Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY230027A
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00:04 I want to spend my life mending broken people.
00:15 I want to spend my life removing pain. 00:25 Lord, let my words heal a heart that hurts. 00:36 I want to spend my life mending broken people. 00:46 I want to spend my life mending broken people. 01:07 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:09 I'm John Lomacang, but you may know that 01:11 if you're part of our 3ABN family. 01:13 To my right is my lovely wife Angela. 01:15 Always good to have you here, honey. 01:17 - Your co-pilot today. - That's right, and I am pilot. 01:20 And you'll find out why we say that in just a moment. 01:23 But before we introduce you to our guests, 01:25 thank you for your prayers and your support of this network 01:28 as we continue going and growing, 01:30 getting ready for the coming of the Lord. 01:32 This is going to be an exciting program. 01:34 Shall we say this program is about to take off? 01:36 It's about to take off. 01:38 I love it. I'm excited. Especially young people. 01:41 That's true. We're talking about the Oklahoma Academy today 01:44 and what they offer. 01:46 You might be a young person looking at this program, 01:48 or if you have a young person, you might say, 01:50 "Hey, Joy, Susan, come let's watch this program," 01:54 because you're about to go to academy 01:56 and you might be thinking of what academy 01:58 to send your son or daughter to. 02:00 And so we're going to look forward to that. 02:01 But we're not going to have music today. 02:04 We're going to just dive into the program 02:06 because there's just so much we're going to cover. 02:08 And let me just go ahead and introduce our guests. 02:10 Yeah, let's do that. 02:11 Right across from me is Mr. Cliff Brooks. 02:14 Good to have you here today. 02:15 Thank you, thank you very much. 02:17 It's a pleasure to be here at 3ABN. 02:19 We really appreciate this opportunity. 02:21 We've been looking forward to it for a little while here. 02:23 And it's just a pleasure to be here. 02:25 Thank you so much for hosting us today. 02:26 Give us a nutshell of what you do and where you're from. 02:29 So we're from Oklahoma Academy. 02:31 We're just about 20 miles outside of Oklahoma City. 02:33 Just to the east. 02:35 But our students come from all over the U.S., 02:36 and all over the world, actually. 02:38 And they come to Oklahoma Academy 02:40 as a four year boarding school. 02:42 You know, just a Christian Seventh-day Adventist school. 02:46 And we teach regular academics and all those kind of things. 02:49 We'll let the students introduce themselves here. 02:50 A couple of them we brought along. 02:52 But I teach a mission aviation program. 02:56 And I also for the last five years have been directing 03:00 that program, as well as the missions program 03:05 that has developed out of the mission aviation program. 03:08 So that's what we're here to talk about today. 03:10 ~ Okay. ~ Alright, great. 03:13 Now the academy is in Oklahoma. 03:16 How many students do you have? 03:18 We have about 30 students there. 03:21 35, it hovers around 30 to 35 students. 03:25 And about as many staff as well, which is kind of interesting. 03:28 And you have some of your students with you today. 03:30 Tell us what your name is, and kind of what grade you're in, 03:33 and where you're from. 03:35 So my name is Andre. I'm a junior. 03:38 And I am originally from Missouri, 03:40 but my parents work at the school. 03:42 ~ Okay, well good to have you here, Andre. 03:44 Are you in the aviation program? 03:45 Yes, I am. 03:47 ~ Have you flown before. - Yeah. 03:48 ~ Okay, we'll talk about that in a moment. 03:51 And to your right, tell us your name and what you do. 03:54 My name is Ethan Currier. 03:56 I'm also in the mission aviation program. 03:59 But I'm 16, I'm a junior at Oklahoma Academy. 04:02 And I'm originally from Indiana. 04:04 ~ You're 16. Have you flown? - Yes. 04:07 ~ Wow. 04:09 ~ You'll probably get a pilot's license 04:10 before you get a driver's license in some states. 04:13 That's good. The future is safe. 04:14 Your eyes look bright. And praise the Lord for that. 04:18 And the young man to your right, or to my right. 04:21 My name is Lincoln, and I'm also a junior. 04:24 Like my comrades here. 04:25 And I also fly airplanes in the aviation program. 04:28 ~ Where are you from? - I'm from Oklahoma. 04:30 - Oklahoma. - Wow, that's okay. 04:34 And you. 04:35 My name is Micah, and I'm from Oregon. 04:37 And I'm also a junior like the rest of my friends. 04:39 And I'm also in the aviation program. 04:41 ~ Wow, this is going to be a fun program. 04:44 With all the jargon, you know, Alpha, Charlie, Foxtrot. 04:47 - You love flying. - This is a great program. 04:49 - And we do fly a lot. - We do. 04:51 But you're a flight enthusiast. 04:53 You like all kind of flight things, you do. 04:55 Maybe I'll have you guys go from here. 04:59 You might want to join us on the flight. 05:00 But before that happens, we want to come back to you 05:04 and find out a little bit more about your school. 05:09 Kind of give some insights on it. 05:10 Sure, Oklahoma Academy was developed back in 1981 05:16 as a self-supporting, or what I prefer to say, 05:19 supporting ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 05:22 It's trained young people for the last 40 years, 05:27 or more than 40 years now. 05:29 And a lot of the graduates have gone out to various ministries. 05:33 It's a school that has a strong track record 05:36 in training young people for the harvest. 05:38 And really that's our mission, 05:40 is to train young people for the harvest. 05:42 But generally, you can find most of the traditional 05:46 academic programs at the school. 05:48 You know, math, writing, languages, history. 05:53 Those types of things. 05:54 We have a very strong academic program, always have. 05:56 And I think nobody has been disappointed 05:59 in that aspect of it at all. 06:01 But we also have a very strong vocational element 06:03 to our program. 06:05 We believe that young people really can develop best 06:09 when they're also working with their hands 06:12 and building their muscles and building their 06:14 minds at the same time. 06:16 So the vocational aspect of the program has always been 06:18 there since the beginning as well. 06:19 So young people have worked at Oklahoma Academy 06:22 in various industries and different lines. 06:26 And all of that has, we feel, and our graduates tell us 06:31 as well, that it really prepared them well 06:34 for going into life later. 06:36 Not just academics, but the vocational as well. 06:39 So in our mission track program, it's really just an outgrowth 06:42 of our vocational training. 06:44 It just kind of focuses it a little bit more 06:48 beyond just getting a vocational training to saying, 06:53 "What can I do with this in the Lord's work? 06:55 Where can I actually take some of the experience that I get 06:58 in high school learning how to weld maybe? 07:01 Or learning how to work on the computer a little bit. 07:05 Where can I take those skills in God's service?" 07:09 Wow, that's good. 07:11 Wow, what about, it's called, Workers for the Harvest. 07:14 Yeah, Workers for the Harvest is really, we want to train 07:17 young people for the harvest. 