Written December 2017
God writes a unique story in each of our lives. He calls us to obedience in His will. Only when we surrender our lives to Him will we find joy and peace in fellowship with our Father. We live in expectation of his kingdom. This world is where we take up the white flag and surrender ourselves to live selflessly, serve boldly, and proclaim Jesus to the world by our love of others. God has equipped and blessed each of us with different gifts and talents, that we may serve together as a team and share the message of hope and new life to the despaired and lost. If you’re not a Christian. Do not wait! God offers us the freedom of new life in Him. His only son Jesus surrendered his life, unblemished and clean, as the only solution to overcome the sin of disobedience that keeps you from a relationship with your Creator. If you receive His offer you are free! Free from the slavery and bondage of worldly desires and self pursuit. Free to let God be your King, Master, Provider, Father, and Savior.
My name is Caleb Warner. I am 21 years old and live in Morganton, NC. I would like to share my testimony of God’s provision and guidance. God led me through obedience and seeking of His will to pursue working in mission aviation. Why mission aviation? Because growing up I always had a passion for cars, trains, planes, you name it. Anything that had a motor, and could be driven I liked to spend my spare time studying and learning about. Many evenings were spent with my meager collection of donated and free magazines sprawled out across my bedroom floor. I compared and analyzed the different engineering wonders of the vehicle world. At a young age I surrendered my life to Jesus and became a Christian. I was determined to follow God’s leading. I thought I had two options. Become a pastor (nope I was too shy) or become a missionary (scary idea but better then the first option). As I grew older I learned that God can call us to more then being a pastor or a missionary. But I still wasn’t sure of God’s will for my life.
In my early teens my family had cable television for a year. During this time I became interested in a History channel show called “Dogfights”; depicting true stories of aerial warfare from battles during World War II. Although I liked airplanes I didn’t have a real interest in them. I thought it was kinda pointless and boring to fly in the sky without any curves or obstacles to go around; but this show made flying look exciting and fun. During one of the commercial breaks there was an advertisement for a combat flight simulator on the computer. I saved up all my hard earned birthday and Christmas money until I had enough to purchase the simulator. This game quickly sprouted a passion for flying and it wasn’t long before I got my first plane ride at a local airport. The airport was hosting a Young Eagles day and I got to fly in a J3 Cub. Shortly after takeoff the pilot, an older fellow with the last name of Christmas, asked me if I’d like to take the controls. I took a hold of the second set of controls and from his basic instruction held the airplane at a steady course and made some simple turns. The J3 Cub is a two seat, high wing, tailwheel popular for its simplicity and slow speed capability, which makes it easy to fly. While holding the airplane on a steady course heading in the direction of a water tower, he asked me if I had any experience flying. I told him I enjoyed flying on my flight simulator at home and had a desire to pursue a career in aviation.
I have an uncle in California that owns a small Cessna. One year, my family made the drive to California to visit relatives for Christmas. During the holiday everyone met together at a small house in the desert of San Diego. Across the road from the house was a dirt airfield where my uncle flew in with his airplane. He had been informed of my interest in flying. While in the desert he made a commitment to take me flying every day. He let me take control of the airplane and this experience gave me around ten hours of hands on flying. I was reassured that becoming a pilot was what I wanted to pursue as my future goal. For Christmas my uncle sent me a gift certificate for three flight lessons by an instructor here at home in North Carolina.
As I followed my desire to be involved in aviation God reminded me of the need for missionaries. As part of my homeschooling I had read many stories about missionaries overseas and abroad. I had never read any stories about missionary pilots. This prompted me to ask the question, “Can a missionary fly an airplane?” This question led to a visit to JAARS (formerly known as The Jungle Aviation and Radio Service) a ministry based out of Waxhaw, NC. I learned about them through a community outreach event hosted by my church. JAARS uses airplanes and helicopters overseas to provide logistical services to missionaries and Bible translators serving in rough and often dangerous terrain. I had the opportunity to visit the JAARS Day open house where the public can learn more about the ministry and talk with veteran missionaries. There I met some pilots who had served overseas and they were able to tell me more about mission aviation. At the time I had an interest in the military and a couple of them had military experience. I was able to ask them if serving in the military as a pilot was a viable option for entrance into mission aviation. They explained to me that because many aviation ministries have older pilots that are aging out, there is a huge need for young pilots to fill their spots. If I wanted to go through the military I would have to commit myself to several years of service. By the time I finished, I would still have to be retrained for an entirely different type of flying that is mission aviation. I then would not be able to serve in the field long for many countries have an age limit on foreign pilots. I would need to make a choice between one or the other.
