Updates and News :)

Okay, so you didn't think that the last picture post was the one we were talking about on the Facebook site did you? We're  still not quite sure all of what we are going to write in this one, but we're writing it! The goal is to keep this blog updated. We are going to try to post more family related stuff as we do it and ministry stuff as we have updates. So you might see a mix of the two.

Here are some updates on things we're working on:

• Our house in Oregon looks like it's going to sell, Praise God! We're in the final stages so prayer that it continues to go smoothly with no surprises would be very appreciated. This being accomplished will definitely help us move forward in Washington. 
• The house we're renting in Washington seems to be back to "normal" for now. No more crazy mold or fixes that we can see. We're thankful for a place to live and also thankful that we'll be month to month soon to give us more freedom if God brings a place our way. 
• We found a church in Washington that we really like and both of us are working hard to get plugged in with a small group and respective bible studies. Jenna seems to do well at this church too, which is great. 
• Kristine is continuing to do MOPS and is enjoying it. She's also a part of some other local mom's groups and meeting people from all different backgrounds and religions, that's been fun too! 
• Eric is enjoying his job and the challenges that come with it. He seems to get along great with his co-workers and likes the products he's developing. 
• Eric's plane has moved to Paine Field in Everett. This was a great move because it's out of the wet weather and he can safely take it apart without worrying about theft much or losing items. (The last hangar had gravel on the ground...a great surface to lose important small items!)
• We haven't started marriage coaching yet for communication, but figure we'll start that once we get more established in our church, have a stable place to live (no moves), and have a reliable person to watch Jenna during that time. (FYI for those who aren't in the know, we are happy and love each other, so we aren't on the brink of divorce or anything. We just feel we need extra help in the communication department so we can be the best team we can be when we go back to full time ministry)

As far as ministry.... there's been a few people who are worried that we're going to get too "settled" and "comfortable" where we're at and worry that if we get another house that will solidify the deal. Not to worry friends! We mentioned before that we're taking a break from ministry partnership with Mission Aviation Fellowship to seek God's direction and to work on a few things to make us even better prepared for ministry. 

Yes, we're going to look for a house as we're not sure how long this break is going to be. It could be two years it could be five or more. It's much more cost effective to purchase a house at a low market price and put our monthly money towards building equity than giving our money monthly to someone else so they can build equity in their house. We're looking at a place with the mindset that we'll either live in this place for many years, rent it out if we go overseas or sell it. We're not looking for a fixer upper with lots of projects like our last home, we definitely learned our lesson there! But, we are not going to just jump on any house we see. We are praying about it and seeking God's direction in this and essentially, walking by faith because only God knows our future.  

Little by little God allows us a glimpse of His plan and why we were made to take a break from what we were doing and we'd like to share this with you. While we were with MAF and even before when we were thinking of MAF, growing a family weighed heavily on our hearts. Kristine had to have a c-section with Jenna and because of the details of why she needed that c-section, it meant future children would also need to come by c-section. Kristine was worried about how this would look overseas especially not knowing the foreign language there and what would happen with Jenna. We tried to think over and over again about how to plan this out, but as many of you know... you can't just say, "I'm going to get pregnant now" and plan the time, God plans it. She talked with lots of people and we decided just to move forward regardless of the thoughts that were in the back of our mind about it. 

More recently we've felt strongly that one reason God had us delay going overseas, was so that we could complete our family before we go. We didn't need that distraction keeping us from serving whole-heartedly. Many families that are overseas right now are already complete or if they aren't they are able to birth babies naturally and don't have the same fears we did about taking a leap in this regard. How amazing is it that God knew what we needed and helped us? We're trying to get pregnant for a second child now, so prayers are definitely appreciated. We are thinking we might adopt a third child, but aren't sure yet. We're taking things one step at a time. It's just exciting to have this time to grow our family, it's definitely a gift. 

It reminds us constantly of  Jeremiah 29:11, which says, "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."

God has our future all taken care of, we just need to do our job to listen and obey when He speaks, not to ignore it and press on. There are many other reasons we see why God's allowed us to have this time in the states and we know there will be many more reasons that will become apparent to us. We ask that our friends and supporters don't lose hope, just because we aren't overseas yet doesn't mean that God can't use us right here, right now, for His purpose. Keep following our blog and keeping in touch via our facebook page for updates on our journey. 

Thanks for all your prayers! We appreciate them.

In Christ,

Eric, Kristine and Jenna Reed

Pictures!

Lately I've noticed that this blog has had a serious lack of photos! Here's a post to remedy some of that. 

Jenna chasing goats at the Animal Farm this Summer.

We went to the Arlington Air show this year. It was Jenna's first air show and I think she did pretty well. She loved going in the helicopter and watching the airplanes fly. She also decided Mommy should wear a monkey hat. 

This summer is when Jenna started to get really interested in Daddy's airplane too. So Eric took her up for a ride. She wasn't so sure about that part, because she couldn't see out the window. But no tears! So that's a good sign.  

She loves it when Eric reads to her. 

This fall Jenna and I (Kristine) picked a lot of vegetables and fruit. Jenna seemed to like to eat it once she knew where it came from. Who could blame her? :) 

This fall took pictures in the Everett Arboretum. (Pretty sure that's not the actual name) Jenna cooperated for a couple of the shots. :) 

Thankful (written by Kristine)

I know it's a little early to be writing thanksgiving posts, but seriously, we have a lot to be thankful for around here and I think waiting until a silly holiday to do it, well... is silly.

