and He is kind of like clearing the path, 22:00 moving all the mountains 22:02 and the trees out of the way 22:03 and getting you ready for something that 22:05 now you look back on and you could see, 22:08 you climbed up to the roof of the house 22:10 and you got two of 22:11 the most important calls in your life. 22:14 You went up higher. 22:16 Take off, no pun intended, 22:17 but that's amazing how the Lord does that. 22:20 And so you've been with AWA, 22:23 but you were talking about that bad news. 22:25 I want to kind of get to that. 22:26 That was a kind of a kink in the journey you were taking. 22:29 So yeah, as we're pursuing the license as well, 22:31 just after I got my private pilot's license 22:34 that was 2000. 22:35 Yeah, on that same time frame. 22:39 My mom had developed cancer 22:40 while I was working on my pilot's license, 22:42 skin cancer and, the following summer 22:45 after I got my license, she passed away from it. 22:47 So sad. 22:49 And then the following month, I think that was June 22:51 and then July, my father passed away 22:53 from a heart attack. 22:54 Wow. Wow. 22:56 They weren't together. 22:57 They were divorced when I was young age, 22:58 but we were actually at the time 23:00 living with my father. 23:01 We were away doing some promotion stuff with AWA, 23:03 Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 23:04 Okay. But we... 23:07 We had a call. Yeah, we had a call. 23:08 We couldn't reach him in and elder went in 23:10 and checked in and he had a heart attack 23:13 there at home. 23:15 But you know, the doors, the Lord, 23:17 the beautiful thing about it is, you know, 23:19 when you're living for the Lord, you know, 23:20 you'll see your loved ones again. 23:22 A neat story here. 23:25 He had joined Adventist Church 23:27 whenever him and my mom got married. 23:29 But then left the church kind of disgruntled with the church 23:32 because of the relationship 23:33 there are falling out in different things. 23:35 But he moved to Kentucky just two years, basically, 23:39 maybe a little less than two years before he passed. 23:41 And eventually started coming to church with me. 23:43 Really? 23:45 And got relationship with the head elder 23:46 and they hang out lot. 23:48 And then they started going door to door 23:49 and handed out a literature and all stuff. 23:51 Doing special music. Special music. 23:53 And eventually he got baptized. What? 23:54 Amen. 23:55 Just a matter of months later is when he passed. 23:57 He was very excited. 23:58 He was gonna have a grandson, both of them. 24:01 He was at the church on that Sunday, 24:04 before he passed. 24:05 And one of the matriarchs from the church told us 24:07 later that he has a... 24:09 Your dad told me that, that Sunday he's so happy. 24:12 He's so happy he could die. 24:16 He says that? Yeah. 24:18 Wow. Wow. 24:19 Well, the beautiful thing 24:21 is he closed his eyes in the Lord. 24:22 And that's the main thing about it. 24:24 Yeah. We have another picture. 24:25 I want you to... 24:26 I want to bring it up and just have you explain 24:28 what we're seeing 24:29 'cause there are those who are... 24:30 Yeah. Yeah. 24:32 So a little more current. 24:33 This is just here recently going down to Nicaragua 24:37 for our pre-deployment trip. 24:39 So we went down there with the project manager 24:41 and his wife Ray and Julia Young, 24:43 they're on the left there, they're from Canada. 24:46 And so we went down there to get a feel 24:48 for the mission field essentially, 24:49 where we're going to be serving. 24:51 So we were down there for three months 24:53 with the Young's kind of getting some things 24:55 in order with the base and whatnot 24:57 and getting operations going, 24:58 had been dormant for a little bit, 24:59 not too awful long, 25:01 but we got a feel for the country. 25:02 Got a feel for the needs, 25:04 got to get networked a little bit 25:05 with some of the personalities down 25:07 there we'll be working along with, 25:08 and a really good experience. 25:09 We were expecting to go for about a month. 25:11 But Pastor Ric said three months 25:13 is probably what you're gonna need. 25:15 I was almost thrown back of that. 25:17 That's literally. That's a long trip there. 25:20 You don't think about bills back home, 25:21 but God provided and three months was 25:23 just what we needed just to get some things 25:25 in order down there 25:27 as well as get a feel for the country. 25:28 And your wife speaks Spanish. So that's a big help. 25:30 Yeah. Yeah. 25:32 Yeah. That was nice. 25:33 Even though they speak Miskito there too a lot. 25:35 And I did not understand anything what that Miskito. 