Most people wouldn’t put missions and aviation in the same category, but for my friend, Lincoln Gordon, and me, they’ve always fit together perfectly.
We graduated from high school together in 2024, earned our pilot’s licenses and felt eager to use aviation to spread the gospel as student missionary pilots. Long story short, in fall 2024, we found ourselves in Dillingham, Alaska, ready to use our aviation skills to share the gospel as student missionaries in the remote villages nearby.
Over the next school year, we served in ways we never expected, from becoming schoolteachers — something we definitely hadn’t planned — to helping church members with mechanical problems. We had the chance to fly into villages for Bible studies, bring passengers to Dillingham for Native camp meeting and watch God provide for our every need. We saw our school kids learn to trust and love God, made lasting friendships and even experienced God’s protection in some moments when our inexperience as brand-new pilots could have ended very differently.
One story stands out to me: the day God opened the weather.
In October 2024, Todd Parker, Dillingham and Togiak district pastor, reminded me that we were scheduled to fly him to Togiak on Sabbath. I laughed. The forecast called for steady rain, low visibility and solid cloud cover. Growing up in Oregon, I knew this type of weather all too well. There was no chance, I thought, that we would be flying. However, Parker was confident and hopeful — this would be his last chance to visit the church there before leaving to pastor in the lower 48.
Despite my doubts, we prepared as if the flight might actually happen. On Friday, we ran our weight-and-balance checks, siphoned fuel and arranged for extra fuel to be stored in Togiak for the return trip. On Sabbath morning, the weather was still awful. Even Alaska Airlines gave up after several go-arounds, returning to Anchorage without landing. After church, the reports still showed low visibility.
Still, Lincoln and I went out to the airport to preflight. We continued praying. Then — almost unbelievably — we watched the western sky begin to clear. After confirming that the weather was clear, we happily loaded up and took off. We dodged a little weather on the way over and safely made the 40-minute flight into Togiak.
That Sabbath turned out to be a blessing. Parker was able to lead communion with the church family one last time. Later, we fueled up, prayed with a church member struggling with demonic oppression and set out for the return flight. This time, we cruised smoothly over the mountains at 4,500 feet, with a breathtaking view all around us. As we approached Dillingham, I couldn’t believe my eyes — the weather was still socked in on the east side. God had opened the weather just long enough for us to go and come back.
Looking back, our year as student missionaries in Alaska was unforgettable. The flying was incredible, yes — but most of the work we did could have been done by anyone. That’s the point. Too often, we think serving God requires special skills or qualifications, but God calls each of us to be missionaries — whether across the world or across the street.
The question is: How will you answer that call?
Micah Grady and Lincoln Gordon, student missionary pilots, use their passions for mission and aviation to share the gospel across Alaska.
