Flyin' Bryan

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September 2025

Wintertime in Lusaka (June-August)

“Snow is so pretty and beautiful, how can you hate it so much?” I admit that my almost nonsensical hatred of snow is sometimes hard to justify. The beauty of freshly fallen snow blanketing the otherwise dead landscape is undeniable. However, my hatred stems from living in the snow and not just looking at the snow, Jellyfish are beautiful too, but you don’t add them to your swimming pool.

This is the perfect animal for riding in deep snow!

Luckily for me, frozen precipitation will likely never be a big problem in Lusaka. The record cold for the last 100 years was 31 degrees Fahrenhiat. Our average temperature this winter was probably close to 65 degrees. I admit this makes my cold-hating heart happy, but fear is deeply set in the fact that summer in Lusaka is coming. It has been told to me that October in Lusaka is so unpleasant that a pool full of jellyfish may sound tempting.

Until then, life in Lusaka has definitely gotten into a much-needed rhythm. The children are doing homeschool, Maria is momming, and I’m breaking airplanes. Life is normal, except for when it’s not. I don’t know exactly how to describe living in another country. Life is generally the same, but occasionally, you are blindsided by cultural differences. Unspoken and unrealized relational expectations bleed through at unexpected times.

My boss and fellow plane breaker, Mark Grattan.

Beggars, for example. Truly, one of the most difficult things to process is how and when to give to beggars. Beggars are at every red light, and when you’re stopped for more than a minute, you will be asked by at least 5 different people. This internal battle continues even in parking lots and stores, where you will again get approached several times per visit. Sometimes giving makes a difference in someone’s life, sometimes it only adds to their problems, and you must process this 10 times while getting groceries.

While driving, I often repeat a modified Psalms 23:4. “Yea, though I DRIVE through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;” Okay, I admit I’m exaggerating. Besides, I’ve driven in more dangerous places, like New Jersey. The only real concern here is people walking. It is a real concern of mine that I will hit someone, especially at night. The outcome of hitting someone would be devastating to everyone involved. Consequences for the driver are often immediate and can escalate to deadly.

Things are not all doom and gloom; I also discovered Zambian fritters. There are several bake shops here that attempt to make donuts, but I come from Lancaster, PA, the promised land of donuts. Comparing the Zambian attempts at PA donuts always leaves me sad and covered in jelly. Fortunately, I discovered they have a sweet fried dough ball called “fritters”. This small lump of calories has completely restored my hope in diabetes inducing deliciousness.

Moving to a new home has reminded me that, as believers, we are never truly home in this world. We seek good for the “kingdoms” we live in, but at the same time, long for the better. For example, while eating my Zambian fritter, I still long for a “Shady Maple” maple-glazed donut. Moving to a new place has its opportunities and challenges, but we know, no matter where we live, our real home is still to come.

And that home will not have a pool full of jellyfish.

Here is an update from the last few months

Isabella turned one! Izzy wanted a pony for her birthday gift, but we gave her a cupcake instead, and she seemed happy.

Not quite as good as a pony, but she still liked it.

Isabella and her friend Patrick make for the cutest and most destructive team ever.

Freddie went to a young engineer’s program. One of the biggest blessings of homeschooling in Lusaka is that there are so many different small programs for students. Freddie went to a course where they could build things out of LEGO and learn programming.

We went to Lake Kariba. Only 4 hours away from FMZ is the world’s largest man-made lake by volume. So we went with another family from FMZ for the weekend to explore this wonder. We went on a boat ride, and just prayed it didn’t sink, in the croc-infested waters.

The children really enjoyed the boat ride.

I helped change out all the cables and pulleys on one of our Cessna 206s. Airplanes use cables and pulleys to go up, down, and turn. So much like the steering wheel in your car, they are mildly important. We were helped by a work team led by Joel and Sue Bolthouse. I bring them up individually because this couple poured their heart and soul into the start of FMZ, and without them, it would not be what it is today.

Prayer

Please pray for us as we still find a home church. We have been going to various churches since coming here, and we are still praying that God will guide us. We feel peace about one and ask that you would pray with us over this important matter.

Pray for Maria and Isabella as they travel. Maria is going on a two-week trip to the States for her brother’s wedding. That is the excuse she is using, but I think she just wants more Hershey chocolate. Please pray that she and Isabella have a safe trip!

Pray for me with the three oldest. The ladies here at FMZ will be helping a lot with taking care of the children during the day, and honestly, I think this will be a lot of fun. But by the end of the two weeks, I think everyone will be missing mommy.

Praise

Praise that we are adjusting well to Zambian life. Zambia is starting to feel like home, and I think we went through the first small wave of culture shock unharmed. I know culture shock and homesickness will hit harder in the future, but for now, we feel at home.

Praise that the children have friends their age. Every child here has someone they have really connected with, and that is such a blessing!

Praise that we have had power so much since being here. Over our first few hard transitioning months, God has allowed the grid to work at least 15 hours a day. We have solar, but we quickly run out of battery without the grid at night. Having grid just makes the transition so much gentler. Grid is starting to reduce again, but having it at first was really nice.

Till next, muyende bwino,

November 2025

Why?

“Daddy, why don’t we swim in the lake?”
“Because the lake is full of crocodiles.”
“What’s wrong with crocodiles?”
“They will eat you.”
“Why will they eat you?”
“Because you’re tasty.”
“Why am I tasty?”
“Because you eat too much chocolate.”

