The Nelson family.
“All of my favorite instructors were from MAF,” said Luke Nelson, describing his flight training at Moody Aviation in Spokane, WA, and one of the reasons he chose to serve with Mission Aviation Fellowship.
Luke and his wife, Amy, had both wanted to be missionaries when they were kids, even though neither was sure what that would look like. But today they know. They’re preparing to serve as a pilot/mechanic family with MAF Lesotho.
Growing up, Luke’s idea of a missionary was someone who lived in a grass hut and ate bugs, or who stood on a street corner, shaking his Bible at people. He saw himself as more of a behind-the-scenes guy and was uncertain which path to take. Then one day, God pointed the way.
“Imagine my excitement when I was reminded that Nate Saint, the MAF pilot who flew Jim Elliot and was with him on that beach, was a missionary, too, and there was a school where you could learn to fly planes just like him,” Luke said.
As a shy, tender-hearted girl, Amy went from telling her friends about Jesus to teaching in her AWANA club as a teen and serving with AWANA Korea for two months after high school. God used these experiences to transform her into “a bold, outgoing kid” who could talk to large crowds about Jesus.
When she returned from Korea, she moved to Spokane, WA, to pursue a degree in Intercultural Studies at Moody Bible Institute.
This is where Luke and Amy’s lives intersected. After they were married and both had graduated, they continued taking steps toward MAF.
Currently they’re visiting with individuals and churches, searching for the people whom God has selected to join their team of financial and prayer supporters.
“It’s not a transactional thing,” Amy explains. “We want to be partners and share our lives with these folks.”
Luke and Amy are looking forward to getting established in Lesotho and “life finally starting” for which they’ve been preparing for years.
“We’re just excited about the ministry of the Lesotho team and how the church of God is being built,” said Luke, referring to the Lesotho Flying Pastors, whom MAF equips and sends to evangelize in the mountain villages.
With their move overseas delayed by six months, they say it’s forced them to live what they believe.
“We’re putting in effort, of course, but it’s not up to us how the provision will come in,” said Luke. “It’s a constant reminder that He is our provider.”
The Nelsons want to invite you to share in the work God is doing in Lesotho. To learn more and join their team, visit maf.org/lnelson.
Story ran in the Vol. 3 2022 edition of FlightWatch. Read the entire issue here: