Friday, June 11, 2010

[Guyana-Mission-Report] The Unsung Missionary Mechanics

In a society where too often cash is considered to be "king", I find it very refreshing to finds a few pockets of people who resist this notion, and are willing to freely give of their time and talents.

Two such individuals that I have very high regard for is Mike and Larry at Northwest Air Tech in Kelso, Washington.

Mike and Larry are both licensed airplane mechanics.  They've been working hard to prepare the Cessna 182 to fly back down to Guyana, South America.  Balancing commercial customers and volunteer work can be kind of tricky at times when bills begin to stack up, but that is exactly what these guys are doing. 

Multiple times this last few weeks Mike didn't leave the shop until 8:30pm or later, just so he could keep on this missionary project.  With the precision of a general surgeon, Mike has been cutting and fitting the leading edge wing cuff (seen in the picture).   It is truly a work of art and the picture hardly does it justice.

Larry on the other hand has spent a good majority of the last two weeks with his nose under the dash of the plane.  He's carefully removed all the 60's vintage electrical wiring and is meticulously rewiring the entire instrument panel (a true labor of love!!)

These men are not the kind of guys who draw attention to themselves.  In fact, very few people know what they're doing, and the sacrifices they're making.  They truly embody the true missionary here in America.

Many have asked us when we're planning to go back to Guyana.  We feel torn.  We would like to wait until the airplane is complete, but Shea Village has been without their health care worker for 3 months, and we feel we need to get back ASAP.  Later when the airplane is completed I'll most likely return to the States to fly it back down.

Blessings to you all. 

James

James & Joy Ash
121 Durban Backlands
Georgetown, Guyana
011-592-629-5141
www.guyanaaviationevangelism.org
874 South McDonald SW
McDonald, TN 37353
1 (423) 473-1841 or 1 (423) 473-1842