Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
God will meet all your needs...
I was lamenting about working 9 days straight, having school work and not seeing my husband very much and hoping for a better job when I came across this...
Title: Women in the Work World
Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Because I want to be faithful to what Scripture does say I often refer to that passage which tells me, as an older woman, what I am supposed to say to younger women: Titus 2:3-5. But, they want to know, is it wrong for a single mother to work? Is it wrong for a woman who has no children at home to work? Is it wrong for a woman to work because her husband insists on it? The last question is not quite so difficult, since a wife must submit and trust the results to God. I cannot answer the first two. So, for you who so far have found it necessary to work I want to offer some encouragement and comfort.
- "My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19, NIV). Just remember that God must be the judge of your needs. Being wise, powerful and loving, He can be fully trusted to do just what He says.
- You only know what you have to do today. None of us knows the future. Be faithful today--do your work faithfully, thoroughly, honestly, and gratefully. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (Colossians 3:23-24, NIV).
- Be a lady. Betty Greene, pilot during World War II and later with Mission Aviation Fellowship, told me, "I made up my mind if I was to 'make it in a man's world,' I had to be a lady." A true lady is recognized and respected by men. Keep your honor, your distance, and your close touch with God. He will protect you.
- If you are truly abandoned to the Lord, He will show you if/when He has a different assignment for you. Stay in touch with Him
Saturday, November 21, 2009
I got it switched!
By the grace of God I was able to switch my schedule so that I don't have to work on my interview days! Let's keep praying it stays that way!
New Interviews!
Hello!
Kristine still is working at Macy's....but has two interviews next week for other jobs! One is on Tuesday and is for a secretary job at chemeketa in the social services/childcare dept and the other is on Wednesday for a preschool teaching position!
Please say a special prayer for her schedule to work out for Wednesday's interview! She has it at 8am but then has a teaching interview observation scheduled for 1pm that day. This was fine when she wasn't working that day....unfortunately last night her boss scheduled her to work 12-5pm that day! Yikes! She didn't notice it until she got home.
Today (Saturday) she is going to talk with a manager to see whether she can switch with someone or give someone else that shift so she can go to the interview. Pray that she have the wisdom to know how to talk with her manager about it, and that God help her manager be receptive to what she's asking!
We'll let you know how it goes tonight!
Blessings,
Kristine and Eric Reed
Kristine still is working at Macy's....but has two interviews next week for other jobs! One is on Tuesday and is for a secretary job at chemeketa in the social services/childcare dept and the other is on Wednesday for a preschool teaching position!
Please say a special prayer for her schedule to work out for Wednesday's interview! She has it at 8am but then has a teaching interview observation scheduled for 1pm that day. This was fine when she wasn't working that day....unfortunately last night her boss scheduled her to work 12-5pm that day! Yikes! She didn't notice it until she got home.
Today (Saturday) she is going to talk with a manager to see whether she can switch with someone or give someone else that shift so she can go to the interview. Pray that she have the wisdom to know how to talk with her manager about it, and that God help her manager be receptive to what she's asking!
We'll let you know how it goes tonight!
Blessings,
Kristine and Eric Reed
Monday, November 16, 2009
November Update
It's been hard to remember to keep the blog updated, but we are going to try to do it as often as we can!
Kristine got a job at Macy's as an on-call associate for the holiday season. It's not a glamorous job...but it helps pay the bills. Right now she's in training mode and trying to do her job as best as possible. There's a lot of things to learn, and she gets to learn them quickly!
We both are working hard to complete our NT Survey class by mid-December. It's a lot of material that we have left to cover, but we are hopeful that we can complete it.
Eric is working on TWO classes at PCC this quarter to gain experience in the IT field. These classes are both networking classes. He's trying hard to juggle work, bible class, school and other commitments to be able to get everything done. So far, by the grace of God, he's been doing well but as the quarter ends it's crunch time everywhere...so prayers that he be able to be focused and complete things is essential.
For those who still ask...no our house isn't on the market yet. With everything going on right now the house is kinda taking a back seat while we get other things done. All we need left is painting, moulding and some yard work. Well and maybe some work on the master bath floor (we've got the materials, just haven't completed it yet). So prayers for timing and such with this would be great.
We really appreciate the thoughts and prayers of those of you who have chosen to support us this way. We also appreciate those of you who have decided to help us out financially with training costs associated with us getting ready for missions. There are always more costs than we realize, so your support is definitely appreciated. If you would like to sign up to support us financially or through prayer we'd love to talk with you! Either give us a call...or e-mail us at: ericandkristinereed@gmail.com.
Love in Christ,
Eric and Kristine Reed
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Tis the season for job hunting...
Yes...tis the season...to be hunting for a job! This is around the time that school's get more money for extra helpers, stores start to hire seasonal help and other work places begin to wonder if an extra body would help them get their work done faster.
I (Kristine) have tried to be extra diligent in applying for jobs. This past week I think I had three interviews and one orientation (first stage before interview). One of the jobs was for an educational assistant, one for a bank, one for a tutoring service and an orientation for an online English language job. It's funny how everyone happens at once sometimes for the good and bad in our life. Do I know if anything is to come from these interviews? I don't. All I can do is pray and hope that God has something special out there for me picked out and that I find it. :)
As I was thinking about this and about various things that have happened the past couple of months I started thinking more about prayer. In the past when bad things happened I'd get angry and upset at God for not having things go my way. When really I should have been praying and hoping for things to go HIS way. Today I stumbled upon this devotional on the Elisabeth Elliott site. It talks about how sometimes God's answer is NO, to bless us with something we couldn't have even imagined. I encourage you to take time out to read it.
Love,
Kristine
Title: Lost and Found
I (Kristine) have tried to be extra diligent in applying for jobs. This past week I think I had three interviews and one orientation (first stage before interview). One of the jobs was for an educational assistant, one for a bank, one for a tutoring service and an orientation for an online English language job. It's funny how everyone happens at once sometimes for the good and bad in our life. Do I know if anything is to come from these interviews? I don't. All I can do is pray and hope that God has something special out there for me picked out and that I find it. :)
As I was thinking about this and about various things that have happened the past couple of months I started thinking more about prayer. In the past when bad things happened I'd get angry and upset at God for not having things go my way. When really I should have been praying and hoping for things to go HIS way. Today I stumbled upon this devotional on the Elisabeth Elliott site. It talks about how sometimes God's answer is NO, to bless us with something we couldn't have even imagined. I encourage you to take time out to read it.
Love,
Kristine
Title: Lost and Found
Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Here is a little story about a simple answer to prayer. Lars was away. I had to take the car to the repairman's house. Li Zeng, our live-in student, followed me in his car to bring me home. Directions to the house had been ambiguous, and Gloucester, Massachusetts gets the prize for town-easiest-to-get-lost-in. I prayed that I might not get lost--Li had to get to class, the repairman had to leave at 7:15.