07:19 You know, we're told by Jesus, you know, a mandate, a directive 07:24 from Jesus, "Pray the Lord of the harvest," He says, 07:28 "to send forth workers." 07:29 We don't want to just stop with the prayer. 07:32 We want to actually move beyond prayer into activity. 07:34 How can we actually prepare a young person for the harvest? 07:37 How do you actually do that? 07:38 How do you get those results? 07:41 So now you're asking me, right? 07:42 Okay, okay. 07:43 ~ So I'm on the spot. How do we actually... 07:45 Well, it's interesting because when I first 07:48 came to Oklahoma Academy, 07:49 there was a previous flight instructor there. 07:51 And he pointed, he was an old cowboy from Oklahoma. 07:55 Just a really neat guy. 07:56 Elder gentleman, he's now passed on and is resting in Jesus. 08:00 But fantastic man of God with a strong vision. 08:04 And he was a local church member in the community 08:06 who had trained students at Oklahoma Academy in aviation. 08:10 Got their pilot's license and things. 08:11 When I joined the program, he and I met and talked 08:14 a little bit about the history and things. 08:16 And he pointed his weathered finger in my, thumped my chest, 08:18 you know, because he said, "You know the problem 08:23 with this program?" 08:25 And he said, I was like, "No. What, what?" 08:29 He said, "Nobody goes to the mission field." 08:33 And I said, "Why not?" 08:36 He said, "They go to the airlines. 08:38 They get their license and they go." 08:40 I said, "Well, how can we change that? 08:41 How can we change that?" 08:43 And he said, he put his finger in my chest and he said, 08:45 "You've got to make them go." 08:48 ~ Wow. 08:49 I said, "Okay, so how do you do that?" 08:51 - Yeah, yeah. ~ "You've got to make them go." 08:54 And I... 08:55 "You've got to make them go." 08:57 And so, so that's really the concept that birthed this 09:01 whole idea, that foundational concept. 09:05 We will train you, only if you go. 09:09 So the concept is, you must go into service 09:12 with the training that you receive at Oklahoma Academy. 09:14 It's an optional program. 09:15 We're not making anybody do this. 09:17 These guys have chosen this mission track training. 09:21 But the caveat to it is, we're not going to let you finish this 09:25 training until you actually go use it 09:26 in God's service somewhere. 09:28 ~ Wonderful. 09:29 And because of that, it actually a little bit of 09:33 holds your feet to the fire mentality there with that. 09:36 And we want to see these kids... 09:38 I believe that God wants their service. 09:42 God needs their service. 09:43 The work at the end time needs young people 09:46 plugged in heart and soul. 09:48 And because of that, we can't just let you 09:52 escape into the world with the training we've given you. 09:55 We want to kind of hold your feet to the fire a little bit. 09:57 So now that we've given you that training, 09:59 we're going to hold you to it and you've got to serve. 10:01 And their commitment is to serve for up to a year 10:03 after they graduate. 10:05 That doesn't mean they can't go on beyond 10:06 somewhere else and do anything else. 10:08 But for a little bit we want to see you use 10:11 that in God's service. 10:13 How does that inspire any of you? 10:14 Any of you want to respond to that? 10:16 Well, I didn't even know about this program 10:19 when I first came to school. 10:20 I had applied like three weeks before school year started. 10:23 But when I came and I learned about the program, 10:25 I got real excited about it because aviation has 10:28 always been a passion of mine. 10:29 Like, growing up my dad has been into aviation. 10:32 And of course, I was with that. 10:34 And I always wanted to fly. 10:36 And then I learned about the mission program. 10:38 That to me was like exactly what I wanted to do 10:41 because I could fly planes, but I could also use it 10:44 in service for God. 10:46 And so, that's what I'm looking forward to most, actually, 10:48 about this program, is being able to go out into the field 10:51 and serve using those skills. 10:53 ~ Anybody want to add anything to that? 10:57 ~ Okay, while you're thinking about it. 10:58 I think Lincoln should tell his story. 11:00 Let's hear it, Lincoln. 11:02 Like, okay. 11:03 Okay, I got to school. 11:05 I applied pretty much right before school year started. 11:08 I got to school, I had no idea, you know, what was going on. 11:11 I had five classes. You can take six. 11:12 One of them was ground school. 11:14 I had no idea what I was getting into. 11:16 And not joking, I thought I was going to learn how to mow lawns. 11:20 That's what ground school is, right? 11:21 And I had no idea what was going on. 11:24 And then I was enrolled into this program. 11:26 And of course, you know, the upperclassmen, 11:28 I was a freshman, so we had juniors who were enrolled 11:30 in this program, and seniors. 11:32 I was like, I want to be like them. Right? 11:34 And you know, this was something really cool. 11:35 I had no idea what I was going to go do with my life. 11:38 And I get to go... 11:40 Like, I was canvassing at that time; literature evangelism 11:44 later on in the school year. 11:45 And then I went and worked with some other ministries. 11:47 And just my passion for doing that just grew. 11:50 The thought of doing something else just seems boring. 11:54 Working a 9 to 5, no. Couldn't be me. 11:58 So just that thought, you know, 12:01 I get to go into the mission field. 12:02 I get training, I go to the mission field. 12:04 I come back and get more training, 12:05 whether that be with the school or elsewhere. 12:08 You know, I can go into the mission field full-time as a 12:09 missionary knowing that I'm serving God, 12:11 and my life is, you know, it's different, it's fulfilling, 12:15 and it's satisfying. 12:16 ~ Yeah, I have to ask you a question. 12:18 So you thought it was about learning how to do lawn work. 12:20 Well, the ground school. 12:22 ~ Yeah, ground school like agriculture. 12:24 Cutting grass and all. 12:25 What happened when you realized, 12:26 "Oh, this is not about cutting grass." 12:30 I mean, ground school, you're talking about airplanes, right? 12:32 So it's like, I mean, you get in there. 12:35 I don't know how many minutes it was into class one, 12:38 and be like, we're talking about airplanes, you know. 12:41 Figuring out what lift was, or whatever. 12:43 I mean, I don't know how long it was 12:45 before I kind of figured out was it was about. 12:46 ~ But you had that epiphany moment, like, "Oh." 12:48 This isn't about cutting lawns. 12:51 I think I need to improve my course description 12:53 on ground school. 12:56 Have you flown? 12:57 Yeah, I've got a few hours. 12:58 ~ That's good. - Yeah, I love it. 13:00 - Wow. - I like that. 13:02 Now I noticed this, how many of you, four boys. 13:06 Do you have any females? 13:07 We do. In fact, our first two graduates from our aviation 13:11 program were two girls that went to Peru 13:14 and served in our Adventist airbase in Peru. 13:18 So their year of service they spent down there. 13:20 They didn't get to do much flying. 13:22 The planes were down at the time. 13:23 But they were good missionaries anyway. 13:25 ~ Oh, I like that. ~ Wow, that's good. 13:26 We've been talking around aviation, 13:27 let's go directly to aviation. 13:29 You have a couple of videos. 13:30 You want to kind of lay the ground work a little bit? 13:31 Tell us a little bit about it. 13:33 You'll show one on the ground, literally ground school, 13:36 some kind of training there. 