Tag: SOAR

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Hitting a Milestone

IFR Rating Complete!!

Seth and Josh (one of his flight instructors)

For a year now Seth has been working towards getting his IFR rating. We have continually hit delays and schedule conflicts over and over it seemed. We have felt like we fell into the same hole that SOAR has been struggling to fill which is a consistent flight instructor. Finally, in the fall we got some consistency. This was a huge blessing. We have been so blessed by the people that have made the effort to make it a priority and helped push Seth to this first milestone. There is still a long way to go. The next rating is his commercial rating. We are praying that it doesn’t take as long to get this but we are on God’s timing aren’t we. Pray for us as we continue to push forward and push toward this next milestone.

Seth and Terry (one of his flight instructors).

Continuing to Share

Seth sharing with the EAA members.

This year has a lot in store for SOAR. We ended January speaking at an EAA dinner in Jeff City. We had a great opportunity to share what SOAR does and how the program works. Not everyone there was a Christian so we hopefully were able to open the door for gospel conversations also. Lastly, we hope that events like this open doors for God to bring the right volunteers to serve at SOAR. The event was supposed to have Kerrick speak but due to sickness Seth had to fill in the gap. We are grateful for opportunities like these to be able to connect with other organizations and people about SOAR and the mission. We have several more events throughout the year where we hope to share SOAR’s story. Please pray that God guides our words and steps to open doors and create relationships.

Kevin and Madeline connecting with some EAA members.

Small Moments

One of the goals this year is to get to Instructor rating. This means doing a lot of flying to get hours in. The bulk of time has been with instructors so our family hasn’t really had a chance to sit in the plane together. This month we have had the opportunity to take Jo up on her first flight and we got to fly around Springfield at night to see the lights as a family. With our crazy schedule sometimes we don’t get many moments to enjoy things like this. So we are grateful for these small moments. Hopefully, we will have more opportunities to do more flights with the girls this year.

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 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 February:

• 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 spend time as a family and

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Happy New Year!

Recapping 2021 for SOAR

Growth is something that is hard. No matter how big or small it can be painful and difficult. This year SOAR has experienced a lot of growth. We were added as staff in January, and with that comes extra roles and jobs that need oversight and consistency. These changes have come with growing pains for SOAR but God has been faithful to lead. We are constantly reminded that this is his mission and we are partnering with him.

This year SOAR adjusted their tagline to better align with what we believe God has called us into. Mission Aviation Readiness is a statement about our commitment to not just give our candidates the technical skills, but also the life skills needed for a missionary in the field.

This year our doors received a much needed facelift with our new tagline.

It was a productive year for our current candidates and alumni during this year! Here is a recap of what has happened with them.
Candidates
Abi McWhorter: became licensed Airframe & Powerplant Mechanic, became rated as Certified Instrument Flight Instructor, attended a summer internship with Send in Alaska.
Matt McWhorter: passed his commercial checkride, became licensed Airframe & Powerplant Mechanic, attended a summer internship with Send in Alaska.
AJ Hollaway: received his high-performance endorsement, passed his commercial checkride.
Phillip Sneed: received his high-performance endorsement, earned his instrument rating,
Josh Hamilton: joined SOAR.
Madeline Hooks: joined SOAR, received her high-performance endorsement, reached 1000 hours of flight time.
Alumni
Jeremy & Blinda Dunn: moved to Papua New Guinea to serve with Ethnos360.
Nathan & Kayla White: began training to serve in Mexico for UIM.
Lance and Caitlin Rensberger: Lance gained R66 helicopter training and continues to serve with Ethnos360 at McNeal, Arizona.
Fred and Lydia Holcomb: Fred is continuing to serve at MARC in Alaska through flight instruction and aircraft maintenance.

We are so glad to be a part of their lives and we have loved getting to cheer them on as they work towards their goals.

This year SOAR has grieved the loss of one of our volunteer instructors.

We along with other SOAR staff attended Oshkosh in July. We were able to create relationships with other Mission organizations and connect future missionaries.

Our candidates continued their maintenance training throughout the year through working on SOAR and customer aircraft. SOAR’s aircraft received much needed upgrades and our customers were able to receive quality work.

During 2021 Seth was able continue his IFR training. He has currently passed his written portion and is scheduled to complete the oral and flight portion in the next few weeks. Seth has also been able to utilize his background in construction to help with much needed facilities maintenance and upgrades. Deb was able to utilize her Design and Marketing to help create videos, graphics and update our website.

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 and I are able to support our candidates as best as we are capable.
• That Seth is able to finish his ratings and begin the work that he feels God has called him into.

