Things That Don't Go Well With Flying – And The Thing That Does

Pilot Brian Schaadt usually flies the Ethnos360 Aviation R66 helicopter on the northern island of Luzon in the Philippines. But to fill in for a pilot on furlough, he traveled to the more southern island of Mindano to do some flights in the R66 located there. His docket was full, from the mundane (a missionary’s dental crown fell off and needed repair) to the sublime (flying indigenous missionaries to an outreach village where they are taking the gospel) and a few other flights in between.

But there are some things that just don’t mix with flying little helicopters, namely, rain, low clouds, poor visibility, high winds and mountains. And all of them were happening in the one week that Brian was free to do the flights.

Brian put out the call for prayer – maybe you were one who prayed! And God worked on behalf of the missionaries who were trusting God for His perfect plan.

The very next day, Brian reported, “The weather never really got ‘good,’ but it was good enough to take a very long way around to get the passengers who needed a dentist out of the tribe and to town where they can get the attention they need.”

Then, seeing the weather predicted for the next day, Brian called for more prayer, very specific this time:

• That he could fly a translator to the village for one final visit before he takes his furlough to his home country.
• That he could fly some finished translated material to some tribal believers.
• That he would be able to fly some other tribal believers on a ten-minute flight to one of their outreaches, saving them the eight-plus-hour hike on wet, slippery mountain trails and across swollen rivers.

People around the world prayed again.

We’ll let Brian tell the result:

The next day, “we waited till mid-morning to finally receive a weather report from the tribe saying it was ok to come. … [T]he farther we went, the worse it looked. But the Lord cleared the way over each ridge until we were finally overhead our destination village.

“[The missionary] visited for about an hour while I unloaded and loaded the helicopter. He was thrilled to have this opportunity with the folks whom they have worked alongside for so many years. … The weather had deteriorated even more by the time we departed, but again the Lord made a way over each ridge until we arrived home.”

Brian requested more prayer for the specific flights for the final day. Once again, God worked His will.

“At 7 am, as I did my final walk around, I had the cargo and two passengers (the couple with the crown issue earlier in the week) loaded. The weather had been good for an hour, since sunrise, then all of a sudden, as we were ready to spool up, it started to close in. So, we waited about three hours for the rain and zero visibility to subside and were then able to make our way to their location and home.”

Thankful that the missionaries were back in their ministry location, Brian worked his way around weather on the return flight and landed in the midst of a rain shower. Another flight that day didn’t seem likely.

“Then about 15 minutes after I landed, the weather turned nice. Really nice! One of the flights we couldn’t do this week was fly the indigenous believers to their outreach. So, I loaded up the supplies destined for their village and transported them to their ministry location. The weather was great the whole time, as if it wasn’t even rainy season anymore.”

At the end of the week, Brian summed it up: “I have learned not to underestimate God.” And you should not underestimate how God uses your role in flights like this either. Even if weather was never bad, flights like these can only happen because people like you make them affordable for the missionaries and especially the indigenous missionaries.

And by now, you might have guessed what does go well with flying. “I have always known that flying and praying go well together,” says Brian, “but it really shows on days like this, and I appreciate you being part of that ministry with me. I sincerely appreciate each of you who prayed for me this week.” Thank you for praying for all of our pilots and aviation personnel. It goes well with flying!