Thursday - "Can I sit in the helicopter?"
The boys enjoyed our reward of faith -- a grand tour of PJ Helicopters Airport.
Our reward of faith was getting to do a session at PJ Helicoptrers.
Riding in helicopters was our founder David's dream when we started DG. We told the boys that we thought this would be too impossible to pull-off so we never planned it into our sessions. UNTIL, God the rewarder of faith, opened an unexpected door for us through a family friend and we landed the most EPIC tour of PJ Helicopters we couldn't have dreamed of on our own. We shared the scripture from Hebrews 11:6 that says,
"And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who passionately seek him."
On the bus-ride over to PJ's, we asked the boys to share about a time they were rewarded by God for having faith, and then we played some helicopter trivia games.
Tour of PJ Helicopters
The fun really started when we were greeted by PJ employee Dan and Brandon. It was an overwhelmingly powerful reward to be there on site with them and to learn about all of the details that go into simply getting one helicopter in the air - from fueling, to transport, to piloting. the boys got to sit in the high electronic stuffed fueling trucks. We felt really taken care of and refreshed by the whole crew of PJ Helicopters as a employee offered us ice cold water on this hot day.
We walked over to the hangar, training center and their gym and could see how well the company is taken care of their employees through offering a lot of opportunities from working out and a big training center.
Then we stepped inside a hangar to view the helicopters up close. There were big ones and small ones, and one monster chinook. The boys got to meet all kinds of helicopter experts and ask all kinds of questions. We could see how a tiny kind of sit on lawn mower vehicle pulled out a hawk helicopter. It was impressive. We were overwhelmed by all the information.
One blade alone is $250,000 worth. You can do the math of what's in these shelves.
We passed by the firefighter gear and looked into a chinook which had a big water tank built in. It felt really exciting to see the gear up close in big-scale, since we usually see it from a distance as a tiny speck in the sky.
Finally, everybody got a chance to sit in the helicopter. The boys commented that this one felt really comfortable, like a limousine. It was an enjoyable moment for the boys to finally get on board a this flying machine!
Our last stop was to see the PJ team monitors where the crew controls the flight schedules for all aircrafts on duty across the entire United States.
And as a big surprise, and in theme with our session topic 'Reward of Faith" the boys were gifted with hats, treats, stickers and a poster! It was an unbelievably rewarding experience for all of us. The bus-ride home was buzzing with excitement.
What an unforgettable experience and reward of our faith.
____________________
Get to know this session's heroes and sponsors:
PJ Helicopters is a family-owned world class precision helicopter lift service serving all industries nationwide since 1970. In the over 53 year history, PJ Helicopters has focused heavily on customer satisfaction and safety to deliver our best product to customers nationwide. We primarily serve the utility, forestry, and construction industries and have completed a multitude of projects, work methods, and assignments in our long history. Additional industry sectors we regularly fly for and with includes: defense support, research and development, experimental flight testing, data acquisition, filmmaking, hydroelectric construction, aerospace testing and development, and much more.
https://www.pjhelicopters.com/
