Faith and Hope

The events of the past few weeks have definitely exercised our faith! But they have also caused us to lean on the hope that we have in Christ, and to humble ourselves in prayer. I am not a person who spiritualizes every little thing that happens throughout the day, but it really feels like we have been under attack these past few weeks. Just when we were gaining momentum in our ministry partner development, we encountered some huge bumps in the road.

As I mentioned in our last post, Ian had an emergency appendectomy on Memorial Day, and was hospitalized for eight days. This was a difficult experience in and of itself. After coming home, Ian seemed to be improving at first. On Father's Day, we spoke about our ministry with MMS at Hope United Methodist Church. Ian was not feeling well that morning, but made it through the day.

On Monday we took him to see the pediatric surgeon who had performed the appendectomy, and Ian was readmitted to the hospital due to an abscess that had formed. To complicate matters, the abscess was in a difficult location, and they could not easily drain it. We decided to treat him with intravenous antibiotics (which he will be on for about two weeks). As if that wasn't enough, he also tested positive for c. diff and had to be put on yet another antibiotic to treat that. Finally, they had trouble inserting his PICC line, which made for a very traumatic experience for Ian. It seemed that everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

In times like this, 1 Peter 5:6-11 comes to mind:

 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

We are so thankful for the hope and comfort that we have in Christ. There is nothing that can steal that hope away from us. It is this hope that allows those in Christ to face any situation that life (or the enemy) can throw at us. While we certainly appreciate every heartfelt expression of sympathy that has been offered to us from believers and nonbelievers alike, there is only so much hope and strength that can come from within oneself, or from the greeting card platitudes that the world has to offer. True hope—living hope—can only be found in one person.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  (1 Peter 1:3-7)

In addition to Ian's medical issues, both of our vehicles (which have been extremely reliable for the past seven years) needed repair in the past few weeks. Furthermore, the medical bills will start coming about the same time that we have a significant reduction in our household income beginning in July. I don't say these things because I want anyone to feel pity for us. God has provided us with everything we need and more. And I am aware there are many people in my community and around the world facing much more dire circumstances! I point these things out only to emphasize the fact that this feels a lot like a coordinated attack.

The upside of these trials is that we are relying more and more on God, and we have seen just how many people care for us, and are supporting and praying for us. We are so thankful for the many, many family and friends who have been faithfully praying and helping to meet our needs during this time. We could not be more blessed!

We know that in our missionary service we will face many difficult times, and perhaps the trials we are experiencing now are a blessing in disguise, preparing us for the situations we will face in the future. It is easy to take matters into our own hands when we feel that everything is under control. But the times of testing drive us to our knees, strengthen our faith, and teach us to fix our eyes on Christ. We have also come to see that there is a community of family and friends who truly love and care for us, and will be standing with us. We are very blessed!

A different kind of Memorial Day celebration

For we Americans, Memorial Day means a lot of things. To those who have lost loved ones to war it is a time of sorrow. For all of us, it is a day we remember those who have sacrificed their lives for the freedom we enjoy in this country. But this day is also an opportunity to get together with friends and family, and celebrate the beginning of the summer season. That is how we planned to spend Memorial Day, but things don't always go according to plan.

For the past couple days Ian has not been feeling well. The symptoms seemed consistent with the flu or some other "stomach bug". It seemed that he was on the mend, until last night at 3:00 am, when he was doubled over in excruciating pain. We got him to the emergency room, and the tests indicated that he had appendicitis. So, in the ambulance he went, to the nearest children's hospital for an appendectomy!

Rather than spending this morning catching candy at the Memorial Day parade, Ian is lying in an operating room undergoing surgery. This is certainly not the way we envisioned this day!

On one hand, this is a terrible way to spend a holiday. On the other hand, it is an opportunity to celebrate the life of our child. If Ian did not live in the United States, and had been born instead on the streets of a third world nation, or in a village in the jungle, who knows how bad his condition would have become—or if he would have even survived. Rather than celebrating his life, we could have been mourning Ian's death.

