Tag: missionary candidates

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Big News and Transitions

Summer to Fall

Wow, We feel like we have been running at 100 MPH since the Spring. This spring we gave ourselves a deadline for Seth’s training and that meant that we have used our extra focus on that since then. That doesn’t mean we have slowed down in other areas it just means pulling up our bootstraps and doing our regular jobs along with allowing for time for training. It’s been hard but well worth the effort. 

EAA Airventure 2022 was a success. We met with lots of other organizations, shared what SOAR is doing with a local group, served in our booth, and got to see some pretty cool things. We are so grateful for the opportunity to serve SOAR in this way.

During the summer we participated in Oshkosh EAA Airventure. This was our second year attending and it proved to be a great week of engagement with other organizations. This is always one of our priorities when we go. 

In the fall we started another year of school. This marks our 9th year of homeschooling. Bella began 8th grade and Jordis began Pre-K. We also added volleyball to our school schedule, it’s been such a joy to watch Bell learn and grow in something she enjoys

In October we spent an evening at the Ethnos360 training center in Camdenton, Mo. It was such a great night of fun and fellowship. We were thankful for the opportunity to see their facility and to get to know these missionary pilots who are being trained to be sent. The partnership between SOAR and Ethnos360 will help us to be able to send more missionaries to the field.

Cookout time at the Ethnos360 training center in Camdenton, MO

Lastly, we have been serving with the youth and production teams at LifePoint. We have been doing this for several years and we love serving in this way. Students always challenge us to grow in our faith. Worship production gives us an opportunity to use our talents and skills in unique ways.

This summer and fall have been extra busy with events. We have loved this season of serving with the youth.

Big news and Transitions

It’s official! Seth has completed his CFI certification. We will fully admit we were not sure if we would make this deadline. The instructor we were using pushed hard and we are so thankful for that. We are also grateful for each instructor who poured into Seth. Without them, this could not have happened. We genuinely believe that each of them was brought to us at just the right time. Each one contributed to his training in a way that we believe will benefit SOAR in the long run. All of it for God’s glory and mission.

Greg and Micki Shetterly have been such a huge blessing to us and to SOAR this year. Micki is an experienced flight instructor and Greg is a flight examiner. Both have been pushing Seth to not only complete his training but to also go above and beyond so that SOAR can be a good steward of the candidates that God brings to us.

This month Seth will begin training his first missionary candidate, Bailey! We feel such a sigh of relief and excitement and we begin serving in a different capacity at SOAR. Seth’s roles that will continue are safety, some airport/city management, and now adding flight instruction. Right now he is tasked with the big job of organizing the fight curriculum. Thankfully he won’t be doing this alone. The group of instructors that have been so vital in getting him to his goal are also going to be involved in getting the curriculum organized. We are ready for this new challenge and ready to see how God uses us in this new season.  The last transition will be one more rating. The next goal is CFII. This will be during the same time he begins training Bailey. This one is not as time sensitive so we are hoping to have a bit of reprieve while we focus on other goals personally.

Bailey George has been with SOAR since the spring. He will be Seth’s first student as we work toward training Missionary Aviators.

Partnership Focus

As we wrap up this last goal of getting Seth’s ratings done we are now shifting our focus to getting new partners. This will be a lifelong journey as we continue to work at SOAR. We need YOUR help. If you know of someone who might be interested in our story or what we are doing at SOAR please let us know. You are also welcome to share this newsletter with them! If you are not currently a partner with us through prayer or financial support we would love to share our story with you. Please contact us for more information. Thank you to everyone who has partnered with us on this journey. You have been such a support and blessing to us in ways we could never repay. Thank you!

Contact Us!
Ways to Give!

Ways you can be praying for us & SOAR in 2022

• That God cultivates relationships and we are able to find direction as a leadership team.
• That Seth is able to finish his ratings and begin the work that he feels God has called him into.
• 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.

Ways you can be praying for us in November:

• That God will continue to provide the remaining partners needed.
• That we can find rest in this busy season.
• That God shows us direction for the next season here at SOAR.

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Sending to Serve

SOAR to the mission field

The goal at SOAR is always to send our candidates to the field to serve. While we agree and fully push toward that goal it’s hard to see them go. This week we will be sending our next candidate AJ and his sweet family out from SOAR to begin transitioning to Ethnos360. He still has a few steps between us and being on the field but his time at SOAR is coming to an end. Please pray for them that God will protect and guide them and for God to bless the work they are doing.

AJ, Stephanie & Truitt Hollaway

Pray for Osh Kosh Airventure

This week, SOAR will be sending a team to Osh Kosh, WI for AirVenture. The goal of this trip is simple: connect, connect, connect! We will be there with several different organizations under the IAMA tent. If SOAR’s goal is to send as many Aviation Missionaries to the field then we have to make connections and partnerships with many different organizations. Sometimes we also meet new potential candidates from all over the country that are looking for other options outside of traditional school setting. Please pray that we are able to connect and build new relationships that will ultimately send more Missionaries to the field.

Ways you can be praying for us in July:

• That God will continue to provide the remaining partners needed.
• That God continues to provide the time and flight instructor for his next rating.
• That our team is able to make connections at AirVenture.

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Traction and Momentum

Transitioning to what is Next.

This month has been motivating here at SOAR. We welcomed our next candidate, Bailey George. He arrived having already completed his A&P License. He will spend his time at SOAR gaining maintenance experience and working toward his flight certifications. Bailey was born and raised in South Carolina and always wanted to learn to fly. While in college, Bailey was challenged by friends and family to pursue missions and aviation together. We are excited to see how God will use Bailey and where he chooses to send him. You can read more about Bailey here.

