Embracing times of preparation

I have spent a lot of time thinking about preparation the last few days. It seems that everything I've been working on at MMS has required lots of preparation, leading up to a final step that takes very little time to accomplish. As an example: Glen, Mike, and I did a compressor wash on the engines of a King Air 200. The whole process took about two hours. The actual wash and rinse time was about six minutes. The remainder of that time was spent preparing the equipment, mixing the rinse solution, getting the equipment into position, and cleaning up when we were finished.

(By the way, here's a video showing some of that process)

PT-6 Compressor Wash - GCI's King Air 200 from Aaron Hammitt on Vimeo.

And this is a more extreme example: last week we were painting some control surfaces for MAG's Cessna 206. Applying the paint only took Dale part of an afternoon, but the preparation took weeks of work by multiple mechanics and apprentices.

I could list several other jobs that I do around the hangar, where 75% (or more) of my time is spent preparing materials and equipment for a seemingly simple task. Prep work is not usually the most enjoyable part of my job. It usually consists of tasks like stripping paint, gathering supplies and equipment, scrubbing corrosion from 30-year-old parts, or researching parts diagrams and other documents to ensure a repair is done correctly. Even though I don't always enjoy this aspect of my work, I know that poor planning and preparation leads to a poor result.

As I step back and look at the bigger picture, I see this whole stage of our lives as a preparatory phase. Our time in Coshocton (and then with MAG in North Carolina) is giving us the foundation we will need to serve on the mission field as a pilot/mechanic family. Sometimes it's hard to embrace the current stage of life, and I am tempted to focus too much on the future. But when I do that, I tend to miss the opportunities that God has placed in front of me today. It's easy to say that preparation is important. But to actually live that out, embracing and valuing the times of preparation, can be a challenge. So I continue to pray for the strength and wisdom to embrace our time in Coshocton, and even to embrace the mundane tasks I face in the hangar, knowing that God can use these experiences to develop me into the man He desires me to become.

September 2, 2014 Update

It's been a busy month! We've been back to Northwest Ohio a couple times, we've had friends in town for a weekend, and the kids have started school. In all the busyness, we haven't made time to update the blog. So here I go!

The kids have returned to Coshocton Christian school this year. Ella has the same teacher as last year, and Ian has a new teacher who has substituted in previous years. Although the kids initially weren't excited to see summer come to an end, they are both enjoying school, and it's been good for us to get back into a routine.

In the hangar, I've been spending a lot of time stripping paint from Missionary Air Group's Cessna 206. This is a messy and time-consuming process, but it has to be done! This week the last of the paint should be stripped from the fuselage. We've already finished the flaps, ailerons, wings, and a number of small parts.

Stripping paint can be a messy job!

I also had the chance to work with Dwight and Joel on the annual inspection of a Piper Aztec. It was interesting to get exposure to this airplane and its systems. We don't work on a lot of twin-engine aircraft at MMS. I had the opportunity to conduct the post-inspection run, which was my first time operating a twin-engine airplane. Of course it would have been fun to go up for a flight (if I had an instructor along!), but I enjoyed taxiing and running the engines with the dual throttle controls. Here's a link to a time lapse video (also embedded below) of some work on this airplane.


Closing up a Piper Aztec at MMS Aviation from Aaron Hammitt on Vimeo.

Ian's birthday was this month, and one of the things he wanted was to make a skateboard (a longboard, to be exact). He rode a board belonging to a former MMS apprentice, and decided he wanted one of his own. I ended up doing most of the work, but Ian did help with some sanding and assembly. Here is the finished product (minus grip tape). At 56 inches long, it lives up to its name as a longboard!

Ian testing out his new skateboard.

We still haven't settled on a church here in Coshocton, and all the travelling we've been doing has not helped. We did visit a new church this past Sunday. Since they had a guest speaker, we'll definitely visit at least one more time to hear the pastor preach. The people there were friendly, and there are some things we definitely like about the church. It's different from anything we've been a part of before, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. We'll keep you posted, but in the mean time we'd appreciate your prayers for wisdom as we look for a church home. We have already been here eight months, and really need to get settled into a church!

I'm sure there's more I could write, but I'm going to call it a night! Thanks for your interest in our lives and our ministry. Good night!