25:38 It's a local indigenous people down there 25:40 and they speak in 25:42 different languages in Nicaragua, 25:43 as well as... 25:44 Miskito. Miskito. 25:46 Miskito. It sounds like the bug. 25:47 Yeah. I was thinking that. 25:49 That's what I was thinking. 25:50 I was kind of preventing myself from going there, 25:52 but it sounds so close. 25:54 Yeah. That's very interesting. Yeah. 25:55 So project in Nicaragua is in the Northeastern portion 25:58 of Nicaragua in the mountains. 25:59 So it's isolated. It's not... 26:01 And I believe Yosi is the speck in the jungle, 26:05 but found like a kind of a... 26:07 Pine Savannah. Yes. 26:08 Savannah pines. A lot of pines. 26:10 Yeah. 26:11 Not too far away from the jungle, 26:13 but we're just in, through the end of 26:14 the pines savannah there and a lot of pine trees, 26:18 I had never seen any place like it. 26:19 Probably hills. Where do you land? 26:20 Is there a landing strip? Yes. 26:22 Yeah. There's a little landing strip. 26:23 It used to be an old air force base actually. 26:25 Wow. 26:26 Before that, I believe it serves the, 26:28 some of the gringos as they call them down there 26:31 where they would export pine sap from these pine trees. 26:34 I think, I'm not sure if it came with the gringos 26:36 or came with the military, of the air strip. 26:38 But at a really decent airstrip, 26:40 Ric serving long for its sap. 26:42 And how, what was your mode of transportation 26:45 after you land your mode of transportation? 26:48 How far did you have to travel to get to the places 26:51 that you were in the ministry? 26:52 Yeah. 26:53 That's a long story, so we'll start it from the top. 26:57 But getting down there, you know, 26:58 we had to get COVID test to get it down there, 27:00 'cause of the pandemic. 27:02 We didn't know how we were going to do that. 27:04 'Cause we were in route to North Carolina, 27:05 but we found out that 27:07 wasn't gonna work in North Carolina. 27:08 We stopped at a random place in West Virginia 27:09 and a place opened up right where we stopped for lunch 27:12 to take a COVID test that had the turn around time 27:14 that we needed to get the results 27:16 turned into the airlines. 27:17 So then once we got on the airlines, 27:19 we flew from Raleigh to Miami, 27:21 spent the night in Miami, flew from Miami to Managua, 27:24 which is the capital of Nicaragua. 27:26 On the other side of the country. 27:27 On the Pacific side, the Western side. 27:29 Wow. 27:30 So we spent about a week 27:31 there taking care of some business. 27:33 And then we took a van from Managua 27:34 to the opposite coast on the Atlantic side, 27:37 Eastern coast that took about 18 hours I think with... 27:41 By road? Yeah. 27:42 By road. Did you have your boys? 27:45 Yes. Of course. 27:46 That must've been a lot of fun. 27:48 It was a little rough too, because you know, 27:52 you're new to the country, your stomach, 27:54 it's also getting used to the new place. 27:57 So our older one here was puking, yeah. 28:01 But we made it. 28:03 Now, you think you have a short video clip 28:05 of the drive going on. 28:07 We have a little bit of, a little bit of a clip 28:08 from showing the roads and also some transportation. 28:11 So once we got to the coast, 28:13 we had another two hour drive, 28:15 two and a half hour drive up to the base 28:17 and we took the small base truck, 28:18 I think we have a picture of the truck. 28:20 It was a video, some of the rough roads there. 28:23 This isn't the same road to the base, 28:25 but it's the... 28:26 Another stretch of it, 28:27 basically shows a little bit of how it looks, 28:29 a lot of pine trees, 28:30 potholes would just jump out, it's kind of... 28:33 You did 18 hours of something like that? 28:35 Something like that. Yeah. 28:37 Well some of it was paved. 28:38 Some of it was like that, we should say. 28:40 The road to the base from the coastal city is about 28:44 like that dirt, the whole way, 28:46 potholes, intermittently. 28:47 Sometimes it'd be a nice stretch of smooth, 28:49 you know, get up speed. 28:51 And then all of a sudden there's a pothole. 28:52 You'll be winding it up 28:54 trying to not hit the heads on the roof. 28:56 Yeah. No potty stops anywhere? 28:58 Rest areas? Anywhere you want. 29:02 It's very remote, you know, 29:03 so there's not a whole lot of traffic 29:05 through the area you'll, you'll come through a village 29:07 and then it'll be just open and nowhere for a long time. 29:10 That's a plus of having boys. Very flexible. 29:15 What will you be doing in Nicaragua? 29:18 So basically the project's 29:19 been there for about 12 years, roughly. 29:22 It's been serving mainly 29:24 through medivacs to the local little towns 29:26 and airstrips to a bigger hospital. 