(finally, no more whys)

Mommy being a “good” example of croc safety.

I am the father of several small, purebred Martins. Martins are great at many things. We make the best potato bread, donuts, and scrapple—but we also possess an unusually high concentration of curiosity. Small humans asking “why” is universal, but being a Martin seems to multiply the frequency.

Freddie holding a “cute” snapping turtle.

Whyness (which ChatGPT assures me is a real word) is something we all struggle with from time to time. As an aircraft mechanic, I often ask myself why a Cessna engineer designed a bolt that cannot be removed without disassembling most of the airplane. And sometimes, at night, when the lights are off, and a camel spider sprints under the couch, I wonder why God created a giant, super-fast, hairy, pinching spider that likes to live indoors. I promise you—stepping on one in the dark is a far worse surprise than stepping on a Lego.

Life produces a lot of whys. Aviation and common sense do not always arrive at the same airport. There are countless moments in maintenance where the proper, by-the-book procedure makes sense from a safety standpoint—but still makes you ask, “Why this way?”

I remember a particular childhood “why” very clearly. Our class went on a trip to the Philadelphia Zoo. “Everyone” else seemed to have about $400 to spend on souvenirs and lunch. My parents handed me a humble twenty-dollar bill and told me to spend it wisely. While my classmates enjoyed what might as well have been lion tenderloins for lunch, I ate a sad, reheated hamburger. When they bought gold-plated snow globes, I bought an eraser.

I have absolutely no idea where that eraser is today—and I’m certain none of my classmates could produce their souvenirs either. I don’t remember what I ate, but I do remember I wasn’t hungry. My parents knew exactly what they were doing.

We serve a Heavenly Father who is far wiser than any human parent could hope to be. And yet we still find ourselves asking “why” when things happen. Our church recently focused on Job and his many whys. If anyone ever had the right to ask, it was Job.

This past year left me holding a whole bundle of whys, too. It has been painful, confusing, and chaotic. Twelve months ago, I failed a test I had spent years preparing for—an outcome that will affect us for years. It derailed long-held plans and the direction we thought God was calling us toward. No matter how many times I asked ChatGPT, it couldn’t tell me why this was happening.

At the same time, we moved into my in-laws’ basement, where they graciously allowed our children to redecorate their walls with crayon murals. As we sat through a too-cold Pennsylvania winter asking why, a gray January day brought another, heavier why.

My friend died. Suddenly. Without warning. A workplace accident. He was an amazing man and father—and then he was gone.

Some whys take a lifetime to understand; others take a year. Now, standing here in Zambia, we can see the beginnings of answers. We are genuinely happy, and we truly believe this was God’s plan all along. God knew I needed a metal shop and a car lift, only a two-minute walk from home. God knew my family needed me present during this transition—not flying into the bush for days on end. God knew I would fit into this team and that I would love the professional level of maintenance we do on these fancy flying metal boxes.

God knew. And God still knows the answers to the whys that remain.

For the lesser whys, of course, there is always ChatGPT.
For example: “Chat, should I swim in Lake Kariba?”

Quick update from the last newsletter.

My toolbox arrived! Praise the Lord, it’s not on the bottom of the ocean creating a new barrier reef. Thank you to everyone who made it possible to get this extension of myself to the other side of the globe.

I passed one of my maintenance license tests! Now I only have like 6 more to go… I failed it the first time with a score of 67.5%, but I passed it this time with a score of 70%. But, like Albert Einstein always said, “D’s get degrees.”

Evelyn turned 4! She is turning into such a young lady. She demands certain style clothes (mostly unmatching) and wants a Stanley cup. Truly, she is growing up too fast.

Maria made it safely back from the States after her brother’s wedding. I was concerned that once she had a donut from home, she would refuse to come back. But she is a good and frugal missionary wife, and since the return ticket was already purchased, she thought it rude to not use it.

Aria lost some teeth and some of her marbles.

The girls dressed up for the Zambian Independence Day. Cinderella was not an important figure in Zambian independence…

Pray

Please pray for wisdom. There seems to be endless, daily-even hourly-moments where wisdom is required.

Pray for my future test. I will hopefully be taking a bunch of tests in the near-ish future and will need Divine help!

Pray for us as a family. Life is becoming a good rhythm, and we feel like Lusaka is quickly becoming home. Culture shock still hasn’t sunk its nasty teeth into us yet, so pray for us that when it does, we can cling to the Truth.

Praise

Praise for Maria’s safe travel to the States. 60 hours of solo travel with a one-year-old has never been done more gracefully.

Praise that we found a good church to attend. Makeni Bible Baptist has welcomed us in, and we truly love the community there.

Praise that we found a place for Thanksgiving! I honestly forgot that Thanksgiving was this week, but some fellow American friends have opened their doors to partake in this “fowl” smelling feast.

till next time,

June 2025

Ants in my coffee

I, like most unsophisticated swine, love instant coffee. It is cheap, fast, and when done right, has its own unique flavor. Some lovingly compare the flavor to that of various manures, but I find the flavor closer to heavenly raindrops.

With great delight, I discovered instant coffee was readily available in Zambia. Soon, I partook in the consumption of large quantities of instant goodness.