I got lost, made a quick turn without checking to see that Li was still with me. He wasn't. "Lord, Li will be late for class, the man will leave in a few minutes--what shall I do?" It's a long story, but after a phone call I found the house, left the car, declined the man's kind offer to take me home because I wanted to find Li so he would not miss his class. How was I to find him? "Lord, help me." I stood at an intersection and prayed that he would come along--an absurd request in a place like Gloucester.
He'd been on a one-way street which would take him far out around the shore drive, with no reason to happen upon the intersection where I stood. Within five minutes there he was! God teaches us to ask so that He may answer our prayers. This reminds us of the source of our blessings. The answer to my prayer not to get lost was No--in order that I might be specially blessed in the way I was found.
Remember how the Lord brought Israel out (of Egypt) in order to bring them in (to Canaan)? He got me lost that He might get me found! Let's never forget that some of His greatest mercies are His refusals. He says no in order that He may, in some way we cannot imagine, say yes. All His ways with us are merciful. His meaning is always love.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
New Job Interviews for Kristine
Hello! We just wanted to keep this as updated as possible to help you continue to be informed. Kristine has two job interviews for next week that we'd love for you to join with us in praying for:
1) Monday at 5:30pm she has an interview to be an instructional assistant for Yoskikai Elementary in Salem. It's a 5 hour a day position. Which would be perfect.
2) Wednesday at 7:00 AM she has an interview/orientation with Berlitz Language Services online teacher position. This is a part-time position.
So pray for wisdom and for confidence and clarity in her speech as she goes through these interviews. Pray for the interviewers to see her true qualities despite any nervousness she may have. We'll let you know how it goes.
Blessings,
Eric and Kristine Reed
1) Monday at 5:30pm she has an interview to be an instructional assistant for Yoskikai Elementary in Salem. It's a 5 hour a day position. Which would be perfect.
2) Wednesday at 7:00 AM she has an interview/orientation with Berlitz Language Services online teacher position. This is a part-time position.
So pray for wisdom and for confidence and clarity in her speech as she goes through these interviews. Pray for the interviewers to see her true qualities despite any nervousness she may have. We'll let you know how it goes.
Blessings,
Eric and Kristine Reed
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Mid-October Update
Things are going good overall. Believe it or not the fall weather is welcoming when you have a lot of work to do. Although it does make it harder to paint the house! :) Here's a small update:
Eric is going to his classes twice a week and likes them. He actually finds that a lot of the content from the one class is repeated in the other, so that makes it a little easier for him which is a blessing!
Kristine has an orientation for the Berlitz Language School to be an online virtual classroom English language teacher next week. After the orientation they do more formal interviews, then decide whether to hire her or not. It's an interesting process and Kristine is excited to check it out. This job would be part-time, so it would work around another work schedule.
She is still looking for another part-time type job or full-time depending on how this job goes. She's applied to a few banks and for a health care call center type job. Depending on if she can get her subbing badge from WESD, she might start subbing there again...that is if there are any open sub jobs! There are a ton of new teachers out there and old teachers without a job that are subbing as well.
We are still working on our New Testament Survey class. With everything that's happened the past couple of months it's been hard to focus on the class, but we need to complete it before January. :D So if you could keep us in your thoughts and prayers that would be great! :)
Eric is going to his classes twice a week and likes them. He actually finds that a lot of the content from the one class is repeated in the other, so that makes it a little easier for him which is a blessing!
Kristine has an orientation for the Berlitz Language School to be an online virtual classroom English language teacher next week. After the orientation they do more formal interviews, then decide whether to hire her or not. It's an interesting process and Kristine is excited to check it out. This job would be part-time, so it would work around another work schedule.
She is still looking for another part-time type job or full-time depending on how this job goes. She's applied to a few banks and for a health care call center type job. Depending on if she can get her subbing badge from WESD, she might start subbing there again...that is if there are any open sub jobs! There are a ton of new teachers out there and old teachers without a job that are subbing as well.
We are still working on our New Testament Survey class. With everything that's happened the past couple of months it's been hard to focus on the class, but we need to complete it before January. :D So if you could keep us in your thoughts and prayers that would be great! :)
Thursday, October 8, 2009
April-October Newsletter
Dear Family and Friends,
It’s been quite a while since we last wrote you and much has happened since. To remind you, we are actively working towards finishing the requirements to become missionaries with MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship). Currently we are involved in an organization called Servant Wings based in Vancouver,WA. Servant Wings exists to help pilot candidates get the training they need to join a mission’s organization. Here’s a rundown of what you’ve missed the past couple of months.
MAF Brigade Air Camp
In early July we had the wonderful opportunity to help out at a MAF Brigade Air Camp for students interested in becoming mission aviators. This camp was held in Idaho and had a pretty good turn out of students. There were even three girls who decided to come! Eric helped Ralph Dawson (MAF pilot) with taking students up to fly as part of their first experience with flight training. Kristine had the opportunity to come and help Valerie Dawson in the kitchen as well as be the girl’s counselor. It was a great experience and gave Eric the desire to pursue a flight instructor rating.
Visiting Friends in Hawaii
The week after we were in Idaho, we were blessed to be able to visit our dear friends Alex and Lael in Oahu, Hawaii. Alex is stationed there with the Navy, so they were gracious to offer us to stay in their home and borrow their car. We loved visiting with our friends and seeing God’s creation. We went with them to see the Big Island of Hawaii as well. There we saw the famous Kilauea volcano, went exploring in lava tubes and saw some pretty amazing waterfalls.
Loss of our little one
We were debating about whether to share this part of our life with you, but feel since you are now a part of our ministry team we should. Late June Kristine found out she was pregnant. Most of you know that Kristine has dreamed about this day for a very long time and has even gathered some baby items ahead of time. We were very excited about the pregnancy and Kristine was careful to make sure she did everything right. Unfortunately at 8 weeks and 4 days we lost our little one. It’s heartbreaking, but we take some comfort in knowing that the baby is now in heaven with our creator. In a few months when Kristine is fully healed physically we plan on trying again. We are still going through the emotions of the loss and probably will be for some time. We feel blessed to have supportive family and friends like you to share in our triumphs and tragedies.
Kristine Update
Kristine completed a year with the Northwest Regional ESD’s autism program as an educational assistant in Beaverton. Because we are no longer looking to move to the Hillsboro area, she decided to pursue other employment closer to home. Currently she is signed up to substitute for a few different districts and is looking for full-time employment. This winter she is working on completing her New Testament Survey Correspondence course by December.
Eric Update
Last June Eric earned his instrument rating through instruction with Servant Wings. Now he has his commercial license and instrument rating praise God! The next rating goal he has is to complete the CFI (Certified Flight Instructor) training by the start of next summer. He also has decided to train and apply to MAF as a Pilot/IT (Informational Technology) candidate instead of a Pilot/Mechanic. We’ve been thinking and praying about this change for a while and really feel this is a better fit for him given his knowledge of computers and software engineering degree. We are working with MAF to make sure that Eric takes the right courses to help prepare him to be an IT person on the mission field. This fall Eric started his first two IT night courses at PCC Sylvania. He goes there two nights a week and works full time for Garmin during the day. It’s a lot to tackle, but by the grace of God he’ll be able to focus and complete the needed courses. He plans on taking one or two courses every quarter until he has what he needs to be ready to apply to MAF.