When I think this through, it is hard not to consider the implications of moving my family to another country. No matter where we end up, it is almost certain that we will not have immediate access to the caliber of medical care that we have in the States. But what about the people all around the world who are living and dying without hope and without Christ? Shall I ignore Jesus' Great Commission, and opt instead for the perceived safety and security of my suburban life?

I am so grateful for the life of my son, and will do whatever I can to preserve it. But I am also thankful for God's Son, who did not preserve his own life but willingly laid it down (then took it up again!) that we may have true life through Him. And we are humbled and grateful that we may be the expression of Christ to others, here in Ohio and to the ends of the earth!

An Encouraging Day

Today has been a good day! First of all, we have finally surpassed 50% of our financial goal! We are thankful for the two new ministry partners that have joined our team and pushed us over the 50% mark. Although we still have about $2600 in monthly support to raise, we are optimistic, and there have been some very encouraging developments in the past few days.

First of all, we met with the missions committee at a local church today, and they have decided to make us their "mission of the month" for June. Not only will we have the opportunity to share about our ministry with the congregation; they will be praying for us and contributing financially toward helping us begin serving with MMS Aviation. We are very excited about this new partnership. It's always encouraging and motivating when we meet new friends who share our passion for the people of the world. Since they haven't publicized it yet, we'll keep you in suspense concerning which church I'm talking about!

This past Sunday, Pastor Dennis (our senior pastor at Grace Church) called us up front to pray for us, and challenged the congregation to financially partner with us to send us into service with MMS. We were not expecting him to do all of that, but we are very thankful for the incredible support of our home church. Not everyone is so fortunate to have a pastor and a congregation to stand behind them in such a significant way. We still don't know how the congregation will choose to financially partner with us, but we are humbled and encouraged by this outpouring of care and support.

Finally, speaking of care and support, some of our friends at Grace hosted a "Plants for Planes" plant sale on Sunday. I was impressed by all the effort that they put into this event in order to raise funds (and awareness) for our ministry. Again, I am so grateful for the people God has placed in our lives to encourage us and stand beside us as we follow His call.

Thanks to all of you who have partnered with us as we follow Christ's call to go to the world. We look forward to serving through missionary aviation, and wherever he calls us to go.

Almost half way there!

It's been a couple weeks since we've posted, so we thought we would give a brief update on our support status. Over the past couple weeks we have had a few more people join our team as monthly financial partners, and we are about 47% funded! We could surpass 50% any day now!

Thanks so much for your prayers, encouragement, and financial support! It's encouraging to have friends and family standing with us as we step out in faith, following Jesus' call to make disciples of all nations, and to be His ambassadors of reconciliation in the world.

Send Me!

We received a newsletter this week from JAARS, which is one of the many organizations using airplanes to support worldwide missions. It is always so exciting to read about the ways that aircraft are being used to further God's kingdom, and to literally save the lives of men, women and children in remote parts of the world. These stories motivate me to work hard and pray for our financial support, as we desire to be on the front lines, serving through missionary aviation.

A theme that stood out in this newsletter was the need for laborers to go and serve. In fact, JAARS currently has 40 open positions! And JAARS is only one of many organizations in need of pilots, mechanics, administrators and other support staff.

The need is great! There are people in remote parts of the world who are dying for lack of the physical and spiritual restoration that we can offer in the name of Christ. The thing is, we have the means and the tools to help them right now. But where are those who will stand up and say, "Here am I. Send me!"?

I and my family have stepped out in faith to respond to God's call. Jesus said to his disciples, "the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." (Matthew 9:37-38). We are eager to go! There are airplanes waiting to be flown and people waiting to be served. But the reality is we cannot go without friends who will partner with us, sending us out with prayer and financial support.

As much as I love to read about how God is working through missionary aviation, it can also be difficult and even heart-wrenching. I desperately yearn to go and help meet the needs that exist in missionary aviation. Reading stories from blogs and newsletters just feeds my desire even more, making the waiting—and the sitting in my cubicle day after day—nearly unbearable. Would you please pray for us as we continue to contact potential ministry partners and trust God for provision? Would you pray that God would move in the hearts of the people through whom He will meet our ongoing financial needs? And, finally, would you pray about how you might partner with us in this calling?

Thank you so much, and may God richly bless you!

April 2013 Newsletter

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!

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.