Bailey George

While we are transitioning Bailey in, two of our current candidates are completing their certifications and will slowly be transitioning to their sending organizations. Phillip Sneed became a licensed Airframe & Powerplant Mechanic. Thirty months of practical experience is required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in order to take the 9 required written, oral and practical tests to earn an A&P license. Please pray for Phillip and his wife Brooke as the visit SAMAIR (South American Mission) to see if this is a good fit for them. You can read more of their story here.

Phillip Sneed

Commercial Training is Finally moving forward!

Admittedly, fight training hasn’t been at the pace that we would have liked, however we have been making amazing process this last month. Seth is well on his way to his commercial rating. This is the last hurdle before he can begin his flight instructor training. This week he earned his High Performance endorsement, this allows him to fly a more powerful aircraft. This is a major accomplishment because the aircraft that he has been doing his commercial training is high performance. The current pace and goal is to have commercial completed by early August and CFI done by early fall. Pray that we are able to keep this timeline. We are appreciative of everyones support in this calling that God has for us. We know we say this every month but the door is open to come up and check out SOAR anytime and go on a flight if that works out.

Seth gets his High Performance Rating

Ways you can be praying for us in July:

• That God will continue to provide the remaining partners needed.
• That God continues to provide the time and flight instructor for his next rating.
• That we find ways to connect and rest as a family.

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You are going where?

SOAR Partnership

These past few months have been extra busy at SOAR. We are so energized by what God is doing around us. Recently we were visited by JAARS and ABWE. The visits were for very different reasons, however, both are potential sending organizations that will launch our candidates to the field that God has called them into. SOAR also attended Sun n’ Fun in Lakeland, FL. This was also another chance to connect with MAF, JAARS and Ethnos360 some of the leaders in Mission Aviation. Each time we connect and interact allows us opportunities to help our missionary candidates find the right place for them to serve. We are so grateful for these opportunities.

We thought highlighting these two organizations that came to visit so you can see where some potential places are where our missionary candidates might serve, helps you understand the global impact you have while supporting us in our calling

JAARS – JAARS (Jungle Aviation and Radio Service) is a multidisciplinary team of problem-solvers committed to the belief—and the vision—that people’s lives and communities are transformed as they experience God’s Word in their own language. You can read more about their organization here. JAARS has been working in Mission Aviation for 70 years and has a high standard for their pilots and mechanics. For this reason many smaller organizations utilize them to evaluate the training that pilots have received. Partnership with them means that our candidates will be able to be better equipped to serve on the field. We always want to be learning and growing and a partnership allows us to be able to grow and serve the mission community better.

ABWE – ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism) is a global family of ministries that exists to fulfill the Great Commission by multiplying leaders, churches, and missions movements among every people. You can read more about their organization here. ABWE is a more recent organization that we have begun to partner with. Our hope is that we can give our candidates another avenue for serving in a different way. We also want to be able to share resources between the two organizations.

Living Sent

SOAR is prepping to send two more candidates this year. While this is sad for us, it’s also amazing to see how God is using SOAR to accomplish his work. You can read about the missionaries we have currently sent here. They are currently serving at Ethnos360, UIM, MARC, and Tanalian Bible Camp. They all serve in various capacities of aviation and utilize aviation to bring the gospel to the nations. Some more directly than others but all valuable in their own ways. These missionaries are physically being sent but I love how God has given them the heart to live sent long before they were on the mission field. Many of them began the work of partnering with God in their daily lives long before they knew they were called to missions. We see this in the candidates before they arrive and during their training. Many of our candidates along with their flight, maintenance, PD, and bible training also serve in their local church and other organizations. They bring a servants heart and a willingness to give. I am always amazed how God has knit them in that way. If you would like to read about our current candidates you can here. The two candidates we are sending out are hoping to serve at Ethnos360 and SAM air. We are praying for them as they finish up the last of their training and work toward the work God is calling them into. Please click the links and share what God is doing with people you know. They need prayer and financial support to get to the mission field. Please be praying for wisdom for Seth and me as we try to help them in any way possible to finish their training.

Personal Partnership and other challenges

We have now been serving at SOAR for over a year and we are excited about the work God is doing here. Some of our funding has run out and we are again looking for partners who are willing to join us in helping send candidates to the field. We love sharing our story both in person or at a church. If you know of someone who might be interested in hearing our story we would love to share. Please contact us or share our story with someone you know so we can get connected. If you are not currently giving or would like to give more you can do that here.

We are again blessed to see how God has provided. A few months ago we were presented with the challenge of finding another flight instructor. It is a challenge we continue to deal with. The flight instructor that had gotten Seth his IFR training was no longer able to continue Seth’s training. We are so grateful for him and the time he poured into Seth and SOAR. So we were on the hunt again. We connected these last few weeks with another flight instructor who is passionate about training well-equipped instructors. This is exactly the type of instructor we are looking for. This has been such an answer to prayer. Seth’s goal of getting CFI by the end of summer may still be a possibility. Pray that there are no more hiccups in his training and we can continue to work toward the goal that God has set before us.

Ways you can be praying for us in 2022

• That God cultivates relationships and we are able to find direction as a leadership team.
• That Seth is able to finish his ratings and begin the work that God has called him into.
• 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.

Ways you can be praying for us in May:

• That God will continue to provide the remaining partners needed.
• That God continues to provide the time and flight instructor for his next rating.
• That we find ways to connect and rest as a family.

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