13:37 We'll lead into that, but talk about the introduction 13:39 to the aviation program. 13:41 Yeah, so the aviation program is really, you know, it's different 13:45 than any other mission aviation, or any other aviation program 13:48 that I've ever seen offered anywhere else. 13:49 Because it really has a mission twist to it. 13:52 And so, I teach the students a lot of things I think that are 13:54 going to be practical for them in mission service. 13:58 And so, I teach them how to measure the runway length. 14:01 For instance, one of the first exercises we have to do 14:03 is actually go out and take steps, pace down the runway 14:07 to measure their pace so that they can figure out 14:09 if they can land at a short strip or not, kind of thing. 14:13 Our airstrip is very, very short. 14:15 She's checking the fuel there in that picture. 14:20 And we have two little airplanes. 14:22 We've got a 1946 Taylor craft that we fly, 14:26 which is a tailwheel. 14:28 And then we also have a Cessna 172, 14:30 which is a much more capable four seat trainer airplane. 14:32 We have a number of other airplanes that are in project 14:35 status as we work on them, and different things as well. 14:38 But we have one unique toy that we play with at the school. 14:42 It was made by a former maintenance man. 14:44 And it's just a, it's a hoot. It is so much fun. 14:47 Every time we take it out, I say, 14:48 "We're going to break this thing." 14:49 Because it's going to be so much fun. 14:51 But it's called a tailwheel trainer. 14:53 And I think we have a little video of that we can pull up. 14:55 I've never seen one of those before. 14:56 Yeah, so this is one of our first students trying it. 15:00 And it teaches the student to use their feet 15:02 to steer with actually. 15:03 Because that's quite a difference. 15:05 You know, you don't use a steering wheel in an airplane 15:07 to steer on the ground; you use your feet, the rudder pedals. 15:09 And so, that little tailwheel trainer, it's a lot of fun. 15:11 But of course, you know, you get guys on there too. 15:14 The girls are a little more docile on it, you know. 15:16 You get guys on there and pretty soon we're running 15:18 slalom courses, you know. 15:20 Yeah, it gets a little out of hand. 15:22 But it's a lot of fun. 15:23 ~ He should have patented that, he'd be probably 15:24 running his own company right now. 15:26 - Right, it's a neat tool. - Tail dragging tool. 15:28 But we just have a lot of fun with the program in general. 15:31 And we have to learn a lot of different things 15:33 to be a mission pilot overseas. 15:35 Most of your time is not spent in the air, actually. 15:39 It's on the ground. 15:40 And if you're a missionary, you have the whole missional aspect. 15:44 The gospel worker aspect of it too. 15:46 So I tell the students, it's not just about flying the plane. 15:48 You come here thinking you're just going to get 15:49 your private pilot's license, well that's part of it. 15:52 But we're missionaries first. 15:54 You've got to learn how to share the gospel first. 15:56 And that's why you'll see on some of our 15:58 t- shirts we're wearing... 16:00 Yeah, you see this. This is our mantra. 16:01 It's, "Flexibility, flexibility, flexibility." 16:04 And often times the students will joke and they'll say, 16:06 "Well, it's really the mission anything program 16:08 instead of the mission aviation program." 16:10 But it's a mission anything program. 16:12 But really, they have to be ready for anything. 16:15 They have to be instant in season and out of season. 16:17 On the spot, right? 16:20 So, yeah. 16:21 ~ How many of you are looking forward 16:22 to going to the mission field? 16:24 ~ Very much so. - Yeah. - Yes. 16:25 ~ You are? - Yes. 16:28 Any particular country in mind that you'd like to go to? 16:33 We've got some options. 16:35 Like, so Bolivia we're looking at. 16:37 Bolivia, Peru, Alaska, and the Philippines. 16:40 But I don't know exactly. 16:43 I'd like to go to Alaska. 16:44 But we'll just see wherever I go. 16:46 There are a lot of other perks to different places, 16:48 like Spanish, Tagalog in the Philippines, 16:51 or whatever that would be. 16:53 Yeah. 16:54 ~ What about you, Andre? 16:58 I personally want to go to the Philippines. 17:01 My mom is from there. 17:03 So it would be really nice to go to the country where I'm from. 17:07 ~ Okay, good. That'd be nice. 17:09 Remember, they had, is it Palau where they had 17:13 the airplane issue going on? 17:16 But they are looking also for a lot of missionaries 17:19 to go there too. 17:21 And Bolivia is interesting because if you've seen the 17:22 mountains of Bolivia that you have to drive through, 17:24 I'd rather fly. 17:25 You know, on those treacherous roads. 17:28 One lane in each direction with two cars. 17:30 I'd rather fly. 17:32 But that's good that you at least have an idea 17:34 of where you'd like to go and what you'd like to do. 17:38 Now we have a little video that's kind of interesting; 17:41 the letter, the call letters that we're going to talk about. 17:43 And if you know where they are, you may mention it, 17:46 but I'd like to talk on this video and tell the 17:48 viewing audience what they're about to see. 17:50 Yeah, this is a video that was just recently sent back 17:52 from two of our graduates from last year: 17:55 Miguel Alonso and Keyan Jaggish. 17:58 They are two young people up there serving Alaska right now. 18:01 And we've opened a project out in Dillingham, 18:04 which is a hub village on the west side of Alaska. 18:07 And they actually have the privilege 18:09 of flying a little Cessna 172. 18:11 They are the pilots for that plane. 18:13 They're just private pilots. 18:14 They don't have extensive training, 18:15 so we've kind of limited their operation sphere 18:18 so we can keep it safe. 18:19 But they are actually flying out from Dillingham to remote areas. 18:24 And they are just Bible workers with wings. 18:27 That's all they're doing. 18:28 They're going out, in fact, this weekend 18:31 they're doing an evangelistic series up there. 18:33 They're starting Pathfinder clubs. 18:36 They've started doing just little prayer meeting. 18:38 Whatever they can do to start making an impact 18:41 in the village there. 18:42 And you can see the area that they're flying into. 18:45 We want to make sure that they stay safe, 18:46 because they're not high time pilots. 18:48 But they can use that skill in a way 18:51 that benefits God and His work. 18:52 And finding those opportunities for them keeps them engaged. 18:56 So I always tell them, you know, if you can't use the airplane, 18:58 you're going to get out there some other way. 18:59 So they use the snow sleds and the snow shoes 19:03 and everything to get out wherever they have to go. 19:06 Do they see any caribou or anything like that? 19:07 Oh yeah, they've seen a moose and all sorts. 19:10 That is so nice. 19:11 And is there any extra cost to the aviation program? 19:15 So that's one of the most unique aspects to our program. 19:18 Because aviation is so expensive. 19:19 Generally students are paying maybe $12,000 to $14,000 19:22 to get their private license nowadays. 19:23 It's just not cheap. 19:25 Our program is really unique in that way, in that there's 19:28 no additional out-of-pocket expense for students 19:31 or their parents. 