Colombian Christian Mission

COLOMBIAN CHRISTIAN MISSION
Dale and Jeanie Meade
In the jungle and prairie of Southeastern Colombia.
Volume 8, Issue 7 July, 1980

UP, UP, AND AWAY

It has been a long time since we launched the final phase of the airplane project. The results of our supporter inquiry were most encouraging. Yet there were many times when things looked impossible. That first dark cloud appeared on the horizon when, by the first deadline, we had received very few answers. We felt that we could not go forward with the project without massive supporter backing. We expressed this to the owner of the Cessna factory here. He was very encouraging and readily extended the deadline. Then the answers to our inquiry began to arrive. They were most encouraging. There was no negative response. Two churches had some reservations. All individual responses were positive. Most churches put on the one qualification: that being that we did not scrap the present program of evangelistic outreach in order to buy the plane. We agreed with them. Yet that first euphoria soon dissipated in the cold harsh facts of finance. There was simply no way we could pay the plane off in two years with our present income. Again, after much prayer, we felt that the program would have to be dropped. Again the owner of the Cessna here went the extra mile and extended the deadline for picking up the option. We were puzzled. If there was no way to pay for the plane, then why did the Lord permit the whole thing to drag on so long? We oscillated between excitement and pessimism.
As the final date approached it again looked as if there were no way to continue with the project. We even went so far as to tell many people that it looked like it was over. All of them encouraged us to continue, but there simply did not seem to be any possible way. This was specially a biter pill to swallow because so many of you responded in a marvelous way. The fund had billowed from $10,000 to $20,000 in just a few short months. How could we tell all of those wonderful people, who had given so sacrificially that the plane project was to be a failure after all. We felt as though we had let everyone down. Then a near miracle took place. The Rittman Church, in conjunction with the Western Hills Church in Cincinnati, and one individual, decided to loan us the remaining funds that we were lacking. These funds could be paid back over a period a four years with interest averaging around 14 percent. This would cut the monthly payments by more than two thirds. That alone put the payments within our current budget without drastically cutting the present program.
I headed up to Bogota and set an appointment with the Cessna people. It was a meeting filled with rejoicing. His patience and gentle encouragement had paid off and the Lord's church would greatly benefit. The arrangements were made for the final payments and for the delivery of the plane. The plane will permit us to visit isolated church leaders with greater frequency so that we can train them for ministry. We are especially grateful to the Rittman Church, and the others, who made it possible to go ahead with the project. Also a special word of thanks goes to the Max Haven family of Hamilton and the Osbornes of Everett Church of Christ.
We can all praise the Lord and rejoice that the plane is now ours. But we cannot forget that we still have to pay off the $30,000 debt before we can say the plane project is really finished. We will be publishing a progress chart in the newsletter to record the monthly progress. The sooner the plane is paid off, the quicker we will be able to return our full attention to the work at hand. We ask that you consider the plane for your special projects, such as VBS, fifth Sundays, etc. Your special offerings will enable us to make the monthly payments without dipping into the general fund. We rejoice in the Lord for this giant step forward and look forward until the day when we can put the final touches on the project; the day that we can "burn the mortgage."