29:29 That's what the main bread and butter is. 29:31 So the places are hard to get to, 29:34 the roads are even rougher than what you saw in the video 29:36 there sometimes, especially in the rainy season 29:37 with the traffic, 29:39 the potholes just get to be lakes. 29:41 And it's hard to get places. 29:43 One of the main hospitals we serve is three hours away 29:45 from the main hospital on the coast. 29:48 That's, you know, when the roads 29:49 are in good condition. 29:50 So a lot of times we'll be taking people 29:52 from that hospital to the larger hospital, 29:54 as well as some other neighboring communities 29:56 to the larger hospital. 29:57 The main hospital will be served, 29:59 it's about 35 minutes drive away 30:01 from where the basis is a small hospital. 30:03 Very, very much limited as to what they can do there. 30:06 Any kind of major surgery has to go to the coast 30:09 and they service 114 communities, 30:12 a very large amount. 30:14 And some of those communities can be, 30:15 you know, just maybe five families to, 30:17 you know, maybe hundreds of people. 30:20 Maybe they have a clinic, maybe they don't, 30:22 but they service a lot of folks. 30:23 And some of those folks need to travel hours 30:25 by either trail road or boat to get to them, 30:29 let alone to the big hospital. 30:30 Wow. 30:31 So our main thing is to take and make that region 30:33 a little smaller by air travel 30:35 so they can get to the healthcare 30:36 that they need in a expedient manner. 30:38 Yeah. 30:39 You have a picture of some of the families 30:40 that you minister to there. 30:42 Yeah. Oh, yeah. 30:43 Because it's pretty interesting. 30:45 Let's look at that right now 30:46 and just tell us what we're looking at here? 30:47 So this family here has 30:49 a little bit of a background story. 30:51 I think the lady in the back underneath the house 30:53 there was the main lady that we helped. 30:57 We got a call from the community nurse 30:58 saying that we have a serious case 31:00 needs to the hospital. 31:01 And this was after Sabbath on Saturday, 31:04 we were with Ray and Julie with popcorn smoothies, 31:07 some typical Adventist thing. 31:10 And she got a call from a nurse and said, 31:12 there's a serious case needs to get the hospital ASAP. 31:14 And this was after dark. 31:16 So I got on the truck, went over to these folks' house 31:18 and pull up and there's maybe 15 people 31:22 all gathered around and I'm guessing family. 31:24 And they come out and there's two young guys 31:26 carrying this lady. 31:27 And she looks by all evidence is kind of unresponsive. 31:30 She was limp as they were carrying her. 31:32 And they carried her to the vehicle. 31:34 And she lay there in the back 31:35 with a lady supporting her head in her lap 31:38 and the nurse got in the front. 31:39 So we head to the hospital 31:41 and she was just motionless, didn't make a noise. 31:43 Until about halfway to the hospital, 31:45 she started vomiting and it would just dry-heave. 31:49 And I talked to the nurse with the limited Spanish I have 31:52 and ask her, you know, what she has. 31:54 And she said on, 31:55 I don't know if she's just doing this all day. 31:58 And so she was just dry-heaving. 31:59 I was like, man, I wish she stopped 32:00 'cause I know how that can be painful. 32:02 That's where I sent up a prayer. 32:04 And she after maybe a minute she stopped. 32:08 Amen. 32:09 And once we got to the hospital, 32:10 she maybe dry-heaved a couple more times, 32:12 but then it stopped 32:13 and they were able to care for her. 32:14 And as you can see there, she was fine. 32:16 But the way she looked, 32:17 I didn't know if she was gonna make it out, 32:19 but she was fine. 32:20 So later on Yosi is like, well, 32:21 we want to do some outreach in the community. 32:23 And we want to hand out some books. 32:25 And I said, well, why don't we visit the people 32:26 we were able to service? 32:28 See how they're doing. 32:29 They should probably be a little more 32:31 open to receiving a book. 32:32 So we were giving out Steps to Christ 32:34 to a number of families that we had helped. 32:35 And they were one of them and they received us warmly. 32:38 Now, Bruce angel flights. What is that? 32:42 Well, angel flights or humanitarian flights, 32:45 basically, they're just different organizations 32:47 throughout the US but Adventist World Aviation 32:50 based in Smithfield, North Carolina. 32:51 We do angel flights based on people calling us, pastors, 32:56 community, friends, 32:58 or that need a patient that perhaps they have cancer. 33:02 Perhaps they have a serious medical appointment. 33:04 I guess not for emergency care, 33:06 but if they have to get to their appointment, 33:07 it's a long distance 33:09 and they don't have a means to do it. 33:11 A small plane can make the difference. 33:12 For example, recently we I think Josh 33:16 just did a flight for individual from Asheville, 33:18 North Carolina to Arkansas. Yeah. 33:20 And that was... Was this the lady with cancer? 33:22 No, that was a different one, yeah. 33:24 So angel flights don't necessarily 33:26 even have to be a medical flight, 33:27 could be for any other humanitarian reason. 33:29 Yes. 33:30 And this lady was a prime example. 33:31 She was coming from a domestic abuse situation 33:34 and needed to get to a court date back 33:38 where the situation had occurred. 33:39 And that was gonna be a 10-hour drive. 33:41 Wow. 33:42 She didn't have a vehicle 33:43 and public transport can be kind of rough, 33:45 especially with COVID right now. 33:46 Emotional. Yeah. 33:47 Emotional situation as well. 33:49 And an airline, you know, 33:50 couldn't get her very close to where she was at. 33:52 So having somebody pick her up was gonna be an issue. 33:54 So she got in touch with through some friends. 33:57 Actually they got in touch for her, 33:59 with Pastor Ric and he gave me a call 34:01 and that week all planned out, 34:04 I cut trees for a living for myself. 34:06 And I had a week all planned out what to do. 34:08 And he gives me a call and said, hey, 34:10 can you do an angel flight? 34:12 Well, I got a whole week planned out, 34:13 you know, and I hate changing directions, 34:15 but I know what it's like 34:17 to have a door opened up when I really need one. 34:18 So I want it to be that door for her and be God's hands. 34:21 And plus I had just cut my finger 34:23 sharpening the chainsaw. 34:25 It was steel? Yeah. 34:26 Steel chainsaw. 34:28 So I think it probably should have 34:30 had a chance to heal anyway. 34:32 So that was a good chance 34:33 to have a low traffic from my finger. 34:35 And so was able to go 34:37 to North Carolina pickup the plane, 34:40 pick her up in Asheville and take her to Arkansas. 34:42 I think you have a picture of her? 34:43 Yeah. 34:45 Later we have a picture 34:46 there staying next to the plane, 34:48 actually was the same plane 34:49 it's gonna be going to Nicaragua. 34:50 Okay. 34:52 So Cessna 182, it's been outfitted 34:53 with a larger tires and modified leading edge 34:54 to make it go slower with ease, 34:57 longer wings, modified interior as well, more utilitarian. 35:00 Okay. 35:01 So you've made the wings a little longer? 35:02 Yeah. Yeah. 35:04 Okay. I like that. 35:05 You fly that all the way in Nicaragua. 35:06 Yeah. It's gonna be flying. 35:08 Yeah. 35:09 So some places, you know, 35:10 planes need to be put in containers, 35:12 maybe if we're going to the South Pacific. 35:13 How many times do you have to stop? 35:15 Do you have an idea? Oh, that's a good question. 35:17 We'll say four or rough out four maybe, maybe more. 35:20 About six-hour flight range. It's six hours supplements. 35:24 With the tanks it has, withour exhilarated tanks 35:26 it's more like four hours probably safely. 35:29 And your wife joins you in humanitarian role. 35:33 You do humanitarian work with AWA? 35:36 She wears a lot of hats. Yeah. 35:38 I do a lot of the house whenever. 35:41 Well, when I was in Nicaragua there they speak Spanish. 35:44 So they'll come and I'll see what they need. 35:47 How can we help them? 35:50 And, yeah, take care of whatever else 35:52 is needed to be taken. 35:54 She's a cook and a mother, a translator, hostess. 35:59 Yeah. A lot of different things. 36:00 There was one thing 36:02 I said every person that comes here. 36:04 At least I wanna give them a good cup of water, 36:07 'cause sometimes they don't drink water 36:09 and they have like a headache 36:10 and we just tell them, have you drink water? 36:13 And they're like, oh no. 36:15 So everyone that came, 36:16 I was like, would you like some water? 36:18 Oh, you know, I think yes. Aqua. 36:21 Aqua, yeah. 36:22 Refrigerator with some, where can you 36:24 throw a couple of ice cubes in there if they want it. 36:25 Yeah. They enjoy that. 36:27 It's filtered, comes out of the well, you know, so. 36:29 They're happy to receive a nice cold glass. 36:31 Amen. Now, Bruce, how was it... 36:33 How were these funded, how were these projects funded? 36:35 Well, we're self-supporting ministry independent ministry 36:38 and we have to, 36:39 100% of our funds are raised by missionaries 36:42 and through donations, 36:44 through charitable giving whether it's churches, 36:47 whether it's individuals 36:48 or even companies have contribute 36:50 to Adventist World Aviation. 36:52 So the missionaries, as part of their calling, see, 36:56 we have people sometimes ask us, 36:57 we have pilots and mechanics calls us. 36:59 Do you have any jobs available? 37:00 'Cause I'm an Adventist and I want a job. 37:02 Well, we have very few jobs. 37:05 We have lots of opportunities for callings. 37:08 If you're being called to serve, 37:10 if you're being called, we need you. 37:12 There you go. 37:14 So if you're a pilot mechanic 37:16 or if you feel God's calling you 37:17 to serve in a foreign mission field, 37:19 we have opportunities available. 37:21 Please reach out and contact us 37:22 because we want people that are called. 37:25 'cause when you're called, 37:26 but God calls, He enables and we just heard... 37:29 Provides. Provides, right. 37:31 We heard how He provided 37:32 for Josh in many of his situations. 37:35 And He provides for every single person 37:37 He calls to service. 37:38 If people feel they've being 37:40 called to service through Adventist World Aviation, 37:41 to serve abroad, we are interested. 37:44 Wow. How many people on your staff? 37:46 Very few... 37:48 As far as on the staff, 37:49 we have a total of seven people. 37:51 Just seven. Seven. 37:52 But we have a lot of host country nationals, 37:55 whether it's in Guyana, Nicaragua, or the Philippines. 37:58 Oh, yes. 37:59 Or, and some people in Alaska too, 38:01 that help us in a volunteer capacity. 38:04 And so then we have another probably 38:06 eight or ten people that help us in that capacity. 38:09 And we have lots of volunteers in the United States 38:11 who help us in a part-time capacity as well. 38:14 So that's how you're funded by the people,right? 38:17 By God, through inspired people 38:19 to support the work 38:20 'cause we believe if you're, 38:22 God's calling a support team and this is what Josh and Yosi, 38:25 their road to the mission field 38:27 from here forward is to grow a support team, 38:30 a prayer team. 38:31 People they can pray for them, 38:32 people they want to support them financially 38:34 and other means to get them to the mission field 38:37 where God is calling them to work. 38:38 And the support team is a vital part of all the work 38:41 we do because they get behind the work. 38:44 And, you know, 38:45 as far as doing the work in the actual field, 38:47 it's going to be Josh and Yosi. 38:48 But the people back here 38:50 when they pray for them and get behind them. 38:51 Yes. 38:52 It makes a big difference 'cause often when we spend time 38:54 in the Philippines, when we spent time in Guyana, 38:57 we are constantly in contact with our support team. 38:58 Wow. 39:00 And we have a difficult situation. 39:01 We need to have prayed for. 39:03 We need support for, people will donate. 39:06 Like we find out a lady needs something, 39:08 an item, a generator. 39:10 And we have people who are very benevolent, 39:13 very giving 39:15 and they will donate a generator, 39:16 ship it over, or they'll donate funds. 39:18 So we can purchase one locally or food for people that 39:21 we've had some tribal people 39:23 that came across the border from Venezuela to Guyana 39:25 that we had to help out. 39:26 But people donated the resources 39:28 to provide for the ministry. 39:29 Now, do you need doctors or nurses on the mission field? 39:33 Well, one of our future... 39:36 One of your future guest here, he's a chiropractor 39:39 and we don't have a specific need 39:41 for a position that says doctor or nurses, 39:44 but those skills that God enables you with, 39:46 He can use for His work. 39:48 I believe in my heart that He calls people with, 39:52 He enables them with gifts and talents, 39:54 but He also gives them, 39:55 He takes the gifts and resources that you have, 39:58 and He will multiply them in the mission field 40:00 He's calling you to serve Him. 40:01 Yes. Well, I'm gonna ask. 40:03 Yeah, I'll tell you, I'm gonna ask Josh a question 40:05 'cause I love that. 40:06 This is amazing to see how long this has been around. 40:08 How many years again? 40:10 1995. 1995. 40:12 It's beautiful. I mean, I don't know. 40:15 I might, I don't know, honey, maybe I just, 40:17 if the Lord provides an opportunity to fly. 40:19 My friend Doug. He's always wanted to fly. 40:20 We can use you. 40:22 My friend Doug Batchelor says, he says you could probably 40:24 pass this test really easily, anyway but... 40:26 I hope your flight is simulative. 40:28 I mean, I'm not gonna boast about knowing all that, 40:31 but a lot of it is the terminologies 40:33 and understanding what these things mean, 40:34 but it's quite a different story 40:36 when you go from a computer to a actual plane. 40:37 Exactly. 40:38 Because hey, you know, it's a little windy up here. 40:42 You have some video. 