Andrew Manor

Hi everybody!  

My name is Andrew. I just started at MFI as an apprentice mechanic and as an aspiring future DC-3 pilot!  

I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in Roanoke Virginia with my younger sister Addyson by my awesome parents Kevin and Kelli. I was raised in a Christian home on strong biblical foundations, so I began following Jesus at the age of 7 and was baptized shortly after. My relationship with Jesus and my faith in God unfortunately took a backseat through middle school and high school: I knew I was a Christian and I knew God loved me and died to save me from myself, but I didn’t understand what my role in it was, or even that I had one. After high school I worked a couple hourly jobs while I tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, and the lord gave me an opportunity to work at the Roanoke airport. Working on and around the airplanes and hearing the stories from pilots ignited a passion for aviation in me; I wanted to be a pilot. A friend pointed me towards Liberty University’s pilot program, so I enrolled in the Fall.  

When I first started at Liberty, I had my sights set on being a UPS or FEDEX cargo pilot, those pilots got to fly the biggest and fastest planes and made the most money. What can I say it seemed like a good time: However, God had other plans. About halfway through my sophomore year, missionary pilots from Jungle Aviation and Relay Service (JAARS) and Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) came and spoke at my classes and clubs. I got to see how these pilots made a direct impact for the kingdom of God through providing a need and sharing the love of Christ to people unreached. Initially I fought this obvious call from the Lord, and I still wanted to fly cargo. This is where God reawakened my somewhat dormant faith and ignited my passion for mission aviation. I changed my major to Liberty’s missionary pilot degree, pointed my vocational trajectory directly at missions’ aviation and I’ve never looked back.  

During my senior year at Liberty after completing my mechanic certification and my commercial pilot training, the Lord presented me an opportunity to serve at MFI on a surprise service trip in March and I’m extremely excited to see what God has for me during this season of life with this ministry and I hope to serve well.