Training Update
As you’ve read on the previous page we are continuing on in our training. Many of your have
asked for specific details regarding what we need to be ready for MAF and tangible ways that
you can join with us in ministry.
Prayer Partners
The first way that you can join with us in our journey is through prayer. We’ve seen time and
time again the power of prayer. Matthew 18:20 states, “For where two or three are gathered together in MY name, I am there in their midst.” As we near the end of our training, it’s more and more important to have powerful prayer partners. This stage is where the enemy likes to discourage us and create roadblocks because he knows we are close to applying to MAF. So please join with us in praying for strength, wisdom, clarity and funding to be able to complete our training.
Last Few Requirements
MAF requires pilot candidates to have their commercial license and instrument rating. They also
require pilots to have a minimum of 400 flight hours experience and 50 hours experience in a
high performance plane. Eric has 650 flight hours, unfortunately at this time he only has 30 hoursof high performance time. That means he still needs 20 more hours in a high performance plane.MAF also suggests that pilots have a certified flight instructor rating, something Eric hasn’tearned yet and hopes to complete by Summer 2010 if possible. The expected cost for this training will be around $5000.
Opportunity to Help
Servant Wings has a Cessna 206 plane that he can rent for $141 an hour. This plane is a high
performance plane and will help him complete his high performance requirement. As you can
imagine, the costs associated with obtaining flight hours and training add up quickly. Would you
be interested in joining us as ministry partners by donating financially towards Eric’s goal of
completing his flight requirements for MAF? You can donate directly to us or if you want a tax
receipt you can give through Servant Wings.
Ministry Partnership
We’d love to talk with you personally about partnering with us in our ministry. We encourage
you to check out the Servant Wings website: http://www.servantwings.org and the MAF website:www.maf.org. There you can learn more about the ministries we are serving in and hope to serve in. You can also check out our website http://www.reednewsletter.blogspot.com for periodicupdates between letters. We cannot accomplish this goal without your help and prayers. Thank you for reading our letter, and we hope to hear from you soon.
Blessings,
Eric and Kristine Reed
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Pregnancy :)
Oh the joys of pregnancy! We are primarily going to write about our pregnancy on Kristine's pregnancy blog: http://littlelifeinmine.blogspot.com/ . Soon...very soon... we'll update this website with the new newsletter. We kinda want to wait until the next ultrasound to put that photo into the newsletter. That photo should show a more human-like baby. :) Until then...here's our first ultrasound. Our due Date is March 6, 2010.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
We've got news!
We're officially pregnant! :) We have our first appointment this Tuesday. Kristine is around 8 weeks pregnant right now, maybe a little more. We're keeping this blog mostly for missions related developments and newsletters...but if you want to follow our baby progress go to: http://littlelifeinmine.blogspot.com (Name still up in the air) Kristine will post photos, pictures, info on how she's feeling, and Eric might post some stuff too. :)
We are now working on our updated letter, we might get to have an ultrasound in it, we'll see! We are very excited though!
Blessings,
Eric and Kristine Reed
We are now working on our updated letter, we might get to have an ultrasound in it, we'll see! We are very excited though!
Blessings,
Eric and Kristine Reed
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Wow, it's been almost a month since the last post...and I bet even longer since we send out a newsletter. We promise to remedy the newsletter situation shortly. :)
Today was my (Kristine) one of my last days at my current job. My last day will be June 16th. It's a LONG story, but I am resigning my position as an educational assistant for NWRESD. It'll be sad because I really did enjoy working with my team this year. I love getting to know different people and hearing about their lives. It will be sad when I leave on the 16th, but I hope to be able to keep in touch with these women hopefully for years to come.
I've learned so much this year about God's provision. At first I wasn't sure how I could be an EA for a year, but I learned so much on this job that I couldn't with textbooks. This knowledge I will carry with me and use in my future classrooms and with my own children. :)
Right now I am applying to different teaching jobs and praying for God's wisdom and provision for the future. I have a definite peace about leaving my current job and look forward to seeing where God is going to lead me.
NEWS FOR ERIC! :)
Eric passed the written portion of his instrument rating test with a score of 92. On June 20th he'll take his check ride and hopefully after that he'll have the instrument rating! Whoohoo!
After he earns this rating the last things on his to-do list for pilot requirements for MAF are: 1) More high performance airplane time and 2)His certified flight instructor rating (This last one isn't a requirement, but is really good to have).
This is a short update, the newsletter will hopefully be the next update!
Blessings,
Kristine (and Eric) Reed
Today was my (Kristine) one of my last days at my current job. My last day will be June 16th. It's a LONG story, but I am resigning my position as an educational assistant for NWRESD. It'll be sad because I really did enjoy working with my team this year. I love getting to know different people and hearing about their lives. It will be sad when I leave on the 16th, but I hope to be able to keep in touch with these women hopefully for years to come.
I've learned so much this year about God's provision. At first I wasn't sure how I could be an EA for a year, but I learned so much on this job that I couldn't with textbooks. This knowledge I will carry with me and use in my future classrooms and with my own children. :)
Right now I am applying to different teaching jobs and praying for God's wisdom and provision for the future. I have a definite peace about leaving my current job and look forward to seeing where God is going to lead me.
NEWS FOR ERIC! :)
Eric passed the written portion of his instrument rating test with a score of 92. On June 20th he'll take his check ride and hopefully after that he'll have the instrument rating! Whoohoo!
After he earns this rating the last things on his to-do list for pilot requirements for MAF are: 1) More high performance airplane time and 2)His certified flight instructor rating (This last one isn't a requirement, but is really good to have).
This is a short update, the newsletter will hopefully be the next update!
Blessings,
Kristine (and Eric) Reed
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Small Update
We're going to try to keep this more updated!
An update on Kristine's job interview.. it went well overall. She won't find out more until later but she thought they liked her.
Eric's continuing to work on flight training for his instrument license.
Kristine has been sick lately with a cold. Yes..the sneezing, sniffling, stuffy head and runny nose type. She ended up taking a day off from school(she works at a school) to rest and hopefully get better. She would take normal meds, but since we're trying to get pregnant she's avoiding all meds. This of course makes colds last much longer, but in reality all the meds would do is to mask the symptoms so it's just as well.
That's kinda it on our updates...other than we are working on the house in-between other things. We're painting doors, molding, finishing the floors, and working on the bathroom. Fun stuff! Hopefully in June we'll list it. We know we've been saying that over and over again but with the two of us so busy it's been hard to complete the tasks unless the weather is good on the weekends. So prayers for that would be great!
God Bless,
Eric and Kristine
An update on Kristine's job interview.. it went well overall. She won't find out more until later but she thought they liked her.
Eric's continuing to work on flight training for his instrument license.