Before long, my instant coffee started to have an interesting crunch. Apparently, Zambian ants are much thirstier than American ants, and our electric kettle seemed like a great place to drink water. So the ants arrive by the thousands and overwhelm my poor electric kettle daily. I now thoroughly wash my kettle before each use, and even then, I still get a few grams of organic protein per cup of coffee.

Fresh avocado toast goes great with ant infused coffee.

I tell this short story of protein-laden caffeine to highlight the small but plentiful changes in the last few weeks. Living in Zambia can be difficult at times, and it requires learning a new normal. There have been several times in the last few weeks when I felt like a fish out of water.

Take, for example, driving. In Zambia, we drive on the left side of the road, just like the British monarchy. In America, we follow George Washington’s example and, since 1776, have driven our cars on the right side of the road.

I have been pulled over more in the last few weeks than in the last 10 years! To be fair to the coppers, I broke a law each time. In fairness to me.. they were new laws to me.. I believe I will quickly and painfully learn Zambian driving laws.

Maria and the children are adjusting well in Zambia. The other missionary wives have taken Maria under their wings and have shown her the best places to shop. Shopping and finding certain items can be difficult at times; sometimes it takes the entire day to just track down a few needed items.

The children are constantly dirty and very happy about it. The missionaries here have hired a local coach, and now the children have Phys Ed and learn Nyanja at the same time. Nyanja is the most common local language, and the children are learning it at a way faster clip than we are.

Nyanja lessons

We are currently in the winter months here in Zambia, and it feels so pleasant every day. Roughly 78 as a high, and 50 as a low. It is also sooooo dry. Dust covers the floors like sugar on a powdered donut. Maria does her best, but trying to keep the floors clean is like operating a handheld bilge pump on the sinking Titanic.

Overall, things are going well. We need for nothing, and best of all, our scrapple and Hershey bars arrived safely on the African continent. Soon, I will start my Zambian testing for “engineer”. The testing looks painful, but like a root canal, I’ll be better on the other side of it. I will take a total of 4 hairy and scary tests in the next few months.

Well, I think I’m hungry and tired, and I know just the drink to solve both.

Here is a photo dump of our travels

Maria had three children to take care of, and I only had one but…

Evie slept so peacefully… over both our seats..

All the children did so good lugging their suitcases through the airports.

Photos from around the Hangar.

Aria had the first Martin family birthday in Zambia

And of course we had a birthday party with the FMZ staff.

Prayer

Pray for me as I integrate into the team here. The team here is close, and I feel the significance of entering well.

Pray for the family. We are not in the States anymore, and things are different. There are new stressors, new decisions, and new opportunities. Pray that we can be a family that points others towards Christ.

Pray that we can find a good church. We are looking into local churches here and are trying to find a good church to plug into.

Praise

Praise that we made it here safely. The journey here is long, and the opportunities for things to go wrong are plentiful. But God provided safe passage and even got all of our 16 suitcases here!

Our entire herd of suitcases made it here!

Praise that we are slowly getting into a new rhythm. Life is different but also the same, and trying to restore a life rhythm is important.

Praise that we have not been robbed yet. Several of the missionaries have been robbed in the last few weeks, and so far, God has spared us.

Musale Bwino,

February 2025

Driving on the Moon

It is now common knowledge that the moon is in fact not made of cheese. But if I were ever chosen to participate on one of the future NASA missions to the moon, I would take along a charcuterie board just in case.

Lately, I have been hardcore nerding out on the ambitious Apollo missions to the moon. I find it fun to daydream about being the astronaut sitting in the chair with 10 seconds to go before liftoff. Knowing my luck that would be the exact moment I would have grave misgivings about eating Taco Bell for breakfast. The rocket strapped to my back weighs 6.5 million pounds and will soon gobble up fuel at 20 tons a second. I’m strapped to an organized and mostly orderly bomb constructed in a relative hurry to meet a deadline imposed by a fallen president. If this bomb chooses not to explode around me, I’ll be on my way to the moon at 25000 mph, probably faster than any Cessna I have ever flown. Then after 3 days of eating freeze-dried hotdogs and Tang, my coworker and I would climb down an expensive ladder and make history. I would be standing on the face of the moon, with the keys to the lunar rover, ready to drive flat out with no police in sight.

In my imagination, driving on the moon would be both simpler and more complex than driving in Lancaster, PA. For one, there would be no buggies that you would need to navigate, and the road apple debris would be less. You would not have GPS on the moon or a smartphone, but I guess you could just turn around and follow the only manmade tracks for miles back to your spaceship.

Soon we will be leaving the road apple-laden land of Lancaster and starting off on our own expedition. Our destination will not be the giant lump of cheese in the night sky, but somewhere still very much alien to us. Our “rocketship” will only fly at a meager 500 mph, but we will still probably be served the same Tang and freeze-dried hotdogs as those other explorers. Instead of climbing down an expensive ladder like Buzz did, we will be climbing down a worn-out Jet stair truck.

We are headed to Zambia! Flying Mission Zambia has invited us to join their team as a maintenance specialist (a fancy way to say mechanic) starting ASAP. I will not be going as a pilot for our first term, due to my failed TE at JAARS. However, I will test with MAF between our 1st and 2nd terms to see if I qualify as a field pilot then.