As most of you know, we're in a transition period. Instead of a few months passing, it's felt like a few years! Taking a break from our dreams of serving with Mission Aviation Fellowship to follow the Lord's leading was one of the hardest things to do, yet God's completely confirmed in us that it was the right thing to do. We were treading water with MAF and hoping to find some land, but whatever direction we went, we just stayed in one spot. Once we took a step back, looked at where we were at and listened closely to God, a ship appeared to take us in a different direction.

God's confirmed in us over and over again that taking a break was the right thing to do. He provided Eric with a job that he enjoys, provided us a house to rent and provided mom's groups in the area for me to get involved with right away. On the weekends we worked on the house in Oregon for the most part and Jenna proved to be a great little road trip traveler. Thank the Lord for that! We were fretting about what to do about a Realtor and who to choose and God had a guy call us from a company and offer to sell our house. This was a company we hadn't paid much attention to, but we realized we'd heard their advertising a lot on the radio and had seen their signs around. How amazing that God provided that for us?

We listed our home mid-september and here we are at the end of October and God provided a buyer who is interested in our home! We are in the closing process right now and would love your prayers that things go smoothly. When the e-mail came, we could hardly believe it, but we knew God had a hand in it as He does everything.

Around this same time we feel we've found a church up here that we can call home. It may be confusing to some, because we started going to another church, but God keep nagging us to try this other church that Eric's coworker goes to. So we prayed about it and went in asking God to confirm if this was the place He wants us to be. In the first few minutes we knew God wanted us there. The people were warm and welcoming and understood our desire to be involved in global ministry. Eric is getting plugged in and I've been to a women's event. At that event God spoke in little ways through the women that were there to help confirm in my heart that this is where we are supposed to be regardless of what happens in the future, and that's enormously comforting.

People ask us if we're going to continue with MAF, the answer is that we don't know. Right now we're taking a break for one to two years or more to focus on our walks with God and work on a few things. We know that if it's the Lord's will for us to serve with MAF, we will. If He has another ministry in mind, then we'll serve there. It's our hope and desire to grow so strong in our walks with God that we're open to serving in the moment, wherever He leads us. But things take time.... we want to give God all the time He needs to shape us into who He wants us to be. :)

In the meantime, we're extremely thankful for how He's provided for us and it's showing us that walking by faith is vitally important. A lot of times we want to have things figured out, we need to realize that God's already got things figured out. It's up to us to follow Him wherever He leads.

Where do I fit in? (Written by Kristine)

Lately I've found myself wondering what most everyone wonders from time to time.... where do I fit in? Every time I move to a new place I wonder if this is the place God wants me to be for the long term, or is this just a stop along the journey?

We've been checking out different churches and I've been checking out different mom's groups and bible studies and this question continues to spin in my head, do I fit in here? Should I fit in here? What do I need to do to fit in here? Is changing parts of me really going to make me "fit in" or am I fooling myself?

 I look back on the past few years of my life and I realized I've been trying way way too hard to fit into a culture that I don't fit into. I am not a woman who cares if I have perfect hair or designer clothes, I am happy if my hair is clean and I wear clothes that I like regardless of the label. I am not a hipster, but I love the music most listen to.  I am not a super hippie gal, but I do enjoy helping our family eat healthy. I am not an awesome crafter or decorator, but I do love to sew with what stitches I know and decorate when I get the chance. I am not super mom, but I try my best every day.

I've decided that I am okay with being Kristine. I'm okay with being a person who: loves learning about new technology, who has a million craft projects she wants to do, is kinda okay at the guitar but really just loves to sing with others, tries hard to be a good mom, wants to hike...even though we never get the chance, who enjoys meeting new people and hearing about their lives, loves to cook and longs to travel and learn about other cultures among other things. I'm okay with not being the best or the thinnest or the prettiest one in the room. I'm okay with often being the quietest one in the room, it means I like to listen and get to know others. Yes I am human, and yes I do get my feelings hurt, but I think I've decided to just be me. :)

Out of all the crowds I've been with, I think where I've fit in the most and felt the most at home has been with my missionary friends. My heart still longs to live overseas and to help spread the gospel there. It sounds crazy to people that I've met here, I mean why would I want to give up this culture and everything I own to move my family to an unfamiliar place? I've found over the years that it is in in those countries, that I feel like I fit in the most. Where I feel like I am home. It doesn't make sense to those who "fit in" and feel called to serve in this culture and that's okay.

I know that the Lord gave me the desire to serve overseas for a reason. With everything that's happened in the past year with us getting into MAF yet needing to take a step back, it's been hard to see where God wants our family in the future. Yes, that's been discouraging, but I think it's exactly what I need to rely on His timing even more in my life. I don't have all the answers....heck I don't know ANY of the answers...but I know that God has an even better plan in mind. He gave me the desire to serve overseas for a reason and in His timing that will happen. I just need to be patient, be open and be honest in the mean time to be able to grow. I need to stop trying to figure it out and just live life for God. To be able to be the best person I can be here for God whether I feel I "fit in" or not. The only place I'll ever truly fit in is when I am worshiping my God in Heaven, and I am okay with that. :)

Jennavieve's First Flight -Written by Eric

Jennavieve's first flight in an airplane! I thought it went pretty well, but I couldn't tell what Jenna was thinking. I think from the time the engine started until we were stopped she had kind of a blank stare. She almost looked frightened, but she didn't let out a noise. We had earmuffs on her to protect her hearing and wrapped up her head to make sure they stayed on her, but I think she really didn't know what to make of all the noise anyway. Next time we see how my tighter headset works for her. I think if she can hear my voice she might have a little fun with it.

