Meet Ezra, MAF's first student from Singapore who's begun full-time pilot training in Mareeba, Australia.
The new student sits alone in the sun on an outdoorchair. His notes on his lap and his eyes closed. Hespeaks to himself, methodically working through a checklist with his hands reaching for switchesaround his mental cockpit.
Meet Ezra Tan, who recently commenced flight training at the MAF Training Centre, with Aviation Australia’s Diploma of Aviation.
“It’s quite a remote, outback place,” Ezra said. “I arrived about two weeks ago. I was very impressed.The first few times I got to touch the aeroplanes; I was very impressed with their condition.
“My first flight here was just last week. The moment the vibrations from the wheels stopped—oh man,my vocabulary isn’t enough! I remember the feeling. I don’t have the words. It was just surreal, it felt like flotation. It felt very comfortable.”
Ezra’s fascination with technology began at a young age. Not only planes, but trains, bikes, submarines and even his sister’s alarm clock caught Ezra’s attention.
Having successfully fixed the clock, he turned his developing skills to the refrigerator light. Then when he saw the Space Shuttle at the NASA World Tour in Singapore, his love for winged aircraft took hold.
At fifteen years of age, Ezra questioned his purpose in life. His youth pastor challenged him with the Parable of the Talents, imploring him to find out what his talents were.
“And that’s where I felt God say ‘missions’. But atthat time, I struggled because I also really felt very passionate about aeroplanes. I wanted to pursue a career as a pilot, and it felt at odds because of the limited information I had about what missions really meant,” he said.
“I felt that if I want to go and do missions, I would have to give up my dream of being a pilot because there just wouldn’t be the time or space for it after being ‘delayed’ by a missions term. Or if I choose to be a pilot, then I would be too old do missions by the time I finished the many years of bond with the airlines or the Air Force.
“That struggle went on for about seven years. One random day, I felt God prompt, ‘Choose now. Do you want to be your pilot, or do you want to be my missionary?’ About three days later, I guess you can say in frustration, I decided, ‘Okay, fine, God. I’ll just go and do missions. I’ll give up being a pilot.’
“I caught up with my missions pastor and told him about my decision. He knew about this dilemma… We had a conversation in the church office making plans, preparations for me to be sent on missions. But halfway through that conversation, he suddenly remembered about my dilemma between the call to missions and my dream to be a pilot. He asked what had happened to that dream, to which I responded that I’m giving it up.
At that very moment, he recalled that he received an email from MAF that very same week, and suggested ‘Why don’t you go and take a look at this organisation first? It might be a better fit for you.’
Ezra attended a MAF Singapore event where Chad Tilley, a MAF pilot who previously flew in Bangladesh, was speaking and sharing stories of MAF’s work.
“The ministry blew me away. It was the perfect middle ground between being a pilot and serving in missions,” Ezra said. But Ezra was angry at God, having already made up his mind to give up flying. He asked his pastor why God hadn’t revealed such a ministry earlier.
“My pastor responded, ‘God is often like that. He waits for us to put to death our own desires first. Then he reveals more.’
“That struck me, particularly the words ‘put to death’. Because at that same season, I was also dealing with the words from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, ‘When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.’
“I know it sounds crude. ‘Come and die.’ But it’s actually an echo of Christ’s words. When you want to follow Him, you have to carry your cross daily.
“It was at that moment I realised—if I didn’t reach that altar of surrender first, before knowing about MAF, then I would be pursuing this mission organisation for all the wrong reasons. I’d be pursuing it because I get to fly aeroplanes, because I get to be a pilot, and I’d completely miss the missions heart behind it.”
Ezra continues to move forward in his training and has just flown solo in Mareeba.
“Upon successfully completing that first solo flight, as the engine finally rumbled to a stop, I felt a sense of reaffirmation and peace that I am indeed aligned with God’s plan for me. And that traditional drenching of water after one’s solo flight somehow felt like a washing away of the many years of lies and discouragement from pursuing a ministry in missions. I am going to fly for life, preferably for life!”
STORY / MATT PAINTER PHOTOS / MATT PAINTER & JANNE RYTKONEN
Interested in becoming a MAF Pilot?
We are looking for pilots who have an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) based Commercial Pilot Licence with an instrument rating and Class 1 medical certificate. This is the minimum licensing requirement for all pilot positions.
In addition, you must already possess a minimum number of flight hours, with a portion of these as a Pilot in Command (PIC). Finally all Pilots must pass the MAF capability and Psychological assessments.
Minimum flight hours
500 hours total flight time with 300 hours as PIC for all other programmes. With this level of hours, you will be classed as a Basic Pilot.
1,000 hours total flight time with 500 hours as PIC for all other programmes. With this level of hours, you will be classed as an Experienced Pilot.
Learn more here and express your interest today!
This story was originally published in "Flying for Life - Spring 2024". To view the full magazine, click here.