Flying Mission Zambia is based in the capital city of Lusaka, and they serve as a link to Doctors, Missionaries, and the many field clinics sprinkled throughout the Zambian countryside. The country of Zambia when laid over the East coast is from the top of Maine to the south of DC, and goes west to mid-Ohio. Throughout this landscape lives 20 million people, and many Zebras. When at MMS in 2021, I joined a team that traveled to Flying Mission Zambia to perform larger maintenance projects on their fleet. I really enjoyed my time there, getting to know both the foreign and domestic staff that make up the vibrancy of FMZ.

So what’s next? Next is waiting for our work permits and visas. Imagine the speed and efficiency of the DMV. Then after those get approved it’s buying tickets, neck pillows, and as much scrapple as I can carry, and depart to Zambia.
This does bring up an interesting topic: Things that will be changing.

This will probably be the next to last paper Flyin’ Bryan newsletter. Scan the QR code to sign up for our Telegram newsletter. I will still post full newsletters to our website but the Telegram newsletter will be updated more often.

We are going to miss everyone as we move. But no matter where we move we’ll serve the same King, under the same moon. Gotta go, I am craving cheese.

Zac Adams is one of my flight students at Kingdom Air Corps

Snow and airplanes…. I can’t wait for Zambia.

Isabella drooling over airplanes like her old man.

PRAYER

Please remember us in prayer over these next several months as big things are happening! We are packing up roughly 600 pounds of stuff to travel over four continents with four children, and I for one feel a little stressed. This is what all the preparation was for, and I feel so grateful for everyone who is walking beside us as we take this next step. One hardship facing us is, we will be getting rid of our precious minivan and we will become a… SUV family! Needless to say, many big changes lie ahead, and it will be fun, exciting, lonely, and disappointing. We all will feel this, so please especially pray for our children.

Pray that we will find a good church in Zambia. It is absolutely important that we find a good church to plug into for our long-term spiritual health.

Pray for my friend’s family. My friend was killed in a tragic work accident in January. He was a great man and has left a legacy for his boys.

PRAISE

Praise that things seem to be coming together. Lately, I felt like God had us in a perpetual holding pattern. But now things are all coming together, and I am finally feeling cleared to land.

Till next time,

December 2024

above: A picture of the radar right when Isabella was born

Overdue

Much like the unreturned books I borrowed in the eighth grade, this newsletter is overdue. If you receive this newsletter and know my elementary school librarian, then please tell her I’m sorry… and I think my dog ate my books.

I apologize for how long this newsletter took to come out. But I’m hoping it still arrives during deer season so you can use it as target practice to sight in for that nineteen-and-a-half-point buck.

What has happened in the last several months you may ask?

We had a baby!

Isabella Grace Martin joined the family on August 8th amid tropical storm Debby. In the middle of the night when the wind was a howling Maria told me “I think we should go to the hospital”. As the heavens poured down outside, Isabella greeted us with a sweet cry. Just to prove how overdue this newsletter is… She is already almost 4 months old! We are so thankful for everyone who helped us after her birth!

Then in September we spent a week at MMS Aviation for JAARS TE prep. During the week I practiced maintenance-related items to prepare for the big test ahead. The MMS staff beat me over the head repeatedly with aviation maintenance textbooks in vain hope that anything would stick. Though my memory was hazy from head trauma, one of my highlights was spending time with our church family and friends in Ohio.

Then at the end of September we drove down to JAARS to begin my two-week technical evaluation. What is a “technical evaluation” you ask? It is simply a two-week-long test designed to determine all your skills, knowledge, and personal attributes. This was hard. I was on an emotional roller coaster from thinking I was failing horribly, to possibly passing meagerly. I would come back to our apartment every night convinced that I failed, and my cheerleader Maria would do her best and point out all my positive attributes. She would say things like “You are the best mechanic I know named Bryan, aged 34, from PA”. I would summon whatever strength I had and returned the next day feeling as if I was a turkey in November.

The results? After nearly two weeks of testing that concluded on Thursday, Oct 3rd, we waited all day Oct 4th for their conclusion. While waiting, my brain conveniently replayed in beautiful 4k resolution all the mistakes I made over the last two weeks. From 8 AM on I knew that any moment they would call us over and pronounce their findings. Then at 6 PM we were called as a family over to discuss their conclusions.

Results; Pass maintenance, Failed flight.

Ouch! I was keeping it together okay until Freddie with full childhood pride in his eyes looked up at me and said, “daddy you passed!” Then I lost it, and the tears flowed freely. The results of this test are permanent, as JAARS would not reopen this test to me to try again in the foreseeable future..

So now what? On October 5th, Bryan had no answers. We always prayed that God would open and close doors to direct us to the plan He has for us. The door to fly at AIM Air had been permanently slammed and welded shut. Where do we go from here? After counsel from trusted individuals, we were encouraged that maybe God is using this closed door to change our path. Maybe we should rethink our steps and look elsewhere.

Considering that, we reached out to Flying Mission Zambia (click on the link to go to FMZ website). They were the other ministry that we visited while on the African continent in 2023. We LOVED our time at Flying Mission, and they have always been on our short list. They encouraged us to apply as a pilot/mechanic family and are walking beside us as we continue to seek the right path ahead.

Currently I do not have definite information. Other than we are currently in application with Flying Mission Zambia, and things look promising. What will my days look like until we move from PA? I am currently working for a ministry called “Kingdom Air Corp” in Shippensburg, PA. Kingdom Air Corp is based in Alaska, but during the hard Alaskan winters they relocate to balmy Pennsylvania. K.A.C trains future missionary mechanics and pilots and that is what I’ll be doing this winter, while working on various ministry aircraft.