40:43 I want to just, you know, 40:45 you can't press the button pause 40:46 and wipe your forehead, you keep going. 40:48 You have some video of you flying there. 40:49 I'm pretty interested in that. Yeah. 40:51 Yeah. Here's a... 40:53 This is after I dropped this lady off 40:54 of the angel flight flying through some clouds. 40:57 Yeah. I had a lot of storms. 40:59 I was flying through getting out there to 41:01 where I dropped her off. 41:02 And then coming back, I had a lot as well, 41:05 a big line of storms 41:06 and I talked to the ATC air traffic controller 41:10 and I was like, is there a way that 41:11 you can get me around these storms? 41:13 And he was like, well, 41:15 I don't really see anything if you're asking me. 41:18 In other words, great, navigate around the best you can. 41:21 Yeah, yes, I'm looking at a feed 41:23 of the weather on my iPad there. 41:26 And I saw an airport that was just right 41:28 where the precipitation was starting. 41:30 I was coming up behind the storms, 41:31 so I went down. 41:33 I was going to land at that airport 41:34 and just kind of reevaluate. 41:36 So I flew over the airport just under the clouds. 41:40 And then I started seeing it opened up to the south. 41:43 So I went to the south as it was kind of opening up 41:45 and I started climbing. 41:47 I said, well, it's opening enough here. 41:48 So at the story of my life, 41:50 you know, that God opened the door 41:52 and the precipitation was lighter. 41:54 I went between a couple layers. 41:55 I got back on the, 41:56 on my flight plan with air traffic control 41:58 and continued on my way. 41:59 But as the video kind of illustrates, you know, 42:01 sometimes we don't know 42:03 when the next hole is gonna to happen, 42:05 where you see some blue sky. 42:06 But we just had to go forward with instruments, you know, 42:08 knowing that God was leading us thus far 42:10 and to continue to how we were going. 42:12 And then the blue skies happened 42:13 and smooth there after that. 42:16 So that was, I feel great. Yes, that's beautiful. 42:19 Your website, I went on there and it's what I like is it says 42:24 building bridges for saving lives. 42:27 Amen. I love that. 42:28 And then also what I like is you go... 42:30 You boldly go where no missionary 42:34 has gone before. 42:35 I mean, you see the jungles. 42:37 I looked on that video on I'm looking, 42:39 wow, look at those. 42:42 What do you call that? 42:43 The runways that you have to land on. 42:46 Some of them are pretty bumpy, huh? 42:48 Yeah. 42:49 We try to be as, as ready for 42:52 whatever we might experience when we go there. 42:54 And we have planes that are outfitted 42:55 to experience those kinds of things 42:57 without falling apart. 42:58 But I had the advantage 43:00 of where I did my flight training, 43:01 where I'm from, well, 43:03 there's a number of grass airstrips 43:04 I was able to practice on. 43:06 I think some of them were shut down now, 43:07 but they were on different grades and whatnot. 43:09 Some of them were on a hill basically. 43:12 Landing up hill? 43:13 Yeah, landing up hill, taking off, 43:15 going downhill, you turn around and go down the other way. 43:17 So we had that advantage 43:18 of being able to practice a little bit, 43:21 but airplanes can go in some places 43:22 where you might not think possible. 43:24 Now you also fly supplies to villages. 43:27 Talk about some of those experiences. 43:28 Yeah. 43:29 So basically aviation, our main tool is medivacs, 43:33 but we're really trying to meet people's needs where, 43:35 wherever and whatever they may be. 43:37 So if that is, you know, 43:38 that's developed transporting some food, 43:41 that's transporting gospel workers and pastors. 43:43 Antivenom. 43:45 Antivenom is another example 43:46 that was done down there in Nicaragua. 43:48 And there was a boy in one of these remote villages 43:50 who got bit by fer-de-lance, 43:52 a very venomous viper, viper down there. 43:56 And the missionary that was down there was, 43:59 I was at ends of what to do. 44:01 And because it wasn't a runway that was open for him, 44:05 they had a runway at the village, 44:06 but it wasn't open. 44:08 So what he did was he took the antivenom 44:09 and he wrapped it in some cushions 44:11 and he flew low and slow 44:12 over this runway and booted it out. 44:15 And they were able to get those 44:16 and had enough antivenom vials that survived to help the boy. 44:18 Wow. 44:20 And the government approved the entrance 44:22 on the airstrip the next day 44:24 he was able to do carry the kid out of there. 44:27 That's another thing in Nicaragua. 