19:33 Which you say, well how... 19:34 And many people have told me, "You can't do that. 19:36 You can't run a program without somebody paying for it. 19:39 You know, without the students paying for it." 19:41 That's how everybody does it, right? 19:42 Well, we praise God because we started this program on faith. 19:46 And that's how it continues. 19:49 Prayer and faith. 19:51 Interestingly enough, generous supporters 19:53 came forward and said, "If these guys are going to go to the 19:55 mission field, we want to help." 19:57 I like that. 19:58 And so, they helped us purchase the airplane. 20:00 Or the airplanes that we have. 20:02 They help us put the fuel in those airplanes. 20:04 The help us keep them insured. 20:06 They help us keep maintenance on them. 20:07 So as long as those things are provided for, 20:09 I tell the students, fly the wings off them. 20:11 Why do I have to charge you? 20:12 ~ They'll fly the wings off? - They don't fly the wings off. 20:15 Okay, it's a figure of speech. 20:17 Don't fly the wings off. 20:19 But use as much time as you want, really. 20:22 And where can you find that kind of training? 20:24 Now I tell them, it's in God's service 20:27 where He provides those perks, those benefits. 20:30 Because you can get as much training as you want 20:34 within the opportunities that we have available. 20:37 And sometimes, you know, we're held back a little bit 20:40 because like, you know, the plane is down for maintenance 20:42 and we can't... 20:44 We want to go faster, we want to push forward faster. 20:46 But as God provides, we have tremendous 20:49 opportunities for training. 20:51 And it doesn't come in a way and at a price 20:57 that would be typically thought of in the world 20:59 where I have to shell out $14,000 out of my pocket, 21:02 otherwise I can't go. 21:03 Oftentimes I find that people who could not afford to go 21:07 might make the best missionaries. 21:10 ~ Wow. So what's the age limit? 21:12 So the age limit for our aviation program... 21:14 Is? 21:18 I'm trying to find a secret way in here? 21:20 ~ We actually do have an age limit. 21:22 ~ I'm just kidding. Okay. 21:24 No, it's just a minimum limit. 21:26 So you pass that one. 21:27 - So... ~ Okay. 21:29 ~ Sixteen years old to solo. 21:30 Seventeen to fly to get your license. 21:33 That's an FAA limit. 21:35 ~ So all of them are 16 and above right here. 21:37 ~ Yeah, once they solo, and then to get their 21:40 private license at 17, yeah. 21:41 ~ So who does the maintenance for the planes? 21:43 Whoa, that's a hard one. 21:45 Right now I'm the only instructor that we have 21:49 on staff, and I'm the only certified mechanic 21:51 we have on staff right now. 21:53 And the inspector as well. 21:55 So I have to kind of fill all of those roles. 21:57 We are looking desperately to see if anybody would be 22:00 willing to help us, with the same vision, of course, 22:03 of training young people to go into service. 22:06 If they'd be willing to help us, we'd be very happy. 22:09 ~ That's a wonderful time for an appeal. 22:10 If you're in the audience and you are an aviation pilot 22:14 and you're looking to be more mission minded, 22:16 and I'm sure there's probably some remuneration 22:19 included there, you might want to get in touch 22:21 with the Oklahoma Academy. 22:22 We'll let you know how to do that. 22:24 - That's really nice. - Or mechanic. 22:25 - Mechanic. ~ Absolutely. 22:28 Because, you know, just say for example, 22:30 the two young people that landed in Iceland 22:32 just a moment ago... 22:34 We know it wasn't Iceland, but it was Alaska. 22:36 But just to say, "Mr. Brooks, this plane is not flying. 22:41 What do we do?" 22:42 Those are the basic things you teach them what to look at. 22:45 Yeah, and as part of that program, we specifically 22:48 do, all of these guys, by the time they're done, 22:50 they will have changed tires, they will have changed oil, 22:52 they'll change their plugs, they will have serviced the airplane 22:56 and they'll do general simple inspections, things like that. 22:58 There's a lot that a private pilot can 23:00 do on their own airplane to keep it in shape. 23:01 Just, you know, as a general car owner would do 23:04 on their car, that kind of thing. 23:05 ~ Now when you're learning to drive, 23:07 you usually have a driver's instructor that has the 23:10 gas pedal and brakes, and all that, to help. 23:13 How do you do that when you're up in the airplane 23:16 and someone's doing something that's not right? 23:20 - What do you do? ~ Well, usually I throw up my 23:21 arms screaming and jump out the door. 23:23 No, that's doesn't work. 23:25 No, we have dual sets of controls on the airplane. 23:28 So everything is duplicated on both sides the same. 23:31 So yeah, and I can easily take over. 23:33 And I know a few extra moves that if they don't 23:36 let go I can, you know... 23:37 No, I'm just kidding. 23:39 ~ Hold their nose until they pass out and you just take over. 23:42 But that's nice, that's very nice to see that a safe program 23:46 is being offered at Oklahoma Academy. 23:49 And you have a runway there, obviously. 23:51 ~ Yes we do, and our runway right now 23:54 is extremely short. 23:55 If anybody knows about aviation, the ones in our audience here 23:59 probably would be surprised to hear, 24:02 we fly off of 1300 feet. 24:05 1300 feet of grass, right. 24:08 ~ That is tight. - It's very tight. 24:11 ~ I tell people... 24:12 You're already in the mission field. 24:13 ~ We're in the mission field, yeah. 24:15 This is the mission field. 24:16 I mean, this is, yeah we're in the mission field here. 24:17 And if you can fly off of 1300 feet, 24:20 I can pretty much send you anywhere around the world. 24:21 ~ You know, that is mission field training right there. 24:24 You're not going to encounter grass one day. 24:26 When you see asphalt, you're going to get happy. 24:29 ~ Exactly. 24:30 ~ Yeah, I mean, we're training for Sully on 24:32 the Hudson here, you know, really. 24:33 ~ Sully on the Hudson. 24:35 ~ Oh Sully, yeah. I remember him. 24:39 Wow. What about digital media? 24:40 What is that? 24:42 So we offer, I always feel like, you know, aviation is such a 24:45 cool program, but I teach it. 24:47 But I found out after coming to Oklahoma Academy 24:50 and working there for a few years, 24:51 the kids are actually interested in other things beyond aviation. 24:54 It just sometimes blows my mind. 24:56 But it's out there. 24:58 And we're here at 3ABN. 25:00 We want to train students to come work for you guys. 25:02 ~ Become an intern. - Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. 25:06 We've got a program, a fantastic program 25:10 put together to teach digital media and communications 25:13 which offers students training in web design, 25:17 newsletters, communications, tracking our donors, 25:22 how to do podcasts, do photography, 25:29 digital layout design, all of those kinds of things. 25:32 A number of different areas. 25:33 But the idea is to send a young person, a graduate, 25:37 and we've done this already with a number of our graduates, 25:39 send them out to the mission field with those skills. 25:42 How many small struggling ministries out there 25:45 could benefit from somebody helping them with their webpage, 25:48 or sending videos back to their sponsors, 25:51 or things like that? 25:52 You could put a little orphanage on the map, you know. 25:55 So helping them, that's the goal of that program. 