(April 9, 2015) Berlin native Trisha Brown Gudeman is about to embark on a journey into the unknown.
Gudeman and her family – her husband, Andy, and their two young children – are set to take on a full-time role with Missionary Maintenance Services Aviation this summer.
MMS provides aircraft maintenance apprenticeship for people involved in mission work, as well as free repair, overhaul and modification for Christian missionary organizations.
“We have always been involved in ministry of some sort, whether at our church or for our vocation,” Gudeman said. “Together we have 10 years of campus ministry experience and we knew our calling was to serve in full-time missions.”
Gudeman said she was specifically drawn to MMS after learning about the needs in missionary aviation, which also serves organizations worldwide in transporting missionaries, goods, medical supplies and providing medical transport.
“We knew that was where God was calling us,” she said. “We began support raising – all missionaries with MMS are fully supported by churches and individuals – in earnest about 18 months ago and we will begin our missionary service with MMS Aviation.”
It also helps Gudeman that her husband has pilot experience.
“Andy will gain all the mechanics experience and credentials while we serve there,” she said. “While we are at MMS, Andy will work on mission-specific aircraft and go on rapid response trips – short trips to do aircraft assessment and/or fixes. After three years of service with MMS, we will transition to another missions organization and serve somewhere – we don’t know where yet – around the world where they need missionary pilot/mechanics.”
Gudeman said there is plenty of preparation before making an admittedly huge life change.
“We have two children, 7 and 4 years old, so we are preparing to move our family, start a new life in a new place and all that goes along with that,” she said. “Our families have been so supportive. They are eager for us to follow God’s call.
“Our biggest preparation has been with support raising,” Gudeman continued. “We need to raise $5,000 a month to begin serving at MMS. We raise this through churches and individuals who commit to supporting us monthly through MMS. We travel, visit, and speak to share what we are doing and ask people to partner with us.”
A number of churches and people in the Berlin and Ocean City area have agreed to help the family, Gudeman said, including Ocean City Baptist Church, where she will be speaking on Sunday, May 24.
Gudeman encouraged others in the area to follow their calling, and said the family has learned numerous life lessons during its adventures thus far.
“The first is to hold loosely all that God has given us because it all belongs to Him,” she said. “We tend to think that we have earned or deserve the people and things in our lives but God can call us to something and we have to be willing to let go. We have learned to trust God to do things in our lives that we thought impossible.
“We never imagined that we could raise $5,000 a month, but we are almost there because God has made it possible. [There] is nothing God cannot handle or equip us to handle.”
To follow the Gudemans, visit www.gudemansenroute.blogspot.com.
Gudeman and her family – her husband, Andy, and their two young children – are set to take on a full-time role with Missionary Maintenance Services Aviation this summer.
MMS provides aircraft maintenance apprenticeship for people involved in mission work, as well as free repair, overhaul and modification for Christian missionary organizations.
“We have always been involved in ministry of some sort, whether at our church or for our vocation,” Gudeman said. “Together we have 10 years of campus ministry experience and we knew our calling was to serve in full-time missions.”
Gudeman said she was specifically drawn to MMS after learning about the needs in missionary aviation, which also serves organizations worldwide in transporting missionaries, goods, medical supplies and providing medical transport.
“We knew that was where God was calling us,” she said. “We began support raising – all missionaries with MMS are fully supported by churches and individuals – in earnest about 18 months ago and we will begin our missionary service with MMS Aviation.”
It also helps Gudeman that her husband has pilot experience.
“Andy will gain all the mechanics experience and credentials while we serve there,” she said. “While we are at MMS, Andy will work on mission-specific aircraft and go on rapid response trips – short trips to do aircraft assessment and/or fixes. After three years of service with MMS, we will transition to another missions organization and serve somewhere – we don’t know where yet – around the world where they need missionary pilot/mechanics.”
Gudeman said there is plenty of preparation before making an admittedly huge life change.
“We have two children, 7 and 4 years old, so we are preparing to move our family, start a new life in a new place and all that goes along with that,” she said. “Our families have been so supportive. They are eager for us to follow God’s call.
“Our biggest preparation has been with support raising,” Gudeman continued. “We need to raise $5,000 a month to begin serving at MMS. We raise this through churches and individuals who commit to supporting us monthly through MMS. We travel, visit, and speak to share what we are doing and ask people to partner with us.”
A number of churches and people in the Berlin and Ocean City area have agreed to help the family, Gudeman said, including Ocean City Baptist Church, where she will be speaking on Sunday, May 24.
Gudeman encouraged others in the area to follow their calling, and said the family has learned numerous life lessons during its adventures thus far.
“The first is to hold loosely all that God has given us because it all belongs to Him,” she said. “We tend to think that we have earned or deserve the people and things in our lives but God can call us to something and we have to be willing to let go. We have learned to trust God to do things in our lives that we thought impossible.
“We never imagined that we could raise $5,000 a month, but we are almost there because God has made it possible. [There] is nothing God cannot handle or equip us to handle.”
To follow the Gudemans, visit www.gudemansenroute.blogspot.com.