We are sending out our second newsletter this week. You can get a sneak peak here. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, feel free to contact us.
I'm happy to say that our newsletter is slightly outdated already! We are now at 32% of our monthly financial goal (not 29% as reported in our newsletter). This figure does not include some additional commitments that we are aware of, which have not yet been sent to MMS.
This week we plan to make a lot of follow-up phone calls, so please pray for us and the potential ministry partners we will be contacting. The anticipation is building, and I can't wait to begin serving in missionary aviation. But I cannot begin full-time service with MMS Aviation until our monthly financial need is met. We are praying that we will reach 100% by the end of the summer. Frankly, this doesn't seem possible, but we know that God is able to multiply our efforts and bring in the finances quicker than we could expect.
Thanks for your interest in our ministry, and for your prayers offered on our behalf. May God richly bless you!
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Overwhelmed with Gratitude
As we prepare to serve with MMS Aviation, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. There are days I am overwhelmed by the number of tasks on my to-do list. There are moments when I just feel like turning back to my comfortable suburban life. I sometimes become anxious about our financial support, wishing it would come together more quickly.
But today I am feeling overwhelmed by something else—I am feeling overwhelmed with gratitude. I am thankful for new ministry partners that will make it possible for my family to be Jesus' ambassadors of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:14-21) in remote corners of the world. I am grateful for brothers and sisters in Christ, who encourage and spur us on to the good works that flow from Christ in us (Ephesians 2:1-10). I'm thankful that God has opened doors to allow me to pursue a dream that I had laid down many years ago, and that in doing so I can serve Him with the gifts and passions He has blessed me with.
Time after time, God has provided for our needs, and given us the reassurance that He will continue to do so. In the past week, just when I was beginning to feel discouraged, monthly financial support came in from multiple unexpected sources. We are now one-third of the way to having our monthly financial needs met! Other people gave special gifts to help with one-time expenses.
We are equally grateful for the encouraging conversations we have had with friends, and for prayer offered on our behalf. We are convinced that prayer is crucial to sustaining us and our ministry, and we're thankful for all of our prayer partners.
We thank God that He has chosen us, saved us, brought us into His family, and given us the privilege of being His hands and feet to a world in need of Jesus. And we are thankful for every person who has come alongside us as we follow Christ and respond to His call.
But today I am feeling overwhelmed by something else—I am feeling overwhelmed with gratitude. I am thankful for new ministry partners that will make it possible for my family to be Jesus' ambassadors of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:14-21) in remote corners of the world. I am grateful for brothers and sisters in Christ, who encourage and spur us on to the good works that flow from Christ in us (Ephesians 2:1-10). I'm thankful that God has opened doors to allow me to pursue a dream that I had laid down many years ago, and that in doing so I can serve Him with the gifts and passions He has blessed me with.
Time after time, God has provided for our needs, and given us the reassurance that He will continue to do so. In the past week, just when I was beginning to feel discouraged, monthly financial support came in from multiple unexpected sources. We are now one-third of the way to having our monthly financial needs met! Other people gave special gifts to help with one-time expenses.
We are equally grateful for the encouraging conversations we have had with friends, and for prayer offered on our behalf. We are convinced that prayer is crucial to sustaining us and our ministry, and we're thankful for all of our prayer partners.
We thank God that He has chosen us, saved us, brought us into His family, and given us the privilege of being His hands and feet to a world in need of Jesus. And we are thankful for every person who has come alongside us as we follow Christ and respond to His call.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
March 2 Update
It's been a while since we've posted, but it's not because nothing has been going on. I have been doing a lot of thinking about our ministry, what it means to be a disciple of Christ, where we find our significance, and our purpose and calling as Christians. I have realized that my thoughts and ideas can be subtly influenced by culture (both "Christian" and secular culture), and have been spending extra time examining what the Bible has to say about these things. Unfortunately I just haven't had time to organize my thoughts into anything I can share on this blog. Hopefully I will have something to share in the next several weeks!
We have had a few new ministry partners join us since our last update, and we are at 28% of our monthly financial goal. This does not include any pledges that have been made through our home church. We know that some members have already made prayer and financial pledges, and we are still praying for more people to partner with us. Besides Grace Church in Perrysburg, we are in contact with three other churches in our area. On March 10, we have the opportunity to meet with the missions committee at one of these churches. Please pray for us as we share our vision and calling with them, and that God would give clear direction to the ones making the decisions about partnership with us.
