Last week I went with our chief pilot, Garry, to the CAAP (Philippine version of the FAA) to file some paperwork and attempt to apply for my Philippine mechanic’s license. We were praying for a few things to work out on that visit. First and foremost, to get the papers to the right people and have things processed expeditiously. The other was to meet the people Garry has befriended in that office so that I could become familiar with the folks in the departments we will need to work with. I will be doing a lot of government paperwork in the days and years to come so it is good to start those relationships now.
God was good. We ran into almost everyone that Garry knows and I was introduced to all of them. Not only that but they approved me for a Philippine aircraft mechanic’s license based solely on my past experience and US license! If they hadn’t approved that paperwork it would have been back to the books to study for the Philippine A&P Mechanic exams…not something I wanted to do.
Shortly after coming home from getting my license, I read an email from one of my friends who is serving with NTMA in South America. He also got his mechanic’s license in the country he serves in, but he started the process nearly 11 months ago! It took me about 4 hours and $5. What a blessing that the Lord kept us out of any paperwork/bureaucratic nightmares because it can very easily be a miserable experience.