Kristine has been sick lately with a cold. Yes..the sneezing, sniffling, stuffy head and runny nose type. She ended up taking a day off from school(she works at a school) to rest and hopefully get better. She would take normal meds, but since we're trying to get pregnant she's avoiding all meds. This of course makes colds last much longer, but in reality all the meds would do is to mask the symptoms so it's just as well.
That's kinda it on our updates...other than we are working on the house in-between other things. We're painting doors, molding, finishing the floors, and working on the bathroom. Fun stuff! Hopefully in June we'll list it. We know we've been saying that over and over again but with the two of us so busy it's been hard to complete the tasks unless the weather is good on the weekends. So prayers for that would be great!
God Bless,
Eric and Kristine
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Prayer :)
Hello Everyone!
The May newsletter is coming out soon, but we'd love you to keep us in prayer about a few decisions.
For Kristine:
On Monday May 11th Kristine has a job interview with Sylvan Learning Center in Beaverton. Please pray that she presents herself in the best way possible both in appearance and clarity of speech during the interview questions.
Kristine also has a few job applications out there for teaching jobs. One being the Oregon Virtual Academy. Please keep her in prayer as those applications reach eyes that are going to decide whether to hire her or not. Just pray for the Lord's will in the decision making process and peace for Kristine no matter what happens.
The last prayer request for Kristine would be just for a peace and patience in these last few months of her job. Sometimes it gets hard to continue to work when you know the program you are in is probably going to change dramatically. There is a lot of negativity at work right now, so prayer that Kristine try to remain positive despite being surrounded by negative people would be awesome.
For Eric:
Eric is still working to complete his flight training. It would be awesome if you could pray that he stay consistent with his flying ability and consistent in training. Prayers for clarity of thought and clarity in ability during training would be great.
We'll have more on this in the next newsletter but Eric is considering changing his future missions pilot focus from Pilot/Mechanic to Pilot/IT (Informational Technology). He is exploring what classes he needs to take to complete the IT route and talking with MAF missions personnel to see which classes would best suit their current needs. So prayer that if this is the route that we are to go that he continue to have a positive response from missions personnel would be great. Again we'll have more about this later, but we thought we'd put a word out there.
For Both of Us:
We are still working on our house to get it ready to sell. We're making progress, but with classes and other things taking priority it's slow going. Prayer for motivation and planning to complete the rest of the repairs would be great!
We want YOUR help!
In June we will be distributing fliers to churches taking about the Northwest Mission Aviation Fly-In July 17-19th. Servant Wings helps to put this on annually and really would love a huge turn out so people can see, hear, know and maybe even become a part of missionary aviation in the future. We'd love your help in this! If you wouldn't mind we'd love to give you a flier to post at your church, at airports, colleges...wherever we can to help get the word out about this event. Soon we hope to have a short video clip even to show to churches about it too. If you think that you can help us out in this please contact us at: ericandkristinereed@gmail.com and we'll set something up. You don't have to live in Oregon or Washington to post a flier. Since this is a fly-in too technically people can fly-in from anywhere.
Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers, we really appreciate them!
Love in Christ,
Eric and Kristine Reed
The May newsletter is coming out soon, but we'd love you to keep us in prayer about a few decisions.
For Kristine:
On Monday May 11th Kristine has a job interview with Sylvan Learning Center in Beaverton. Please pray that she presents herself in the best way possible both in appearance and clarity of speech during the interview questions.
Kristine also has a few job applications out there for teaching jobs. One being the Oregon Virtual Academy. Please keep her in prayer as those applications reach eyes that are going to decide whether to hire her or not. Just pray for the Lord's will in the decision making process and peace for Kristine no matter what happens.
The last prayer request for Kristine would be just for a peace and patience in these last few months of her job. Sometimes it gets hard to continue to work when you know the program you are in is probably going to change dramatically. There is a lot of negativity at work right now, so prayer that Kristine try to remain positive despite being surrounded by negative people would be awesome.
For Eric:
Eric is still working to complete his flight training. It would be awesome if you could pray that he stay consistent with his flying ability and consistent in training. Prayers for clarity of thought and clarity in ability during training would be great.
We'll have more on this in the next newsletter but Eric is considering changing his future missions pilot focus from Pilot/Mechanic to Pilot/IT (Informational Technology). He is exploring what classes he needs to take to complete the IT route and talking with MAF missions personnel to see which classes would best suit their current needs. So prayer that if this is the route that we are to go that he continue to have a positive response from missions personnel would be great. Again we'll have more about this later, but we thought we'd put a word out there.
For Both of Us:
We are still working on our house to get it ready to sell. We're making progress, but with classes and other things taking priority it's slow going. Prayer for motivation and planning to complete the rest of the repairs would be great!
We want YOUR help!
In June we will be distributing fliers to churches taking about the Northwest Mission Aviation Fly-In July 17-19th. Servant Wings helps to put this on annually and really would love a huge turn out so people can see, hear, know and maybe even become a part of missionary aviation in the future. We'd love your help in this! If you wouldn't mind we'd love to give you a flier to post at your church, at airports, colleges...wherever we can to help get the word out about this event. Soon we hope to have a short video clip even to show to churches about it too. If you think that you can help us out in this please contact us at: ericandkristinereed@gmail.com and we'll set something up. You don't have to live in Oregon or Washington to post a flier. Since this is a fly-in too technically people can fly-in from anywhere.
Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers, we really appreciate them!
Love in Christ,
Eric and Kristine Reed
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Update and Prayer Request!
Dear Family and Friends,
We wanted to write a quick update about what's going on in our "neck o' the woods". Turns out with the budget cuts in Kristine's school district that she might lose her job at the end of the year. Nothing's been finalized, but she can take the hint from the fact that her coordinator keeps asking her how the job hunt is going that she's LOW on the list. Oh and the fact that right after she was hired there was a hiring freeze... So she's looking for a new job with full-time benefits to start at the end of June or fall. Because of this setback, it's caused us to re-evaluate our plans for the Fall for Eric's schooling. We are looking at all options right now and will fill you in on the details soon. Please pray for wisdom for us in our decision making so that we make the best informed decision possible. Soon we'll have a newsletter out explaining these things in detail, but I thought I would send out a note to you guys! Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers!
we
We also wanted to say that we want to know what's going on in YOUR life lately? We really miss hearing from some of you. We Bcc'd the list, but if you could see it you'd notice it's quite long. we'd love to send a personal e-mail to you all, but with time right now it's not feasible. HOWEVER, if you send us an e-mail we'll make every effort possible to get back to you ASAP. :) we miss you all! Hope you are doing alright. God Bless!
