R44: In Service in the Philippines
Just two months ago, you started praying for the R44 helicopter as it began its sea voyage to the Philippines, shrink-wrapped and stuffed into a shipping container.
“Oh happy day!” writes pilot’s wife Bailey Pruett. “The helicopter is … here in the Philippines.”
Thanks for your prayers. Though it took a week to get out of customs after its April 8 arrival, “this is the fastest the [customs] process has ever gone for us and we are praising the Lord for that!” says pilot Brian Pruett.
Two pilots, a forklift driver and his team, a broker, several mechanics, and a team of onlookers were on hand to unload it. “It took two hours to wiggle it back out of its very tight spot in the shipping container,” says Bailey.
It took Brian and fellow pilot/mechanic Josh Dalton two days to reassemble the helicopter — despite power outages that left them without fans and lights at times.
Now comes the hard part: certification by the Philippine aviation authority. Pray it goes as smoothly as the shipping, customs, and assembly process.
A year ago, before the R44 was even rebuilt, it was hard to imagine “what this helicopter would one day do for a living,” comments Brian. But now it’s on location in the Philippines -- ready for serving missionaries taking the gospel to isolated pockets of people who still haven’t heard.