25:57 ~ You do webpages. - Oh man. 25:59 You just opened my box, my Pandora box here. 26:02 I'll talk about that after. 26:04 I don't want the program to be about me. 26:05 But how many of you do anything other than 26:09 or have an interest in another area like digital media? 26:12 Anybody here? 26:14 So I'm not officially in any other mission tracts, 26:18 but I do work in the commons office occasionally. 26:20 I do enjoy it. 26:22 I enjoy photography as one of my hobbies actually, 26:25 and stuff like that. 26:27 ~ And Micah was about to say something. 26:29 Yeah, I'm not in the media mission tract, but it's been fun 26:32 with the mission aviation program that we learn to 26:36 do lots of things like write newsletters. 26:37 And we've gotten to do some fun stuff 26:40 a little more on our own, like build a website for it. 26:43 Having stuff to support it. 26:45 ~ I have some recommendations to make afterwards. 26:47 I don't want to sound proprietary, 26:48 but I'll talk to you some. 26:50 And what about you, Lincoln? 26:51 Anything hands-on other than planes? 26:54 So, oh man, I didn't know I was going to talk about this. 26:56 Here we go. 26:58 So I was actually kind of caught off guard 27:01 because I came in... I'm in the commons office part-time. 27:04 ~ What's the comm's office? - Communications office. 27:06 And I work there, like, three days a week. 27:09 Something like that. Anyway. 27:10 And no previous skillset, no photography, 27:13 videography, video editing. 27:16 Not having been a journalist. None of it. 27:19 And I was petitioned to be put in the communications office, 27:23 for some weird reason. 27:25 And they put me in there, and I was to be put in... 27:28 I'm supposed to direct a podcast. 27:30 So that's what I do. 27:32 And we have, you actually saw a photo of it earlier. 27:35 That was one of the members of our podcast. 27:36 ~ Was that you with your mouth wide open? 27:39 ~ No, that was our friend, Ezekiel. 27:40 He's our video editor and he's also part of the podcast. 27:45 ~ So you learned podcasting just kind of off the cuff, 27:48 because you were thrown into it. 27:49 ~ Right. Yeah, yeah. Pretty much. It's fun. 27:53 My wife does radio, so all that kind of stuff too. 27:58 What about you, Andre? 27:59 Well, so I'm not officially in the comm's office, 28:02 but I do help out with the pictures a lot 28:07 in the yearbook. 28:09 ~ Now any of you involved in video, 28:11 like videoing when the plane takes off, 28:13 when it lands? 28:15 I do a little bit. Not very much. 28:17 When I work in the comm's office, 28:19 I'll occasionally work on video projects. 28:21 We went to AFM, so I'm working with the recordings 28:24 and making some edited videos that people can watch 28:28 and have those seminars, and stuff like that. 28:30 So who's GoPro was it on the plane there? 28:33 ~ I think that was some of the students from up in Alaska, 28:35 the graduates. 28:36 It wasn't, wasn't... 28:38 That's something that really... 28:39 So the digital media program, the website, pictures, 28:42 design, newsletters, all that, it gives a skillset. 28:48 I mean, when we went to school, 28:50 we didn't get this kind of stuff. 28:51 No, never. 28:53 Well, we did have photography. 28:55 You know, the dark room. And that was it. 28:58 ~ Quick question, John. 28:59 Isn't this the focus of Adventist education? 29:02 Yes, equipping. 29:03 To produce young people to go out and finish this work. 29:06 - Amen. - I like that. 29:08 You're equipping. Hands-on. 29:10 Not just intellectual. 29:11 I mean, you talk about math, and science, and history. 29:13 All relevant. 29:15 Basic things which are, in some sense, depending on 29:17 what their trajectory is, it's going to work out. 29:19 Somebody might leave to be a historian instead of a pilot. 29:22 Or maybe, you know, a developer of some new digital software. 29:26 But it's all about flexibility, flexibility, flexibility. 29:31 ~ And you also offer construction and music. 29:33 Construction and music, and we're adding additional tracts 29:36 in agriculture, elementary education. 29:39 Our dream is to offer a healthcare tract as well. 29:42 We don't quite have the staffing to offer that yet. 29:45 But all these other programs, we have a farm program, 29:48 which many of our schools have had in the past, you know. 29:51 We have a little elementary school on campus that 29:53 teaches our students, and things. 29:55 But at the same time, you know, the concept is, 30:01 why not just use these as development grounds 30:05 to get kids out into service lines in those areas? 30:09 So yeah, we teach construction. 30:11 And we've got our first construction graduate 30:14 graduating this year. 30:15 Actually, he's heading down to Belize to work with the 30:18 MOVE program down there for the next year. 30:20 And then from there on, and he's very excited about construction. 30:24 I'm just amazed. 30:25 These young people, when they catch a vision 30:28 and they get excited, they're eager to move on. 30:31 So they learn these skills at Oklahoma Academy, 30:33 and they're actually viable skills 30:35 they can use in the field. 30:36 ~ That was real welding. 30:38 ~ Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. 30:40 ~ Any of you done that? 30:42 - We've all done that. ~ All of you? 30:44 ~ You re-weld the wheels on the plane. 30:47 Just recently we were working on building an engine 30:49 lift for one of our planes. 30:51 To take out the engine and work on it. 30:52 ~ Isn't this exciting? 30:54 I mean, when I went to school, it was pretty much 30:57 book learning, in New York City. 30:59 Not hands-on. 31:01 The only hands-on thing was football, basketball. 31:04 Which, you know, nobody, very few students go on to be 31:07 professional basketball players and football players. 31:09 But you leave with a skill that you can use 31:12 at your own decision. 31:14 You don't have to work for a web design company. 31:16 You could do your own private web... 31:18 You could one day own your own plane. 31:19 Anybody has that aspiration? 31:21 ~ Yep. - Definitely. 31:23 ~ Because I know you said you're just not doing 9 to 5. 31:26 No. 31:27 ~ It's not for you. - Nope. 31:28 Full-time ministry. 31:30 So what about music? 31:32 Tell me about the music program you have. 31:34 Yeah, so actually some of our students here, 31:38 actually all of our students are very musical 31:40 and enjoy the music program as well. 31:44 And Andre, I was going to say, when you were asking about 31:48 communications and digital media, he has actually 31:51 been working in our music department as well. 31:53 And so, the music mission tract is a new program 31:59 that we have because we teach music at our school. 32:01 And many of our students are interested in that. 32:03 Where can they take that skillset? 32:06 How could they plug that into the end time work? 32:10 Where could they go with that? 32:11 So we've developed a line, a tract we say, 32:16 to put a young person with music talents 32:19 in directing choral, or teaching instruments, 32:22 or performance, or voice. 32:25 Different things that we kind of combine together 32:28 into a specialized training to say, okay, and then not just 32:32 training with these skills, but let's actually work with a 32:36 mission program, say, Adventist Frontier Missions in Thailand 32:39 where they actually have a school teaching music. 