Hello Everyone, We loved our time interning with Mission Aviation Repair Center in Soldotna, Alaska. We received some invaluable flight training and experience: Abi passed her Certified Flight Instrucor-Instrument checkride, greatly increasing the type of instruction she is able to give, Matt passed the Fundamentals of Instruction written exam and continues working hard toward his Certified Flight Instructor rating. We had the privilege of helping with maintenance on several missionary's airplanes, and Abi even got to fly a ministry flight to bring food out to a village off the road system!
We are currently in the lower 48 for the holidays spending Christmas and New Years with Abi's family. After the first of the year we will be traveling to speak at churches in Florida, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Arkansas. If you are in one of these places, or on the way in between, please reach out! We would love to share with you, your friends, or your church about what God has been doing in our lives and ministry.
We truly love Alaska and can't wait to get back there, but are embracing this season of being in the lower 48 and making the most of this time of rest, family, and connecting with our supporters across the states. As we continue gaining a clearer picture of what ministry will look like in Alaska, and formulating a plan to return, one thing we know for sure is that we will need to increase our amount of monthly support to compensate for the high cost of living in Alaska, especially the Alaskan bush. Because we know we are being called to ministry in rural Alaska, we are also anticipating several large one time moving expenses, as all our belongings will need to be flown in. We have seen the Lord faithfully provide through the generous giving of His people all throughout our journey to the mission field, and our time volunteering up there this summer and fall.
As plans continue to take shape regarding our return to Alaska and long term placement there, we will keep you updated. We love you all, and are thankful to be able to rest assured in the love, support, and prayer we have behind us. Please continue to pray for wisdom and discernment as we finalize decisions and make plans regarding our long term placement.
Merry Christmas, and happy New Year! Love, Matt & Abi