So now we have to figure out someone to watch Jenna while I take Kristine up again. I haven't taken her up since Jenna was born.

Where did the summer go?

Autumn is officially here, and boy do we feel it in the Pacific Northwest. Almost immediately a switch was turned off and the sun went away, the air became colder and clouds became gray and overcast instead of white and fluffy. This leads us to say, "Where did the summer go?"

Jenna flying at the Children's Museum

Jenna and Eric at the Arlington Air Show

We know we've been kinda quiet over here at "Taking off with the Reeds", but don't let our lack of online presence fool you. We've been here, just extremely busy. As you know, earlier on in the year we decided to take a break from Mission Aviation Fellowship to work on a few things so we'll be more prepared when we return. The minute we took that step back, we felt more at peace and relieved. God began to open doors showing us that this was indeed what we were to do. God provided a job for Eric in Woodinville and a rental house for us to live in near his work. He provided people to help us move as well. Once these things were taken care of in May, we began work on our first major task, getting the Oregon house ready to sell and listed.

Not knowing just how much extra work it would be with a toddler, we had anticipated things to take about a month to a month and a half to finish. Without a toddler, that would be a correct timeline, however with a toddler it ended up doubling. We started work in May and came down nearly every weekend this summer to work on it. We completed work and listed it officially on Monday of this week. While we were working on the house a real estate agent came to us wanting to take on our house to sell it. When we met with them, we agreed completely on their strategy and were thankful God took care of that detail for us. We were thankful during this time for Eric's parents allowing us to stay in their home and for Kristine's (my) parents for watching Jennavieve.

In August we took a weekend off to celebrate our sixth anniversary and Kristine's 30th birthday by going to Canada. Kristine's parents watched Jenna so we could relax and enjoy ourselves. We went to Vancouver Island, visited Victoria and stayed at wonderful restaurant in Nanaimo, B.C. It's definitely a place we want to go back and explore again. We love Canada and are very thankful to live so close to it!

Towards the beginning of September, something unexpected happened at our rental house, which actually wasn't a surprise, so I guess maybe we expected it? Ever since we moved into our rental house, there have been issues. When we first moved in, there was new housing going in behind the house so there were many different construction workers and equipment going down the alley by our home and parking on our property. When we moved in, there was a  smell downstairs that Kristine noticed. It was in the carpet and smelled like mildew. Nothing we tried could solve it, so the owners replaced the carpet. We thought we were done, but the mold/mildew came back in full force and by the beginning of September, we had to move out all our belongings from downstairs to a storage facility so a mold specialist could take care of the house. This is all during the time we were trying to finish our Oregon house and plan Jenna's second birthday party. Crazy Crazy timing eh?

We ended up cancelling Jenna's birthday party with her toddler friends and went to the zoo with Eric's sister Marguerite. It was a great day! Jenna had the opportunity to feed Giraffes and some birds as well as see and pet many animals. We ate at Paseo for lunch and came back home for Jenna to open gifts. She had a good time, and that's all we cared about.

As of today, the work downstairs is finally being completed in this rental house. We have a few months left on the lease, so we've been looking at houses to purchase closer to Eric's work. Of course, our move is entirely dependent on selling the Oregon house, so we'd covet your prayers that the house would sell quickly! If you are interested or know someone that is, here's the link:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1038-Munkers-Ct-SE-Salem-OR-97317/53023830_zpid/

Another step we had on our agenda was to find a home church. As you can imagine, with us being busy most every Sunday, this was no easy task. After checking out a few churches on the Sundays we had free, we decided to check out a few more. One had ways for Kristine to plug in so for now she's joined a bible study as well as the MOPS group. She feels better to be grounded in a church again. Eric's going to start going to a bible study near his work too. Once we get more settled we hope to start some marriage coaching to help us on communication skills, one thing that we found out we needed to work on while serving with MAF.

But for now, we're taking things one step at a time. We really appreciate those who have stuck with us through this process. We're definitely taking our time and praying throughout this process to seek God's will for our family. We'll update you as we go. If you're not on our Facebook group, request to join. We hope to update there much more frequently.

Thanks again for all your prayers, we appreciate it.

In Christ,
The Reeds

Thoughts on hate (Kristine)

I've been debating for a while to post anything regarding Chick-Fil-A. There's SO much out there. I think it's sad that there's so much hate on both sides of the opinion. It also makes me wonder, do you really know what the CEO's or owners of your favorite organizations believe in? I would bet most people don't and would be shocked as well at most opinions out there in this world. Yet does it stop us from enjoying their products, most times not.

I say stop the hate. Hating someone for believing in something you don't will not change their mind about anything. Yelling at them, taunting them or writing horrible things about them will not make them want to see your point of view. Instead it will make them want to run as far away as possible from it. There's hating on both sides of this issue. I think instead of despising someone for thinking different, it's important to take a step back and actually listen to their side of the story. Give them a listening ear of compassion versus a fist of hate.  Get to know where they are coming from. Get to know their history and maybe try to understand why they have their point of view. It's the better path to understanding and the better path to peace.

