The workload was overwhelming. Manpower was short. Both of the aircraft needed to be airworthy as soon as possible. How could the needs possibly be met?

This was the situation in two JAARS-related aviation programs overseas last year. It became apparent that the extra work required to get two planes back in the air couldn’t be accomplished in a timely fashion by the people already on staff.

One aviation program had a Cessna 402 1000-hour inspection coming due. A wing spar modification and paint job on this aircraft needed experienced and skilled workers.

Another program had a Piper Aztec coming due for a 1000-hour inspection, a double engine change, and painting. Unless outside help was provided, this aircraft would sit for several months until the short-handed department could get to the project.

Volunteers were the answer, and God wove together two teams in His perfect timing. In this issue of FlightLines we’d like to share some details of what happened as the needs mentioned above were met.

Hank Cook, Assistant to the Director of Aviation

by Peter Kruzan, a JAARS Aviation Maintenance Technician

To be a successful missionary you need a deeper motivation than simply a desire for adventure.

As I stepped out of the airliner’s door and onto the mobile stairway, I was glad my trip had ended. It had been a long 44 hours of travel. As Jason, Rick and I followed the flow of passengers across the tarmac toward the terminal, Rick stopped and aimed his camera at something on the horizon. I looked up at what had stolen his attention. There behind the terminal, rising sharply, was a very impressive- looking mountain. Wow, what a place to be for six weeks!

Aviation provides the only means of transportation to most of the island we were on. There are many minority people groups in the interior of this province, and it is those people that Bible translators, through aviation, are reaching.

I grew up in the Philippines where my dad was a JAARS pilot-mechanic. I was already sold on the importance of mission aviation. After training as a maintenance specialist and gaining experience, I had joined Wycliffe Bible Translators to serve as an aircraft mechanic. In June 1999 I completed the JAARS orientation course for mechanics. As orientation neared its end, Hank Cook approached me and asked if I would lead two college guys on a six-week work trip to one of our Asian flight programs. I eagerly accepted. I knew this could delay my first permanent assignment, but I was ready to see some immediate fruit from my years of preparation.

Rick finished taking his picture of the mountain, and we all walked into the terminal to collect our bags. In the baggage claim area Mark, our "boss" for the next six weeks, met us along with the families that would host us.

The aviation program in this country mainly uses single-engine Helio Couriers. They are specially suited to the many short mountain and jungle airstrips. Our work project, however, was the Piper Aztec, a great workhorse that fills the gaps that the smaller and slower Helios cannot. We were there to install two freshly overhauled engines, strip the old paint from the airframe, repaint it, and conduct a 1000-hour inspection. In short, it was a field overhaul of the aircraft.

Over the next weeks we labored to remove, inspect, and label parts. There was more work than we could accomplish, but we knew we could make a difference. Sometime during the paint-stripping process the novelty of working on a plane in a different country wore off. It was just plain hard work. But we continued. Rick was right when he said that to be a successful missionary you need a deeper motivation than simply a desire for adventure.

Fun was part of the picture, too. Jason, Rick, and I were able to go hiking and snorkeling. We enjoyed interacting with the national workers. They taught us some of their language, and we helped them with English, especially our idioms. Every Monday we had a time of prayer with the entire maintenance staff.

Each of us was treated to a flight into the interior. We saw short airstrips and miles and miles of trackless jungle and mountains . . . no room for maintenance difficulties there. Rick and Jason came back from these flights excited about the possibility of some day being missionary pilots. They wrestled with the realities of cross-cultural mission work and really began seeking God’s plan for their lives. When the six weeks came to an end, they were ready to go home . . . but wanted to stay.

It takes a large team to provide God’s Word for the isolated peoples of the world. The team stretches from our land to the most remote places on God’s earth. But, did you know, like Jason, Rick and me, you can be part of that team—as either a short-term volunteer or long-term missionary?

by Hank Cook

Who were these volunteers who went?

For the Cessna 402 work, one was from Canada, a skilled sheet metal worker who volunteered for a month. Two others were experienced mechanics with expertise working on Cessna wings, exactly what was needed. Two of these men had regular jobs outside mission aviation and one was currently in Bible school. The fourth volunteer, who also went for a month, was an aviation maintenance specialist with painting experience from JAARS in Waxhaw, North Carolina.

For the Aztec work, the Lord sent an aviation maintenance technician with several years of experience. This was Peter Kruzan, who had just finished his initial training with JAARS. Accompanying Peter were two aviation students, one from LeTourneau University and one from Toccoa Falls Bible College. They went together for six weeks but Peter stayed an extra four.

Did these volunteers make a difference? Without question. The maintenance work on both aircraft was greatly speeded up because of the hard work and expertise of these seven men. They donated close to one man-year of work to these aviation programs.

What a treat it was to have these three men come to help us with such a huge project: a 1000-hour inspection, a dual engine change, and a repaint job on our Aztec. 
Pray that the Lord might use this experience to guide them as they follow His path for their lives. - Mark (Southeast Asia) Chief of Maintenance.

Three Generations of Missionaries
Peter Kruzan is a third-generation missionary. 
His father and mother, Ken and Carol Kruzan, are members of Wycliffe Bible Translators and currently work at JAARS in Waxhaw, North Carolina. 
His grandparents, Harold and Jenny Kruzan, are also Wycliffe members. Now retired, they continue to serve at the JAARS Center as volunteers.

• Individuals and churches often support folks who go on short-term mission projects.
• A large percentage of young people who go on short-term mission trips later serve the Lord on the mission field.
• A large percentage of missionary kids (MKs) go to the mission field in adulthood.
• Short-term mission projects are life-changing experiences.

For Prayer . . . More short-term projects are planned for the year 2000. Pray that God will touch the hearts of His people to go.