44:28 We have to, of course, everywhere, 44:30 you have to have permission before you take off a flight. 44:31 That's right. 44:33 And there, they have, 44:34 they also have to coordinate with the army. 44:36 They bring out armed soldiers 44:39 and are surrounding in the airfield. 44:41 So they're looking for nefarious individuals 44:44 that may not have good intentions, 44:47 like drug traffickers, contraband, et cetera. 44:49 It's all part of that code over drug motions 44:51 in South America to North America. 44:53 If I heard you correctly, he didn't really land. 44:55 He just flew a few knots 44:56 above stall just to give the things out. 44:58 Yeah. 45:01 A lot different ways to use a tool of aviation. 45:03 You know, there's a reason we're there. 45:04 There's just that infrastructure 45:06 that people rely upon over here. 45:08 Where I try to explain to people 45:10 in North America is we liked 45:11 the thought of having a helicopter 45:12 within a short distance to take us 45:14 to a hospital in a hurry if we need to. 45:16 But over there, they just don't have 45:18 the infrastructure where that's in place. 45:20 So we're there with airplanes 45:22 and basically provide the same service 45:24 that we enjoy over here getting us around traffic. 45:26 And around here, it's pretty flat, 45:28 but in Kentucky, there's a lot of hills 45:30 that can really slow you down. 45:31 Yeah. 45:32 Over there, you either don't have a road 45:34 or maybe they have the road in the hills. 45:35 So it provides a way for them 45:37 to get the hospital in timely manner. 45:38 And with medical is a golden hour. 45:41 So when somebody is in an emergent condition, 45:43 if you can get them to life-saving care 45:44 within an hour, 45:46 you have a great chance of them surviving. 45:47 So we tried to make that 45:49 as our goal is to try to get them 45:51 within one hour to definitive medical care. 45:53 So you've saved many lives? Yes, we have. 45:56 Yeah, Adventist World Aviation 45:58 has helped save many lives in the countries that we serve. 45:59 Praise God. 46:01 And the average cost of a flight is about how much? 46:03 It's about $350. Okay. 46:04 For fuel burning, if you're going to, 46:06 it depends on distance and everything else. 46:07 But if you're looking at an average, it's about $350. 46:10 Now, before our program winds up, 46:11 talk about some of the projects you have and some of the things 46:13 that are ahead of you that the viewers 46:17 and listeners of this program could participate in. 46:19 Yeah. 46:20 Because AWR is, as you said, support AWA. 46:23 Did I just say AWR? Yeah. 46:25 I don't know. 46:26 My wife works for radio, but AWA, just to be exact. 46:31 Talk about some of these projects 46:33 that the audience could participate in. 46:35 Well, if there's anybody 46:37 that feels call to serve, of course we need people. 46:39 But also the projects 46:40 that we have to support as Josh and Yosi Fix. 46:43 They are trying to raise 46:44 a support team to go to Nicaragua. 46:48 And to do that, 46:49 they can't get there unless they have the supporters 46:51 to help them. 46:52 And to do that, means people that are willing to pray, 46:54 be a prayer partner, financially support them 46:57 for our project in Nicaragua. 46:59 So we can make a difference in people's lives 47:01 and lead them to a relationship with Jesus Christ. 47:04 And that's the ultimate goal in every project we have. 47:06 We have Alaska where Jim Kincaid, 47:08 Pastor Kincaid operates up there. 47:10 He needs support to help the Native Americans there. 47:12 We have project in Guyana 47:14 where we have the Rene family heading 47:16 to in a couple months and they will be needing 47:20 the same kind of support to go there. 47:21 We can't do any operation without a support team. 47:25 What do you think your future is as you look down the road, 47:28 because you talked about when you were given the, 47:30 you anticipating a month 47:32 and it turned into three months. 47:33 What kind of preparation do you feel is ahead of you 47:35 to get ready for the Nicaragua projects? 47:39 Yeah. 47:40 Most of our preparation has already been done. 47:42 You know, fully licensed 47:43 as far as a pilot mechanic goes, 47:45 or we have some training we're doing 47:46 with the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist 47:48 to prepare us a little intercultural training, 47:50 which we're working through, which is a great asset. 47:54 Besides that not a whole lot stands between us 47:57 and in Nicaragua and getting there. 47:59 Wow. 48:00 Truly mission missionaries, you know, like you, 48:04 we have in our church, we have a missionary couple 48:07 that we help, our whole church. 