We see God's faithfulness clearly displayed in the lives of Syd and Nola. They arrived in Indonesia in 1991 and have served the Papuan people for the past 30 years. Their perseverance and dedication to serving the Lord in this beautiful land is inspiring. Syd was one of the pilots to serve Kars' family when he was a child growing up in the remote village of Landga, which was only accessible by airplane. Syd and Kars first communicated with each other in Indonesian (their only "shared" language at the time, as Kars didn't learn English until middle school)! Syd was an influence on young Kars, inspiring him to also become a missionary pilot. Kars graduated from high school in Indonesia and moved to the US to attend Moody Aviation. He was trained as a pilot and mechanic (and this is where I came into the picture...). God led our young family to join Wycliffe and then clearly directed that we were to return to serve in Papua. So, when our family moved to Indonesia for Kars to be a pilot with YAJASI, Syd was one of the experienced pilots serving here and leading the aviation team. "Uncle Syd and Aunt Nola" (as Kars called them as a kid) became our co-workers and adopted uncle and aunt to our boys. What a joy and privilege it has been to serve alongside Syd and Nola these past 8 years. Syd and Nola will be finishing up their time in Indonesia at the end of this year and returning to the US. We are so thankful for their examples and the influence they have had on so many. While we will greatly miss them, we are confident in God's plan, both for the next phase of their lives and for the team here at YAJASI.
In order to honor the many years of flying, the team planned a special event for Syd's final flight at the end of May. Upon returning to our airport, Syd's plane was welcomed by the airport fire engines shooting a water cannon over the taxiway.
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