As a Christian, I do believe that Jesus befriended and had compassion on many people, whether they agreed with how he taught or not. In Mark 12:30-31 Jesus talked about the two greatest commandments. The first was "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (v 30) "..the second is this, love your neighbor as yourself."  In this country there's a lot of self-love and we get offended VERY easily. Jesus called us to first love God, but to also love each other.

I don't know the head of Chick-Fil-A. I've never eaten their food but I've heard it's rather tasty. I think he does have a right to express his views as everyone else in this country does. How people react to those views is their choice. I think we should start listening before we start swinging our fists or trying to shock each other to believe in what we do. I challenge every one of you reading this to think about how you react and maybe try to listen, if you pray please pray, and have a conversation with either side before immediately hating.

Love,
Kristine Reed

Workin' Away... (Kristine)

       These next few weekends are going to be super important weekends for the Reed household, but not for the reasons they typically would. Sunday is our 6th anniversary as a married couple and the Saturday after that is Kristine's 30th birthday. We'll be spending those weekends working on our Oregon house to get it finished and ready to sell. We are super super close, but still have some painting on the inside and outside, some landscape work and finishing removing our belongings from the location. It is our hope that this can be accomplished in the next few weekends so we can formally list the house with an agent. If you are in the area and would like to visit/help let us know. If you want to watch Jenna while we work, that would be an awesome way to help as well. We'll be visiting with Eric's parents some while we're down there, so we're looking for help around those times.

      Lately we've been trying to find a new normal up in Washington. It's a weird feeling to feel "at home" but also in a time of transition. We don't want to invest too much in the house we're renting up here knowing we hope to move closer to Eric's work, but at the same time we want to enjoy the time while we're here. I've been starting to invite people over for play dates for Jenna and have been starting to get involved in mom's groups in the area. The weekends we've been able to be up here, we've attended a few churches. A couple might have the potential to be a home fellowship for us, but we don't feel like we've found the exact one yet. We're seeking God's direction in this and would love for you to join us in prayer for God to lead us to the right place to get plugged into. Which is another reason for getting our Oregon house done, to really invest in the area up here! 

      The weekend before last we stayed up here for the Arlington Air Show on Saturday. Eric was able to fly his plane in while Jenna and I took the short drive up there. Jenna loved seeing the different airplanes and helicopters. She did pretty well during the air show and stayed with our beach towel. She loved the grass more than the aerobatic pilots though. She also was convinced the military tanks were trains though... This girl is developing a serious love for trains which is hilarious because we barely have any trains in the house! She can hear them at our house though and says, "CHOO CHOO! TRAIN!" all the time. She's got good hearing! To redeem her on the airplane side, she can hear a plane in the air, spot it and say plane. She can even spot one while we're driving in the car. So I don't think airplanes are out of the "cool" toddler crowd yet. 

      I (Kristine) have found a great local Asian grocery store to buy most of our vegetables, sauces and meat from and am working on finding a great fruit stand, bread store and place to purchase dairy from. Yes there are big chain grocery stores, but I find the best values are at the local places. PLUS the Asian grocery store I found is fabulous. It's got nearly anything I could ever want for my Asian recipes which definitely encourages me to cook Asian food more often. I say Asian because obviously there are many many many different types of cultures and food in that part of the world. A part of the world we still hope to live in someday. :) It'll be fun to cook some of the same dishes as our friends in Indonesia in this part of the world. I guess it's kinda my way of coping with the transition, plus my family benefits on the great food. 

    Jenna has been thriving lately. She says multiple words and has great comprehension of the English language even though she doesn't say any real phrases yet. It's fun to see her excited to see other kiddos or light up when her favorite show is on. She loves digging in dirt and playing in water. Which makes gardening a good hobby for her. I am trying to teach her...we shall see what happens. I don't have a green thumb! Which is why I buy actual plants versus seeds. I figure if the plants already got a good start, we stand a chance. 

  Prayers for our health would be appreciated too. The past few days I've felt under the weather and I am not quite sure why. Jenna's been teething and being a picky toddler so that adds to things. Thanks so much for all your support. Please feel free to ask us any questions you like. :) Off to work as a mama!

Blessings,

The Reeds

A lot can happen in year

As a new candidacy class starts at Mission Aviation Fellowship I can't help but feel excitement for the new candidates, especially for a certain couple there that are our good friends. I remember how we felt last year, a mixture of nerves and excitement as we left our daughter with a sitter and sat in class for the first time. It was the start of a new journey, only at that time we didn't have a clue of what God was going to do in our lives the year to follow. We think back on our time at Candidacy with fondness about all the people at headquarters we got to know and the fellow students who at first were strangers, but now are lifelong friends. Right now we can relive that excitement as we wait to hear where God is sending our friends and as we focus on completing the tasks ahead of us to prepare us for the task of serving overseas. I'll give you an update on a few of them:


The Oregon House
We've been working hard on our home in Oregon on the weekends, but as you can imagine with a 4 hour drive each way and an adventurous toddler, it gets hard to complete everything. We have some painting left, some yard beautification work and a little more to clear out of the house until it's completely ready to list by August. We'd appreciate your prayers during this process because it's been hard to have quality family time when we're so busy. I might go down during the week to work on the house, but we'll see. Driving alone on the road with a toddler for that amount of time makes the trip feel much longer.