Kingdom Air Corps

So for the winter, at least our address is 4610 Stiegal Pike, Newmanstown, PA. We will be living in my in laws basement until we move to our field assignment. This will give us time to connect with folks that we haven’t seen for way too long. Stop by sometime and we will send you home with a gift/junk we need to get rid of.
Maybe even an overdue book.

Prayer

Please pray that God will continue to guide our path. We feel a little off-centered post-TE, but we know that God has a plan, and we long to serve in the role He has for us

Please remember our children as life has been changing a lot for them. Moving from NC to PA, meant new-to-them Sunday School, Friends, and home.

Praise

Praise for a safe move up to PA! No blown tires or engines, proving divine providence 😊

Praise for the opportunity to serve at Kingdom Air Corp over the winter. This will be an amazing opportunity to be able to help these brothers and sisters at least for the winter.

Peace and love,

Unlucky

Unlucky

“I would rather be lucky than good!” This is fine to hear from a janitor, but less so from a neurosurgeon. Some would say “If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.” This, again something most surgeons should try to omit from their lexicon. Luck is that feeling that something completely by chance, made our day better (or much worse). For the purpose of test-taking in grade school, I had both a four-leaf clover and a lucky penny taped to my desk. I would’ve had a rabbit’s foot too, but rabbits are fast and I was slow. In high school, I had a lucky eraser with a T on one side and an F on the other. Tossing that eraser helped me through many true and false quizzes. Even today I have lucky socks that I have worn for every flight test I have ever done. I would wash them, but I don’t want any luck washed out.

But I still feel unlucky. Like have you ever stepped on a Lego in the dark with one foot, stubbed your toe with the other foot, and spilled the coffee you were carrying? This accurately describes my every morning in the Martin household.

It is not because of my perpetual sore feet and burnt skin that I feel unlucky, no, it’s much more than that. It is because I don’t believe in luck. Luck is a fairytale and must be further examined to see clearly. Like if you told me you saw “Santa riding a unicorn in Narnia” I would have to examine that claim further. Upon further investigation, I would discover that what you really saw was a janitor riding a donkey while holding a mop, in Detroit.

Lately, I have been thinking about all the lucky things that have happened in my life to prepare me as a pilot/mechanic. Like how lucky I was to have a mechanic dad with a hard-driven semi-truck that needed to be repaired. Or how another local mechanic encouraged me to do a complicated repair on my car. Or how I grew up with a seasoned missionary mechanic right in my home church. Or how my in-laws served in Haiti and have a heart for Kingdom work both here and abroad. Or how lucky I was to receive high levels of training from both MMS Aviation and MAG.

All of these things could be called luck, but I don’t believe in luck. My life has been crafted much like a mouse trap, with every single part required. Looking back and seeing all the lucky things that have prepared us to take the next steps has made me realize something. Luck had nothing to do with it.

However, I’m still planning on wearing my lucky socks for all future tests… it couldn’t hurt.

August 2024

above; The “father of the faith” and his wife catch a ride to Tepic

Airplanes, Babies, Etc.

The next newsletter will have a picture of a baby in it, I PROMISE! Okay now I cleared that up let me catch you up to where we are currently.

Over the last several months a few large things have been happening. It is important to interject that none of these events would have happened without the battle-hardened Maria holding down the fort.

Mexico
I went to Mexico for two weeks in May to eat tacos and serve at UIM Aviation. They have an internship program for mission aviators, in which they expose you to the daily inner workings of missionary aviation. On my internship flights, we flew pastors, doctors, and people in need of surgery.

Jasson Farmer, my primary instructor in Mexico with UIM

One highlight was flying a pastor who used to walk from village to village and has been called the “father of the faith” of the Huichol people. As he has aged, his walking ability has naturally declined, and that is where Cessnas can help.

See me land at this bush airstrip in Mexico

Besides the flying part, I got to spend time with the missionaries and see what it is like to serve as a family in that area of Mexico. I also ate really good tacos… did I mention that yet?

CFI
After getting sunburnt in Mexico, I came home to a busy June as I prepared for my Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) test. This test is no big deal… It’s just an all-day test where the examiner will ask you to teach him everything there is to know about flying small planes. For example, my test started at 8 am and lasted till 3:30 pm.

Joey Rodgers and I take a “dad” selfie after my CFI checkride.

Right before the test, due to all the studying, my poor brain could not hold any new info. I have heard the brain described as an iceberg and all thoughts are penguins. The iceberg can only hold so many penguins until some of them must get booted!
But thanks to lots of prayers from y’all, I passed. Shortly after passing, I felt my body shutting down from stress overload!

TE Prep
Then the week after the CFI test, we headed out to Elizabethton, TN for Technical Evaluation Prep. I will be taking a JAARS Technical Evaluation (or TE) in September of this year as a required step for joining Africa Inland Mission. The JAARS TE is known for being demanding and the more practice I can get in advance, the better.

Steve Persenaire helps me change oil while in TN

Steve Persenaire with M.A.F (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) was willing to stretch my flying abilities / beat me over the head. We performed all matter of different maneuvers at airspeeds that would make even Neil Armstrong uncomfortable.

