We grew up three blocks apart in Sheldon, IA, and attended the same school and church. It was through youth group that we became close friends. Through various people, conferences, and short-term international service trips, both of our hearts were being stirred toward missions. Mid-way through high school, I (Jake) began working part-time at the airport in Worthington, MN, to pay for airplane flight lessons there. I wanted to fly for a hobby like my brother had ventured into a couple years earlier. To my surprise, I discovered that a non-profit called Proclaim Aviation Ministries had their home office at the Worthington airport. As a result, I learned about the existence of - and strong need for - mission aviation in the global mission effort. My love for aviation grew while my heart was drawn toward serving the Lord overseas. After some research of different mission aviation organizations, I went off to college with the requirements to serve with Ethnos360 Aviation as a pilot/mechanic in the back of my mind.

For Brittany, right after graduating high school she spent a year studying and exploring global missions. The program she was a part of led her and several others to serve in Cambodia for 3 months. This experience was very impactful on Brittany’s heart for the nations.

In 2016, we both headed off to different colleges. Towards the end of this season, we started dating long-distance after years of strong friendship and a clarifying conversation about how serious each of us was about our call to serve in overseas missions. In 2019, Brittany graduated from the University of Iowa with a bachelor’s in social work and I graduated from Colorado Christian University with a bachelor’s in theology. By this point, I had already obtained all the necessary airplane pilot certifications to serve as a missionary pilot, but did not yet have an aircraft mechanic’s license (a common prerequisite at that time).

With the outlook of marriage, we thought we wanted to get jobs for a few years before committing to the long-term journey of serving in mission aviation. However, the Lord so clearly closed doors and opened other ones to direct us toward that commitment right away. The result was me being offered to start a 30-month apprenticeship in Worthington, MN, with Proclaim Aviation Ministries (where God had led me years earlier) to obtain my aircraft mechanic’s license. This is when the vocational ministry journey began and where we started our married life together. Brittany worked two jobs and took online Bible classes. I obtained the aircraft mechanic’s license in December 2021, finally completing all the requirements to participate in Ethnos360 Aviation’s “candidate evaluation” at their training facility in McNeal, AZ, in January 2022. After a successful week of being evaluated in flight, maintenance, and as a couple, their leadership invited us to join the team.

After our son’s arrival in March 2022, the next step was to move to the Ethnos360 Training Center near Camdenton, MO, in August 2022 for nine months of non-aviation-specific missionary training. We finished our training there in May 2023, having learned a wide range of skills and concepts to thrive in a foreign culture (like language-learning methods, off-grid living, etc.) and to understand the church-planting process we would be directly supporting.

In August 2023, we moved to the aviation training facility in McNeal, AZ, to learn advanced aviation skills and techniques (flight and maintenance) needed for safe operation in the remote and rugged environments on the mission field. The plan started out that we would train for fixed-wing ministry, preparing me to fly the Daher Kodiak 100 airplane once overseas. However, in December 2023, we were asked to stay for an extra several months for me to get trained in helicopters due to a more immediate need for more helicopter pilots. So that is what we did - I had lots of fun gaining certifications in helicopters. We learned in July 2024 that we would be able to prepare for long-term service in the Philippines - this was very exciting for us! We had been eagerly waiting for five years to find out where we were going to serve. In October 2024, all stateside training was completed and all we had to do was wait until spring 2025 to head out.

However, a huge curveball came with the birth of our daughter (our second child) in December 2024. She was born with a rare condition in which her right femur was less than half the length of her left one. This condition is called Congenital Femoral Deficiency (CFD). If interested, learn more by clicking here. After many conversations with specialist doctors, mission leaders, pastors, ministry supporters, friends, family, and families who have dealt with this condition, it became evident that we should not go overseas as planned for now. She will need many surgeries, prosthetics, and therapies for several years.

For now, the Lord has brought us back to our home area again, where I am able to serve at Proclaim Aviation Ministries as a mentor/instructor pilot to help equip other mission aviation candidates get prepped for overseas service. This is a very unique opportunity and it is remarkable just how close to our home area this special ministry is. We are very grateful to be able to fill this role, but our hearts have been processing quite a lot of grief and loss as well.

The Lord has been teaching us a lot about Himself and about ourselves through this process already. We truly believe that God does not make mistakes and that He does not waste anything. Knowing Him is what gives us a peace that “surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7).

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