For the last two weeks we have been hosting three mission
aviation university students on a “vision trip” where they have the chance to
experience what life is like as a pilot/mechanic for a mission organization in a foreign
country. This was MAF-Mozambique’s first
time to host such students and our team really wanted to share the enthusiasm
we have for living and serving here Mozambique.
We wanted to help them see that while life here isn’t always easy, with
the right attitude, it is a true blessing to do the work we do.
Two students, Tommy and Jacob were from Letourneau
University in Longview, Texas. The
third, Josh Q., was from San Diego Christian College in California. Coined by Dave LePoidevin, they
affectionately became known as the “Vision Dudes”.
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| Tommy, Jacob, and Josh with kids in our neighborhood |
The first day they showed up, despite the long airline
flights and jet lag, they were still up for getting on a plane again, this time
as a copilot of a Cessna 206. Over the
two week period, each guy was worked on to any flight we could find room for
them on. They made trips to Tupuito, the
location of a titanium mine, Gurué to drop off/pick up Dr. Hanneke, and to
Chupaputa for a commercial client. On
one flight they even experienced encountering a water buck in the middle of the
airstrip, making a low pass to chase it off the strip.
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| Jacob getting ready for a flight |
When there were no flights going on, there were plenty of
maintenance tasks to assist with in the hangar.
They helped fix a fuel leak, replace break lines, and install a
secondary seat stop system on the Cessna 210, and helped repaint the landing
gear on the 206. They even helped us
with the ever present car maintenance that comes from the beatings our cars
take on the rough roads here! Their
presence here seemed to motivate us to begin work on some long overdue projects,
like updating our hangar sign.
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| Tommy, Josh, and Dave working on the 210 seat |
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| Tommy getting the landing gear ready for paint |
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| Casimiro holding the ladder for Tommy while he took down the sign |
But it wasn’t all work and no play. Dave and I drove them to the coast for a
little beach time. We started by driving
across the one lane bridge to the Ilha de Mozambique (Mozambique Island) to see
the Fort São Sebastião (the oldest complete fort in sub-Saharan Africa with a chapel that is the oldest European building in the southern hemisphere) and eat some delicious seafood. Then we drove to Chocas Mar for a chance to
play in the waves and explore some tidal pools.
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| The bridge to Ilha de Mocambique |
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| Fort Sao Sebastiao |
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| At the fort with the chapel in the background |
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| Checking out the tidal pools at Chocas |
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We wanted to make sure they experienced a little of the
culture here in Nampula, so on Saturday I took them to the orphanage with
me. After a little Taekwondo, they were
able to play with the kids some and even practice a little Portuguese/English
with them. On Sunday morning, they made a trip
with us to our church just down the street from our house.
On Sunday night at our English speaking fellowship, they each gave a
brief testimony.
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| Jacob, Jill, and Josh holding pads for the kids to kick |
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| Singing at church |
Hopefully in the end, it was good experience for them and
maybe we will even see them again as MAF pilot/mechanics in the future!
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| Dave H., Jacob, Josh, Dave L. and Tommy |