The choice was easy. I had an unquenchable desire to use airplanes to help others. Not something I thought the military would fulfill. Don’t get me wrong. God needs Christian warriors in our military! But it wasn’t where he wanted me. With that confirmed in my mind I started looking into schools where I could train for mission aviation. During this process my family went through a crisis and I struggled to keep up with my homeschooling. I was active in the Boy Scouts pursuing my Eagle Scout rank and had a job in fast food working long hours. This made it hard to find time between work and school to research colleges. When I graduated from high school and received my Eagle Scout rank, I still had no idea what to do about college. But God intended this for a different purpose.
As everyone at Compass Aviation can probably relate to, I found out about Compass Aviation in a unique way. I have an older friend who lives in Hickory, NC and shares my love for flying. During our family crisis, he would pick me up to attend meetings and events at the local airports around our home. It was at these meetings that I learned about the mechanics of airplanes and how they operated. Through one of his visits at an airport, he heard that there was a shop in Shelby, NC that might be able to provide me some direction in my search for mission aviation training. He mentioned it to my parents. A few months later my parents were in Shelby on business and decided to drop in at the airport to find the shop. As they were getting out of their car a state employee heading to his truck asked them “Are you looking for Compass Aviation?” Although surprised by the question, they told him yes. He proceeded to point them in the direction of the hangar where Compass Aviation was located. After a great discussion with the people at the shop, they came back home and shared with me their discovery. Two weeks later my dad and I drove to Shelby to meet with the people and learn more about their unique ministry. I learned that their goal, as a business and 501(c)(3) organization, is to help those interested in ministry gain the needed training and experience required by mission aviation organizations. Normally, their goal is to help bridge the gap between school and ministry by providing the required shop experience and flight time needed for mission organizations. During which the candidates can start raising support to pay off school loans and prepare for the mission field. Compass Aviation also had the capability to take me from ground zero, with no training or experience, and help me get the licenses and experience I need to pursue mission aviation, debt free. So, they offered that I come the next Friday and work in the shop to see what I think. So, I did! I continued going every Friday till they realized that I had the capability of understanding and accepting the training, and that my heart to pursue mission aviation was genuine and committed.
So what’s going on now? A big step to focusing on my training was quitting my job at Subway. I now work full time in the shop at Compass Aviation as an apprentice to acquire my mechanic license. One of the requirements that mission aviation ministries have is that you hold a mechanic airframe & powerplant license. Most ministries are shorthanded and many of the places I could be flying into are desolate. Therefore, it is handy for a pilot to know how to work on his own aircraft. I learned how to work on vehicles at an early age. Because of that experience I enjoy the mechanical part of my training. I’m about halfway through my mechanic training and have another two years before I finish it. Having acquired my private pilot license last year I am now able to fly company and maintenance flights. This allows me to improve my skills and build my flight time. The next step in my flight training will be to acquire my instrument and commercial ratings. A big part of ministry is support raising. I am currently working on raising support to cover the costs of mechanical training, tools, flight instruction, and living expenses. This is critical for me to continue my training debt free and to be ready for God’s leading in ministry. I don’t know right now where God will lead me to serve or whom with, but I have come to the realization that it isn’t about reaching the destination (overseas ministry), but walking day by day obeying and serving the Lord. Even now in North Carolina, the United States, we are in a mission field. So, I’m going to live my life now, in active obedience, and seek God’s hand at work and His will for my life. I am humbled by what an awesome God we serve!
Thank you for reading my testimony! I pray that it will be an encouragement to you and if you have any questions you can email me at caleb@compassaviation.org
Fly4Him 