Thursday, March 1, 2012

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

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