The best part of the trip was that Maria and the family were able to come along. Lately, I have been gone a lot, and this TE prep would pose another week away from the family. Fortunately, through the power of the internet Al Gore created, we were able to find an Airbnb nearby.

Due to a schedule mismatch and Maria being the super momma she is, she ended up driving the 3 hours there with three children all by herself. Meanwhile, I flew by myself while listening to a podcast…

Graduation
The week after coming back from Tennessee, MAG had an official graduation ceremony for me! I have now officially graduated from the MMS/MAG program! After seeing how much effort went into my graduation shindig, I really felt honored and grateful to be a part of this group of believers.

I pass the apprentice torch… I mean “propeller” to Steven Brumfield (the next MAG apprentice)

Me getting my “epaulets”, now I at least look more like a pilot

CFII
At the end of July, I completed my Certified Flight Instructor Instruments (CFII). Originally, I wasn’t planning on getting this certificate but after talking to different missionaries it was recommended that I get it. So in the last weeks of July, we squeezed in some time to make this happen. I am so glad that I can finally take a break from any new FAA certificates for like a year until I start working on acquiring all my Kenyan ratings.

The ladies at MAG had a baby “sprinkle” for Maria

I got to fly my momma, sister Brenda, and niece Shanna

PRAYER

Pray for Baby Martin as she continues to grow. Maria is doing super well, but she is really, really, ready to meet our little girl 😊

Pray for me as I prepare for the JAARS TE in September. We will possibly be in Ohio for a week at MMS at the beginning of September to do some maintenance prep. Not gonna lie this TE low-key terrifies me, and I only think about it every 30 seconds or so.

Pray for all the upcoming changes. We are planning on moving to PA in October after TE, with a two-month-old, and feel a little stressed about it!

PRAISE

Praise that Maria is feeling so good. Living away from family, pregnant, and with three energetic little ones already lovingly destroying the house makes for busy days. Maria is handling it all with grace.

Praise for all the amazing opportunities God has given us. Mexico was an awesome opportunity to fly in a challenging setting, and to see the daily work of missionary aviation. To see the people firsthand, that were helped by these little Cessnas really motivated me to finish all this training strong.

Praise that Aria turned 5 in May. It’s been a joy to watch her grow into a beautiful, artistic, and talented girl who loves to learn and adds sparkle to everything she touches.

Love y’all,

April 2024

above: my copilot needed a nap 🙂

Montezuma’s revenge

I once ate ice cream from a sketchy street vendor in Mexico. Though this treat was delicious, it was not my best idea. The rest of that evening and throughout the entire night, Montezuma was avenged.

I survived with the help of friends, docs, and Pepto-Bismol, but in isolated areas in the world, this little episode could have ended way worse. Below is a story from an Africa Inland Mission missionary named Joel, whom I got the privilege of knowing recently. He needed to be medivac’ed from the people group he was ministering to in South Sudan.

Living in the bush of South Sudan, in an area long disturbed by tribal warfare and unfortunate roadside attacks, AIM AIR was a lifeline for us as roads were most frequently deemed impassible. While they and MAF both supported our work by providing different shuttles in and out of our village for leaves and food deliveries, AIM AIR I learned, were the people we depended on like family. I learned this from the very first stories told about AIM AIR; they’d be ready and willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of AIM missionaries. That’s the idea we were given about them from other missionaries and pilots alike. Because AIM AIR was invested in the same ministry we were, they cared like we did.

A picture Joel took while being medivac’ed out.

This all became personal for me when I got sick after a year and a half on the field, registering a 104+ degree fever for the third day in a row with vomiting and diarrhea. We had tried some medicine and had consulted with AIM’s medical personnel before a group chat started regarding a possible medical evacuation (medivac). The AIM AIR pilot in Uganda was in the chat and gave us a timeframe on when he needed an answer to make it back to Uganda legally. Once the call was made for him to come pick me up, it was not much longer than the length of the flight before he was landing on our little dirt runway. AIM AIR made a plan and got me to the hospital in Arua, Uganda by evening. I was diagnosed with salmonella, amoeba, and malaria and was on IV and was beginning other medication by the end of the night. The team in Uganda figured out my housing needs for me. I was able to stay to recuperate for the next few weeks as I let my body heal and some medication cleared up my systems. While this was not totally life-threatening, living in a location without proper medical care would not be possible without the support of AIM AIR. Countless other stories could be shared about how God has used AIM AIR as a means of his grace and mercy to his children over the decades of their service in Africa.

An AIM Air plane in a dusty South Sudan Village

Praise God Joel is alive and well today! Meeting him, his wife, and his beautiful child was a reminder of the generational impact good health care can have. Ensuring the health and spiritual well-being of isolated people groups and the missionaries serving them is the whole reason AIM Air exists. We are excited to be taking these next steps in service with them, and doing our part fighting Montezuma.

Below is another field report video highlighting the work of AIM Air.

AIM “Engage” week
Our current relationship status with AIM is best described in a dating relationship terminology. We are not yet “married” but we are close to getting “engaged” 😊 The “Engage Africa Inland Mission” week was a time for us to learn more about AIM, how we would fit, and what overseas service would look like. We were so honored to have our ministry there for the first day. They traveled for nearly 24 hours to be there, and worst of all, they had to spend time in Newark! It was an encouraging and confirming week, and we are excited to take these next steps with AIM.