Jenna flying Daddy's plane

The Hiperbipe
As a plus, Eric moved up his plane this weekend to his new hangar location in Snohomish, WA. It's very different from the hangar in Oregon, but it's 10 minutes away from home and that is a vast improvement from close to 4 1/2 hours away. We cleaned up the hangar after we moved the plane out and it was kinda sad to leave it for the last time. But goodbyes are part of the transition process of moving. As a wife of a pilot and mother to an always on the move toddler, I like the Snohomish airport better because it's smaller, there's a great restaurant there, it's a short walk to the hangar, there are actual bathrooms nearby and a play structure for Jenna to play on while we wait for Daddy! Sounds funny, but from my perspective that's airport perfection right there. :) Sometime we'll get  the plane in an enclosed hangar again, but for now the price is right and the location is right.

Jenna at the Imagine Children's Museum

Church
As you can imagine, with us going back and forth nearly every weekend for the past few months we haven't had a great opportunity to find a church up in Washington yet. We've checked out a couple that look promising and hope to start to attend one of them more regularly once we list our home.

Eric reading a book to Jenna

Life in Washington overall is good. In August we'll have insurance from Eric's work so we can finally figure out doctors and set that up. In the mean time Jenna and I are still figuring out where the best and cheapest places are in town to get things. We're enjoying meeting new people in the mom groups up here and building lasting friendships. It's a transition, but we're excited about it. Eric likes his job too so that's a definite bonus. Right now we are just trying to follow God's lead in our lives, we still hope that He'll lead us overseas with Mission Aviation Fellowship, but in the mean time we are working on listening to His lead where we're at. There's peace in waiting.

Changing Mindset (Kristine)

I had a radical thought the other day, well maybe it wasn't so radical to most of you, but it sure was a perspective changing thought. For years now I've been actively seeking out God's will for my life. Wondering, pondering, dreaming about what His plan for me is. I've looked online at different ministries that seemed awesome and gotten involved in many different ministries. All the while I've been looking forward to the future rather than stopping and looking at the present.

As I was driving down the road thinking about my life it hit me, God desires us to serve Him where we are as who He made us to be. Yes, it's good to train for future ministry, but we can't lose sight at the ministry opportunities right around us. I was so focused at finding a church and finding a place to serve that I never realized I could serve just by being me. Simple thought, yet it's so hard to do sometimes. I can serve by how I interact with my neighbors and friends. How I interact with that homeless person or how I react when someone hurts me. I can serve by helping others in their time of need and showing people the love of Jesus but how I live. THAT is serving. It doesn't need a label as "women's ministry" or "children's ministry" or "homeless ministry", it's actively living for Christ and ministering as you live out your life. It's perhaps the hardest ministry around because you have to actively be thinking about where God is presenting opportunities for you to serve Him and mustering up the courage and strength to stick your neck out in faith and do it.

I am going to strive to be more purposeful in my friendships and my interactions with others. To build friendships and relationships to be able to talk with people and hear their heart stories. To be a better mom for my daughter and a better wife for my husband and really focus on what example I am setting for THEM at home. Family is perhaps the most important ministry of all and sometimes we get so outward focused we lose sight of that.

I still hope that God will allow us to serve overseas with Mission Aviation Fellowship, but I don't want to let my desire to serve overseas shadow the work God is wanting to do through me here. We're getting closer to finding a church to be a part of and a community group to join and it's exciting to be a part of a community of believers again. We'd love prayer for our home in Oregon to get completed (we're almost done) and sold soon so we can move forward up here. God is gracious and we are thankful He still works in us.

Washington Residents

We're officially residents of Washington state. I know this may not seem like a big deal, but for me (Kristine) it's nice to be back "home". Right now I am trying to navigate life as a stay at home Momma to a toddler while Eric works full time. It's definitely not easy, especially since this is my first born child. I barely get time to blog let alone research everything I am supposed to do to prepare her. Fortunately for me, she's one bright little lady and somehow, by the grace of God, she's learning things. 

She can identify animals, letters, body parts (head, eyes, nose, knees...), loves to color, loves to read and is a whiz with electronics...all at 20 months.  The teacher in me wants a curriculum to follow, some way to navigate our days so that the mornings aren't spent watching Sesame Street and the afternoons aren't spent with ample toys on the floor with no direction. I'm working on it, but sometimes she's quicker, heck most times she's quicker than me. I think that's the hard part about being a stay at home momma, you don't have time to research what you are supposed to do, you just do it. 

On a different note, we're making progress on the house in Oregon. After painting the past couple of weekends I definitely realize why people have painting parties. Painting takes FOREVER. Seriously. I feel like I barely accomplished anything when I painted for six hours. But we're pressing forward. We are really hoping to list it most likely by the end of June, if not sooner. It's just hard to work on things when you only have the weekends. 

It's been interesting watching and praying for those that were in the same class with us at MAF continue on with  building their ministry teams and getting closer to going overseas. We think about how we could have been at that point too, and get a little sad sometimes, but then remember that God has a plan for us. We have not a clue what it is, but we're trying to seek Him to figure it out. We hope it's still eventually going overseas with MAF, and we're working towards that still, but we're trying to be open in case God wants us elsewhere more. 