Love,
Eric and Kristine Reed
We wanted to write a quick update about what's going on in our "neck o' the woods". Turns out with the budget cuts in Kristine's school district that she might lose her job at the end of the year. Nothing's been finalized, but she can take the hint from the fact that her coordinator keeps asking her how the job hunt is going that she's LOW on the list. Oh and the fact that right after she was hired there was a hiring freeze... So she's looking for a new job with full-time benefits to start at the end of June or fall. Because of this setback, it's caused us to re-evaluate our plans for the Fall for Eric's schooling. We are looking at all options right now and will fill you in on the details soon. Please pray for wisdom for us in our decision making so that we make the best informed decision possible. Soon we'll have a newsletter out explaining these things in detail, but I thought I would send out a note to you guys! Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers!
we
We also wanted to say that we want to know what's going on in YOUR life lately? We really miss hearing from some of you. We Bcc'd the list, but if you could see it you'd notice it's quite long. we'd love to send a personal e-mail to you all, but with time right now it's not feasible. HOWEVER, if you send us an e-mail we'll make every effort possible to get back to you ASAP. :) we miss you all! Hope you are doing alright. God Bless!
Love,
Eric and Kristine Reed
Saturday, April 11, 2009
April 2009 Update
Dear Family and Friends,
Hello! Another month has passed and we thought we’d update you on our life and our progress towards becoming missionaries with MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship). Last month we told you that we’d been accepted as candidate members in an organization called Servant Wings.
Servant Wings
To jog your memory, Servant Wings is a ministry that exists to help missionary pilot candidates get the training they need to join a mission’s organization. They are essentially a stepping stone on our path to joining MAF. Because of Servant Wings Eric is able to get valuable training and time in Servant Wings planes both through maintenance and flying to help him towards completing MAF's pilot/mechanic requirements. The people involved in the organization are also great mentors to us through the process of praying about joining MAF. Because Servant Wings is a non-profit organization they raise all the funds required to keep this vital ministry going. As missionary candidates we also raise funds to be a part of this important ministry. We would like to invite you to prayerfully consider partnering with us in ministry with Servant Wings. More information about this is at the end of our letter, first we’d love to update you on what’s been going on this past month.
Oregon Coast Trip
April has been a busy month for us. We’ve been working hard to try to get more organized to be able to complete everything we need to get accomplished these next few months. With everything going on with work, training, schooling and fixing up the house, we decided to take a few days to rest and have some fun. Kristine had two weeks off in April for spring break so we took an extended weekend trip to the Oregon coast.
It was wonderful to get away from our responsibilities for a few days to just relax, be with each other and enjoy God’s creation. We camped out near the coast the first night and went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Kristine had never been to it so it was a fun time for both of us. We saw the new “Oddwater” exhibit and many interesting fish. Our favorite fish was the Longhorn Cowfish. We put a picture of it in the newsletter so you could see it too! It’s so amazing to see the many diverse fish that God’s made.
After the aquarium we traveled down the coast towards California stopping on various beaches to do hikes and see the Ocean. Our last major stop on our trip was to see the Redwood Forest in California. It was amazing to see how large these trees have become over the course of many years. Also amazing was the fact that many of these trees have been through different forest fires and have STILL survived. In a way it’s like the trials and tribulations we go through in life while believing in God. We may be scorched in the fire, but by the grace of God we can make it through still standing tall as a testament to His glory.
Back to Work...Eric update
After we came back from our trip it was back to reality for us and all the responsibilities that come with it. Eric continued to work on updating the instrument panel and creating an air filter system for his hiperbipe (his biplane) and completed it! Soon he hopes to get back flying in his own plane again to help sharpen his skills when he’s not working with the instructors at Servant Wings and using their planes. He is still working on completing his instrument rating for his pilot’s license. He hopes to be able to take the written test soon. After that he’ll do some more flight training and take the performance evaluation to get his flight rating. With all the bad winter weather it’s been hard to get up in the plane to train, but spring is here and with it longer daylight hours and better weather! Praise God!
Kristine’s job search update
Lately Kristine has been looking again for teaching jobs and finding that there aren’t many, if any, out there. Her main goal of trying to find a teaching job is to give us a good income with health benefits while Eric’s going to PCC full-time. On April 7th she spent six hours at the Oregon Professional Educators fair talking with different districts and found out that they all have grim outlooks on the next year. It’s a bit disappointing, but we know that no matter what happens that God has a sovereign plan and will take care of our needs in the next year. Right now she is still working as an educational assistant for an early intervention autism program in Beaverton and thankful that she has a job, even if it isn’t in the field she got her degree in.
House Update
We are making some progress on the house. Kristine painted some molding and we’ve been working on landscaping the yard some more. Next we’ll finish the master bath floor and put up molding the main bath. Soon we hope to have some warmer weather to be able to finish painting the outside of the house. Slowly but surely we’re completing our tasks. After we’re finished we’ll list the house and pray to get it sold ASAP.
Class Update
We’re still working on completing our New Testament Survey class by June. Prayer for motivation to do the work for this class would be awesome. We get distracted a lot with everything we have to do and lately have been really working hard to get ourselves on an organized schedule to complete this class. After we’ve finished this class we’ll have to complete just a few more bible credits to fulfill the MAF bible requirements.
Prayer
We’d love it if you’d keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Right now motivation seems to be our biggest obstacle. We have so many things to do that sometimes it can seem overwhelming and hard to know where to start. So prayer for wisdom would be awesome during this time and for us to have a clear vision of where God is leading us in the future. Here are some things you can pray for us for these next few months:
1) Finish our New Testament Survey class by June
2) We spend more time in the word and with God
3) Complete the projects on the house to be able to sell it
4) Wisdom for us regarding Kristine’s job situation
5) Eric to finish is instrument rating by summer
6) For us to be able to raise $3800 a month as candidate members of Servant Wings (details are on the right if you are interested in partnering with us)
Contact Us!
God loves all of you and cares about you very much! We care about you too! Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about what we've written or what we feel called to do. We'd love to share our hearts with you and for you to join with us as partners in ministry. You can contact us by e-mail at ericandkristinereed@gmail.com .
With Love in Christ,
Eric and Kristine Reed
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Job Searching again....
It's that time again....time to look for teaching jobs! Kristine still holds out hope to get a teaching job somewhere in Washington or Oregon so that we'll have good income while Eric goes to school full-time in an AMT (Aviation Maintenance Technician) program. This time of year is typically when the school districts post their new jobs for next year. Unfortunately because of the economy and lack of funding in the districts, there are very very few job postings out there.
This has led Kristine to apply for teaching jobs near AMT schools in WA as well as Oregon. It's still our hope and goal that Kristine can get a job in Oregon so Eric can go to Portland Community College, but we have to be able to financially make it while he goes to school. Kristine is also looking into other types of employment as well just in case she doesn't get a teaching job again.
So prayers for us during this process would be much appreciated and are vital to help us make the best decision possible regarding where to live and work.
God Bless,
Eric and Kristine Reed
This has led Kristine to apply for teaching jobs near AMT schools in WA as well as Oregon. It's still our hope and goal that Kristine can get a job in Oregon so Eric can go to Portland Community College, but we have to be able to financially make it while he goes to school. Kristine is also looking into other types of employment as well just in case she doesn't get a teaching job again.
So prayers for us during this process would be much appreciated and are vital to help us make the best decision possible regarding where to live and work.
