GroundCrew Issue - April 2007 - Page Four
President's Pen - Dwight Jarboe
Upon completion of a U.S. Army Air Corp aircraft mechanic school during World War II, my father was kept at the school for a time as an instructor. Later, he was sent to England to serve with the Eighth Air Force until the war ended. Dad returned to farming after the war, and I grew up on that farm in central Kentucky.
I always enjoyed helping Dad maintain the farm machinery. On one occasion, when I was about twelve, the generator on one of the tractors failed. As he investigated the problem, Dad explained to me how a generator made electricity. He talked about conductors cutting through a magnetic field, about voltage regulators, and about electrical relays. I didn’t understand it then; but I didn’t have to, because he did.
When I went to college to prepare for a career in aircraft maintenance, I sat in a classroom and heard the instructor talk about conductors cutting through a magnetic field to make electricity. Wow! I’d heard that before. I perked right up and paid attention. Generator systems finally made sense and I began to understand what my father had explained to me several years earlier.
Even with tests passed and a fresh FAA mechanic certificate in my pocket, I really began learning about generators when I encountered malfunctioning generator systems. Today, there are fewer surprises for me in an aircraft electrical supply system, but I’m still willing to learn.
Learning is much more a process than an event. Applying theory to actual aircraft problems promotes learning; and, here at MMS Aviation, maintains mission airplanes. Some of these maintenance events are exhilarating intellectual adventures with new things to learn at every turn. Some are almost mind-numbing and mundane in their repetition—with perseverance being the primary lesson.
The MMS staff takes great joy in seeing airplanes made fit for use in support of Christian ministry. It is also a joy to see people prepared to minister effectively through the safe operation of mission aircraft, so the life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ can be proclaimed in all the earth.
Prayer and Praise
Praise God
... for two safe and successful Rapid Response trips to Florida.
... for the partial occupancy of Hangar C.
... for continued personal safety amid high production and tight maintenance schedules.
Please Pray
... for the timely purchase and installation of the equipment necessary to complete Hangar C.
... the new families raising support to join MMS: Scott and Becky Schriber, and Paul Jones.
... for the current Rapid Response trips to Tanzania and Zambia.
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MMS is a member of the International Association of Missionary Aviation (IAMA).