The Sneed's - Training with SOAR

Summer Update

Have you ever tried to jump onto a treadmill that is going at full speed? Probably not... Have you ever seen a video of someone else jumping onto a treadmill that is going at full speed? They are hilarious! That's what life feels like right now.
 

In our last update, I mentioned nearing the Instrument checkride; I am glad to say I passed! A huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders, but now that weight has been replaced by training and studying for my commercial written exam and checkride. Nathan Lemming, SOAR's newly appointed volunteer Chief Flight Instructor, will be doing my training for the commercial rating. Nathan has also very generously partnered with SOAR by adding a twin engine aircraft to be used for training.


In the spring, apprentices spent a day focusing on off-airport landing strips. We took two airplanes with two flight instructors into Arkansas and landed on some grass runways. Things learned included how to judge an airstrip before attempting a landing, which side of a valley to fly on with continuous updrafts and downdrafts, and the general performance of the aircraft that we flew. Hopefully this is something we will continue to do.

In the shop I had the chance to install a Garmin 430 (a GPS radio used for navigation) into our Cessna 170. This was exciting because it's my favorite of SOAR's airplanes and avionics have always been very intriguing to me. In fact, many organizations need an avionics specialist. I'm not sure if that is the direction that the Lord has for us right now, but maybe He will use that in the future. We also upgraded fuses to circuit breakers and a gear leg reinforcement. Finally, we finished the project aircraft I've mentioned in previous updates and watched it fly for the first time!

As Brooke and I begin to think about what's next after SOAR, we have started to research other organizations. Right now we have a few that are on our radar and hopefully we will talk with them in the near future. We are attending Oshkosh, the worlds largest airshow, July 24-29. (I know that's like NOW, or maybe you're reading this past those dates; it was not our intention to be untimely in getting this information out to you.) Many mission aviation organizations join here to help network and showcase what they do. Please pray for us as we have conversations with these organizations. We are looking forward to this time!

Lastly and most difficultly, Andy, my previous flight instructor, who did both my private and instrument ratings, passed away from a battle with cancer on June 12. There is a lot of emotion for me in that. I have known Andy for the entirety of my aviation career. As I first started to become interested in aviation, I remember watching a red airplane just outside my house doing loops and flips, rolls and stalls. And when watching this airplane I always thought that I wanted to do that one day but figured I would never be good enough or never have the opportunity to do so. One day, my dad and I went to the airport for a local event and the same plane was putting on a small airshow for the community. After he finished and pulled up to the gas pump, we talked with the pilot and thanked him for all the airshows over our house. Andy was that pilot. It was soon after that interaction that Andy became my flight instructor when I was 15 years old. In some ways Andy was like a big brother, in others a mentor; but no doubt about it, he was my flight instructor and my friend. I miss him. I think about him a lot. I wish I was able to call him again and talk about planes and engines, or sit up in the den of his house and come up with the greatest idea in aviation history. Andy's family misses him. I talked with Abby, his wife, on the phone and she told me some of the sides of Andy that I never knew, like how important music was to him.

When describing this summer I (Brooke) say that it is emotionally and mentally busy. More than just doing a lot, and though we have happiness, we are experiencing the heaviness and uncertainty of grief (for what is maybe one of the first times in both of our young lives). Death has felt close. Just a few weeks after Andy's passing, one of my students through FCA (the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a youth ministry in schools) passed away due to a recurrence of brain tumors that were discovered just months before. Here, I'll refer to him as either Fred or Jacob, calling him mostly Fred, like his friends and teachers did. (Rumor has it there were too many Jacobs in his class.) His personality was humorous, so when I recall that I was around when he asked out a girl for the first time and the time he ran into a pole at school as a permit driver, it just fits. The little town of Morrisville came together many times over the last two months to rally in prayer for this young boy. It was amazing to be part of a community that pressed in to ask for a miracle amidst our emotions. God answered us; it was just in an unexpected way.

And unexpectedly, it was through aching parents that I and much of the community found comfort and wisdom. While in the hospital, Fred's father would almost daily post his own written devotional with Scripture, which was an absolute encouragement to others. I wish I really could have all that he wrote put into a little devotional book, but here's an example of what he wrote according to Philippians 4:11-13:

That to say, all glory to God, still. He is closer than death and I am experiencing His nearness, even through this weird season. With the deaths of two legendary young (by human terms) men in so short a time, we've had many heavy days learning how to grieve. I have found comfort in talking with friends, hearing stories of these guys, and in praying my heart out. And because of prayer and because we know God, we know that "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Rom. 8:18). The most refreshing claim through this is that God took home two children who each knew Jesus as his Savior!! They are now worshiping God face to face! "I want my funeral to wage war with the devil," Andy used to say, and oh, I would say it did. By the honorable lives of these Christians, it is my prayer that others would accept the salvation that they did. My thoughts are toward salvation and a BURDEN for all of my students, young and teenage, and their families to know Jesus Christ as their life-giving Savior.

I do acknowledge that my internal optimism and joy, learned from Ecclesiastes (it makes sense if you're thinking that's an unexpected joyful place), from stories of Jesus, and from other scripture, might not be that glorious sounding to the hurting heart of a person who was even closer to one of these men. Please know that none of what we say here is meant to express what others should feel.

Another comfort certainly came from hearing the beautiful truth in this lyric sung by Phil Wickham - "When all I see is a cross, God you see the empty tomb"**

**Okay, here's a music geek moment - While making sure I correctly phrased the lyric, I found an interview of the artist saying this was his favorite lyric in his album. Fancy! AND it comes from 2 Chronicles 20, which I recently read again and includes one of my favorite verses.

Prayer Requests:

• Please pray for the families and friends of both Andy and Fred.
• Direction for our mission organization placement after SOAR. We ask for help being disciplined in "researching" and meeting with possible future organizations, and that God would make it very clear where He is calling us to next.
• More discipline - in studying and preparing for the commercial exam.
• The school year is coming up in a month! Pray for Brooke to bring a lot of gospel gossip to students, families, and coworkers.