I was “saved” at the age of three,
I don't remember much except that my mom was reading the Bible to me in her
room when she asked me if I wanted to be saved. She told me what it meant to be
separated from God because of bad things I had done and knew were wrong, and I
was afraid. My mom then told me how God loved me so much that he gave his only
son to take my punishment by dying. I said yes and prayed with her for my
forgiveness. When I was four I still remember telling my dad, “ Ever since I was old enough to know,
God wanted me to be a pastor.” When I was 12 my dad was called to a pastoral
position in Australia. While there I believe the Lord planted the seed in my
heart for mission aviation when our church hosted a MAF (Mission Aviation
Fellowship) plane dedication at our local airport. The pilot shared the need
for Missionaries in the field of aviation. All the excitement and danger
thrilled me and I thought that was what I wanted. Sadly, over the next couple
years my relationship with Christ slowly faded away, I wasn't spending time in
the word, serving him or even feeling much conviction for sin. I lived for
myself and quit seeking Christ; I knew I wasn't right with God. The main issue
became my knowledge that Jesus gave his all on the cross for me and that he
wanted me to do the same for him. I was afraid to let go of my own will, I
thought at the time that I was happy with where I was in life and worried that
if I gave my all to Christ he would call me to give up the things I loved to do
and would ask to much and call me to something way to hard.
Praise
God! In the spring of 2009 the Lord woke me up and showed me how far I had
wandered away and that he still wanted
me in-spite of myself, but this time he wanted every part of me. I finally gave
up control and surrendered my life to him. He turned my life around and instead
of running away I am running to Jesus my Lord and Savior. Since then I had an
idea that God wanted me to be a missionary aviation mechanic, but I felt
inadequate and fought it off for awhile.
I tried going in other directions like Jonah but God didn't let me get far
before he called me back and made it extremely clear after a visit to my
brother at SMAT( School of Mission Aviation Technology) that there was no
question in my mind that God wanted me to be a missionary A&P mechanic.
Since I
surrendered my life to Christ I have had some really tough times, but the Holy
Spirit has used them to build my faith and he has given me peace and strength
in my weakness. This summer I believed God was telling me to go to a Bible
college and become an airplane pilot as well as a mechanic. I thought there was
no way it would work, I already planned to wait another year for A&P school
partly because of finances and the idea of adding two more years of college
plus the cost of learning to fly seemed crazy. I prayed and said “God if it's
really your will and not some wild notion, please provide the funds and get me
accepted to a Bible college and please give me peace”. It is sometimes funny
how God works I can picture him laughing at the simplicity that at the time,
overwhelmed me. When I finished praying I had peace! Within the next few weeks
a large portion of the money needed to start was there and I was accepted by
HSBC(Hobe Sound Bible College). I said “Ok God, you win” and I moved to Florida
and began studying in the Mission Aviation Program.
I don't
know where God will lead me tomorrow but I do know I will follow him wherever
he leads and I'll do whatever He wishes. Giving my whole life and all my dreams
to Christ was one of the hardest things I've ever done, I still have to die
daily to self and come back on my knees before Christ in repentance but in
surrendering I also found peace and fulfillment that I had never known. If you
have never fully given your life to Christ I would encourage you to let go of
whatever holds you back and dive head first into his will; you will never
regret it.