Alex Minium faced an impossible task. “I’d liken the feeling to me standing at the bottom of El Capitan’s 3,000-foot summit in Yosemite National Park,” wrote Alex, who serves as both program manager and helicopter pilot for Ethnos360 in the Philippines. “The only thing I’ve ever climbed is a ladder – and I don’t particularly like heights.”
He knew he needed to replace the R44 helicopter in the northern part of the Philippines with an R66 like he was flying in the southern part. And he had to do it before COVID restrictions lifted and missionaries started returning and needing flights. But COVID — and a limited budget — seemed to make the task as unlikely as Alex climbing El Capitan.
“The Lord quickly brought my heart to a face-in-the-dirt posture, saying, ‘God, this will absolutely have to be you.’”
God did not disappoint! Just a few weeks later, a Philippine non-profit offered to sell us their R66 helicopter — an exact copy of our R66, except for the paint scheme! How could it be so much the same? Because three years ago, the non-profit had commissioned Ethnos360 Aviation to outfit their helicopter exactly like Ethnos360 Aviation’s R66 and ship it to the Philippines. Alex had even trained their pilot to fly it!
“Every time we open our hangar door,” says Alex, “we can be reminded that nothing is too big a task for our God.” Thank God for providing in a way we never expected.