48:08 Yeah. 48:10 Because once you leave America, once you leave the mainland, 48:12 I could say, you get away from a lot of the conveniences 48:15 that are maybe just a short drive away. 48:18 And you go into an area 48:19 where high-speed internet, what's that? 48:24 No. 48:25 A lot of self-reliance has to be practiced. 48:27 I mean, we learned a lot of that down in Nicaragua. 48:28 A lot of food has to be cooked from scratch. 48:30 You know, some things we can't have. 48:32 One of my favorite foods is haystacks, you know? 48:35 Oh, no. Okay. 48:37 We made it happen maybe like one time, I think. 48:40 Amazingly, we had a hard time finding lettuce, right? 48:42 We always do. 48:44 In South America, lettuce is not prevalent. 48:45 Yeah. 48:47 Even Guyana, Philippines, this is not prevalent there. 48:49 It's hard to find it. 48:50 It's a common staple around here, 48:52 but we found one guy, who sold some. 48:54 Yeah. 48:55 But, you know, instead of getting bread, 48:57 you know, like we would at a supermarket here, 48:59 Yosi was making the bread, like she in the picture. 49:02 We had a lot of beans and rice and different things, 49:04 learning the recipes of the local area, 49:07 what's at hand. 49:09 So flexibility is a big characteristic 49:10 of missionaries. 49:12 You have to be flexible time, situations adaptable. 49:16 So like Gumby, if you remember the old Gumby. 49:18 Yeah. Gumby. 49:20 So if you're flexible, like Gumby and you can bend 49:22 and turn and adjust without breaking, 49:25 that's really the recipe, you know, for success, 49:28 of course being one with God being, 49:30 keeping your eyes on Christ and being flexible, 49:33 because be willing to be 49:35 interrupted throughout your day. 49:37 You have plans like Josh talked about 49:38 and then being interrupted 49:40 'cause God places people in your path. 49:41 That's a pastor's life. 49:43 The whole two things are planned. 49:45 One of the prime examples, 49:46 I think to give biblically is the good Samaritan, 49:48 willing to be interrupted. 49:50 Amen. 49:51 You know, and to help somebody that's in need. 49:53 And that's the gospel 49:54 with some legs on it, basically. 49:55 That's right. 49:57 It's easy to talk about, you know, 49:58 doctrines and everything. 49:59 And those are very important, but you know, 50:01 it's a different legs in the gospel. 50:02 And put in selfless love into practice 50:05 is where it really meets the road. 50:06 Now, what about your boys? 50:08 How do they adjust to this missionary lifestyle? 50:13 Well, they seem to like it, 50:14 especially 'cause they can play out there. 50:16 The base is set in a country side. 50:21 And it's very private, a lot of trees. 50:23 So they like that they can just play outside. 50:26 Do they speak Spanish? 50:28 They're learning. They're learning. 50:29 They need to learn somewhat. 50:31 In Nicaragua they might learn Miskito. 50:32 Yeah, that too. 50:34 We have a day labor there that is a local 50:36 and speaks Miskito and Spanish as well. 50:38 So he might be teaching them. 50:40 They really like playing with him, 50:41 but the other boys had some different experiences 50:44 that really like, they like riding around 50:46 on the motorcycle with me. 50:47 They didn't miss their bicycles. 50:49 They didn't bring their bicycles obviously. 50:51 So we'll have to find them some bicycles to play on there. 50:53 Wow. 50:55 But you do have Bible studies and you have baptisms. 50:57 Yeah. Yeah. 50:59 So we support the local church very strongly. 51:01 There's a small church in the local community there. 51:05 Not too far down the way, 51:06 there's a like a layman training 51:09 kind of center for the local laypeople. 51:11 And so we've helped them 51:13 for sure get to where they need to be. 51:15 Help them build some churches and whatnot. 51:17 Yes. 51:18 Every country that we work in, we work closely 51:20 with the local conference and pastors. 51:22 We believe in working alongside them 51:24 and helping them with their mission 51:26 to serve the people. 51:27 Amen. Beautiful. 51:29 And I want to make sure that our audience, 51:30 our viewing audience has the information 51:32 that you would need to be able to get in touch with AWA. 51:36 And then on the other side of the news break, 51:38 we'll be back for a few closing thoughts. 51:41 Yes. 51:43 If you would like to contact or know more about 51:45 Adventist World Aviation, 51:47 you can write to them at 3457, Swift Creek Road, 51:51 Corp-3, Smithfield, North Carolina 27577. 51:57 You can call them at (919) 938-2920. 52:03 You can also visit their website at flyaway.org 52:08 That's flyaway.org 52:13 You can also email them at info@flyawa.org 52:18 That's info@flyawa.org |
Revised 2021-08-02