32:42 How can we build missionaries for you guys to use 32:46 in service straight from our school 32:49 and use those skills that we teach at our school? 32:51 How can we put those into service? 32:53 So that's our music mission tract; and it's unique. 32:55 What other schools are out there doing that, really? 32:58 I don't know where you can get that. 33:00 ~ Any of you play an instrument? 33:01 ~ Yeah. ~ Yeah. 33:03 What do you all play? Let's hear it. 33:06 ~ Which one? 33:08 So I play the piano, the violin, the guitar, 33:11 the banjo, the mandolin. 33:13 And I am learning the base guitar, and the trumpet. 33:16 ~ Wow. ~ What about the radio? 33:20 That one too. 33:22 I should say, what about the podcast? 33:25 You know, this generation is so advanced. 33:27 The things you have nowadays on your phone you can just 33:30 sing along with the song on the phone or just look up any song. 33:32 We didn't have that growing up. - No. 33:34 We pretty much had basic stuff. 33:36 But that's really good. What about you? 33:38 Yeah, what about you? 33:39 I play trumpet, piano, guitar. 33:42 I'm hoping to learn some more brass instruments 33:44 as some point, like French horn. 33:46 I've messed around on a few other instruments occasionally, 33:48 like recorder, stuff like that. 33:50 You have to think of portability too, like the tuba. 33:55 You don't buy a Volkswagen if you play a tuba. 33:59 And what about you, Lincoln? 34:00 I play alto saxophone and guitar. 34:02 ~ Nice, okay. ~ That's good. 34:05 Micah? 34:07 I play the piano and a little bit of the organ. 34:09 And I've messed around with the guitar a bit too. 34:12 ~ So is that with the foot pedals? 34:13 ~ Yeah. 34:14 Wow, you have like an extra brain. 34:17 You've got to think... 34:19 It is different because when you're playing and you hear a 34:21 wrong note, you have to think, was it this keyboard, 34:23 this keyboard, or my foot? 34:25 That's right. That's really good. 34:27 So music is a big part of the program. 34:29 ~ Absolutely, absolutely. 34:30 And you know, as a school, we have our touring vocal choir, 34:36 and our special groups, and our strings, 34:37 and a hand bell choir. 34:39 Beautiful, we produce beautiful music. 34:42 But again, the goal comes back to, where can we go with this? 34:45 Where can we take it? How can we plug it in? 34:47 ~ Really, when you think about it, there's no limitation. 34:49 Because in this world today music is significantly 34:52 a part of everything we do. 34:54 I mean, Christian music has taken off. 34:58 In our day and age, it was like, you know, record player. 35:02 But they're coming back. 35:04 They're trying to resurrect records 35:05 and making them digital nowadays. 35:08 But music... 35:09 ~ How many staff members do you have? 35:11 That's a good question, honey. 35:12 So we have about 30 staff that work with the school. 35:16 And that's kind of a unique question because 35:18 we have about as many students. 35:19 We're growing, our student body is growing. 35:21 We're looking to have more students this next year. 35:23 But with about a one to one ration between staff 35:28 and students, most schools don't run that tight of a ratio. 35:31 It offers a lot of mentoring opportunities. 35:35 ~ What's your capacity? 35:37 We have a capacity of about 50 or so. 35:39 We're looking to be about 45. 35:41 Once we start to get above that, we really feel that we 35:44 lose that personal mentoring that we really want to keep. 35:48 So we really don't have that perspective where 35:50 want to be, you know, 150 or 300 students. 35:53 We want to keep it small. 35:54 If anyone else wants to start another school with 35:58 30 students in it, I think it's a great idea. 36:00 ~ Right, break it off and expand. 36:02 Break it off and expand. 36:03 And so Lincoln, you are involved in ground school. 36:06 Are you the one that cut the runway grass? 36:09 I've done it before. 36:11 We've all taken part in that. 36:13 ~ Because I've thought about that. 36:14 I mean, during the cold months you get snow. 36:18 Two times a year. 36:21 Have you flown, have you taught the students 36:23 to fly in bad weather? 36:26 So yes and no. 36:28 We do, but we also very highly guard it. 36:31 Because we want to be safe. This is an introductory course. 36:33 It is primary training for the students. 36:37 They're young, very inexperienced. 36:39 And I don't want to push the limits too far yet. 36:42 But definitely as we get into the instrument rating, 36:44 the commercial ratings, we build up time and experience, 36:47 it gets more challenging. 36:48 And then we can get into things like canyon turns, 36:50 and bucket drops, and flour bombing, 36:52 and those kinds of things that actually are 36:54 useful in the mission field. 36:56 ~ Define what that is, because somebody might be asking. 36:59 So canyon turns, definitely a maneuver, 37:02 a very, very tight turn where you slow down to your minimum 37:06 speed and then make a very tight turn. 37:07 In case you like in a box canyon or if you're into a situation 37:10 where you need to get out very, very quickly. 37:13 A bucket drop, you know, is a maneuver that was actually 37:17 perfected by missionaries in the past 37:19 where they could actually lower supplies straight to the ground 37:22 from a funnel shape. 37:24 As you fly the airplane in a circle and lower a line down 37:27 with an object on it, or a bucket on it with things in it, 37:30 and you can keep the bucket stationary as you fly around. 37:35 And of course, airdrops are a neat way to 37:38 deliver supplies too where you fly over and drop something out. 37:40 But you have to know how to be a little accurate with that. 37:43 I've had some experience in the Philippines. 37:45 I remember when I was a missionary pilot 37:47 flying in the Philippines. 37:48 ~ Were you a missionary pilot? - Oh yes. 37:50 Yeah, and flying in the Philippines there 37:54 and trying to deliver supplies by airdrop. 37:56 And we had a door that swung open on the plane 37:59 and it would hold itself up, and so we could 38:00 just throw things out the door. 38:02 Fascinating. It was a lot of fun. 38:04 And it always takes two people. 38:06 It's almost better done if you have a radio to coordinate 38:09 with the ground and they can tell you when to drop things. 38:11 It actually works better because as a pilot, 38:13 or as a person throwing things out, you kind of gauge. 38:17 We splattered spaghetti sauce all over the mountain side. 38:20 - Spaghetti sauce? ~ Yeah. 38:21 ~ Oh just toothpaste, everything. 38:23 ~ Just, it went everywhere. 38:25 ~ Like, literally. Literally everywhere. 38:28 Those kids, but they know the mountain so well, 38:30 they ran out through the jungle and the forest 38:32 and they found everything. 38:33 But I'll tell you what. 38:35 It was a mess. It was an absolute mess. 38:36 ~ I'm sitting here, I'm just in my mind, 38:39 I have a really active mind, I can hear all the stories. 38:43 You know, somebody is cutting their lawn, and all of a sudden 38:45 they're covered in spaghetti sauce. 38:49 ~ It's like, did a flower explode? 38:51 That's interesting; but that's the fun part of aviation. 38:54 You know, learning these things in a constructive way. 38:57 Have you guys practiced that on the campus? 39:00 ~ No. ~ No. 39:01 - We haven't yet. - Look out below. 