I Tri, He Flies

I want to take this opportunity to say a quick, "Thank you!" to the women who participated in the "I Tri, He Flies" fundraiser to benefit our ministry with MMS Aviation. Not only did they get up early Sunday morning to participate in a triathlon and spend several weeks training, but they also worked hard to get sponsors to donate to our ministry on their behalf. It really means a lot to us that they would support Tara by literally running alongside her (and biking and swimming!), and support our entire family by helping us raise the finances necessary to keep serving with MMS. We don't have the final total, but through this fundraiser we have already raised enough money to send the kids to Coshocton Christian School again this year!

These seven women participated in the Triathlon with Tara on Sunday morning (sorry, Deb, I didn't mean to block you out of the picture!)

In addition to the women pictured, there were several others who were unable to participate in the Triathlon, but still participated in fundraiser as "Super Fans".

We are thankful to have such great friends, and we are grateful for all the ways that God blesses us through them. It's our hope and prayer that our family will also be a blessing to them, and that we will be faithful stewards of all that has been entrusted to us.

I'm sure Tara would have more to say, but for now I'll just leave it at that. Thanks again, ladies, for your hard work and dedication, and congratulations on your accomplishment!

June 8, 2014 Update

It's hard to believe that we have been in Coshocton for five months! Now that the weather is nicer, we have been getting out of the house more, feeling more at home in Coshocton, and making a few more connections in the community. We are still looking for a church in the area, however. Because of that, we are still feeling somewhat unsettled. Would you pray that God would lead us to a church where we can be nourished spiritually, where our family can develop meaningful relationships, and where we can serve?

In the hangar, I've been working with Tim on the annual inspection of a Piper Arrow owned by a ministry based in Illinois. I've enjoyed getting to know the airplane and its systems, and gaining a better understanding of what's involved in an annual inspection. It's the first time that MMS has seen this airplane, and there were lots of little fixes and improvements to be made. I had fun with the diverse tasks I was assigned on this project. I had the opportunity to work on wheels and brakes, fluid lines, a hydraulic cylinder, electrical wiring, control surface rigging, metal fabrication, and more!

In between tasks on the Arrow, I've also squeezed in a little bit of experience with some other airplanes. These include a Diamond DA40 (oil change), a Beechcraft Skipper (helping Terry with some maintenance), and a Cessna 182 (modified seat track installation).

Over the past several weeks we have had several guests from different mission organizations in the hangar. One of the things I enjoy about MMS Aviation is getting to meet these people and hear their stories. I'm always encouraged to hear how God is working around the world, and it's a privilege to be a part of this ministry that has a worldwide impact!

Project Complete!

After many hours, I finally finished the cowling repairs I've been working on! In my last post, I shared some photos of the corrosion that I was cleaning and removing on the engine cowling of a Cessna 206 owned by Missionary Air Group. Wherever I removed corroded material, I had to make repairs. Well, here's the finished product!

I know it may not look like much, but this was a challenging repair, especially for someone who is new to this type of work. It involved fabricating 12 new repair pieces (some of them are hidden beneath doublers) to match the shape of the existing channels or fit over them as reinforcements. The curvature of the pieces also had to match the curves of the cowling quite closely, so that the cowling would fit correctly when installed into position, and so the nose bowl would fit properly to the front of the cowling. The repair pieces also had to be riveted into the existing structure in a manner that would give the cowling sufficient rigidity.

As I mentioned in the last post, a replacement engine cowling would cost over $5000 (or $10,000 for the right and left) if purchased from Cessna! Because of this, it was worth investing many hours of my time. It was rewarding for me to finish this project, and to make a small contribution to getting this airplane back into missionary service in a condition that will allow it to fly for many years to come!

A few of the repair pieces prior to installation.

Performing Surgery on MAG's 206

It's always exciting to be visited by pilots and other representatives from the organizations that MMS serves. It's encouraging to hear stories from the field, and to gain a better understanding of how our work at MMS impacts missionary work around the world. For two weeks, Sean Donnely from Missionary Air Group has been at MMS. We had the opportunity to hear about the work that MAG is doing in Honduras and Guatemala, and Dale and I had the opportunity to show him the work we have been doing on MAG's Cessna 206.