Ways you can be praying for us in January:

• That God will continue to provide the remaining partners needed.
• That we are able to balance all of our commitments.
• That Seth is able to pass his IFR oral and flight exam.

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Spring has sprung

Gratefully Full

What a great month this has been! With churches opening again, we have been able to visit more churches to help us finish our partnership goals. This is a new challenge for us to be speaking in front of large groups. We much prefer to be behind the scenes. We have been so blessed by the words of encouragement and prayer from these people. God has been using them to encourage us to keep moving forward and he has opened doors for us to meet with new partners. We are so grateful for the pastors and members who have taken the time to listen to our story.

We were so grateful to share our heart at His Place in West Plains, MO. The words of encouragement were so uplifting to us.
Thankful to Selmore Baptist in Ozark, MO for allowing us to share what God is doing and for the Q&A!

This month has also been a busy month. Seth has been flying with the instructors as often as the weather and his schedule will allow. The next rating he is working toward is his IFR(Instrument Flight Rules). This is one of the more difficult ratings to get. It is about 80% academic and 20% practical skills. Our instructors have been working him hard and we are grateful for that because the end goal is to be training competent mission aviators.

Deb has been working with the marketing team to help SOAR better define their message. This is exciting work, and the fruit of this will help other mission organizations and the general public understand what we do. SOAR has a unique role in mission aviation and she is enjoying helping them refine what that message looks like.

Seth and AJ scouting out a new grass runway in Arkansas.

SOAR is growing a lot in a short period of time. We have taken on several new members that will be a huge asset for us as an organization. This has brought some challenges in space and organization, but we are working through that. God has been sending some unique people to help us. Please pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance in our leadership as they try to understand what His vision is for this organization and how to steward the people that he is bringing for His glory.

Foundational Intentionality

One of my (Seth) current flight instructors is a very successful United Airlines pilot. He felt the call to missions at a young age but the opportunities never came. He is currently serving at SOAR two days a week coming alongside us to help develop the flight department. The thing I appreciate the most about him is his wisdom. It has taught him that the foundation of God’s word is essential, even in our everyday tasks. Yes, I know this idea sounds elementary but we begin each flight lesson with a foundation of Gods word. Sharing where we are individually in Gods word and how that applies to what we are doing. All this happens before we brief our flight or even talk about flying. I challenge you to try this in your everyday tasks and be amazed at the difference it will make.

Ways you can be praying for us:

• That God will continue to provide the remaining partners needed.
• That God will continue to create unity and a clear vision for what comes next with SOAR.
• That we will always be quick to give God all the glory for the work he is doing.

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Who Ordered this Weather?

Never Ending Shifts

Practicing simulated instrument flying doing steep turns with only instrument reference.

Here we go again. This past year has felt like change after change. From the sale of the house to the shift in jobs, we have not felt settled. This month starts another shift for us. The first week of January we began working at SOAR. This was a bigger shift than we were expecting. Now our side work that we were doing in the evenings and weekends is now our day job. Things that we would normally wait till we had spare time are now our main focus. Seth began his more intense flight training and Deb began helping with marketing. This is also the first time we have ever worked in the same office. We are having to think through how to create separation of work and family. As we switch from a full schedule with every evening booked to living out intentionally during our daily schedule. I really think God is shifting us from our old focus’ to new goals and to a focus of long term goals and really leaning into Him and the path that he has lain out before us. This takes lots of intentionally in prayer and study of his word, and extra focus to slow down and listen. We would love some feedback on what tools and disciplines that you guys use to be successful in this area. It has been a huge shift for our family but ultimately he is working for our good to do what he is calling us to.

Winter Flying Woes

Weather dictates so much of when we do and don’t fly in light general aviation airplanes. I (Seth) find myself becoming much more aware of the weather conditions daily. I have been trying to keep a schedule of flying 3 times weekly. This is certainly difficult during the winter months. Battling clouds, precipitation, and winds when is warms up a bit as they can easily get above the airplanes maximum wind rating. I am trying to get through my instrument rating within the next three months. When trying to earn a new rating in an airplane its important to be consistent and frequent to polish those skills as they are being learned.

This last month one of the Mission Candidates and I flew down to northern Arkansas to a grass strip to scout it for future training flights. This is part of a long term goal of mine to build a network of places to fly that will give our students more of an ability to learn advanced skills that they will need before getting to the Mission Field.

Scouting grass airstrips for more intentional training. This one is in northern Arkansas

Ways you can be praying for us:

• That relationships will be built at SOAR and God helps us love those around us well.
• That God will continue to build partnerships.
• That Seth will be able get the remainder of his flight hours quickly.

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New Beginnings… again?

New Work space and Pace

1st Day working together.

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.

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