Daniel Flying High

It's hard to believe that Daniel is now a 6th grader. He's our go-getter, often waking up before everyone else to make breakfast for the family or get a head start on school. He loves reading about history, especially World War II, and learning about polyhedra at math circle. When he's not burying his head in books, he's whizzing by on his roller blades, riding his bike, or practicing his Taekwondo moves.

Daniel loves all things aviation. He dreamed about attending Ace Academy, a summer aviation camp.  He wrote an essay and sent in his application, praying every day that he would be accepted. Here's what he recently wrote about the experience:

Ace Academy is a one week summer event at Los Angeles International Airport. It is for middle and high schoolers who are interested in aviation. It is sponsored by LAWA (Los Angeles World Airports) and the FAA. They wanted to encourage young people to become interested in aviation. I applied and was a bit shocked when a few weeks later, I got a response saying I had gotten in. I was the only one from out of Los Angeles County!

The whole week was exciting for me.  Some of the highlights were flying in 360 degree simulators, going into an airport control tower, going inside some of the newest aircraft available, and more! We went to Van Nuys Airport to participate in a fire drill, ate lunch on campus and toured the whole place. We went to the LAX police department to play with their dogs, and learn about their jobs, and how they respond to different scenarios.  We also learned about the management of the aircraft and how the plane flights are scheduled. We also went to JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratories) to learn about Curiosity. We actually saw the clean room version which is basically an identical rover except it won’t be launched. 

One of the most fun things we did was go to the Ronald Reagan Library where we did an exercise. Half of us were White House officials and half of us were men on an aircraft carrier. This exercise was based on the 1983 hostage crisis on Grenada. We had to decide which options were better. For example, we had to decide which was better. A) to keep the Marines and the Seals together, or B) to to have the Rangers and the Seals together. All of this was timed.

I want to go again next year or the high school version where you actually fly an airplane with an instructor!

What an amazing experience and an answer to Daniel's prayers. We are so thankful to God for opening doors for him!

"Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31