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
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