We look forward to sharing more as God continues to provide, and we are thankful for all of you who are supporting us in many ways as we take this step of faith!
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Praying for Ministry Partners
Today I had the opportunity to share a brief ministry update with our church family. I read from 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, reminded them how we see missionary aviation as a fulfillment of our call to be Christ's ambassadors of reconciliation, and gave an update on our financial status. Finally, I talked about how we are just one part of the Body of Christ, and an extension of the community of believers. The support of this community—the Body of Christ—is crucial to our ministry.
Please pray with us that God will continue to bring new ministry partners who will support us through prayer, financial giving, and other means. We are currently about 26% funded, and can't begin serving with MMS Aviation until we reach 100% of our financial goal. Our pastor has been very encouraging, and his desire is for the people of Grace Church in Perrysburg to provide 50% of our monthly financial support. This would be an incredible blessing! We don't know how God will choose to provide, but we continue to pray and trust Him to meet our every need.
Thanks for your prayers, and stay tuned for updates as we get closer to serving with MMS Aviation.
Please pray with us that God will continue to bring new ministry partners who will support us through prayer, financial giving, and other means. We are currently about 26% funded, and can't begin serving with MMS Aviation until we reach 100% of our financial goal. Our pastor has been very encouraging, and his desire is for the people of Grace Church in Perrysburg to provide 50% of our monthly financial support. This would be an incredible blessing! We don't know how God will choose to provide, but we continue to pray and trust Him to meet our every need.
Thanks for your prayers, and stay tuned for updates as we get closer to serving with MMS Aviation.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Our First Newsletter
The first issue of our newsletter went in the mail today! If you are not on our mailing list, or just can't wait, you can view the newsletter here.
If you would like to get on our list, just contact us!
If you would like to get on our list, just contact us!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Wanted: Tools of the Trade
There are lots of preparations to be made as we get closer to serving with MMS. One of my responsibilities is to get together the tools I will need as an aircraft mechanic. MMS has provided a tool list to help me ensure that I will be well-prepared when I arrive.
Although I have plenty of tools for home maintenance and automotive repair, I do not have many of the tools needed for aircraft maintenance. Furthermore, I will need a full set of tools dedicated to keeping at the hangar. As I keep an eye out for good deals, I also want you to know that you can support our ministry by helping me with my search. If you know of any quality tools on this list, at a good price, please get in touch with me!
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Encouraging News!
After taking a couple weeks off for the holidays, life is back in full swing. This means we are once again actively inviting potential ministry partners to join us in our ministry with MMS Aviation. The process of sending letters, making phone calls, and meeting face-to-face involves a lot of work and perseverance, and we went several weeks without anyone new joining us. As much as we try to exercise patience, it can be difficult to go that length of time without any new prayer or financial support.
Well, this past week we received some great news. Several families expressed their desire to partner financially with us, for a total of $295/month! This brings our total monthly support to $1,160, or 22% of our goal. We need to have raised 25% of our monthly financial need by February, and we are now only $150 away!
We are thankful for God's provision and for each person who has chosen to invest their time and resources in the work that God has called us to. We also appreciate your prayers on our behalf, and for those who are currently serving at MMS. There are some exciting changes happening at MMS (related to the partnership with Missionary Air Group), but these changes are also creating a more intense workload for some of the administrative staff, including those who work closely with us on support development.
We're excited about how God is at work in the world, and the ways that we get to participate in reaching people with the love of Jesus Christ. Thanks for enabling us to follow this call, and we pray that you will fulfill the unique role that you were created for, whatever (and wherever) it might be.
Well, this past week we received some great news. Several families expressed their desire to partner financially with us, for a total of $295/month! This brings our total monthly support to $1,160, or 22% of our goal. We need to have raised 25% of our monthly financial need by February, and we are now only $150 away!
We are thankful for God's provision and for each person who has chosen to invest their time and resources in the work that God has called us to. We also appreciate your prayers on our behalf, and for those who are currently serving at MMS. There are some exciting changes happening at MMS (related to the partnership with Missionary Air Group), but these changes are also creating a more intense workload for some of the administrative staff, including those who work closely with us on support development.
We're excited about how God is at work in the world, and the ways that we get to participate in reaching people with the love of Jesus Christ. Thanks for enabling us to follow this call, and we pray that you will fulfill the unique role that you were created for, whatever (and wherever) it might be.
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