39:03 Probably not any time soon. 39:06 We probably won't be doing that for a few more years now. 39:08 Probably not. 39:10 Where have you been in the mission field? 39:12 ~ So my wife and I started out, I graduated from 39:15 Andrews University in 1999. 39:18 And through my time there, 39:19 I graduated from the aviation program there. 39:23 I was part of Adventist World Aviation's first graduating 39:27 class from a mission training program 39:29 that was very similar to this program, ironically. 39:32 And we took on a project to develop an aviation program 39:38 for the Philippines. 39:39 So the flight work that's going on there now 39:42 actually started many, many, many years ago 39:45 with a little airplane that we took over there. 39:47 And we flew in the Philippines for about six years. 39:50 Then we turned that project over to others. 39:52 And then others came along and helped. 39:53 Now there's a number of helicopters and other 39:55 organizations there, and many things going on there. 39:58 It's just beautiful to see where God has taken that. 40:00 We also flew in Guyana in South America. 40:05 And that was a tremendous experience as well. 40:09 I tell you what, whenever my mind reverts now 40:12 to the need for mission aviation around the world, 40:15 I kind of revert back to Guyana and the needs there. 40:17 Very remote areas accessible only by aviation. 40:21 Similar to Alaska, I would think, you know. 40:23 Yeah, but fascinating. The needs are tremendous. 40:26 Lots of opportunities. 40:27 Young people want to get involved? 40:29 Lots of opportunity. 40:30 ~ I know, because there's people in the jungle 40:32 and far out regions. 40:35 How do you get to them? 40:37 Usually through a plane or helicopter, 40:39 or something like that. 40:41 When you think about the impact, you've said this 40:46 a number of times in the program, 40:48 how do you use these skills. 40:51 Think about some of the needs the school has 40:55 as you're expanding. 40:56 What are some of the needs you have? 40:58 Let's start with the aviation program. 40:59 Well, with the aviation program, we of course... 41:05 Equipment and supplies, you know, money, 41:07 you kind of think of those things maybe at the very 41:09 beginning of kind of the outset as being, you know, 41:12 "We really need money, we really need equipment." 41:15 Those are material things. 41:16 And in the end, they don't matter as much as people. 41:19 Right? People are the important thing. 41:22 And so I really have to start there. 41:25 People who can help mentor the next generation. 41:28 These guys have potential. 41:30 These guys have excitement, enthusiasm. 41:33 They have vision for where God is taking them. 41:35 God is speaking to their hearts, He's drawing them. 41:37 And you can already see, I'm just one person, 41:40 these are four guys representative of the program. 41:42 There are actually ten students that are in our program 41:45 this year training for missions, not all in aviation. 41:47 In all the various areas. 41:48 But those guys exponentially magnify my little efforts. 41:54 Right? And that's just me. 41:56 You talk about God's work in general, 41:58 if we get a generation of young people, 42:01 an army of youth rightly trained, what powerful 42:06 difference that can make in the world. 42:07 If you catch that vision, it's mind blowing. 42:11 It's mind blowing. How far could that go? 42:14 And so I really think, if there are more people out there who 42:17 would be willing to join us in helping to inspire this 42:21 next generation, in music ministry, 42:23 in healthcare ministry, in food service ministry, 42:27 in elementary education ministry, agriculture ministry, 42:30 so many opportunities for young people to plug in 42:33 to God's service here at the end of time. 42:35 And that's really, probably what our biggest need is, 42:38 is just for people who are like-minded in this vision 42:41 to join us and help say, "Yeah, we want to mentor these 42:43 young people and help them go because it's going to 42:45 magnify our efforts exponentially." 42:49 We have just, you know, we said we're flying off of 42:52 1300 feet of grass right now, which is really phenomenal. 42:56 But God has blessed us with the opportunity to purchase 42:58 a little extra land now, which is really just, 43:01 really been a big blessing. 43:03 ~ Yeah, so we can extend the runway. 43:04 And that's going to offer a lot more opportunities 43:06 for these guys to be able to solo fly from our airstrip. 43:08 Right now I won't let them fly solo off of our strip. 43:11 ~ "Mr. Brooks, the runway is ending." 43:14 There's no second chances on our runway 43:17 as it is right now. 43:18 But this additional property will allow us 43:20 to expand that runway twice as long. 43:22 Which is going to be very, very nice and allow 43:24 us to do a lot more things on our airstrip. 43:28 ~ Also increase your fleet. 43:30 You could get more planes to train in. 43:32 ~ Exactly, yep. 43:33 And more opportunity to build staff housing, 43:36 do construction development, offer new programs 43:39 in various areas, and different things, 43:41 because we have this additional space to work in now. 43:44 So developing that is part of our big thrust right now. 43:48 Let me go to some of these students here that have been 43:50 sitting here so nicely and communicating. 43:54 Talk to me, Andre, about the thing that impacts you most 43:57 at Oklahoma Academy. 43:59 Well, I feel like my walk with God especially has grown 44:03 since I've been with the school. 44:05 Because the spiritual atmosphere there is really good. 44:10 And the music, I've never been more into music. 44:16 It's a wonderful thing. 44:17 ~ That's good; your walk with God and 44:18 expanding your music interest. 44:20 Is there a pastor there? 44:22 There is. We have a lay pastor on campus, yeah, 44:25 who helps shepherd. 44:26 We have two pastors actually now. 44:28 - Oh, two. Alright. - Yeah. 44:29 - Yeah, five or six nurses. - What about you, Ethan. 44:32 - There are a lot of nurses? - Yeah, I don't know why. 44:35 In case you get sick. 44:37 - For those who get airsick. - Exactly. 44:39 Ethan. 44:40 What has impacted me the most? 44:42 Probably somewhat like Andre. 44:44 My spiritual walk has grown. 44:46 In the mission tract program, every Sunday we'll meet 44:49 and we'll talk, like what we were talking about earlier 44:52 a little bit, about how the program is funded. 44:54 Mr. Brooks, in the meeting we go through and he teaches us 44:59 how to raise our support base. 45:01 How we do it is, we each go out and we get people to 45:05 join our mission, basically, and help us 45:09 in supporting God's work. 45:10 That's how we do it. 45:11 But also, what we do there is we study this Bible 45:14 study called, Experiencing God. 45:16 We also do it for Sabbath school. 45:17 And we study basically how to do God's work, 45:22 and how to experience God, you could say. 45:25 ~ That's wonderful, wonderful. 45:26 - It is. - That's good. 45:28 And the reason I ask that question is because 45:30 I know that people watching and listening to the program 45:33 probably are saying, "Well, they really love to fly, 45:35 but do they have a connection with God?" 45:36 And that's a wonderful thing. 45:38 I don't know, did we ask about your mission statement? 45:41 Did you share your mission statement? 45:43 "We're training workers for the harvest." 