Cowling after modification and repair.

Lately, I have been removing corrosion from the cowling of the airplane, repairing the affected areas, and making some other modifications. The first photo shows the half of the cowling I completed last week. After cleaning it and stripping the paint, I moved the oil check door (to prepare for an engine conversion), which involved cutting a hole for the new door, fabricating some shims, riveting the door in place, then patching the hole where the door was previously located. I also cut out an area of corrosion in the skin and installed a flush patch, and made a reinforcement for another area that had been damaged.

The other half of the cowling had significant corrosion, as shown in the pictures below. At times I've felt like a surgeon, carefully cutting out this "cancer" that will continue to spread if it's not removed, trying not to damage the parts that are still in good condition. When I'm done, it will bear some scars (patches), but will be in a condition to fly for many more years. I'm investing significant time and effort in this project, and it has been a great learning experience for me. More importantly, my repairs will allow the airplane to return to service as an air ambulance in Guatemala, in an airworthy condition.

You may wonder why, with such extensive damage, we don't just buy new cowlings instead of investing weeks of our time to repair them. Well, it turns out that each cowling is priced at over $5,000! Even in good used condition, the two pieces would cost several thousand dollars each.

One of the things I love about MMS is that even in the course of my apprenticeship, I am making a meaningful contribution to the missionary aviation community. In the process of learning how to do this sheet metal project, I am not just developing my skills as a mechanic; I am helping to save potentially thousands of dollars for missions organizations like MAG, and to get their airplanes back on the mission field.

I look forward to finishing my repairs soon, and I'll share pictures of the finished product when that time comes!

My Rights as a Christian

In the United States, we love our rights. Many of our foundational values revolve around liberty, individual rights, equality, fairness, and justice. And these are all good principles upon which to base a society. But what do we do when the exercise of our rights comes into conflict with the rights of others?

As I thought about my rights as a Christian, here are some things that came to mind. Without referencing any particular Scripture, these are some things I thought of based on my knowledge of the New Testament, and particularly the words of Jesus and the writings of Paul. Here are some of my rights as a disciple of Christ:

• to consider others better than myself, and put their needs above my own
• to put myself in the place of least importance
• to suffer for the name of Christ
• to lay aside all my "important" accomplishments, degrees, titles, and accolades for the sake of Christ
• to be wronged so that the name of Jesus is held in high regard
• to crucify my pride and live a life of humility
• to boast in Christ rather than brag about myself

These are in stark contrast to the typical American mindset. We often hear things like:

• look out for Number One
• above all else, pursue personal happiness
• take pride in your accomplishments; you've earned them!
• make sure you get what's coming to you
• we need to be self-confident and self-esteeming
• it doesn't matter what anyone says about you; you are amazing!

Without realizing it, we have let many of these attitudes creep into the church. Now, certainly, there are great blessings that come with being a child of God! We have been adopted into His family (Ephesians 1:3-6) and have received an inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade (1 Peter 1:3-9). We have an eternal hope to look forward to (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Jesus told his disciples that they were friends of God (John 15:15). But I fear that we have become confused, believing that the rights of sonship, and these spiritual blessings, are somehow supposed to be fully realized here on earth, and exercised in our relationships here.

But if you read the context of the verses I cited from 1 Peter, the gospel of John, and 2 Corinthians, you will see that they all refer to the trouble that Christians will face on earth. Indeed, Jesus even promised his disciples that they would be hated on account of him! When it comes to our relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ, Paul says that we should rather be wronged and cheated rather than exercising our legal rights to bring charges against them (1 Corinthians 6:7-8). For further reading about our Christian "rights", consider James 4:6-10, Philippians 3:7-11, Philippians 1:27-39, Matthew 10:21-22, and Galatians 6:14.

As an American, my first reaction when I am wronged is sometimes to seek immediate justice. But as a Christian, my first response should be to lay down my rights, and my very life, for Christ and for those He has called me to serve. As I think ahead to the time we will serve in cross-cultural ministry, I can only imagine the ways in which our "rights" will be violated, and we will need to follow the example of Christ in the way we react to these situations. Lord, strengthen me by your Spirit as I seek to follow your example of humility, service, and self-sacrifice!