GroundCrew Issue - December 1998 - Page Four

Director's Desk - Dwight Jarboe

Restaurants in our part of Ohio serve un-sweetened iced tea. Consequently, I always add a bit of sugar to the iced tea I am served. During a recent trip, I stopped for lunch at a diner in the southern part of West Virginia. There, restaurants usually serve iced tea already sweetened. Absentmindedly, I added sugar to the tea I received. It could have been best described as tea-flavored syrup! My advice to culturally sensitive travelers is : If the waitress calls you "hon" (short for honey), taste the iced tea before adding sugar.

That trip was to the JAARS center in Waxhaw, North Carolina. JAARS is the technical support arm of Wycliffe Bible Translators and I was invited to attend their annual Aviation Technical Conference. I observed as delegates from JAARS aviation programs around the world discussed technical aspects of their operations. Their purpose is to enhance safety and efficiency through setting standards and procedures.

It was a joy to renew friendships with many people I knew and worked with during the time I was a JAARS aircraft maintenance specialist. However, the main thing I learned is that the missionary endeavor faces tremendous obstacles and challenges. Several countries on the African Continent are in turmoil with military conflict. Other places have severe economic problems. In parts of South America, changes in civil aviation regulations place additional restrictions on aircraft operation and maintenance. Visas for missionaries are hard to obtain.

In spite of these things, aviation professionals with the heart and mind of servants continue to take the gospel of Christ to people in remote places. As the Apostle Paul told the Colossian Christians, "All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing..." (Colossians 1:6 NIV) This truth has not changed as the gospel still bears fruit and grows throughout the world. As I understand history, getting the gospel to remote places was difficult in Paul's day too.

Apprentice Jeremy Sikes (left) & staff member Dennis Davis (right)
discuss calibration of pressure gauges.

Prayer and Praise

Prayers For..

...our staff and apprentices as they prepare for several Rapid Response possibilities the Lord has placed before us.

...continued interest in MMS’s hangar expansion project.

...those yet to be called to MMS, that they would be obedient in following the Lord’s direction when the call is given.

Praises For..

...graduates Mike Burch, Chris Jutte, and Chuck Egbert.

...the amazing ways God works in our hangar through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

...a hangar full of servants willing to do God’s work.

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December 98 GroundCrew Index

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