JAARS Pilot Training

After 24 months of intense mechanics and flight study, new Lutheran Bible Translators missionary Nathan Federwitz began the next level of training: Jungle Aviation and Relay Service (JAARS).  

Training is vigorous, but Nathan has a strong support system. His wife, Sarah, an LCMS Deaconess, encourages him through long hours of studying manuals. Alvina Federwitz, Nathan’s grandmother, served as a Lutheran Bible Translators missionary for over fifty years and is thrilled to have her grandson join the mission. Nathan’s father, Jonathan Federwitz, is a former missionary pilot and Lutheran Bible Translators associate.  

Jonathan will be Nathan’s primary trainer at JAARS. “I have trust in him I don’t have with anybody else,” Nathan expressed, “We understand each other at a level nobody else understands…we’re both working toward the same goal.” This trust will prove vital as Jonathan instructs Nathan in the specifics of missionary piloting. Nathan laughed, “[As a missionary pilot] you’re not just going to follow a GPS straight down all the way to touchdown. You’re going to have to have a better understanding of how weather and navigation work without all the helpful aids we have in the U.S.”  

Through this season of JAARS training, Nathan and Sarah remember, “We’re enabling the people working on translation to get God’s Word to the people as efficiently as possible.” 

The Federwitzes will be traveling and speaking. “It allows us to connect with Lutheran churches on an impactful level, so they can be a part of taking God’s Word to the nations.” 

Nathan’s JAARS training is funded in part by the Missionary Training Fund. To support this fund, visit go.lbt.org/misstraining. 

Learn more about the Federwitzs