“Brian sandwich” On either side of me stands Brians that served with AIM for a total of 60 years of service

Brian guides me through a landmine teambuilding activity, that would have been harder with cow paddies

The Girls
We are having a GIRL! Baby Tanker (the name the children have given her), is confirmed to be a girl! Freddie and I are now overwhelmingly outnumbered, and I have resigned to the fact that glitter will fill my future. We are looking for girl names so any idea will be heard, but many will be discarded 😊.

11 years
Maria and I celebrated 11 years of marriage this April. I remember when I was younger I thought that really old people celebrated 11 years of marriage… but now I realize that my younger self was wrong, because I’m not old… Happy Anniversary Sweetheart!

Happy 11-year anniversary to my sweetheart! Note the muscle car is switched out for a minivan, but minivans are more muscler anyways 🙂

Mexico
In May I’ll be flying in Mexico! Part of my training here at Missionary Air Group will be flying in Mexico with United Indian Missions (UIM). UIM serves the indigenous tribes in the remote and rugged mountains of Mexico. Believe it or not, there is still Bible translation work to be done, and even unreached tribes in Mexico! UIM serves these tribes, and I will be flying their Cessna 206 to help at a medical clinic in May.

Prayer

Pray for Baby Tanker as she continues to grow. We were both surprised and delighted to add another daughter to the Martin clan…. Now it’s time to buy more bows and pink things.

Pray for me as I head to Mexico. My time in Mexico will be fun, helping with UIM, flying real mission flights, but it will definitely be hard to be away from the family. Please pray for Maria as I am gone May 14th -28th.

Pray for guidance for us as we continue in applications with AIM. The process is still long, and there are still many big steps to be taken, but pray that God will make our path clear as we take these next steps.

Praise

Praise that Maria is feeling better. Maria is 95 percent of what makes our family work, so when she was out, I fed the children mostly cold hot dogs and crunchy Ramen. Thank you so much for all who prayed for her!

Praise that we were able to attend the “Engage” event at AIM. This was such a good week, and really opened our eyes to the work of AIM on the African continent.

Praise God for our safe travels. Honestly the miles we put on the family minivan over the last several years would make any tire salesman smile. But praise God, He has always been there protecting us.

Love y’all,

In loving memory of my Aunt Elanie Weaver, loving wife, mother, and grandmother.

Smooth Brain

I have been called many things over my short time on this earth; “handsome”, “intelligent”, “professional”, “your highness” and the much more common, “dummy”. By far and wide the largest commentator of the adjective “dummy” is my internal monologue. Have you like me ever looked high and low for your sunglasses only to realize that they were on your head the whole time? Or have you ever gotten mad at a household member for moving your keys-phone-wallet only to find them in the pants you wore yesterday? Dummy.

As a testament to my daily lack of outstanding intellect, let me share a short story of our time in Kenya. Uber is popular in Nairobi and our contact there told us to “simply get an Uber to the hangar for your tour”. I, like most millennials, am fluent in the ways of Uber, and promptly researched our different Uber options. However, when I saw the prices, I thought I must have booked a personal armored limo. The cost of our trip to the hangar was gonna cost like 30 bucks! I forcefully pushed back the bile as I hit accept and expected our stretched steel-plated hummer at any moment. When our 15-year-old rudimentary equipped Kia arrived 4 mins later I was less than “wowed”. After a short ride in the 2007 Kia Deathbox, we arrived at the hangar, and I complained about the extortionate fare, to which our contact said I did the Dollar-to-Shillings conversion wrong and that our ride only cost $2.50. Dummy. Now I almost feel bad that I stuck my gum to the bottom of our cabby’s seat…

But now it’s time to talk about some real dummies… Koala Bears. “Aww they are so cute, don’t make fun of poor Koala Bears,” you say, “everyone loves Koala Bears, you could learn a thing or two from them Bryan,” you say. “Koala Bears smell like cough drops and you smell like gross avgas,” you say. Look I am not raging war against the adorable dummies, or else I would easily win. I am simply stating facts about the Down Under’s least tasty marsupial.

Fact one; Koala Bears have a smooth brain. If you look at pictures of a human brain it has folds and ridges. A Koala bear’s brain is as smooth as a baby’s bottom. This means they have less brain surface area to form thoughts… dummies.

Fact two; Koala Bears mostly eat eucalyptus leaves. But if you pick eucalyptus leaves from a tree while a hungry Koala Bear is watching and then offer them to it…. The Koala Bear will not eat them… Zoologists believe Koala Bears only identify eucalyptus leaves while being in a eucalyptus tree… dummies.

Here comes the most surprising fact; Koala Bears live up to 15 years in the wild. 15 years of simple bliss, smelling like cough drops, and eating. Isn’t it amazing how God daily provides for the Koala Bears needs? In Matthew 6 Jesus tells us to rest in Him and not worry about tomorrow. 1 Peter 5:7 “cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you”. God tells us repeatedly in the New Testament to trust, test, and look to Him when the storm rages. Don’t be like Moses’s other brother, Toses, frantically building a boat to cross the Red Sea as the Egyptians came. Trust in the God of Moses, splitting seas since the beginning of time. Don’t be like Toses… He was a dummy.

FEBRUARY

I originally called our newsletter “Preparing for Impact”. I thought it was a stroke of pure genius, as we are preparing for Kingdom impact. But my dear helpmeet correctly foresaw that folks may be nervous to fly with a pilot with a dark sense of humor. Through the course of naming the newsletter, something I think we spent more time on than our children’s names, we settled on Flyin’ Bryan.
Some of my favorite flying that I have done so far, happened in the last few months. Below I’ll highlight some of my favorite trips.

