It's always an adventure to travel to a new place each weekend to meet new people who are interested in learning more about our role in mission aviation.  We often have no idea what they will be like and how we will relate to them.  We always look forward to the adventure because we know God has a hand in putting us with people who are not only hospitable but also friendly and so helpful with our two little ones and interested in mission aviation.  The folks at Albany Gospel Chapel were no exception.
 

This weekend, the adventure was enhanced with a chance to fly to our destination.  We were able to use Compass' Cessna 172 to fly to Albany, which decreased a 6 1/2 hour drive to just a 3 hour flight!  We were met at the airport by an elder from the church who had a car for us to use while we were there and who led us to the home where we would be staying.

Our host family, the Wilkersons, were so sweet and generous.  We enjoyed a lovely meal with them on Saturday night after arriving and stayed up talking until we told ourselves we must get to bed to get some rest before Sunday.  Mr. Wilkerson had been a recreational pilot in past years, so Jamin found an instant friend.  Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Mrs. Wilkerson got along doing the dishes together and chatting about cooking and mutual friends.  When we discovered they had only been married 3 years (same as us), it was fun to share stories with them about how we met our spouses.

At the chapel, we enjoyed making many new friends.  After Jamin spoke in the morning, we all enjoyed a covered dish meal after that, Jamin shared about mission aviation by giving a slide-show presentation.

After the presentation we got to talk to several people, including one man who had dreamed of being a missionary pilot but couldn't due to health reasons as well as a young boy who is very excited about airplanes and just couldn't wait to go up and meet the pilot!  We were glad to give the boy a first-hand look at our plane.

Our sweet time together was so brief because of the distance we had to cover in returning home.  So we said our goodbyes, and trusted that God would take care of us all as we went our different ways.

We hope that our time together, though not long, will somehow have a great influence.