It reminds me of something I heard in regards to finding your "soul mate". A lot of us feel there is only one match out there for us. Like one person in the universe that would work well with our personality, and that person is who we are to marry and somehow we have to find them. No other person will do. In reality, there are many people that would work well with us, it's finding the person that fits best. I feel this is the same with ministry. There are many ministries that we may fit us well, but it's finding the specific ministry that fits us best so that we can continue to carry out God's purpose for our lives, that's the goal. 

We hope to update this blog frequently with family happenings as well as ministry stuff. So keep on checking back! We just get little spurts to be able to update here and there. Hopefully soon we will have a few pictures. Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers, we do appreciate them! 

Love,

The Reeds

Moving Onward....

God sure has a way of waking us up to the fact that HE is the one in charge and it's HIS plan that matters, not our own. This past few months have been a major transition for us. We go from being almost certain what God has in mind for our future, to have it completely turned upside down and sideways in a different direction. We don't know whether this direction is merely a loop back to the original trail or is a different path all together, time will tell. 

All I (Kristine) can say is that this is where we are supposed to be for this moment and this day in time. We've both felt such a peace about being up here. Eric is enjoying his work and I've already found a few mom's groups via meetup to hang out with. There are several people in the area that we know, many from when I lived in Washington before, but also Eric's sister is close to us as well. Previous to this we only got to see her maybe once or twice a year. 

We are continuing to work on the things we need to accomplish to feel ready for MAF again. Right now our priority is getting our Oregon home on the market and sold. So on weekends we head down there to work on it. We're making progress, but it might take a few more weekends of driving down there. After it's listed then we can finally start to find a church around our Washington home. Then we'll work on other things once that is taken care of.

One thing we have learned is that this is a process. There is no clear cut path to the finish. While it would have been nice for it to be that way, that's not how God intended it to be. I can already see how our experience with MAF has helped me tremendously to be more outgoing. I've already met a few of our neighbors, as I mentioned before I joined a few mom's groups and I am being more forward in talking to moms on the playground. Does this sound like me? I guess it's the new me. The one God is transforming, pretty cool eh? It's not without prayer let me tell ya! 

I need to go watch a show before Jenna wakes from her nap. If I can get on tonight I hope to post pictures of our place and other pictures from our time here. Our main laptop is down again, which is why I haven't posted any photos from my actual camera. Although, my phone camera is pretty cool. :) 

April Update!

Sorry for taking so long to update the blog. We've been and continue to be busy but we wanted to keep you updated on our progress. Here's the short of it, we will fill in the details later.

• Eric got a job as a software engineer at a company in Washington. 
• We found a place to rent in Everett, Washington only about 30 minutes from Eric's work. 
• We are moving May 5th from Oregon to Washington.
• After we move, we will continue to come back to Oregon on the weekends to fix up the house.
• Once we fix the house up, we plan on selling it. 
• Once we're settled, and get all the necessary things accomplished (Washington drivers licenses, car license plates....etc) we will start in on working on the things we need to work on before our return to MAF.
• We are continuing to seek God's guidance for what ministry we are supposed to be in (whether it is MAF or something else) during this time and will keep you all updated as we go! 

That's the short of it! We'd love continued prayers for our health and for things to go smoothly in this transition. We have a facebook page for those who have Facebook. Join us! It's located here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/116438811725167/  Check us out!

Thanks again for all your support. We really appreciate it!

Love,

The Reeds

We'd love your prayers! :)

Hello Everyone!
        We are so blessed to know all of you. Everyone has been so positive and encouraging of us during this pause in our ministry with Mission Aviation Fellowship. Right now we're really seeking the Lord to see where He would have us be: Oregon, Washington or ?  We are praying for wisdom and direction on what jobs to apply for and which to continue to pursue. We'd love it if you could join with us in prayer for God's wisdom and provision during this time. We're praying for interviews and job opportunities too.

        Lately Jenna has been having issues sleeping again and a few days ago she had some fever. She's had a cold for a while and some stomach issues, although we're thinking now that the teething monster has reared it's ugly head again;. It's hard to tell because we can't exactly reach into her mouth like when she was younger, the girl bites and she bites hard! But after last nights escapade that cost us all but close to three hours of sleep, We're assuming that's the case. We'd love it if you could pray with us for healing for little Jenna, for wisdom for us as parents on how to help her, and maybe, if the Lord allows, for us to get more than three hours of sleep tonight!

          Thanks again for all your support. We really do appreciate each and every one of you. If you have any questions for us about our journey with MAF and what the future might hold, please feel free. We love you all!

Humbly in Christ,
The Reeds

A Change in Direction (February Newsletter)

         We are writing today to tell you about a change in direction in our ministry with Mission Aviation Fellowship. When we started building our ministry support team, we thought we were ready, but it has become apparent that we need to step back from the process. We have struggled with distractions as well as working together as a couple from home. After careful consideration, MAF has decided, and we agree, that Kristine and I need to take some actions to better prepare before continuing. We have prayed about this and still feel very called to serve in missions. Although we hope to resume our ministry with MAF in the future, Friday, March 9, will be our last day with MAF.

          In the meantime, we will be working toward developing the tools we will need to be successful in both our marriage and our ministry. Communication, as a couple, has proven challenging at times and has had a huge impact on how effective we have been working together. The issues we experience could certainly be detrimental to our ministry overseas. In our time away from MAF, we will seek marriage counseling with the primary goal to strengthen our communication skills. We thank the Lord for this opportunity now, rather than having to deal with the problem after moving to Indonesia.

