This month has been met with some difficulties with the weather and training. Despite this Seth and Bailey have been pushing toward the goal of getting Bailey to be solo ready. The days that have been clear weather enough to fly, have been extremely windy. Bailey has been working hard, and should be ready to solo by the end of this week. Pray for him and Seth as they push toward this milestone. This is the first big milestone for Bailey, and Seth’s first student to reach solo.
Join us!
In March we are planning to speak at our home church. We would love for you to come and hear as we share a ministry update with our sending church LifePoint. We will be sharing a brief time during the morning services and have to opportunity to share more in-depth during our Night Of Worship in the evening. Be sure to mark your calendars on March 19th and join us.
• That God brings clarity and unity and we are able to find direction as a leadership team. • That Seth is able to get his CFII done this year. • That God grows and shapes our candidates to be used on the field and that he opens doors for them to be able to serve.
• That God will continue to provide the remaining partners needed. • That weather will clear for Bailey to be able to solo. • That God shows us direction for the next season here at SOAR.
Dubbed as the worlds greatest aviation celebration. Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture is legitimately the world largest airshow. 600,000 people, 10,000 aircraft ranging from hot air balloons to military jets that ooze the sound of freedom. There is truly something for everyone that enjoy any facet of aviation. With the large concentration of people that love aviation this also gives us the opportunity to reach people that otherwise might not be possible.
We joined other missionary aviation organizations under the IAMA (International Association of Missionary Aviation) tent.
We joined other missionary aviation organizations under one tent to share what God is doing in each of our corners of missionary aviation. This affords us the opportunity to educate those who have no idea about what we do, collaborate with other organizations to pool our resources and ideas to further the Kingdom. It also allows us talk to prospective mission candidates about our program. It was a fruitful week for us personally and as an organization. Deb and I were encouraged by others that have been in our same shoes, and we were able to encourage others with the skills and ideas that we have. We gained a true understanding of the community of mission aviators and how powerful a team of people can be with a unified focus. The relationship building that Deb and I personally experienced with others from different organizations was the best part for us.
During the week MASA (Missionary Aviation Support Association) fed us and provided housing for all of the mission aviation organizations. We are so grateful for the hands that cared for us so well that week.
Ten days away from home and our girls was a long time, both for them and us. We are thankful to the grandparents that took on the girls while we were gone. We are thankful to the Host home that housed us for ten days. God truly provided for us during this trip.
This is our group from SOAR. We had a great time sharing what God is doing with our organization and listening to what God is doing around the world and how we can be a part of that work.
If you plan on going to AirVenture next year let’s connect, I would love to arrange a time for us to meet up.
Personal
This year we celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. We were thankful to be able to get away and enjoy some time together as a family. This gave us the opportunity to be able to re-connect as a family without the influence of media and all that is going on. We spent lots of time hiking and enjoying the beauty and creation that God has blessed us with. We came back recharged and ready to hit the ground running doing the work that God has given us the opportunity to do.
What is God Teaching us
Patience. Now patience isn’t some that I particularly care for or even strive for. In my mind I would have already completed my instrument rating, and be well on my way to building hours for my commercial certificate and flight instructor ratings. While I have made great progress on my instrument rating, it has been taking longer than anticipated. The timeline for completing my instrument rating is looking like fall at this point, around Thanksgiving. This will position me to have my commercial and instructor ratings completed Summer of 2022. This is only possible because of the support you all have given and belief in our vision and calling that God has given us.
I want to continue to extent to offer for anyone to come up to Bolivar and tour SOAR. If it works out we could possibly get up in the air. We are proud of the work we are doing up here and enjoy to opportunity to show that in person.
Ways you can be praying for us:
• That God will continue to provide the remaining partners needed. • That Seth be able to manage his time and all the tasks that he has at SOAR efficiently. • That we will always be quick to give God all the glory for the work he is doing.
Change is always hard right? Change always seems to come with a certain level of uneasiness. This can be for many reasons but I believe for me (Seth) it always boils down to the unknown, and this unknown causes uneasiness. As I closed the chapter of working my job for Control Service Company, there were still certain number of unknowns, and if I’m truly being honest that came with that uneasiness. This is the first time in eight years that I haven’t driven home a company vehicle, as I looked out in the driveway it was odd not seeing one parked there. This is the first time that I am putting away my tool bag and grabbing my flight bag. This is the first time that I will have the opportunity to work beside my wife doing what we both love, while equipping the students for the field. While there are still many unknowns in our new role in God’s Kingdom, everything is known to him. The challenge is to rest in God’s knowing even though it is our unknown.
What did 2020 Teach you about God?
2020 was a year to remember for sure. We began the year confident in what God had planned for us. 2020 started out with God showing us to learn to trust in him and his provision. We sold our house in downtown Springfield, Mo, it was him who provided a buyer. We needed a place to live and rent that was centrally located for all our new obligations, he provided a home that was exactly the size and location we needed. We needed the training to tell our story and advice on how to build partnerships, he provided the education and friends who were willing to help us. We discovered that we were partnering with him in what he is doing to develop partnerships, prayer, and finances, to launch into ministry full time, he provided. The list could go on. Deb and I were in awe that we could have developed enough partnerships to launch into full-time ministry in less than a year, as we talked about this we determined that we really shouldn’t be in awe, because we could have never done this within our own strength. Only God could have provided. We serve a sovereign God! A pandemic, political unrest, or any other thing that is out of our human control isn’t out of His control. Ask yourself this question, “How did God provide for me in 2020?”. Then when you get that, share it with us as we would love to come alongside you in praising him for the blessing in your life during 2020.
Praising God:
• He made a way for us to begin work in January 2021!
Ways you can be praying for us:
• That God will continue to provide the remaining partners needed. • That the girls transition into their new schedules effortlessly. • That the transition into our new jobs goes smoothly and we are able to clearly see the direction that SOAR needs to be heading.
