Joel - age 35

Celebrity guest post on my blog today, from the big man himself...

Hi there…..I have been asked by my wife to be the guest blogger today on her blog!

I think this is the first time ever in almost 11 years of living with the girl…our marriage really is getting deeper. :-)

Well, I really thank God for Michawn, she is a great communicator and totally makes up for my bad communication skills. Maybe not that bad of communication skills but usually when I come home I'm ready to just not look at the computer one more second. :-)

Personally, I am doing well...healthy and really enjoying this season of our lives. Our kids are great and I find it so interesting teaching and watching them grow and become more mature, responsible and fun. Thru fun times (i. e. getting pets) and sad times (i. e. pets dying) you see them grasping life and for Grady and Hadley, life more abundantly! I thoroughly enjoy my family and the place God has allowed us to live.

In October of 2010 I was asked to take on a leadership role at Asas de Socorro Anapolis Base hanger. Those of you who know me know that I'm more of a behind-the-scenes kind of a guy. But after some serious vertical conversation I accepted. Needless to say, this year has been a HUGE challenge/opportunity for growth in my technical and leadership skills. I've had to depend on God more than ever. And now, that a year has passed...He who CALLS you WILL empower you! That is for sure…whew!

Technically, I've learned a lot. I have been an airplane mechanic for a while now but I don't think I have had to make so many crucial decisions before in such a short amount of time. I am responsible for all maintenance, modifications, troubleshooting, inspection procedures on our mission's, partner missions', and third parties' airplanes here in Anapolis. I've had to do a lot of research because many problems have been just simply above my head. Thanks to God, just about all the airplanes are back flying and we have not had any incident this year. Currently I have about 8 aviation projects that I'm overseeing. I stay really busy...always.

Leadership-wise, it has been challenging but I've had some very valuable experiences as well. I have a team of 6 mechanics, 11 missionary pilot/mechanic trainees and about 6 or so staff/volunteers that I've had to encourage, solve conflicts, unify, motivate, train and direct. All praises to God, I can report today that the team is doing well, is unified, more knowledgeable, safer in our mechanic procedures, and is now more efficient than ever. There are still things to work out and work on, but I really enjoy the guys and love working alongside this crew. We start our day, every day, sharing and praying together. Such a great way to take on our daily challenges.

What is on my mind most these days?:

-What I talked about at our hangar devo's last week, Romans 1:21, Colossians 2:6-7. Being grateful and honoring God. That is simple yet so satisfying…no matter the circumstances. Ungratefulness consumes our joy.

-Housing…looking forward to giving my family a home of our own that meets their needs. Our family has the land…we just need to raise funds for the house itself.

-Kids…still taking in all my kids are doing, learning and becoming.

-My new age (as of last week)…getting on up there. :-)

-My flight today…off to a 2:30hr flight north to fix an airplane that has maintenance problems. Taking a local mechanic as well, I hope that spending our day together will give me the opportunity to share Jesus Christ with him.

But that about sums it up. God is extremely God and extremely good. Read this yesterday. "Real Life - is not based upon what we amass but on what we enjoy" Even though there are struggles and hardships I am enjoying this season of our lives. May you enjoy your season as well!

Just wanted to say thanks again to all of you who make our ministry possible…accelerating the Gospel thru aviation.

Maintaining Asas and partner missions airplanes flying safely thru the skies, training missionary pilot/mechanics, and raising funds for the ministry…here we come.

A note from the wifey-poo: Don't let him fool you...Joel is a *great* communicator, just not necessarily via computer. :) He shines in one-on-one situations, which is the most important anyway. And, a word about his leadership...what a wonderful leader he is! He doesn't always have the answers of course, but because he is so humble and approaches his leadership role with an attitude of servanthood, the people under him thrive. It's a beautiful thing and he is truly loved and honored by all. It's exciting to see what God can do in and through someone who is willing. Joel is not your typical leader/administrator...but I think that's why it works out so well. He has to lean on the Lord and not his own giftings. He's been open to be used in whatever way he's been needed and God has definitely blessed him and Asas through that.

Anyway, we're super proud of our wonderful head of this family. Love love love you, Babe.

**Also, update on his flight today...he flew for about an hour and hit a wall of horrible weather. He turned around and came back here. He just headed out on an overnight bus. What would've taken about 2 1/2 hours by little airplane will take 7 hours by bus. Hopefully he'll be able to get the airplane up and running tomorrow and then head back here on another overnight bus tomorrow night. Busy busy. Thanks for your prayers.

Be sure to check back here often for updates. I'm not on Facebook these days, but will be updating here. Thanks.

Enjoy the pictures...

Best Daddy in the world (tying with my Daddy of course) on Father's Day.
Goodbye hugs as Daddy heads back to work after lunch.
The product of his hard work and his new prized possession...a bread maker. ;)
The girls had a party. Can you guess which kind? See Joel's beautiful tail (his feet)? That's right...it was a mermaid party...the merman was invited too. :)
Eissa made Joel a necklace. You can't see it, but it says 'Daddy.' He wore it proudly to his meeting.
Father and son on an exciting night...they had just emerged from Grady's room proclaiming that Grady had given his life to the Lord. Love these guys.