           We will also seek to eliminate some distractions. As many of you know, we still own a home in Salem that we've been remodeling for a very long time. This has interfered with our ministry as we work from home. It has been difficult to keep focus when we see all the little things that need our attention. One of our first goals is to prepare our house to be sold or rented, depending on the current market.

           We desire that all of our current prayer and financial partners stay with us through this period. Ongoing monthly support will not be needed until we return to MAF, but if you do with to continue supporting the life-changing ministries of MAF, we would encourage you to do so by visiting: http://maf.org/.

           We will also continue to update both our blog, http://reednewsletter.blogspot.com/ and our Facebook group, "Taking off with the Reeds" with our progress and current prayer requests. If you have any questions, please call us at 503-949-1714 or send us an e-mail at ericandkristinereed@gmail.com.

            The support of the MAF staff we have been working with has been very encouraging, and we are thankful and blessed by this opportunity to better prepare for a successful, long-term ministry overseas. We thank God for the support we have had from every one of our ministry partners. Thank you for partnering with us!

Humbly in Christ,
     Eric, Kristine and Jenna Reed

Though we are many, we are one body (Posted by Kristine)

I love meeting new people and learning about their lives. I think I really can't get enough of it. It's such a joy to sit down with someone and hear about their lives, their world from their perspective. Throughout this process we've gotten to meet many new friends and it's been wonderful.

Anyone that really knows me, knows I love checking out different churches. I love seeing how others worship, how they choose to do ministry, whether there is an outreach ministry, hear what songs they sing and hear how the pastor/reverend/bishop...etc teaches. In the past few months we've had the opportunity to worship with quite a few different churches. Let me just say that I love it! We did a Google search the other day to check out different churches in the area and so many came up! To think, on Sunday (or Saturday for some) there are many people traveling to go to these churches to worship. Many many people I've never met, nor might ever meet, but would love to meet. All these people believe in the same Lord, pray to the same Lord and worship the same Lord.

When I think of how many local churches, I think of how many national churches there are and international believers that are meeting and lifting their voices and prayers to God. It really reaffirms to me the belief that the "church" is not composed of bricks or wood or stone, but people. Everyone who believes in God and believes that the Lord Jesus died for our sins is a part of the church. Amazing eh? So even though we are in different locations, we are one.

One of my favorite passages of scripture talks about this very thing. It's found in 1 Corinthians 12:14-20 and if you've heard us speak, you've heard this verse. I'll post it below for others to read:
1 Corinthians 12:14-20
"For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot says, 'Because I am not a hand, I am not part of the body,' it is not for this reason and less a part of the body. And if the ear says,'Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body,' it is not for this reason any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be? But now, there are many members, but one body. 

All the members, all the people around the world that believe in God are a part of this body. From China, to Canada, to Russia to Indonesia, to Kenya....etc. God has a plan and a purpose for each one of us. Seriously... if you are a believer in Christ, He's got a plan for YOU! Are you listening to where He's leading? Or are you content focusing on your own goals and needs?

There are many many ways to serve the Lord. It could be: through living out your faith at  work, serving in a local rescue mission, going on a mission trip, doing homeless ministry, doing elderly ministry. if God has blessed you abundantly with finances it could mean that you become a part of a ministry by helping it to keep going. God has a role for each of us. I want to encourage you to spend some time in prayer this week seeking where God would be leading you to serve. You can think about what you like to do and seek out a ministry that does that. A very good first step if you are unsure is to start getting involved in your local church. Try out different ministries and pray that God will reveal the one He has for you. You'll definitely be blessed. :)

In Christ,
Kristine

Welcome Wednesday!

Welcome to Taking off with the Reeds!

This blog is home to Eric, Kristine and Jennavieve Reed. We are new missionaries with Mission Aviation Fellowship assigned as a Pilot/Information Technology family to Indonesia. Mission Aviation Fellowship's mission is to share the love of Jesus Christ through aviation and technology so that isolated people may be physically and spiritually transformed. We are not in Indonesia yet, but are in the support raising portion of our ministry. We are looking for people who want to join us as prayer and financial partners in ministry. Is that person you? Do you know someone who might be interested? If so, let us know! We'd love to have you on our team. Just e-mail us at: ereed@maf.org for more information. 

In the meantime, we'd love for you to check out our blog! There are several tabs above you can click on to learn more about us and Mission Aviation Fellowship. If you want you can check out our MAF website at https://maf.org/reed  

Two of the main locations Mission Aviation Fellowship flies out of  in Indonesia are  Papua and Kalimantan. (Click on the names of the locations for more information about what MAF does there.) In 2010. MAF had the privileged to fly in bibles and missionaries for the dedication of the new translation of the bible into the Kimyal language. It was a joyous occasion because this was the first time the Kimyal had the gospel in their own language. This translation took many years to complete. From the beginning MAF was there flying missionaries, supplies and tools in and out of the location to enable the effort to continue. It's still continuing today translating the old testament. 

You can check out the 5 minute video here:

We'd love to have you join our team! Follow our page via Google Friend Connect, Email and Networked Blogs on Facebook. We also have a Facebook Group called Taking off with the Reeds we'd love for you to join as well! 

We hope to check out your blogs as well! May God bless you and keep you safe!

In Christ,

The Reeds

Obstacles abound, but we press on!