45:45 Okay, there it is. 45:46 And so, Lincoln, what about you? 45:49 So, I met the Lord here at Oklahoma Academy. 45:52 And that was just, I mean, that's incredible. 45:55 But just besides that fact, 45:57 besides the spiritual atmosphere, and the music, 46:00 and the opportunities, I really enjoy in the academics 46:05 aspect of it, languages, foreign languages. 46:08 ~ Did you say four languages? - Foreign. 46:11 I wish four. I'm working on that. 46:13 So essentially it's just like, I mean, I get to fly. 46:17 And that's great. 46:19 And I'm going to go to the mission field for a year, 46:20 and I'm super excited about that. 46:22 But while I'm here, I get to actually like, you know, 46:24 learn something that in my mind I see as useful. 46:26 Like people, they look at their high school classes, 46:27 they're like, "Why am I doing this?" 46:29 But I sit there and I'm in my language classes, 46:31 and sometimes it's frustrating because this is difficult, 46:34 I don't want to sit here and memorize this, 46:35 but it's like, this is useful. 46:37 Like, I'm in my first year of Spanish, 46:39 and my third year of French. 46:40 And I'm going to take Spanish II over the summer. 46:42 And I'm going to graduate high school with 46:44 seven years of language. 46:45 And I want to take that abroad. 46:46 And I think that's useful, because the best way to 46:49 connect with people is to speak their language. Right? 46:52 And I've really been blessed by that. 46:55 And that's one of the biggest reasons I'm here at this school. 46:57 ~ So you could fly with Spanish all over South America. 47:01 ~ Yeah. ~ And other parts of the world. 47:03 ~ And even into French countries. 47:05 ~ Northern Africa. Yeah. 47:07 I didn't know they offer languages, Spanish... 47:11 ~ Yeah, it's great. 47:12 And just as an aside, you know it's interesting, because 47:15 many students will say, "Why do I have to learn this? 47:18 I'm never going to use this anyway." 47:20 You know, "Why do I have to take algebra? 47:22 I'm never going to use algebra?" 47:23 "Why do I have to learn French? 47:25 I'm never going to speak French." 47:26 No, you're learning algebra because you've got to do a 47:29 weight and balance problem on an airplane 47:31 while you're on the fly. 47:33 I mean, like literally. 47:34 You're learning French because you're 47:35 going to north Africa, right? 47:37 And you need this in God's service. 47:39 Every one of our classes start to take very pinpointed, 47:42 you know, directional meaning, very strong focus 47:46 when we apply them to God's service. 47:48 You said that as a pilot, weight and balance. 47:51 That's something so significant for survival. 47:53 Your take-off weight is not your landing weight. 47:55 And in an emergency, you just can't just turn around 47:57 if you have all that take-off weight. 47:59 You've got to dump some of that fuel. 48:01 - That's, you know, connect. ~ Yeah, You've got to... 48:05 ~ That's really good. That's really good. 48:06 We've done over a million miles flying. 48:09 That's the miles credited, but it's probably 48:12 easily more than two million miles. 48:13 Flying all over the world. 48:15 With American Airlines they gave us a million mile little thing. 48:19 So easily about 150,000 miles a year. 48:22 And doing that. 48:24 But now Micah, what about you? 48:25 ~ I really enjoy the mission aspect of the training. 48:28 Because you can go learning to fly anywhere. 48:31 It's even not that hard to find an Adventist high school 48:34 where you can learn to fly, but I love how 48:35 we learn to be missionaries, not just fly the plane. 48:39 And just especially in our mission tract on Sunday 48:42 we learn stuff like donor ministry, 48:44 we learn how to do newsletters, and all the behind-the-scenes 48:47 work that we're going to need as missionaries. 48:49 And I like that they'll actually send us out to the field. 48:52 And just how the whole program is operated like 48:55 it's a missions program. 48:57 And we have to trust God, and we get to see God at work. 48:59 Just our everyday life at school. 49:01 Just whether we go fly, we just got to trust God 49:04 and see Him provide all our needs. 49:06 That's so exciting. 49:08 ~ And it is exciting, amen. 49:09 I'm excited about the future, honey. 49:11 These young people, we want to meet more of them. 49:13 Next time bring ten. 49:14 But I know my wife would say, bring one of the female pilots. 49:17 Yeah, absolutely. I wish we could do that. 49:19 We'll definitely plan to do that in the future. 49:21 But what would you say some of your greater needs 49:23 are right now, as we address our viewing and listening audience? 49:26 So we're developing the infrastructure 49:29 right now to take this to the next level, basically. 49:33 To provide even more service for young people. 49:35 And even service for young people who 49:37 may not be in high school anymore, 49:39 who may still say, "How can I opt into that program?" 49:42 And building that infrastructure is the next step for the school. 49:46 Really, where do we take the vision beyond just training 49:50 academically and vocationally at our high school? 49:52 How can we take it out into the world, 49:54 but build it into a larger, more stable program? 49:58 Building that new property into an infrastructure 50:00 is really where we're looking to develop. 50:02 We're looking to build a hanger, literally, 50:06 where we can actually service our airplanes. 50:07 Right now our airplanes are stored under a little 50:09 woodshed actually, which is kind of challenging 50:12 for us to work on them in the weather, and things. 50:15 You say, "Well that's the mission field," you know. 50:16 And it is the mission field, but we'd like to develop it into 50:19 a more robust program that's actually able to 50:23 work on airplanes, service planes from the mission field, 50:26 host missionaries coming back and forth. 50:28 Those types of things. 50:30 And how do you deal with the weather in Oklahoma? 50:33 I know you're not in Tornado Alley, 50:35 but you're not far from it. 50:36 ~ Well, we don't fly into tornadoes. 50:37 But we wait for those to go by. 50:40 God protects His own. 50:41 He's really blessed us on campus there. 50:43 And we do have days that are very windy. 50:45 And we just reset our thresholds and we fly when we can. 50:48 ~ That's really, really great. 50:50 They can handle the wind? Do you teach them that? 50:52 - Depending on the... ~ Yes, certain levels. 50:54 Oh, I see. 50:56 Past a certain nautical mile you don't want to... 50:58 Well about 70 miles nautical you're not going up in that. 51:01 Not in a Cessna 172. 51:04 You'll have some fun landing it. 51:06 It'd be great to take off, but 51:07 you've got to bring it back down. 51:09 ~ Take off from a standstill. - What was that? 51:11 You could take off from a standstill in that wind. 51:13 Exactly. 51:14 Well you know, we have an address roll that we're going to 51:16 share with you, because this has been an exciting program. 51:19 You might want to support it financially, 51:21 or maybe you're thinking about sending a student 51:24 to the Oklahoma Academy. 51:25 I would say, Oklahoma Academy is ok. 51:29 Here is the information that you need to find out 51:30 more about the school and how to participate. 51:34 If you would like to contact or know more about 51:36 Oklahoma Academy, you can do so in the following ways. |
Revised 2024-09-26