About Us
We serve with Mission Aviation Fellowship in Kalimantan, Indonesia—on the island of Borneo. We use airplanes to serve the people living in the heart of the jungle—an area with no roads or trains. Brad is the pilot. Rebecca is his copilot…in life, anyway.
About Brad
Two things I was sure of as a kid were this. I was afraid of heights. And I wanted to be a pilot.
I grew up in Indianapolis where race cars, not airplanes, are king. But I knew what I wanted and I had a plan of how to get there. I’ve always wanted to fly with a purpose. So, I joined the Army after high school, hoping to someday fly helicopters or airplanes for the military.
The military was where it’s at, I thought. I could fly the best and fastest stuff out there and still do something noble with my life by fighting for freedom.
The Army sent me to Germany, where I soon developed a second passion—sharing with others the wonderful impact my relationship with Jesus had on my life. I volunteered for a youth ministry, Club Beyond, which was built around developing relationships with the teen-age children of military personnel so they could see firsthand how Christ transforms lives.
Now I had two loves—airplanes and missions.
But I was still on track to go to college, the prestigious flight training university, Embry Riddle University. The Army had even offered me a scholarship to pay for the school.
But I sought a way to reconcile my two loves and my pastor told me about Mission Aviation Fellowship. The idea of flying missionaries, doctors, food, Bibles, and doing life-saving medical evacuations in remote jungles throughout the world satisfied my longing to spend my life doing something with a purpose.
I turned down the scholarship and headed to LeTourneau University in Texas. Despite a lack of scholarships and money, God provided the jobs and money to pay for the training. MAF recently accepted me to be a pilot and airplane mechanic in Indonesia.
The small, single-engine airplane I fly in Indonesia certainly wouldn’t win a race against an Air Force jet fighter. But then, I think I’ll leave the racing behind in Indianapolis. I’ve got work to do.
>> For the technically-minded <<
I am a commercial pilot with ratings and certifications in SEL, MEL, instrument, MEI, AGI, CFI and CFII. I am also an Aircraft and Powerplant (A&P) mechanic. I received all of my training at LeTourneau University.
I fly both a turbo and non-turbo Cessna 206 in Indonesia.
About Rebecca
Booming voice. A letter dropped from the sky. An email sent from a heavenmail account. I wish I could tell you that God had used one of these methods to call me to be a missionary.
To tell you the truth, I can’t even pinpoint a time when I realized that I should be a missionary.
As a kid, I thought missionaries were perfect people who lived in grass huts in Africa. The "perfect" part certainly left me out. And I never would have dreamed that I would someday be a missionary to the world’s largest Muslim nation in the world.
Since my dad was in the Army, I moved around every couple of years, sometimes more often than that. I was born in Hawaii in 1977. Then I lived in Georgia, Kentucky, Kansas, Virginia, New York and Colorado, all before I was 17 years old.
I took my first baby step toward Indonesia at age 5. That was when I chose to become a Christian, after seeing my parents’ loving example. In the eyes of a child, I knew Jesus was the only friend who remained with me when I had to say goodbye to all the others.
Things became more complicated in high school when I learned about evolution, relativism and all sorts of other world religions. So, I became determined to find out the truth for myself. And I did, emerging stronger in my belief that Christ was God’s answer to man’s deepest questions. Out of gratitude, I told God that I wanted Him to use my life for His purposes. That would be the second tiptoe toward becoming a missionary.
While at college at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, I studied political science, looking forward to a career in political journalism.
But I learned just as much outside the classroom. I volunteered with Young Life, spending time with unchurched high school kids. I soon saw that caring for others as I told them about my relationship with Christ was far more exciting than anything else I was doing. And I wanted to spend my life doing it. You guessed it, step three.
Now this is the fun part—where the dashing, pilot husband enters the picture. While I was in college, Brad and I dated mostly long distance. Believing he was called to be a missionary pilot, he asked me to join him as his copilot in life. Brad and I married in July 2000.
Through these steps, I’ve seen how our loving God allows us to choose to respond to him. And I’ve seen how a perfect God uses imperfect people like me. I can’t wait for the next step.
Learn more about our ministry and how you can support us through gifts and prayer by clicking here.
|
