Between Here and There

The road to becoming a missionary pilot is often pretty long. On the podcast Plane Faith, it was not uncommon to hear the guys sharing that it took them quite a few years to go from the first step of deciding to pursue the calling and finally reaching the mission field, as it takes time to get through all the training and life experiences on the way. I also met a missionary pilot at Oshkosh a couple years ago who told me it took him 2 years to get his visa for Indonesia. So I guess I was basically on track in pretty much every way!

Once everything aligns, though, it's a mad scramble to get all the tasks done that are necessary to finish before I can head out. After spending the last 2 1/2 years having no definite departure date, I'm suddenly realizing how little time I have to get so much done! It seems my to-do list gets longer as the days before my departure quickly evaporate.

But ready or not, I will be on my way August 21! It'll be a 3-stage trip getting to my ultimate destination. My first stop will be Indiantown, Florida where my boss is sending me to take some preliminary Upset Prevention & Recovery Training (UPRT). Then early Sunday morning, August 26, I'll start my 29-hour journey to Jakarta. After several days of paperwork in Jakarta, I'll finally catch my last flights to my new home in Sentani, Papua.
 
It's going to be an interesting journey for sure!

You really think I'm all packed already? Hehe...