God Bless,
Eric and Kristine Reed
Friday, March 13, 2009
Networked Blogs and update
Hello again! We've discovered an easy way for you to follow our blog. If you are on Facebook just click on Follow This Blog on the right side of the screen and you'll be following our blog! *You can also follow our blog on Google Reader or any number of other sites. If you want information on how to do that please let us know! This is new to us, so we're still discovering how it works...but it looks pretty cool.
Lately we've been praying for the weather to clear up so Eric can fly and we both can work on the house more. We've found that we both have more energy when the sun is shining and the weather is warmer. Well, maybe just when the weather is warmer!
We are still going back and forth on what is the best option for us as far as moving. We know that being closer to Vancouver and Hillsboro is a definite goal. Although financially we aren't sure whether we'll need to rent or whether we'll be able to get a house up there. So prayer for that would be much appreciated!
We thank all of you for your love and support. Thanks for continuing to read and respond to our letters. If you have any questions or are in need of prayer, please e-mail us and let us know at ericandkristinereed@gmail.com.
Lately we've been praying for the weather to clear up so Eric can fly and we both can work on the house more. We've found that we both have more energy when the sun is shining and the weather is warmer. Well, maybe just when the weather is warmer!
We are still going back and forth on what is the best option for us as far as moving. We know that being closer to Vancouver and Hillsboro is a definite goal. Although financially we aren't sure whether we'll need to rent or whether we'll be able to get a house up there. So prayer for that would be much appreciated!
We thank all of you for your love and support. Thanks for continuing to read and respond to our letters. If you have any questions or are in need of prayer, please e-mail us and let us know at ericandkristinereed@gmail.com.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
New opportunity to help!
Dear Family and Friends,
As many of you know we are working towards finishing up the requirements to apply to join MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship). We are still a couple of years out, but right now we becoming more actively involved in an organization called Servant Wings.
Servant Wings
Servant Wings exists to help missionary pilot candidates get the training they need to join a missions organization. They are essentially a stepping stone on our path to joining MAF. Because of Servant Wings Eric is able to get valuable training and time in Servant Wings planes both through maintenance and flying to help him towards completing MAF's pilot/mechanic requirements. The people involved in the organization are also great mentors to us through the process of praying about joining MAF.
Because Servant Wings is a non-profit organization they raise all the funds required to keep this vital ministry going. As missionary candidates we also raise funds to be a part of this important ministry. We would like to invite you to prayerfully consider partnering with us in ministry with Servant Wings.
How can I help? I don't know how to fly a plane?!?!
Some of you may be thinking, " I don't know how to fly a plane much less repair one! How could God use me in Servant Wings?" Or you could be thinking, "I've never felt called to go overseas to be a missionary? How could I be involved in MAF?" It's a common misconception in the church that to be involved in missions you have to be the one out there on the field. What's amazing is that God has made us each uniquely gifted to be able to spread the gospel and to be a part of the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12 talks about how each part of the body of Christ is important, there is no separation of one part from another. In ministry this is the same. There would not be missionaries out on the field without people back home prayerfully and financially supporting them in their journey. By doing this in a sense, every day people and missions organizations back home are the "arm" reaching out to support the "hand" that is the missionaries. Without the arm to support the hand, and the body to support the arm, there would be no hand to do the physical work. It might sound silly, but it's the perfect example of how you can be involved in ministry even if you aren't the one called on the actual missions field.
How you can help now
Right now you can be involved in a vital part of the missions process by helping to support Servant Wings both financially and in your prayers. Your tax-deductible donations will help Servant Wings provide the necessary tools to help prospective missionary aviators reach the field. The money you donate will be used towards: maintaining the training planes, purchasing aviation fuel, eliminating student debt (This is often the #1 reason missionary pilot candidates never get to the field), flight hours (training time) for a missionary student, operation costs and in other areas to support missionary candidates. This is a HUGE help in being able to send missionary candidates onto the next step, applying to a mission aviation organization.
Every little bit counts!
We know that because of the economy that money is tight right now for many of you. That's why we're asking you to prayerfully consider donating just $10 a month to Servant Wings. Every little bit counts and gets spread out to help in all areas of ministry. If you'd like to become a ministry partner in this way please let us know. We'd love to talk with you personally about it and also encourage you to visit the website: http://www.servantwings.org/. There you can learn more about the ministry and because of the technological age we are in, you can now securely donate online. Servant Wings requires that we raise $3800/month. Would you join us in prayer and support to help us reach this goal?
If you are uncomfortable donating online you can send a check (written out to Servant Wings) to this address:
Servant Wings
118 NE 108th St
Vancouver, WA 98685
Prayer and Encouragement for YOU! :)
We want to be able to encourage you all as you have continued to encourage us. If you have prayer needs or requests we'd love to pray for you. Please feel free to e-mail your prayer requests to us at ericandkristinereed@gmail.com and we'll pray for you. Your requests will be kept confidential unless you tell us otherwise. We know it's a hard time for many out there. We encourage you all to continue to look to God for guidance in your daily lives too as we try to do.
Here's a verse that is good to remember:
Jeremiah 29:11-13
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Many people quote this verse out of context, but to give you a little history, this was written as an encouragement by the prophet Jeremiah (speaking on the Lord's behalf) to the people exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. It was to encourage them through the hard times they would be facing in exile. Even though most of us are not living in exile in a sense, it's important to remember that the Lord does have a plan for our lives and that we need to continue to seek His guidance in what we do. Sometimes it is really hard depending on what happens, but that means we need to pray harder to have the right heart and mindset in the hard times to make it through.
Contact Us!
God loves all of you and cares about you very much! We care about you too! Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about what we've written or what we feel called to do. We'd love to share our hearts with you and for you to join with us as partners in ministry.
With Love in Christ,
Eric and Kristine Reed
As many of you know we are working towards finishing up the requirements to apply to join MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship). We are still a couple of years out, but right now we becoming more actively involved in an organization called Servant Wings.
Servant Wings
Servant Wings exists to help missionary pilot candidates get the training they need to join a missions organization. They are essentially a stepping stone on our path to joining MAF. Because of Servant Wings Eric is able to get valuable training and time in Servant Wings planes both through maintenance and flying to help him towards completing MAF's pilot/mechanic requirements. The people involved in the organization are also great mentors to us through the process of praying about joining MAF.
Because Servant Wings is a non-profit organization they raise all the funds required to keep this vital ministry going. As missionary candidates we also raise funds to be a part of this important ministry. We would like to invite you to prayerfully consider partnering with us in ministry with Servant Wings.
How can I help? I don't know how to fly a plane?!?!