Tim & Hannah, Just look at those awesome clouds!

Missionary Express.
I had the privilege to participate in the flights of three missionaries on their Stateside travels. My first flight was with a Nigerian couple named Timothy and Hannah. They were traveling in the States raising awareness for their pastoral ministry in Nigeria. They had exactly one night to visit a church in NC, and then needed transportation to South Carolina. Getting around outside of your home country, without your own vehicle, is quite daunting. Through a series of divine whispering down the lane, Missionary Air Group found out about the need, and we were able to meet it. Shortly before Tim and Hannah’s flight, I got my instrument rating (the fly-in-cloud license) and the Lord blessed me with low clouds on the day of their flight. Of course, and with abundant glee, I decided we would fly in the clouds. The takeoff and the climb through the clouds were mostly smooth, and then we were treated to PURE BEAUTY! We flew just above the clouds in what can best be described as an alluring cotton candy wonderland. I was on cloud nine, literally!! But unbeknownst to me this was a feeling only felt by me. This was only my passengers’ second time in a small airplane, and flying in the clouds can definitely feel intimidating. After a few dishearten requests to leave the clouds, the skies cleared and we flew clear of the puffy wonderland. The rest of the flight went well, just with a slight decrease in the beauty outside the windows in my opinion.

Chandan, Steven, and I before the brain-bouncing turbulence.

Then I got the chance to fly an Indian missionary named Chandan. He was stateside with a similar timeline and purpose as Timothy and Hannah. My redhead co-apprentice Steven Brumfield and I shared flying duties for Chandan’s trip. Steven’s hair is such a flaming red, and he blends in so well with Maria’s family, that I almost expect to see him at reunions. Chandan’s flight lacked the puffy wonderland, but the winds made his flight memorable. The poor guy was subjected to some violent head-hitting-ceiling downdrafts, but he was mostly a good sport about it. Besides, with the number of times his head hit the ceiling, he may not even remember the flight. We landed without incident at a gusty grass runway close to where he was staying the night.

Joel King and I. This photo was taken after he administered his skillful flogging.

Trial By Fire
Joel King from AIM Air agreed to conduct a consultation flight with me. I took this awesome opportunity to fly with a seasoned missionary aviator, and he took this opportunity to challenge my feeble skillset. We flew to several different airports, only a thousand feet above the ground, on a WINDY day, with only my map, a clock, and my ego. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! But also, super intimidating. Imagine mumbling your own poems to Shakespeare. After this trial by fire, he treated my poor, battered, and highly sweaty self to lunch as we debriefed. He was fair, and after the debrief, my skillset has de-feebled slightly.

Joey Rodger’s congratulatory handshakes are the best thing ever.

Commercial Checkride.
I also took my “Commercial Checkride” in January. The “Commercial” pilot’s certificate was to me more of a legal requirement than anything else. Mission aviation organizations need their pilots commercially rated mostly to help with different aviation laws. This “checkride” (which is just a fancy name for a pilot’s driver’s test) was to a higher standard and tighter tolerance than my private license. It also involved a more thorough understanding of FAA rules. Joey Rodgers was my test giver, or “DPE” as they are called. He was awesome, and I had a great time with him, but still, the best part was his warm handshake at the end and his saying I passed!

JAARS 206 Training
JAARS, Wycliffe Bible Translators’ aviation branch, knows a thing or two about maintaining the most popular mission airplane, the Cessna 206. Because of this Steven and I spent two weeks in Waxhaw, NC, gleaning what we can from these Cessna practitioners from a short maintenance course they offer.

5 + 1 = 6
Time to come clean… we have been keeping a little, adorable secret… The 5 of us will soon be 6! Yes, there will be another Martin in the world, which if you ask me is a very good thing. Us Martin’s after all are an endangered species. Baby Martin, or “Tanker” as Freddie and Aria have been calling them, will be joining the family circus in August 2024! Please pray for Maria as she has been having all-day morning sickness. This has been unfortunate for me, as it prevents us from enjoying roller coasters as a family.

African Inland Mission
Currently, we are still in the application stage of membership with African Inland Mission. We apparently paid off / blackmailed our required “character references” well enough. Anyway, I will be including another separate paper called, “The Martin’s Going to Africa Update”. I figured this update may go out at independent times compared to the newsletter, so I uncoupled the two. Thanks to all who have been asking questions, and please continue asking! We are excited to see how God is leading and can’t wait to share more.

Prayer
Please pray for Maria and future baby Martin. She has not been feeling well all pregnancy and could definitely use your prayers.
Pray for us as we continue our application with AIM. The steps ahead look difficult so please pray for us during these next steps.
Pray for us, especially the children, throughout it all. There will be a lot of moving, stress, and changes. Please pray for their constantly changing friends, homes, and situations.

Praise
Praise for the very thing making Maria sick! A new baby Martin!!
Praise that I passed my Commercial checkride! This was a big one and I definitely felt all the prayers!
Praise that our applications are moving ahead, and it looks like we will possibly be AIM members soon.

Below is a video I made from a field report I received. I asked a missionary on the field how AIM Air has impacted his life and ministry and I thought I would share it.