This week we have had several representatives from YWAM (Youth With A Mission) including the founders son David Cunningham. They are going to buy two Mavericks at this point and do something like a TV show which will follow the Mavericks from out of our shop where they were assembled, to the Amazon Jungle. They will be driving and flying the whole way with a camera crew and other YWAMers. They have a program called Grass Roots News International, and since I will butcher the explanation of it, I will leave it to them to tell you. The website is called grassrootsnews.com, and you should definitely visit it. One thing that I didn’t see on there is their next big plan. YWAM has 32 teams that are going to split up and go to 192 countries in 80 days. I think he said that each team is going to spend about 2 weeks in each country. Yesterday, David Cunningham asked us to go to the YWAM Training area near Orlando and show them the Maverick. We did, I didn’t know where they were going till Troy asked me if I wanted to go about 10 minutes before departure. Of course I wanted to, there were going to be tons of people around that were all going to the mission field. I rode in the truck with Troy and Laura (Troy’s wife) and pretty much everyone else rode in Steve’s van. We got there first cause they had to stop at Steve’s house, and we had the Maverick unloaded just outside the Training area before Steve arrived.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I was told we were going to a YWAM training area, but I was really excited when I found myself in, what seemed to be, the jungle. Troy and Steve were even surprised I think. I was driving the truck and trailer now, and I thought that I was driving in an overgrown state park. The roads were dirt, or rather sand, and the turns and hills were sharp and the forest ceiling was low, there were times when the top of the trailer was far closer to hitting low branches than I would have liked. Steve was way ahead of us in the Maverick, he must have been having the time of his life. When we pulled up to where we were going to be having dinner (a really old rotten wood pavilion) we saw the Maverick sudden drop out of sight. There was a really steep hill that was about 8ft high that Steve decided that he would just take the express ride down, and it wasn’t too steep that the Maverick wasn’t able to get back up with a bit of speed. Troy said something about Steve having a wild spark in him, I didn’t think that Troy had a whole lot of room to talk, I have seen him go crazy in the driver seat too.
We drove it around as a car for a while then put of the parachute just to show them what it looked like, it was going to get dark too soon to fly it. I saw them fly it for the first time on Monday, and while doing so I had one of those cartoon moments while, thankfully, no one was watching. I was tying the plane down after my lesson, and was planning on going around the wing to get the headset off the front, but since I was watching in awe as the Maverick flew in circles around the airport, I slammed my head into the side of the wing. Turns out I am not the only one, Troy said he has had his fair share of head injuries. Apparently, the wing is just at the right height that when you are roughly 6ft tall or so and wearing a hat, the wing is in a blind spot, needless to say, head injuries are sometimes unavoidable.
Moving on….
So we next drove it with the propeller rather than in drive mode. I don’t think that anyone was really expecting what would happen next. For those of you who don’t know, when you start a plane, the wind created by the propeller is much more powerful than I think most people expect. I was surprised the first time Jesse started the RV 10 and unfortunately found myself the only victim of the minor hurricane created by that propeller. The RV 10 only has 2 propeller blades and both are shorter than all 4 on the Maverick. So then when Steve turned away from the adoring Maverick fans, their reward was being caught in the mini hurricane of sand. Needless to say, the children that were there suddenly thought that this awesome flying car was no longer something to admire, but something to fear. I watched Steve walk up to a little boy that looked like he was about 2 or 3 and ask him if he liked the Maverick, for an answer, was a terrified, high pitched “No”.
After dinner we went to the main worship building, this was slightly nicer since that is were a lot of the construction has been happening, but you could tell there was plenty to do still. We sang some songs, then David, and Steve spoke. David talked about Grass Roots News and YWAM’s plan to for their 80 day trip and their trip to take the two Mavericks to the Amazon jungle, and that their first stop was going to be at YWAM Orlando, the training area we were at. Steve talked next, and it was the best that I have ever heard him speak. He told a little about his life when his dad died, and when he met Ginny, and their kids. He talked about his daughter Stephanie, when she died, and the anguish he felt. I had already had a pretty rough day, and tears were not far off, but when he started to cry, I did too. I couldn’t help it, Steve is such a captivating speaker, he brings you right into the situation, it was as close to being there in the room with him when it happened as you can get without actually being there. By all accounts, Stephanie was an incredible person. Steve related to God’s love for us, His children, to Steve’s love for his children and grandchildren. I have seen Steve with his children and grandchildren, it is like everyone else’s love for theirs, but with a crucial addition, Steve lives every moment to the hilt, when he is with his family, he is with his family, he plays with them; he is building a play house in his back yard for them. He is able to put aside his international responsibilities to play with and love his grandchildren. So with that in my mind, and then the picture he painted of God’s love for us, I was, as always, awed, not to mention feeling completely undeserving. Steve also talked about missions, and how it is done today, and what we as missionaries need to think about and change, most of what he said is in his DVD Missions Dilemma.
After he finished speaking about missions, he moved on to explaining our other programs, the Dental, Medical, Optometry… but I left the building. I walked up to where the truck was parked. I didn’t know why, I just felt like getting away for a few minutes. I was in awe of God’s love for me, all he has given me, where he has brought me, and once again realizing how ungrateful I am.
We loaded up the Maverick and were out of there by about 9:30. Steve always stops for ice cream on the way home from speaking somewhere so we spent a lot of time looking for a place to get some. We then realized that Steve wasn’t behind us, Troy said we better call. Steve once got in a car to drive home from Atlanta while he was on the phone, two hours later he hung up the phone and realized that he was in Chattanooga, not heading south on I-75. When he answered my call, I asked him if he was in Miami yet. They had just gone back cause someone riding with him left their camera case. We stopped at the last McDonalds before home, but their ice cream machine wasn’t working, so we just went home.
It was an awesome trip, and I look forward for many to come, hopefully soon! I love and miss all of you so much and cant wait to see you all in a few weeks. Have a great day, and thank you all so much for your prayers and support.
Your brother in Christ,
Austin