Some of you may be thinking, " I don't know how to fly a plane much less repair one! How could God use me in Servant Wings?" Or you could be thinking, "I've never felt called to go overseas to be a missionary? How could I be involved in MAF?" It's a common misconception in the church that to be involved in missions you have to be the one out there on the field. What's amazing is that God has made us each uniquely gifted to be able to spread the gospel and to be a part of the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12 talks about how each part of the body of Christ is important, there is no separation of one part from another. In ministry this is the same. There would not be missionaries out on the field without people back home prayerfully and financially supporting them in their journey. By doing this in a sense, every day people and missions organizations back home are the "arm" reaching out to support the "hand" that is the missionaries. Without the arm to support the hand, and the body to support the arm, there would be no hand to do the physical work. It might sound silly, but it's the perfect example of how you can be involved in ministry even if you aren't the one called on the actual missions field.
How you can help now
Right now you can be involved in a vital part of the missions process by helping to support Servant Wings both financially and in your prayers. Your tax-deductible donations will help Servant Wings provide the necessary tools to help prospective missionary aviators reach the field. The money you donate will be used towards: maintaining the training planes, purchasing aviation fuel, eliminating student debt (This is often the #1 reason missionary pilot candidates never get to the field), flight hours (training time) for a missionary student, operation costs and in other areas to support missionary candidates. This is a HUGE help in being able to send missionary candidates onto the next step, applying to a mission aviation organization.
Every little bit counts!
We know that because of the economy that money is tight right now for many of you. That's why we're asking you to prayerfully consider donating just $10 a month to Servant Wings. Every little bit counts and gets spread out to help in all areas of ministry. If you'd like to become a ministry partner in this way please let us know. We'd love to talk with you personally about it and also encourage you to visit the website: http://www.servantwings.org/. There you can learn more about the ministry and because of the technological age we are in, you can now securely donate online. Servant Wings requires that we raise $3800/month. Would you join us in prayer and support to help us reach this goal?
If you are uncomfortable donating online you can send a check (written out to Servant Wings) to this address:
Servant Wings
118 NE 108th St
Vancouver, WA 98685
Prayer and Encouragement for YOU! :)
We want to be able to encourage you all as you have continued to encourage us. If you have prayer needs or requests we'd love to pray for you. Please feel free to e-mail your prayer requests to us at ericandkristinereed@gmail.com and we'll pray for you. Your requests will be kept confidential unless you tell us otherwise. We know it's a hard time for many out there. We encourage you all to continue to look to God for guidance in your daily lives too as we try to do.
Here's a verse that is good to remember:
Jeremiah 29:11-13
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Many people quote this verse out of context, but to give you a little history, this was written as an encouragement by the prophet Jeremiah (speaking on the Lord's behalf) to the people exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. It was to encourage them through the hard times they would be facing in exile. Even though most of us are not living in exile in a sense, it's important to remember that the Lord does have a plan for our lives and that we need to continue to seek His guidance in what we do. Sometimes it is really hard depending on what happens, but that means we need to pray harder to have the right heart and mindset in the hard times to make it through.
Contact Us!
God loves all of you and cares about you very much! We care about you too! Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions about what we've written or what we feel called to do. We'd love to share our hearts with you and for you to join with us as partners in ministry.
With Love in Christ,
Eric and Kristine Reed
All Over the World: Borneo
This video is from a t.v. show called All over the World that documents lives of missionaries...all over the world. Our friend's the Harms posted this on their blog (In the Shadow of His Wings) . They are going to Haiti as missionaries with MAF. This video is not of Haiti, but is a clip of what MAF does in Indonesia/Borneo. It's a good representation of what we hope to do someday in service to our Lord, enjoy.
Here's another video of a final approach in Tiweano, Ecuador with MAF. We went to Tiweano on a separate MAF vision trip in 2007. This is the same air strip we landed at. Enjoy.
Here's another video of a final approach in Tiweano, Ecuador with MAF. We went to Tiweano on a separate MAF vision trip in 2007. This is the same air strip we landed at. Enjoy.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
God's plans...
Amazed by Grace
Amazing how God's plans are always the best for us. We just have to SLOW down to listen and learn from Him. Sometimes in this day in age it's hard to do that. I know for me (Kristine), I love to plan and it's hard sometimes to take a break from the planning to listen to the voice of God. Sometimes it's even harder to respond to the direction He leads because that means breaking plans my feeble mind made.
Our Meeting with Perry and LaNnae
Well now is one of those many times that I (and Eric) am doing that. I had this overwhelming need for Eric and I to talk with our local MAF recruiter/friend Perry Pust. I didn't understand it entirely other than I knew that it would be good to sit down and talk with him. Eric didn't understand the need, but I couldn't let it up and wanted to meet ASAP.
We met with him and his wife LaNnae and had a really good honest conversation with them about where we were at and where we wanted to be in ministry. They were very honest with us about areas they saw we are weak in and they told us of some opportunities to grow in our faith that would be available if we stayed in the area. We didn't know that these opportunities were available when we were planning on moving to Michigan. We were very grateful that God had us meet with them that day.
A Big Change of Direction..
On the way home from meeting with Perry and LaNnae we had a lot to think about. Should we still go to Michigan? Should we stay here and do the PCC program? What's best for us not only financially but for our walks with God and personal spiritual growth? It was a lot to think and pray about. After a long day or so of thinking about it and praying about it we decided that the best option for us would be to stay in Oregon/Washington. This way Eric can take his time to do the two year PCC A&P program and we both can get more involved in different programs in Vancouver that will help strengthen our faith, witness and walk with God.
This is a big change from what we've been telling you these past few months, but it's definitely a change for the better. We will be sad not to be able to explore the other part of the country, but we'll make efforts to still visit the few friends we had planned on visiting if we had lived in Michigan. Keeping friendships and relationships is important to us because we treasure the time we have with every one of you!
The Basics...
So what's the plan now? We are staying open to God's leading but here's the tentative plan for the basics:
House
We are still going to finish our house and sell it as soon as possible. With Eric going to school in Hillsboro, Kristine working in Beaverton and both of us possibly getting involved with programs in Vancouver, it just makes sense to move further north to Portland or Vancouver. We will rent for two years and after that see where God is leading!
School
Eric will go to Portland Community College's Rock Creek Campus in Hillsboro to do their two year AMT (Aviation Maintenence Technology) program.
Flight Training
Eric is working with Servant Wings to complete his instrument rating. After he completes this rating he will find a program to complete his CFI training. More on that later.
Kristine's Job
Right now Kristine is still working for the Early Intervention Autism program in Beaverton. She will continue to work at that job until at least this summer. Because we are staying in the area, she is now going to actively seek a teaching job in Oregon or Vancouver, WA. If she can get a teaching job starting next year then she will leave her current position then. If not, then she will continue to work for the NWRESD until she can get one. It's just such a blessing to be able to have a full-time job and health benefits. We are in a much better place than last year at this time. Praise God for that!
Prayer
We would love it if you would pray for us! Just for God's guidance and for us to be able to take time each day to sit and listen to His voice. Prayer for our motivation to complete tasks would be great as well. There will be more to come in the next few months.
Thank you so much for your support in this journey. We really appreciate each and every one of you. We'll have more updates to come!
