My SLU Story: Nate Calhoun – Student Leadership University

Today, we are featuring one of our amazing SLU alumni, who has taken the lessons learned at SLU and applied them toward achieving his God-given dreams. We hope that you are encouraged and inspired by his story!

Meet Nate Calhoun- Nate attended SLU 101, 201, 301, and 401 and is currently a student at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, preparing to become a missionary pilot.

Flying has been a passion of mine since I was a young boy. When I was in 2nd grade, I was inspired reading about Nate Saint, a missionary pilot that was killed while trying to reach the Auca tribe in Ecuador. Since that time, I wanted to be a pilot, but it was not until my sophomore year of high school that I felt God actually calling me to the mission field.

When I first felt the Lord leading me to missionary aviation, I tried avoiding that dream because I thought it was weird, and I argued with the Lord about surrendering to the calling. It was at that moment I heard a camp speaker say, “If you don't surrender to the call God has on your life, then you will never be happy anywhere else, and you will never accomplish what you were put on this earth to do.” I realized that sometimes you only get one shot at your dream. If I did not embrace my dream now, I might never get a second chance, so I gave my life fully to the Lord’s will and decided to allow Him to do whatever He wanted with me. The Lord revealed a truth to me many years later that I feel is very applicable to this time in my life:

“In order for God to do great things in us, we must have enough faith for God to do great things with us.”

Since that time, I have had the opportunity to experience mission aviation first hand in 3 different countries. I completed my first solo flight and earned my full private pilot’s license in the summer of 2014. The morning of my first solo flight, the weather was not very good: the wind was gusting at 7-knots and there was a crosswind on the runway. For someone with more experience, these conditions would have been nothing, but for a freshly minted pilot, I simply did not feel ready. After much prayer and patience, I was able to successfully complete my first solo flight later that evening. Flying an airplane on my own was truly an incredible experience.

Prayer is very much appreciated as I embark on this 10-year journey to the mission field because I realize that the enemy will stop at nothing to keep me from accomplishing what I know God has called me to do. I also ask that you please pray that I do well in my academics since the training to be a missionary pilot is very rigorous. I give God all the glory for helping me come this far and I will continue to trust Him for my future.  I cannot thank you enough for your prayers and encouragement.