A steep runway in Kalimantan, Indonesia

It's amazing the closer you get to God, the harder yet clearer things become. We've been finding this true over the past few months. We know this is a time of refinement, for the task to which we have been called is great. Serving the Lord in full-time ministry is not what the enemy wants. It's the exact opposite. Therefore, there WILL be trouble, there WILL be discouragement. The good news is, that Jesus has overcome these obstacles (John 16:33) and He is the hope that gets us through them.

Lately we've had a string of things fail on us: We got rear ended by a semi-truck at a stoplight in town. We are safe, our car's bumper needs to be replaced though. We are slated to get that taken care of next week. Our car's touch screen went out and had to be replaced. Soon after we replaced this, our 12v battery went out in the car as well. (Thank the Lord the car died at a gas station VERY close to our home.) We've replaced it and now it's working well. But it's interesting that our car would be such a target. The very thing that helps us get to meetings and destinations to share our ministry with Mission Aviation Fellowship.

We just replaced the battery and now our furnace in the house is starting to fail and we'll likely need to replace this. Coming into the winter months, replacing this is definitely a must. Our kitchen sink is also in need of replacement, but we're holding out as long as we can. We're kinda waiting on pins and needles to see what else starts to fail around the house. It's been our goal to finish up projects on the house by the end of February so we can sell our house. Lately it's been one delay after another. We may need to ask for help to get everything finished. We'll see though!

There have been other obstacles we faced and are still facing, but are are pressing on. We know God's called us to this ministry. It's amazing to see how the unique gifts He's given both of us fit so well with missionary aviation. Right now we're working on sharing the ministry of Mission Aviation Fellowship as many people as we can so that they may join with us in ministry.

     Do you know someone who might want to hear about MAF? A friend, relative, teacher...etc?  If so, we'd love to speak with them to share our hearts and get to know them. We are looking for many people to join our team, we cannot do this ministry by ourselves. In fact, without others joining our team financially and through prayer, we will not make it to Indonesia. We'd love for you to prayerfully consider partnering with us in ministry. There are many ways to partner. We invite you to click on the tabs above on our blog (Partner through prayer, partner through giving and other ways to partner) and pray about whether God is calling you to join our team.

        Thank you again for your prayers and support. We are very blessed to have such friends and family interested in our family's life and our ministry.

Blessings,
 The Reeds

My Hearts Song..(Posted by Kristine)

God transcends time. Often I (Kristine) find that songs pass the test of time as well. As I was sitting and reflecting tonight a song came to mind. It's a song I've heard many times, but tonight, it just resounds in my soul. It was written years ago (1873) by a woman named Dorothy Greenwell and it's called, " I am not skilled to understand." Little did she know how God would use that song in so many lives, including mine. I find that God speaks often to my heart through song and when I am singing and writing music, I feel a strong connection too. Someday, I might play a song for you, but tonight I wanted to share this song how Dorothy wrote it:

I Am Not Skilled To Understand
By: Dorothy Greenwell


I am not skilled to understand
What God hath willed, what God hath planned;
I only know at His right hand
Is One Who is my Savior!


I take Him at His word indeed;
"Christ died for sinners"- this I read;
For in my hear I find the need
Of Him to be my Savior!


That He should leave His place on high
And come for sinful man to die,
You count it strange? So once did I,
Before I knew my Savior!


And oh, that He fulfilled may see
The travail of His soul in me,
And with His work contented be,
As I with my dear Savior!


Yea, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this Spring;
That He Who lives to be my King
Once died to be my Savior!


God is amazing. He died for each and every one of us. I may not understand why certain things happen and don't happen, but God does. God has a plan. As Aaron Schust wrote in his version of the song,"My Savior loves, my Savior lives, My Savior's always there for me. My God He was, My God He is, My God is always gonna be."  How wonderful is it to believe in such a Savior. The God of hope. The God of healing. The God who gives grace. The God who loves. The God who teaches...etc. He is THE GOD.

As I start a "New Year", I vow to do my best to praise God all the day long. To show appreciation to Him through song and through my words. Will I fail at times? Yes, I am human and born into sin. Unfortunately failure is in my genetics. But guess who doesn't fail? God. When I fail, it's an opportunity for God to teach me. An opportunity for Him to work through my heart and my mind to perfect me and draw me to Him. It's also an opportunity for me to show others that don't believe in God, that I am a real person with real struggles, but the difference is that I have the hope that comes from Christ. I know that no matter how hard things get, no matter how many times I fall on my face in failure, I've got someone in my life that will NEVER give up on me. How amazing is that?

It makes me want to dance, to sing all night, to proclaim this truth to the nations. My soul sings out. I definitely long to share this love with the people of Indonesia. To the people who are losing hope. The people who are hurting. The ones who have given up on believing anything and the ones who think they know the truth, but don't. The ones who think that they have been forgotten and left behind by life. I want to let them know that they are not alone, they are never alone for God is omnipresent and is with them. God can heal their hurts and give them a renewed hope for the future, if they only choose to believe.

 Right now because I am half a world away from those I feel called to minister to, I pray. I pray for those whom I've only met in my dreams and in my thoughts and for those I've never met that they know the saving grace of Christ. I pray for those who believe and are already there that they be open to the opportunities God provides to share the truth and for the protection of God in their lives as they do. That's what's amazing about believing in God, even though I am here, HE is in Indonesia working and hears my prayers. He hears my heart's song.