Aviation Ministry

The hangar this past year was consumed with inspections and painting a Cessna 172.  The average age of our fleet of Cessna 206 aircraft is about 33 years old.  While this is not necessarily old for an airplane, they were not built to be flown this long and require solid upkeep.  The manufacturer is now requiring a more thorough inspection (requiring major disassembly) that must be done before the end of the year. This year we performed 3 of these inspections.  Planning at the beginning of last year revealed that we would just have enough time to complete all of these projects. Due to unforeseen repairs the year ended and a couple of the planes still need work.

Unfortunately, sometimes unexpected surprises throw a wrench in our plans.  This time the wrench came in the form of a leaking fuel tank, requiring that we dismount a wing and reseal the fuel tank.  As a result, we have two airplanes that still need a significant amount of work.  We are hoping to get one of them flying by the end of January.

Josh and Joel referring to a manual while Victor works on the engine of one of our Cessna 206s.

Josh sealing the inside of the wing fuel tank after a leak was found.

Student Ministry

One of the benefits of living at an international school is the opportunity we have to get to know the students...

We were asked to be the senior class sponsors, we have enjoyed getting to know the 7 seniors that will be graduating this fall.  Some of you may have already contributed to some of our fundraising events that raises money for the much talked about "Senior Sneak", when the seniors (with their sponsors!), secretly leave on their senior trip. 

Twice a month we lead a group of 5 high school students to a needy community where we have a sunday school program for the local kids.  With our school being so secluded it is easy for the students (and us) to forget about our neighbors.  These outreach opportunities give the students a vision beyond the jungle walls of our school.

Brin stayed busy this past year as school nurse doling out medicine, giving medical advice and performing the occasional wound care.  This procedure done on a student quickly turned into a learning experience for his curious classmats.