Blessings,
Eric and Kristine Reed
Amazing how God's plans are always the best for us. We just have to SLOW down to listen and learn from Him. Sometimes in this day in age it's hard to do that. I know for me (Kristine), I love to plan and it's hard sometimes to take a break from the planning to listen to the voice of God. Sometimes it's even harder to respond to the direction He leads because that means breaking plans my feeble mind made.
Our Meeting with Perry and LaNnae
Well now is one of those many times that I (and Eric) am doing that. I had this overwhelming need for Eric and I to talk with our local MAF recruiter/friend Perry Pust. I didn't understand it entirely other than I knew that it would be good to sit down and talk with him. Eric didn't understand the need, but I couldn't let it up and wanted to meet ASAP.
We met with him and his wife LaNnae and had a really good honest conversation with them about where we were at and where we wanted to be in ministry. They were very honest with us about areas they saw we are weak in and they told us of some opportunities to grow in our faith that would be available if we stayed in the area. We didn't know that these opportunities were available when we were planning on moving to Michigan. We were very grateful that God had us meet with them that day.
A Big Change of Direction..
On the way home from meeting with Perry and LaNnae we had a lot to think about. Should we still go to Michigan? Should we stay here and do the PCC program? What's best for us not only financially but for our walks with God and personal spiritual growth? It was a lot to think and pray about. After a long day or so of thinking about it and praying about it we decided that the best option for us would be to stay in Oregon/Washington. This way Eric can take his time to do the two year PCC A&P program and we both can get more involved in different programs in Vancouver that will help strengthen our faith, witness and walk with God.
This is a big change from what we've been telling you these past few months, but it's definitely a change for the better. We will be sad not to be able to explore the other part of the country, but we'll make efforts to still visit the few friends we had planned on visiting if we had lived in Michigan. Keeping friendships and relationships is important to us because we treasure the time we have with every one of you!
The Basics...
So what's the plan now? We are staying open to God's leading but here's the tentative plan for the basics:
House
We are still going to finish our house and sell it as soon as possible. With Eric going to school in Hillsboro, Kristine working in Beaverton and both of us possibly getting involved with programs in Vancouver, it just makes sense to move further north to Portland or Vancouver. We will rent for two years and after that see where God is leading!
School
Eric will go to Portland Community College's Rock Creek Campus in Hillsboro to do their two year AMT (Aviation Maintenence Technology) program.
Flight Training
Eric is working with Servant Wings to complete his instrument rating. After he completes this rating he will find a program to complete his CFI training. More on that later.
Kristine's Job
Right now Kristine is still working for the Early Intervention Autism program in Beaverton. She will continue to work at that job until at least this summer. Because we are staying in the area, she is now going to actively seek a teaching job in Oregon or Vancouver, WA. If she can get a teaching job starting next year then she will leave her current position then. If not, then she will continue to work for the NWRESD until she can get one. It's just such a blessing to be able to have a full-time job and health benefits. We are in a much better place than last year at this time. Praise God for that!
Prayer
We would love it if you would pray for us! Just for God's guidance and for us to be able to take time each day to sit and listen to His voice. Prayer for our motivation to complete tasks would be great as well. There will be more to come in the next few months.
Thank you so much for your support in this journey. We really appreciate each and every one of you. We'll have more updates to come!
Blessings,
Eric and Kristine Reed
Friday, January 30, 2009
Update :)
We want to try to update you as much as possible about our journey and everyday life on this blog. So it's time for a bi-monthly update.
We are starting our New Testament Survey class in February. This class is a correspondence course through Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. In case you aren't sure what correspondence courses are then we'll explain. These courses are taken through the distance learning program. The materials are sent to us via the mail and we have six months to complete them. Usually these courses consist of two tests and two papers. When we complete them we send them in via postal mail.
So as you can see they are very different than online courses and allow us to have ample time to complete them. Hope that helps you in understanding our courses!
We are still working on the house and hope to be able to list it by the end of February or middle of March. Please keep us in prayer that our house can sell before we leave for Michigan. If not then we'll need to rent it while we are away. So prayer for guidance would be awesome.
Eric's still working on his instrument rating training and is making progress. He should be able to complete it by the time we move this summer.
Well that's it for now! We'll update more later. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!
We are starting our New Testament Survey class in February. This class is a correspondence course through Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. In case you aren't sure what correspondence courses are then we'll explain. These courses are taken through the distance learning program. The materials are sent to us via the mail and we have six months to complete them. Usually these courses consist of two tests and two papers. When we complete them we send them in via postal mail.
So as you can see they are very different than online courses and allow us to have ample time to complete them. Hope that helps you in understanding our courses!
We are still working on the house and hope to be able to list it by the end of February or middle of March. Please keep us in prayer that our house can sell before we leave for Michigan. If not then we'll need to rent it while we are away. So prayer for guidance would be awesome.
Eric's still working on his instrument rating training and is making progress. He should be able to complete it by the time we move this summer.
Well that's it for now! We'll update more later. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Time Flies...
It's amazing to think that January is almost over! We have a goal of getting everything we can on the house done by the end of February so we can list our house. Hopefully we'll be able to sell our home before we leave to Michigan. If we don't, we'll work on finding a renter for a year while we are gone. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers about this!
Kristine is feeling sick lately. She thinks it's a head cold but isn't sure. Everyone at her work seems to be getting something, it's that time of year! She is taking a sick day from work to help recoup her body before heading back into the germ factory. :)
Eric is working more on completing his airplane projects (on his biplane) as well as finishing up training for his instrument rating. He's still working at Garmin AT and will until we move this summer.
We both are starting a New Testament Survey class from Moody Bible Institute. We are each figuring out how best to complete this and everything else we have to do in a productive way. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers about this as well!
Kristine is feeling sick lately. She thinks it's a head cold but isn't sure. Everyone at her work seems to be getting something, it's that time of year! She is taking a sick day from work to help recoup her body before heading back into the germ factory. :)
Eric is working more on completing his airplane projects (on his biplane) as well as finishing up training for his instrument rating. He's still working at Garmin AT and will until we move this summer.
We both are starting a New Testament Survey class from Moody Bible Institute. We are each figuring out how best to complete this and everything else we have to do in a productive way. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers about this as well!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Change to Blog about donations
(Mt. Rainier from Eric's plane)Hello Friends!
We wanted to let you know that we've changed our blog layout regarding financial donations. If you are interested in supporting us financially, instead of a link to an impersonal website, we'd love to talk with you personally! If this is a desire of your heart, please e-mail us at: ericandkristinereed@gmail.com. We'd love to talk with you about where we are at in ministry, what our goals are and pray with you. :)
If you aren't interested in donations financially but would like to meet with us to hear more about where our hearts are at, let us know that too! We'd love to sit down and visit with you.
Love in Christ,
Eric and Kristine Reed
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Firefox!
Hello! If you are viewing this page on internet explorer, we strongly suggest that you download Firefox and use that browser to view out page. For some reason Firefox shows all of our additions and Internet Explorer doesn't.
You can download Firefox here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
You can download Firefox here: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/
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